US5366140A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Patterned array of uniform metal microbeads
Assignee: 3M Co
•
Filing: 1993-09-30
•
Granted: 1994-11-22
•
Expires: 2013-09-30
Abstract
Abstract The present invention provides a method for providing an array of metal microbeads on a substrate, preferably in a regular pattern of very fine, uniform size microspheres or microbeads at precise spacing or scale previously unachievable. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of providing a metal layer on a substrate that is partitioned into metal regions; heating the metal layer to a temperature sufficient to melt the metal and to permit beading of the layer into discrete microbeads.
Inventors
- 👤 David C. Koskenmaki
- 👤 Clyde D. Calhoun
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 14:59
CPC Classifications
B; B23; B23K; B23K35/00; B23K35/02; B23K35/0222; H; H10; H10W; H10W99/00; H05; H05K; H05K3/00; H05K3/30; H05K3/32; H05K3/321; H05K3/323; H10W70/00; H10W70/60; H10W70/62; H10W70/66; H10W70/666; H05K2201/00; H05K2201/09; H05K2201/09818; H05K2201/09945; H05K2201/10; H05K2201/10227; H05K2201/10378; H05K2201/10613; H05K2201/10621; H05K2201/10719; H05K2203/00; H05K2203/03; H05K2203/0338; H05K2203/04; H05K2203/0425; H05K2203/12; H05K2203/128; H05K3/10; H05K3/102; H10W72/00; H10W72/071; H10W72/073; H10W72/07331; H10W72/30; H10W72/321; H10W72/325; H10W72/351; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/12; Y10T428/12014
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
76 words
A method of providing an array of microspheres on a substrate, comprising the steps of: a) providing a metal layer on a substrate, said metal layer sufficiently partitioned into a plurality of metal regions to permit beading of the metal regions; b) heating said metal layer to a temperature sufficient to melt the metal regions and o permit beading of the metal regions into discrete microspheres, thereby providing an array of discrete microspheres on a substrate.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
76 words
A method of providing an array of microspheres on a substrate, comprising the steps of: a) providing a metal layer on a substrate, said metal layer sufficiently partitioned into a plurality of metal regions to permit beading of the metal regions; b) heating said metal layer to a temperature sufficient to melt the metal regions and o permit beading of the metal regions into discrete microspheres, thereby providing an array of discrete microspheres on a substrate.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the metal regions are provided by depositing said metal layer on said substrate followed by a step wherein said metal layer is partitioned into metal regions.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said metal layer is deposited onto said substrate so as to be sufficiently partitioned into metal regions as deposited.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said metal regions are defined by a first set of parallel grooves intersecting a second set of parallel grooves, such that said metal regions are parallelograms.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
12 words
The metal of claim 1 wherein said metal regions have three sides.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said metal layer has a thickness of about 0.2-10 μm.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 6 wherein said metal layer has a thickness of about 0.2-2 μm.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of contacting said layer with an effective amount of a fluxing agent sufficient to permit beading of said metal regions.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said microspheres are formed having an average density of about 600-6,000,000 beads/cm 2 .
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 9 wherein said metal microspheres have an average density of about 40,000-6,000,000 beads/cm 2 .
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 10 wherein said metal microspheres have an average density of about 80,000-6,000,000 beads/cm 2 .
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said array of metal microspheres is a regular array.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said metal regions are all of a single uniform surface area, thereby forming a regular array of microbeads of a single size.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 wherein said metal regions have 2 or more uniform sizes.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the diameter of said microspheres is about 0.2-100 μm.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 15 wherein the diameter of said microspheres is about 1-50 μm.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 further including a step of transferring said array of metal microspheres to a second substrate.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 17 further including an adhesive layer on said second substrate with said array of metal microspheres transferred into said adhesive layer.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US2822509A
Cited
US4000334A
Cited
US4267261A
Cited
US4097266A
Cited
US4242439A
Cited
US4606962A
Cited
US4814040A
Cited
US5026599A
Cited
US5185178A
Cited
US5120678A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1997-11-21 | 1998-05-23 | 1998-11-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2001-11-21 | 2002-05-23 | 2002-11-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2005-11-21 | 2006-05-23 | 2006-11-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |