The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 09, 1989
Filed:
Mar. 23, 1988
Ronald G Reed, Colorado Springs, CO (US);
ProtoCAD, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO (US);
Abstract
An anode used in electroplating is formed by a plurality of individual anode segments. The anode segments are arranged in predetermined patterns. The segments of certain patterns are selectively energized to establish an effective anode size that relates to the size of the article to be electroplated, thereby establishing an electrical field of uniform characteristics to transfer ions from the anode to the article at a uniform deposition rate over the whole surface of the article. By adjusting the effective size of the anode to correspond or relate to the size of the article, the non-uniform deposition rates associated with concentrated localized field are avoided, and the physical size of the electroplating apparatus can be reduced. An electrophoretic ion filter is also placed between the cathode and the article. This ion filter is preferably formed of a plastic porex material, such as porous polypropylene or polyethylene.