Appeal No. 96-1313
Application 08/202,536
In many cases it is desirable to apply an
electroless deposition solution to a surface which
is not amenable to immersion in a plating bath, e.g.
because the substrate is not stable in aqueous
solutions, because the substrate is large or fixed
in place in a way that prohibits immersion in a
solution or because it is desirable to restrict the
application of plating solution to the region of a
catalytic image. In such cases it would be useful
to employ a highly viscous electroless plating
solution that would be substantially immobilized
when applied to a substrate, i.e. would not run from
the localized area of application. A common belief
in the field of electroless plating solution is that
plating baths must be well agitated to allow
sufficient mass transfer of metal to a catalytic
surface and liberation of hydrogen from the plating
surface. For instance, if hydrogen, which is
liberated during the reduction of ionic metal to
deposited metal, is not removed from the surface,
the transfer of ionic species to the surface is
impeded. Such a belief has not doubt inhibited the
development of highly viscous plating media.
One reading the majority's opinion "affirming" the
examiner's adverse decision rejecting claims 10-18 and 25-27
under 35 U.S.C. § 103 would reasonably expect to find a
discussion regarding this critical finding by the examiner.
However, the majority has chosen not to decide this issue. I
believe this constitutes procedural error on the part of the
majority.
Appellants' have invested a significant amount of
resources, both financially and timewise, in order for this
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