Patent

Date

November 16, 2022

Right

Case

2021 (Gyo-Ke) 10140

Court

Intellectual Property High
Court, Fourth Division

number- A case in which, with regard to the invention defined in the form of a product-byprocess claim, the court found an error in the JPO's determination that the invention
satisfies the clarity requirement because there are circumstances where it was
impossible or impractical to directly define the product by means of its structure or
characteristics.
Case type: Rescission of Trial Decision of Maintain
Result: Partially granted
References: Article 36, paragraph (6), item (ii) of the Patent Act
Related rights, etc.: Patent No. 3889689, Invalidation Trial No. 2019-800099
Summary of the Judgment
1. This case is a lawsuit to seek rescission of a decision made by the JPO (the "JPO
Decision") to the effect that a request for a trial for invalidation of a patent relating to
the invention titled "Electroformed tube manufacturing method and electroformed tube"(Patent No. 3889689) is groundless.
The major grounds for seeking rescission include the error in the determination on
the violation of the clarity requirement and the error in the determination on the lack of
an inventive step.
In this judgment, the court found that there is no error in the part of the JPO Decisionthat determined that Invention 1 (Claim 1) and Corrected Invention 5 (Claim 5) havean inventive step, but found that there is an error in the part of the JPO Decision that
determined that Invention 6 (Claim 6) and Corrected Invention 9 (Claim 9) satisfy theclarity requirement. The court rescinded the latter part of the JPO Decision.
2. The claim of Invention 6, which is discussed in this summary, is described as follows.
It is in the form of a product-by-process claim.
"An electroformed tube manufactured by forming an electrodeposit material or asurrounding material around a thin wire material that has, on an outer surface, a
conductive layer made of a metal material that is different from the electrodeposit
material or a surrounding material, pulling the thin wire material from one end or bothends, deforming the material so as to reduce a sectional area thereof, and forming aclearance between the deformed thin wire material and the conductive layer, followedby pulling the deformed thin wire material and removing the deformed thin wireimaterial while leaving the conductive layer inside the electrodeposit material or
surrounding material, which is characterized in that:the conductive layer has higher electric conductivity than the electrodeposit
material or surrounding material, andthe inner shape of a hollow portion formed by removing the thin wire material has
a circular sectional shape or a polygonal sectional shape, and the thickness of theelectrodeposit material or surrounding material is 5 µm or more and 50 µm or less ."3. The JPO determined that Invention 6 satisfies the clarity requirement, for the reasons
as summarized below.
"According to the statements of the description of the patent (the "Description"),the statement concerning the method of removing thin wire material, i.e., 'pulling thethin wire material from one end or both ends, deforming the material so as to reduce a
sectional area thereof, and forming a clearance between the thin wire material and theelectrodeposit material or a surrounding material, followed by gripping and pulling thethin wire material,' can be interpreted as describing the structure or characteristics
wherein the electroformed tube has inner surface precision to a level where it can beused as, for example, a tube for a contact probe. It is impossible to assume how thestructure or characteristics of the inner surface precision should be directly defined inorder to express the structure or characteristics accurately, and it is not found that at thetime of the filing of the patent application regarding the Invention, how to directly
define such structure or characteristics accurately was not generally known. Therefore,
it can be said that there were circumstances where it was impossible or utterly
impractical to directly define the electroformed tube by means of its structure or
characteristics. In that case, it cannot be said that the content of the invention is unclear
due to the statement that defines the method of manufacturing the product in Invention
6."
4. In this judgment, the court ruled that Invention 6 does not satisfy the clarity
requirement, for the following reason (the same applies to Corrected Invention 9). In
the proceedings of the lawsuit to seek rescission of the JPO Decision, the Defendant(the patentee) admitted that there are no circumstances where it is impossible or
impractical to directly define the product by means of its structure or characteristics.
"When a claim of a patent for an invention of a product recites the manufacturing
process of the product, the recitation of the claim should be held to meet the requirementthat the 'claimed invention is clear' as prescribed in Article 36, paragraph (6), item (ii)of the Patent Act, only if there are circumstances where it was impossible or utterly
impractical to directly define the product subject to the invention by means of itsiistructure or characteristics at the time of the filing of the application (2012 (Ju) 1204,
judgment of the Second Petty Bench of the Supreme Court, June 5, 2015, Minshu Vol.
69, No. 4, at 700).
The basis for this view is as follows. When a claim of a patent for an invention of a
product recites the manufacturing process of the product (product-by-process claim),
the technical scope of the claimed invention is determined as being limited to productsthat have the same structure, characteristics, etc. as those of the product manufacturedby the manufacturing process recited in the claim (the abovementioned Supreme Court
judgment). It is generally unclear what structure or characteristics of the product are
represented by the manufacturing process, or whether the technical scope of the claimed
invention is limited to products manufactured by the manufacturing process, although
the subject matter of the invention is the product, and this would prevent those whoread the recitation of the claim, etc. from clearly understanding the content of theinvention and make it impossible for them to predict the scope of the exclusive right tobe conferred to the patentee, leading to unjustly harming the interests of third parties.
It then follows that, even in the case where the claim of a patent for an invention ofa product recites the manufacturing process of the product, unlike the general casementioned above, if the structure or characteristics of the product to be manufacturedby that manufacturing process are unambiguously clear at the time of the filing of theapplication based on the statements of the claim, the description, and drawings, as wellas common general technical knowledge, the interests of third parties would not be
unjustly harmed; therefore, in such case, the claimed invention is not considered to bein violation of the clarity requirement even when there are no circumstances where it is
impossible or impractical to directly define the product by means of its structure or
characteristics.""Needless to say, the inner surface precision of the electroformed tube manufacturedby the manufacturing method of Invention 6 is not clear from what is recited in theclaim, and the Description does not state or suggest anything about the i nner surface
precision of the electroformed tube manufactured by the manufacturing method of
Invention 6.
As the method of removing the thin wire material, the Description states thefollowing methods: [i] heating and thermally expanding the electrodeposit material, etc.
or cooling and contracting the thin wire material, to thereby form a clearance between
the electrodeposit material, etc. and the thin wire material; [ii] submerging the material
into a liquid or applying the liquid to the material, whereby a place with which the thinwire material and the electrodeposit material, etc. are brought into contact is formed soiii

as to easily slip; [iii] pulling the material from one end or both ends, deforming thematerial so as to reduce a sectional area thereof, and forming the clearance between thethin wire material and the electrodeposit material, etc., followed by gripping and pullingthe material, sucking the material, physically pushing away the material, or blowing agas or a liquid to push away the material; or [iv] melting the material with heat or asolvent. However, the Description contains no statement concerning the technicalrelationship between these methods and the inner surface precision of the electroformed
tube to be manufactured, nor does it contain any statement or suggestion to the effectthat the manufacturing method of Invention 6 (included in the method mentioned in [iii]above) signifies a specific inner surface precision that is different from that of anelectroformed tube manufactured by other methods. It is also not found that there wascommon general technical knowledge as to whether the inner surface precision differs
depending on the methods mentioned above.
Accordingly, it cannot be said that the structure or characteristics of theelectroformed tube manufactured by the manufacturing method of Invention 6 areunambiguously clear.""For the reasons stated above, Invention 6 can be considered to be clear only if there
are circumstances where it was impossible or impractical to directly define theelectroformed tube of Invention 6 by means of its structure or characteristics at the timeof the filing of the application. The Defendant admits that there are no suchcircumstances."iv

Judgment rendered on November 16, 2022
2021 (Gyo-Ke) 10140 Case of seeking rescission of the JPO decision
Date of conclusion of oral argument: September 26, 2022
Judgment
Plaintiff: Nansin Co., Ltd.
Defendant: LuzCom, Inc.
Main text
1. The part related to Claim 6 and Claim 9 in the decision made by the Japan Patent
Office (the "JPO") on October 18, 2021, for the case of Invalidation Trial No. 2019 800099, shall be rescinded.
2. The remaining claims of the Plaintiff shall be dismissed.
3. Court costs shall be divided into two parts and the Plaintiff shall bear one part of thecosts and the Defendant shall bear the other part of the costs.
Facts and reasonsNo. 1 Claim
The decision made by the JPO on October 18, 2021, for the case of Invalidation
Trial No. 2019-800099, shall be rescinded.
No. 2 Outline of the caseThis case is a lawsuit to seek rescission of a decision made by the JPO to the effectthat a request for a trial for invalidation of a patent is groundless.
1. Outline of procedures at the JPO (There are no disputes between the parties.)(1) On September 24, 2002, the Defendant filed a patent application (Patent Application
No. 2002-278121; hereinafter referred to as the "Application") for an invention titled"Manufacturing method of electroformed tube and electroformed tube" and, on
December 8, 2006, the Defendant obtained a registration establishing a patent right(Patent No. 3889689; the number of claims: 9; hereinafter the patent related to theregistration is referred to as the "Patent").
On September 19, 2017, a request for a trial for correction concerning the Patent(Correction Trial No. 2017-390094) was filed and, on November 13, 2017, a trial
decision to approve corrections of Claim 1 in the claims and [0011] in the description
was made and the decision became final and binding around that time (hereinafter thecorrection is referred to as the "Prior-instance Correction").
(2) On November 21, 2019, the Plaintiff filed a request for a trial for invalidation withregard to Claims 1, 5, 6 and 9 of the Patent (Invalidation Trial No. 2019-800099).
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On January 18, 2021, the JPO gave an advance notice of a trial decision to invalidate
the patent with regard to the inventions pertaining to Claims 1, 5, 6 and 9 of the Patent.
In response, the Defendant made a request for correction to correct the claims related
to Claims 5 and 9 of the Patent on March 29, 2021 (hereinafter this correction is referred
to as the "Correction").
The JPO rendered a trial decision on October 18, 2021 with the following
conclusion: "Correction of the claims of Patent No. 3889689 regarding Claims 5 and 9
after correction as stated in the corrected claims attached to the correction request formshall be approved. The request for trial concerning the inventions pertaining to Claims
1, 5, 6, and 9 of Patent No. 3889689 is groundless" (hereinafter referred to as the "JPO
Decision") and a certified copy of the decision was served to the Plaintiff on Octo ber
29, 2021.
(3) On November 22, 2021, the Plaintiff filed the present action to seek rescission of
the JPO Decision.
2. Statement of the claims etc.
The statements of the claims for the inventions pertaining to Claims 1, 5, 6, and 9of the Patent after the Prior-instance Correction (hereinafter referred to as "Invention
1" and the like in the order of the claim number) and the statements of the claims forthe inventions pertaining to Claims 5 and 9 of the Patent after the Correction(hereinafter referred to as "Corrected Invention 5" and the like according to the claim
number; and Inventions 1 and 6 and Corrected Inventions 5 and 9 are collectively
referred to as the "Invention") are as stated below respectively. In addition, thedescriptions and drawings attached to the written applications of the Application
throughout the period before and after the Prior-instance Correction are simply referred
to as the "Description."(1) Invention 1
A manufacturing method of an electroformed tube, which is a method of
manufacturing an electroformed tube by forming an electrodeposit material or asurrounding material by electroforming around a thin stainless steel wire material thathas, on the outer surface, a conductive layer made of a metal material that is diff erent
from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material, and by removing the thinwire material while leaving the conductive layer on the inner surface of theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material, which is characterized by;wherein the conductive layer is formed by electrolytic plating and has a higher
electric conductivity than the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material; andwherein the thin wire material is pulled from one end or both ends to deform it so2

as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof, and a clearance between the deformed thinwire material and the conductive layer is formed, and the deformed thin wire material
is removed by holding and pulling it, and thereby an electroformed tube wherein athickness of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is 50 μm or less ismanufactured.
(2) Invention 5 and Corrected Invention 5
A. Invention 5
The manufacturing method of the electroformed tube as stated in Claim 1,
which is characterized by an electrodeposit material or a surrounding material madeof nickel and a conductive layer made of gold.
B. Corrected Invention 5 (underlined parts are differences from Invention 1)
A manufacturing method of an electroformed tube, which is a method of
manufacturing an electroformed tube by forming an electrodeposit material or asurrounding material by electroforming around a stainless-steel thin wire material thathas, on the outer surface, a conductive layer made of a metal material that is differen t
from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material, and by removing the thinwire material while leaving the conductive layer on the inner surface of theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material, and which is characterized by;wherein the conductive layer is formed by electrolytic plating and has a higher
electric conductivity than the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material;
wherein parts without the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material areformed at both ends of the thin wire material;
wherein the thin wire material is pulled from one end or both ends to deform it soas to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof, and a clearance between the deformed thinwire material and the conductive layer is formed, and the deformed thin wire material
is removed by holding and pulling it, and thereby an electroformed tube wherein athickness of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is 50 μm or less ismanufactured; andwherein the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is made of nickel
and the conductive layer is made of gold.
(3) Invention 6
An electroformed tube manufactured by forming an electrodeposit material or asurrounding material by electroforming around a thin wire material that has, on theouter surface, a conductive layer made of a metal material that is different from theelectrodeposit material or a surrounding material, pulling the thin wire material fromone end or both ends to deform it so as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof, and3

forming a clearance between the deformed thin wire material and the conductive layer,
and by pulling the deformed thin wire material and removing the deformed thin wirematerial while leaving the conductive layer inside the electrodeposit material or thesurrounding material, which is characterized by;wherein the conductive layer has a higher electric conductivity than theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material; andwherein the inner shape of a hollow part formed by removing the thin wire material
has a circular cross-sectional shape or a polygonal cross-sectional shape, and thethickness of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is 5 µm or more and50 µm or less.
(4) Invention 9 and Corrected Invention 9
A. Invention 9
The electroformed tube stated in Claim 6 or 7,
which is characterized by an electrodeposit material or a surrounding material made ofnickel and a conductive layer made of gold.
B. Corrected Invention 9 (underlined parts are differences from Invention 6)
An electroformed tube manufactured by forming an electrodeposit material or asurrounding material by electroforming around a thin wire material that has, on theouter surface, a conductive layer made of a metal material that is different from theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material, forming parts without theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material at both ends of the thin wire material,
pulling the thin wire material from one end or both ends to deform the material so as toreduce a cross-sectional area thereof, and forming a clearance between the deformed
thin wire material and the conductive layer, and by pulling the deformed thin wirematerial and removing the deformed thin wire material while leaving the conductive
layer inside the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material, which ischaracterized by;wherein the conductive layer has a higher electric conductivity than theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material; andwherein the inner shape of a hollow part formed by removing the thin wire material
has a circular cross-sectional shape or a polygonal cross-sectional shape, and thethickness of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is 5 µm or more and50 µm or less, andwherein the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is made of nickel
and the conductive layer is made of gold.
3. Summary of the grounds for the JPO Decision
4The JPO Decision determined as follows: [i] the Correction is lawful since, out of
the Correction, the corrected matters (hereinafter referred to as "corrected matter A")
that integrated and sorted corrected matters related to corrected matter 1 (to establish
Claim 5, which cited Claim 1 before, as an independent claim by dissolving therelationship of citation) and related to corrected matter 2 (to correct Claim 5 as statedin 2. (2) B. above) as stated in a correction request form dated March 29, 2021
(hereinafter referred to as the "Correction Request Form") and the corrected matters(hereinafter referred to as "corrected matter B") that integrated and sorted corrected
matters related to corrected matter 3 (to establish Claim 9, which cited Claim 6 before,
as an independent claim by dissolving the relationship of citation), related to corrected
matter 4 (to delete Claim 9 before the correction, which cited Claim 7), and related tocorrected matter 5 (to correct Claim 9 as stated in 2. (4) B. above) as stated in the
Correction Request Form, are corrected matters that meet the correction requirements;[ii] since the detailed explanation of the invention in the Description is regarded to bestated clearly and fully, it does not violate enablement requirements; [iii] since theInvention is an invention where a means to solve problems is fully reflected, it isregarded to be stated in the detailed explanation of the invention; [iv] Invention 6 andCorrected Invention 9 are clearly stated; and [v] it cannot be considered that a person
skilled in the art could have easily made the Invention based on the invention stated in
Exhibit Ko 1 "Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-192882"(hereinafter referred to as "Exhibit Ko 1 Document") that was distributed in Japan
before the Application was filed (hereinafter the process invention is referred to as"Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention" and the product invention is referred to as "Exhibit
Ko 1 Product Invention"), matters stated in Exhibit Ko 2 "Unexamined Patent
Application Publication No. 2002-80991" (hereinafter referred to as "Exhibit Ko 2
Document") (hereinafter the matters are referred to as "Exhibit Ko 2 Technical
Matters"), and common general technical knowledge at the time when the Application
was filed.
The summary of the JPO Decision regarding each issue is as follows.
(1) Whether the Correction has legality
A. Corrected matter A
Limiting the operation in Invention 5 related to the citation of Invention 1 "wherein
the thin wire material is pulled from one end or both ends to deform it so as to reducea cross-sectional area thereof, and a clearance between the deformed thin wire material
and the conductive layer is formed, and the deformed thin wire material is removed byholding and pulling it" to the operation that is implemented after "parts without the5electrodeposit material or the surrounding material are formed at both ends of the thinwire material" in advance, which is related to corrected matter A, is suggested in [0084]
and [FIG. 6] in the Description; and a person skilled in the art can understand that theprocess "to arrange the form by providing machining to electrodeposit material 55 andpartition component 88" ([0106]) includes the process to remove electrodeposit material
55 on the end and can understand the form to manufacture an electroformed tube byproviding an electrodeposit material or a surrounding material by electroforming on
both ends of a thin wire material and then removing it, and thereby forming parts
without the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material on both ends of the thinwire material. Therefore, corrected matter A is not an addition of new matters and othercorrection requirements are met.
B. Corrected matter B
Limiting the operation in Invention 9 related to the citation of Invention 6 "pulling
the thin wire material from one end or both ends to deform it so as to reduce a cross sectional area thereof, and forming a clearance between the deformed thin wire material
and the conductive layer, and by pulling the deformed thin wire material and removing
the deformed thin wire material while leaving the conductive layer inside theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material" to the operation that is
implemented after "forming parts without the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material at both edges of the thin wire material" in advance, which is related to corrected
matter B, is not an addition of new matters and other correction requirements are met,
as stated in A. above.
(2) Whether there is a violation of the enablement requirements (Grounds forInvalidation 1)
The Invention is to deform a thin wire material by pulling it from one end or bothends so as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof. The thin wire material subject topulling contains [i] one that has parts without a conductive layer (parts where a thinwire material is exposed) on both of its ends and [ii] one that does not have parts without
a conductive layer (the thin wire material that has no parts where the thin wire material
is exposed); and there are cases a) where, on both ends of the thin wire material, aconductive layer is provided by electrolytic plating on the outer surface of the thin wirematerial; however, an electrodeposit material or a surrounding material is not provided
by electroforming, and b) where on both ends of the thin wire material, a conductive
layer is provided by electrolytic plating on the outer surface of the thin wire material
and an electrodeposit material or a surrounding material is also provided byelectroforming.
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A. In the case of [i] above
Taking into account the statements in [0084] and [FIG. 6] in the Description, it isunderstood that when the part where a conductive layer is not provided on both ends ispulled, the thin wire material is pulled out and removed while leaving the conductive
layer on the inner surface of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material in
the same way as in the Invention and the following effects are shown: it becomesdifficult for the pull force to directly apply to the conductive layer, the conductive l ayer
and base wire material can easily be separated, and it becomes difficult to destroyadhesion between the conductive layer and the electrodeposit material.
B. In the case of [ii] a) above
On the assumption of using a stainless-steel thin wire material and a gold-plated
conductive layer, when a thin wire material on which a conductive layer is provided byelectrolytic plating on the outer surface to both ends is pulled, the fragile (gold -plated)conductive layer breaks. On the other hand, stainless-steel thin wire material is strong,
and its surface is covered with a passive film, but adhesion with the conductive layer is
not strong. Therefore, the thin wire material deforms so as to reduce the cross-sectional
area thereof when it is pulled and a clearance is formed between the deformed thin wirematerial and the conductive layer. Accordingly, the thin wire material can be pulled out
and removed while leaving the conductive layer on the inner surface of theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material (Exhibit Ko 47).
C. In the case of [ii] b) above
A person skilled in the art can work the following process within the range of his/hercreativity and ingenuity to the extent where it is normally expected without performing
excessive trial and error: after removing or breaking an electrodeposit material or asurrounding material on both ends, the thin wire material is deformed by holding andpulling both of its ends so as to reduce a cross-sectional area of the thin wire material
and then the thin wire material is pulled and removed (Exhibits Ko 21 through 23 and50 through 52).
(3) Whether there is a violation of the support requirements (Grounds for Invalidation
2)
A. Invention 1 and Corrected Invention 5
The problem to be solved by Invention 1 and Corrected Invention 5 is regarded asproviding a method of easily manufacturing tubes for contact probes, etc., and otherelectroformed tubes with a fine inner diameter that can be used as a component suitablefor conducting the electricity (the first problem) ([0003], [0006], [0008], and [0045] inthe Description).
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In order to solve the first problem, the following two are required: [i] anelectroformed tube wherein a conductive layer is provided on its inner surface ismanufactured ([0045]; hereinafter referred to as the "structural requirement(manufacturing process) of an electroformed tube") and [ii] the thin wire material "ispulled from one end or both ends to deform it so as to reduce a cross-sectional area
thereof, and a clearance between the deformed thin wire material and the conductive
layer is formed," and then "removing" the thin wire material "by holding and pulling"it ([0041] and [0042]; hereinafter referred to as the "removal requirement(manufacturing process) of a thin wire material"). Invention 1 and Corrected Invention
5 satisfy these two requirements and the means for solving the first problem is fullyreflected therein.
B. Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9
The problem to be solved by Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9 is regarded asproviding a method of manufacturing tubes for contact probes, etc., and otherelectroformed tubes with a fine inner diameter that can be used as a component suitablefor conducting the electricity (the second problem) ([0003], [0006], [0008] , and [0045]
in the Description).
In order to solve the second problem, the following two are required: [iii] it is anelectroformed tube wherein a conductive layer is provided on its inner surface so that"electric conductivity is higher than in the case of an electrodeposit material or
surrounding material alone depending on the material of the conductive layer" ([0045];
hereinafter referred to as the "structural requirement (product) of an electroformed
tube") and [iv] it is a structure that is manufactured by "pulling the thin wire material
from one end or both ends to deform the material so as to reduce a cross-sectional area
thereof, and forming a clearance between the thin wire material and the electrodeposit
material or the surrounding material," and "by holding and pulling" it ([0041] and[0042]; hereinafter referred to as the "removal requirement (product) of a thin wirematerial"). Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9 satisfy these two requirements andthe means for solving the second problem is fully reflected therein.
(4) Whether there is a violation of the clarity requirements (Grounds for Invalidation 3)
In the past, in cases of creating a tube with a fine inner diameter by electroforminga thin wire material, it was not easy to remove the thin wire material. However, it isunderstood that when using the pulling out method where "pulling the thin wire material
from one end or both ends to deform the material so as to reduce a cross-sectional area
thereof, and forming a clearance between the thin wire material and the electrodeposit
material or the surrounding material, and holding and pulling it" (3. in [0041] in the8Description), which corresponds to the method stated in claims of Invention 6 andCorrected Invention 9, the thin wire material can be removed easily and anelectroformed tube with a fine inner diameter, which can be used as a tube, etc. forcontact probes, can be manufactured ([0005], [0006], [0041], and [0042] in the
Description).
According to the statements in the Description, it can be interpreted that thestatement related to the pulling out method of the thin wire material indicates the
structure or characteristics of a fine tube manufactured by electroforming that a thinwire material is appropriately removed and an electroformed tube has an inner surface
precision to a level where it can be used, for example, as a tube for a contact probe.
It is impossible to assume how to directly define the structure or characteristics of
the inner surface precision, which is achieved through the specification of the
manufacturing method of the products of Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9, inorder to express the relevant structure or characteristics accurately, and it is not foundthat how to directly define this structure or characteristics accurately was generally
known at the time of filing of an application for the Invention. Therefore, it can be said
that there were circumstances where it was impossible or utterly impractical to define
the electroformed tube directly by means of its structure or characteristics.
In that case, it cannot be said that the statements that specify the manufacturingmethod of the products of Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9 make the content of
said inventions unclear.
(5) Whether there is a lack of an inventive step (Grounds for Invalidation 4)
A. Finding of Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention and Exhibit Ko 1 Product Invention(A) Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention
A manufacturing method of ferrules by providing 10 μm gold-plating (resistivity:
2.05 × 10 -6 Ωcm) to a stainless-steel wire with a circular cross-sectional shape, adiameter of 0.126 mm, and a length of 355 mm; obtaining a core wire with a diameterof 0.136 mm; setting the core wire on an electroforming jig; setting a nickel metal platein an electroforming bath, of which the main ingredient is nickel sulfamate; dipping themetal plate in the electroforming bath; setting the core wire as a cathode and the nickel
plate as an anode; providing electroforming at the current density of approximately 10
A/dm2 for 18 hours; and obtaining a nickel electroformed product with a diameter ofapproximately 2.5 mm in average; andcutting the electroformed product to a length of 12 mm by NC automatic processing
machine; boring one end; setting the processed product vertically by facing the nonbored surface up; hitting the core wire with a hammer that has a projection from the top
9

in the wire punching machine; pulling part of the core wire that projects from beneaththe processed product; and thereby removing the core wire and grinding the end surface.
(b) Exhibit Ko 1 Product Invention
A ferrule that is manufactured by providing 10 μm gold-plating (resistivity: 2.05 ×
10-6 Ωcm) to a stainless-steel wire with a circular cross-sectional shape, a diameter of
0.126 mm, and a length of 355 mm; obtaining a core wire with a diameter of 0.136 mm;
setting the core wire on an electroforming jig; setting a nickel metal plate in anelectroforming bath, of which the main ingredient is nickel sulfamate; dipping the metal
plate in the electroforming bath; setting the core wire as a cathode and the nickel plate
as an anode; providing electroforming at the current density of approximately 10 A/dm 2
for 18 hours; and obtaining a nickel electroformed product with a di ameter ofapproximately 2.5 mm in average; andcutting the electroformed product to a length of 12 mm by NC automatic processing
machine; boring one end; setting the processed product vertically by facing the non bored surface up; hitting the core wire with a hammer that has a projection from the top
in the wire punching machine; pulling part of the core wire that projects from beneaththe processed product; and thereby removing the core wire and grinding the end surface.
B. Differences between Invention 1 and Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention(A) Difference 1
Invention 1 is for "removing the thin wire material while leaving the conductive
layer on the inner surface of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material."
However, Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention is not clear whether "a conductive layer" isleft "on the inner surface of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material"
when "removing the thin wire material."(B) Difference 2
Concerning the plating method of "a conductive layer," Invention 1 is "electrolytic
plating," while Exhibit Ko 1 Process Method does not specify the plating method.
(C) Difference 3
Concerning the removal method of the "thin wire material," in Invention 1, "the thinwire material is pulled from one end or both ends to deform it so as to reduce a crosssectional area thereof, and a clearance between the deformed thin wire material and the
conductive layer is formed, and the deformed thin wire material is removed by holding
and pulling it," while Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention explains as "cutting theelectroformed product to a length of 12 mm by NC automatic processing machine;boring one end; setting the processed product vertically by facing the non-bored surface
up; hitting the core wire with a hammer that has a projection from the top in the wire10

punching machine; pulling part of the core wire that projects from beneath the processed
product; and thereby removing the core wire."(D) Difference 4
Concerning the "thickness" of "the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material," in Invention 1, "a thickness of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material is 50 μm or less," while in Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention, "thickness" of "anelectroformed tube" is approximately 1.182 mm (1182 µm) or approximately 1.187 mm(1187 µm) (in "Difference 4" in the JPO Decision, it is found that "in Invention 1, 'thethickness of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is 5 µm or more and50 µm or less'" and "5 µm or more" is added; however, this is found to be amisdescription (there is no dispute between the parties)).
C. Whether Difference 4 could have been easily conceived of by a person skilled in theart
A ferrule for optical fiber connection, which is the subject of manufacturing in
Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention, is generally a microporous pipe with a diameter ofapproximately 0.126 mm, an outer diameter of 2.5 mm, and a length of approximately
12 mm ([0002] in Exhibit Ko 1). Based on the dimensions stated, a regular thickness isfound to be approximately 1187 µm. The optical connector is to facilitate connection
by putting an optical fiber, which has a diameter of approximately 0.125 mm and is thinand easy to break, through a cylindrical tube to secure it and by accurately aligning thepositions of cores that are at the center of the optical fiber. A ferrule is an opticalconnector's component for surely securing the optical fiber on the connector for theconnection ([0003]in Exhibit Ko 1). Therefore, it is obvious that the ferrule requires
sufficient strength.
On the other hand, the extremely thin thickness of an electroformed tube, which is
50 μm or less, in Invention 1 may not obtain sufficient strength. It does not generate a
motivation to determine the thickness of a ferrule that is manufactured under Exhibit
Ko 1 Process Invention to be 50 μm or less and it is even a precluding factor from theperspective of insufficient strength.
Therefore, a person skilled in the art could not have easily conceived of the structureof Invention 1 related to Difference 4.
D. Summary on Invention 1
Given the above, without the need to make determinations on Differences 1 through3, Invention 1 could not have been easily conceived of by a person skilled in the art
based on Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention and common general technical knowledge.
E. Invention 6
11(A) Invention 6 and Exhibit Ko 1 Product Invention are different in Differences 5 and6, which are the same purport as Differences 3 and 1 in B. above respectively, and are
different in Difference 7 below.
(Difference 7)
Concerning the "thickness" of "the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material," in Invention 6, "the thickness of the electrodeposit material or thesurrounding material is 5 µm or more and 50 µm or less," while in Exhibit Ko 1 Product
Invention, the "thickness" of an "electroformed tube" is approximately 1.182 mm (1182μm) or approximately 1.187 mm (1187 μm).
(B) Difference 7 is the same difference as Difference 4. Difference 4 could not havebeen easily conceived of by a person skilled in the art, as stated in C. above. Given theabove, Invention 6 could not have been easily made by a person skilled in the art basedon Exhibit Ko 1 Product Invention and common general technical knowledge.
F. Corrected Invention 5(A) Corrected Invention 5 and Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention are different in
Differences 1, 2, and 4 as stated in B. above and are also different in Difference 3' below.
(Difference 3')
Concerning the removal method of the "thin wire material," in Corrected Invention
5, "parts without the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material are formed atboth ends of the thin wire material," and "the thin wire material is pulled from one end
or both ends to deform it so as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof, and a clearance
between the deformed thin wire material and the conductive layer is formed, and thedeformed thin wire material is removed by holding and pulling it," while Exhibit Ko 1
Process Invention explains as "cutting the electroformed product to a length of 12 mm
by NC automatic processing machine; boring one end; setting the processed productvertically by facing the non-bored surface up; hitting the core wire with a hammer thathas a projection from the top in the wire punching machine; pulling part of the corewire that projects from beneath the processed product; and thereby removing the corewire."(B) As stated in C. above, Difference 4 could not have been easily conceived of by aperson skilled in the art. Given the above, Corrected Invention 5 could not have been
easily made by a person skilled in the art based on Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention andcommon general technical knowledge, etc.
G. Corrected Invention 9(A) Corrected Invention 9 and Exhibit Ko 1 Product Invention are different in
Differences 6 and 7 as stated in E. above and also different in Difference 5' below.
12

(Difference 5')
Concerning the removal method of the "thin wire material," Corrected Invention 9
explains as "forming parts without the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material at both ends of the thin wire material, pulling the thin wire material from one
end or both ends to deform the material so as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof,
and forming a clearance between the deformed thin wire material and the conductive
layer, and by pulling the deformed thin wire material," while Exhibit Ko 1 Process
Invention explains as "cutting the electroformed product to a length of 12 mm by NC
automatic processing machine; boring one end; setting the processed product verticallyby facing the non-bored surface up; hitting the core wire with a hammer that has a
projection from the top in the wire punching machine; pulling part of the core wire thatprojects from beneath the processed product."(B) As stated in E. above, Difference 7 could not have been easily conceived of by aperson skilled in the art. Given the above, Corrected Invention 9 could not have b een
easily made by a person skilled in the art based on Exhibit Ko 1 Product Invention andcommon general technical knowledge, etc.
4. Grounds for rescission(1) Error in the determination concerning the correction requirements (Grounds for
Rescission 1)(2) Error in the determination concerning the violation of the enablement requirements(Grounds for Invalidation 1) (Grounds for Rescission 2)(3) Error in the determination concerning the violation of the support requirements(Grounds for Invalidation 2) (Grounds for Rescission 3)(4) Error in the determination concerning lack of an inventive step (Grounds forInvalidation 4) (Grounds for Rescission 4)(5) Error in the determination concerning the violation of the clarity requirements(Grounds for Invalidation 3) (Grounds for Rescission 5)(omitted)
No. 4 Judgment of this court
1. Invention
The Description (Exhibit Ko 95) contains statements as described in Attachment 1"Matters stated in the Description (extract)." According to these statements, thefollowing matters are found to be disclosed with regard to the Invention.
(1) Technical field
13

The Invention is related to the manufacturing method of an electroformed tube witha fine inner diameter and the electroformed tube ([0001]).
(2) Prior art and its problems
In a probe device to inspect the electric continuity of electrodes, in order to respondto the latest integrated circuits, it is required to increase the number of contact probes(increasing the number of pins), to reduce wire diameter (thinning the wire), and to
reduce the interval between the contact probes (narrowing the pitch). Tubes for current
contact probes have an outer diameter of 110 μm and an inner diameter of 88 μm, whichis the smallest in the world, but additional reduction in size is required ([0003]).
Based on electroforming technology, a metal film of 5 μm at a minimum may bedeposited on the outer surface of a thin wire material for which the hollow part iscircular in cross-section and the diameter is 10 μm to 85 μm; however, it is not easy toremove the thin wire material from electrodeposited metal since the electrodeposited
metal adheres to the outer surface of the thin wire material ([0006]).
Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a manufacturing method of anelectroformed tube with a fine inner diameter and the electroformed tube ([0008]).
(3) Means of solving problems
In order to achieve the aim as stated in (2) above, the Invention adopted the structurestated in Claims 1, 5, 6, and 9.
(4) Functions and effects
A. By pulling a thin wire material from one end or both ends to deform the material so
as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof and forming a clearance between the thinwire material and the electrodeposit material formed by electroforming, and thereby
removing the thin wire material by holding and pulling it from the electrodeposit
material, etc., for example, even from the electrodeposit material, etc. that is formed on
the outer surface of the thin wire with a diameter from 10 μm to 85 μm so that theelectrodeposit material, etc. has a thickness of 5 μm or more and 50 μm or less, the thinwire material can be removed, and an electroformed tube with a fine inner diameter canbe manufactured ([0041], [0042], and [0116]).
B. If an electroformed tube is manufactured by increasing the volume of electrodeposit
material, etc. on the end side that is formed on a thin wire material, when removing thethin wire material by pulling it out from or pushing it away from the electrodeposit
material, etc., jig or tool, etc. can be get caught on the end surface of the part where theamount of electrodeposit material, etc. was increased, and therefore, the thin wirematerial can be easily removed ([0043] and [0117]).
C. If the deformation amount of lateral strain when a thin wire material is extended by
14

pulling it outward is arranged to be 5% or more of the cross-sectional area, a sufficient
clearance is formed for removing the thin wire material between the thin wire material
and the electrodeposit material, etc. Therefore, it is highly possible that the thin wirematerial can be removed from the electrodeposit material, etc. without any difficulties([0044] and [0118]).
D. If a thin wire material where a conductive layer is provided on the outer surface isused and the thin wire material is removed so that the conductive layer remains on the
inner surface of an electroformed tube, an electroformed tube provided with gold plating, etc. on the inner surface can be manufactured and the electric conductivity canbe made higher than in the case of the electrodeposit material, etc. alone depending on
the material of the conductive layer provided on the inner surface of the electroformed
tube. Therefore, it can be used as a component that is suitable for conducting theelectricity ([0045] and [0119]).
E. A product with multiple pieces of hollow parts that are formed by removing a thinwire material can be used by replacing it with a component that was manufactured byaligning multiple tubes that have only one hollow part ([0047] and [0121]).
F. Concerning a thin wire material with a part where a conductive layer is not provided
on both ends, if the part where the conductive layer is not provided is pulled outward,
it becomes difficult for the pull force to directly apply to the conductive layer, theconductive layer and the base wire material can be easily separated, and it becomesdifficult to destroy the adhesion between the conductive layer and the electrodeposit
material, etc. ([0049] and [0123]).
(5) Embodiment of the invention
A. An electroformed tube that has a fine inner diameter (hollow part) and can be used
as a tube, etc. for contact probes is manufactured by electroforming a thin wire materialusing an electroforming device, pulling the thin wire material from one end or both ends
so as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof and forming a clearance between theelectrodeposit material and the thin wire material, and removing the thin wire material
by holding and pulling it ([0050] through [0070], [0073], [0075], and [FIG. 1]).
B. If a large diameter part, where the outer diameter is large, is formed at one end of
the electrodeposit material, a jig or tool can get caught on the end surface of the large
diameter part, and therefore, the thin wire material can be easily removed ([0076] and[FIG. 2]).
C. A thin wire material can be used if it has an outer diameter of 10 μm or more and 85
μm or less. When nearly 1,500 N/mm 2 of pull force is applied, it is only necessary thatthe deformation amount of lateral strain is 5% or more of the cross-sectional area15

([0078] and [0079]). In addition, if it is possible to electrodeposit around the thin wirematerial so that it has a thickness of at least nearly 5 μm or more, an electroformed tube
can be formed even after the thin wire material is removed ([0080]).
D. A thin wire material, of which the core part is made of metal or synthetic resin, etc.
and on the outer surface of which a conductive layer (for example, gold-plating) is
provided, can be used. In this case, an electroformed tube provided with a conductive
layer on its inner peripheral surface can be formed by removing only the thin wirematerial while leaving the conductive layer on the inner peripheral surface of theelectrodeposit material ([0081]). Since the aforementioned electroformed tube has goodelectric conductivity, it can be used as a component that is suitable for conducting theelectricity, such as a tube, etc. for contact probes ([0082]).
In cases of removing a thin wire material provided with a conduct ive layer on its
outer periphery from deposited metal by deforming the thin wire material so as toreduce a cross-sectional area thereof, by forming a part where the conductive layer is
not provided (masked part) on both ends of the thin wire material

and pulling saidpart, it becomes difficult for the pull force to directly apply to the conductive layer, theconductive layer and the base wire material can be easily separated, and it becomesdifficult to destroy the adhesion between the conductive layer and electrodeposit
material ([0084] and [FIG. 6]).
E. An electroformed tube that has multiple pieces of hollow parts can be manufactured
by using a jig that can provide multiple thin wire materials in a tensioned state ([0085]
through [0107] and [FIG. 7] through [FIG. 9]).
2. Whether there are Grounds for Rescission 1 (Error in the determination related to thecorrection requirements)(1) Corrections in Inventions 5 and 9
The Correction includes a correction by adding the matter "wherein parts without
the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material are formed at both ends of thethin wire material" (corrected matter 2 that constitutes corrected matter A and corrected
matter 5 that constitutes corrected matter B) concerning Inventions 5 and 9.
The Description has the following statements: as a thin wire material, a thin wirematerial provided with a conductive layer on its outer peripheral surface can be used;
for example, if an electrodeposit material is formed on a thin wire material that isprovided with gold-plating on its outer peripheral surface, an electroformed tube
provided with gold-plating on its inner peripheral surface is formed by removing thethin wire material alone by leaving the gold-plating on the inner peripheral surface ofthe electrodeposit material ([0081] and [FIG. 4]); and in cases of removing a thin wire
16

material provided with a conductive layer (for example, gold-plating) on its outer
peripheral surface by deforming the thin wire material so as to reduce a cross -sectional
area thereof, it is preferred to form a part where the conductive layer is not provided(masked part) on both ends of the thin wire material and to pull said part where theconductive layer is not provided, and thereby it becomes difficult for the pull forc e todirectly apply to the conductive layer, the conductive layer and the base wire material
can be easily separated, and it becomes difficult to destroy the adhesion between the
conductive layer and electrodeposit material ([0084] and [FIG. 6]).
In addition, referring to [FIG. 6], the thin wire material is exposed at both ends ofthe thin wire material and the part where both the conductive layer and theelectrodeposit material, etc. are not provided, in other words, a part where
electrodeposit material, etc. is not provided at both ends of the thin wire material isformed.
As described above, it can be said that the Description is found to make statements
concerning corrected matter 1 and the correction by adding corrected matter 1 is madewithin the matters stated in the Description.
(2) The Plaintiff's allegation
As stated in No. 3, 1. (1) above, the Plaintiff alleged as follows: in order forcorrected matter 1 not to fall under the addition of a new matter, both of the following
methods must be disclosed in the Description: [i] a method of providing masking to athin wire material so that electrodeposit material, etc. is not formed on both ends of thethin wire material from the beginning; and [ii] a method of forming electrodeposit
material, etc. on the thin wire material once and thenremoving the electrodeposit

material, etc. that was formed at both ends of the thin wire material ex -post facto;
however, at least method [ii] was not disclosed; and therefore, the correction by adding
corrected matter 1 falls under the addition of a new matter.
However, as stated in (1) above, the Description stated that thin wire material canbe easily removed by exposing the thin wire material at the end thereof. In addition,
Exhibit Ko 50 Document, which was issued in 1968, stated that a pipeline with adiameter of 1 mm or less is manufactured by electroforming. In concrete terms, thefollowing method is stated: after providing nickel-plating to a copper wire, the nickel
is removed from the end of the copper wire; the copper wire is gradually extended; after
the copper breaks, the broken pieces of the copper wire are removed, and thereby anickel pipeline is manufactured. In addition, there are multiple publicly known
documents issued around 2001 concerning a method of removing the coating fromcoated thin wire material (Exhibit Ko 21 Document and Exhibits Ko 22, 23, and 51).
17

Therefore, concerning the specific method of removing electrodeposit material, etc. andexposing thin wire material, it is found to be sufficient to use these methods that havebeen used conventionally or other appropriate method. Therefore, the addition ofcorrected matter 1, including the method [ii] above, is not seen as the addition of a newmatter.
Accordingly, the Plaintiff's allegation above is unacceptable.
(3) Summary
As described above, Grounds for Rescission 1 are groundless.
3. Grounds for Rescission 5 (Error in the determination related to the violation of theclarity requirements)
Grounds for Rescission 5 are examined based on the case below.
(1) Criteria
When a claim of a patent for an invention of a product states the manufacturing
process of the product, the statement of the claim should be held to meet therequirements that the 'claimed invention is clear' as prescribed in Article 36, paragraph(6), item (ii) of the Patent Act, only if there are circumstances where it was impossible
or utterly impractical to directly define the product subject to the invention by meansof its structure or characteristics at the time of the filing of the application (2 012 (Ju)1204, judgment of the Second Petty Bench of the Supreme Court, June 5, 2015, Minshu
Vol. 69, No. 4, at 700).
The basis for this view is as follows. When a claim of a patent for an invention of a
product states the manufacturing process of the product (product-by-process claim), thetechnical scope of the claimed invention is determined as being limited to products thathave the same structure, characteristics, etc. as those of the product manufactured by
the manufacturing process stated in the claim (the aforementioned Supreme Court
judgment). It is generally unclear what structure or characteristics of the product are
represented by the manufacturing process, or whether the technical scope of the claimed
invention is limited to products manufactured by the manufacturing process, although
the subject matter of the invention is the product, and this would prevent those whoread the statement of the claim, etc. from clearly understanding the content of theinvention and make it impossible for them to predict the scope of the exclusive right tobe conferred to the patentee, leading to unjustly harming the interests of third parties.
It then follows that, even in the case where the claim of a patent for an invention ofa product states the manufacturing process of the product, unlike the general casementioned above, if the structure or characteristics of the product to be manufacturedby that manufacturing process are unambiguously clear at the time of the filing of the18

application based on the statements of the claim, the description, and drawings, as wellas common general technical knowledge, the interests of third parties would not be
unjustly harmed; therefore, in such case, the claimed invention is not considered to bein violation of the clarity requirements even when there are no circumstances where it
is impossible or impractical to directly define the product by means of its structure or
characteristics.
(2) Examination
A. Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9 are inventions related to "an electroformed
tube." Invention 6 is specified by the manufacturing method of being "manufactured byforming an electrodeposit material or a surrounding material by electroforming arounda thin wire material that has, on the outer surface, a conductive layer made of a metalmaterial that is different from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material,
pulling the thin wire material from one end or both ends to deform it so as to reduce across-sectional area thereof, and forming a clearance between the deformed thin wirematerial and the conductive layer, and by pulling the deformed thin wire material andremoving the deformed thin wire material while leaving the conductive layer inside theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material." And Corrected Invention 9
includes a specification by the manufacturing method of being "manufactured byforming an electrodeposit material or a surrounding material by electroforming arounda thin wire material that has, on the outer surface, a conductive layer made of a metalmaterial that is different from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material,
forming parts without the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material at bothends of the thin wire material, pulling the thin wire material from one end or both ends
to deform the material so as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof, and forming aclearance between the deformed thin wire material and the conductive layer, and bypulling the deformed thin wire material and removing the deformed thin wire material
while leaving the conductive layer inside the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material."
B. Then, whether the structure or characteristics of an electroformed tube that is
manufactured by the manufacturing method of Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9,
in concrete terms, whether the inner surface precision of an electroformed tube allegedby the Defendant is unambiguously defined or not is examined below.
First, needless to say, the inner surface precision of the electroformed tube
manufactured by the manufacturing method of Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9
is not clear from what is stated in the claim, and the Description does not state or suggest
anything about the inner surface precision of the electroformed tube manufactured by19

the manufacturing method of Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9.
As the method of removing the thin wire material, the Description states thefollowing methods: [i] heating and thermally expanding the electrodeposit material, etc.
or cooling and contracting the thin wire material to form a clearance between theelectrodeposit material, etc. and the thin wire material; [ii] submerging the material intoa liquid or applying a liquid to the material, thereby making the place where the thi nwire material and the electrodeposit material, etc. are brought into contact slippery; [iii]pulling the material from one end or both ends, deforming the material so as to reducea cross-sectional area thereof, and forming the clearance between the thin wire material
and the electrodeposit material, etc., followed by holding and pulling the material,
sucking the material, physically pushing away the material, or blowing a gas or a liquid
to push away the material; or [iv] melting the material with heat or a solvent ([0041]
and [0116]). However, there is no statement of the technical relationship between the
aforementioned method and the inner surface precision of the manufactured
electroformed tube. Furthermore, there is no statement or suggestion that th e
manufacturing method as stated in Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9 (included inmethod [iii] above) means a specific inner surface precision that is different from thatof the electroformed tube manufactured by other methods. It is also not found th at there
was common general technical knowledge as to whether the inner surface precisiondiffers depending on the methods mentioned above.
Accordingly, it cannot be said that the structure or characteristics of theelectroformed tube manufactured by the manufacturing method of Invention 6 andCorrected Invention 9 are unambiguously clear.
C. For the reasons stated above, Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9 can beconsidered to be clear only if there are circumstances where it was impossible or
impractical to directly define the electroformed tube of Invention 6 and Corrected
Invention 9 by means of its structure or characteristics at the time when the Application
was filed. The Defendant admits that there are no such circumstances.
(3) Allegation of the Defendant
As stated in No. 3, 5. (2) B. above, the Defendant alleged as follows: the structureor characteristics of an electroformed tube that is manufactured by the manufacturingmethod of Inventions 5 and 9 can be understood from the statement in the Description
in that "a sufficient clearance is formed for removing the thin wire material between thethin wire material and the electrodeposit material, etc., and therefore, it is highly
possible that the thin wire material can be removed from the electrodeposit material,
etc. without any difficulties" ([0044]); and in consideration of the statements in the20documents (Exhibits Ko 1 and 2) and the content of the Test Production and Analysis
Report (Exhibit Ko 29), it is unambiguously obvious, based on the statements in theclaims and the Description, that the relevant tube shows the structure or characteristics
that the electroformed tube has good inner surface precision.
However, based on the statements of the Description [0044] as pointed out by the
Defendant, it can only be understood that if a sufficient clearance is formed forremoving the thin wire material between the thin wire material and the electrodeposit
material, etc., it is highly possible that the thin wire material can be removed from th eelectrodeposit material, etc. without any difficulties; however, it is impossible tounderstand to the extent that the electroformed tube manufactured by the manufacturingmethod of Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9 shows the structure or characteris ticsof an electroformed tube having good inner surface precision. In addition, thestatements in Exhibit Ko 1 Document and Exhibit Ko 2 Document as alleged by the
Defendant only state the difficulty of manufacturing, but not the inner surface precision.
The analysis results in the Test Production and Analysis Report (Exhibit Ko 29) do notindicate the common general technical knowledge at the time when the Application was
filed; and, it was not revealed at all that the content stated in said report was the common
general technical knowledge at the time when the Application was filed.
Given the above, it cannot be said to be unambiguously clear based on the claims,
statements in the Description, and common general technical knowledge that theelectroformed tube that is manufactured by the manufacturing method of Inventions 6
and 9 expresses the structure or characteristics of the electroformed tube with goodinner surface precision.
Accordingly, the Defendant's allegation above is unacceptable.
(4) Summary
As described above, it cannot be said that Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9 areclearly defined and the Grounds for Rescission 5 are well-founded.
4. Whether there are Grounds for Rescission 2 (Error in the determination related to theviolation of enablement requirements)(1) Examination
As stated in 3. above, since Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9 do not fulfill theclarity requirements and are invalid, Invention 1 and Corrected Invention 5 alone are
examined below (the same applies in 5. and 6. below.)
Concerning the manufacturing method of an electroformed tube, the detailed
explanation of the invention in the Description states that after electroforming a thinwire material using an electroforming device, deforming the thin wire m aterial by21

pulling it from one end or both ends so as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof,
forming a clearance between an electrodeposit material and the thin wire material, andthen removing the thin wire material by holding and pulling it, etc. ([0061] through[0114], [FIG. 1], [FIG. 6] through [FIG. 9]).
Furthermore, the following statements and figures are indicated or shown: if themethod of forming a large diameter part where the outer diameter is large is formed at
one end of an electrodeposit material and pulling the thin wire material, etc. is used, thethin wire material can be easily removed ([0076] and [FIG. 2]); when nearly 1,500
N/mm2 of pull force is applied outward on the thin wire material, it is only necessarythat the deformation amount of lateral strain is 5% or more of the cross-sectional area([0079]); if it is possible to electrodeposit around the thin wire material so that it has athickness of at least nearly 5 μm or more, an electroformed tube can be formed evenafter the thin wire material is removed ([0080]); when a thin wire material made ofstainless-steel and provided with a conductive layer (gold-plating) on its outer surface
is used, an electroformed tube on which gold-plating is provided on its inner peripheral
surface can be formed ([0081]); and in cases of removing a thin wire material provided
with a conductive layer (gold-plating) on its outer periphery by deforming it so as toreduce a cross-sectional area thereof, by forming a part where a conductive layer is notprovided on both ends of the thin wire material and pulling the part where a conductive
layer is not provided, it becomes difficult for the pull force to directly apply to the
conductive layer, the conductive layer and base wire material can be easily sepa rated,
it becomes difficult to destroy adhesion between the conductive layer and theelectrodeposit material; additionally, a figure wherein neither a conductive layer orelectrodeposit material, etc. is provided on both ends of the thin wire material and thethin wire material is exposed is shown ([0084] and [FIG. 6]).
It can be said that a person skilled in the art who came across these statements could
have understood the following: an electroformed tube can be manufactured by forming
an electrodeposit material, etc. around a thin wire material made of stainless-steel andprovided with a conductive layer, deforming the thin wire material by pulling it fromone end or both ends so as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof, forming a clearance
between the thin wire material and the conductive layer, and removing the deformed
thin wire material by holding and pulling it; and a thin wire material can be easily
removed by forming a large diameter part and exposing the thin wire material at the end
thereof or by arranging the thickness of the electrodeposit material or deformation
amount of the lateral strain of the thin wire material at appropriate values.
Based on the above, the detailed explanation of the invention in the Description is22

clearly and fully stated to the extent that a person skilled in the art can work Invention
1 and Corrected Invention 5.
(2) The Plaintiff's allegation
The Plaintiff alleged, as stated in No. 3, 2 (1) A. through C. above, that the
Description did not state or suggest thin wire material removal methods [i] through [iii]and these methods cannot be found as well-known art; therefore, a person skilled in theart is required to perform excessive trial and error to find a thin wire material removal
method that achieves the manufacturing method of an electroformed tube as stated in
Invention 1 and Corrected Invention 5.
However, it is not necessary at all to classify the removal methods into removal
methods [i] through [iii] as alleged by the Plaintiff and to state a concrete working
method for all of these methods respectively. As stated in (1) above, a person skilled in
the art who came across the statements of the Description could have understood thatthe thin wire material can be easily removed by exposing the thin wire material at theend thereof. In addition, as explained in 2. (2) above, concerning the specific methodof removing electrodeposit material, etc. and exposing the thin wire material, a person
skilled in the art has naturally understood that conventional methods or appropriate
methods are sufficient, and therefore, a person skilled in the art is not forced to perform
excessive trial and error.
Accordingly, the Plaintiff's allegation above is unacceptable.
(3) Summary
As described above, Grounds for Rescission 2 are groundless.
5. Whether there are Grounds for Rescission 3 (Error in the determination related to theviolation of support requirements)
As stated in 1. (2) above, the problem of Invention 1 and Correct ed Invention 5 isto provide a method of easily manufacturing tubes for contact probes, etc., and otherelectroformed tubes with a fine inner diameter that can be used as a component suitablefor conducting the electricity ([0003], [0006], and [0008] in the Description).
In addition, as stated in 1. (5) above, the Description states that an electroformed
tube is manufactured by electroforming a thin wire material using an electroforming
device, deforming the thin wire material by pulling it from one end or both ends so as
to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof, forming a clearance between an electrodeposit
material and the thin wire material, and then removing the thin wire material by holding
and pulling it, etc. ([0050] through [0070], [0073], [0075], [0076], [0078] through[0082], [0084], [FIG. 1], [FIG. 2], and [FIG. 6] in the Description).
And as stated in 1. (4) D. and (5) D. above, it is also stated that an electroformed
23

tube that can be used as a component suitable for conducting the electrici ty, such as
tubes for contact probes, etc., can be manufactured by using a thin wire material
provided with a conductive layer, such as gold-plating, etc., on the outer peripheral
surface and by removing the thin wire material so that the conductive layer remains on
the inner peripheral surface of the electroformed tube ([0045], [0081], and [0082]).
Based on the above, it can be said that a person skilled in the art who came acrossthe statements in the Description is considered to have understood the following:
concerning Invention 1 and Corrected Invention 5 that specify to deform a thin wirematerial by pulling it from one end or both ends so as to reduce a cross-sectional area
thereof, to form a clearance between the electrodeposit material and the th in wirematerial, to hold and pull the thin wire material, to form an electrodeposit material, etc.
around a stainless-steel thin wire material provided with a conductive layer on its outer
peripheral surface, and to remove the thin wire material while leaving the conductive
layer on the inner surface of the electrodeposit material, etc., they are within the rangethat can be found to solve the problem as stated in A. above based on the statements in
B. above. Therefore, Invention 1 and Corrected Invention 5 are considered to fulfill the
support requirements.
The Plaintiff alleged that Invention 1 and Corrected Invention 5 do not fulfill the
support requirements; however, the allegation cannot be accepted due to the same
reasons as 4. (2) above.
As described above, Grounds for Rescission 3 are groundless.
6. Whether there are Grounds for Rescission 4 (Error in the determination related to thelack of an inventive step)(1) Findings of Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention
The statements in Exhibit Ko 1 Document are as stated in Attachment 2 "Matters
indicated in Exhibit Ko 1 Document (Abstract)." According to the statements, it is foundthat Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention, which is almost the same content as found by the
JPO Decision, is at least stated. Despite the statement in Exhibit Ko 1 Document, "byproviding 10 μm gold-plating (resistivity: 2.05 × 10 -6Ωcm) to a stainless-steel wire witha circular cross-sectional shape, a diameter of 0.126 mm diameter, and a length of 355
mm; obtaining a core wire with a diameter of 0.136 mm" ([0023]), since when 10 μm
gold-plating is provided on the surface of a stainless-steel wire with a diameter of 0.126
mm, the core wire diameter is 0.146 mm (0.126 mm + 10 μm + 10 μm), the phrase,"core wire with a diameter of 0.136 mm," in the aforementioned statement is found to
be a misdescription of "core wire with a diameter of 0.146 mm". In addition, Exhibit
Ko 1 Document has statements that "Manufacturing method of a fine cylinder for24

forming metal ferrule" ([Title of the invention]) and manufacturing method(manufacturing process) of "... fine cylinder for forming a ferrule" ([Claim 1] through[Claim 4]). In consideration of what is shown in [FIG. 1] with said statements, Exhibit
Ko 1 Process Invention is not the "manufacturing method of a ferrule," but should be
more precisely stated to be an invention of a "manufacturing method of a fine cylinder
for forming a ferrule."
Therefore, Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention can be found at least to be the following
invention (a wavy line is provided for the part that is substantially different from Exhibit
Ko 1 Process Invention as found by the JPO Decision).
"A manufacturing method of a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule by providing 10 μm
gold-plating (resistivity: 2.05 × 10 -6 Ωcm) to a stainless-steel wire with a circular crosssectional shape, a diameter of 0.126 mm, and a length of 355 mm; obtaining a core wirewith a diameter of 0.146 mm; setting the core wire on an electroforming jig; setting anickel metal plate in an electroforming bath, of which the main ingredient is nickel
sulfamate; dipping the metal plate in the electroforming bath; setting the core wire as acathode and the nickel plate as an anode; providing electroforming at the current densityof approximately 10 A/dm 2 for 18 hours; and obtaining a nickel electroformed productwith a diameter of approximately 2.5 mm in average; andcutting the electroformed product to a length of 12 mm by NC automatic processing
machine; boring one end; setting the processed product vertically by facing the nonbored surface up; hitting the core wire with a hammer that has a projection from the top
in the wire punching machine; pulling part of the core wire that projects from beneaththe processed product; and thereby removing the core wire and grinding the end
surface."(2) Findings of Difference 4
Based on the findings of Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention as stated in (1) above, incases where gold-plating remains on the inner surface of an electroformed product, thethickness of the nickel electroformed product with a diameter of approximately 2.5 mm
in Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention is calculated by deducting the diameter of the corewire alone and the result is approximately 1.187 mm [(2.5 mm - 0.126 mm)/2], and incases where gold-plating does not remain at all on the inner surface of the electroformed
product, it is calculated by deducting the core wire diameter and gold-plating thickness
and the result is approximately 1.177 mm [(2.5 mm - 0.146 mm)/2].
Based on the above, Invention 1 and Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention are different
at least in the following Difference 4C and the difference includes Difference 4B (awavy line is provided for the part that is substantially different from Difference 4B that25

was alleged by the Plaintiff).
(Difference 4C)"Concerning the 'thickness' of 'the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material' in Invention 1, 'the thickness of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material is 50 µm or less,' while in Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention, the 'thickness' of'the electroformed product' is approximately 1.177 mm (1177 μm) or approximately
1.187 mm (1187 μm)."
The findings of Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention and Difference 4 were changed asstated above; however, this point does not have an impact on the following conclusion.
(3) Whether a person skilled in the art could have easily conceived of Difference 4C
A. The ease in conceiving of Difference 4C is examined below based on Difference C.
Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention is related to the manufacturing method of a finecylinder for forming a metal ferrule. A ferrule that is used in the telecommunications
field has a microporous pipe, which is provided with pores with a diameter ofapproximately 0.126 mm, an outer diameter of 2.5 mm, and a length of approximately
12 mm, and that is a component for surely securing a thin and fragile optical fiber witha thickness of approximately 0.125 mm ( [0002] and [0003] in Exhibit Ko 1 Document).
It had been publicly known that pore pipes were manufactured by electroforming;
however, there were the following problems: since the inner diameter of a ferrule isvery thin, it is difficult to dissolve the core wire with etching solution and the core wire
easily becomes broken when pulling it out ([0005] and [0006]); and concerning themethod of manufacturing a ferrule by electroforming nickel, etc. on the outer surface
of a core wire (stainless-steel wire) with a diameter of 0.126 mm and cutting it, andthen pulling out the core wire, the longer the core wire length is, the more uneven theouter diameter of the obtained electroformed product tends to become since the current
density becomes small at the part of the core wire that is distant from the power source([0007] and [0008]). Based on these problems, Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention is toprovide an efficient method of manufacturing a fine cylinder with an even outer
diameter and a small inner diameter for the purpose of forming a high coaxial ferrule
when manufacturing a microporous pipe for a ferrule with a long length and a small
diameter of 0.126 mm by electroforming ([0001] and [0009]).
B. Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention is an invention related to a manufacturing method ofa fine cylinder for forming a ferrule. Generally, the fact that a ferrule or a fine cylinder
for forming a ferrule has an inner diameter of 0.126 mm and a diameter of 2 mm to 2.5
mm is found to be common general technical knowledge at the time when the
Application was filed (Exhibits Ko 1, 22, 23, 84 through 88, and 94). Based on this fact,
26

the thickness is generally found to be approximately 1187 μm [(2.5 mm - 0.126 mm)/2]
through approximately 937 μm [(2.0 mm - 0.126 mm)/2]. It is difficult to find that aperson skilled in the art considers, based on the aforementioned thickness , that the
thickness of a ferrule, which is a component for securing an optical fiber, or a finecylinder for forming a ferrule can be naturally changed to 50 μm or less, which isapproximately one-twentieth or less than the thickness in common general technicalknowledge.
Based on the above, in Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention, which is a method of
efficiently manufacturing a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule, there is absolutely no
motivation to change the thickness of "approximately 1.177 mm (1177 μm)" or"approximately 1.187 mm (1187 μm)" to "50 μm or less."
Therefore, a person skilled in the art could not have easily conceived of Difference
4. In addition, since Difference 4B that is alleged by the Plaintiff is Difference 4C after
deleting part of the alternative descriptions, if Difference 4C consisting of both of thealternative descriptions could not have been easily conceived of by a person skilled in
the art, it is obvious that Difference 4B, which is part of the alternative descriptions,
could not have been easily conceived of by a person skilled in the art.
Accordingly, in any case, there is no error in the determination of the JPO Decisionin that it determined that Invention 1 cannot be easily made based on Exhibit Ko 1
Process Invention.
(4) The Plaintiff's allegation
A. As stated in No. 3, 4. (1) A. (B) a. above, the Plaintiff alleged that since the numericallimitation of "50 μm or less" in Invention 1 is determined arbitrarily, has no technicalmeaning, and is not specified to cause any qualitatively different effects or criticalsignificance, it could have easily been conceived of by a person skilled in the art toadopt the structure of Invention 1 related to Difference 4 in accordance with thecommon general technical knowledge at the time when the Application was filed thatthe thickness of a metal electroformed tube should be set at 50 μm or less.
However, as stated in (1) above, Invention 1 is related to a manufacturing methodof an electroformed tube that can be used as a tube for probe devices. The electroformed
tube is required to increase the number of contact probes (increasing the number ofpins), to reduce wire diameter (thinning the wire), and to reduce the interval between
the contact probes (narrowing the pitch) in order to respond to the latest integrated
circuits. When the Application was filed, a tube with an outer diameter of 110 μm andan inner diameter of 88 μm was considered to be the smallest in the world. However,additional reduction in size is required ([0003]). Therefore, the tube diameter must be27finer. In order to meet the requirements, in addition to the fine inner diameter of thetube, thin tube thickness is also essential requirement. Invention 1 is an invention
related to this technology field. Based on the above, the fact that the tube thickness is
considerably thin has technical meaning as particulars for identifying the invention ofan electroformed tube thickness in Invention 1. This cannot be regarded as a matter ofdesign variation that is arbitrarily implemented by a person skilled in the art. Therefore,
specific motivation is required to specify the numerical limitation as "50 μm or less"and it cannot be considered that if there is a common general technical knowledge todetermine a metal electroformed tube thickness to be 50 μm or less, it can immediately
lead to find motivation.
Accordingly, the Plaintiff's allegation above is unacceptable.
B. As stated in No. 3, 4. (1) A. (B) b. above, the Plaintiff alleged that since Exhibit Ko1
Document treats the manufacturing method of a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule anda manufacturing method of general pore tubes as a common technology field, replacing
the manufacturing method of a ferrule in Exhibit Ko 1 Process Invention with the
manufacturing method of a general pore tubes could have been easily conceived of bya person skilled in the art and there are actually ferrules with a thickness of 0.15 mm.
Even if there are common parts in pore tube manufacturing methods and those parts
exist as cross-sectional common general technical knowledge, concerning the
manufacturing method in the Exhibit Ko 1 Process invention, if there is no need toreduce the thickness, there is no motivation to reduce the thickness using said
technology in the first place. In addition, concerning the manufacturing method of afine cylinder for forming a ferrule, which is a component to secure an optical fiber, inExhibit Ko 1 Process Inversion, it is difficult to find that reduction of the ferrule
thickness related to the manufacturing is in the direction of development of ferrule
manufacturing methods. Accordingly, the Plaintiff's allegation in this regard is not
appropriate.
Exhibit Ko 1 Document cited Exhibit Ko 25 Document (stating a manufacturingmethod of "a feed tube to distribute a propellant, such as hydrazine, etc., in a propulsion
unit, such as a rocket, satellite, etc." ([0002])) and Exhibit Ko 3 Document (stating a
manufacturing method of a hollow structure categorized in micro-parts, such as an
optical switch, etc. ([0001], [0006], and [0032])) ([0005] and [0014] in Exhibit Ko 1
Document). However, regarding the pore tube manufacturing method in Exhibit Ko 25
Document, while Exhibit Ko 1 Document stated that "when manufacturing a metal
ferrule for optical fiber connectors, this method can be used in principle," it also states
as follows: "The problem is that since the inner diameter of a ferrule is approximately
28

0.126 mm, which is very thin, it is extremely difficult to dissolve the core wire of a finecylinder for forming a ferrule with etching solution. In addition, the core wire easily
becomes broken when pulling it out." ([0006] in Exhibit Ko 1 Document) Therefore, it
should be regarded as stating problems when manufacturing a ferrule by using thetechnologies stated in Exhibit Ko 25 Document and, rather, it can be understood thatthe technology field in Exhibit Ko 1 Document and the technology field of Exhibit Ko
25 Document are stated by distinguishing them. In addition, Exhibit Ko 1 Docu ment
cited the manufacturing method of the hollow structure in Exhibit Ko 3 Document only
as an example of documents disclosing the technology of manufacturing a pipe with afine diameter by electroforming and removing core material by etching ([0014]) anddoes not state to handle the technology stated in Exhibit Ko 1 Document and thetechnology stated in Exhibit Ko 3 Document as technologies in a common technology
field, etc. Furthermore, Exhibit Ko 94 Document discloses the technology related tometal ferrules based on the assumption that they are used for optical fiber connectors([0001] and [0002]), and states as follows: "The outer diameter of the optical fiber is
specified to be 0.125 mm by the standard, and therefore, the inner diameter of a ferrule
is approximately 0.126 mm. The length of the ferrule is approximately 12 mm and theouter diameter is approximately 2.5 mm." ([0007]). Thus, it does not suggest to reduce
the thickness of a ferrule.
In addition, it is seen that there was a product that is called "ferrule" with a tube
thickness of 0.15 mm at the time when the Application was filed (Exhibit Ko 108 -1);
however, its inner diameter is 1.1 mm (1100 μm) to 10.30 mm (10300 μm) and it isfound to be a ferrule for electric wires (Exhibits Ko 108-2 and 109). They are found to
be totally different in use from a ferrule that is to be manufactured using a fine cylinder
for forming a ferrule related to the manufacturing method in Exhibit Ko 1 Process
Invention.
Consequently, the aforementioned Plaintiff's allegation also cannot be accepted.
(5) Corrected Invention 5
Corrected Invention 5 specifies forming of a part where the electrodeposit material,
etc. is not formed on both ends of a thin wire material, the electrodeposit material, etc.
made of nickel, and the conductive layer made by gold-plating, in addition to thespecification in Invention 1. There is at least Difference 4C with Exhibit Ko 1 Process
Invention. Therefore, based on the same reasons as Invention 1, Corrected Invention 5
could not have been easily conceived of by a person skilled in the art based on Exhibit
Ko 1 Process Invention and common general technical knowledge. Consequently, in
any case, there is no error in the determination of the JPO Decision.
29

(6) Summary
As described above, Grounds for Rescission 4 are groundless.
7. Conclusion
As described above, since Grounds for Rescission 5 are well-founded, part of the
JPO Decision related to Invention 6 and Corrected Invention 9 is rescinded. Since othergrounds for rescission are groundless, the request for rescission of the part related toInvention 1 and Corrected Invention 5 is dismissed. The judgment is rendered asindicated in the main text.
Intellectual Property High Court, Fourth Division
Presiding judge: KANNO Masayuki
Judge: MOTOYOSHI Hiroyuki
Judge: NAKAMURA Kyo

30

(Attachment 1)
Matters stated in the Description (Abstract)(The part with a statement of "▲1▼," etc. was replaced with "[i]," etc. Underlined parts
indicate corrected parts by the Previous-instance Correction.)[Detailed explanation of the invention][0001][Technical field of the invention]
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electroformed tube
and an electroformed tube, and a thin wire material for manufacturing the electroformed
tube, and, in more detail, it relates to a manufacturing method of an electroformed tube
with a fine inner diameter and an electroformed tube. In addition, the present invention
relates to thin wire material for manufacturing an electroformed tube with a fine innerdiameter.
[0002][Prior arts and their problems]Conventionally, when an integrated circuit, such as an LSI, etc., is manufactured,inspection is conducted to ensure that the semiconductor pattern is completed as
designed and that electric continuity is good. This inspection is performed using adevice with multiple contact probes (referred to as a "probe device" in the Description)and by having it touch to each electrode forming the pins of the contact probe. The
contact probe has a structure in which a spring is provided inside an ultra -fine tube
having the required length and a pin is provided so as to be retractable into the tube.
[0003]
Recently, the development of semiconductor manufacturing technology has beenremarkable, and the density of integration tends to increase. In association with these[changes/trends], in order to respond to the latest integrated circuits with probe devices
to inspect the electric continuity of electrodes, it is required to increase the number ofcontact probes (increasing the number of pins), to reduce wire diameter (thinning thewire), and to reduce the interval between the contact probes (narrowing the pitch). A
tube for current contact probes having an outer diameter of 110 μm and an innerdiameter of 88 μm is regarded to be the smallest in the world (see, for example, Non patent Document 1).
However, as described above, semiconductor manufacturing technology has
evolved more and more, and it is required to miniaturize the contact probes even further.
[0004]In addition, the need for a tube with a fine inner diameter is increasing also in fields
31

other than the semiconductor industry, such as the fields of biotechnology and medicalcare, etc.
In other words, the development of said tube having a fine inner diameter is strongly
demanded throughout the entire industry.
[0005]The present inventor has conducted research on electroforming and has succeededin manufacturing a small-diameter tube by electroforming in the past. The
electroformed tube manufactured at that time has a hollow part with a circular cross sectional shape and an inner diameter of 126 μm (see, for example, Patent Document1). Therefore, the present inventor obtained the idea that a tube with a fine innerdiameter (hollow part) for a contact probe can be manufactured using electroforming
technology.
[0006]
Further research led the present inventor to success in depositing a minimum of 5
μm metallic film on the outer surface of thin wire material using thin wire material witha diameter of 10 μm to 85 μm. Thus, the present inventor found that a tube with a finediameter (hollow part) can be manufactured if the aforementioned thin wire material
can be removed from the metal.
However, removing the thin wire from the electrodeposited (deposited) metal was
not easy because the electrodeposited metal adhered to the outer surface of the thin wirematerial.
[0008](Objective of the present invention)
The objectives of the present invention are:[i] to provide a manufacturing method of an electroformed tube with a fine innerdiameter, an electroformed tube, and a thin wire material to manufacture theelectroformed tube;[ii] to provide the manufacturing method of an electroformed tube wherein a thin wirematerial can be easily removed by arranging the material so that a jig or tool, etc. canbe get caught on the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material when removing
the thin wire material from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material;[iii] to provide the manufacturing method of an electroformed tube, an electroformed
tube, and thin wire material to manufacture the electroformed tube by providing a
conductive layer, such as a gold-plating, etc., on the inner surface so that electric
conductivity is higher than in the case of an electrodeposit material or surrounding
material alone;32...
[v] to provide the manufacturing method of an electroformed tube with multiple hollow
parts and an electroformed tube;...
[vii] to provide the manufacturing method of an electroformed tube in which it becomesdifficult for the pull force to directly apply to the conductive layer that is provided on
the inner surface, the conductive layer and the base wire material can be easily separated,
and it becomes difficult to destroy the adhesion between the conductive layer and theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material when removing the thin wirematerial.
[0011][Means of solving problems]
The means used by the present invention to achieve the aforementioned objectives
are stated below:
Concerning the first invention,a manufacturing method of an electroformed tube, which is a method of
manufacturing an electroformed tube by forming an electrodeposit material or asurrounding material by electroforming around a thin stainless-steel wire material thathas, on the outer surface, a conductive layer made of a metal material that is different
from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material, and by removing the thinwire material while leaving the conductive layer on the inner surface of theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material, which is characterized by;wherein the conductive layer is formed by electrolytic plating and has a higher
electric conductivity than the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material; andwherein the thin wire material is pulled from one end or both ends to deform it so as toreduce a cross-sectional area thereof, and a clearance between the deformed thin wirematerial and the conductive layer is formed, and the deformed thin wire material isremoved by holding and pulling it, and thereby an electroformed tube wherein athickness of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is 50 μm or less ismanufactured.
[0018]
Concerning the fifth invention,a manufacturing method of an electroformed tube related to the first invention
characterized by;wherein the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is made of nickel
and the conductive layer is made of gold.
33

[0027]
Concerning the sixth invention,
an electroformed tube manufactured by forming an electrodeposit material or asurrounding material by electroforming around a thin wire material that has, on theouter surface, a conductive layer made of a metal material that is different from theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material, pulling the thin wire material fromone end or both ends to deform it so as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof, andforming a clearance between the deformed thin wire material and the conductive layer,
and by pulling the deformed thin wire material and removing the deformed thin wirematerial while leaving the conductive layer inside the electrodeposit material or thesurrounding material, which is characterized by;wherein the conductive layer has a higher electric conductivity than theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material; andwherein the inner shape of a hollow part formed by removing the thin wire material
has a circular cross-sectional shape or a polygonal cross-sectional shape, and thethickness of the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is 5 µm or more and50 µm or less.
...
Concerning the ninth invention,
An electroformed tube related to the sixth or seventh invention characterized by;wherein the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is made of nickel
and the conductive layer is made of gold.
[0041](Functions)
According to the present invention, the thin wire material can be removed from theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material that is formed by electroforming.
The thin wire material can be removed by any of the following methods: [i] heating
and thermally expanding the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material or
cooling and contracting the thin wire material to form a clearance between theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material and the thin wire material; [ii]submerging the material into a liquid or applying a liquid to the material, thereby
making the place where the thin wire material and the electrodeposit material or thesurrounding material are brought into contact slippery; [iii] pulling the material fromone end or both ends, deforming the material so as to reduce a cross-sectional area
thereof, and forming the clearance between the thin wire material and the electrodeposit
material or the surrounding material, followed by holding and pulling the material,
34

sucking the material, physically pushing away the material, or blowing a gas or a liquid
to push away the material; or [iv] melting or dissolving the material with heat or asolvent.
[0042]
If the aforementioned methods are used when removing the thin wire material, thethin wire material can be removed, for example, by using a thin wire material with adiameter of 10 μm to 85 μm, even from the electrodeposit material or surrounding
material that is formed so that the thin wire material has a thickness of 5 μm or more
and 50 μm or less on its outer surface. Therefore, by using the thin wire material
removal method, for example, an electroformed tube with a fine inner diameter that canbe used as a tube for a contact probe can be manufactured.
[0043]
According to a method of manufacturing an electroformed tube by increasing thevolume of electrodeposit material or surrounding material on the end side that is formedon the thin wire material, for example, when removing the thin wire material by pulling
it out from or pushing it away from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material, a jig or tool, etc. can get caught on the end surface of the part where theamount of the electrodeposit material and the surrounding material was increased.
Therefore, in this case, the thin wire material can be removed while securing theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material, and therefore, the thin wire material
can be easily removed.
[0044]
According to the manufacturing method of an electroformed tube wherein the
deformation amount of lateral strain when a thin wire material is extended by pulling it
outward is arranged to be 5% or more of the cross-sectional area, a sufficient clearance
is formed for removing the thin wire material between the thin wire material and theelectrodeposit material or the surrounding material. Therefore, it is highly possible toremove the thin wire material from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material without any difficulties. If the deformation amount of lateral strain is 5% orless of the cross-sectional area, the clearance is insufficient and there may be cases
where a hindrance occurs when removing the thin wire material.
[0045]
According to a manufacturing method of an electroformed tube by using a thin wirematerial where the conductive layer is provided on the outer surface and by removing
the thin wire material so that the conductive layer is left on the inner surface of t heelectroformed tube, an electroformed tube provided with a gold-plating, etc. on its inner35

surface can be manufactured. The aforementioned electroformed tube, for example, canbe arranged to have a higher electric conductivity than in the case of an electrodeposit
material or surrounding material alone, depending on the material of the conductive
layer that is provided on the inner surface. In this case, said electroformed tube can beused as a component that is suitable for conducting the electricity.
An electroformed tube with a higher electric conductivity than in the case of anelectrodeposit material or surrounding material alone can be manufactured in the sameway for an electroformed tube wherein a conductive layer that is made of a material
different from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is provided on its
inner surface or for a thin wire material wherein a conductive layer made of a material
different from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is provid ed on its
outer surface.
[0047]A product with multiple pieces of hollow parts that are formed by removing a thinwire material can be used by replacing with a component that were manufactured byaligning multiple tubes that has only one hollow part. When using the electroformed
tube, it can eliminate time and effort needed to align and set individual tubes. In addition,
since the intervals between the hollow parts are secured by the electrodeposit materialor the surrounding material, they are not misaligned.
[0049]
Concerning a thin wire material with a part where a conductive layer is not provided
formed on both ends, if the part where the conductive layer is not provided is pulled
outward, it becomes difficult for the pull force to directly apply to the conductive layer,
the conductive layer and the base wire material can be easily separated, and it becomesdifficult to destroy the adhesion between the conductive layer and the electrodeposit
material or the surrounding material.
[0050][Embodiment of the invention]
The embodiment of the present invention is explained in additional detail based on
the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing an example of anelectroforming device to manufacture an electroformed tube related to the present
invention.
First, the electroforming device to manufacture an electroformed tube is explained.
[0051]
Electroforming device 100 has electroforming bath 10 and outer bath 11, which36stores electroforming bath 10 inside it. Electroforming bath 10 and outer bath 11 havean open top and electrolytic solution (electroforming solution) 20 is always supplied toelectroforming bath 10 during operation. In this manner, electrolytic solution 20
overflows from the top of electroforming bath 10 and flows into outer bath 11. Aselectrolytic solution 20 in the present embodiment, for example, nickel sulfamate
solution combined with a brightening agent and a pitting prevention agent is used.
[0052]
Electrolytic solution 20 that overflows from electroforming bath 10 and flows into
outer bath 11, is filtered by a filtration device (not shown in the figure) and then is
supplied again into electroforming bath 10. In other words, electrolytic solution 20
constantly circulates between electroforming bath 10 and outer bath 11 during operation.
In addition, a publicly known means can be used as a means to supply electrolytic
solution 20 into electroforming bath 10 (not shown in the figure).
[0053]
Electrolytic solution 20 for the part overflowing from the top of electroforming bath
10 in the present embodiment is called overflow part 12 for convenience. In
electroforming device 100, electroforming is implemented in overflow part 12.
Electroforming procedures will be described later.
[0054]
Under electroforming bath 10, horizontal adjuster 13 is provided. Horizontal
adjuster 13 maintains electroforming bath 10 nearly horizontally, thereby nearlyhorizontal overflow part 12 is formed over the entire top of electroforming bath 10 andelectrolytic solution 20 can be distributed uniformly to locations in overflow part 12.
[0055]
Code 4 indicates a holding jig for holding thin wire material 30, which becomes amold component (base material) for electroforming. Holding jig 4 includes horizontal
component 40 with the required length, and a pair of suspended components 41 and 41
that are suspended on both ends of horizontal component 40. Holding jig 4 is provided
so that suspended components 41 and 41 are positioned on the sides of electroforming
bath 10.
[0056]
Stick-type wire material securing components 42 and 43 with the required length
are provided on suspended components 41 and 41 by extending out nearly in thehorizontal direction respectively. Wire material securing components 42 and 43 areprovided on suspended components 41 and 41 in a rotatable manner. Electrode 44 isprovided at the end of the wire material securing component 42 on the electroforming
37

bath 10 side. In addition, at the end of another wire material securing component 43 on
the electroforming bath 10 side, tension device 45 that pulls thin wire material 30 andelectrode 44 are provided. One end and the other end of thin wire material 30 are
secured respectively on wire material securing components 42 and 43 in a tensioned
state by tension device 45.
[0057]
Rotating shaft 46 is provided in a rotatable manner between suspended components
41 and 41. Code 47 indicates a driving motor that drives rotating shaft 46. Rotating
shaft 46 penetrates suspended components 41 and 41 and gears 480 and 481 are secured
on both ends of rotating shaft 46.
[0058]
Wire material securing components 42 and 43 above are provided by penetrating
through suspended components 41 and 41. Gear 482 is secured on wire material
securing component 42, which penetrates through suspended component 41. In the samemanner, gear 483 is secured on wire material securing component 43, which penetrates
through suspended component 41. In this manner, gear 480 and gear 482, and gear 481
and gear 483 are engaged. Accordingly, when driving motor 47 is operated and gears
480 and 481 are rotated along with rotating shaft 46, gears 482 and 483 and wirematerial securing components 42 and 43 are rotated, and thereby thin wire material 30
can be rotated. The rotational speed of thin wire material 30 is not particularly limited.
For example, it is controlled to be 15 r.p.m. or less.
[0059]At the outer end of wire material securing components 42 and 43, conductive
electrode contact components 49 and 49 are provided respectively. When h olding jig 4
is provided on top of electroforming bath 10, electrode contact components 49 and 49
come into contact with electrode units 14 and 14 that are provided between
electroforming bath 10 and outer bath 11. Electrode units 14 and 14 are connected t o anegative electrode of the power source. Accordingly, electrode contact components 49
and 49 are electrically connected to the negative electrode of the power source while
coming into contact with electrode units 14 and 14.
[0060]
Code 15 indicates an electrode unit that is electrically connected to the positiveelectrode of the power source. Electrode unit 15 is provided at the bottom ofelectroforming bath 10. For example, concerning electrode unit 15, a mesh or perforatedcase made of titanium steel can be used in which a metallic pellet for electroforming(for example, nickel pellet) is stored.
38

[0061]
The manufacturing method of an electroformed tube using electroforming device
100 is explained below.
First, one end and the other end of thin wire material 30 are secured on wire material
securing components 42 and 43 respectively and thin wire material 30 is tensed between
wire material securing components 42 and 43. At this time, electrolytic solution 20 is
supplied into electroforming bath 10, overflows from the top of electroforming bath 10(forming overflow part 12), and flows into outer bath 11. In addition, the overflow part
12 is adjusted so that electroforming bath 10 is set nearly horizontally by horizontal
adjuster 13 and electrolytic solution 20 is distributed uniformly to each location.
[0062]In the present embodiment, thin wire material 30 is made of stainless -steel having
nearly a circular cross-section with a diameter of 50 μm, and the deformation amountof lateral stretch is 10% of the cross-sectional area when nearly 1,500 N/mm 2 of pullforce is applied outward.
[0063]
Next, driving motor 47 is operated to rotate gears 480 and 481 along with rotating
shaft 46. Thereby, gears 482 and 483 and wire material securing components 42 and 43
are rotated and then thin wire material 30 rotates.
[0064]
Electrode contact components 49 and 49 come into contact with electrode units 14
and 14; suspended components 41 and 41 are positioned on the sides of electrofor mingbath 10; and thin wire material 30 alone is dipped in overflow part 12. Since electrodeunit 15 is electrically connected to the positive electrode of the power source whenelectrode contact components 49 and 49 come into contact with electrode units 14 and14, thin wire material 30 is electrically connected to the negative electrode of the powersource and electroforming starts. In this manner, metal (nickel [by/according to]electrolytic solution 20 indicated in the present embodiment) is electrodepo sited(deposited) around thin wire material 30. The metal to be electrodeposited around thinwire material 30 is an electrodeposit material (or surrounding material).
[0065]
Thin wire material 30 is dipped in overflow part 12 for the required time, andelectroforming is performed until the outer diameter of an electrodeposited metal
becomes nearly 70 μm over the whole length. When the target outer diameter isachieved, thin wire material 30 is taken out from overflow part 12 and electroforming
is stopped. The amount of electrodeposition of the metal (deposition amount), in other39

words, the thickness of metal electrodeposited on the thin wire material can becontrolled in advance by electric current, electric voltage, electroforming time, etc.
[0066]
In electroforming device 100, overflow part 12 is adjusted so that electrolytic
solution 20 is uniformly distributed at each location, and since thin wire material 30 isrotated, even if a nonuniform part of the current density is generated in electrolytic
solution 20, differences in metal electrodeposition status (deposition status) in thin wirematerial 30 hardly occur. Therefore, metal is electrodeposited around thin wire material
30 so as to have a nearly uniform thickness over the entire length. Thus, anelectroformed tube with high precision can be manufactured by only removing thin wirematerial 30.
[0067]In addition, electroforming device 100 performs electroforming at overflow part 12,
and overflow electrolyte solution 20 circulates by returning to electroforming bath 10
again. In other words, during electroforming, it is only necessary to form overflow part12, and therefore, electroforming can be implemented with a small amount ofelectrolytic solution 20.
[0068]
In electroforming device 100, since wire material securing components 42 and 43
that secure thin wire material 30 are provided outside overflow part 12, wire material
securing components 42 and 43 are not dipped into electrolytic solution 20. Therefore,
wire material securing components 42 and 43, etc. do not react with electrolytic solution
20 to generate impurities. In addition, electrolytic solution 20 is unlikely to be takenout while adhering to wire material securing components 42 and 43, etc. and electrolytic
solution 20 is not wastefully reduced from electroforming bath 10.
[0069]
Then, thin wire material 30 around which metal is electrodeposited is removed fromwire material securing components 42 and 43 and thin wire material 30 is removed fromelectrodeposit material (surrounding material) that is formed at the end.
[0070]
Since electrodeposit material adheres to the outer surface of thin wire material 30,
it is difficult to remove thin wire material 30 simply by holding, pulling, sucking,physically pushing away, or pushing away by ejecting a gas or a liquid. Accordingly,
thin wire material 30 is removed by any of the following methods (1) to (4).
[0071](1) The electrodeposit material is heated and thermally expanded, or thin wire material40

30 is cooled and contracted, and thereby a clearance is formed between theelectrodeposit material and thin wire material 30, and thin wire material 30 is removed
by any of the methods of holding and pulling it, sucking it, physically pushing it away,or pushing it away by ejecting a gas or a liquid.
[0072](2) The part where thin wire material 30 and the electrodeposit material are brought
into contact is formed to be slippery by dipping the material into a liquid in which
detergent has been dissolved or by applying the liquid. Then, thin wire material 30 isremoved by any of the methods of holding and pulling it, sucking it, physically pushing
it away, or pushing it away by ejecting a gas or a liquid.
[0073](3) Thin wire material 30 is pulled from one end or both ends to deform it so a s to
reduce a cross-sectional area thereof. Then, a clearance is formed between theelectrodeposit material and thin wire material 30 and thin wire material 30 is removed
by any methods of holding and pulling it, sucking it, physically pushing it away, or
pushing it away by ejecting a gas or a liquid.
[0074](4) Thin wire material 30 is removed by melting it by heat or by dissolving it in an
alkaline solution or acidic solution, etc.
[0075]
By removing thin wire material 30 in this manner, an electroformed tube with a fineinner diameter (hollow part) is manufactured by the remaining electrodeposit material.
This electroformed tube can be used as a tube for a contact probe, etc.
[0076]In the present embodiment, a thin wire material is removed from electrodeposit
material having a nearly uniform thickness over its entire length, but it is not limited
thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, large diameter part 500 having a large outer
diameter may be formed on one end of electrodeposit material 50 and thin wire material
30 can be removed by any of the methods of holding and pulling it, sucking it,
physically pushing it away, or pushing it away by ejecting a gas or a liquid. By forming
large diameter part 500 in this manner, when pulling thin wire material 30 out or
pushing it away, a jig or tool can get caught on the end surface of large diameter part500. Therefore, in this case, thin wire material 30 can be removed while securing theelectrodeposit material, and therefore, the thin wire material can be easily removed. In
addition, an operation to increase the electrodeposited amount on a part may be
performed by transferring to another electroforming device.
41

[0077]
In addition, in the above-described embodiment, thin wire material with a diameterof 50 μm and nearly a circular cross-section is used as thin wire material 30. However,
the thickness and the cross-sectional shape of the thin wire material are not limited
thereto. ...
[0078]
It has been found in experiments conducted by the present inventors that, if theaforementioned thin wire material has a nearly circular cross-sectional shape, when its
outer diameter is 10 μm or more and 85 μm or less, and if the outer shape is a polygonalcross-section shape, when its inscribed circle diameter is 10 μm or more and 85 μm orless, the thin wire material can be used for manufacturing an electroformed tube with afine inner diameter.
[0079]In addition, as thin wire material 30 indicated in the present embodiment, a thinwire material is used with which the deformation amount of lateral stretch is 10% of
the cross-sectional area when nearly 1,500 N/mm 2 of pull force is applied outward.
However, the deformation amount of lateral strain of the thin wire material is notparticularly limited thereto. According to experiments conducted by the present
inventors, it seems to be acceptable if the deformation amount is at least 5% or more of
the cross-sectional area.
[0080]In the present embodiment, an electroformed tube is formed by electrodepositing
metal at a thickness of nearly 10 μm around thin wire material 30 with nearly a circularcross-sectional shape and a diameter of 50 μm so that the total outer diameter becomes
nearly 70 μm; however, the thickness of the electrodeposited metal is not particularly
limited thereto. According to experiments conducted by the present inventors, it is
known that if it is possible to electrodeposit around thin wire material 30 so that it hasa thickness of at least nearly 5 μm, an electroformed tube can be formed even after thinwire material 30 is removed.
[0081]In the present embodiment, thin wire material 30 made of stainless-steel is used andmetal is directly electrodeposited around thin wire material 30. However, if a thin wirematerial which can be used in electroforming device 100 is arranged to be conductive,
it is not particularly limited. For example, it is possible to use a thin wire material
wherein the core part is made of metal or synthetic resin, etc. and a conductive layer(plating (metallic layer (film)) or carbon, etc.) is provided on its outer surface, etc. By
42using such thin wire material, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, in cases where
electrodeposit material 52 is formed on thin wire material 32 provided with gold-plating
321 on its outer peripheral surface, base wire material 320 alone can be removed whileleaving gold-plating 321 on the inner peripheral surface of electrodeposit material 52.
In this case, an electroformed tube provided with gold-plating 321 on its innerperipheral surface can be formed.
[0082]
An electroformed tube provided with gold-plating 321 on its inner peripheral
surface can have a higher electric conductivity than in the case where gold-plating 321
is not provided. Therefore, for example, it can be used as a component suitable for
conducting the electricity, such as a tube for a contact probe, etc.
[0083]
Furthermore, for example, a thin wire material that is provided with a conductive
layer by the aforementioned plating, etc. and is provided another conductive layer madeof a material different from that of said conductive layer on the outer peripheral side ofsaid conductive layer can also be used. ...
[0084]As described above, in cases of removing the thin wire material provided with aconductive layer (for example, gold-plating) on its outer periphery from deposited metal
by deforming the thin wire material so as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof, it ispreferable to form a part where the conductive layer (for example, gold-plating 340) is
not provided on both ends of thin wire material 34 as shown in FIG. 6 (masked parts
341 and 341) and then to pull the part where the conductive layer is not provided. Then,it becomes difficult for the pull force to directly apply to the conductive layer, theconductive layer and the base wire material can be easily separated, and it becomesdifficult to destroy the adhesion between the conductive layer and electrodeposit
material 54.
[0085]
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing other examples of anelectroforming device to manufacture an electroformed tube related to the present
invention;
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective explanatory view showing a manufacturing jig to
be used in the electroforming device shown in FIG. 7; andFIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional explanatory view showing an electroformed
tube to be manufactured using the manufacturing jig shown in FIG. 8.
Electroforming device 101 is a type wherein a thin wire material is provided in the43

longitudinal direction (in the vertical direction in FIG. 7) in a tensioned state.
[0086]
Electroforming device 101 has electroforming bath 60. Electroforming bath 60 has
bath unit 61 inside and is formed into a box shape with an open top. On the upper
periphery of electroforming bath 60, cover placing unit 62 extending outward isprovided over the entire periphery, and cover 64 is placed on cover placing unit 62 toclose the opening of electroforming bath 60.
[0087]
Hook unit 63 is provided on the top of bath unit 61. On hook unit 63, anode 66 thatis electrically connected to the positive electrode of the power source is provided. On
anode 66, housing body 660 is provided and housing body 660 is filled with many nickelballs. Code 65 indicates a cathode that is electrically connected to the negative electrodeof the power source. On cathode 65, cathode wire 650 is suspended downward toconnect with manufacturing jig 8, which is indicated below.
[0088]In the present embodiment, housing body 660 is filled with nickel balls; however,the filling of housing body 660 is not limited thereto, but is selected depending on thetype of metal to be deposited. …
[0089]
Jig securing frame body 7 is stored inside bath unit 61. Jig securing frame body 7
is equipped with five stacks of manufacturing jigs 8.
[0090]
Bath unit 61 of electroforming bath 60 is filled with electrolytic solution 21.
Electrolyte solution 21 is placed so that anode 66 and jig securing frame body 7 arecompletely immersed. In the present embodiment, as electrolyte solution 21, a solution
with a main content of nickel sulfamate is used.
[0091]
FIG. 8 is referred to. On manufacturing jig 8, multiple pieces of thin wire material
35 can be provided in a tensioned state and manufacturing jig 8 is to manufacture anelectroformed tube having multiple hollow parts. In addition, since thin wire material
35 as described in the present embodiment is the same as that used in electroforming
device 100, an explanation is omitted.
[0092]
Manufacturing jig 8 has a plate-shape jig main body 80, which has the required
length. Penetrating opening unit 81 is formed nearly at the center of jig main body 80.
On both ends (shorter side) of jig main body 80, which are the top and bottom ends in
44

FIG. 8, multiple pieces (in concrete terms, 8 pieces each) of securing components 82
and 83 that secure thin wire material 35 are provided in the width direction with therequired interval. The screw type of securing components 82 and 83 are used in thepresent embodiment; however, they are not particularly limited thereto.
[0093]In addition, in the further inner part than securing components 82 and 83, multiple
pieces of guiding pins 84 (in concrete terms, 8 pieces each) are provided with a narrowerinterval than the interval with which securing components 82 and 83 are provided.
[0094]
Furthermore, near the opening unit 81 that is a more inner part than guiding pins 84,
positioning components 85 and 85 are provided to determine the position for providing
thin wire material 35 in a tensioned state. Positioning components 85 and 85 are belt shaped plates having nearly the same length as jig main body 80 and a V-shaped groove(it is not shown in the figure since it is covered by latch 850 (to be described below))
to engage and place thin wire material 35 nearly at the center is formed. This groove isformed along the entire width (in the vertical direction in FIG. 8) of positioning
component 85 and by providing multiple connective pieces (in concrete terms, at 8
sites) in the length direction (in the horizontal direction in FIG. 8).
[0095]The top surface of each positioning component 85 has nearly the same width as
positioning component 85. Latch 850 that is formed with a short plate is provided sothat engaged thin wire material 35 will not come out of the groove. In the present
embodiment, the groove of positioning component 85 is formed so that a 10 μm
clearance can be provided between the groove and adjacent thin wire material 35;
however, it is not limited thereto and an interval of thin wire material 35 can be set as
necessary.
[0096]
Manufacturing jig 8 can be provided with multiple pieces (in concrete terms, 8
pieces) of thin wire material 35. Each thin wire material 35 is attached as follows.
First, tension spring 86 is attached to the other end (lower side in FIG. 8) of thinwire material 35. Then, one end (upper side in FIG. 8) of thin wire material 35 is secured
with securing component 82. Thin wire material 35 that is secured with securingcomponent 82 is passed through between adjacent guiding pines 84 and 84, is engaged
in a groove that is formed at each positioning component 85 and is bridged between
positioning components 85 and 85.
[0097]
45

The other end of thin wire material 35 that is engaged in the groove is passed
through between adjacent guiding pins 84 and 84 in the same way as the upper end, andtension spring 86 is secured with securing component 83. Thin wire material 35 is
attached in a state where a part corresponding to opening 81 of thin wire material 35 istensed by the pull force of tension spring 86.
[0098]
In manufacturing jig 8, thin wire material 35 is attached with a clearance of 10 μm
between adjacent ones; however, in FIG. 8, the interval is exaggerated for easy
understanding.
[0099]
Code 87 indicates a holding component for attaching partition component 88.
Holding component 87 is formed with a rectangular plate shape body that has nearly
the same size as the opening shape of opening 81.
[0100]
Partition component 88 has nearly the same length in the vertical direction in FIG
8 as holding component 87 and has a thin belt-shape form. To explain it more in detail,partition component 88 has insulating base material 880 with a thi ckness of nearly 8
μm and has a structure wherein conductive layer (film) 881 is provided by plating, etc.
with a thickness of nearly 2 μm to 3 μm on both front and rear surfaces of insulatingbase component 880. A material that forms conductive layer 881 is not particularly
limited as long as it has conductivity. However, it is preferable to use a material having
good adhesion (cohesiveness) with electrodeposit material by electroforming.
[0101]
Multiple pieces (in concrete terms, 7 pieces) of conductive layer 881 are attached
in a detachable manner to partition component 88 and are aligned by facing each otherwith the required interval nearly at the center of the surface of holding component 87
and extending to the entire length in the vertical direction in FIG. 8. In the present
embodiment, since the aforementioned thin wire material 35 is designed to be attachedon jig main body 80 by forming nearly a 10 μm clearance, partition component 88 is
attached at the same interval of nearly 10 μm in order to correspond to said clearance.
[0102]
Holding component 87 that is provided with partition component 88 is attached to
jig main body 80 by inserting partition component 88 from a side (in the arrow
direction) between thin wire materials 35 that are provided in a tensioned state verticallythrough opening 81 and by sandwiching partition component 88 with the tension of thinwire material 35. In other words, thin wire material 35 and partition com ponent 88
46

(specifically, conductive layer 881) come into contact.
[0103]
After holding component 87 is attached to jig main body 80 in the aforementioned
way and connecting cathode wire 650 (not shown in FIG. 8) so that the electricity flows
through thin wire material 35, manufacturing jig 8 is stored in jig securing frame body
7 of bath unit 61 and dipped in electrolytic solution 21 for electroforming. Although aspecific explanation is omitted, a masking process is provided to parts other than
opening 81 of manufacturing jig 8 in order to avoid dipping of electrolytic solution 21.
[0104]
By using electroforming device 101, when the electricity is applied, electrodeposit
material is formed around thin wire material 35 and on the surface of conductive layer
881. When thin wire material 35 and partition component 88 are surrounded to theextent required by electrodeposit material 55, electroforming is stopped. Amount ofelectrodeposit (deposition amount) of electrodeposit material 55 can be controlled inadvance by electric current, electric voltage, electroforming time, etc.
[0105]
Manufacturing jig 8, for which electroforming is stopped, is taken out fromelectrolytic solution 21 and is decomposed again into jig main body 80 and holding
component 87. At this time, since partition component 88 is secured between thin wirematerials 35 by the deposited electrodeposit material 55, it is separated from holding
component 87. Then, thin wire material 35 and partition component 88 that were
integrated by electrodeposit material 55 are removed from jig main body 80.
[0106]
Then, thin wire material 35 is removed from electrodeposit material 55 by providing
machining to electrodeposit material 55 and partition component 88 to arrange theshape (see FIG. 9). Since thin wire material 35 is removed by the same method as the
products manufactured by electroforming device 100 above, the explanation will beomitted.
In this manner, an electroformed tube with multiple pieces (in concrete terms, 8
pieces) of hollow parts is manufactured.
[0107]In the electroformed tube, partition component 88 is interposed between hollow
parts formed by removing thin wire material 35 in a way of separating the hollow parts,
so that electric conduction can take place independently for each part forming theperiphery of each hollow part.
[0108]
47

Also with electroforming device 101, a core part can be made of metal, a synthetic
resin, etc., and it is possible to use thin wire material that is provided with a conductive
layer (plating (metal layer (film) or carbon, etc.) on its outer surface. …
[0109]In the present embodiment, partition component 88 is provided between thin wirematerials 35 and electroforming is performed; however, it is not limited thereto. For
example, it is possible to perform electroforming without providing partition
components but in a state of thin wire materials alone.
[0110]
An electroformed tube can also be manufactured using an electroforming device ina form other than electroforming devices 100 and 101 that are shown in the
aforementioned embodiment. ...
[0111]
Numerical values representing specific dimensions (size and length) described in
the present embodiment are for easy understanding and there is no intention to limit thedimensions particularly. ...
[0112]The present embodiment showed a case where metal is electrodeposited byelectroforming on the outer surface of thin wire material; however, it is not limited
thereto. For example, an electroformed tube can be manufactured by providing a
conductor (metal, etc.) to which electric current can be applied near the thin wirematerial, electrodepositing metal by electroforming on the conductor, and thereby also
covering the thin wire material with electrodeposited metal.
[0113]In the aforementioned embodiment, the electrolyte solution mainly contains nickel
sulfamate; however, the electrolyte solution is not limited thereto and is selected basedon the type of metal to be deposited. As the metal to be electrodeposited (deposited),for example, nickel or its alloys, iron or its alloys, copper or its alloys, co balt or its
alloys, tungsten alloy, fine particle dispersion metal, and other metals can be listed. ...
[0114]In addition, a stirring means for stirring an electrolytic solution may be provided in
the electroforming bath. ...
[0116][Effects of the Invention]
The present invention is provided with the aforementioned composition and has thefollowing effects.
48

(a) According to the present invention, a thin wire material can be removed from anelectrodeposit material or a surrounding material that is formed by electroforming. The
thin wire material can be removed by any of the following methods: [i] heating andthermally expanding the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material or coolingand contracting the thin wire material to form a clearance between the electrodeposit
material or the surrounding material and the thin wire material; [ii] submerging thematerial into a liquid or applying a liquid to the material, thereby making a place where
the thin wire material and the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material arebrought into contact slippery; [iii] pulling the material from one end or both ends,
deforming the material so as to reduce a cross-sectional area thereof, and forming theclearance between the thin wire material and the electrodeposit material or thesurrounding material, followed by holding and pulling the material, sucking thematerial, physically pushing away the material, or pushing the material away byejecting a gas or a liquid; or [iv] melting or dissolving the material with heat or a solvent.
If the aforementioned methods are used when removing a thin wire material, thethin wire material can be removed, for example, by using a thin wire material with adiameter of 10 μm to 85 μm, even from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material that is formed so that the thin wire material has a thickness of 5 μm or more
and 50 μm or less on its outer surface. Therefore, by using the thin wire material
removal method, for example, an electroformed tube with a fine inner diameter that canbe used as a tube for a contact probe can be manufactured.
[0117](b) According to a method of manufacturing an electroformed tube by increasing thevolume of an electrodeposit material or a surrounding material on the end side that isformed on a thin wire material, for example, when removing the thin wire material bypulling it out from or pushing it away from the electrodeposit material or thesurrounding material, a jig or tool, etc. can be get caught on the end face of the part
where the amount of the electrodeposit material and the surrounding material wasincreased. Therefore, in this case, a thin wire material can be removed while securing
the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material, and therefore, the thin wi rematerial can be easily removed.
[0118](c) According to the manufacturing method of an electroformed tube where thedeformation amount of lateral strain when a thin wire material is extended by pulling it
outward is arranged to be 5% or more of the cross-sectional area, a sufficient clearance
is formed for removing the thin wire material between the thin wire material and the49electrodeposit material or the surrounding material. Therefore, it is highly possible toremove the thin wire material from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding
material without any difficulties. If the deformation amount of lateral strain is 5% orless of the cross-sectional area, the clearance is insufficient and there may be cases
where a hindrance occurs when removing the thin wire material.
[0119](d) According to a manufacturing method of an electroformed tube by using a thin wirematerial where the conductive layer is provided on the outer surface and by removing
the thin wire material so that the conductive layer is left on the inner surface of theelectroformed tube, an electroformed tube provided with a gold-plating, etc. on its innersurface can be manufactured. The aforementioned electroformed tube, for example, canbe arranged to have a higher electric conductivity than in the case of an electrodeposit
material or a surrounding material alone, depending on the material of the conductive
layer that is provided on the inner surface. In this case, said electroformed tube can beused as a component suitable for conducting the electricity.
An electroformed tube with a higher electric conductivity than in the case of anelectrodeposit material or surrounding material alone can be manufactured in the sameway for an electroformed tube wherein a conductive layer that is made of a material
different from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is provided on its
inner surface or for a thin wire material wherein a conductive layer made of a material
different from the electrodeposit material or the surrounding material is provided on its
outer surface.
[0121](f) A product with multiple pieces of hollow parts that are formed by removing a thinwire material can be used by replacing with a component that were manufactured byaligning multiple tubes that has only one hollow part. When using the electroformed
tube, it can eliminate time and effort needed to align and set individual tubes. In addition,
since intervals between the hollow parts are secured by the electrodeposit material or
the surrounding material, they are not misaligned.
[0122](g) An electroformed tube wherein a partition body that is formed by providing a
conductive layer on the outer surface of the insulating material is interposed between
the hollow parts so that the electricity can be conducted independently for each part
formed around each hollow part makes it possible to conduct the electricity
independently for each hollow part.
[0123]
50

(h) Concerning a thin wire material with a part where a conductive layer is not provided
formed on both ends, if the part where the conductive layer is not provided is pulled
outward, it becomes difficult for the pull force to directly apply to the conductive layer,
the conductive layer and the baseline material can be easily separated, and it becomesdifficult to destroy the adhesion between the conductive layer and the electrodeposit
material or the surrounding material.
[Concise explanations of figures][FIG. 1] A cross-sectional explanatory view showing an example of an electroforming
device to manufacture an electroformed tube related to the present invention.
[FIG. 2] An explanatory view showing the state where the large-diameter part wasformed at an end of an electrodeposit material.
[FIG. 4] A cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state in which an electrodeposit
material is formed around a thin wire material that is provided with a conductive layeron the outer peripheral surface.
[FIG. 6] An explanatory view showing a state in which an electrodeposit material isformed around thin wire parts with a part where a conductive layer is not provided
formed on both ends.
[FIG. 7] A cross-sectional explanatory view showing other examples of anelectroforming device to manufacture an electroformed tube related to the present
invention.
[FIG. 8] An exploded perspective explanatory view showing a manufacturing jig to be
used in the electroforming device shown in FIG. 7.
[FIG. 9] An enlarged cross-sectional explanatory view showing an electroformed tube
to be manufactured using the manufacturing jig shown in FIG. 8.

51

[FIG. 1][FIG. 4]

[FIG. 2]

[FIG. 6]52

[FIG. 7]

53

[FIG. 8][FIG. 9]54

(Attachment 2)
Matters stated in Exhibit Ko 1 Document (Abstract)[Claims][Claim 1] A manufacturing method of a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule characterized
by using a core wire with a resistivity of 5 × 10 -6 Ωcm or less when providing
electroforming to a core wire mold.
[Claim 2] A manufacturing method of a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule characterizedby plating a thin layer of the first metal with a resistivity of 5 × 10 -6 Ωcm or less on thecore wire and then providing electroforming of the second metal to the predetermined
diameter.
[Claim 3] A manufacturing method of a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule as definedin Claim 2, for which the core wire is a stainless-steel wire with an outer diameter of
0.126 mm.
[Claim 4] A manufacturing method of a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule as definedin any one of Claim 1 through Claim 3, wherein the first metal is made of any one ofgold, silver, copper, aluminum, or an alloy mainly composed of these metals, and thesecond metal is made of nickel or alloy mainly composed of nickel.
[Detailed explanation of the invention][0001][Technical field of the invention] The present invention is related to a method of
efficiently manufacturing a metal ferrule that is used for optical fiber connectors. In
particular, the present invention relates to a method of efficiently manufacturing a finecylinder for forming a ferrule, which is the intermediate body of a ferrule.
[0002][Prior art] A micropore pipe is useful from the perspective of industry. In particular, as
shown in FIG. 1, the ferrules used in the telecommunications field are microporous
pipes having pores with a diameter of approximately 0.126 mm, an outer diameter ofapproximately 2.5 mm, and a length of approximately 12 mm.
[0003] A ferrule is used as part of a component of a silica-based optical fiber connector.
Since an optical fiber is thin and fragile, it is necessary to surely secure the optical fiber
to a connector for its connection. The optical connector component for this purpose isa ferrule. In other words, the optical connector facilitates connection by putting an
optical fiber, which has a thickness of approximately 0.125 mm, through a cylindricaltube to secure it and by accurately aligning the positions of the cores that are at thecenter of the optical fiber.
[0004] Currently used ferrules are made of zirconia or plastic and ferrules made of55

zirconia are the mainstream. In order to manufacture a ferrule made of zirconia, it
requires expensive injection molding machines, extrusion molds, and molds. Molding
machines and molds have a short life and energy cost is high since the molding ofzirconia and resins are processed at a high temperature of 500 °C to 1200 °C. In orderto keep the precision of the dimension of the pores at the center, the pores must be
ground with a linear diamond polishing body. Since grinding is performed manually byhighly skilled operators, productivity is low, and other problems are pointed out. In
order to increase the precision of the outer diameter, the surface is ground. In addition,in order to increase the precision of the coaxiality of the inner diameter and the outer
diameter, processing by a centerless grinder is performed. Even when the
aforementioned processing is provided, the inner diameter, outer diameter, andcoaxiality vary. Therefore, in actual situations, each piece is inspected one by one andis classified by its dimensions.
[0005] The present invention relates to a method of efficiently manufacturing a metal
ferrule by electroforming in place of such expensive zirconia ferrules. Manufacturing
pore pipes by electroforming is already known. For example, Japanese Unexamined
Patent Application Publication No. 1999-193485 describes the manufacturing methodof a tube with pores wherein a metal coating is formed on the surface of core material
and the core material is removed, leaving the formed metal coating. In addition,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 1981-90995 and Japanese
Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 1992-311589 describe the method of
manufacturing a thin pipe by electroforming a metal on the outer peripheral surface ofa core wire which can be dissolved by chemicals, cutting the metal into thepredetermined size, and dissolving and removing the core wire with chemicals.
[0006] When manufacturing a metal ferrule for optical fiber connectors, this method
can be used in principle; however, the problem is that since the inner diameter of aferrule is approximately 0.126 mm, which is very thin, it is extremely difficult todissolve the core wire of a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule with etching solution.
Also, there has been the problem that the core wire is easily broken when the core wireis pulled out.
[0007] The present inventors have devised a method of manufacturing ferrules using a
stainless-steel wire having a diameter of 0.126 mm as the core wire, forming a finecylinder for forming a ferrule having an outer diameter of 2.5 mm by electroforming
nickel, etc. on the outer surface of the stainless-steel wire, cutting the cylinder into a
length of 12 mm, for example, and then pulling out the core wire. In order to increase
the production efficiency of this manufacturing method, it is possible to efficiently
56manufacture a ferrule by making the core wire as long as possible, for example, 30 cm
to 40 cm, forming a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule with a length of 30 cm to 40 cm
by electroforming the outer surface so that the outer diameter becomes uniform, andcutting it into the predetermined length.
[0008][Problem to be solved by the invention] However, as the core wire becomes longer, theouter diameter of the fine cylinder for forming a ferrule that is formed by electroforming
on its outer surface becomes larger on the side near the power source, as shown in FIG.
3 (b), and the diameter on the side far from the power source becomes smaller.
Accordingly, an electroformed body having an uneven outer diameter tends to beobtained. This is because the current density is large in the part near the power source,
but the electric resistance of the core wire becomes larger as the core wire part becomes
farther away from the power source and the current density becomes smaller, and theamount of electrodeposition on the surface of the core wire becomes smaller. As a result,a diameter becomes larger at the part closer to the power source where current density
is large and the diameter becomes smaller at the part farther from the power source.
[0009] In particular, the present invention is to provide a method of efficiently
manufacturing a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule with a uniform outer diameter, asmall inner diameter, and a high coaxiality, when manufacturing a microporous pipe fora small ferrule with a long length and an inner diameter of 0.126 mm by electroforming.
[0014] In order to manufacture a pipe with a thin diameter by electroforming, forexample, according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 1998335135, a soft magnetic thin film may be formed by electroplating on a chromium corematerial first. By cutting this into the predetermined length using a wire saw andimmersing them in a chromium etching solution to etch the chromium core material, ahollow cylindrical body is obtained.
[0015] In this method, in order to increase productivity, it is recommended to apply
electroforming to a core wire that is as long as possible, and then to cut it into thepredetermined length.
[0016] As described above, for example, when electroforming a stainless-steel wire
having a diameter of 0.125 mm and a circular cross-section as a core wire (see FIG. 2),
an electroformed body is obtained in which the outer diameter is uneven, gradually
decreasing from one end toward the other end as shown in FIG. 3 (b). As a result ofconducting various studies to solve this problem of uneven diameters, the present
inventors, etc. found that the resistivity of the core wire greatly influences the nonuniformity of the diameter. Using a metal that has a resistivity smaller than the57

predetermined value as the core wire made it possible to manufacture a fine cylinder
for forming a ferrule with a uniform outer diameter even if a long core wire i s used.
[0017] It is desirable to set the resistivity on the core wire surface to 0, and, for example,
it is preferable to select a core wire with a resistivity of 5 × 10 -6 Ωcm or less. If theresistivity is larger than this value, it is difficult to obtain an electroformed producthaving a uniform outer diameter when electroforming is performed using a long corewire. As examples of a material having a resistivity of 5 × 10 -6 Ωcm or less, gold, silver,
copper, aluminum, and alloys containing these materials as a main component are listed.
In addition, since phosphor bronze has a low resistivity and high tensile strength, it canbe suitably used.
[0018] The resistivity is preferably 5 × 10 -6 Ωcm or less. A core wire having a resistivityof 5 × 10 -6 Ωcm or less may be used, or a metal having a high resistivity, for example,
a stainless-steel wire that is plated with a metal having a low resistivity on a thin layerof approximately 10 μm may be used. By performing electroforming using these corewires, the electrodeposition amount along the length direction of the core wire becomes
uniform, and a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule having a uniform outer diameter canbe obtained. Regarding the thickness of the layer to be plated with the first metal having
low resistivity, it suffices if the thickness is enough to secure good electric conductivity,
and the thickness is preferably from several μm to 10 and several μm.
[0019][Embodiment of the invention] The present invention is explained based on theembodiment below. The electroforming device is as shown in FIG. 2. Electroforming
device 10 includes an anode and a cathode. For anode 15, metal plate, metal ball, etc.,
which is a metal to be electrodeposited, can be used. When using a metal ball, the metalball can be used in a state where it is placed in a conductive bag, etc. The anode isconnected to power source 11, for example, the positive electrode of a battery. The
cathode is core wire 16 to provide electroforming and, for example, it is connected to
the negative electrode of a battery. Core wire 16 is supported by support frame 14.
While being supported by support frame 14, core wire 16 is immersed in electroforming
liquid 18, is rotated by motor 12, and is provided with electroforming.
[0020] Stainless-steel is selected as a substrate of a wire to be used for a mold and thewire on which silver-, gold-, and copper-plating with a thickness of approximately 10
μm is provided on its surface can be used as a core wire. It is also possible to use a wirewith a substrate of gold, silver, aluminum, copper, or an alloy mainly containing them.
It is preferable for the surface of the core wire to be a smooth surface; however, there
is minute unevenness in many cases. By plating the core wire with a metal having low
58resistivity on the surface, there is also an advantage that the outer surface of the corewire becomes smooth. In addition, since the stainless-steel wire or the phosphor bronze
wire has high tensile strength, it is convenient to pull out the core wire from th e finecylinder for forming a ferrule.
[0021] Electroforming liquid 18 is determined depending on the type of metal to beelectroformed. As a metal to be electroformed, nickel, iron, copper, cobalt, tungsten, or
an alloy thereof can be used. In response to these metals, a liquid containing mainly thefollowing can be used as an electroforming liquid: aqueous solutions of nickel
sulfamate, nickel chloride, nickel sulfate, ferrous sulfinate, ferrous borofluoride, copper
pyrophosphate, copper sulfate, copper borofluoride, copper silicofluoride, titanium
copper fluoride, alkanol copper sulfonate, cobalt sulfate, sodium tungstate, etc.
[0022] Among these, in particular, it is preferred to use an electroforming liquid mainlycontaining nickel sulfinate in view of the ease of electroforming, the physical properties
such as hardness of the product, chemical stability, and ease of welding, etc. When acurrent density of approximately 7 to 10 A/dm 2 of DC current is applied for one day, anelectroformed product that grows to a diameter of 3 mm can be obtained. Core wire 16
is removed by pulling out or crushing the wire that is used as a mold from theelectroformed product.
[0023][Working examples] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on
working examples. A core wire with a diameter of 0.136 mm was obtained by providing
10 μm gold-plating (resistivity: 2.05 × 10 -6 Ωcm) to a stainless-steel wire with a circularcross-section, a diameter of 0.126 mm and a length of 355 mm. As shown in FIG. 2, thecore wire was set in an electroforming jig. On the other hand, a metal plate of nickel
was set in an electroforming bath containing nickel sulfamate as the main component
and immersed the plate in the electroforming bath. Electroforming was performed at acurrent density of approximately 10 A/dm 2 for 18 hours using a core wire as a cathodeand nickel plate as an anode. By electroforming, a nickel-electroformed product with amean diameter of approximately 2.5 mm was obtained. An outer diameter of theelectroformed product is within the range of 2.5 mm ± 0.05 mm along the length
direction, and a uniform electroformed product was obtained. Also, roundness andcoaxialty were good.
[0024] This electroformed product was cut into a length of 12 mm by an NC automatic
processing machine, and one end of the electroformed product was bored. The core wire
was removed by setting the processed product vertically by facing the non -boredsurface up, hitting the core wire with a hammer that has a projection from the top in the59wire punching machine, and pulling part of the core wire that projects from beneath theprocessed product. The end face was ground to form a ferrule.
[0026][Effect of the invention] By coating with a material having a resistivity of 5 × 10 -6 Ωcm
or less on the core wire surface or using a material having a resistivity of 5 × 10 -6 Ωcm
or less as a core wire, a fine cylinder for forming a ferrule with a uniform outer diameter,a high roundness and coaxiality, and with a long length can be manufactu red. The
manufacturing of a ferrule by electroforming requires no expensive molding machines
and molds but requires only inexpensive electroforming equipment as manufacturing
equipment. In addition, since there is no process of baking at a high temperature , theenergy cost is low. Furthermore, since electroforming has very good dimensionaltransfer accuracy, the precision of the product dimensions is so high that it is notnecessary to sort them by measuring dimensions.
[Concise explanations of figures][FIG. 1] It is a figure showing a ferrule.
[FIG. 3] It is a figure showing an example of an electroformed product.
[Explanation of codes]
1. Ferrule, 2. Pore, 3. Optical fiber introduction hole60

[FIG. 1][FIG. 3]61