Australian Patents Act 1990 - Regulation 3.2 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title Apparatus and method for conveying electrodeposited metal sheets The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: P/00/0 I I C , N-11-175AU Apparatus and method for conveying electrodeposited metal sheets Technical Field The present invention relates to apparatus and method for conveying electrodeposited metal sheets, and more specifically to apparatus and method for conveying electrodeposited metal sheets for stripping electrodeposited metal refined by electrolytic smelting from a cathode plate and conveying the stripped electrodeposited metal sheets. Background of the Invention Electrolytic smelting of metal using permanent cathodes (PC) according to ISA method, for example electrolytic smelting of copper, is performed by electrodepositing electrolytic copper 2 to both surfaces of cathode plate by immersing a plurality of cathode plates made from stainless and anode plates cast with crude copper alternately in a electrolyte cell filled with electrolyte and conducting electricity thereto. Copper 2 electrodeposited on the cathode plate is stripped from the plate using a stripping apparatus and served as products. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, a cathode plate 1 is a stainless plate fitted with protectors 5 of synthetic resin on its both lateral sides while having a crossbar 4 provided at its upper side. Said crossbar 4 is further provided with 2 windows 3,3 to which hooks of a cathode plate conveying device (not illustrated) are latched so as to charge, remove and convey the cathode plate to and from the electrolyte cell thereby. Cathode plates 1 made from stainless are recently being widely 1 N-11-175AU used since they are durable and can be repetitively used while short circuit is less likely to occur during electrolytic smelting due to their good planarity. Then, 2 sheets of electrodeposited metal stripped from each surface of the cathode plate are conveyed by a conveying device in pairs, and pressed by a flat press to obtain planarity and further subjected to corrugation to provide wavelike patterns to electrolytic copper before they are served as products. A conventional system for recovering electrolytic copper sheets is disclosed for example in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-240146 (patent reference 1). A system for recovering electrolytic copper sheets mentioned therein is comprised of a ply plate installation part for carrying in a ply plate of SUS plate (cathode plates) with both surfaces deposited with electrolytic copper after electrolytic smelting, a cleansing apparatus for washing said ply plate, a stripping apparatus for stripping electrolytic copper sheets from the SUS plate, a SUS plate discharging part for recovering the stripped SUS plate, a defective removing apparatus for removing defective cathode produced from ill-stripping in the stripping process, a junction apparatus for jointing the stripped electrolytic copper sheets, a packing apparatus for packing the stacked electrolytic copper sheets and a copper sheet discharging part for recovering the electrolytic copper sheets after they are packed, wherein conveyors are installed in between each apparatuses as well as installation and discharging parts. Another system for conveying electrolytic copper is disclosed for example in Japanese Patent Publication Heiseill-92986 (patent 2 N-11-175AU reference 2). A system for conveying electrolytic copper mentioned therein is at least provided with a receiving conveyor for receiving and if necessary temporarily accumulating electrolytic copper obtained by electrolytic smelting and sending it to the following process, a discharging conveyor for receiving and if necessary temporarily accumulating the electrolytic copper treated with final processing and carrying them out, a carrying conveyor for taking out the electrolytic copper from above receiving conveyor and carrying them to the above discharging conveyor and a electrolytic copper cleansing device arranged in any position along the carrying conveyor for sequentially washing the electrolytic copper conveyed by the carrying conveyor. [Patent Reference 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-240146 [Patent Reference 2] Japanese Patent Publication Heisei 11-92986 Summary of the Invention Object of the Invention However, in the conventional systems for recovering electrolytic copper sheets and conveying electrolytic copper, conveyors in the form of belt and chain are employed to convey the electrolytic copper. In such systems, conveyors may stop at improper positions misaligned to the proper positions if tension of the belt, chain and such of the conveyor are not maintained constantly. Furthermore, position adjustment is required every time the pairs of electrolytic copper sheets loaded on the conveyor move from one another and be out of alignment. Such misalignment may induce troubles in the processes of flat press and corrugation, and thereby 3 C :WR onbl\CCkHFS\208457_DOC-16A/2010 -4 increases further workloads. Besides, in belt conveyors, heavy workloads are required in maintenance of the whole conveyance apparatus as bolts in the apparatus may come loose from oscillation produced during conveyance. In view of the above, the present invention seeks to provide apparatus and method for s conveying electrodeposited metal in which misalignment of electrodeposited metal sheets as well as stop position of conveyors during conveyance are prevented and does not require burdensome maintenances as in the case of conventional conveyance apparatus employing belt conveyors. According to one aspect the present invention provides an apparatus for conveying stacks io of metal sheets formed by stripping electrodeposited metal refined by electrolytic smelting from a cathode plate, the apparatus including a conveying means in the form of a walking beam including: a horizontal beam; a movable beam arranged to be movable forward, backward, upward and is downward with respect to the conveying direction in a predetermined stroke; a plurality of links connecting the movable beam and the horizontal beam; and supporting beams arranged outside of the movable beam to support the 20 stacks, wherein the stacks are passed between the movable beam and the supporting beams with each predetermined stroke, and wherein the movable beam and supporting beams are provided with pins to place the stacks in proper position for movement with the predetermined stroke, the pins positioned 25 to engage a rear portion of the stacks with respect to the conveying direction such that the pins adjust the position of stacks each time the stacks are passed between the moveable beam and the supporting beams. According to a further aspect the present invention provides a method for conveying stacks of metal sheets formed by stripping electrodeposited metal refined by electrolytic smelting 30 from a cathode plate, the method including the steps of: conveying the stacks of metal sheets with a conveying means in the form of a C %NRPCerbi\DCC\HFS\22(0857-r DOC-16/03/2010 -5 walking beam that includes a horizontal beam, a movable beam arranged to be movable forward, backward, upward and downward with respect to the conveying direction in a predetermined stroke, a plurality of links connecting the movable beam and the horizontal beam, and supporting beams arranged outside of the movable beam to support the stacks, 5 wherein the stacks are passed between the movable beam and the supporting beams with each predetermined stroke; and adjusting the position of the stacks of metal sheets each time the stacks are passed between the movable beam and the supporting beams by pins which are provided to the supporting beams and the movable beam, the pins positioned to engage a rear portion of to the stacks in respect of the conveying direction. Effect of the Invention The apparatus and method for conveying electrodeposited metal sheets according to the present invention has an effect of preventing misalignment of stop position as well as electrolytic metal sheets since it is configured to convey the electrodeposited metal sheets is such as copper sheets stripped from both surfaces of the cathode plate stacked in pairs by a conveyor in the form of walking beam. Moreover, according to the apparatus and method for conveying electrodeposited metal sheets of the present invention, it has an effect of completing the processes from start to finish including the process of flat press and corrugation in one continuous stream without 20 occurrence of misalignment since the conveying means in the form of walking beam is provided with a continuous beam with no transfer point. Preferred embodiments of the invention Apparatus and method for conveying electrodeposited metal sheets according to the present invention is described in details hereinbelow with reference to the appended 25 drawings. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a system for recovering electrodeposited metal, FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of an apparatus for conveying electrodeposited metal sheets according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plane view of the apparatus C \NRPooI\DCC\NFS\2208457 I DOC.1593/2mO -6 This page has been intentionally left blank.
N-11-175AU illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing how the copper sheets are conveyed. First of all, a brief summary of a system for recovering electrolytic copper sheets as electrodeposited metal is described according to FIG. 2. A system 100 for recovering electrolytic copper sheets is comprised of an installation part 101 to which a stainless cathode plate 1 deposited with electrolytic copper 2 on both surfaces (hereinafter called ply plate A) as illustrated in FIG. 1 is carried in by a loading trolley, a cleansing apparatus 102 for washing the conveyed ply plate A, a stripping apparatus 103 for transferring the ply plate A to a traverse conveyor and stripping electrolytic copper sheets 2 by chiselling from the ply plate A, a cathode plate discharging part 104 for recovering the cathode plate 1 after stripped of electrolytic copper sheets 2, a defective removing part 105 for removing defective cathode plate 1, a laminating apparatus 107 for combining 2 sheets of the stripped electrolytic copper 2 together in pairs, a copper sheet carrying apparatus 10 as an electrodeposited metal conveying apparatus for conveying the combined electrolytic copper sheets 2, a pressing apparatus 108 for performing flat press and corrugation to the copper sheets 2 upon their conveyance by the copper sheet carrying apparatus 10 and a copper sheet discharging part 109 for loading and weighing a predetermined number of electrolytic copper sheets 2 treated with pressing processes, packing the copper sheets 2 after they are labeled, bundled and marked and finally recovering the packed electrolytic copper sheets 2. A brief summary of the operations of the above system for N-11-175AU recovering electrolytic copper sheets is described next. First of all, the ply plate A is carried into the installation part 101 in a state hanged by the loading trolley. The plate A is delivered to the cleansing apparatus 102 by a conveyor (not illustrated) as it is conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the plate A. A predetermined number of the ply plates A are simultaneously washed by the cleansing apparatus 102. The washed plate A is further conveyed by the conveyor (not illustrated) until it is transferred to the traverse conveyor whereby the conveying direction is deflected to the direction parallel to the plane of plate A (in other words, in an axial direction of the crossbar 4), and continuously conveyed to the stripping apparatus 103 one by one. Upon receiving the ply plate A one at a time, the stripping apparatus 103 strips off the electrolytic copper sheets 2 from each cathode plate 1 to separate the two components, and the cathode plate 1 is delivered to the cathode plate discharging part 104 to be employed in electrolytic smelting again. Meanwhile, 2 sheets of the stripped electrolytic copper 2 are stacked in pairs and joined at at least 2 sections by an appropriate method to be fixed together and transferred to the copper sheet carrying apparatus 10. Pairs of electrolytic copper sheets 2 joined together are then subjected to flat pressing and corrugation by the pressing apparatus 108 as they are conveyed by the copper sheet carrying apparatus 10. The electrolytic copper sheets 2 treated with pressing are stacked and weighed by a predetermined number of sheets at a time, packed after they are labeled, bundled and marked to be recovered from the copper sheets discharging part 109.
N-11-175AU An apparatus for conveying electrodeposited metal according to the present invention relates to an electrolytic copper sheet carrying apparatus 10 employed in, for example, the recovery system of electrolytic copper sheets configured and operated as described above. In other words, as illustrated in FIG. 3 and 4, it is a carrying apparatus capable of performing a series of processes of flat press and corrugation to the electrolytic copper sheets stacked in pairs by a pressing apparatus 108 as they are being conveyed in one continuous stream in a seamless manner. The illustrated electrolytic copper sheet carrying apparatus 10 is a conveying apparatus in the form of walking beam comprised of a horizontal beam 12 having at least a length from a starting position of conveyance to a discharging position, a movable beam 11 arranged movable from front to back and from side to side to the conveying direction in a predetermined stroke, a plurality of links 13 connecting the movable beam 11 and the horizontal beam 12 at a predetermined position and supporting beams 15 arranged outside of the movable beam 11 to support ply plates A. Pin 15a for placing the electrolytic copper sheets 2 on a proper position is provided to each supporting beam 15 on a spot corresponding to the stroke (refer to FIG. 5), and pin 11a is provided to the movable beam 11 in a similar manner. Position of the electrolytic copper sheets 2 is adjusted each time they are switched to and from the movable beam 11 and the supporting beam 15 by the pins 11a and 15a. Further, the carrying apparatus 10 is provided with a hydraulic cylinder 16 for moving the horizontal beam 12 back and forth to the conveying (horizontal) direction and a motor 19, a rack 18 and a N-11-175AU pinion 17 together comprising a carriage mechanism for moving the movable beam 11 back and forth to the conveying (horizontal) direction. The electrolytic copper sheet carrying apparatus 10 is further provided with an alignment device 23 for pushing the electrolytic metal sheets 2 stacked in pairs from either side to align each sheet in an appropriate position, a turning mechanism 25 for rotating the conveyed electrolytic copper sheets 2 by 90*, a flat press device 108a for giving planarity and a corrugation device 108c for providing wavelike patterns to the electrolytic copper sheets respectively. In the copper sheet carrying apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 2, a reserve press device 108b is provided as a backup. The operations of the above electrolytic copper sheet carrying apparatus 10 are described next with reference to FIG. 5. As illustrated in FIG. 5 (a), a copper sheet 2 is loaded on a predetermined position on the supporting beams 15. When the hydraulic cylinder 16 is activated and the horizontal beam 12 is moved backwards (to the left side in the drawing) with respect to the conveying direction, the links 13 come up to an upright state, thereby moving the movable beam 11 upward (FIG.5 (b)). Since the movable beam 11 is brought to a higher level than the supporting beams 15 in such state, the copper sheet 2 is carried away by the movable beam 11 unloaded from the supporting beams 15. Then, in such state, the rack 18 is moved to the conveying direction (to the right side in the drawing) due to the rotation of the pinion 17 by the motor 19, and the movable beam 11 is thereby N-11-175AU advanced to the conveying direction (FIG.5 (c)). When the movable beam 11 is advanced by one stroke, the hydraulic cylinder 16 is activated to move the horizontal beam 12 forward to the conveying direction (to the right side in the drawing). Then the links 13 which are in an upright state come down laterally to the original position and thereby moving the movable beam 11 downward (FIG. 5 (d)). In such state, the movable beam II comes down to a level lower than the supporting beams 15, and as a result of which the copper sheet 2 is carried away from the movable beam 11 and loaded back again to the supporting beams 15 as the movable beam 11 goes past the level of the supporting beams 15 (FIG.5 (e)). By repeating the above steps sequentially thereafter, the electrolytic copper sheet 2 is conveyed along the alignment device 23, passing the turning mechanism 25 until they reach the flat press device 108a and corrugation device 108c, and when the pressing is completed, they are weighed, labeled, bundled and marked to be finally packed and discharged from the copper sheet discharging part 109. As described above, in apparatus and method for conveying electrodeposited metal of the present invention, the electrodeposited metal, for example electrolytic copper sheets 2, stripped from both surfaces of a cathode are stacked in pairs and conveyed by a walking beam conveyor, and thus apparatus and method to prevent misalignment of stop position and electrolytic copper sheets can be realized. The preferable embodiment of the present invention is described N-11-175AU hereinabove, but the present invention shall not be limited to the specified embodiment, and should be noted that multiple variations and modifications are possible within the scope of the content of the appended claims. The Brief Description of the Drawings FIG.1 is a perspective view of a permanent cathode. FIG.2 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the recovery system of electrolytic copper sheets. FIG.3 is a side view of an embodiment of apparatus for conveying electrodeposited metal sheets according to the present invention. FIG.4 is a plane view of the apparatus for conveying electrodeposited metal sheets as illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG.5 (a)-(e) are diagrams showing the respective steps in which the electrolytic copper sheet is conveyed. Description of the Numbering 1 cathode plate 2 electrolytic metal 3 window 4 crossbar 5 protector 10 copper sheet carrying apparatus 11 movable beam C XWRPnrbl\DCCkFS\220M457- DOC- I )1I/201 - 13 12 horizontal beam 13 link 15 supporting beam 16 hydraulic cylinder 5 17 pinion 18 rack 19 motor 23 alignment device 25 turning mechanism to 108a flat press device 108b reserve press device 108c corrugation device Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will is be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps. The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived 20 from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.