CN115058757A

CN115058757A - Electroplating equipment and coating machine

Info

Publication number: CN115058757A
Application number: CN202210788235.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 周龙; 郑益斌; 冯登科; 扈锋; 其他发明人请求不公开姓名
Original assignee: Xiamen Haichen New Material Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Xiamen Haichen New Material Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-07-04
Filing date: 2022-07-04
Publication date: 2022-09-16

Abstract

The invention discloses electroplating equipment and a film plating machine, wherein the electroplating equipment comprises an electroplating bath and one or more first anode modules, the electroplating bath is used for electroplating a conductive base film entering the electroplating bath, one side of the conductive base film entering the electroplating bath is an in-bath side, one side of the conductive base film leaving the electroplating bath is an out-bath side, the direction from the in-bath side to the out-bath side is a first direction, the direction inclined or vertical to the first direction is a second direction, the first anode modules are arranged in the electroplating bath and electrically connected with a power supply, and in the second direction, the current introduced into the middle area of each first anode module is larger than the current introduced into the two end areas of the first anode module, so that the thickness of the plating layer of the conductive base film in the direction vertical to the first direction tends to be uniform.

Description

Electroplating equipment and coating machine

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of electroplating, in particular to electroplating equipment and a film coating machine.

Background

The current collector is an important part of the lithium battery, and collects and outputs current generated by the active material of the battery. When a novel composite current collector is prepared, an electroplating device is used for electroplating a metal coating on a conductive base film to prepare the current collector.

Specifically, a conductive base film is placed into a plating bath of plating equipment, an anode plate in the plating bath is electrically connected to an anode of a power supply, and conductive clamps are clamped at two ends of the conductive base film in the width direction and electrically connected to a cathode of the power supply, so that the anode plate is used as the anode, the conductive base film is used as the cathode, and the conductive base film is plated with a metal coating to prepare a current collector. However, in the related art, there is a problem that uniformity of plating of the conductive base film is not good.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention discloses electroplating equipment and a film coating machine, wherein the electroplating equipment can improve the thickness uniformity of a coating of an electroplated conductive base film.

In order to achieve the above object, in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention discloses an electroplating apparatus, including:

the electroplating bath is used for electroplating a conductive base film entering the electroplating bath, the film entering direction of the conductive base film is a first direction, and the direction inclined or vertical to the first direction is a second direction; the first anode module is arranged in the electroplating bath and is electrically connected with a power supply anode, and in the second direction, the current introduced into the middle area of the first anode module is larger than the current introduced into the two end areas of the first anode module, so that the thickness of the plating layer of the conductive base film in the direction vertical to the first direction tends to be uniform.

Connect in the power in order to electroplate electrically conductive base film through locating the first anode module in the plating bath, electrically conductive base film is when being located the plating bath, the regional both ends that correspond to the width direction of electrically conductive base film in first anode module both ends, the middle part region of first anode module corresponds to the middle part of the width direction of electrically conductive base film, the electric current that lets in through the middle part region that sets up first anode module is greater than the electric current that the both ends region of first anode module lets in, so, when electroplating electrically conductive base film, can improve the current density to the middle part position of electrically conductive base film, effectively alleviate the condition that the electric current is equal everywhere to lead to electrically conductive base film middle part current density of first anode plate is less than the current density of the both sides of electrically conductive base film because the middle part resistance of electrically conductive base film is great, thereby improve the homogeneity that electrically conductive base film electroplates.

As an alternative implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the first anode module includes a plurality of anode units arranged along the second direction, two adjacent anode units are separated by an insulating medium, and at least a part of the anode units are electrically connected to the power supply. Because the first anode module comprises the plurality of anode units arranged along the second direction, compared with the first anode module which is arranged as a whole, the plurality of anode units are electrically connected with the power supply so as to respectively control the current of the plurality of anode units, for example, the current introduced by the corresponding anode units can be adjusted according to the requirement on the electroplating uniformity of the conductive base film or the requirement on the electroplating thickness of different positions of the conductive base film.

As an alternative implementation, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the plurality of anode units of the first anode module comprise one or more second anode units located in a middle region of the first anode module, one or more first anode units located in one end region of the first anode module, one or more third anode units located in the other end region of the first anode module;

wherein the second anode unit is electrically connected to a power source, and,

the first anode unit and/or the third anode unit are electrically connected to a power supply and the connected current is less than the current connected to the second anode unit, or the first anode unit and/or the third anode unit are not electrically connected to the power supply or the connected current is zero.

It can be understood that the second anode unit located in the middle region of the first anode module is plated corresponding to the middle position of the conductive base film, and the first anode unit and the third anode unit located in the two end regions of the first anode module correspond to the two sides of the width direction of the conductive base film. The second anode unit electricity is connected when the power, the radial power line that the second anode unit produced can also radiate to the width direction's of electrically conductive base film both sides when electroplating the middle part position of electrically conductive base film, electroplate the width direction's of electrically conductive base film both sides in order to realize, so, when setting up the electric current that first anode unit and/or third anode unit let in and be less than the electric current that second anode unit let in, can avoid first anode unit, the too big condition of current density of the width direction's of electrically conductive base film both sides that third anode unit corresponds, thereby improve the homogeneity to the cladding material of electrically conductive base film. When the current that sets up first anode unit and third anode unit and be connected or insert with the power electricity is zero, because first anode unit and third anode unit can not let in the electric current, thereby first anode unit and third anode unit can not electroplate the both sides of electrically conductive base film along the second direction, electrically conductive base film realizes electroplating through the power line that is located the second anode unit group radiation in the middle part of first anode module along the both sides of second direction, can effectively reduce the current density of the both sides along the second direction of electrically conductive base film, so that the current density of electrically conductive base film along the both sides of second direction and middle part is more similar, namely, make the current density distribution of electrically conductive base film along the second direction more even, in order to improve the homogeneity of electrically conductive base film electroplating. Meanwhile, the first anode unit and the third anode unit are not electrically connected with the power supply, so that the power connection mode of the first anode module is simplified, the using number of the power supply is reduced, namely, the electroplating equipment can improve the electroplating uniformity of the conductive base film while the using number of the power supply is reduced and the power connection mode of the first anode module is simplified.

As an alternative implementation, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, in the first anode module, the sum of the conductive areas of the first anode units is S1, the sum of the conductive areas of the second anode units is S2, and the sum of the conductive areas of the third anode units is S3;

when the first anode unit and the third anode unit of the first anode module are not electrically connected to a power supply or the connected current is zero, 1.5% S2 ≦ (S1+ S3) ≦ 16% S2;

when the first anode unit of the first anode module is not electrically connected to the power supply or the connected current is zero, and the third anode unit is electrically connected to the power supply, 1.5% (S2+ S3) to 16% (S2+ S3) of S1;

when the third anode unit of the first anode module is not electrically connected to the power supply or the connected current is zero, and the first anode unit is electrically connected to the power supply, 1.5% (S1+ S2) or more and 16% or less (S1+ S2) of S3 or less are included. In other words, the sum of the conductive areas of the anode units not electrified is controlled to be 1.5% -16% of the sum of the areas of the anode units electrified, and the proportion of the sum of the conductive areas of the anode units not electrified to the sum of the conductive areas of the anode units electrified is reasonably set, so that when the first anode module electroplates the conductive base film, the situations that the plating thicknesses of the two sides of the conductive base film are too thick and the plating thickness of the middle position of the conductive base film is too thin can not be caused, and the situations that the plating thicknesses of the two sides of the conductive base film are too thin and the plating thickness of the middle position of the conductive base film is too thick can not be caused, that is, the uniformity of the current densities of the two sides of the conductive base film along the second direction can be effectively controlled, and the uniformity of the conductive base film can be improved.

As an optional implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the second anode units are provided in plurality, and the current applied to the second anode unit located in the middle of the middle region in the direction perpendicular to the first direction is greater than the current applied to the second anode units located at two ends of the middle region. The current introduced by the second anode unit positioned in the middle of the middle area is larger than the current introduced by the second anode units positioned at two ends of the middle area, so that the uniformity of the current density applied to the conductive base film is further improved, and the uniformity of the coating thickness of the conductive base film is improved.

As an optional implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the first anode module includes three or more anode units, the anode units are electrically connected to a power supply, and the anode units receive current in a manner that the current decreases from the middle of the first anode module to the two ends. Because the anode unit reduces to both ends electric current from the centre of first anode module gradually, so to can avoid first anode module to the big problem of middle part electric current of electrically conductive base film when electrically conductive base film is electroplated, be favorable to improving the homogeneity of first anode module to electrically conductive base film electroplating.

As an alternative implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the projections of the first anode module and the conductive base film on the bottom surface of the electroplating bath are a first projection and a second projection, respectively, and the first projection is located in the second projection. In other words, along the second direction, the both sides protrusion in the both sides of first anode module along the second direction of electrically conductive base film, like this, the power line that the both sides along the second direction of electrically conductive base film radiate through first anode module is electroplated, can avoid the great problem of power line density of the both sides along the second direction of electrically conductive base film, is favorable to improving the homogeneity of the thickness of electrically conductive base film along the second direction.

As an alternative implementation, in the embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the two edges of the first projection perpendicular to the first direction are respectively spaced from the two corresponding edges of the second projection perpendicular to the first direction by L1 and L2, 20mm L1 is equal to or less than 300mm, and 20mm L2 is equal to or less than 300 mm. Illustratively, L1 is 20mm, 100mm, 150mm, 250mm, 300mm, etc., and L2 is 20mm, 100mm, 150mm, 250mm, 300mm, etc. The distance between the two edges of the first projection and the two edges of the second projection is 20 mm-300 mm respectively, so that the density uniformity of power lines on two opposite sides of the conductive base film in the second direction when the conductive base film is electroplated by the first anode module is further improved, and the uniformity of the thickness of a plating layer of the conductive base film is improved.

As an alternative, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, 50mm L1 200mm, 50mm L2 200 mm. Illustratively, L1 is 50mm, 80mm, 120mm, 140mm, 170mm, 200mm, etc., and L2 is 50mm, 80mm, 120mm, 140mm, 170mm, 200mm, etc. The distance between the two edges of the first projection and the two edges of the second projection is 50-200 mm, so that the density uniformity of power lines on two opposite sides of the conductive base film in the second direction when the conductive base film is electroplated by the first anode module is further improved, and the uniformity of the thickness of a plating layer of the conductive base film is improved.

As an alternative implementation, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention,

the anode units of the first anode module are distributed in a matrix arrangement with a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns,

wherein the plurality of anode units form a plurality of columns extending in the second direction, the anode units of each column including one or more second anode units located at a middle region of the first anode module, one or more first anode units located at one end region of the first anode module, and one or more third anode units located at the other end region of the first anode module;

the second anode unit is electrically connected to a power supply, and,

the first anode unit and/or the third anode unit are electrically connected to a power supply and the connected current is less than the connected current of the second anode unit, or the first anode unit and/or the third anode unit are not electrically connected to the power supply;

the plurality of anode units form a plurality of rows extending in the first direction, and the anode units located in the same row are connected in parallel.

Because the lengths of the conductive base film and the conductive clip are different along the second direction, so that the resistances of the conductive base films at different positions are different, the resistance of the conductive base film at the position closer to the conductive clip is smaller, and the resistance of the conductive base film at the position farther from the conductive clip is larger, the current applied to the edge of the conductive base film by the conductive clip is larger, and the current applied to the middle of the conductive base film is smaller, that is, the current applied to the conductive base film by the conductive clip is different along the second direction, the current applied to the conductive base film by the first anode unit and/or the third anode unit is smaller than the current applied to the second anode unit or the first anode unit and/or the third anode unit is not electrically connected to the power supply, so that the current density applied to the conductive base film by the first anode unit and the third anode unit is smaller, and the current density applied to the conductive base film by the second anode unit is larger, therefore, the current density of the conductive base film along the second direction is balanced, so that the current density of the conductive base film along the second direction tends to be uniform, and the electroplating uniformity of the conductive base film along the second direction is improved. Since the resistances of the conductive base films corresponding to the plurality of anode units arranged along the first direction are the same, the current density applied to the conductive base films is not required to be balanced by controlling the current introduced by the plurality of first anode units along the first direction, and therefore, the plurality of anode units along the first direction are arranged and connected in parallel to the same power supply, so that the number of used power supplies can be reduced.

As an alternative implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, along the first direction, the number of the first anode modules is m, each of the first anode modules includes n anode units arranged in a second direction, and two adjacent anode units are separated by an insulating medium; the anode units are distributed in a matrix arrangement mode of n rows and m columns, wherein m is a natural number larger than 1, and n is a natural number larger than 0; along the first direction, the current introduced into at least one row of the first anode units is gradually increased.

As the current introduced into at least one row of anode units along the first direction is gradually increased, the current applied by the first anode units can be correspondingly increased along with the thickening of the coating thickness and the enhancement of the current carrying capacity of the conductive base film, so that the current density of the conductive base film is increased, and the electroplating rate is further increased.

As an optional implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, along the first direction, the currents applied to the first anode units in row a located in the middle region of the first anode module gradually increase;

two sides of the anode units in the row A are respectively provided with the anode units in the row B, and the current introduced into the anode units in the row B is increased firstly and then reduced; wherein A, B is a natural number greater than 0. It can be known from the foregoing that, the resistance of the two sides of the conductive base film along the second direction is smaller, the resistance of the middle part is larger, thereby easily causing the current density of the two sides of the conductive base film along the second direction y to be large, the current density of the middle part to be small, along the first direction, along with the gradual increase of the currents of the first anode units of the rows a and B, the speed of the increase of the plating thickness of the two sides of the conductive base film corresponding to the row B is greater than the thickness of the plating increase of the middle part of the conductive base film corresponding to the row a, and then the speed of the increase of the plating thickness of the two sides of the conductive base film is reduced by gradually reducing the current introduced by the first anode units of the row B, so that the plating thickness of the conductive base film along the second direction is more uniform, thereby realizing better plating uniformity while improving the plating rate.

As an alternative implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, at the first position, the current applied to the first anode unit in the row B is changed from gradually increasing to gradually decreasing; when the conductive base film is at the first position, the thickness of the metal plating layer at the edge of the conductive base film is d1, the thickness of the metal plating layer at the middle part of the conductive base film is d2, the target thickness of the metal plating layer of the conductive base film is d3, d1-d2 is more than or equal to 20% of d3, or d1 is more than or equal to 40% of d3, or d1 is more than or equal to 400 nm. The electric current of the first anode unit of B line through ingenious setting in first position department is become to reduce gradually by the crescent, can avoid first anode module to the cladding material of the both sides electroplating of electrically conductive base film too thick, the thinner condition of the cladding material of middle part position electroplating, also can avoid first anode module to the cladding material thickness of the electroplating of the both sides of electrically conductive base film too thin, the condition of the cladding material thickness of middle part position electroplating too thick, promptly, can effectively improve the electroplating homogeneity of electrically conductive base film along the second direction.

As an alternative implementation manner, in an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the electroplating apparatus further comprises a second anode module, the second anode module is arranged in the electroplating tank, and the second anode module is closer to the tank inlet side than the first anode module;

the second anode module comprises a plurality of fourth anode units, two adjacent fourth anode units are separated by an insulating medium, the plurality of fourth anode units are electrically connected to the power supply, and at least part of the fourth anode units are connected in parallel to the same power supply. At least part of the fourth anode units are arranged to be connected in parallel with the same power supply, so that the number of the power supplies can be reduced, and cost reduction is facilitated.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further discloses a film plating machine, including the electroplating apparatus according to the first aspect and a transportation mechanism, where the electroplating apparatus is configured to electroplate a conductive base film, and the transportation mechanism is configured to clamp the conductive base film and move the conductive base film in the electroplating bath of the electroplating apparatus along the first direction.

Compared with the prior art, the embodiment of the invention has the beneficial effects that:

by adopting the electroplating equipment provided by the embodiment, the electroplating equipment is connected with a power supply through a first anode module arranged in the electroplating bath to electroplate the conductive base film, when the conductive base film is positioned in the electroplating bath, the two end regions of the first anode module correspond to the two ends of the conductive base film in the width direction, the middle region of the first anode module corresponds to the middle position of the conductive base film in the width direction, the current passing through the middle region of the conductive first anode module is larger than the current passing through the two end regions of the first anode module, when electroplating the electrically conductive base film, can improve the current density to the middle part position of electrically conductive base film, effectively alleviated because the middle part resistance of electrically conductive base film is great and lead to electrically conductive base film middle part current density when equal at first anode module everywhere current is less than the condition of the current density at the both ends of electrically conductive base film to improve the homogeneity that electrically conductive base film was electroplated.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a coater according to the related art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of an electroplating apparatus provided herein;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a first electroplating apparatus according to the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a second electroplating apparatus according to the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a third electroplating apparatus according to the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a fourth electroplating apparatus according to the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a fifth electroplating apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic projection of a first anode module and a conductive base film provided in the application onto the bottom surface of a plating tank;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a fifth electroplating apparatus according to the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the internal structure of the plating apparatus in FIG. 9;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a coating machine provided in the application.

Icon: 1. electroplating equipment; 1a, a groove entering side; 1b, a groove outlet side; 11. an electroplating bath; 12. a first anode module; 120. a first anode unit; 121. a first anode unit; 122. a second anode unit; 123. a third anode unit; 12a, a first anode unit; 12b, a second anode unit; 12c, a third anode unit; 12d, a fourth anode unit; 12e, a fifth anode unit; 12f, a sixth anode unit; 12g, a seventh anode unit; 12h, an eighth anode unit; 12i, a ninth anode unit; 12j, tenth anode unit; a. a first projection; 1201. a first row of anode units; 1202. a second row of anode units; 1203. a third row of anode units, 1204, a fourth row of anode units; 1205. a fifth row anode unit; 13. a second anode module; 131. a second anode unit; x, a first direction; y, a second direction; 2. a conductive base film; b. a second projection; 3. a power source; 100. a film coating machine; 4. a transport mechanism; 41-a drive device; 42-a conveyor belt; 43-conductive clip.

Detailed Description

In the present invention, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "rear", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "center", "vertical", "horizontal", "lateral", "longitudinal", and the like indicate an orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. These terms are used primarily to better describe the invention and its embodiments and are not intended to limit the indicated devices, elements or components to a particular orientation or to be constructed and operated in a particular orientation.

Moreover, some of the above terms may be used to indicate other meanings besides the orientation or positional relationship, for example, the term "on" may also be used to indicate some kind of attachment or connection relationship in some cases. The specific meanings of these terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art as appropriate.

Furthermore, the terms "mounted," "disposed," "provided," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a removable connection, or a unitary construction; can be a mechanical connection, or an electrical connection; may be directly connected, or indirectly connected through intervening media, or may be in internal communication between two devices, elements or components. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to specific situations.

Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like, are used primarily to distinguish one device, element, or component from another (the specific nature and configuration may be the same or different), and are not used to indicate or imply the relative importance or number of the indicated devices, elements, or components. "plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

The conductive base film is a film with metal layers attached to two sides of an insulating material, and can be used for preparing a current collector of a lithium battery after the metal layers are electroplated and thickened.

As shown in fig. 1, in the related art, a plating machine 10 is used to plate a conductive base film 20, the plating machine 10 includes a plating tank 101, the plating tank 101 contains a plating solution, an anode plate 102 (shown in a dashed line frame in the figure to not shield other structures, actually having a solid structure) is disposed in the plating tank 101, when the conductive base film 20 is plated, the anode plate 102 is disposed corresponding to the conductive base film 20, the anode plate 102 is electrically connected to an anode of a power supply, and the conductive base film 20 is electrically connected to a cathode of the power supply, so as to plate the conductive base film 20.

Specifically, the coating machine 10 has an opposite tank inlet side 10a and an opposite tank outlet side 10b, the other two opposite sides of the coating machine 10 are further provided with a transport mechanism 103, the transport mechanism 103 is provided with conductive clips 131, when electroplating the conductive base film 20, the conductive base film 20 is unreeled from the tank inlet side 10a to enter the electroplating tank 101 and is immersed in the plating solution in the electroplating tank 101, the conductive clips 131 are clamped on the two opposite sides of the conductive base film 20 in the width direction, and the conductive clips 131 are used for being electrically connected with a negative electrode of a power supply to enable the conductive base film 20 to be negatively charged. The conductive clip 131 holds the conductive base film 20 and moves along the direction from the slot-in side 10a to the slot-out side 10b, so that the conductive base film 20 is electroplated when being transported to the slot-out side 10b, and is wound up at the slot-out side 10 b.

However, since the conductive clips 131 are clamped on two opposite sides of the conductive base film 20, the middle portion of the conductive base film 20 is farther away from the conductive clips 131 and has a larger resistance than the two sides of the conductive base film 20 along the width direction of the conductive base film 20, and thus the current density in the middle portion of the conductive base film 20 is smaller and the current density in the two sides of the conductive base film 20 along the width direction is larger, so that the plating layer plated in the middle portion of the conductive base film 20 is thinner and the plating layer plated in the two sides of the conductive base film 20 along the width direction is thicker, which causes a problem of uneven plating layer thickness of the conductive base film.

Based on this, this application provides an electroplating device and coating machine, can effectively improve the inhomogeneous problem of cladding material thickness of the electroplating of electrically conductive base film.

The technical solution of the present invention will be further described with reference to the following embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 2, a first aspect of the present invention discloses a plating apparatus 1, including a plating tank 11 and one or more first anode modules 12, wherein the plating tank 11 is configured to plate a conductive base film 2 entering therein, a film entering direction of the conductive base film 2 is a first direction x, a direction oblique or perpendicular to the first direction x is a second direction y, the first anode modules 12 are disposed in the plating tank 11 and electrically connected to an anode of a power supply 3, and in the second direction y, a current applied to a middle region 12a1 of each first anode module 12 is greater than a current applied to two end regions 12a2 thereof, so that a thickness of a plating layer of the conductive base film 2 along a direction perpendicular to the first direction tends to be uniform.

The plating apparatus 1 according to the first aspect of the present invention is configured such that the first anode module 12 provided in the plating tank 11 is connected to the power supply 3 to plate the conductive base film 2, when the conductive base film 2 is positioned in the plating tank 11, the two end regions 12a2 of the first anode module 12 correspond to the two sides in the width direction of the conductive base film 2, the middle region 12a1 of the first anode module 12 corresponds to the middle position in the width direction of the conductive base film 2, and the current applied through the middle region 12a1 of the first anode module 12 is larger than the current applied through the two end regions 12a2 of the first anode module 12, so that when the conductive base film 2 is plated, the current density at the middle position of the conductive base film 2 can be increased, thereby effectively alleviating the situation that the current density at the middle of the conductive base film 2 is lower than the current density at the two sides of the conductive base film 2 when the current of the first anode unit is equal due to the middle resistance of the conductive base film 2 being large, thereby improving the uniformity of the thickness of the plated layer of the conductive base film 2 in the direction perpendicular to the first direction.

It should be noted that, the middle region 12a1 and the two end regions 12a2 of the first anode module 12 are understood that, the middle region 12a1 of the first anode module 12 is farther from the two edges of the first anode module 12 in the width direction than the two end regions 12a2 of the first anode module 12, and the concept of the two opposite positions of the middle region 12a1 and the two end regions 12a2 is not used to define an absolute position of the first anode module 12, in other words, the current of the first anode module 12 increases and then decreases along the second direction y. The two sides of the width direction of the conductive base film refer to: located on both sides of the conductive base film in a direction perpendicular or oblique to the direction in which the conductive base film itself enters the film.

It should be further noted that, the thickness of the plating layer of the conductive base film along the direction perpendicular to the first direction x tends to be uniform, which is understood that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the thickness of the plating layer of the conductive base film 2 along the direction perpendicular to the first direction x is not completely the same, and there may be a certain difference, and compared with a manner that the same current is applied to each part of the first anode module 12, when the electroplating apparatus 1 in the embodiment of the present invention electroplates the conductive base film 2, the thickness of the plating layer of the conductive base film along the direction perpendicular to the first direction x is more uniform.

In addition, the film feeding direction of the conductive base film 2 can be understood as that the side of the conductive base film 2 entering the plating tank 11 is an in-tank side 1a, the side leaving the plating tank 11 is an out-tank side 1b, and the direction from the in-tank side 1a to the out-tank side 1b is the film feeding direction of the conductive base film 2.

It is understood that the plating tank 11 is a generally rectangular plating tank 11, the first anode module 12 has a rectangular plate-like structure, and when the first anode module 12 is disposed in the plating tank 11, the length direction of the first anode module 12 can be disposed along the width direction of the plating tank 11, so that a plurality of first anode modules 12 arranged at intervals along the first direction x can be disposed in the plating tank 11, and then the second direction y is perpendicular to the first direction x, and when the conductive base film 2 is disposed in the plating tank 11, the second direction y can also be regarded as the width direction of the conductive base film 2. Of course, in other embodiments, the first anode module 12 may be disposed in the plating tank 11 obliquely, and in this case, the second direction y may be inclined with respect to the first direction x.

Alternatively, the first anode module 12 may be an anode plate assembly or a titanium basket assembly. It can be understood that, when electroplating is performed on one surface of the conductive base film 2, the first anode module 12 is correspondingly disposed on one surface of the conductive base film 2 to be electroplated, and when both surfaces of the conductive base film 2 need to be electroplated, the first anode module 12 is correspondingly disposed on both surfaces of the conductive base film 2.

Optionally, the first anode module 12 includes a plurality of anode units 120 arranged along the second direction y, two adjacent anode units 120 are separated by an insulating medium, and at least a part of the anode units 120 are electrically connected to the power supply 3. Since the first anode module 12 includes the plurality of anode units 120 arranged along the second direction, compared to the first anode module 12 as a whole, the plurality of anode units 120 are electrically connected to the power source 3 so as to control the current of the plurality of anode units 120 respectively, for example, the current applied to the corresponding anode units 120 can be adjusted according to the requirement of the plating uniformity of the conductive base film 2 or the requirement of the plating thickness of the conductive base film 2 at different positions.

Alternatively, the insulating medium may be an insulating strip such as a rubber strip or a plastic strip. The anode unit 120 can be effectively prevented from being plated by the insulating medium.

In order to realize that the current applied to the central region 12a1 of the conductive base film 2 in the second direction y is larger than the current applied to the two end regions 12a2 thereof, as an alternative embodiment, the first anode module 12 includes three or more anode units 120, the anode units 120 are respectively electrically connected to the power source 3, and the anode units 120 apply the current in a manner that the current decreases from the middle to the two ends of the first anode module 12. Because a plurality of anode units 120 reduce to both ends electric current from the centre of first anode module 12 gradually to can make the electric current density that anode unit 120 applyed to the middle part of electrically conductive base film 2 be greater than the electric current of applying to the both ends of the width direction of electrically conductive base film 2, thereby alleviate because the both ends of electrically conductive base film 2 connect the problem that the both ends electric current density of leading to electrically conductive base film 2 is greater than the electric current density of intermediate position, make electrically conductive base film 2 along its width direction on electric current density more even, with the thickness that improves electrically conductive base film 2 along its width direction on the cladding material more even.

It is understood that the insulating medium between two adjacent anode units 120 may be an insulating rubber strip, but in other embodiments, the insulating medium may also be other insulating materials.

Referring to fig. 3 to 5, in other embodiments, the plurality of anode units 120 of the first anode module 12 includes one or more second anode units 122 located in the middle region 12a1 of the first anode module 12, one or more first anode units 121 located in one end region of the first anode module 12, and one or more third anode units 123 located in the other end region of the first anode module 12; the second anode unit 122 is electrically connected to the power supply 3, and the first anode unit 121 and/or the third anode unit 123 is electrically connected to the power supply and the connected current is smaller than the connected current of the second anode unit 122, or the first anode unit 121 and/or the third anode unit 123 is not electrically connected to the power supply 3 or the connected current is zero. In other words, the second anode unit 122 is electrically connected to the power source 3, and the first anode unit 121 and/or the third anode unit 123 is electrically connected to the power source 3, and the current applied thereto is smaller than the current applied to the second anode unit 122, or the second anode unit 122 is electrically connected to the power source 3, and the first anode unit 121 and/or the third anode unit 123 is not electrically connected to the power source 3, or the applied current is zero.

It is understood that the second anode unit 122 located at the middle region 12a1 of the first anode module 12 is plated corresponding to the middle position of the conductive base film 2, and the first anode unit 121 and the third anode unit 123 located at the both end regions 12a2 of the first anode module 12 correspond to both sides of the width direction of the conductive base film 2. When the second anode unit 122 is electrically connected to the power supply 3, radial power lines generated by the second anode unit 122 can also radiate to both sides of the width direction of the conductive base film 2 while plating the middle portion of the conductive base film 2, so as to plate both sides of the width direction of the conductive base film 2.

When the first anode unit 121 and/or the third anode unit 123 are set to supply a current smaller than the current supplied by the second anode unit 122, the middle part of the conductive base film 2 is plated by the second anode unit 122 with a larger current, and both sides of the conductive base film 2 in the width direction are plated by the radiation of the power lines of the second anode unit 122 and by the first anode unit 121 and the third anode unit 123 with a smaller current, so that the uniformity of the plating of the conductive base film 2 in the width direction thereof is balanced to improve the uniformity of the thickness of the plating of the conductive base film 2 in the width direction thereof.

When the first anode unit 121 and the second anode unit 122 are not electrically connected or connected to the power supply 3, that is, the first anode unit 121 and the third anode unit 123 do not supply current, so that the first anode unit 121 and the third anode unit 123 do not electroplate the two sides of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y, the two sides of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y are electroplated through the power lines radiated by the second anode unit 122 located in the middle of the first anode module 12, the current density of the two sides of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y can be effectively reduced, the current density of the two sides and the middle of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y is more similar, that is, the current density distribution of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y is more uniform, and the uniformity of electroplating of the conductive base film 2 is improved.

As can be seen from the foregoing description, one or more first anode units 121, second anode units 122, and third anode units 123 may be provided, where the first anode units 121 and the third anode units 123 are respectively located at the two end regions 12a2 of the first anode module 12, and the second anode units 122 are located at the middle region 12a1 of the first anode module 12, so that the first anode units 121 and the third anode units 123 are respectively located at the two sides of the second anode units 122, and the first anode units 121, the second anode units 122, and the third anode units 123 have a relative relationship in position, but may include a plurality of dividing manners, which will be exemplified below.

As shown in fig. 3, as a first example, when the first anode module 12 includes three anode units 120 arranged at intervals in the second direction y, the three anode units 120 include a first anode unit 121, a second anode unit 122, and a third anode unit 123, respectively. As a second example, as shown in fig. 4, when the first anode module 12 includes four anode units 120 arranged at intervals in sequence along the second direction y, the four anode units 120 include one first anode unit 121, two second anode units 122, and one third anode unit 123, respectively. As shown in fig. 5, as a third example, when the first anode module 12 includes five anode units 120 arranged at intervals in sequence along the second direction y, the five anode units 120 respectively include one first anode unit 121, three second anode units 122, and one third anode unit 123. As shown in fig. 6, as a fourth example, when the first anode module 12 includes five anode units 120 sequentially arranged at intervals in the second direction y, the five anode units 120 may further include two first anode units 121, one second anode unit 122, and two third anode units 123, respectively. It is understood that the first anode unit 121, the second anode unit 122, and the third anode unit 123 may include one or more first anode units 120, and may be the same or different, which are only described as examples, as long as the first anode unit 121, the second anode unit 122, and the third anode unit 123 are sequentially arranged along the second direction y. In this embodiment, a description will be given taking the division manner in the third example as an example.

Further, when the second anode unit 122 is provided in plural, the second anode unit 122 located in the middle of the middle region 12a1 passes a larger current than the second anode units 122 located at both ends of the middle region 12a1 in the direction perpendicular to the first direction x. In this way, the uniformity of plating of the conductive base film by the first anode module 12 is further improved by further applying different currents to different locations of the second anode unit 122 of the first anode module 12 such that the current flow in the middle of the central region 12a1 of the first anode module 12 is greater than the current flow at both ends thereof.

Further, in the first anode module 12, the sum of the conductive areas of the first anode unit 121 is S1, the sum of the conductive areas of the second anode unit 122 is S2, and the sum of the conductive areas of the third anode unit 123 is S3, when the first anode unit 121 and the third anode unit 123 of the first anode module 12 are not electrically connected to the power source or the applied current is zero, 1.5% of S2 is not more than (S1+ S3) not more than 16% of S2, when the first anode unit 121 of the first anode module 12 is not electrically connected to the power source or the applied current is zero, and when the third anode unit 123 is electrically connected to the power source, 1.5% (S2+ S3) not more than S1 not more than 16% (S2+ S3), and when the third anode unit 123 of the first anode module 12 is not electrically connected to the power source or the applied current is zero, and when the first anode unit 121 is electrically connected to the power source 3, 1.5% (S1+ S2) not more than S3 (S3638). In other words, the sum of the conductive areas of the anode units not energized is 1.5% -16% of the sum of the conductive areas of the anode units energized, and exemplarily, the sum of the conductive areas of the anode units not energized is 1.5%, 5%, 10%, 16% of the sum of the conductive areas of the anode units energized. Through the proportion of the electrically conductive area sum of the positive pole unit that reasonable setting did not let in the electric current and the electrically conductive area sum of the positive pole unit that lets in the electric current, can make first positive pole module 12 when electroplating electrically conductive base film 2, can not lead to the cladding material thickness of the both sides of electrically conductive base film 2 thick, the condition that middle part position cladding material thickness degree is too thin, also can not lead to the both sides cladding material thickness degree of electrically conductive base film 2 thin, the condition that middle part position cladding material thickness is too thick, namely, can effective control electrically conductive base film 2 along the even of the current density of the both sides of second direction y, in order to improve the homogeneity of electroplating electrically conductive base film 2.

Note that the conductive area described above is an area of a surface of the anode unit 120 for plating the conductive base film 2, in other words, an area of a surface of the anode unit 120 on a side facing the conductive base film 2.

As can be seen from the foregoing, in some embodiments, the first anode module 12 includes a plurality of first anode units 120 arranged at intervals, and two adjacent first anode units 120 are separated by an insulating medium, and optionally, in order to improve the uniformity of electroplating of the conductive base film 2 by the first anode module 12, the first anode module 12 may be divided into more first anode units 120, so that the current density applied to the conductive base film 2 can be more accurately controlled by controlling the current applied by each first anode unit 120. As shown in fig. 7, alternatively, the plurality of anode units 120 are arranged in a matrix with a plurality of rows and columns, wherein a plurality of columns extending along the second direction y may be formed by the plurality of anode units 120, each column of anode units includes one or more second anode units 122 located in the middle region 12a1 of the first anode module 12, one or more first anode units 121 located in one end region of the first anode module 12, one or more third anode units 123 located in the other end region of the first anode module 12; the plurality of anode units 120 may form a plurality of rows extending in the first direction, and the anode units 120 located in the same row are connected in parallel. Since the plurality of first anode units 120 of the first anode module 12 are arranged in a matrix form, the first anode module 12 has the plurality of anode units 120, and the uniformity of the current density applied to the conductive base film 2 can be controlled by controlling the current introduced into each anode unit electrically connected with the power supply. Moreover, since the resistances of the conductive base films 2 corresponding to the plurality of anode units 120 arranged along the first direction x are the same, the current density applied to the conductive base films 2 does not need to be balanced by controlling the current introduced by the plurality of first anode units 120 along the first direction x, and therefore, the plurality of first anode units 120 along the first direction x can be connected in parallel to the same power supply 3, which is beneficial to reducing the number of used power supplies 3, and further reducing the cost.

As can be seen from the foregoing, the first anode unit group 121 and the third anode unit group 123 located at the two sides of the first anode module 12 are not connected to the power source, the second anode unit group 122 located at the middle of the first anode module 12 is connected to the power source, and the currents flowing into the first anode units 120 of the second anode unit group 122 from the middle to the two sides are gradually reduced. As an example, as shown in fig. 7, the lines of the different power sources 3 electrically connected to the anode unit 120 are shown in different line types for the sake of convenience of distinction. Illustratively, the first anode module 12 includes ten anode units 120, the ten anode units 120 are arranged in five rows and two columns, the first column of anode units on the tank-in side 1a are respectively referred to as a first anode unit 12a, a second anode unit 12b, a third anode unit 12c, a fourth anode unit 12d and a fifth anode unit 12e, the column of anode units on the tank-out side 1b are respectively referred to as a sixth anode unit 12f, a seventh anode unit 12g, an eighth anode unit 12h, a ninth anode unit 12i and a tenth anode unit 12j, and are respectively arranged corresponding to the first anode unit 12a, the second anode unit 12b, the third anode unit 12c, the fourth anode unit 12d and the fifth anode unit 12e, so that the first anode unit 12a and the sixth anode unit 12f, the sixth anode unit 12f and the tenth anode unit 12j on the side of the first anode module 12, The fifth anode unit 12e and the tenth anode unit 12j are respectively a first anode unit 121 and a third anode unit 123, the first anode unit 121 and the third anode unit 123 are not powered, the remaining six anode units 120 are second anode units 122, wherein the second anode unit 12b and the seventh anode unit 12g in the same row are connected in parallel to the first power supply 31, the third anode unit 12c and the eighth anode unit 12h in the same row are connected in parallel to the second power supply 32, the fourth anode unit 12d and the ninth anode unit 12i in the same row are connected in parallel to the third power supply 33, and the current output by the second anode power supply 3 is greater than the current output by the first power supply 3 and the third power supply 3.

The inventors found that when the first anode module 12 plates the conductive base film 2, the electric lines of force generated by the anode units 120 located in the middle region 12a1 of the first anode module 12 are similar to the radial distribution of the magnetic field lines, and the electric lines of force generated by the conductive base film 2 located in the second direction y are also radiated to the two sides of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y, and because the two sides of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y are closer to the conductive clip, the resistance of the two sides of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y is smaller, and the current is larger, so that the plating layers on the two sides of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y are thicker, and based on this, in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 8, the projections of the first anode module 12 and the conductive base film 2 on the bottom surface of the plating tank 11 are respectively a first projection a and a second projection b, and the first projection a is located in the second projection b. In other words, along second direction y, the both sides along second direction y of electrically conductive base film 2 protrusion in the both sides of first anode module 12, like this, the power line that the both sides along second direction y of electrically conductive base film 2 radiate through first anode module 12 electroplates, can avoid the great problem of power line density of electrically conductive base film 2 along the both sides of second direction y, is favorable to improving the homogeneity of the thickness of electrically conductive base film 2 along second direction y.

Further, the distance between two edges of the first projection a along the direction perpendicular to the first direction and the corresponding edge of the second projection b along the direction perpendicular to the first direction is L1 and L2, respectively, 20mm L1 300mm, 20mm L2 300mm, illustratively, L1 is 20mm, 100mm, 150mm, 250mm, 300mm, etc., and L2 is 20mm, 100mm, 150mm, 250mm, 300mm, etc. The distance between the two edges of the first projection a and the two edges of the second projection b is 20-300 mm, so that the density uniformity of power lines on two opposite sides of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y when the conductive base film 2 is electroplated by the first anode plate is further improved, and the uniformity of the plating thickness of the conductive base film 2 is improved.

Further, L1 ≦ 50mm ≦ 200mm, L2 ≦ 200mm, illustratively L1 is 50mm, 80mm, 120mm, 140mm, 170mm, 200mm, etc., and L2 is 50mm, 80mm, 120mm, 140mm, 170mm, 200mm, etc. The distance L between the two edges of the first projection a and the two edges of the second projection b is 50-200 mm, so that the density uniformity of power lines on two opposite sides of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y when the conductive base film 2 is electroplated by the first anode plate is further improved, and the uniformity of the plating thickness of the conductive base film 2 is improved.

It is understood that, when the conductive base film 2 is not electroplated, the metal layers attached to both sides of the insulating material of the conductive base film 2 are thin, which results in poor electric conductivity and low current carrying capacity, therefore, when the conductive base film 2 just begins to enter the electroplating bath 11, in order to match the current carrying capacity of the conductive base film, the first anode module 12 can only apply a small current, and as the conductive base film 2 moves from the groove entering side 1a to the groove exiting side 1b, the conductive base film 2 is electroplated, the plating thickness of the conductive base film 2 gradually increases, and the current carrying capacity thereof gradually increases, based on which, in order to increase the electroplating rate, as shown in fig. 9, in some embodiments, the first anode modules 12 are arranged in m along the first direction x, each first anode module 12 comprises n anode units 120 arranged along the second direction y, and adjacent two anode units are separated by the insulating medium, the anode units are arranged in a matrix of n rows and m columns, where m is a natural number greater than 1 and n is a natural number greater than 0, and the current applied to at least one row of anode units 120 is gradually increased along the first direction x. Since the current introduced into at least one row of anode units 120 along the first direction x is gradually increased, the current applied by the anode units 120 can be correspondingly increased along with the increase of the plating thickness and the increase of the current carrying capacity of the conductive base film 2, so as to increase the current density of the conductive base film 2 and further increase the electroplating rate. Illustratively, when n is 1, the first anode module 12 is also a monolithic anode unit 120, and the current applied to the plurality of first anode modules 12 gradually increases along the first direction x, when n is greater than 1, the anode units 120 of the plurality of first anode modules 12 form a plurality of rows, and the current applied to at least one row of first anode units 120 along the first direction x gradually increases, for example, when n is 2, the current applied to each row of first anode units 120 along the first direction x gradually increases, and for example, when n is 5, the current applied to 3 rows of first anode units 120 located in the middle of the first anode modules 12 along the first direction x gradually increases. As shown in fig. 9, m is 3, n is 5, and each first anode module 12 includes two rows of anode units 120.

Optionally, in the first direction x, the current applied to the anode units 120 in the row a located in the middle region 12a1 of the first anode module 12 is gradually increased, two sides of the anode units 120 in the row a are respectively provided with the anode units 120 in the row B, and the current applied to the anode units 120 in the row B is increased first and then decreased, where A, B is a natural number greater than 0. As can be seen from the foregoing, the resistances of the two sides of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y are smaller, and the resistance of the middle portion is larger, so that it is easy to cause the situation that the current density of the two sides of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y is large, and the current density of the middle portion is small, along the first direction x, along with the gradual increase of the currents of the anode units 120 in the rows a and B, the speed of the increase of the plating thickness of the two sides of the conductive base film 2 corresponding to the row B is greater than the thickness of the increase of the plating in the middle portion of the conductive base film 2 corresponding to the row a, and then by gradually reducing the current introduced by the first anode unit 120 in the row B, the speed of the increase of the plating thickness of the two sides of the conductive base film 2 is reduced, so that the plating thickness of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y is more uniform, thereby achieving better plating uniformity while improving the plating rate. Illustratively, when n is equal to 5, a is equal to 3, and B is equal to 1, where in the second direction y, the anode units 120 in 5 rows are respectively referred to as a first row of anode units 1201, a second row of anode units 1202, a third row of anode units 1203, a fourth row of anode units 1204, and a fifth row of anode units 1205, currents applied to the second row of anode units 1202, the third row of anode units 1203, and the fourth row of anode units 1204 located in the middle of the first anode module 12 are gradually increased in the first direction x, and currents applied to the first row of anode units 1201 and the fifth row of anode units 1205 located on both sides of the first anode module 12 are first increased and then decreased in the first direction x.

Referring to fig. 9 and 10 together, further, at the first position, the current applied to the anode units 120 in the row B changes from increasing to decreasing, where when the conductive base film 2 is at the first position, the thickness of the metal plating layer at the edge of the conductive base film 2 is d1, the thickness of the metal plating layer at the middle of the conductive base film 2 is d2, the target thickness of the metal plating layer of the conductive base film 2 is d3, d1-d2 is greater than or equal to 20% d3, or d1 is greater than or equal to 40% d3, or d1 is greater than or equal to 400 nm. The electric current of first positive pole unit 120 of B line through ingenious setting in first position department is become to reduce gradually by the crescent, can avoid first positive pole module 12 to the cladding material of the electroplating of the both sides of electrically conductive base film 2 too thick, the thinner condition of the cladding material of middle part position electroplating, also can avoid first positive pole module 12 to the cladding material thickness of the electroplating of the both sides of electrically conductive base film 2 too thin, the condition of the cladding material thickness of middle part position electroplating too thick, namely, can effectively improve electrically conductive base film 2 along the electroplating homogeneity of second direction y. As can be seen from the foregoing, when the conductive base film 2 just enters the electroplating bath 11, the conductive base film 2 can only carry a small current density, otherwise, the conductive base film 2 may be burnt, burnt through, and the like, and then, if the current is large in the middle and small in the two sides of the first anode module 12 to improve the electroplating uniformity of the conductive base film 2, on one hand, limited by the small current carrying capacity of the conductive base film 2, the current is only small in the middle of the first anode module 12, and the current is smaller in the two sides of the first anode module 12, which results in a slow electroplating rate. Based on this, in some embodiments, the electroplating apparatus 1 further includes a second anode module 13, the second anode module 13 is disposed in the electroplating tank 11, and the second anode module 13 is closer to the tank inlet side 1a than the first anode module 12, the second anode module 13 includes a plurality of fourth anode units 131, and two adjacent fourth anode units 131 are separated by an insulating medium, the plurality of fourth anode units 131 are configured to be electrically connected to the power supply 3, wherein at least a portion of the fourth anode units 131 are connected to the same power supply in parallel. Because at least part of the fourth anode units 131 are connected in parallel to the same power supply, the currents introduced into the fourth anode units 131 are the same, the number of the power supplies can be reduced, and the cost is reduced. In addition, in order to have a faster electroplating rate, the current passed through the plurality of second anode modules 13 may be the maximum value of the current carrying capacity of the conductive base film 2, so that the electroplating rate may be increased, and then a larger current is passed through the middle region 12a1 of the first anode module 12 located on the outlet side 1b of the second anode module 13, and a smaller current is passed through the two side regions, so that the plating thickness of the conductive base film 2 along the second direction y is balanced, and a better electroplating uniformity may be achieved while the faster electroplating rate is ensured.

Illustratively, the plurality of fourth anode units 131 are divided into two groups, and the two groups of fourth anode units 131 are electrically connected to the two power supplies 3, respectively. By dividing the fourth anode units 131 into two groups to be electrically connected to the two power supplies 3, the second anode module only needs to be electrically connected to the two power supplies 3, the number of the used power supplies 3 is small, the production cost can be reduced, and the wiring manner can be simplified, and in addition, by controlling the two groups of fourth anode unit groups 122 through the two power supplies 3, compared with the case where only the second anode module is connected to one power supply 3, the output current of each power supply 3 can be controlled more easily, so as to improve the stability of the current control of each anode unit.

According to the electroplating equipment 1 of the first aspect of the invention, the current introduced into the middle of the first anode module 12 with the first anode structure is larger than the current introduced into the two ends of the first anode module 12 with the first anode structure, so that when the conductive base film 2 is electroplated, the current density of the middle position of the conductive base film 2 can be improved, and the electroplating uniformity of the conductive base film 2 is improved.

As shown in fig. 11, a second aspect of the present invention discloses a film coating machine 100, comprising the electroplating apparatus 1 as described in the first aspect, and a transportation mechanism 4, wherein the electroplating apparatus 1 is used for electroplating the conductive base film 2, and the transportation mechanism 4 is used for clamping the conductive base film 2 and moving the conductive base film 2 in a first direction x in an electroplating bath 11 of the electroplating apparatus 1.

It can be understood that the coater 100 including the electroplating apparatus 1 according to the above embodiment has all the technical effects of the electroplating apparatus 1 according to the above first aspect, and the details are not repeated herein.

Specifically, the transportation mechanism 4 may include a driving device 41, a conveying belt 42, and a conductive clip 43 connected to the conveying belt 42, wherein the driving device 41 is configured to drive the conveying belt 42 to move so as to drive the conductive clip 43 to move along the first direction x, and the conductive clip 43 is configured to be clamped to the conductive base film 2. Of course, in other embodiments, the transport mechanism 4 may have other structures as long as it can transport the conductive base film 2 to move the conductive base film 2 in the first direction x.

The electroplating apparatus disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention is described in detail above, and the principle and the implementation manner of the present invention are explained in the present document by applying specific embodiments, and the description of the above embodiments is only used to help understanding the electroplating apparatus and the core concept thereof; meanwhile, for a person skilled in the art, according to the idea of the present invention, the specific embodiments and the application range may be changed, and in summary, the content of the present specification should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

Claims

1. An electroplating apparatus, comprising:

the electroplating bath is used for electroplating the conductive base film entering the electroplating bath, the film entering direction of the conductive base film is a first direction, and the direction inclined or vertical to the first direction is a second direction; and

the first anode modules are arranged in the electroplating bath and are electrically connected with a power supply, and in the second direction, the current introduced into the middle area of each first anode module is greater than the current introduced into the two end areas of each first anode module, so that the thickness of the plating layer of the conductive base film in the direction perpendicular to the first direction tends to be uniform.

2. The plating apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein said first anode module includes a plurality of anode units arranged in said second direction, adjacent two of said anode units being separated by an insulating medium, at least a part of said anode units being electrically connected to said power supply.

3. The plating apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein:

the plurality of anode units of the first anode module comprise one or more second anode units located at a middle region of the first anode module, one or more first anode units located at one end region of the first anode module, one or more third anode units located at the other end region of the first anode module;

wherein the second anode unit is electrically connected to a power source, and,

4. The plating apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein:

in the first anode module, the sum of the conductive areas of the first anode units is S1, the sum of the conductive areas of the second anode units is S2, and the sum of the conductive areas of the third anode units is S3;

when the first anode unit of the first anode module is not electrically connected to a power supply or the connected current is zero, and the third anode unit is electrically connected to the power supply, 1.5% (S2+ S3) or more and 16% or less (S2+ S3) of S1 or less are adopted;

when the third anode unit of the first anode module is not electrically connected to the power supply or the connected current is zero, and the first anode unit is electrically connected to the power supply, 1.5% (S1+ S2) or more and 16% or less (S1+ S2) of S3 or less are included.

5. The plating apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein said second anode unit is provided in plurality, and a current is supplied to said second anode unit positioned in the middle of said middle region in a direction perpendicular to said first direction, which is larger than a current supplied to said second anode unit positioned at both ends of said middle region.

6. The plating apparatus as recited in claim 2, wherein the first anode module comprises three or more anode units, each of the anode units is electrically connected to a power supply, and current is supplied between the anode units in a manner that the current gradually decreases from the middle of the first anode module to both ends of the first anode module.

7. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the projections of the first anode module and the conductive base film on the bottom surface of the electroplating bath are a first projection and a second projection, respectively, and the first projection is located in the second projection.

8. The plating apparatus as recited in claim 7, wherein two edges of the first projection in the direction perpendicular to the first direction are spaced apart from corresponding edges of the second projection in the direction perpendicular to the first direction by L1, L2, 20mm ≦ L1 ≦ 300mm, and 20mm ≦ L2 ≦ 300mm, respectively.

9. The plating apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein L1 is 50 mm. ltoreq.200 mm, and L2 is 50 mm. ltoreq.200 mm.

10. The electroplating apparatus of claim 2, wherein the plurality of anode units of the first anode module are arranged in a matrix arrangement with a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns,

the second anode unit is electrically connected to a power source, and,

the first anode unit and/or the third anode unit are/is electrically connected to a power supply and the connected current is less than the connected current of the second anode unit, or the first anode unit and/or the third anode unit are/is not electrically connected to the power supply;

11. The plating apparatus as recited in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein said first anode modules are arranged in m number along said first direction, each of said first anode modules comprising n anode units arranged in a second direction, adjacent two of said anode units being separated by an insulating medium; the anode units are distributed in a matrix arrangement mode of n rows and m columns, wherein m is a natural number larger than 1, and n is a natural number larger than 0;

along the first direction, the current introduced into at least one row of the first anode units is gradually increased.

12. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the anode units in row a located in the middle region of the first anode module are gradually increased in current along the first direction;

two sides of the anode units in the row A are respectively provided with the anode units in the row B, and the current introduced into the anode units in the row B is increased firstly and then reduced;

wherein A, B is a natural number greater than 0.

13. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the current passed through the anode units in the B rows at the first position is changed from gradually increasing to gradually decreasing;

when the conductive base film is at the first position, the thickness of the metal plating layer at the edge of the conductive base film is d1, the thickness of the metal plating layer at the middle part of the conductive base film is d2, the target thickness of the metal plating layer of the conductive base film is d3, d1-d2 is more than or equal to 20% of d3, or d1 is more than or equal to 40% of d3, or d1 is more than or equal to 400 nm.

14. The plating apparatus as recited in any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a second anode module, wherein the second anode module is closer to the inlet side than the first anode module;

the second anode module comprises a plurality of fourth anode units, two adjacent fourth anode units are separated by an insulating medium, the plurality of fourth anode units are electrically connected to the power supply, and at least part of the fourth anode units are connected in parallel to the same power supply.

15. A coater comprising the plating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14 for plating a conductive base film, and a transport mechanism for holding the conductive base film and moving the conductive base film in the plating tank of the plating apparatus in the first direction.