EP0222232A1

EP0222232A1 - Plating device for minute portions of connector terminals

Info

Publication number: EP0222232A1
Application number: EP86114812A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Yasuto Murata; Junichi Tezuka; Kenji Yamamoto
Original assignee: Electroplating Engineers of Japan Ltd
Current assignee: EEJA Ltd
Priority date: 1985-11-11
Filing date: 1986-10-24
Publication date: 1987-05-20
Also published as: EP0222232B1; DE3683595D1

Abstract

This invention relates to an electro-plating device which is suitable for plating minute portions on protruding tip ends of a connector terminal (10). This invention device uses either a plating solution supplying member in the form of a thin box which is erected upon a plating solution supplying box and which has a thickness small enough to be inserted between opposing plating areas. The plating areas are a pair of protruding tip ends of the connector terminal which move in contact with or near the supplying member or a plating solution (18) supplying member (13) in the form of a substantial arrowhead shape which has sloped guide planes on both sides and which a top portion can be inserted between opposing plating areas.

In the former: the plating solution supplying member comprises a combination of a supporting member made of an insulating sheet having a vertical section substantially shaped like an inverted letter U and a plating solution retaining member of a net or porous sheet which is supported by the supporting member to drape over the outer surfaces thereof. The supporting member is bored with plural holes for supplying plating solution which are arranged discretely in the longitudinal direction at the positions corresponding to the plating areas or close thereto. The plating solution is constantly supplied to the plating solution retaining member via the plural holes to seep thereon. The plating areas are electro-plated at minute portions thereof by contacting with the plating solution which is seeped out of the retaining member.

In the latter: a plating solution supply member comprises a support member, anode (19), net member (16) and winding means (32). The support member has a top portion substantially forming an arrowhead with slanted guide planes on both sides. An opening is provided at or near the tip of this top portion to allow seepage of the plating solution. The net member covers the top portion of the support at its tip as well as the surface in its vicinity, the net member being freely wound up in the direction intersecting the passage line by the winding means and forming a supply section for the plating solution at a location corresponding to said passage line. With this construction, minute target portions are contacted with the plating solution which seeps on the net member while preventing the net member from being worn at given locations.

Description

This invention relates to a plating device suitable for plating minute portions on projections at forked ends of a connector terminal.
Connector terminals are formed in plurality in the form of comb teeth arranged on a continuous band like member having pilot holes and respectively provided with a pair of projections each having a minute area (e.g. I mm² or less) at the end thereof which has to be plated. Various techniques have conventionally been employed for plating these minute portions. For instance, there have been known as typical plating devices such as the plating device which dips the whole end portion including the projections in the plating solution contained in a bath to conduct plating by controlling the liquid level to limit plating areas, or the injection plating device which shields the portions not to be plated with a mask and plates unmasked portions by jetting the plating solution on them (refer to Japanese Patent Application laid-open Nos. Sho 59-126784, Sho 57-161084, and Sho 55-83180).
All of the prior art plating devices have drawbacks, however. In the case of the former device, as the whole ends of a connector terminal including the projections which are the subject of plating are plated because a minute plating area is difficult to clearly define, the consumption of plating metal unavoidably increases. This presents a formidable problem when the plating metal is a precious metal such as gold. In the latter case, masking is extremely difficult especially when the subject area is not even but irregular, bent, or complicated. The plating area is not clearly defined by the device to thereby incapacitate sufficient reduction of metal consumption.
The present inventors proposed an improvement for brush plating method (Japanese Patent Application Sho 60-89016) wherein the surface of an insoluble anode is covered with a liquid retaining member which can constantly be supplied with plating solution, the plating device is configured to be in alignment with the interval between adjacent fork-like ends of a connector terminal so that the tip end portions of the connector terminal may be plated while moving in contact with the member retaining the plating solution. As the proposed technique is effective in plating only the portions of the connector terminal ends which actually contact with the member on the anode surface, it may be called a minute partial plating method as against the prior art methods which allow only partial plating, achieving a remarkable reduction in precious metal consumption and precise definition of plating area.
However, the amount of plating solution applied on the plating area and the scope (area) of the plating tend to be influenced by such factors of the solution retaining members as the material or conditions or retainability since the plating solution is supplied to the member directly when the member is dipped in or out of the solution. It has long been desired to have a plating device suitable for plating minute portions which is capable of specifying the plating areas precisely without being influenced by conditions of the retaining member, of maintaining such precisely specified areas for a long time, and of continuous plating.
An object of this invention is to provide a plating device suitable for plating minute portions of a connector terminal which can satisfy above mentioned requisites.
According to this invention, those problems are solved by employing either a plating solution supplying member having a section shaped substantially like an inverted letter U (hereinafter referred to as the first group invention) or a plating solution supplying member in an arrowhead form having sloped guide planes on both sides (referred to as the second group invention).
Referring now to FIGs. I through 3, the structure of the first embodiment of the first group invention will be described.
Plating areas are a pair of protruding tip ends of the connector terminal which move in contact with or near the supplying member. This invention device uses a plating solution supplying member in the form of a thin box which is erected upon a plating solution supplying box and which has a thickness small enough to be inserted between opposing plating areas. The plating solution supplying member comprises a combination of a supporting member made of an insulating sheet having a vertical section substantially shaped like an inverted letter U and a plating solution retaining member of a net or porous sheet which is supported by the supporting member to drape over the outer surfaces thereof. The supporting member is bored with plural holes for supplying plating solution which are arranged discretely in the longitudinal direction at the positions corresponding to the plating areas or close thereto. In order to constantly supply the plating solution onto the plating solution retaining member via plural holes, a plating solution supplying box is internally communicated with said holes through said passage for the plating solution which extends substantially over the inside of the supporting member. An anode is provided either inside the passage, near the inlet thereof or inside the solution supplying box.
While the pair of target plating areas protruding from the tip ends of a connector terminal are moving in contact with or close to the plating solution retaining member (the connector terminal has been cathodized by an appropriate means by this time), the plating solution is supplied to the target plating areas. As the plating solution is being supplied in an amount and state suitable to seep out onto the solution retaining member via the holes, the plating solution can be evenly supplied on specified area including not only the protruding portions but also the portions adjacent thereto. The distance between the plating solution supplying holes to the plating target areas respectively is extremely short as the anode is positioned either inside the solution passage, near the inlet thereof or inside the solution box, the supporting member has an extremely small thickness as it is made of an insulating sheet, and as the solution retaining member disposed on the supporting member also has an extremely small thickness as it is made of a meshed or porous sheet to thereby enable even supply of metal ions not only to the protruding areas but to other areas. This allows metals to deposit at substantially uniform thickness on the protruding portions and other portions.
By applying a given pressure onto the plating solution inside the box during exiectro-piating, the plating solution is forced into the passage to be constantly fed onto the solution retaining member via the holes in an amount necessary and sufficient. By moving each connector tem1ianl, pair of target plating areas move with the solution retaining member held therebetween so that they are continuously supplied with the plating solution freshly fed from the holes. In this manner, minute portions which contact with or come close to the solution retaining member can be specified and defined as the target plating areas and continuously electro-plated.
In the plating device of the second group invention, a plating solution supplying member which is inserted between the target plating areas of a connector terminal comprises a supporting member, an anode, a net member and a winding means. More particularly, the plating solution supplying member comprises; the supporting member which has a top portion substantially forming an arrowhead with slanted guide planes on both side, an opening at or near the tip of this top portion to allow seepage of the plating solution, and an internal passage to communicate with said opening for supplying the plating solution; the anode which is either provided inside the passage of the supporting member, near the inlet thereof or is formed as the supporting member per se; a net member which covers the tip portion on the top of the supporting member and the surfaces adjacent thereto, is freely moved in the direction intersecting the passage line to be freely wound, and comprises the portion which supplies the plating solution to areas corresponding to the passage line; and the winding means having guide rollers which apply tension so that said net member can be closely contacted with the upper end of the top of the supporting member and the areas adjacent thereto, and driving rollers which wind in or pay out the net member in the direction intersecting the passage line.
According to said means of the second group of the invention, while the plating solution supplying member is held between the pair of opposing target plating areas along the passage line, the plating solution contacts with the anode which has been energized, and is forced through the passage to seep out from the opening to said upper end and areas close thereto to soak the net member covering said upper end and areas close thereto.
As the net member is applied by guide rollers of the winding means with tension so as to closely contact with the upper portion of the top of the supporting member and the adjacent areas, the net member will not be sagged but accommodated well to the shape of the supporting member. The net member is forced to seal the opening tightly so that the plating solution will not flow out from the opening but be absorbed into the net member. This further facilitates absorption of the-plating solution by the net member.
In this manner a plating solution supplying section can be provided in a manner to be able to constantly supply fresh plating solution in the optimal amount to the corresponding portions of the target plating areas on the passage line.
The target areas can be supplied with the plating solution evenly over the whole areas when closely contacting with or approaching the supplying section. The portion thus supplied with the solution is defined as the plating area.
The net member is driven to move either continuously or intermittently in the direction intersecting the passage line by the driving rollers and reeled in for an appropriate length. In this manner, a suitable length of fresh sheet of the net member is constantly formed as the supplying section. This helps avoid wear and tear of particular locations of the net member sheet.
The above and other related objects and advantages will be understood more clearly by referring to the description and claims based upon the attached drawings.

Fig. I through Fig. 7 show the embodiment of first group invention.
Fig. I is a schematic perspective view to show the first embodiment as a whole of the plating device suitable for plating minute portions of a connector terminal;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the essential portions of the plating device in FIG. I;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view to show winding state of a plating solution retaining member in essence;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view to . show the second embodiment which corresponds to FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view to show the third embodiment which corresponds to FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view to show a thin plate (anode) shown in FIG. 5; and,
FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view to show the fourth embodiment in essential parts.
Fig. 8 through Fig. II show the embodiment of second group invention.
Fig. 8 is a perspective sectional view of the entire plating device according to the second group invention to show its operations.
FIG. 9 is a sectional view from the direction indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 8.
FIG.10 is a partially enlarged sectional view to show the support member at its top; and,
FIG.11 is a schematic perspective enlarged view to explain another embodiment of the support member.

The plating solution supplying member is configured to have a section shaped substantially like an inverted letter U in the embodiments shown in FIGs. I through 7 while it is configured to have a substantial arrowhead shape having sloped guide planes on both sides in the embodiments shown in FIGs. 8 through II. In order to distinguish one from the other, for convenience's sake, the embodiments shown in FIGs. I through 7 are referred to as the"first group invention" and those shown in FIGs. 8 through II as the "second group invention" in the foregoing statement.
The first group invention will now be described by way of preferred embodiments. The same reference numerals and symbols denote the same components in the embodiments, and overlapping description is omitted.

The first embodiment

Referring to FIGs. I through 3, the first embodiment will be described.
Connector terminals 10 which are the subject of plating are formed in plurality in the form of comb- teeth on the lower portion of a continuous band-like member 22 and are respectively provided with fork-like ends extending in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the band-like member 22. The areas which have to be plated II are a pair of tip surfaces of the forked ends which oppose to but apart from each other with an interval which converges at the middle and then again diverges to define a substantial triangle therebetween. Those two areas II are concurrently plated as a pair, but for the sake of simplicity of description, one of the areas or the right side portion alone will be denoted with the reference numeral 11 hereinafter, and when explanation is needed for the both, the reference numerals are repeated like plating areas 11,11.
The plating area II is adapted to move along a passage line 23 by a combination of a sprocket 26 and a roller 27 which is pressed against the sprocket 26. The sprocket 26 has pins 25 provided on the circumference thereof to freely fit in pilot holes 24 of a continuous band-like member 22. The roller 27 is connected to a cathode power source 28 to cathodize the connector terminals 10.
A plating solution supplying member 13 is arranged along the passage line 23 and comprises a combination of a supporting member 15 and a plating solution retaining member 16 which is erected on a plating solution box 12 with a supporting plate 29. The member 13 has a rectangular shape of a small thickness.
The supporting member 15 made of an insulating sheet is thin and yet strong enough as a core to be able to support the plating solution retaining member 16. The member 15 is formed to have plating solution passage 14 of a minute width between adjacent teeth. The supporting member 15 has a vertical section shaped substantially like an inverted letter U to cover the passage 14 in order to reduce the platable area. The member 15 is preferably made of a sheet of Tetron (trademark) or of Mylar (trademark). Spacers 30 are provided inside the supporting member .15 in a space corresponding to the passage 14 for the plating solution to extend vertically in the form of tape. If a sheet of insulating material is folded into two to accommodate the thickness of a spacer 30, then narrow passage 14 is made for plating solution each between adjacent spacers 30. The spacers 30 act as rectifiers for the flow of the plating solution 18 inside the passage 14.
At the top of the folded member 15 are provided plural solution supplying holes 17 in the longitudinal direction as the "members corresponding to moving plating areas 11,11 on both sides".
The plating solution retaining member 16 is supported by the supporting member 15 to drape over the side surfaces thereof. In the embodiment shown in the figure, the member 16 is made of a polypropylene net, but it may be made of porous sheet similar to a net so long as it allows the plating solution 18 supplied thereto via the holes 17 to seep so that the optimal amount of the solution 18, neither more nor less than necessary, is supplied onto the plating area II which contacts therewith. The plating solution supplying member 13 comprising a solution retaining member 16 held over the supporting member 15 has an extremely narrow thickness (t) to correspond the distance (t) between two opposing plating areas 11,11 of the forked ends of a connector terminal 10 which is as small as 0.38 mm, for example. The passage 14 inside has similarly narrow width (for instance 0.1 - 0.2 mm). The thickness is determined so that the plating solution supplying member can be inserted between the opposing areas II,II to allow them to contact with the solution retaining member 16 near the top thereof.
As the plating areas 11,11 either contact or come very close to the solution retaining member 16 while moving along the passage line 23, the member 16 might be worn out after a long term use. The solution retaining member 16 is wound around winding devices 31,32 outside the supporting member 15 so that a new sheet of the member 16 constantly covers the surface of the supporting member 15 as one of the winding devices undoes the sheet while the other winds it.
The plating solution supplying member 13 is erected on a box 12 and a supporting plate 29 is used to assemble the supporting member 15 and the solution retaining member 16 draped thereon. The plate 29 is provided with a pair of holder/guides 34 which holds the retaining member 16 on the supporting member 15 from both sides and guides the lower portions 33 of the connector terminals 10 as it moves. The pressure against the member 16 applied by the pair of the holder/guides - 34 is released when a new sheet is reeled out as mentioned above. The holder/guides 34 are sloped at the upper portion 35 so as to accommodate the same to the form of the lower portions 33 of the connector terminals 10 as well as to guide them while the connector terminals 10 move. However, the portions 33 do not necessarily contact with the upper portions 35 of the holder/guides 34 to be guided thereby.
Inside the box 12 which is closed with the supporting plate 29 is provided an anode 19 of platinum in the form of a net which is connected to an anode power source 36.
Description will now be given to the operation of the first embodiment of the plating device suitable for minute portions of a connector terminal. The connector terminal 10 is cathodized and guided via the sprocket 26 and the roller 27 to move in the direction from right upper side toward left lower side in FIG. I, and the plating areas 11,11 move along the passage line 23 to contact with or come very close to the plating solution retaining member 16.
When the plating solution 18 inside the box 12 is pumped out by a pump (not shown), the solution 18 is forced to go up in narrow passages inside the passage 14 and between adjacent spacers 30, flow out to the outside of the supporting member 15 from the holes 17 near the top of the member 15, and seep into the pores or mesh of the solution retaining member 16.
When the plating areas II,II contact with or come close to the solution retaining member 16, the tips 20 of the triangles of areas II,II are positioned at or close to both sides of the top of the solution retaining member 16 to contact with the plating solution 18 freshly supplied from the holes 17. In this manner, an optimal amount of the plating solution 18, not more or not less than the necessary amount, is supplied substantially evenly on limited locations of the plating areas II,II, more particularly the locations near the tips 20, and other locations 21 adjacent thereto.
In this manner, a minute portion of the respective plating areas including the tip 20 of _and adjacent locations 21 of the protruding portion can be specifically plated in a substantially even thickness.
The embodiments 2 through 4 will now be described. As they have many components common to the first embodiment, the similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals but description is omitted.

The second embodiment

Although in the first embodiment, a platinum anode 19 in a net form is provided with a box 12, in the embodiment 2 in FIG. 4, a platinum net member 37 is interposed as an anode in the solution passage 14 inside the supporting member 15.
The net member 37 is connected to an anode power source 36 and is positioned to extend from the inside space 38 of the box 12 to the solution passage 14. Wefts 39 and warps 40 are woven in the inside space 38, but warps 40 alone are erected at a small "interval in the solution passage 14 to minimize the thickness of the anode. When pressure is applied on the solution 18 in the space 38, the solution is forced to go up through narrow passages 41 between the solution passage 14 and between the respective warps 40, and to seep onto the surface of the solution retaining member 16 from the holes 17.
The plural warps 40 extend to the holes 17 at the top thereof respectively so that the distance between the "anode" and the plating area II is kept extremely short. They therefore can have the function of the spacers 30 of the first embodiment, i.e. the function to rectify the flow of the plating solution 18 and minimize the width of the passage 14 when the said passage 14 is formed by folding the insulating sheet into an inverted U letter.

The third embodiment

FIGs. 5 and 6 show the third embodiment. While the first and second embodiments use a net member 37 as an "anode", a thin plate 43 having vertical slit-like passages 42 in a plural number is employed as an "anode". The thin plate 43 is inserted into the supporting member 15 which is folded like a letter U. When held tightly between the both sides of the member 15, the lower portions 44 of the passages 42 communicate with the inside space 38 of the box 12 while the upper portions 45 communicate with the holes 17. The width of the passages 42 is designed to be an extremely small value so as to facilitate the upward flow of the solution 18 from the inside space 38 to the holes 17. The thin plate 43 has the same function as the spacers 30.

The fourth embodiment

FIG. 7 shows the fourth embodiment. While the position of an "anode" in the first embodiment is inside the box 12, and in the passage 14 in the second and third embodiments, a platinum net member 46 is arranged near an inlet of the passage 14 as an "anode" in the fourth embodiment.
The plating device suitable for plating minute portions of connector terminals according to the first group invention can achieve various effects such as:

(A) As the plating solution supplying member comprises a combination of a supporting member made of an insulating sheet and a solution retaining member made of a meshed or porous sheet, the thickness can be easily minimized in manufacturing process to the extent that allows insertion of the supplying member between a pair of plating areas of a connector terminal which oppose each other across an extremely narrow distance.
(B) As a solution retaining member is used to supply the plating solution to a pair of plating areas which contact with or come close thereto, the plating solution conveniently seeps out from the member after it is fed via holes, and the amount of the plating solution to be supplied onto the plating areas can be controlled at the optimal value.
(C) As the plating solution is applied only to the locations to be plated, and these locations alone are electro-plated, even minute portions can be specifically plated.
(D) As the plating solution can be forced to pass through passages of minute width which are provided all over the inside of the supporting member to contact with the anode disposed either inside the passage, at the inlet of the passage or inside the box and to seep out from the holes via the retaining member, the plating solution can be constantly supplied for continuous plating process.
(E) Due to the synergistic effects of the above four, this invention device can effectively electro-plate minute portions of a pair of plating areas of a connector terminal.

Next, the embodiment of second group invention will be described.
First, a plating solution supply member III in a plating device 110 comprises a support member 113 mounted and fixed on a plating box 112, an anode 114, a net member 115 and a winding means 116.
The support member 113 is made of an insulating material and mounted and fixed on a cover plate 117 of the plating box 112. The top portion 119 of the support member is substantially in the form of an arrowhead with two slanted sides forming guide planes 118. An opening 122 is provided at the tip 120 of the top portion 119 to allow a plating solution 121 to seep therefrom. A passage 123 for supplying the plating solution communicates with the opening 122 and forms a through-hole within the support member reaching the bottom 124. The passage 123 also communicates with an opening for supply (to be described hereinafter) provided in the plating box 112.
The anode 114 is made of a reticular material so as not to prevent flow of the plating solution 121. The anode 114 is attached to the underside of the cover plate 117 at the opening 126 in the vicinity of the bottom 124 of the support member 113 as well as of an inlet port 125 for supplying the plating solution.
The net member 115 covers the top portion 119 of the support member 113 at the tip 120 and can freely move to be wound in the direction (indicated by the arrow A) which intersects a pass-line (indicated by the arrow PL in the drawings) to form a supply section 127 for the plating solution 121.
The winding means 116 each is provided on either side of said pass-line PL and comprises a guide roller 128 which imparts tension to the net member 115, a rotatable press roller 129 and a drive roller 131 connected to a motor 130 which winds up and pays out the net member 115 in a direction intersecting (indicated by the arrow A) the pass-line PL so that a fresh sheet of the net member 115 is constantly supplied to contact with the plating target portions 104 of a connector terminal 102.
Reference numerals 132, 133, 134 and 136 respectively denote a pump, a pipe, a plating solution controlling tank and a plating bath. These members are used to pump out, recover and recycle the plating solution 121.
The operation of the device will now be described. The connector terminal 102 to be plated is cathodized by a means not shown and moved to a position so that the plating solution supply member III can be interposed between the pair of portions 104 to be plated. The plating solution 121 is in the meantime pumped out by the pump 132 to flow through the energized anode 114 and seep out via the supply opening 126, passage 123 and opening 122, where the plating solution is soaked by the net member 115 which covers the opening 122 under tension imparted by the guide roller 128.
Thus the portion of the net member 115 which is disposed at the tip 120 of the top portion 119 and which corresponds to the passage line PL of the target portions 104 is constantly supplied with an optimum amount of fresh plating solution 121, constituting the supply section 127 of the plating solution 121.
The net member 115 is pulled by the roller and is free from so called slackening. The target portions 104 of the connector terminal 102 contact with or approach the net member 115 under tension constituting the supply section 127 and come in contact with the plating solution 121 seeping out the surface 135 of the net member 115, whereby uniform plating can be obtained over the entire area of the target portions 104.
As the plating process completes, the drive roller 131 is rotated by the rotation of the motor 130 to move the net member 115 via the pressing roller 129 in the direction intersecting the passage line PL (the direction of the arrow A) for winding up the net member by a suitable length. This provides the supply section 127 anew. Although the net member 115 is wound up intermittently in accordance with the timing of the plating in this embodiment, it is also possible to continuously wind up the net member 115 during plating to shift the section. In this manner, the net member 115 can be protected against partial wear occurring at a given portion.
FIG. II shows another embodiment of the support member. The support member 141 used in the plating device 140 has plural openings 144 along the longitudinal direction of the support member 141 in the vicinity of the tip 143 of the top portion 142 of the support 141. The anode 145 with its lower portion comprising woven warps 146 and wefts 147 and the upper portion warps 146 alone is provided in the passage 123 to function in the same manner as the opening 122 and the anode 114 of the first embodiment.
As the rest of the second embodiment is identical with the first, the description is omitted.
Although the anode is disposed in the vicinity of the inlet port 125 of the passage 123 or erected in the passage 123 in the foregoing embodiments, it is also possible to utilize the support 113 itself as the anode by plating the same with a metal which is insoluble in the plating solution 121.
As has been described, the plating device of the second group invention with its features will bring about numerous advantageous effects such as the following:

(a) As the supply section is formed at a position corresponding to the pass-line of the target portions to be plated and where the plating solution is constantly supplied afresh in the optimum amount, the plating solution comes in contact only with the target portions, leaving the remaining portion intact. What is more, as the optimum amount of plating solution is applied via the net member solely to the target portions, plating of unnecessary portions or unnecessary thickness can be avoided, resulting in reduced consumption of the precious metal. When compared with the conventional plating technique in which not only the target portions in the form of fork-like member but the portions near the target portions are also plated, the device of the present invention results in reduction of precious metal consumptin and thus of the cost;
(b) As the net member is wound up by a suitable length in the direction intersecting the pass-line to provide a fresh sheet of the supply section, the net member can be protected against partial wear at a given location; and,
(c) The device can be adapted to various applications by modifying the inclination, size and configuration of the support member at its top portion according to the shape and size of the objects to be plated.

Claims

I. In plating devices suitable for plating minute portions of connector terminals 11,102 which are formed in a plurality in a comb teeth-like fashion on a continuous band-like member and each of which has a pair of protruding minute plating areas II, 104 at the tip ends thereof comprising a plating solution supplying member inserted between the pair of plating areas along the passage thereof so that said plating areas of each connector terminal can be electro-plated while they are moving along the passage by either contacting with the plating solution supplying member or passing very close thereto, a plating device suitable for plating minute portions of a connector terminal which is characterized in that said plating solution supplying member 13 comprises a combination of a supporting member 15 made of an insulating sheet which has a vertical section shaped substantially like an inverted letter U forming an extremely narrow passage 14 for plating solution between both sides, and a plating solution retaining member 16 made of a meshed or porous sheet which is supported by said supporting member 15 and which drapes over the outer surface thereof, the thickness of the member 13 is made to be small enough to be inserted between said plating areas, the combination of said members being erected upon a box 12 in the form of a thin box, said supporting member 15 is provided with plural plating solution supplying holes 17 arranged discretely in the longitudinal direction at the positions corresponding to the passing plating areas or close thereto, and an anode is provided either inside the said passage of plating solution, at the inlet of the passage or inside of the box.
2. The plating device as claimed in Claim I wherein the supporting member 15 is provided with plural spacers 30 in the form of tape inside the narrow passage 14 for plating solution, the width of a passage i_{%_}determined in accordance with the thickness of a spacer, and each spacer functions as a rectifier for the flow of the plating solution inside the passage.
3. The plating device as claimed in Claim I or Claim 2 wherein the plating solution supplying member 13 comprising the supporting member 15 and the plating solution retaining member 16 which covers the outer surface of the supporting member has thickness small enough to be interposed between protruding plating areas 11,11 which extend in a pair from a connector terminal to oppose each other across an extremely small distance.
4. The plating device as claimed in Claim I wherein the plating solution retaining member 16 is wound around winding devices 31,32 at positions outside the supporting member, and the surfaces of the supporting member can be covered constantly with a new sheet of the plating solution retaining member which is reeled out from one of the winding devices and reeled in by the other.
5. The plating device as claiemd in Claim I wherein the plating solution supplying member 13, when erected upon the box 12, is held tightly from both sides with a pair of holder/guides 34, and the top portions of the holder/guides 34 have the shapes corresponding to the shape of the lower portions of a connector terminal so that the lower portions of the connector terminal can be guided by the top portions while moving along the passage.
6. The plating device as claimed in Claim I wherein an anode 19 is a net member made of platinum which is positioned inside the box 12.
7. The plating device as claimed in Claim I wherein an anode 37 is a net member made of platinum which extends from the inside of the box 12 to the inside of the passage 14.
8. The plating device as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the anode 37 made of a platinum net member comprises woven warps 40 and wefts 39, but warps alone are erected at a small interval without wefts at the portion inside the passage 14 to facilitate the plating solution to flow upward through narrow passages 41 between adjacent warps inside the passage.
9. The plating device as claimed in Claim 8 wherein the anode 37 is inside the passage of plating solution and is equipped with the functions to rectify the flow of the plating solution therethrough and to minimize the width of the passage.
10. The plating device as claimed in Claim I wherein an anode 43 is formed as a thin plate having plural vertical slit-like passages 42 and ex- tendign from the inside of the box 12 to the inside of the passage 14, and the slit-like passages communicate with the inside of the box at the lower portions 44 thereof and with the inside of the holes 17 at the upper portions 45 thereof.
II. The plating device as claimed in Claim 10 wherein the anode 43 is positioned inside the plating solution passages and is equipped with the functions to rectify the flow of the plating solution and to minimize the width of the passage.
12. In plating devices for electro-plating minute portions of plural connector terminals 10,102 which are formed as a fork each on a continuous band-like member and each of which having a pair of target portions 11,104 to be plated that are opposing to each other by positioning a plating solution supply section located along the pass-line of the target portions and interposed therebetween and moving the connector terminals in contact with or in the vicinity of the plating solution supply section, a plating device characterized in that said plating solution supply section III includes a support member 113 which is shaped substantially like an arrowhead at its top portion 119 with slanted guide planes on both sides, has an opening 122 for allowing the plating solution to seep out at the tip 120 of the top portion and a passage 123 communicating with said opening for supplying the plating solution; an anode 126 which is disposed in or near the passage of the support; a net member 115 which covers the top portion of the support at its tip as well as the surface in the vicinity, can be wound up in the direction intersecting the pass-line and forms a plating solution supply section 127 at a location corresponding to said pass-line; and a winding means 116 which comprises guide rollers 128 for imparting tension to the net member so that the member comes in close contact with the top portion of the support at its tip as well as the surface in the vicinity and drive rollers 131 which wind up and pay out the net member freely.
13. The plating device as claimed in Claim 12 wherein the support member 113 is made of a metal which is insoluble in the plating solution and constitutes an anode.
14. The plating device as claimed in Claim 12 wherein the support member is provided with plural openings 144 along the longitudinal direction of the support member near its top portion substantially in the form of an arrowhead for allowing the plating solution to seep out.
15. The plating device as claimed in Claim 12 or 14 wherein the anode 45 is a net member made of woven warps 146 and wefts 147, with the portion thereof located in the passage 123 for supplying the plating solution comprising the warps alone.