JP2000319798A - Seal member, and method and device for sealing electrode portion of electrolysis bath - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a seal member, and a method and a device for sealing an electrode portion of an electrolysis bath in which the secular degradation of the seal member is suppressed, and the seal reliability and the service life of the seal member are improved. SOLUTION: A seal member 30 is attached in a recessed groove 12 provided in an edge portion of an opening of an electrolysis bath having an electrode part 6A to receive an electrode 6 and an opening 4 to receive the electrode part with a specified clearance (width X), and formed of a tubular elastic material to seal the clearance, and has the tubular sectional width L which is larger than the sum of the width X of the clearance and the depth Y of the recessed groove in the natural condition, and provided with a mouth piece 16 to communicate inside and outside of the tube with each other. In the sealing method, a vacuum suction machine and an air pressurizing machine are connected to the mouth piece of the seal member in a switchable manner, and the inside of the tube is kept at the pressure below the normal pressure when the electrode is exchanged, or at the normal pressure or a pressure exceeding the normal pressure during the electrolysis operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrolytic treatment tank used for various kinds of electroplating such as electrogalvanizing and electrotin plating, electrolytic polishing and electrolytic cleaning. The present invention relates to a sealing member for an electrode portion in a processing tank and a sealing method and device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional technique for sealing an electrode portion in an electrolytic treatment tank will be described with reference to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-140100, taking an example of a horizontal (horizontal) electrogalvanizing facility. FIG. 2 is an overall view of a horizontal plating tank described in the publication, and a steel strip 1 running horizontally.
The tank body 2 is arranged at the lower part and the upper cover 3 is arranged at the upper part. Electrodes 6 and 7 are arranged at the center of the tank body. Roll 15
A total of two sets are provided with a pair of upper and lower nozzles 14 for spraying a plating solution toward both surfaces of the steel strip 1.
Since the upper electrode 7 is connected to a power source via conductors 10 and 11, respectively, a current flows between the electrodes 6 and 7 as anodes and the energizing roll 15 as cathode while the steel strip 1 is immersed in the plating solution. Is applied to perform electroplating. By the way, since these electrodes 6 and 7 are consumed together with the plating reaction, frequent replacement is necessary. However, if the steel strip 1 is pulled out each time, it is inefficient, so that the electrodes can be replaced while the plate is being passed. The tank main body 2 and the upper cover 3 are provided with openings 4 and 5 having shapes corresponding to the shapes of the electrodes 6 and 7, respectively, and are closed by loading the electrodes 6 and 7,
In other words, the electrodes 6 and 7 constitute a part of the tank body 2 and a part of the upper cover 3. The electrodes 6 and 7 are supported by electrode supporting means 8 and 9 such as jacks. For example, when the jack moves forward, it is in an operating state, when the jack retreats, it separates from the openings 4, 5 and further out of the line by a bogie, a crane or the like. Electrodes can be carried out. In order to prevent the plating solution from leaking from the periphery of the electrodes to the outside in the operation state, a seal member is required in the gap (normally about 3 to 10 mm) between the openings 4, 5 and the electrodes 6, 7.

[0003] Inflatable seals (expanding / shrinking tubular seals) are known as suitable sealing members for such portions. For example, FIG.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a seal portion around a lower electrode 6 formed by an inflation seal described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-209, (a) shows a state in which the electrode 6 is advanced, (b) shows a state in which the electrode 6 is retracted,
An inflatable seal 13 is fitted as a seal member in a concave groove 12 provided in the opening 4.

The inflation seal 13 is a tube body with a base made of an elastic material such as rubber or resin.
Its cross-sectional shape is flat on the two faces facing the depth direction of the concave groove 12, and the other two faces are concave. When gas is injected from the base 16 and the inside of the tube is pressurized, the concave part expands and the width increases. When the pressurization is released, the cross-sectional shape before pressurization is restored by elastic contraction. Utilizing this characteristic, in the operation state shown in FIG. 3A, the inside of the inflatable seal 13 is pressurized and expanded to make strong contact with the electrode 6 to perform the sealing. Returning to the pressure (atmospheric pressure) causes the inflatable seal 13 to elastically shrink, creating a gap around the electrode, facilitating the retreat operation, and damaging the electrode 6 when passing through the inflatable seal 13. There is no.

On the other hand, in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. Hei 5-19359, the rubber or resin material swells while the inflated seal repeatedly expands and contracts in the harsh environment of the plating solution.
Even if it returns to normal pressure, it shrinks only to the size exceeding the original size, the electrode contacts the inflation seal abnormally when it moves forward, damaging it and causing problems such as line stop due to liquid leakage, In order to solve this problem, it has been proposed that when the electrode is replaced, the inside of the tube is reduced to less than normal pressure by vacuum suction to further forcibly contract the tube from the elastic neutral state.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-120486 discloses that a normal inflation seal has a uniform cross-sectional shape and a small thickness, so that when the electrode position is changed during operation, the tip contacting the electrode is in contact with the electrode. It is assumed that there is a problem of being easily broken by being caught in the gap of the opening, and in order to solve this problem, as shown in FIG. It has been proposed that a part of the distal end is projected and fitted. In FIG. 4, the same or corresponding members as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional electrode part sealing technology for electrolytic treatment tanks, the elastic material such as rubber or resin constituting the tube of the sealing member is stretched for a long time. For this reason, these elastic materials undergo permanent elongation deformation and cannot be restored to their original size even when the pressure is released, and there is a problem that the elastic materials may be damaged by interference with a moving electrode for replacement.

In the Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-19359,
In consideration of swelling hypertrophy, the pressure inside the seal member is reduced to less than normal pressure when replacing the electrode. However, permanent expansion deformation due to the high pressure holding is added to the swelling hypertrophy, and the natural size (size in the elastic neutral state) further increases. If it becomes larger, it is very difficult to shrink the seal member so as to fit in the entire concave groove, and the damage due to the interference with the electrode moving for replacement as described above still occurs. In addition, the life of the seal member is shortened.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seal member having improved seal reliability and life of the seal member by minimizing aging of the seal member, and a method and apparatus for sealing an electrode portion of an electrolytic treatment tank. And

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The gist of the present invention resides in a sealing member and a method and apparatus for sealing an electrode portion of an electrolytic treatment tank described in the following sections. In the present invention, “natural size” refers to the size in the elastic neutral state, “tube cross-sectional width” refers to the elastic expansion / contraction direction component in the concave groove of the tube cross-sectional length, and “normal pressure” refers to large. Means atmospheric pressure.

(1) An electrolytic treatment tank having an electrode portion for receiving an electrode and an opening for receiving the electrode portion with a predetermined gap is fitted in a concave groove provided at an edge of the opening to form the gap. A sealing member made of a tube-shaped elastic material to be sealed, having a tube cross-sectional width larger than the sum of the width of the gap and the depth of the concave groove in a natural size, and provided with a mouthpiece communicating inside and outside the tube. A sealing member characterized by being made.

(2) At a position corresponding to substantially the center of the tube cross-sectional width,
The seal member according to (1), wherein the seal member has a concave portion having a thickness smaller than that of the other portion and a concave width of a natural size greater than the width of the gap. (3) The seal member according to (1) or (2), wherein a thickness of a tip portion to be brought into contact with the electrode is equal to or greater than a thickness of another portion. (4) The elastic material is an electrolyte-resistant rubber or resin.
The seal member according to any one of (1) to (3).

(5) A concave groove is provided at an edge of the opening of the electrolytic treatment tank having an electrode portion for receiving the electrode and an opening for receiving the electrode portion with a predetermined gap, and the concave groove has (1) to (4) The seal member according to any one of (4) is fitted, and the inside of the tube of the seal member is reduced to below normal pressure during electrode replacement through the base of the seal member, and at normal pressure or normal pressure during electrolytic operation. A method for sealing an electrode part of an electrolytic treatment tank, characterized in that the electrode part is kept at an excessive amount. (6) An electrode portion for receiving an electrode and an electrolytic treatment tank having an opening for receiving the electrode portion with a predetermined gap are fitted into concave grooves provided at an edge of the opening to seal the gap (1). An electrode sealing device for an electrolytic treatment tank, comprising: the seal member according to any one of (1) to (4), and a vacuum suction device and an air pressurizer switchably connected to a base of the seal member. .

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention (1) to (5) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view (a) showing an example of a sealed state of an electrode portion during an electrolytic operation according to the present invention, a cross-sectional view (b) of the same when an electrode is replaced, and a cross-sectional view showing an example of a sealing member in an elastic neutral state. Figure (c). In FIG. 1, 6A is a lower electrode portion, 30 is a sealing member of the present invention, 31 is a tip portion, and 32 is a concave portion. The same or equivalent members as those in FIGS. Is omitted.

The electrode portion 6A is provided in the opening 4 of the tank body 2.
Electrode 6 provided with a predetermined gap (width X) from the edge of
It is a reception space. The electrode portion 6A is occupied by the electrode 6 during operation (FIG. 1 (a)) and is empty during electrode replacement (FIG. 1 (b)). A groove 12 (depth Y) is provided in the opening 4 with the groove opening facing the side of the electrode portion 6A, and a seal member 30 is fitted in the groove 12.

The sealing member 30 of the present invention (1) has a tube-like shape in its entirety, is made of an elastic material, and is provided with a base 16 for ventilating the inside and outside of the tube. However, the feature is that the cross-sectional width L of the tube in a natural size is larger than the sum of the width X of the gap and the depth Y of the concave groove 12 (L> X + Y; FIG. 1 (c)).
On the point. The conventional sealing member separates from the electrode 6 when the inside of the tube is returned to normal pressure (FIGS. 3 (b) and 4 (b)).
In the present invention, since L> X + Y, even if the inside of the tube is returned to normal pressure, it does not separate from the electrode (FIG. 1 (a)). In this respect, the present invention is different from the related art.

The sealing method of the present invention (5) using the sealing member 30 is performed as follows. During electrode replacement, cap 12
Then, the air in the tube is sucked in vacuum through the, and the inside of the tube is reduced to a pressure lower than the normal pressure, thereby forcibly contracting the seal member 30 to release the seal (FIG. 1 (b)).
The amount of contraction in this forced contraction is set so that the distal end portion 31 of the seal member 30 fits in the concave groove 12.

On the other hand, after the replacement of the electrodes, the base 12 is opened and the inside of the tube is ventilated to the outside to return to normal pressure. At this time, the sealing member 30 attempts to return to the elastic neutral state, but since L> X + Y, the tip portion 31 is pressed against the electrode 6 in the middle to stop. That is, the gap is sealed by the elastic force of the seal member 30 itself. During the electrolytic operation, the seal member 30 is maintained in this state.

According to this sealing method, after the sealing member 30 is fitted into the concave groove 12, the sealing member 30 is in a state of being contracted from the elastic neutral state, so that even if the sealing member 30 is used for a long period of time, the sealing member 30 is not subjected to the permanent elongation deformation. And therefore the sealing member 30
Does not protrude from the groove 12 when forcedly contracted, there is no risk of damage due to interference with the electrodes, and the life of the seal member is extended. Further, according to this sealing method, since the sealing is not performed by pressurizing and expanding the sealing member, there is no fear of sealing failure due to trouble of the pressurizing source and the sealing reliability is improved.

In this sealing method, it is more preferable to supply air from the base 12 to pressurize the inside of the tube to a pressure higher than the normal pressure during the electrolytic operation. This is because the inner pressure of the tube increases, the rigidity of the sealing member increases,
This is because the force by which the electrode 31 presses the electrode 6 is further strengthened, and a stronger seal is made possible. Even when the tube is pressurized in this manner, the tube itself is restrained from the elastic neutral state to the contracted side by the electrode 6 and the groove 12, and does not shift from the elastic neutral state to the expanded side. There is no worry that will be promoted. Therefore, in the present invention (5), the inside of the tube is maintained at normal pressure or higher than normal pressure during the electrolytic operation.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), the sealing member 30 has a tube cross-section in order to prevent the entire tube from uniformly shrinking at the time of the forced shrinkage and to secure an easy shrinkage allowance. At a portion corresponding to the approximate center of the width, the concave portion 32 whose thickness d is thinner than the other and whose natural size recess width 1 is equal to or greater than the width X of the gap.
(Invention (2)) is preferable, and the tip portion 31 that is easily worn by being rubbed by the electrode 6 when changing the electrode position during the electrolytic operation is provided with a thin portion of the tube cross-sectional portion. It is preferable to have a thickness D greater than the thickness (the present invention (3)).

The elastic material constituting the tube is preferably an electrolyte-resistant rubber or resin (the present invention (4)). For example, NBR (nitrile butadiene rubber) or SBR (styrene butadiene rubber) may be used. It is suitable. The sealing members of the present inventions (1) to (4) and the sealing method of the present invention (5) can be used, for example, in the electrolytic treatment tank shown in FIG. 2 instead of the conventional inflatable seal 13 shown in FIG. The present invention can be preferably applied to an electrolytic treatment tank having the seal member 30 of the present invention.

Next, the present invention (6) provides a sealing device suitable for carrying out the present invention (5).
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing an example of the present invention (6). In this example, the lower electrode portion 6A
The seal member 30 of the present invention is provided in two stages around the upper electrode portion 7B and the upper electrode portion 7B, and air pipes 17 are connected to the respective bases, and the air pipes 17 are connected to each other through a vacuum on-off valve 40A. Connected to a vacuum suction machine 40 consisting of a vacuum pump
Air pressurizer consisting of air compressor via 50A
50 and is configured to be able to communicate with the outside world via an outside communication on-off valve 60A. In addition, in FIG.
The same or corresponding members as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

The present invention (5) can be easily carried out by operating this sealing device by appropriately switching the vacuum suction device 40 and the air pressurization device 50 according to the conditions shown in Table 1, for example, in accordance with the electrolytic operation situation. it can.

[0025]

[Table 1]

As described above, according to the present invention, instead of the conventional method of sealing the electrode portion of the electrolytic treatment tank, a so-called tube-expansion-type sealing method, the extension elastic force of the tube itself restrained to the contraction side from the natural size is used. As a so-called tube shrinkable sealing method, which seals with a seal member (rubber, etc.) during electrolytic operation
It does not give any elongation and keeps the deformation as small as possible.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention was applied to an electrode seal of an electrolytic treatment tank having the form shown in FIG. A tube member having a cross-sectional shape shown in FIG. 1 (c) was used as the seal member. This tube is N
It was made of BR. In this electrolytic treatment tank, the gap X between the electrode portion and the opening is 5 mm at the maximum, and the depth Y of the groove provided in the opening is 28 mm.
mm, the dimensions (natural dimensions) of the sealing member were such that the tube cross-sectional width L was 35 mm. Also, the tip portion 31 and the concave portion 32
The thickness of the portion excluding the thickness was 4 to 6 mm, the recess width 1 of the concave portion 32 was 3 mm, and the thickness D of the tip portion 31 was 10 mm.

The sealing device was constructed as shown in FIG. 5, except that the sealing members were arranged in upper and lower stages as shown in FIG. 2, and operated in the manner shown in Table 1 (case I was employed during the electrolytic operation).
As a result, the number of plating solution leakage accidents due to breakage of the seal member was 20 relative to the conventional example, which was 100 in comparison with the conventional example that operated according to the conventional example shown in FIG. 3 (within the same extended operation period). Reduced to In addition, the seal members that have deteriorated due to periodic inspections are replaced with new ones, and the number of replacements has been reduced to 40 with a relative index of 100 compared to the conventional one.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, the so-called tube contraction sealing system in which the electrode is sealed by the extension and resilience of the tube itself is used instead of the conventional so-called tube expansion sealing system for the electrode portion of the electrolytic treatment tank. In addition, during the electrolytic operation, the sealing member (rubber or the like) is not stretched, and the amount of deformation is suppressed as small as possible, so that the progress of the deterioration (permanent elongation deformation) of the sealing member is reduced. It is possible to achieve an excellent effect that leakage to the electrode, prevention of breakage of the seal member when the electrode is replaced, and extension of the life of the seal member can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing an example of a sealed state of an electrode portion during an electrolytic operation according to the present invention, and the same cross-sectional view when replacing an electrode
FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the sealing member in an elastic neutral state.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an example of an electrolytic treatment tank suitable for carrying out the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part showing an example of a conventional sealing member in a pressurized and expanded state (a) and an elastically contracted state (b).

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an example of a conventional sealing member in a pressurized and expanded state (a) and an elastically contracted state (b).

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing one example of the present invention (6).

[Description of Signs] 1 Steel strip 2 Tank body 3 Upper cover 4 Opening (provided on tank body) 5 Opening (provided on upper cover) 6 Electrode (lower electrode) 6A Electrode section (for lower) 7 Electrode ( 7A Electrode part (for upper part) 8 Electrode support means (for lower part) 9 Electrode support means (for upper part) 10 Conductor (for lower part) 11 Conductor (for upper part) 12 Groove 13 Inflation seal (conventional) 14 Nozzle 15 Energizing roll 16 Cap 17 Air piping 20 Seal member (conventional) 30 Seal member (present invention) 31 Tip 32 Concave portion 40 Vacuum suction device 40A Vacuum on / off valve 50 Air pressurizer 50A Pressurization on / off valve 60A External communication open valve

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electrolytic treatment tank having an electrode portion for receiving an electrode and an opening for receiving the electrode portion with a predetermined gap, is fitted in a groove provided at an edge of the opening to seal the gap. A sealing member made of a tube-like elastic material having a tube cross-sectional width larger than the sum of the width of the gap and the depth of the concave groove in a natural size, and provided with a mouthpiece for communicating between the inside and the outside of the tube. A sealing member, characterized in that: 2. The seal member according to claim 1, further comprising a concave portion having a thickness smaller than that of the other portion and having a natural width that is greater than the width of the gap, at a portion corresponding to a substantially central portion of the tube cross-sectional width. 3. The seal member according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the tip portion to be brought into contact with the electrode is greater than the thickness of the other portion. 4. The seal member according to claim 1, wherein the elastic material is an electrolyte-resistant rubber or resin. 5. An electrolytic treatment tank having an electrode portion for receiving an electrode and an opening for receiving the electrode portion with a predetermined gap, a groove is provided at an edge of the opening, and the groove is formed in the groove. And keeping the inside of the tube of the seal member through the base of the seal member at a pressure lower than the normal pressure during the electrode replacement, and at the normal pressure or higher than the normal pressure during the electrolytic operation. A method for sealing an electrode portion of an electrolytic treatment tank, characterized by comprising: 6. An electrolytic treatment tank having an electrode portion for receiving an electrode and an opening for receiving the electrode portion with a predetermined gap, is fitted into a groove provided at an edge of the opening to seal the gap. An electrode sealing device for an electrolytic treatment tank, comprising: the seal member according to claim 1; and a vacuum suction device and an air pressurizer that are switchably connected to a base of the seal member. .