JP2002363796A - Electroplating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electroplating device, with which the distance between articles to be plated is reliably controlled in a plating tank and the amount of articles to be plated in the plating tank can be easily controlled when the articles to be plated, having various sizes are plated. SOLUTION: A pre-treatment process, a plating process, a post-treatment process and a hanger post-treatment process are arranged in an elliptical manner, and a plating tank fixing guide rail 11 and a peeling tank fixing guide rail 13 are provided in parallel. Elevator guide rails at the loading side 10 and at the unloading side, each continuing to the end part and the starting end part of each of the guide rails 11 and 13 and having a semicircular arc part, are provided between the guide rails 11 and 13 so as to provide hanger conveying means. A conveying hanger is engaged with a plating tank side conveying means provided along the guide rail 11, through a one-way clutch type gear, and further, front and rear clampers capable of freely controlling the distance between front and rear parts are provided, and thereby the distance mentioned above is expanded at the loading part and contracted to the minimum value at the unloading part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electroplating apparatus, preferably a pre-plating process, a plating process,
In the post-plating processing step, each has a conveying means for independently driving the conveying hanger, and a conveying means for returning the used conveying hanger to the pre-plating processing step. The present invention relates to an electroplating apparatus capable of adjusting the interval between such plate-shaped workpieces and transporting the transport hanger while maintaining the interval.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent No. 3022554, Japanese Patent No. 2943070, and Japanese Patent No. 30649 are examples of electroplating apparatuses for plate-like workpieces such as printed boards as described above.
An apparatus such as that disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 70 is known. However, they have the following disadvantages. (1) Disadvantages when processing objects to be processed in various sizes in the transport direction: the length of the entire electroplating apparatus in the transport direction and the length of the electroplating tank are fixed. The transport interval is also fixed. Therefore, when processing workpieces of different sizes, the number of transport hangers that sandwich the upper edge of the workpiece in the electroplating tank fluctuates, and the transport hangers transported at other locations (peeling tank, etc.) The number of hangers also varies accordingly. In order to cope with this variation, when the size of the object to be processed is large, there is a method of removing an extra transport hanger and storing it in a location provided separately from the transport path of the electroplating apparatus, It takes time to remove the transport hanger, and a space for storing the transport hanger is required. Further, the apparatus must be stopped every time an object (lot) having a different size is processed. Japanese Patent No. 3025254 discloses a method of saving the trouble of removing the transfer hanger, but requires a conveyor having a number of different transfer speeds, and the transfer process and mechanism are complicated and control is difficult. In addition, the installation space becomes large. In Japanese Patent No. 2943070, in order to stock after the stop position, special transport means for each of a plating process step, a pre-plating process step, and a post-plating process step, and a transport means for returning a used transport hanger, A complicated transfer device (transfer device orthogonal to the plating process) is required, which complicates the process. Further, the transport hanger accumulated after the stop position generates friction with the timing belt, and thus has poor resistance. (2) Disadvantage related to the adjustment of the distance between the objects to be processed in the electroplating tank: Since the pitch of the teeth (engaging claws) of the transport hanger and the pitch of the teeth of the timing belt or the chain belt are fixed, The spacing between the workpieces can be adjusted only by an integral multiple of the tooth pitch, and when the pitch of the teeth does not match the originally intended spacing of the workpieces, the spacing cannot be adjusted. On the other hand, as in Japanese Patent No. 3065970, it is conceivable to cope with the problem by reducing the pitch of the teeth of the transport hanger. However, when the pitch of the teeth is reduced, the size of the teeth to be engaged is also reduced, Insufficient strength results in poor durability of the device. (3) Disadvantage when processing an object to be processed having a small thickness: the size of the object to be processed is reduced because the outer and outer clamps provided on the transport hanger are fixed. When the width of the clamper is larger than the width of the clamper, the side (edge) of the workpiece located on the front and rear outer sides of the clamper is warped due to a plating jet or the like in the plating tank. Transport failure such as clogging of the guide plate. In addition, the current may be excessively concentrated on the side end of the object to be processed, and the plating thickness may be non-uniform, because the distance from the electrode changes or the gap is adjusted at the adjusted interval.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an apparatus capable of high-performance electroplating with a simple mechanism and saves space. In other words, when processing objects of various sizes, the distance between the objects to be processed in the electroplating tank can be reliably adjusted, the amount of the objects to be processed in the plating tank can be easily adjusted, and the equipment can be maximized. Provided is an electroplating apparatus capable of exhibiting a high processing ability. Also, when processing objects of various sizes, there is no need to remove the transport hanger, and the transport process and mechanism can be simplified, space can be saved, and a highly durable electroplating apparatus is provided. . Further, an electroplating apparatus which does not cause uneven plating is provided. Further, the present invention provides an electroplating apparatus capable of performing processing without causing a conveyance failure even when processing an object to be processed having a small thickness.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a plating tank-side transfer means which is disposed along a plating tank fixing guide rail and holds a plate-like workpiece on a vertical surface along a transfer direction, and a plating tank. A hanger return transfer means having a transfer direction opposite to the side transfer means, and a first positioning transfer means for feeding forward at a higher speed than the plating tank side transfer means. In the electroplating apparatus in which the distance is adjusted, and the distance is maintained and the distance is transferred by the plating tank side transfer means, the invention according to claim 1 is arranged along the plating tank fixing guide rail to transfer the plate-like workpiece. An electroplating apparatus, characterized in that a transfer hanger for transferring an object to be processed is engaged via a one-way clutch type gear with respect to a plating tank-side transfer means held on a vertical surface along a direction. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a separation tank fixing guide rail is provided in parallel with the plating tank fixing guide rail, and the immersion part of the object to be processed and the transfer hanger are separated from the ends of each of the two guide rails. The load-side and unload-side elevating guide rails that are continuous with the starting end and the end, the end and the starting end, and each have a semi-circular part in the middle, are provided with hanger transport means on each of the elevating guide rails. An electroplating apparatus characterized in that:

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the transport hanger is provided with at least front and rear clampers capable of adjusting the longitudinal distance in the transport direction. 3. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance is reduced to a minimum value.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the electroplating apparatus according to any one of the second and third aspects, wherein at least one of a pretreatment tank, a recovery tank, and a washing tank is disposed below the lifting guide rail.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a positioning / transporting means or a take-in / transporting means for transferring a transport hanger between the plating tank fixing guide rail, the peeling tank fixing guide rail, and the two elevating guide rails. Item 5. An electroplating apparatus according to any one of Items 2 to 4.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1 which is a schematic plan view, the electroplating apparatus includes a pretreatment tank 1 for a pretreatment step, a plating tank 2 for an electroplating step, A recovery tank 3 and a washing tank 4 in a post-processing step, an unloader 5 in an unloading section, a stripping tank 6 in a stripping step (hanger return step), a washing tank 7 in a hanger stripping post-processing step, and a loader 8 in a loading section are provided. I have. A guide rail divided into four substantially elliptical shapes along the inside of each tank,
That is, a load-side elevating guide rail 10 that constantly moves up and down is provided at a corner portion having a load portion, a plating tank fixing guide rail 11 is provided at a lower linear portion (plating tank 2), and an unloading portion is provided at a corner portion having an unload portion. A load-side elevating guide rail 12 has a stripper tank fixing guide rail 13 on the upper side straight portion.
, Respectively. These four guide rails 1
0 to 13 are load-side and unload-side guide rails 1
0 and 12 are aligned and continued at the lowered position.

The transport hanger 15 is transported by the following six independently driven transport means. First, (c) on the loading side elevating guide rail 10,
The transport hanger 1 at the positions of (d), (e) and (f)
There is a first transport unit 17 for intermittently transporting 5 at intervals of one pitch by first pushers 16a to 16d (FIG. 2) described later. Next, the first transporting means 17 is disposed above the plating tank start end.
The transport hanger 15a descends from the position (x) above the plating tank 2 into the workpiece immersion part 2a (FIG. 3).
To the plating tank fixed guide rail 11 (b)
, The workpiece W in the plating tank 2 and the workpiece W at the position (b) in front of it (left side in FIG. 3).
There is a first positioning / conveying means 18 for adjusting the distance L1 to the desired distance L2 of, for example, 10 mm. Next, the transport hanger 15 (the hanger adjusted to a small interval as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B) forwardly fed by the first positioning and transporting means 18 is moved forward as shown by an arrow C. There is a plating tank side transfer means 19 for transferring. It is arranged above the plating tank 2 end part,
The transport hanger 15 transported to the position (g) by the plating tank-side transport means 19 is moved to the (h) position of the unload-side elevating guide rail 12 at the lowered position (the workpiece upper portion 2b).
There is a first taking-in / transporting means 20 for transferring to (FIG. 3). Next, there is a second transport unit 22 that is intermittently driven by the second pushers 21a to 21d (FIG. 2) on the raised unload-side elevating guide rail 12. Next, it is disposed above the starting end of the stripping tank 6, is driven to the position (l) of the starting end of the stripping tank 6 by the second transport means 22, and is lowered into the hanger immersion section 6 a by the unloading side elevating guide rail 12. The transfer hanger (not shown in FIG. 1) is moved to the position (m) on the separation tank fixing guide rail 13 and the distance between the transfer hanger 15 at the position (n) in the separation tank 6 is adjusted. There is a second positioning / conveying means 23 that adjusts to a predetermined value. Next, there is a hanger return transport unit 24 that transports the transport hanger 15 that has been advanced by the second positioning transport unit 23. Next, the transport hanger 15 at the position (o), which is disposed above the terminal end of the peeling tank 6 and is transported by the hanger return transport means 24, is moved to the load-side elevating guide rail 1 at the lowered position.
0 is provided with a second take-in / transport means 25 for transferring to the position (f) of the hanger pull-up portion 6b. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 27 to 30 denote first to fourth claws, and reference numeral 31 denotes a plate which has front and rear movements each having a front end. Each of the front claws is normally biased and supported by a spring at an acute angle as shown in the figure. The transport hanger 15 can be driven forward by hooking the claw contact portion 32, but when moving in the reverse driving direction, the spring is contracted and can pass over the claw contact portion 32.

Structure of the transport hanger 15: IV-IV in FIG.
In FIG. 4 showing a cross section (the bracket 52 in FIG. 5 and the torsion coil spring 53 on the shaft 51 are not shown) and FIG. 5 in which FIG. 4 is viewed in the direction of arrow V, the transport hanger 15 has a guide rail at the top. A base 35 is provided which is slid and guided at 11, and has a shape in which one corner of a square is cut off in cross section. A bearing 36 is fixed to the upper surface of the base 35,
On the surface of the bearing 36 opposite to the conveying direction, the pushers 16a to 16d and 21a to 21d of the first and second conveying units 17 and 22 are provided.
A pusher contact portion 37 (FIG. 2) to be contacted is provided. A one-way clutch type gear 40 which meshes with a chain belt 39 of the plating tank side transporting means 19 (or the hanger return transporting means 24) is pivotally supported on a shaft 38 fixed to the bearing 36. The gear 40 is indicated by an arrow B in FIG.
It can rotate in the direction (transport direction) but cannot rotate in the opposite direction. 41 is a chain support rail.

When the transport hanger has a saw-toothed engaging portion as in the above-mentioned prior patent, the engaging portion moves over the teeth of the timing belt during the interval adjusting operation. ”→“ non-engagement ”→“ engagement ”.
Or, there is a case where it is “disengaged” or “engaged” when placed. Here, when the interval adjustment operation is stopped, "disengage"
, The transport of the transport hanger by the timing belt does not start unless it is displaced to the "engage" position,
It cannot be adjusted to the interval of the target material to be processed initially.
On the other hand, in the present invention, a one-way clutch type gear 40 (40a in FIG. 4 is a one-way clutch) is employed, and as described later, the gear 40 is engaged with a chain belt 39, which is an example of the plating tank side transporting means 19, in a predetermined state. Since the conveyor hanger 15 is conveyed a distance, the teeth of one gear 40 can always be in a state of meshing with the chain belt 39 during the operation of adjusting the interval (after engagement) of the conveying hanger 15. Therefore, the workpiece W can be transported by the chain belt 39 while maintaining the interval between the transport hanger and the preceding transport hanger regardless of the position where the workpiece W is stopped, and the accuracy of the interval adjustment is improved.

As described above, the shaft 38 of the gear 40 is provided with the claw contact portion 32 at the tip thereof, and the first and second positioning and conveying means 18 and 23 of FIG. Means 2
It comes into contact with the claws 27, 29, 28, 30 of 0, 25.

A base arm 44 temporarily extends rightward in the horizontal direction and then vertically downward from the side (right side) of the base 35 without the gear 40 in FIG. The guide rail 11 and the chain belt 39 are separated from the passing line of the processing object W by setting the arrangement position of the gear 40, the structure of the base portion 35, and the base arm 44, which temporarily extend horizontally, as described above. When a lid is provided on the plating tank 2 (FIG. 1), dust generated by sliding enters the processing solution from an opening (slit... Not shown) along the passing line. Can be prevented. At the lower end of the base arm 44, a sliding arm support portion 45 having two communication holes communicating with each other in the transport direction, which are arranged back and forth on the front side and the back side of FIG. Two sliding arms 46 extending horizontally from the bearing 45
a and b are accommodated respectively. A rod 47 is suspended from the distal ends of both sliding arms 46 and the center of the lower surface of the sliding arm support 45, and a clamper 48 for clamping the upper end of the workpiece W is provided at the lower end of the rod 47. At the ends of the sliding arms 46a and 46b to which the rods 47 are fixed, the width of the two sliding arms 46 (the width in the left-right direction in FIG. 5, ie, the length L4 in the transport direction) is adjusted to the width of the workpiece W. There is a knob 49 to be used when performing. Further, holes are provided on the front and back of the sliding arm support portion 45, and lock levers 50a, b for fixing the sliding arms 46a, 46b are provided at the positions of the holes. The shaft 51 in FIG. 5 penetrates the lock lever 50, and both ends are supported by the bracket 52.
A torsion coil spring 53 for urging the lock lever 50 in the direction in which the lock lever 50 normally meshes with the sliding arm 46 is mounted on the upper part 1. Power is supplied to the workpiece W from the guide rail 11 to the upper end of the workpiece W through the base 35, the sliding arms 46a and 46b, the rod 47, and the clamper 48.

Configuration of Guide Rails: In FIG. 1, this electroplating apparatus has four guides: a load side elevating guide rail 10, a plating tank fixing guide rail 11, an unloading side elevating guide rail 12, and a peeling tank fixing guide rail 13. Have rails. Load-side elevating guide rail 10
Are the unload-side elevating guide rails 1 from the hanger pull-up portion 6b of the stripping tank 6 to the workpiece immersion portion 2a of the plating tank 2.
2 is a plating tank, which connects between the upper part 2b of the object to be treated of the plating tank 2 and the hanger immersion part 6a of the peeling tank 6,
The peeling tank fixing guide rails 11 and 13 extend inward of a passing line through which the clamper 48 of the transport hanger 15 passes.

In FIG. 2, the load-side elevating guide rail 10 and the unloading-side elevating guide rail 12 always move up and down along a column (not shown). Guide rail 11
And the start and end of the separation tank fixing guide rail 13. The plating tank and the stripping tank fixing guide rails 11 and 13 are:
It is usually stationary at the lowered position, but can be raised during maintenance.

The plating tank fixed guide rail 11, the end of the load-side elevating guide rail 10 (portion located at the workpiece immersion part 2 a), and the unloading-side elevating guide rail 1.
The start end of the workpiece 2 (the portion located on the workpiece upper portion 2b) serves as a power supply rail for plating current, and power is supplied from the upper end of the workpiece W through the transport hanger 15 as described above. In addition, 10a is a semi-circular part, 10b is an insulating part, 10c is a conducting part, 12a is a semi-circular part, 12b is an insulating part, and 12c is a conductive part. FIG. 6 shows the guide rail 10.
It is a schematic plan view explaining the structure in which (11, 13) moves up and down. The load side elevating guide rail 10 is a guide rail 1
It is fixed to a frame 81 disposed along the inside of the frame 0 by bolts and nuts. The frame 81 is fixed to two frames 82 that are parallel to the linear portions of the guide rails 10 disposed further inside. The frame 82 has a U-shaped frame 83 that is movable in the vertical direction along the guide column 84, and is fixed to the guide column 84 via a roller (not shown). The frames 81 to 76 suspended by wires by the drive source 61 (FIG. 3)
The guide rail 10 moves up and down as the unit 83 moves up and down together. Similarly, the plating rail and the stripping tank fixing guide rails 11 and 13 are also fixed to a frame 73 disposed along the inside of the guide rails 11 and 13, and the frame 73 is fixed to a further inner frame 78, and the guide pillar 85. Is fixed to the guide column 85 via a frame 86 that can move along. Since the guide rails 11 and 13 are integrated, the guide rails 11 and 13 can be moved up and down integrally with the frames 73, 78 and 86 via wires by a driving source (not shown). In addition,
The unloading side elevating guide rail 12 is the guide rail 1
It has the same structure as 0.

In the loading / unloading elevating guide rails 10 and 12, a processing tank (a pre-processing tank 1 or a washing tank 4 in FIG. 3) at a position where an object to be processed is conveyed from a corner. Is a guide rail 12 as shown in FIGS.
When the workpiece W is conveyed by rising, it is preferable that a gap is opened, and the object-to-be-processed swing prevention device 56 having a structure in which the gap is narrowed during immersion is vertically provided on the guide rail ( In the corner portion, the side end of the workpiece W is conveyed along a radius trajectory larger than the guide rail. Therefore, if the gap of the swing prevention member 56 is small, the workpiece W will not be accommodated in the gap.) By preventing this, the swing of the workpiece W can be prevented even at the corners, so that a processing tank can be provided also at the corners, and the space of the apparatus can be further reduced. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 54 denotes a swing prevention bar, 55 denotes a guide roller, 42 denotes a bracket, 43 denotes a roller, and 33 in FIG. 8 denotes a spring. The swing prevention rod 54 is fixed via a plate to a movable base 76 that is guided by a guide roller 55 in the left-right direction of FIG. 8.
When the roller 43 at the tip of the movable base 76 moves along the tank wall, the repulsive force of the spring 33 widens the gap when the elevating guide rail rises.

Transporting means: a) Loading from the hanger pull-up portion 6b to the hanger water washing step (wash tank 7), load section (loader 8), plating pre-treatment step (pre-treatment tank 1), and immersion section 2a of the workpiece. 1st transporting means 17 (see FIG. 2) for transporting the transport hanger 15 along the side lifting guide rail 10: this first transporting means 17 is arranged on the loading side lifting guide rail 10 as shown in FIG. And first pushers 16a to 16d driven by a drive source 58 (FIG. 3) for driving the pushers.
5, the transport hanger 15 is advanced by the guide rail 10 at a predetermined pitch in contact with the pusher contact portion 37 (see FIG. 5). The workpiece W is lowered (immersed / loaded) and raised (pulled up) by the guide rail 10. 59 is a beam,
Reference numeral 60 denotes a connecting rod, and 61 (FIG. 3) denotes a drive source for elevating and lowering the guide rail. A simple operation will be described. In FIGS. 2 and 9, the load-side elevating guide rail is in the ascending position,
The hangers at the positions (d) and (c) clamp the workpiece. Initially, there are first pushers 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d at positions (f), (e), (d) and (c) in FIG. The first pushers 16b, c are fixed to the lower surface of the substantially V-shaped swinging plate 65, and the first pushers a, d are fixed to the lower surfaces of the beams 59a, b. Oscillating plate 65 and oscillating bar 66 to connecting bars 67, 6 via a chain
8 through the integrated movement of the beams 59a and 59b, the hangers at the positions (f), (e), (d) and (c) as shown in FIG. The transport hanger 15 is advanced to the positions (c) and (x). During the vertical movement of the guide rail 10, the first pusher 16 returns to the positions (f), (e), (d) and (c) as shown in FIG. I do. Reference numeral 80 denotes a guide rail for guiding the beam 59. Here, only the four transport hangers are always transported by the first transport unit 17. When the hangers are in the immersion part (x) of the workpiece, the hanger pull-up portions 6 b (f) of the peeling tank 6 are transported. ) Does not have a transport hanger.

B) The transport interval of the workpiece W held between the transport hangers 15 is 0 to 15 mm, preferably 0 to 10 mm.
mm, and the transfer hanger 15 is moved forward from the workpiece immersion part 2a (FIG. 1), and the transfer hanger 15 is transferred from the load-side elevating guide rail 10 to the plating tank fixing guide rail 11. Conveying means 18 (FIG. 1)
As shown in FIG. 10, the first positioning / conveying means 18 is provided above the starting end of the plating tank 2 along the inside of the load-side elevating guide rail 10 and the plating-tank fixed guide rail 11. And a plate 31 driven by a servomotor in the left-right direction of the drawing, and a first claw 27 at the tip of the plate 31. The first positioning / conveying means 18 is fixedly supported by bolts and nuts on a frame 73 fixed so as to be integral with the frame 73 to which the guide rail 11 is fixed, and can be lifted together with the guide rail 11 during maintenance. It has become. The claw 27 is installed at the same height as the claw contact portion 32 of the transport hanger 15 which has been lowered. The claw 27 is pivotally supported at an intermediate portion by a shaft 79 supported by a bracket (not shown) fixed to the plate 13. The shaft 79 is provided with a spring 77. As described above, the spring 79 can be brought into contact with the claw contact portion 32 of the transport hanger 15 in the direction of arrow C in FIG. As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The claw 27 once moves in the direction opposite to the arrow C direction, contacts the claw contact portion 32 of the transport hanger 15, and further moves in the direction opposite to the arrow C direction. And after passing through the gap with the claw contact portion 32, the claw 27 is returned by the spring, and the paper hanger claw contact portion 32 that has descended to the workpiece immersion portion 2a is on the right side of the drawing. When driving in the direction of arrow C, the transfer hanger 15 comes into contact with the claw contact portion 32 (see FIGS. 1 and 3), and is pulled to a position where the distance between the workpieces is, for example, 10 mm.

C) Plating layer side transport means 19 for transporting the transport hanger 15 in the electroplating tank 2 along the plating tank fixing guide rail 11 while maintaining the transport interval (10 mm) of the object to be processed. Plating tank side transfer means 19
Is, as shown in FIG.
Chain belt 3 arranged along the inside at the back of the paper surface
9, a small-diameter pulley 70, and a large-diameter pulley 71. In addition, as shown in FIG.
Frame 7 to which plating tank fixing guide rail 10 is fixed.
3 and can be raised together with the guide rail 10 during maintenance. Note that 72 is
This is a plate that receives dust generated by the engagement between the chain belt 39 and the gear and the sliding between the guide rail 10 and the transport hanger 15. The terminal end of the plating tank side transporting means 19 extends to the upper part 2b (left side of the drawing from the position where the transport hanger is pulled up) of the workpiece, and the starting end is immersed in the transport hanger of the workpiece immersion part 2a. It extends to the left position in the drawing from the position. Here, the pulley 70 on the start end side
Is smaller in diameter than the pulley 71 on the terminal side, and is set at a slightly lower height so that the gear 40 of the transport hanger 15 does not collide with the pulley 71. This prevents the occurrence of transport failure and "garbage". The upper side of the chain belt 39 immediately after (the left side of) the small-diameter pulley 70 in FIG. 3 is aligned with the upper end of the large-diameter pulley 71 by the chain support rail 41 (FIG. 4) that is inclined upward and left in FIG. The chain belt 39 is engaged with the one-way clutch type gear 40 of the transport hanger 15 to transport the workpiece W while maintaining it at, for example, 10 mm intervals.

D) The transport hanger 15 transported by the plating tank side transporting means 19 is transferred to the plating tank side transporting means 1.
The first take-in / transporting means 20 is arranged at a higher speed than that of the workpiece 9 and is located from the intermediate portion of the plating tank-side transport means 19 to the to-be-processed object upper part 2b. Has the same configuration as the first positioning / conveying means 18.

E) From the upper part 2b of the object to be treated, to the recovery tank 3,
A second step of feeding the transport hanger 15 forward at a predetermined pitch along the unload-side guide rail 12 to the washing tank 4, the unload section (unloader 5), and the hanger immersion section 6a;
Conveying means 22: The first conveying means 1 except that the disposition position is above the unloading side guide rail 12 and from the to-be-processed object upper part 2b to the hanger immersion part 6a.
7 has the same configuration.

F) The hanger immersion section 6 according to the size of the object transported by the first positioning and transporting means 18
The second positioning / transporting means 23 for moving the transport hanger 15 forward in the peeling tank 6 from the position a to the predetermined interval and transferring the transport hanger 15 from the unloading side elevating guide rail 12 to the peeling tank fixing guide rail 13: The disposition position is from the hanger immersion section 6a to the hanger return / transport means 24.
Except for the start end, the configuration is the same as that of the first positioning / transporting means 18. The advance distance of the transport hanger 15 by the second positioning and transporting means 23 is determined according to the size of the workpiece W which has been immediately advanced by the first positioning and transporting means 18.

G) The transfer hanger 15 in the peeling tank 6 is moved along the guide rail 13 by the second positioning and conveying means 2.
Hanger return transporting means 24 for transporting while maintaining the transporting interval adjusted in 3: the transport direction is plating tank side transporting means 1
9 has the same configuration as the plating tank-side transfer means 19, except that the arrangement position is above the peeling tank 6.

(H) Second take-up means 25 for taking up the transport hanger 15 carried by the hanger return / transport means 24 to the hanger pull-up portion 6b at a higher speed than the hanger return / transport means 24: The configuration is the same as that of the first positioning / transporting means 18 except that it is from the end of the hanger returning / transporting means 24 to the hanger pull-up portion 6b.

Description of the operation: The movement of the transport hanger 15 from where the workpiece W is loaded will be described with reference to FIG. The hanger at the position (d) is suspended on the load-side elevating guide rail 10, the sliding arm width L3 is the minimum width, and the clamper 48 is released. When the load-side elevating guide rail is lowered (see FIG. 4), the workpiece automatic loading device (the loader 8 in FIG. 1) extends the air cylinder, and from the right side of the paper of FIG. The hanger width adjusting mechanism having the first lock lever operating tool and the knob guide approaches the second lock lever operating tool from the left side of the drawing. The knob guide is engaged with the knob 49 of the hanger, and the frame-shaped engaging tools provided at the tips of the first and second lock lever operating tools are engaged with the lock levers 50a and 50b, respectively. When the hanger is positioned by the engagement of the knob guides, the lock levers 50a, 50b are raised by upward movement of the first and second lock lever operating tools, and the sliding arms 46a,
The fixing of b is released, and the knob guide moves the sliding arm width from L3 to L4 to the size of the workpiece set in the control unit in advance by driving the motor. Here, L4 is
It is preferable that the workpiece W can be clamped at a position of 0 to 20 mm from the front and rear ends in the transport direction. When the movement of the knob guide ends, the first and second lock lever operating tools move downward to fix the sliding arms 46a and 46b. Thereafter, the rollers of the load table are driven, the workpiece W is taken in, and the tip of the workpiece W is sandwiched between the chucks disposed on the side end opposite to the side of the load table that takes in the workpiece. Position and the rollers stop. When the loading is completed, the chuck operates to hold the workpiece. afterwards,
When the load table is turned upright by the motor, the chuck is slightly moved upward by the air cylinder, and the workpiece W is supplied to the height of the clamper 48. When the workpiece W is supplied to the height of the clamper 48, the clamper operating bar simultaneously presses three levers 74 (FIG. 4) of the clamper 48 by the air cylinder to clamp the workpiece W. When the workpiece W is clamped, the chuck releases the workpiece and slightly moves upward, so that the entire load table slightly advances, and the hanger width adjusting mechanism and the second lock lever operating tool are separated from the hanger ( After the hanger is lifted, the load table rotates and falls, returning to the standby state.)

When the loading of the object to be processed is completed, the hanger at the position (d) is raised by the lifting of the load-side lifting guide rail 10. When the ascent is completed, the hanger is rotated by a fixed angle (for example, 103 degrees) in the direction of arrow A in the figure, and the hanger is moved by the first pusher 16c (FIG. 2) on the load-side elevating guide rail 10 to the tank wall. Is transported over the pretreatment tank 1 (at this time, (c), (e), (f)
Position hangers are also the first pushers a, b, d, respectively.
Conveyed to the next process).

When the hanger is transported above the pretreatment tank 1, the hanger descends due to the lowering of the load-side elevating guide rail 10 (at this time, the workpiece W is removed from the pretreatment tank 1).
The workpiece W at the position (x) is immersed in the electroplating tank 2 and the hanger at the position (c) is immersed in the washing priest. After a predetermined time, the hanger is lifted by the lifting of the load-side elevating guide rail 10, and the hanger is moved by the first pusher 16d on the load-side elevating guide rail 10 in the same manner as described above. Is transported to a position above the workpiece immersion section 2a, and the hanger descends as the load-side elevating guide rail 10 descends. At this time, the workpiece W is immersed in the workpiece immersion part 2a (electroplating tank 2).

When the hanger descends, the claw 27 of the first positioning / transporting means 18 moves to the claw contact portion 3 of the hanger at the position (x).
2, the hanger is moved by the claws 27 of the first positioning / transporting means 18 to the plating tank side transporting means 19.
At a higher speed (for example, at 5000 mm / min), the hanger gear 40 engages with the chain belt 39 of the plating tank side transporting means 19 (the hanger gear 40 rotates in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3). While being advanced),
The distance (L2) between the workpiece W transferred to the plating tank fixed guide rail 11 and clamped by the hanger and the workpiece W clamped by the previous hanger is 10 mm.
Where At this time, for example, the forward distance is determined as follows.

The size of the workpiece W suspended on the hanger at the positions (c) and (d) is stored in a sequencer in advance.
(C) the time from when the hanger at the position is advanced by the first positioning / conveying means 18 to adjust the interval between the processing objects and when the hanger descends to the processing object dipping portion 2a;
(C) From the distance that the hanger at the position is advanced, (d)
When the hanger at the position is lowered, the rear end position of the workpiece W clamped by the hanger at the position (c) is calculated,
(D) Workpiece W clamped on hanger at position
The transport distance of the hanger at the position (d) is calculated until the front end of the workpiece W has a distance of 10 mm from the rear end of the preceding workpiece W.

Thereafter, the hanger at the position (b) is moved, for example, to 300 mm / min.
Is transported on the plating tank fixed guide rail 11 while maintaining an object-to-be-processed interval of 10 mm (here, the gear 40
Employs a one-way clutch system, so that it can rotate only in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3, so that the drive of the chain belt 39 is transmitted to the hanger at the position where the distance has been adjusted.)

Although not shown, the plating tank 2 has a plurality of spray nozzles on both outer sides thereof along a line through which the workpiece W passes, and a large number of anodes further outside the spray nozzles in the transport direction. The electroplating solution is circulated through the storage tank and the plating tank 2 through a pump and a filtration device (not shown). In addition, a power supply (not shown) is connected to the guide rail 11 to energize the workpiece W, and the power is supplied to the upper portion of the workpiece through a hanger.
Further, in order to prevent the current from being concentrated on the lower end portion of the workpiece, a shielding plate is provided in the plating tank 2 that can move up and down below the workpiece W along the passing line of the workpiece. In addition, a large number of guide rollers extending upward are provided on the shielding plate so as to sandwich the workpiece W with a small space therebetween.

When the hanger approaches the end of the electroplating process (the transporting means 19 on the plating tank side lifts the workpiece upper part 2b).
Conveyed to near), unloading side elevating guide rail 1
2 lowers, the claw 28 of the first take-in / transportation means 20 is moved to
Driven in the direction opposite to the middle arrow C to move the hanger claw contact portion 32
Located on the right side of the drawing. After that, the first intake / transportation means 2
The zero claw 28 is driven in the direction of arrow C to move the hanger from the plating tank fixed guide rail 11 to the workpiece upper part 2b of the unloading side elevating guide rail 12 faster than the plating tank side transporting means 19 (for example, (5000 mm / min). At this time, the gear 40 of the hanger is conveyed while rotating in the direction of arrow B in FIG.

When the hanger is conveyed to a predetermined position on the to-be-processed pull-up portion 2b by the first take-in / conveyance means 20, the hanger is raised by the elevation of the unload-side elevating guide rail 12. After that, the second pushers 21a, 21b, 21c of the second transport means 22 having the same structure as the first transport means 17
2 (FIG. 2), the unloading side elevating guide rails 12 are repeatedly forward-forwarded, lowered, and ascended sequentially above the recovery tank 3, the washing tank 4, and the unloading section, and the hanger is positioned above the unloading section. Transported to

When the hanger is transported above the unloading section and the unloading side elevating guide rail 12 descends,
An automatic unloading device (unloader 5) having substantially the same structure as that of the above-described loading device except that the loading device does not have a loading mechanism is engaged with the hanger width adjusting mechanism and the second lock lever operating tool.
The clamper operating bar is the lever 75 of the clamper (Fig. 4)
The workpieces W are released, dropped and stacked on the cradle → The first and second lock lever operating tools are slightly upwardly moved to unlock → The knob guide is The distance is moved to the minimum (L3 = 250 mm) → the first and second lock lever operating tools are slightly moved downward → the hanger width adjusting mechanism and the second lock lever operating tool are detached. Thereafter, the hanger rises with the rise of the unloading side elevating guide rail 12 and reaches the state shown in FIG. 1, and then the second pusher 21d (FIG. 2) hangs the hanger dipping portion 6a on the unloading side elevating guide rail 12. It is transported to the upper position (l).

When the hanger descends to the hanger immersion part 6a of the peeling tank 6 by the lowering of the unloading side elevating guide rail 12, the claw 29 of the second positioning / transporting means 23 is located on the left side of the hanger claw contact part 32 with respect to the hanger. Go to the second
Due to the claws 29 of the positioning and transporting means 23, the speed is higher than that of the hanger returning transporting means 24 (for example, 5000 mm / m).
(in) and transferred onto the separation tank fixing guide rail 13. At this time, the gear 40 of the hanger engages with the chain belt 39 of the hanger return / conveyance means 24 while being transferred from the unloading side elevating guide rail 12 to the peeling tank fixing guide rail 13. Since the hanger gear 40 is a one-way clutch type gear, it is possible to adjust the interval between the workpieces by pulling in the claws 29 of the second positioning and conveying means 23. For example, the forward distance is determined as follows.

Immediately before the hanger is advanced by the second positioning / transporting means 23, the transport hanger 15 transported by the first positioning / transporting means 18 in the electroplating tank 2.
When a workpiece having a length of 510 mm has been transported, the size of the workpiece W is output to the control unit, and the transport distance of the hanger is controlled by the control unit, for example, as described later.
It is calculated as 80 mm− (510 mm + 10 mm) = 260 mm and output to the second positioning / conveying means 23. On the other hand, when the workpiece W transported by the first positioning transport unit 18 is a workpiece having a length of 250 mm,
The hanger is transported by the second positioning transport means 23 at 780 mm- (250 mm + 10 mm) = 520 mm. As described above, immediately before the transfer of the transfer hanger 15 by the second positioning / transporting means 23, the transfer by the second positioning / transporting means 23 is performed according to the size of the workpiece to be transferred by the first positioning / transporting means 18. By determining the advance distance of the hanger 15, the total number of the transport hangers 15 immersed in the electroplating tank 2 and the peeling tank 6 can always be constant, without removing the transport hanger 15. Can be continuously processed.

The hanger fed forward by the second positioning / conveying means 23 as described above is conveyed on the peeling tank fixing guide rail 13 by the hanger returning / conveying means 24 at, for example, 300 mm / min.

The hanger is a hanger pull-up portion 6b of the peeling tank 6.
When it is conveyed to the vicinity and the load-side elevating guide rail 10 descends, the hanger is moved by the second take-in / transport means 25 at a speed higher than the hanger return / transport means 24 (5000 mm / min) in the same manner as the first take-in / transport means 20. ), The lift guide rail 1 from the separation tank fixed guide rail 13 to the load side
It is transported to a position above the hanger pull-up portion 6b (position (f)).

Thereafter, the hanger is raised by the lifting of the load-side lifting guide rail 10, and the first pusher 16 is moved.
a (FIG. 2), it is conveyed over the load-side elevating guide rail 10 to above the washing tank 7, descends and ascends, and is conveyed on the load-side elevating guide rail 10 to above the load section by the first pusher 16b (FIG. 2). Then, it descends and returns to the load state.

Another aspect: a transport method by the hanger return transport means 24: The present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and the second positioning transport means 23
Can be omitted. In this case, a method in which the hanger return / transport unit 24 is driven to stop by the pitch determined as described above can be adopted. Alternatively, the transfer hanger may be removed and stored after unloading without using the chain belt, and the transfer hanger may be transferred to the load side when a predetermined amount is reached.

Method of determining transport distance in first positioning and transporting means 18: As a method of determining transporting distance in first positioning and transporting means 18, a sensor is installed at a predetermined position, and (c)
From the time after the object to be processed of the hanger at the position has passed and the transport speed of the plating tank side transport means 19, the position of the rear end of the object to be processed of the hanger at the position (c) is calculated,
Determine the transport distance of the hanger. In the above method, the detection target of the sensor installed at the predetermined position is set as the rear end of the object to be processed.

Method for determining the transport distance in the second positioning and transporting means 23: an encoder is provided in the servo motor of the first positioning and transporting means 18, and the distance by which the transport hanger has been moved by the servo motor with the encoder is stored. Calculates and determines the transport distance in the second transport means 22 and outputs it. Also, the numerical value of “780 mm” in the embodiment is
The number of transport hangers in the hanger return transport means 24 is calculated from the number of transport hangers in the electroplating tank when processing the largest object to be processed in the plating tank, and the lengths of the plating tank 2 and the hanger return transport means 24 are calculated. It is determined as the sum of the distances divided by the number of transport hangers to accommodate each.

Pre-treatment step and post-treatment step: The pre-treatment step and the post-treatment step are not limited to the embodiments, but may be, for example, a treatment tank of each necessary step such as a pickling tank or a rust prevention treatment tank. Is also good.

Transfer of the plating tank side transfer means 19: The transfer of the transfer hanger by the plating tank side transfer means 19 may not be constant. For example, the control is divided into two systems as follows, and the plating tank side conveying means 19 and the hanger return conveying means 2 are divided into two systems.
4 may be intermittently conveyed in conjunction with the stop. System 1: hanger return / transport means 24 stopped → first transport means guide rail 10 rises → first transport means 17 pivot (forward) → first transport means guide rail 10 descends → first transport means 17 pivot (return) And operation of the first positioning / transporting means 18 (forward feed) → return to the second transport means 22 and forward feed of the plating tank side transport means 19... System 2: plating tank side transfer means 19 stops → second transfer means guide rail 12 rises → second transfer means 22 rotates (forward)
→ Lower second conveying means guide rail 12 → Second conveying means 2
Two rotations (return) and operation of the second positioning / transporting means 23 (forward feed) The second positioning / transporting means 22 return and hanger return / transport means 24 forward feed ... Repeating the above.

[0047]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a small interval between the workpieces W in the plating tank 2 can be reliably adjusted and maintained, and high-performance and uniform electroplating can be performed.
Further, the number of objects to be immersed in the electroplating tank can be increased without impairing the durability of the apparatus, and the productivity is excellent.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the semicircular portion 10a of the load-side elevating guide rail 10, the semicircular portion 12a of the unloading-side elevating guide rail 12, and the first and second transfer means 17, 22 cooperate. And the plating tank fixing guide rail 11
Transfer hanger 1 between the guide rail 13 and the separation tank fixed guide rail 13
The moving mechanism of No. 5 is simplified, and a special transfer device is not required, so that the device is inexpensive and space can be saved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the width of the transport hanger 15 is reduced from L4 to L3 at the unloading section, it is possible to handle not only workpieces of various sizes but also to remove the transport hanger 15. Work is easier. In addition, smooth processing can be performed even for thin workpieces.
The plating quality can be prevented from being impaired.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a space for arranging the pretreatment tank 1, the washing tank 7, the recovery tank 3, the washing tank 4 and the like can be secured, and the apparatus can be compactly assembled.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the transport hanger 1 to or from the elevating guide rails 10 and 12 is provided.
Transfer of 5 becomes extremely easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of the device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing first and second transport means.

FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view taken in the direction of the arrow V in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view illustrating a structure in which a guide rail moves up and down.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a swing prevention mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view taken in the direction of arrow VIII in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing first and second transport means.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pretreatment tank 2 Plating tank 2a, 6a Immersion part 2b, 6b Pulling up part 3 Recovery tank 4, 7 Rinse tank 5 Unloader 8 Loader 10, 12, Elevating guide rail 10a, 12a Semi-arc part 11 Plating tank fixing guide rail 13 Peeling Tank fixing guide rail 15 Transport hanger 17,22 Hanger transport means 18,23 Positioning transport means 20,25 Intake transport means 24 Hanger return transport means 40 Gear 40a One-way clutch 48 Clamper W Workpiece

Claims (5)

[Claims] An object of the present invention is to provide a plating tank-side transfer means, which is provided along a plating tank fixing guide rail and holds a plate-like workpiece on a vertical surface along a transport direction, with a transfer hanger for transporting the workpiece. An electroplating apparatus, which is engaged via a one-way clutch type gear. 2. A separation tank fixing guide rail is provided in parallel with a plating tank fixing guide rail, and a starting end and an end are separated from the ends of each of the two guide rails by an immersion part of the object to be processed and a transport hanger, and only by a pull-up portion. Section, a load side and an unload side elevating guide rail which are continuous with the end part and the start end part and each have a semi-circular part in the middle are provided, and hanger transport means is provided on each of the elevating guide rails. , Electroplating equipment. 3. The transfer hanger has at least front and rear clampers capable of adjusting the front-rear distance in the transfer direction, the distance is expanded to the length in the transfer direction of the object to be processed in the load part, and the distance is minimized in the unload part. Claims 1 and 2
An electroplating apparatus according to any one of the above. 4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein at least one of a pretreatment tank, a collection tank, and a washing tank is disposed below the lifting guide rail.
3. The electroplating apparatus according to any one of 3. 5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising a positioning / transporting means or a taking-in / transporting means for transferring a transport hanger between the plating tank-fixing guide rail, the peeling-tank-fixing guide rail, and the two elevating guide rails. An electroplating apparatus according to any one of the above.