JP2007107061A - Hanger for transportation and transporting method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance productivity for an article to be treated by minimizing a space between the articles to be treated which are transported by a hanger for transportation. <P>SOLUTION: This hanger has an article-holding member 90 in which a stopper 91 is installed so as to extend a length L0 of a width of the member 90 for holding the article to be treated in a transportation direction. The stopper 91 extends the length L0 of the width of the article-holding member 90 by L0', and consequently avoids the articles W which are adjacently transported and are to be treated, from contacting with each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure of a transport hanger used for transporting an object to be processed by a surface treatment apparatus or the like.

  First, the structure of the surface treatment apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the surface treatment apparatus 100 as viewed from above. FIG. 4 is a side view of the surface treatment apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from the α direction.

  The surface treatment apparatus 100 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is a so-called pusher type plating apparatus, which lifts and lowers the transport hanger 15 that holds a workpiece W such as a printed circuit board and the transport hanger 15 in a slidable state. Elevating guide rails 10 and 12 and fixed guide rails 11 and 13 that sequentially convey the transport hanger 15 while maintaining a predetermined distance back and forth are provided, and along these guide rails 10 to 13, a plating pretreatment process Various pretreatment tanks 1 for performing plating, a plating tank 2 for performing electroplating, a recovery tank 3 and a water washing tank 4 for performing post-plating treatment steps, and an unloading unit 5 for removing the workpiece W , A peeling tank 6 for peeling the plating film attached to the transport hanger 15 (hanger return step), a water washing tank 7 for washing the transport hanger 15 after the peeling process, Loading unit 8 for attachment of the workpiece W is provided.

  The elevating guide rails 10 and 12 shown in FIG. 3 attach or detach the workpiece W (printed circuit board or the like) to the transport hanger 15, or remove the transport hanger 15 from the various processing tanks (plating tank 2, stripping tank 6. Guide rails that move up and down when immersed in a water tub, a water tub, or the like. The fixed guide rails 11 and 13 are guide rails fixed for transporting the transport hanger 15 lowered to the plating tank 2 and the peeling tank 6, respectively. In the state where the elevating guide rails 10 and 12 shown in FIG. 4 are lowered, the guide rails 10 to 13 form one annular guide rail together with the fixed guide rails 11 and 13.

  The structure of the conventional transport hanger 15 transported by the surface treatment apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 (see Patent Document 1). FIG. 5 is a detailed view showing the structure of the transport hanger 15 shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a partial central sectional view of the transport hanger 15.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the transport hanger 15 includes a workpiece holding member 90 including a plurality of clamps 48 that hold the workpiece W, a sliding member 35 that is in sliding contact with the fixed guide rail 11, It has the connection member 44 which connects these.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the workpiece holding member 90 is connected to the connecting member 44 and extends in a horizontal direction in the transport direction, and is connected to the horizontal hook portion 46 in a suspended state. A plurality of drooping portions 49 are provided, and a clamp 48 is arranged at the lower end of the drooping portion 49.

  Here, the width L0 of the workpiece holding member 90 shown in FIG. 5 is set corresponding to the width W0 of the workpiece W and the pinch margin W1. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the margin W1 is provided at both ends of the workpiece W (width length W0), the width length L0 of the workpiece holding member 90 is L0 = W0-2 × W1. To do.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a one-way clutch type gear 40 capable of rotating only in one direction is attached to the upper portion of the sliding member 35 via a bearing 36. The one-way clutch type gear 40 engages with a chain belt 39 that constitutes the fixed guide rail conveying means 19 (see FIG. 3), and at the same time moves the claw 30 of the positioning conveying means 18 that moves back and forth on the fixed guide rail 11 (see FIG. 3). Has a claw abutting portion 32 that abuts.

  With the above-described configuration, the transport hanger 15 is positioned and transported independently and moves back and forth along the fixed guide rail 11 when the elevating guide rail 10 shown in FIG. 4 is lowered and transferred to the fixed guide rail 11. By means 18 (FIG. 3), it is forward-fed to a position spaced apart by a predetermined interval (interval L2 in FIG. 4) (that is, the interval between adjacent transport hangers 15 changes from L1 to L2 shown in FIG. 4). The inside of the plating tank 2 is conveyed by the chain belt 39 (see FIG. 3) while maintaining the distance L2. Note that the transport hanger 15 is transported by the same operation as described above also on the fixed guide rail 13 on the peeling tank 6 side.

JP 2002-36396 A

  However, the conventional pusher type transport mechanism as described above has the following problems during transport.

  In order to increase the productivity of the workpiece, it is particularly necessary to make the interval L2 (FIG. 4) of the workpiece W in the plating tank 2 as narrow as possible, but the gap L2 between the transport hangers 15 is set narrow. Then, the workpieces W (FIG. 5) held on the adjacent transport hangers 15 may collide with each other due to a movement error or shaking during transport. For this reason, the gap between the transport hangers 15 cannot be set sufficiently narrow, and the entire apparatus tends to be large.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is characterized in that a stopper for extending the length in the transport direction is provided on the transport hanger 15 so that the gap between the transport hangers 15 can be set sufficiently narrow. It is.

(1) The transport hanger of the present invention is
A workpiece holding member that holds the workpiece, a sliding member that is in sliding contact with the guide rail, a workpiece holding member, and a connecting member that connects the sliding member; A transport hanger for sequentially transporting workpieces,
A stopper for extending the length of the transport hanger in the transport direction is provided on at least one of the workpiece holding member, the sliding member, and the connecting member.

  As a result, the gap between the transfer hangers can be set as small as possible, the number of transfer hangers that can be immersed in the plating tank can be maximized, and contact between the workpieces W can be avoided. . In particular, in electroplating, variations in the plating film thickness can be eliminated, and the installation area of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

(2) The transport hanger of the present invention is
The stopper is provided on a workpiece holding member of a transport hanger.

  This makes it possible to set the gap between the workpieces that are sometimes transported by the transport hanger as much as possible and more accurately when pre-feeding, and the number of transport hangers that can be immersed in the plating tank. It is possible to increase as much as possible, and the contact between the workpieces W can be avoided more reliably. In particular, in electroplating, variations in the plating film thickness can be eliminated, the productivity of the object to be processed can be increased, and the installation area of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

(3) The transport hanger transport method of the present invention is
A workpiece holding member that holds the workpiece, a sliding member that is in sliding contact with the fixed guide rail, a workpiece holding member, and a connecting member that connects the sliding member; A plurality of transport hangers descending to the treatment tank while being held, a fixed guide rail transport means for transporting the plurality of transport hangers descended to the treatment tank sequentially while maintaining a predetermined distance back and forth, along the fixed guide rail A surface provided with positioning and conveying means for feeding the hanger for conveyance lowered to the processing tank to a position spaced apart from the conveying hanger before being conveyed by the fixed guide rail conveying means. A method for positioning and transporting a transport hanger in a processing apparatus,
The transport hanger provided with a stopper that extends the length in the transport direction is lowered to the treatment tank while holding the object to be processed, and the transport hanger lowered to the treatment tank is moved forward until the stopper comes into contact. It is characterized by feeding forward to the hanger for use.

  As a result, it is possible to avoid contact between the objects to be processed when the transport hanger is forward-fed, and to set the gap between the objects to be transported in the surface treatment apparatus to the minimum, for transport driving. Even if the movement error of the transport hanger increases due to the elongation of the chain or belt used, it is possible to secure a gap between the objects to be processed, which can increase the productivity of the objects to be processed. The entire installation area can be reduced, and positioning and conveyance control can be simplified.

1. Structure of surface treatment apparatus and transport hanger The structure of the surface treatment apparatus for transporting the transport hanger of the present invention is the same as that shown in FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the surface treatment apparatus 100 is a so-called pusher type plating apparatus, and includes a transport hanger 15 a that holds an object to be processed such as a printed circuit board, and a state in which the transport hanger 15 a is slidable. Elevating guide rails 10 and 12 that move up and down, and fixed guide rails 11 and 13 that sequentially convey the transport hanger 15a back and forth while maintaining a predetermined interval are provided along these guide rails 10 to 13 before plating. A pretreatment tank 1 for performing a treatment process, a plating tank 2 for performing an electroplating process, a recovery tank 3 and a water washing tank 4 for performing a post-plating treatment process, and an unloading unit for removing an object to be treated 5. Peeling tank 6 for peeling the plating film etc. adhering to the transport hanger 15a (hanger returning step), washing the transport hanger 15a with water after the peeling treatment Cormorant washing tank 7, and loading portion 8 is provided to perform the mounting of the workpiece.

  As shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, the elevating guide rails 10 and 12 intermittently transport the transport hanger 15a, and attach (load) a workpiece W (printed circuit board or the like) to the transport hanger 15a. When removing (unloading) or immersing the workpiece W in various processing tanks (plating tank 2, peeling tank 6, water-washing tank, water-washing tank, etc.), it moves up and down.

  The fixed guide rails 11 and 13 sequentially convey the transportation hangers lowered to the treatment tanks such as the plating tank 2 and the peeling tank 6, respectively.

  The structure of the transport hanger 15a according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The structure of the transport hanger 15a shown in FIG. 1 is the same as that of the conventional transport hanger 15 shown in FIG. 5 except that a stopper 91 is provided on the horizontal flange 46 of the workpiece holding member 90. The partial cross-sectional view of the transport hanger 15a is the same as that shown in FIG.

  1 includes a workpiece holding member 90 including a plurality of clamps 48 that hold the workpiece W, a sliding member 35 that is in sliding contact with the fixed guide rail 11, and these members. It has the connection member 44 to connect. As the material of the sliding member 35 and the connecting member 44, copper or brass is used.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the sliding member 35 has a shape in which one corner of the quadrangle is cut out in the cross section. A bearing 36 is fixed to the upper surface of the sliding member 35, and a pusher abutting portion with which the pushers 16 and 21 (FIG. 4) of the conveying means 17 and 22 abut on the surface opposite to the conveying direction of the bearing 36. 37 is provided. As shown in FIG. 6, a one-way clutch type gear 40 that meshes with the chain belt 39 of the fixed guide rail conveying means 19, 24 is pivotally supported on the shaft 38 fixed to the bearing 36. The gear 40 can rotate in the arrow B direction (conveyance direction) in FIG. 5 but cannot rotate in the opposite direction. The chain belt 39 is supported by a chain support rail 41 as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the workpiece holding member 90 is connected to the connecting member 44 and extends in a horizontal direction in the conveying direction, and the workpiece holding member 90 is connected to the horizontal hook portion 46 in a suspended state. A plurality of drooping portions 49 are provided, and a clamp 48 is arranged at the lower end of the drooping portion 49.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, the workpiece holding member 90 is provided with a stopper 91 at the front end of the horizontal flange 46 having a width L0 in the transport direction. 2A is an arrow view of the transport hanger 15a shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the β direction. FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating the structure of the stopper 91.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, by providing the workpiece holding member 90 with the stopper 91, the width of the workpiece holding member 90 is extended by L0 '. That is, even when the end 91b (see FIG. 1) of the stopper 91 is in contact with the previous transport hanger 15a, the minimum clearance is secured because the pinch margin W1 is smaller than the extended width L0 ′. Contact between the workpieces W can be avoided.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the stopper 91 is formed by bending a stainless steel plate to provide an end portion 91b and opening a long hole 62 for screwing. The stopper 91 is fixed and adjusted by the operator with the washer 61 and the screw 60 shown in FIG. 2A so that the extension width becomes L0 ′.

  The width length L0 of the workpiece holding member 90 shown in FIG. 1 is calculated based on the width length W0 of the workpiece W and the margin W1. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the margin W1 is provided at both ends of the workpiece W (width length W0), the width L0 of the workpiece holding member 90 is L0 = W0-2 × W1. calculate. Further, the extension width L0 'by the stopper 91 is calculated by L0' = T + 2W1-t '. Here, T is a distance (for example, L1 and L2 shown in FIG. 4) between the workpieces W at the time of forward feeding.

  The method for securing the width L0 of the workpiece holding member 90 so as to correspond to the width W0 of the workpiece W is to use a single horizontal flange 46 having a length corresponding to each W0 in advance. Prepared and used, or as described above, a structure having a variable length with the horizontal flange 46 separated on the right and left, a structure in which the interval between the plurality of hanging parts 49 attached to the horizontal flange 46 can be adjusted, What is necessary is just to set it as the structure which combined these.

  The part immersed in each processing solution in various processing tanks, that is, the clamp 48 and the drooping part 49 has a corner part reduced as much as possible, and after blasting, a resin coating having a thickness of 200 to 300 μm is formed except for the contact part. It has been given.

  This is because the coating thickness of the resin can be made uniform by reducing the corners, the adhesion with the coating resin can be further improved by blasting, and the resin thickness is set to 200 to 300 μm. In combination with this, it is difficult to form a plating film, and it can withstand peeling for a long period of time, and the labor for replacing the clamp 48 can be reduced and the transport hanger 15a can be used efficiently.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a bearing 36 having a one-way clutch type gear 40 meshing with a chain belt 39 (constituting the fixed guide rail conveying means 19 shown in FIG. 3) is fixed to the upper portion of the sliding member 35. Yes. Therefore, the gear 40 meshing with the chain belt 39 on the fixed guide rails 11 and 13 can rotate only in the direction B shown in FIG.

  The pusher contact surface 37 shown in FIG. 6 is a portion where the pushers 16 and 21 (FIG. 4) of the intermittent transport means 17 and 22 which are transport means of the transport hanger 15a abut. The claw abutting portion 32 in FIG. 6 is a portion where the conveyance claw 27 (FIG. 3) of the positioning conveyance means 18 which is the conveyance means of the conveyance hanger 15a abuts. Each conveyance means of these conveyance hangers 15a will be described below.

2. Each transporting hanger 15a of the transport hanger 15a in the surface treatment apparatus 100 includes the following intermittent transporting means 17, 22, positioning transporting means 18, 23, fixed guide rail transporting means 19, 24, and It is conveyed by the delivery conveying means 20, 25 (see FIG. 3).

  First, intermittent conveying means 17 and 22 provided on the upper and lower guide rails 10 and 12 shown in FIG. 4 are disposed on the lift guide rails 10 and 12, and pushers 16a to 16d and 21a as shown in FIG. The pushers 16a to d and 21a to 21d abut against the pusher abutting portion 37 (see FIG. 1) of the transport hanger 15a, and (c) to (f) ), The transport hanger 15a at the positions (h) to (k) of the elevating guide rail 12 (see FIG. 3) is fed forward on the elevating guide rails 10 and 12 every predetermined pitch. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the structure of the intermittent conveying means 17 and 22 provided on the upper portions of the elevating guide rails 10 and 12.

  The positioning conveyance means 18 shown in FIG. 4 is provided along the fixed guide rail 11, and the conveyance hanger 15a (FIG. 4) lowered from the (x) position above the plating tank 2 to the immersion part 2a is fixed to the fixed guide rail. 11 and forward-feeding to the position (b), and the distance between the workpiece W in the plating tank 2 and the workpiece W at the position (b) in front (left side in FIG. 5) is L1. To L2 (for example, L2 = 5 mm). At this time, the distance t ′ from the end 91 b of the stopper 91 shown in FIG. 1 to the previous transport hanger is equal to or smaller than the distance L2 (for example, 5 mm or less) of the workpiece.

  FIG. 8 shows the structure and operation of the positioning and conveying means 18. The positioning and conveying means 18 shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C can be moved back and forth in the X and Y directions along a separately provided rail along the fixed guide rail 11, and in the state shown in FIG. It has the conveyance nail | claw 31 energized. As a result, when the transport hanger 15a is transported, when it first moves in the X direction, the spring contracts and passes over the claw contact portion 32 shown in FIG. 6 (from FIG. 8B to the state C). After that, the claw 31 moves in the reverse direction (Y direction in FIG. 8C) and the conveyance claw 31 hooks the claw contact portion 32 of the conveyance hanger 15a to convey the conveyance hanger 15a in the C direction shown in FIG. At this time, the moving speed of the positioning and conveying means 18 is such that the fixed guide rail conveying means 19 moves so as to catch up with the conveying hanger 15a before being conveyed by the fixed guide rail conveying means 19 (that is, the movement of the chain belt 39). Speed). The positioning / conveying means 23 on the peeling tank 6 side also performs the same structure and operation as the positioning / conveying means 13 on the plating tank 2 side shown in FIG.

  If it sets so that the space | interval of a to-be-processed object may be narrowed and conveyed in the plating tank 2, conventionally, at the time of the front feed of this transport hanger, it is for the post transport forwarded from the advancing speed of the front transport hanger Since the traveling speed of the hanger is faster, the rear workpiece to be fed forward to the front workpiece may collide due to inertia, play distance of the moving distance, belt elongation, and the like. However, at the time of this forward feeding, according to the configuration of the present invention, the stopper 91 comes into contact with the rear end of the horizontal flange 46 of the workpiece holding member 90 of the previous transport hanger, so that the workpiece is Even if the interval is set narrow, the collision between the objects to be processed can be reliably prevented. Further, since the interval between the objects to be processed can be made constant in the plating tank, a uniform plating film thickness can be ensured.

  The fixed guide rail conveying means 19 and 24 keep the conveying hanger 15a forward-fed by the positioning conveying means 18 and 23 at a predetermined interval (L2 in FIG. 4) (in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 3). Transport.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the fixed guide rail conveying means 19 shown in FIG. 4 includes a chain belt 39 disposed along the inside of the fixed guide rails 11 and 13, and a pulley (not shown) for driving the belt around. Consists of. As shown in FIG. 3, the starting end of the fixed guide rail side conveying means 19 provided in the plating tank 2 is located at a position more than the position where the conveying hanger 15a of the workpiece immersion portion 2a is immersed (the position (x) in FIG. 3). Located on the left side. On the other hand, the terminal end of the fixed guide rail side conveying means 19 extends to the left side from the position where the conveying hanger 15a is pulled up (position (h) in FIG. 3).

  The sending and conveying means 20 and 25 respectively transfer the transport hangers 15a conveyed to the positions (g) and (o) shown in FIG. 3 by the fixed guide rail conveying means 19 and 24, respectively. ), (F) Send to position and change. The structures and operations of the delivery / conveying means 20 and 25 are the same as those of the positioning / conveying means 18 and 23 shown in FIG.

3. Other Embodiments In the above embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the example in which the stopper 91 is provided at the front end of the horizontal flange portion 46 of the workpiece holding member 90 of the transport hanger 15 a has been described. A stopper 91 may be provided on the drooping portion 49 (for example, in the vicinity of the clamp 48 shown in FIG. 1) so that the width 90 is extended in the transport direction.

  In the above embodiment, the example in which the stoppers 91 are provided in the front direction of the transport hanger 15a as shown in FIG. 1 is described. However, the stoppers 91 are provided on both sides or the rear end in the transport direction. Also good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the stopper is substantially L-shaped when viewed from above, but the shape of the stopper is not particularly limited.

  In the above embodiment, the example has been described in which the horizontal flange portion 46 of the workpiece holding member 90 has a bilaterally symmetric length, and a stopper is disposed at the front end of the horizontal hook portion, but the length of one horizontal hook portion is increased. In this manner, the stopper may be used instead.

  In the said embodiment, although the stopper 91 was demonstrated in the example arrange | positioned to the to-be-processed object holding member 90 of the hanger 15a for conveyance, you may make it provide in the conveyance direction of the sliding member 35 and the connection member 44. FIG.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the operator adjusts the extension width of the stopper 91 by performing a screwing operation has been described. However, a structure that extends electromagnetically or mechanically is adopted. Further, the workpiece holding member 90 may be configured to automatically move according to the width L0.

  In the above embodiment, the example in which stainless steel is used as the material of the stopper 91 in consideration of resistance to the processing liquid has been described. However, other metals such as copper and brass may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the description has been given of the example in which the forward feeding is performed so that the stopper 91 stops at a position having a predetermined gap between the stopper 91 and the previous transport hanger 15a by the positioning transport unit 18 shown in FIG. Alternatively, the forward feed may be performed to a position where the stopper 91 contacts the previous transport hanger 15a without leaving a gap.

  In the above embodiment, the one-way clutch gear 40 provided on the transport hanger 15a is put on the chain belt 39 to transport the transport hanger 15a, but the transport hanger 15a is provided with a claw portion. The claw portion may be conveyed while biting the timing belt.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the hanger 15a for conveyance of this invention. It is the arrow directional view which looked at the hanger 15a for conveyance shown in FIG. 1 from (beta) direction. It is the top view which looked at the surface treatment apparatus 100 from upper direction. It is the side view which looked at the surface treatment apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3 from (alpha) direction. FIG. 5 is a detailed view showing the structure of the transport hanger 15 shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 3 is a partial central sectional view of a transport hanger 15. 3 is a plan view showing the structure of a plane intermittent conveying means 17 provided on the upper part of the lifting guide rail 10. FIG. FIG. 4 is a view showing the structure of positioning and conveying means 18.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Pretreatment tank 2 ... Plating tank 3 ... Recovery tank 4, 7 ... Washing tank 5 ... Unload part 6 ... Peeling tank 8 ... Load sections 10, 12 ... Elevating guide rails 11, 13 ... Fixed guide rails 15, 15a ... Transfer hangers 17, 22 ... Intermittent transfer means 18, 23 ... Positioning and conveying means 19, 24... Fixed guide rail conveying means 20 and 25... Sending and conveying means 35... Sliding member 44. ... Clamp 49 ... Spinning part 90 ... Workpiece holding member 91 ... Stopper 100 ... Surface treatment device

Claims (3)

A workpiece holding member for holding the workpiece,
A sliding member in sliding contact with the guide rail,
A connecting member for connecting the workpiece holding member and the sliding member;
A transport hanger for sequentially transporting the workpiece along the guide rail,
A transport hanger characterized in that a stopper for extending the length of the transport hanger in the transport direction is provided on at least one of the workpiece holding member, the sliding member, and the connecting member.   The transport hanger according to claim 1, wherein the stopper is provided on the workpiece holding member so as to extend a width in the transport direction of the transport hanger. A workpiece holding member that holds the workpiece, a sliding member that is in sliding contact with the fixed guide rail, a workpiece holding member, and a connecting member that connects the sliding member; A plurality of transport hangers descending to the treatment tank in a held state;
A fixed guide rail conveying means for sequentially conveying the plurality of conveying hangers lowered to the treatment tank while maintaining a predetermined interval back and forth;
Positioning and transporting the transport hanger provided along the fixed guide rail and lowered to the processing tank to a position spaced a predetermined distance from the transport hanger transported by the fixed guide rail transport means. means,
A positioning hanger positioning and conveying method in a surface treatment apparatus comprising:
The transport hanger provided with a stopper that extends the length in the transport direction is lowered to the processing tank while holding the object to be processed,
Until the stopper comes into contact, the transport hanger lowered to the treatment tank is forward-fed to the previous transport hanger.
A transport hanger transport method characterized by the above.

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