JP2008179875A - Surface treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a surface treatment apparatus which can shorten a treatment period of time and achieve the surface treatment of high quality by stabilizing electric conduction to an object to be treated. <P>SOLUTION: This surface treatment apparatus comprises: a treatment tank 10; and a basket-holding means 11 for holding a basket 6 in the treatment tank 10. The treatment tank 10 includes a cover 16 which can open/close the upper part of the tank in response to the operations of taking the basket 6 out from and charging the basket 6 into the tank. The cover 16 includes a cathode 20 arranged in such a configuration that the cathode can be inserted into the tank when the upper part of the treatment tank 10 is in a closed state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a surface treatment apparatus.

  With respect to surface treatment such as plating, various apparatuses have been proposed with the aim of shortening the treatment time. For example, using a bowl-shaped barrel, when this barrel is taken in and out of a treatment tank capable of storing treatment liquid, the treatment tank is held horizontally, but when performing plating treatment, the treatment tank is inclined obliquely, Furthermore, an apparatus has been proposed in which the barrel is rotated in the treatment tank in this inclined state (see Patent Document 1, etc.). In this way, the barrel is tilted together with the treatment tank, and the work in the barrel is promoted to agitate by rotating in this tilted state.

The processing tank described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a metal grid that is opposed to the region facing the lower side when tilted on the outer peripheral surface of the barrel. This lattice is used as an anode. In addition, the treatment tank is provided with an arc-shaped power supply bar in an arrangement surrounding the barrel so as to be in sliding contact with the current collector provided on the upper peripheral portion of the barrel when the barrel is inserted. Used as the cathode.
JP 2003-147492 A

As in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, in a known surface treatment apparatus, an anode is provided in a treatment tank in a state separated from the barrel, and a cathode is provided in contact with the barrel. The voltage is applied between the two.
However, rotating the barrel held in the processing tank or tilting the barrel together with the processing tank leads to poor contact or instability of the cathode with respect to the barrel, and as a result, to the object to be processed. This causes the conductivity to become unstable. Needless to say, the destabilization of the conductivity of the object to be processed becomes a serious adverse factor in shortening the surface treatment time, and also causes the quality of the surface treatment (such as the thickness and uniformity of the surface treatment film) to deteriorate. ing.

In addition, although the bowl-shaped container which accommodates to-be-processed object in a processing tank is called the "barrel" in the said patent document 1, it is called a "basket" below.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by making it possible to stabilize the conductivity of an object to be processed, the processing time can be shortened and a high-quality surface treatment can be obtained. An object of the present invention is to provide a surface treatment apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has taken the following measures.
That is, the surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention includes a treatment tank capable of storing a treatment liquid, and a basket holding means provided in the treatment tank so as to be able to hold a basket containing an object to be processed in the treatment tank. The processing tank is provided with a lid that allows the tank upper part to be opened and closed in accordance with the removal / insertion of the basket, and the lid is provided with a tank when the tank upper part of the processing tank is closed. A cathode is provided in an arrangement that is inserted into the interior.
Thus, in the surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention, since the cathode is provided for the lid that can open and close the upper part of the treatment tank, the basket held in the basket or the basket held by the basket holding means in the treatment tank This is an advantage that the cathode can be easily and reliably brought into contact with the object to be processed. Therefore, even when the basket held in the processing tank is rotated or the basket is tilted together with the processing tank, it is extremely useful in eliminating the contact failure and contact instability of the cathode.

In addition, it can prevent that the environment around a processing tank is harmed by the stimulating gas which generate | occur | produces from a processing liquid by providing a cover with respect to a processing tank.
The cathode is preferably provided so as to be inserted into the basket held by the basket holding means when the upper part of the processing tank is closed with a lid, and to come into contact with the object to be processed in the basket.
By adopting such a configuration in which the cathode is provided on the lid, the cathode can be brought into direct contact with the workpiece in the basket. It goes without saying that the conductivity of the object to be processed can be made more stable and reliable by bringing the cathode directly into contact with the object to be processed. For this reason, the surface treatment time can be shortened, and the quality of the surface treatment (such as the thickness and uniformity of the surface treatment film) can be improved.

The cathode can be made movable so as to switch between a state in which it is inserted into the processing tank and a state in which it is retracted from the processing tank with respect to the lid under the state in which the upper part of the processing tank is closed. Or it is also possible to make the cathode detachable with respect to the lid under a state in which the upper part of the processing tank is closed.
When these configurations are adopted, the cathode does not interfere with the surrounding structure when the lid is opened and closed with respect to the processing tank or when the basket is taken in and out of the processing tank with the lid open. You can Therefore, in the processing tank, the basket holding means, or the basket loading / unloading apparatus (handling apparatus etc.) with respect to the processing tank, it is possible to prevent the apparatus from becoming large and complicated. Also, since the cathode does not interfere with the surrounding structure, there is an advantage that damage to the cathode can be prevented.

In addition, the movement of the cathode can be performed by a cathode operating device provided in the treatment tank or the lid, or can be manually performed without using such a cathode operating device.
The basket holding means may form an anode for energizing the object to be processed between the basket and the cathode conducted to the object to be processed in the basket. When the anode is formed by the basket holding means itself as described above, the anode can be brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the basket, which leads to further improvement in conductivity with respect to the object to be processed, shortening the processing time and improving the surface treatment. Can be further promoted.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary to provide an anode as a separate and independent state in the processing tank, the processing tank can be made as small as possible, and the capacity of the processing tank can be reduced accordingly, so that the processing liquid Therefore, the amount of storage can be reduced. This means that when a management tank for purifying, adjusting the concentration, or generating the processing liquid is provided, it is possible to shorten the time required for the processing liquid to be taken in and out of the processing tank toward this management tank. This also leads to a reduction in the time for purifying, adjusting the concentration, generating, and managing the temperature of the processing liquid in the management tank. Of course, the management tank can be downsized.

The treatment tank can be provided with a lid opening / closing device for opening and closing the lid. In this way, automatic operation is possible.
The surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention preferably has a rotation drive section for allowing the basket holding means to rotate with the center of the basket held by the basket holding means as the rotation axis. In addition, the basket holding means is switched between a processing mode in which the basket is tilted and rotated by inclining the rotation axis of the basket and a dehydration mode in which the basket is horizontally rotated by bringing the rotation axis of the basket into a vertical state. Tilt means can also be provided.

In this way, by providing a rotation drive unit for rotating the basket holding means or by providing a tilting means for tilting the basket holding means, stirring of the object to be processed in the basket is promoted during the surface treatment. Therefore, it is useful for shortening the surface treatment time and improving the quality of the surface treatment. Needless to say, even if these rotation driving units and tilting means are provided, there is no possibility that the conductivity with respect to the object to be processed is lowered or unstable.
In addition, although it becomes possible to implement the dehydration mode by providing the tilting means, this dehydration mode has the advantage that reliable and quick dehydration can be performed along with the fact that stable and balanced high-speed rotation can be performed.

  In the dehydration mode, if the cathode is retracted from the basket or the processing tank, the cathode can be prevented from being damaged. In other words, the adoption of the configuration in which the cathode is retracted from the basket or the processing tank advantageously works to enable the dehydration mode by the tilting means.

In the surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the conductivity of the object to be treated can be stabilized, so that the treatment time can be shortened and a high quality surface treatment can be obtained.
A high-quality surface treatment can be obtained.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 11 show a first embodiment of a surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 12 shows a surface treatment system 2 constructed by using a plurality of the surface treatment apparatuses 1. In this surface treatment system 2, a surface treatment step 3, a water washing step 4, and a dehydration step 5 are arranged in a series according to the treatment order, and a basket 6 (see FIG. 1 and the like) that accommodates an object to be treated is disposed between these steps. It is configured to be transferred according to the arrangement order. In the illustrated example, the load station 8 is attached to the start position of the surface treatment system 2, and the unload station 9 is attached to the end position. Each of these stations 8 and 9 is not essential.

The basket 6 has a bowl shape having a bottom plate 6a and a peripheral wall 6b that rises around the bottom plate 6a. The bottom plate 6a and the peripheral wall 6b are formed of a porous plate, a net structure material, etc. and have water permeability. It has become. As the peripheral wall 6b, one having an upper half formed in a straight cylindrical shape and a lower half formed in a tapered cone shape with a lower recess is used.
The basket 6 is transferred by, for example, an elevating type handling device 7 that can move along an upper track (not shown).
In the illustrated example, the degreasing process 3a, the pickling process 3b, the electrolysis process 3c, the plating first to fifth processes 3d to 3h, the nitric acid process 3i, and the trivalent white process 3j are employed as the surface treatment process 3. Each surface treatment step 3 (3a to 3j) is accompanied by a water washing step 4, and a dehydration step 5 is attached to conclude the final stage of all steps. The plating first to fifth steps 3d to 3h are, for example, zinc plating. The object to be treated is applicable to various things including bolts and nuts, and is not limited at all.

In addition, in the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention, a sufficient dehydration effect can be obtained by operation in a dehydration mode that is performed independently as described later. It is not a thing and can also be omitted. To the last, in the present embodiment, in the final stage after a series of surface treatments, an operation mode in which complete dehydration of an object to be processed is performed intensively (a minimum dehydration effect is kept between each process). Therefore, only the dehydration step 5 is attached at the final stage.
In the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention, the surface treatment process 3 (3a to 3j), the water washing process 4 and the dehydration process 5 include a special countermeasure (acid resistance etc.) for the treatment liquid such as the pickling process 3b. It is possible to adopt the same configuration in all steps except the required steps, and it is also possible to selectively adopt the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention only in any step. . Of course, if special measures (acid resistance etc.) are applied to the treatment liquid, the surface treatment apparatus 1 having the same configuration is adopted in all the steps of the surface treatment step 3 (3a to 3j), the water washing step 4 and the dehydration step 5. It is also possible to do.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention includes a treatment tank 10 capable of storing a treatment liquid and a treatment tank 10 in which the basket 6 can be held in the treatment tank 10. And a basket holding means 11 provided. The basket means 11 is rotatable, and the surface treatment apparatus 1 also has a rotation drive unit 12 that transmits a rotational force to the basket holding means 11.
A management tank 13 is provided below the processing tank 10. That is, the processing tank 10 is provided in a two-story manner on the top of the management tank 13. The management tank 13 is formed in a size that protrudes to the side of the processing tank 10.

The upper part of the processing tank 10 is opened so that the basket 6 can be carried in and out, and a lid 16 is provided at the upper open part of the upper part of the tank. The lid 16 can be opened and closed by a lid opening / closing device 17 such as a fluid pressure cylinder. A cathode 20 is provided for the lid 16.
The lid 16 is provided with a swing fulcrum part 70 along the upper end side of the processing tank 10 facing the side where the management tank 13 projects, and can be freely opened and closed, and around the swing fulcrum part 70. And a swing lever 71 projecting to the right. The lid opening / closing device 17 includes a driving tool 72 that pushes and pulls the swing lever 71 of the lid 16. In this embodiment, a fluid pressure cylinder is used for the driving tool 72.

A cathode socket 80 penetrating the lid 16 in the thickness direction is provided at a portion where the cathode 20 is provided with respect to the lid 16. The cathode socket 80 is provided with a through-hole into which the cathode 20 is inserted, and a connection terminal 81 is provided so as to protrude laterally on the upper surface side of the lid 16.
On the other hand, the cathode 20 is provided with a fitting base portion 20a that can be fitted into the through hole of the cathode socket 80 on the base end side, and a rod-shaped contact rod 20b protrudes from the fitting base portion 20a. It has become. The fitting base 20a and the contact rod 20b are made of a conductive material, and the tip of the contact rod 20b is rounded in a hemispherical shape.

In a state where the fitting base portion 20a of the cathode 20 is fitted in the through hole of the cathode socket 80, the contact hole 20b does not enter the treatment tank 10 any more. It is formed so that it can come into contact with the object to be processed. Accordingly, the conductivity with respect to the object to be processed is stable and reliable, and the surface treatment time can be shortened and the surface treatment can be improved in quality (the thickness of the surface treatment film can be made sufficiently thick or uniform). .
Thus, the cathode 20 is linearly movable with respect to the cathode socket 80. Therefore, when the lid 16 is in a state where the upper portion of the processing tank 10 is closed, the cathode 20 is held so that the longitudinal direction of the contact rod 20b is directed in the vertical direction, and the contact rod 20b. It is possible to move up and down along the longitudinal direction, and it can be completely pulled out.

Further, an engagement head 20c protrudes from the fitting base portion 20a of the cathode 20 in a state opposite to the direction in which the contact rod 20b protrudes. The engagement head 20c is formed such that a large diameter portion is formed through a portion whose diameter is narrowed from the fitting base portion 20b.
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, the treatment tank 10 is provided with a cathode operating device 86. The cathode operating device 86 moves the cathode 20 linearly as described above with respect to the lid 16 (cathode socket 80), so that the cathode 20 is inserted into the processing tank 10 and retracted from the processing tank 10. It is for switching to the state to perform.

  The cathode operating device 86 of the present embodiment can further move the cathode 20 to the cathode depositing corner 87 provided at one corner of the processing tank 10 by completely pulling out the cathode 20 from the lid 16 (cathode socket 80). It is like that. The lid 16 has a shape that is cut obliquely in plan view so as not to contact and interfere with the portion provided with the cathode deposit corner 87 even during the opening / closing operation. Further, an auxiliary cathode socket 88 having substantially the same structure as the cathode socket 80 is provided at the cathode depositing corner 87 so that the cathode 20 can be held in a state of being isolated from the outside of the processing tank 10 and the inside of the processing tank 10. Yes.

The cathode operating device 86 of this embodiment includes an operating arm 90 that engages with the engaging head 20c of the cathode 20, and a driving tool 91 that causes the operating arm 90 to move up and down and horizontally. The drive tool 91 employs a robot cylinder that operates with fluid pressure (air pressure or hydraulic pressure).
Note that the distal end portion of the operation arm 90 may be configured to be disengaged from the engagement head 20c of the cathode 20 as a U-shaped notch in plan view, or the constricted portion of the engagement head 20c may be loosely fitted. As the round hole to be inserted through the operating arm 90, the operation arm 90 and the cathode 20 may be in a non-separable state while being connected. Needless to say, an appropriate mechanism (a mechanism in which a gear mechanism, a link mechanism, or the like is combined singly or in combination) can be adopted as the driving tool 91 instead of the robot cylinder.

Since the cathode 20 can be completely pulled out from the lid 16 by the cathode operating device 86 in this way, the basket 6 with respect to the processing bath 10 can be opened or closed with the lid 16 opened or closed. The cathode 20 never interferes with the surrounding structure in the case of taking in and out the door.
Therefore, in the processing tank 10, the basket holding means 11, or the basket 6 insertion / removal device (such as the handling device 7) with respect to the processing tank 10, it is possible to prevent the apparatus from becoming large and complicated. In addition, since the cathode 20 does not interfere with the surrounding structure, damage to the cathode 20 can be prevented.

By providing the cathode 20 with respect to the lid 16 as described above, the arrangement of the cathode 20 and the application of current (wiring) to the cathode 20 can be facilitated and space saving can be achieved, and the contact of the cathode 20 with the object to be processed can be achieved. It is possible to obtain various advantages such as ensuring.
The basket holding means 11 has a mounting table 25 that supports the bottom plate 6 a of the basket 6. The basket holding means 11 has an enclosing wall 26 that surrounds the peripheral wall 6 b of the basket 6. The surrounding wall 26 is arranged so as to rise around the mounting table 25, and the mounting table 25 and the surrounding wall 26 are interconnected. The basket holding means 11 is provided with a tilting means 27.

The mounting table 25 is formed in a circular shape in plan view, and a support protrusion 25a (see FIG. 2) having a disk shape smaller in diameter than the bottom plate 6a of the basket 6 is provided at the center thereof. This support protrusion 25a ensures contact (support stability) with the bottom plate 6a.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the surrounding wall 26 is formed by standing a large number of support pillars 30 at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction as a state surrounding the peripheral wall 6 b of the basket 6. Yes. The support pillars 30 are formed as plate pieces arranged so as to extend along the plate surface in a direction extending radially outward from the central portion of the basket 6.

Each support column 30 is arranged along the outer periphery of the mounting table 25 and is the same as the rotation center of the mounting table 25 (the same as “the center of the basket 6 (the center when the basket 6 is viewed in plan view)”). It can also be said that the plate surface is aligned along the direction extending radially outward from.
Since the surrounding wall 26 is formed as an aggregate of a large number of support pillars 30 in this way, the surrounding wall 26 is robust enough to withstand the lateral load applied by the basket 6 during high-speed rotation such as during dewatering. Has a structure. Further, the water permeability is sufficiently enhanced by the support columns 30. In addition, when the surrounding wall 26 is formed using a large number of support pillars 30 as described above, there is an advantage that the surrounding wall 26 can be manufactured at low cost.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the surrounding wall 26 is manufactured separately from an upper half body 26a having a straight short cylindrical shape and a lower half body 26b having a tapered bottom cone shape (inverted truncated cone shape). In addition, these are connected by bolting or welding. The upper half 26a has a structure in which two annular bodies 31a are connected to each other by a support pillar 30 that is a rectangular plate piece, and the lower half 26b is the same as that used in the upper half 26a. It has the structure which connected between the torus 31a and the torus 31b with a diameter smaller than this by the support pillar 30 made into the parallelogram-shaped board piece.

The surrounding wall 26 is formed with an inner diameter capable of holding a minute circumference with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 6b of the basket 6 to such an extent that the basket 6 does not cause radial play during rotation by the rotation driving unit 12. Yes. Specifically, the surrounding wall 26 is formed with an inner diameter that prevents the circumference G between the surrounding wall 26 and the peripheral wall 6b of the basket 6 from exceeding 3 mm. The circumference G is preferably 2 mm or less.
In the present embodiment, as described above, the surrounding wall 26 is formed in the shape of a tapered cone corresponding to the peripheral wall 6b of the basket 6 so that the basket 6 is held by the basket holding means 11. Naturally, the inner peripheral surface of the surrounding wall 26 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 6b of the basket 6. Therefore, the perimeter G between the basket 6 and the peripheral wall 6b in the upper half 26a of the surrounding wall 26 is set to the above specified value.

By making the surrounding wall 26 into a tapered cone shape corresponding to the peripheral wall 6b of the basket 6, the contact between the inner peripheral surface of the surrounding wall 26 and the outer peripheral surface of the basket 6 can be ensured. This leads to reliable connection between the two. Therefore, the mounting table 25 is not necessarily required in the basket holding means 11.
When the basket 6 is held by the basket holding means 11 and the inner peripheral surface of the surrounding wall 26 in the basket holding means 11 and the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 6b in the basket 6 come into contact with each other, the mounting table 25 in the basket holding means 11 The center of the surrounding wall 26 and the center of the basket 6 are automatically aligned. From these, the basket 6 and the basket holding means 11 (particularly the basket 6) lead to the advantage of being able to absorb the error of the dimensional accuracy. That is, the basket 6 or the like does not have to be manufactured with high accuracy, and even when the basket 6 or the like undergoes heat shrinkage deformation or some deformation during use, the operation as the surface treatment apparatus 1 is continued as it is. Will be able to.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in such a basket holding means 11, a rotating shaft 32 protrudes from the lower surface of the mounting table 25 so as to coincide with the center position of the surrounding wall 26. The rotating shaft 32 is rotatably held via a bearing 34 provided on the tank bottom 33 of the processing tank 10. The bearing 34 is waterproof to the processing liquid stored in the processing tank 10 and has chemical resistance to the processing liquid.
The rotation drive unit 12 is provided with a speed change means 40 that allows the rotation speed of the basket holding means 11 to be switched between a “processing speed suitable for surface treatment” and a “dehydration speed suitable for dewatering”. The processing speed is in the range of 2 rpm to 12 rpm (preferably 3 rpm to 10 rpm), and the dehydration speed is in the range of 180 rpm to 600 rpm (preferably 200 rpm to 500 rpm).

The speed change means 40 has a speed change circuit 42 that performs inverter control of a rotation drive motor 41 provided in the rotation drive unit 12. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the acceleration and deceleration of the rotational drive motor 41 are controlled with a gradual increase / decrease tendency. As a result, inertial impacts (such as a sudden start and a sudden stop) do not occur with respect to the holding state of the basket 6 with respect to the basket holding means 11 and the object to be processed accommodated in the basket 6.
By the way, in this embodiment, the basket holding means 11 itself (the mounting table 25 and the surrounding wall 26) is formed of a conductor such as SS material and can be used as an anode. Accordingly, the rotary shaft 32 is connected to the mounting table 25 of the basket holding means 11 in an electrically insulated state, and the basket holding means 11 and the processing tank 10 are directly connected. It is designed not to conduct.

Further, in relation to the fact that the anode can be formed by the basket holding means 11 itself, the basket 6 is made of PVC, PP, PE resin material, or iron or stainless steel as a core material and then the above. A non-conductor is formed by coating with a resin material. As a result, the occurrence of a short circuit between the basket holding means 11 (anode) and the cathode 20 is suppressed as much as possible, and the surface treatment for the object to be processed is sufficiently prioritized.
Further, since the surrounding wall 26 of the basket holding means 11 has a large number of plate-like support pillars 30, the surface area as the surrounding wall 26, that is, the anode area is increased as much as possible. It has become. For this reason, the cathode-to-anode ratio is 1: 1, or the anode can be made larger than the cathode. Therefore, it is extremely useful in terms of shortening the surface treatment time and performing a high-quality surface treatment.

The tilting means 27 tilts the basket holding means 11 so that the rotation axis of the basket 6 is tilted obliquely (see FIG. 9B) or in a vertical state (see FIG. 11A). It is. When the rotation axis of the basket 6 is inclined obliquely, the basket 6 enters a processing mode in which the basket 6 is inclined, and when the rotation axis of the basket 6 is brought into a vertical state, the basket 6 enters a dehydration mode in which the basket 6 rotates horizontally.
In the present embodiment, the tilting means 27 tilts the basket holding means 11 by tilting the processing tank 10 itself. Therefore, the tilting means 27 is disposed along the tilt axis (fulcrum axis) when tilting the processing tank 10 and has tilt support bases 73 at both side positions of the processing tank 10. A tilting support shaft 74 is bridged between the table 73 and the side surface of the treatment tank 10. Needless to say, the tilting support shafts 74 on both sides of the treatment tank 10 are coaxially arranged.

For this reason, the entire processing tank 10 including the basket means 11 is held swingably around the tilting support shaft 74. For example, by providing a steering wheel 75 (see FIG. 3) or the like directly or indirectly via a gear device 76 with respect to one tilting support shaft 74, the processing tank 10 is tilted as a rotational operation of the steering wheel 75. Can do.
Note that this tilting may be motorized by providing a motor drive device or the like instead of the handle wheel 75. Further, the tilting means 27 is configured to tilt only the basket holding means 11 without passing through the processing tank 10 (that is, the processing tank 10 is fixed and the basket holding means 11 is tilted in the tank). It can also be made.

In the processing mode, the rotation driving unit 12 operates in a state where the basket 6 is inclined together with the processing tank 10 and the basket holding means 11, and the basket 6 is rotated at a slow speed. For this reason, in the basket 6, the workpiece is skillfully agitated by the rolling action due to the blunt rotation while being biased in a lump shape toward the lowermost corner (near the peripheral wall 6 b) on the bottom plate 6 a (the bottom plate 6 a is inclined). Become so. As a result, it is extremely useful in terms of shortening the surface treatment time and performing a high-quality surface treatment (a sufficiently thick surface treatment film can be obtained and a uniform thickness, etc.).
In the dewatering mode, the rotation driving unit 12 operates in a state where the basket 6 is in an upright (horizontal) state together with the processing tank 10 and the basket holding means 11, and the basket 6 is rotated at a high speed. For this reason, in the basket 6, the objects to be processed are uniformly scattered around the outer periphery of the bottom plate 6 a (the bottom plate 6 a is horizontal), and receive a stable and well-balanced high-speed rotation (centrifugal force). As a result, it leads to the advantage that dehydration can be performed reliably and rapidly.

As shown in FIG. 4, the treatment tank 13 stores a treatment liquid, and is provided with a treatment liquid concentration adjusting unit (for example, a portion into which a dissolving material 44 such as zinc is introduced) 45 as necessary.
Between the processing tank 10 and the management tank 13, a processing liquid feeding means 46 is provided. For example, the processing liquid supply unit 46 supplies a processing liquid from the management tank 13 to the processing tank 10, a pump 48 provided in the supply pipe 47, and the processing liquid from the processing tank 10 to the management tank 13. It may have a recovery tube 49 for return. The recovery pipe 49 may be formed as an overflow pipe for restricting the treatment liquid water level in the treatment tank 10 to a constant water level.

As described above, the management tank 13 is formed in a size that protrudes to the side of the processing tank 10 (see FIG. 1). And in this management tank 13, the pump 48 of the process liquid supply means 46 is installed in the position projected to the side of the process tank 10. FIG. Further, a treatment liquid concentration adjusting unit 45 is also provided at this position.
The recovery pipe 49 may be provided with an open / close valve (not shown) that can be opened and closed by remote control. When this on-off valve is provided, the pump 48 is used for supplying the processing liquid from the management tank 13 to the processing tank 10, and the on-off valve is closed when the inside of the processing tank 10 reaches a predetermined water level. What is necessary is just to make it stop. To recover the processing liquid from the processing tank 10 to the management tank 13, the on-off valve may be opened to allow the processing liquid to flow down naturally. Of course, it is possible to use the pump 48 (or a separate pump dedicated for recovery) when the processing liquid is recovered from the processing tank 10 to the management tank 13.

In the case where the recovery pipe 49 is not provided with an on-off valve, the continuous supply of the processing liquid from the management tank 13 to the processing tank 10 is made normal by the continuous operation of the pump 48, thereby maintaining the inside of the processing tank 10 at a constant water level. That's fine. When the processing liquid is recovered from the processing tank 10 to the management tank 13, the pump 48 is stopped and the processing liquid is allowed to flow down naturally. In this way, it is possible to appropriately change whether the specification is to provide an on-off valve or not.
As described above, the treatment liquid is supplied from the management tank 13 to the treatment tank 10 so that the basket 6 held in the treatment tank 10 is immersed in the treatment liquid. It is possible to switch the basket 6 held in the processing tank 10 back to the dry state without contacting the processing liquid. Therefore, the dehydration performed after the surface treatment can be performed at a unique timing for each processing tank 10 (it is not necessary to keep pace with the timing in the other processing tanks 10).

As shown in FIG. 9A, the operation status of the surface treatment apparatus 1 is first waited with the lid 16 opened in the treatment tank 10, and when the basket 6 is carried into the treatment tank 10, the lid 16 is moved. Closed.
Thereafter, the cathode operating device 86 (see FIG. 3) is activated, the cathode 20 held in the cathode depositing corner 87 is taken out, and the cathode 20 is inserted into the cathode socket 80 provided in the lid 16 (note that FIG. 10). The operation state from (A) to FIG. 10 (B) is a procedure for taking out the cathode 20 from the lid 16, but refer to the operation state from FIG. 10 (B) to FIG. 10 (A) as the reverse order. Can do).

As a result, the contact rod 20 of the cathode 20 is inserted into the basket 6 held by the basket holding means 11 in the processing tank 10, and the tip thereof comes into contact with the object to be processed.
Next, as shown in FIG. 9B, the treatment liquid whose concentration is adjusted in the management tank 13 is supplied from the management tank 13 to the treatment tank 10 via the supply pipe 47 (see FIG. 2 and the like) by the operation of the pump 48. The processing liquid in the processing tank 10 is set to a predetermined water level. And the processing tank 10 is inclined diagonally as a whole. Note that the treatment liquid may be supplied to the treatment tank 10 after the treatment tank 10 is inclined.

Thus, the objects to be processed in the basket 6 are biased to the lower portion of the inclined basket 6 and are immersed in the processing liquid. Further, the cathode 20 provided on the lid 16 and the workpiece in the basket 6 are in contact with each other. After being in these states, the rotation drive motor 41 provided in the rotation drive unit 12 rotates the basket holding unit 11 at a low speed (processing) while receiving inverter control by the transmission circuit 42 (see FIG. 1) of the transmission unit 40. Mode).
Here, since the basket 6 is maintained in contact with the surrounding wall 26 of the basket holding means 11 at least at one place in the circumferential direction (the lower portion in the inclined state), the basket 6 and the basket are held. The electrical conduction state between the means 11 (that is, the anode) is surely maintained.

In addition, since the surrounding wall 26 of the basket holding means 11 is formed in a tapered cone shape corresponding to the peripheral wall 6b of the basket 6, the inner peripheral surface of the surrounding wall 26 and the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall 6b in the basket 6 The contact between the basket 6 and the basket holding means 11 is ensured in this respect as well. Thus, by applying a voltage between the basket holding means 11 (anode) and the cathode 20, the surface treatment for the workpiece in the basket 6 is started.
After the elapse of a predetermined time required for the surface treatment (within 12 minutes is sufficient), the voltage application between the basket holding means 11 (anode) and the cathode 20 is released, and as shown in FIG. 41 is temporarily stopped. Then, as shown in FIG. 10A, the processing liquid in the processing tank 10 is collected into the management tank 13 to empty the processing tank 10, and the processing tank 10 is returned to the horizontal state as a whole. Either the recovery of the processing liquid or the horizontal transfer of the processing tank 10 may precede.

After entering these states, the cathode 20 is taken out from the lid 16 as shown in FIG. 10A to FIG. 10B by the operation of the cathode operating device 86 (see FIG. 3), and the cathode 20 is deposited in the cathode depositing corner 87.
Next, as shown in FIG. 11 (A), the rotation drive motor 41 provided in the rotation drive unit 12 holds the basket holding means 11 while receiving inverter control by the transmission circuit 42 (see FIG. 1) of the transmission means 40. It will be rotated at high speed (dehydration mode), and dehydration will be started.
During this dehydration, the object to be processed in the basket 6 is uniformly scattered on the bottom plate 6a of the basket 6 near the outer periphery thereof, and is stably and balanced at high speed (centrifugal force). Will receive. Therefore, reliable and quick dehydration is performed.

  Further, when the basket holding means 11 starts high-speed rotation or stops from this high-speed rotation, the rotation drive motor 41 is converted into an inverter by a transmission circuit 42 (see FIG. 1) of the transmission means 40 as shown in FIG. Under the control, the acceleration and deceleration are controlled so as to gradually increase or decrease. Therefore, there is no inertial impact (instantaneous start, sudden stop, etc.) with respect to the holding state of the basket 6 with respect to the basket holding means 11 and the object accommodated in the basket 6, and the basket holding means. 11, No damage or the like occurs in the basket 6 and the workpiece.

After the elapse of a predetermined time necessary for dehydration (depending on the size, shape, amount, viscosity of the treatment liquid, etc.), the lid 16 of the treatment tank 10 is opened as shown in FIG. The basket 6 is carried out.
As is apparent from the above detailed description, the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention has a configuration in which the cathode 20 is provided to the lid 16 that can open and close the upper portion of the treatment tank 10. This is an advantage that the cathode 20 can be easily and surely brought into contact with the basket 6 held by the basket holding means 11 or the processing object accommodated in the basket 6. Of course, when the cathode 20 is directly brought into contact with the object to be processed in the basket 6, it goes without saying that the conductivity to the object to be processed can be made more stable and reliable.

Therefore, even when the basket 6 held in the processing tank 10 is rotated or the basket 6 is tilted together with the processing tank 10, contact failure and contact instability of the cathode 20 can be eliminated, and the surface The processing time can be shortened and the surface treatment can be improved (the surface treatment film can be made sufficiently thick or uniform).
For this reason, the provision of the rotation drive unit 12 for rotating the basket holding means 11 and the provision of the tilting means 27 for inclining the basket holding means act synergistically and shorten the surface treatment time. And the quality of surface treatment can be further improved.

In addition, by providing the cover 16 with respect to the processing tank 10, it is possible to prevent the environment around the processing tank 10 from being damaged by the stimulating gas generated from the processing liquid.
Further, if the anode is formed by the basket holding means 11 itself for holding the basket 6 in the treatment tank 10, the anode can be brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the basket 6. The surface treatment quality (thickness and uniformity of the surface treatment film) can be improved. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide an anode in the processing tank 10 as a separate and independent state, the processing tank 10 can be made as small as possible within a range in which the basket 6 can be accommodated. Since it can be suppressed, the storage amount of the processing liquid can also be reduced.

Therefore, when the management tank 13 for purifying the process liquid, adjusting the concentration, or generating the process liquid is provided, the time required for taking out the process liquid from the process tank 10 toward the management tank 13 is shortened. In addition, the time for purifying, adjusting the concentration, generating, and managing the temperature of the processing liquid in the management tank 13 can be shortened. Naturally, the management tank 13 can be downsized.
FIG. 13 shows a second embodiment of the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 14 shows a surface treatment system 2 constructed by using a plurality of the surface treatment apparatuses 1.

The surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that two basket holding means 11 are provided for one treatment tank 10. Other configurations and operational effects are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment.
By the way, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be appropriately changed according to the embodiments.
The basket 6 is not limited to the tapered shape of the lower dent, and the peripheral wall 6b may have a straight cylindrical shape (so-called squirrel shape). Further, the bottom plate 6a and the peripheral wall 6b may be formed of punched metal or a net material and have water permeability.

  In the present invention, the type of surface treatment is not limited at all. Examples include so-called electrodeposition (coating performed by applying a voltage), coating treatment after plating, and the like. Further, the object to be processed is not limited at all.

It is the sectional side view (equivalent to the AA arrow line view of FIG. 12) which showed 1st Embodiment of the surface treatment apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is front sectional drawing of the surface treatment apparatus which showed the state which the basket holding means tilted corresponding to the BB arrow of FIG. It is CC line arrow line view of FIG. It is the FF sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the DD sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the E section enlarged view of FIG. It is the perspective view which decomposed | disassembled and showed the surrounding wall of the basket holding means. It is a figure explaining rotation control of a basket holding means. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the surface treatment apparatus based on the BB arrow of FIG. 1, Comprising: (A) is a carrying-in stage of a basket, (B) is a surface treatment stage. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the surface treatment apparatus based on the GG arrow of FIG. 3, Comprising: (A) is the completion | finish stage of surface treatment, (B) is the stage of cathode extraction. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the surface treatment apparatus based on the BB arrow of FIG. It is a top view of the surface treatment system constructed by adopting the surface treatment apparatus of the first embodiment according to the present invention. It is the sectional side view (equivalent to the HH arrow line view of FIG. 14) which showed 2nd Embodiment of the surface treatment apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of the surface treatment system constructed by adopting the surface treatment apparatus of the second embodiment according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Surface treatment apparatus 2 Surface treatment system 6 Basket 6b Perimeter wall 10 Treatment tank 11 Basket holding means 12 Rotation drive part 20 Cathode 26 Surrounding wall 27 Tilt means 86 Cathode operation apparatus

Claims (9)

Basket holding means provided in the processing tank (10) so that the processing tank (10) capable of storing the processing liquid and the basket (6) for storing the object to be processed can be held in the processing tank (10). (11)
The treatment tank (10) is provided with a lid (16) that allows the upper part of the tank to be opened and closed in accordance with the removal of the basket (6).
The lid (16) is provided with a cathode (20) arranged to be inserted into the tank when the tank upper part of the process tank (10) is closed. .   The cathode (20) is inserted into the basket (6) held by the basket holding means (11) when the tank upper part of the treatment tank (10) is closed by the lid (16), and the cathode (20) The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface treatment apparatus is capable of contacting a workpiece.   The cathode (20) is retracted from the inside of the processing tank (10) and the state where the cathode (20) is inserted into the processing tank (10) with respect to the lid (16) under the closed state of the upper part of the processing tank (10). The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface treatment apparatus is movable so as to be switched between states.   The surface according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cathode (20) is detachably attached to a lid (16) under a state in which a tank upper portion of the treatment tank (10) is closed. Processing equipment.   In the treatment tank (10) or the lid (16), the cathode (20) is moved up and down relative to the lid (16) with the lid (16) closed on the upper part of the treatment tank (10). A cathode operating device (86) for switching between a state in which the cathode (20) is inserted into the processing tank (10) and a state in which the cathode (20) is retracted from the processing tank (10) is provided. The surface treatment apparatus of Claim 3 or Claim 4.   The said basket holding means (11) can form the anode which supplies with electricity to a to-be-processed object between the cathodes (20) electrically connected to the to-be-processed object in a basket (6). The surface treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Surface treatment equipment.   The surface treatment according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the treatment tank (10) is provided with a lid opening / closing device (17) for opening and closing the lid (16). apparatus.   It has a rotation drive part (12) for enabling rotation of the basket holding means (11) with the center of the basket (6) held by the basket holding means (11) as a rotation axis. The surface treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.   The basket holding means (11) causes the basket (6) to tilt and rotate by tilting the rotation axis of the basket (6) and the rotation axis of the basket (6) to be in a vertical state. The surface treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a tilting means (27) for switching to a dewatering mode in which the basket (6) is rotated horizontally.

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