JPH04210500A - Electroplating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the elution of a plating film and to prevent uneven lustering by impressing a feeble current on a material to be plated positioned at the front end of a conveyor line when the line is halted. CONSTITUTION:When clogging is caused in a conveyor line, a current impressing part 6 is halted, and the halt signal S1 is transmitted to a halt control part 17. An emergency conveyance signal S2 is transmitted to a conveyor mechanism 5 from the control part 17, and a material H to be plated is urgently conveyed to a plating bath 2 or a cleaning tank 3. Meanwhile, a current impressing signal S3 is transmitted from the control part 17 to an auxiliary current impressing means 16 simultaneously with the transmission of the signal S2. A specified feeble voltage is impressed from the part 16 on a lifting rack 12 at the lifting front end A and an anode 16b. When a conductor hanger 7 is at the lifting rack 12, the feeble current is impressed on the material H hung down by the hanger 7. The material H is plated at a very slow rate.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[00011

[Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an electroplating apparatus for plating, for example, IC exterior products. [0002] Conventionally, there is a plating apparatus shown in FIG. 2 that applies plating to IC exterior products. This plating device 30
The plating tank 2 includes a plating tank 2, a cleaning tank 3, a transfer mechanism 4, a transfer mechanism 5, and a current applying section 6. [0003] The plating tank 2 and the cleaning tank 3 each store a plating solution M (for example, a plating solution for an organic acid bath) and a cleaning water W, and are provided adjacent to each other. The object to be plated H is suspended from a conductor hanger 7, and a conductor rail 8 on which the conductor hanger 7 is slidably suspended is provided above the plating bath 2. The transfer mechanism 4 is configured to transfer the conductor hanger 7 along the conductor rail 8 from the left end to the right end in the plating bath 2 in the figure. [00043 The transport mechanism 4 is connected to the transport mechanism 5. The transport mechanism 5 includes a pull elevator 9, a feed elevator 10, and a transfer transport section 11. The current applying section 6 includes a rectifier 6a, the cathode side of which is connected to the conductor rail 8, and the anode 6b (anode) thereof immersed in the plating solution M in the plating bath 2. [0005] The object to be plated H is suspended from the conductor hanger 7 and is transported by the transport mechanism 4 within the plating tank 2 from the left end to the right end in the figure. A current is applied from the current applying section 6 to the transferred plating object H, so that the plating object H is plated. [0006] The object to be plated H transferred by the transfer mechanism 4 finally reaches the lifting start end A of the lifting elevator 8. A lifting rack 12 of the lifting elevator 9 is already waiting at the lifting start point A, and the object to be plated H is moved onto this lifting rack 12. This pulling rack 12 is not connected to the current applying section 6. Therefore, the current application is stopped at this point, and the plating ends. [0007]Furthermore, the object to be plated H is lifted out of the plating tank 2 by the lifting of the lifting elevator 9, and is transferred from the lifting elevator 9 to the feeding start end B of the feeding elevator 10 by the transfer conveyance section 11. The feed rack 13 of the feed elevator 10 is already waiting at the feed start end B, and the object to be plated H rides down on this feed rack 13 and is sent into the feed end C1, that is, into the cleaning tank 3. The object to be plated H is then cleaned in the cleaning tank 3. [0008]Furthermore, the pulling elevator 9 and the feeding elevator 10 are driven up and down again after the conveyance is completed, and are adapted to move the lifting rack 12 and the feeding rack 13 to the lifting starting end A to the feeding starting end B, respectively. . Note that the series of operations described above are all controlled by a control section (not shown). [0009] Also, reference numeral 14 is an end portion of a second transport mechanism that transports the object H to be plated into the cleaning tank 3 and transports it to the next process. [00101

Problems to be Solved by the Invention By the way, in the conventional electroplating apparatus 30, when a minor failure such as a conveyance jam (JAM) occurs, the transfer mechanism 4,
The transport of the transport system such as the transport mechanism 5 and the current application of the current applying section 6 are temporarily stopped. The system then restarts the system after repairing the malfunctioning part. Therefore, gloss unevenness occurred on the surface of the object to be plated H due to the following reasons. [00111■ If the lifting elevator-9 temporarily stops when the object H is located at the lifting start end A,
The open plating object H is left in the plating solution M for a while with no current applied. Therefore, the plating film formed on the object H to be plated was eluted into the plating solution M, resulting in uneven gloss. [0012] ■ The object to be plated H is transported by the transport mechanism 5.
If you pause when the
As a result, the plating film was eluted and uneven gloss occurred. [0013] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to prevent uneven gloss caused by elution of the plating film when the conveyance system of the object to be plated is temporarily stopped. The purpose is to provide electroplating equipment that can. [0014] [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plating tank for plating an object to be plated;
An electroplating apparatus is equipped with a cleaning tank for cleaning objects to be plated, and a transport mechanism for transporting objects to be plated from the plating tank to the cleaning tank, and is equipped with an auxiliary current application section and a temporary stop control section, The current applying unit applies a weak current to the object to be plated located at the start end of the conveyance in the plating tank, and the time stop control unit controls the transfer mechanism to apply a weak current to the object to be plated located at the start end of conveyance in the plating tank. An emergency transport signal for urgently transporting the object to be plated to the start end of transport in the plating tank or the end of transport in the cleaning tank is sent to the auxiliary current application section, and from the above, the electroplating apparatus was configured. [0015]

According to the above structure, when the transport system is temporarily stopped, a weak current is applied from the auxiliary current applying section to the object to be plated located at the transport start end of the transport mechanism in the plating tank. Therefore, the object to be plated is plated at a very slow deposition rate, and the plated film does not dissolve. [0016] Further, when the transport system is temporarily stopped, the object to be plated that is located in the middle of the transport of the transport mechanism is urgently transported to the plating tank or the cleaning tank. The object to be plated which has been urgently transported to the plating tank is applied with a weak current from the auxiliary current applying section in the same way as described above, so that the plating film is prevented from being eluted. The objects to be plated that are urgently transported to the cleaning tank are cleaned with a cleaning solution, so the plating film will not be eluted. [0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be explained below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. [00181 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electroplating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The basic configuration and operation of this electroplating apparatus 1 are the same as those of the conventional example, and the same or similar parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation will be omitted. That is, reference numeral 2 denotes a plating tank for storing a plating solution M, 3 a cleaning tank for storing a cleaning solution W, 4 a transfer mechanism, and 5 a conveyor consisting of a lifting elevator 9, a feeding elevator 10, and a transfer conveying section 11. Mechanism, 6 is the current applying part, 7 is the conductor hanger, 12 is the lifting rack of the lifting elevator-5, 13 is the feeding rack of the feeding elevator-10, H is the object to be plated, A is the lifting elevator-9
, B is the feed start end of the feed elevator 10, and C is the feed end of the same. [0019] The feature of this embodiment is that it includes an auxiliary current applying section 16 and a temporary stop control section 17. [00201 The auxiliary current applying section 16 includes a rectifier 16a. Further, the cathode side of the auxiliary current applying section 16 is connected to the pulling rack 12 when the pulling rack 12 is located at the pulling start end A. The pulling rack 12 of the present invention is made of a conductive material because it is necessary to conduct current to the object H to be plated. Then, the auxiliary current applying section 1
The anode 16b (positive electrode) of No. 6 is immersed in the plating solution M in the plating tank 2. [00211 When the transport system is temporarily stopped due to a transport jam, etc., the temporary stop control unit 17 sends an emergency transport signal S2 to the transport mechanism 5 and a current application signal S to the auxiliary current application unit 16.
3 is transmitted. [0022]Next, the operation when the electroplating apparatus is temporarily stopped due to a conveyance jam or the like will be described. [0023] When a conveyance jam or the like occurs, a control section (not shown) of the main body of the apparatus temporarily stops the entire conveyance system and the current application section 6, and sends a temporary stop signal S1 to the temporary stop control section]-7. The temporary stop control unit 17 that has received the temporary stop signal S1 transmits an emergency conveyance signal S2 to the conveyance mechanism 5. [0024] Upon receiving the emergency transport signal S2, the transport mechanism 5 urgently transports the object H to be plated to the plating tank 2 or the cleaning tank 3 through the following work steps. That is, when the emergency conveyance signal S2 is received, the lift elevator 9 and the feed elevator 10 are driven up and down while the transfer conveyance unit 10 is stopped. [0025] The sending elevator 10 is driven up and down until the sending rack 13 reaches the sending end C. Therefore, when the conductor hanger 7 is located on the feed rack 13, the object to be plated H suspended from the conductor hanger 7 is cleaned in the cleaning tank 3, and the plating film is not eluted. In addition, the lifting elevator 9 is driven up and down by the pulling rack 12.
The process continues until the starting point A is reached. [0026] In addition, when temporarily stopping, the pulling rack 12
is located at the lifting start point A, the lifting elevator 9 is not driven. Similarly, when pausing,
When the feed rack 13 is located at the feed end C, the feed elevator 10 is not driven. Furthermore, if the transfer conveyance unit 11 temporarily stops during conveyance, the series of emergency conveyance operations described above are performed at the time when the conveyance drive of the transfer conveyance unit 11 is completed. [0027] On the other hand, the temporary stop control unit] 7 transmits a current application signal S3 to the auxiliary current application unit 16 at the same time as transmitting the emergency conveyance signal S2. The auxiliary current application unit 16 that has received the current application signal S3 applies a predetermined weak voltage to the pulling rack 12 located at the pulling start end A and the anode 16b. As a result, the conductor hanger 7 is attached to the lifting rack 12 transported to the lifting start end A by the above-mentioned emergency transport.
is located, a weak current is applied to this conductor hanger 7. Therefore, the plating object H suspended from the conductor hanger 7 is plated at a very slow deposition rate, and the plating film is not eluted. Note that the weak current applied to the conductor hanger 7 is 0. IA
/dm2 or less, and when this level of weak current is applied, the object to be plated H will be plated at a deposition rate of 0.01 μm/min or less. [00283 In this way, the object is urgently transported and waits for the plating work to be restarted while a weak current is applied. Then, when the plating work is restarted, the weak current application by the auxiliary current application section 16 is stopped. [0029]In the present embodiment, the current application signal S4 is also transmitted from the temporary stop control section 17 to the current application section 6 during a temporary stop. When the current application section 6 receives this current application signal S4, it applies a current having the same magnitude as the weak current generated by the auxiliary current application section 3-6. Therefore, even if the conductor hanger 7 is present at a position during the transfer by the transfer mechanism 4, the coating of the object to be plated H suspended from the conductor hanger 7 is prevented from being eluted. [00301 Furthermore, it is also possible to incorporate the temporary stop control section 17 into the control section of the main body of the apparatus. [o o 311 [Effect of the invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when the conveyance system stops due to a conveyance jam, etc., the plated objects that have been plated can be automatically transferred into the plating tank and the cleaning tank. At the same time, a weak current was applied to the object to be plated immersed in the plating bath. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the plating film from being eluted when the plating apparatus is temporarily stopped, and it has become possible to obtain a uniform plating film without uneven gloss.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Plating tank 3　Cleaning tank 5 Conveyance mechanism 16 Auxiliary current application section 17 Pause control section A Pulling start end (conveyance start end) C feed end (conveyance end) H-plated object S2 Emergency transport signal 83 Current application signal

[Procedural amendment]

[Submission date] July 1, 1991

[Procedural amendment 1]

[Name of item to be amended] Specification

[Correction target item name] 0024 [Correction method] Change

[Correction details]

[0024] Upon receiving the emergency transport signal S2, the transport mechanism 5 urgently transports the object H to be plated to the plating tank 2 or the cleaning tank 3 through the following work steps. That is, when the emergency transport signal S2 is received, the lifting elevator 9 and the sending elevator 10 are driven up and down while the transfer transport unit IL is stopped.

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: An electroplating apparatus comprising a plating tank for plating an object to be plated, a cleaning tank for cleaning the object to be plated, and a transport mechanism for transporting the object to be plated from the plating tank to the cleaning tank. It is equipped with an auxiliary current applying section and a temporary stop control section.The auxiliary current applying section applies a weak current to the object to be plated located at the starting end of conveyance in the plating tank, and the temporary stop control section applies a weak current to the object to be plated located at the starting end of conveyance in the plating tank. When the conveyance is temporarily stopped, an emergency conveyance signal is sent to the conveyance mechanism to cause the object to be plated to be conveyed urgently to the conveyance start end in the plating tank or the conveyance end end in the cleaning tank.
An electroplating apparatus characterized in that a current application signal is transmitted to the auxiliary current application section.