JPH11140697A - Plating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve plating by surely feeding metallic balls to ball holding cylinders placed in distant positions. SOLUTION: This apparatus is constituted by disposing a fall preventive cover 12 above a soln. vessel 1 and providing the top of this fall preventive cover 12 with feeding jigs 17, 18 having ball guiding passages 20, 21 for guiding the copper balls toward the ball holding cylinders 4 on the deep side. Then, the copper balls are rolled along the ball guiding passages 20, 21 of the feeding jigs 17, 18, by which the easy and sure feeding of the copper balls into the ball holding cylinders 4 is made possible. Even if the copper balls deviate from the ball guiding passages 20, 21, the fall of the copper balls into the soln. vessel 1 is prevented by the fall preventive cover 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plating apparatus suitable for applying, for example, copper plating to a printed wiring board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, when a printed wiring board is manufactured, copper plating is applied to the entire surface of a wiring board, and unnecessary portions of copper plating are removed in accordance with the pattern of an electric circuit. A printed wiring board having a circuit pattern can be obtained.

[0005] A plating apparatus for plating a substrate with copper will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

[0004] Reference numeral 1 denotes a solution tank which forms an outer shell of the plating apparatus. The solution tank 1 is formed in an elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape in the direction of transporting the substrate (the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 5). The back position and the lower side as viewed from the operator are the front positions. A sulfuric acid solution is stored in the solution tank 1 as a plating solution. Further, a rectangular opening 2 is provided on the upper surface side of the solution tank 1.
Are provided at a plurality of locations, and above the opening 2, intake ducts 3, 3,
... are provided.

[0005] 4A, 4B, ..., 4H are located at the center in the solution tank 1 and are arranged in a row from the near side to the far side.
Each of the ball holding cylinders 4 is supported by a support beam 5 in each of the ball holding cylinders (referred to as a ball holding cylinder 4 as a whole). Each ball holding cylinder 4 is made of an acid-resistant wire mesh or the like as shown in FIG. 7 and is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom extending upward and downward, and the upper side projects from the liquid surface of the sulfuric acid solution. ing. Further, a filter for capturing sludge generated when the copper balls 6 are melted is provided in each ball holding cylinder 4. Each of the ball holding cylinders 4 holds a copper ball 6 therein and exposes the copper ball 6 to a sulfuric acid solution.

[0006] Reference numerals 6, 6, ... denote spherical copper balls formed of a copper material serving as a plating layer.
By being thrown into the ball holding cylinder 4, it is dissolved in the sulfuric acid solution and gradually becomes smaller.

[0007] In the plating apparatus configured as described above, the substrate dissolved in the sulfuric acid solution is plated on the surface of the substrate by transporting the substrate in the solution tank 1 by a transport device (not shown). To process. At this time, the concentration of copper in the sulfuric acid solution is adjusted by the number of copper balls 6 put into each ball holding cylinder 4.

[0008] Then, the operation when the copper balls 6 are put into the ball holding cylinder 4 will be described. First, the ball holding cylinders 4E, 4F, 4G, and 4H of the ball holding cylinder 4 that are located in front of the solution tank 1 and within reach of an operator are:
An operator grasps the copper ball 6 and throws it directly.

Next, the ball holding cylinders 4A, 4B, 4 which are located at the back side of the solution tank 1 and are inaccessible to the operator.
When charging the copper ball 6 into C and 4D, the charging jig 7
Is charged using.

Here, the charging jig 7 is made of a tube material such as vinyl chloride, and is formed to be long so as to reach the ball holding tube 4A at the back, and a tip of the straight tube portion 7A. And a bent tube portion 7B provided on the side.

Then, the ball holding cylinders 4A, 4
When charging the copper balls 6 into B, 4C and 4D, the duct 3 is shifted upward or removed, and then the straight tube portion 7A is held by hand. Align with cylinder 4A. Next, the copper ball 6 is fed from the inlet side of the straight tube portion 7A,
The ball holding tube 4 passes from the bent tube portion 7B through the straight tube portion 7A.
It is thrown into A.

[0012]

In the above-mentioned prior art, since the straight tube portion 7A of the charging jig 7 is long and heavy, the outlet of the bent tube portion 7B is connected to the ball holding tube 4A.
There is a problem that positioning is difficult. In addition, when the copper balls 6 are inserted, the duct 3 must be shifted upward or removed, which requires time and labor for the setup work.

Further, since the outlet of the bent tube portion 7B cannot be fixed to the ball holding cylinder 4, the copper ball 6 rolling in the straight tube portion 7A collides with the inner surface of the bent tube portion 7B, so that the ball is not affected. The bent tube portion 7B is displaced from the holding cylinder 4. For this reason, the copper balls 6 may fall into the sulfuric acid solution, and in this case, the copper balls 6 are directly melted without passing through the filter, so that the sludge generated at the time of melting causes rough plating on the surface. This causes a problem that the finished state deteriorates.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to ensure that a metal ball can be put into a ball holding cylinder at a deep position, thereby improving plating finish. It is an object of the present invention to provide a plating apparatus capable of performing the above.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a plating apparatus comprising: a solution tank for storing a plating solution; and a plating tank extending upward and downward in the solution tank. It is composed of a protruding ball holding cylinder and a metal ball formed into a sphere by a metal material to be a plating layer and put into the ball holding cylinder.

Then, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem,
The feature of the configuration adopted by the invention of claim 1 is that, on the solution tank, a cover made of a plate-like body in which a receiving port for the metal ball is formed at a position corresponding to the ball holding cylinder,
A charging jig provided with a ball guide passage for guiding a metal ball toward the receiving port is provided on the cover.

With this configuration, when a metal ball is charged into the ball holding cylinder, the metal ball is guided along the ball guide passage by simply rolling the metal ball along the ball guide passage of the charging jig. Then, the ball can be reliably inserted into the ball holding cylinder via the receiving port of the cover. Further, even if the metal ball comes off from the ball guide passage, the metal ball can be dropped on the cover, and can be prevented from falling into the solution.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a guide rail is provided between the cover and the charging jig so as to guide the charging jig movably with respect to the cover between a front position and a depth position of the solution tank. That is.

With this configuration, a metal ball can be inserted into one ball holding cylinder with the throwing jig moved to the front position, and the other ball held with the throwing jig moved to the back position. A metal ball can be put into the cylinder. Further, since the metal balls can be put into two ball holding cylinders by one ball guide passage, the width dimension of the putting jig can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the ball guide passage of the charging jig is provided with an inclination so as to gradually decrease from a position in front of the solution tank toward a position in the back thereof. By this, just put the metal ball on the ball guide passage on the near side,
The metal ball can be rolled toward the ball holding cylinder by utilizing the inclination of the ball guide passage.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a plating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, the same components as those of the above-described related art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numerals 11 and 11 denote a pair of support beams provided on the front side and the back side of the opening 2. Each of the support beams 11 allows a fall prevention cover 12 described later to be detachably mounted on the solution tank 1. I support it.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a fall prevention cover as a cover which is located on the solution tank 1 and is detachably supported by each support beam 5. The fall prevention cover 12 is positioned at a position near this side so as to partially cover the opening 2. 1 is formed as a rectangular plate-like body extending in the depth direction from the front to the back position, and at the position corresponding to the ball holding tube 4, receiving ports 13 A, 13 B,.
3H (collectively, receptacle 13) is formed.

When the copper balls 6 are loaded by the loading jigs 17 and 18 described below, the fall prevention cover 12 is
This prevents the copper ball 6 from dropping into the solution tank 1 when the copper ball 6 comes off from the loading jigs 17 and 18.

Are guide rails provided on the fall prevention cover 12, and each of the guide rails 14
It is provided at a total of four locations: left and right positions on the near side and left and right positions on the back side. Each guide rail 14 includes a narrow guide plate 14A and a wide guide plate 14B. Each of the guide rails 14 is provided with a loading jig 17, 1.
8 is movably supported in the depth direction.

Reference numerals 15 and 15 denote first stoppers provided at the back of the fall prevention cover 12, and reference numerals 16 and 16 denote second stoppers provided at a position before the fall prevention cover 12. 1 positions the injection jigs 17 and 18 at the back position shown in FIG. 1, and the second stopper 16 positions the injection jigs 17 and 18 at the near position.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a charging jig for the ball holding cylinders 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D provided on the left side of the fall prevention cover 12, and 18 denotes a ball holding cylinder 4A provided on the right side of the fall prevention cover 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the charging jig 17 includes a base plate 19, a first ball guide passage 20, a second ball guide passage 21, and a sliding plate. 22 and the like. In addition,
The charging jig 18 has the same configuration as that of the charging jig 17 except that it has a symmetrical shape, and therefore the description thereof is omitted.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a base plate formed as a strip-shaped long plate. The base plate 19 is located at a long side located inside, and has one fan-shaped notch 19A corresponding to the receiving port 13.
And four semicircular notches 19B.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a first ball guide passage provided on the base plate 19. The first ball guide passage 20 extends toward the outside of the base plate 19 in parallel in the longitudinal direction, and has a notch 19A at the tip end. Pair of vertical plates 20 bent inward toward
A, 20B.

Reference numeral 21 denotes the first ball guide passage 2
0, a second ball guide passage provided along
The ball guide passage 21 extends in parallel with a part of the above-described vertical plate 20B, and a pair of the vertical plates 21 whose front ends are bent inward toward the notch 19B adjacent to the notch 19A.
A, 21B.

Here, the first ball guide passage 20, the second ball guide passage 20,
As shown in FIG. 3, the ball guide passage 21 has an inclination such that it gradually decreases from the near position to the back position. For example, the inclination angle α is set to about 1 to 4 degrees. I have.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a sliding plate fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 19. The sliding plate 22 is slidably fitted between the guide plates 14A and 14B of the guide rail 14, as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the loading jig 17 can be moved in the depth direction along the guide rail 14.

When the loading jig 17 is positioned at the back position, the first ball guide passage 20 is arranged toward the ball holding cylinder 4A, and the second ball guide passage 21
Are arranged facing the ball holding cylinder 4B. On the other hand, the charging jig 17 arranges the first ball guide passage 20 toward the ball holding cylinder 4C when positioned at the near position,
The second ball guide passage 21 is arranged facing the ball holding cylinder 4D.

The plating apparatus according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, and its basic operation is not particularly different from that of the prior art. Therefore, a description will be given of a charging operation of the copper ball 6 using the charging jigs 17 and 18 which is a characteristic part of the present embodiment.

First, when charging the copper ball 6 into the ball holding cylinder 4A, the charging jig 17 is moved to the back side,
Is positioned at the back position by the stopper 15 of FIG. In this state, the copper ball 6 is put on the first ball guide passage 20. As a result, the copper ball 6 is transferred to the first ball guide passage 2.
The ball is rolled over the first ball guide passage 20 and is thrown into the ball holding cylinder 4A from the first ball guide passage 20 through the receptacle 13A.

When the copper ball 6 is put into the ball holding cylinder 4B, the copper ball 6 is rolled along the second ball guide passage 21 in the above-described state, so that the copper ball 6 is put into the ball holding cylinder 4B. Can be input.

When the copper balls 6 are to be charged into the ball holding cylinder 4C, the charging jig 17 is moved to the near side and is positioned by the second stopper 16 at the back position. As a result, the copper balls 6 move along the first ball guide passage 20.
By rolling the copper ball 6 into the ball holding cylinder 4C.
Can be put in.

Further, when the copper ball 6 is put into the ball holding cylinder 4D, the copper ball 6 is rolled along the second ball guide passage 21 in the above-described state, so that the copper ball 6 is put into the ball holding cylinder 4D. Can be input.

As described above, the first ball guide passage 2 is set with the charging jig 17 positioned at the back position or the near position.
0 or the copper ball 6 along the second ball guide passage 21
By rolling the copper balls, the copper balls 6 can be easily and reliably inserted into the ball holding cylinders 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D that cannot be reached by the operator.

On the other hand, the ball holding cylinder 4 by the charging jig 18
The operation of inserting the copper balls 6 into A, 4B, 4C, and 4D is the same as the operation of inserting the copper balls 6 by the above-described insertion jig 17, and the description of the operations is omitted.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the use of the charging jigs 17 and 18 allows the copper balls 6 to reach the ball holding cylinders 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D, which are inaccessible to the operator.
Can be easily and reliably supplied. In addition, even if the copper ball 6 may come off the ball guide passages 20 and 21, the copper ball 6 can be prevented from falling into the sulfuric acid solution by the fall prevention cover 12.

Accordingly, since the copper balls 6 can be reliably put into each of the ball holding cylinders 4, sludge generated when the copper balls 6 are melted can be caught by the filter in the ball holding cylinder 4. This makes it possible to improve the plating finish and improve the reliability of the plating apparatus. Further, since there is no need for the operator to manually support the device as in the case of the conventional charging jig 7 and no positioning operation is required, the charging operation of the copper ball 6 can be facilitated.
Work time can be reduced.

Since the guide jigs 17 and 18 can be moved with respect to the fall prevention cover 12 by providing the guide rails 14, two ball guide passages 2 are provided.
Four ball holding cylinders 4 at 0 and 21 for a total of 8 places
The copper ball 6 can be thrown in.

Thus, the loading jigs 17 and 18 can be made small,
The weight can be reduced, and the fall prevention cover 12 and the charging jigs 17 and 18 can be easily attached to and detached from the solution tank 1 during maintenance or cleaning of the solution tank 1. Moreover, since the width of the input jigs 17 and 18 can be reduced,
There is no need to shift or remove the duct 3 upward as in the related art when the copper balls 6 are inserted, so that the setup work can be facilitated and the workability can be improved.

Further, the ball guide passages 20, 21 have an inclination angle α that gradually decreases from the near position to the far position.
Is provided, the copper ball 6 can be rolled by its own weight using this inclination, and the charging operation can be facilitated.

In the embodiment, the loading jigs 17, 1
Although the case where two ball guide passages 20 and 21 are provided in 8 has been described as an example, the present invention is not limited to this, and one or three or more ball guide passages are provided in the input jigs 17 and 18. May be provided.

In the above embodiment, the ball holding cylinders 4 are arranged in eight rows in the depth direction, and two rows are provided. However, for example, the ball holding cylinders 4 may be arranged in one row. May be 7 or less, or 8 or more.
Alternatively, three or more rows may be provided.

In the embodiment, the first ball guide passage 20 is constituted by vertical plates 20A and 20B, and the second ball guide passage 21 is constituted by vertical plates 20B, 21A and 21B. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the charging jigs 17 and 18 may be configured as a single block body, and the block body may have an arc-shaped cross section.
A ball guide passage having a concave shape such as a letter shape may be formed.

Further, in the embodiment, the case where the plating process is performed on the substrate in order to manufacture the printed wiring board is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the plating process may be performed on the base formed of the metal material. Can also be applied.

[0050]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when a metal ball is put into a ball holding cylinder,
By simply rolling the metal ball along the ball guide path of the charging jig, the metal ball can be guided by the ball guide path, and can be reliably inserted into the ball holding cylinder through the receiving port of the cover. Further, even if the metal ball may come off the ball guide passage, the metal ball can be prevented from dropping into the solution by the cover. Therefore, since the metal ball can be reliably introduced into the ball holding cylinder, for example, sludge generated when the metal ball is melted can be captured by the filter provided in the ball holding cylinder. Thereby, the finish of plating can be made favorable. In addition, the operation of charging the metal ball can be facilitated, and the operation time can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the metal ball can be thrown into one ball holding cylinder with the throwing jig moved to the front position, and the throwing jig is moved to the back position. In this state, a metal ball can be put into another ball holding cylinder. Thus, metal balls can be thrown into two ball holding cylinders by one ball guide passage, and the throwing jig can be reduced in size and weight. Further, since the width dimension of the charging jig can be reduced, it is not necessary to shift or remove the duct upward as in the related art when the metal ball is charged, which facilitates the setup operation and improves workability. be able to.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the ball guide passage is inclined so as to gradually descend from the near position to the deep position, it is only necessary to put a metal ball on the near ball guide passage. By using the inclination of the ball guide passage, the metal ball can be rolled toward the ball holding cylinder,
The operation of charging the metal balls can be facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged plan view showing a part of a plating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view showing a charging jig in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the charging jig shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the direction of arrows III-III.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the charging jig as viewed from a direction indicated by arrows IV-IV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a conventional plating apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view showing a part of a plating apparatus.

7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a copper ball is thrown into a ball holding cylinder using a throwing jig, as viewed from the direction of arrows VII-VII in FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 solution tank 4A, 4B,... 4H ball holding cylinder 6 copper ball (metal ball) 12 fall prevention cover (cover) 13A, 13B,. Second ball guide path α Inclination angle

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A solution tank in which a plating solution is stored, a ball holding cylinder extending upward and downward in the solution tank and having an upper side projecting from the liquid surface of the solution, and a metal serving as a plating layer. In a plating apparatus comprising a metal ball formed in a spherical shape by a material and charged into the ball holding cylinder, a receiving port for the metal ball is formed on the solution tank at a position corresponding to the ball holding cylinder. A plating jig provided with a ball guide passage for guiding a metal ball toward the receptacle on the cover. 2. A guide rail is provided between the cover and the charging jig so as to guide the charging jig movably with respect to the cover between a near position and a deep position of the solution tank. Item 2. A plating apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ball guide passage of the charging jig is provided with an inclination so as to gradually decrease from a near position to a deep position of the solution tank.