JPS5828360B2 - Anode, coil of anode material, and electrolysis method - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to electroplating or electroforming.

More specifically, the present invention provides (1) continuous exposure of the anode surface to maximum electrolyte; (2) increased circulation of electrolyte across the anode bathget during anode erosion;
(3) minimize sludge formation; and (4) anode geometry that achieves a good balance between the area of the anode surface exposed to the electrolyte and the unit weight of the anode and the space it occupies. , regarding the anode basket structure and the cooperative action between the anode and the anode basket.

Prior art anode shapes are often in the form of chips, spheres, cubes, short rods, etc., which can overlap, jam, or bond during plating operations, reducing corrosion efficiency. At the same time, there is a tendency to slow down the plating speed.

Furthermore, the anode configurations described above have been found to be undesirable in some respects due to several drawbacks.

The disadvantages include, for example, insufficient surface area exposed to the electrolyte, excessive formation of sludge or precipitates, and low electrical conductivity between the anodes and between the anode and the anode basket.

Basis of the Improvements According to the Invention A typical prior art anode is described in U.S. Pat.
No. 78,853 and No. 1,373,693.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new anode structure that can be manufactured in large quantities at low cost using current mass production techniques.

Another object of the present invention is to ensure that the anodes are vertically aligned and overlapping in the anode basket when the anodes are manually or automatically dropped or fed through the loading port of the anode basket. The object of the present invention is to provide a combination of an anode and an anode basket.

Another object of the invention is to provide free circulation of the electrolyte throughout the life of the anode until the anode is fully ionized, as well as a vertical orientation of each anode and good electrical contact between the anodes and between the anode and the basket. An object of the present invention is to provide a combination of an anode and an anode basket that moves the anode to be corroded to the bottom of the basket while continuously maintaining the anode and the anode basket.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new method of housing an anode in an anode basket suitable for immersion into an electrolytic cell.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel electrolytic process.

An anode structure that achieves the objects of the invention described above consists of a coil of anode material forming a plurality of helices made from a continuous rod and defining a flat, generally planar surface.

A part of the peripheral edge of the cross section of the continuous rod has a predetermined shape,
The helical portion of the coil is formed such that the portion of the predetermined shape faces outward at least at the outermost portion of the helical portion.

An anode and anode basket combination which achieves the objects of the invention described above consists of a helically wound coil of anode material consisting of a rod or wire and a perforated anode basket having a generally parallelogram charging opening; The frame has an arc-shaped portion on at least a part of the peripheral edge of its cross-section, and the coil is wound so that the arc-shaped portion of each spiral portion faces outward, and the outer diameter of the coil is the same as the anode basket. dimensioned to be greater than the width and less than the length of the parallelogram charging port, such that when the coils are fed through the charging port, the coils form a predetermined pattern within the anode basket. They will overlap.

Furthermore, the electrolytic process that achieves the objects of the present invention is an electrolytic process in which corrosive anode material is transferred from the anode to the workpiece forming the cathode in a conventionally energized electrolytic cell, the electrolytic process having a predetermined cross-sectional shape. winding rod-shaped anode material having a flat surface to form a helical coil of predetermined dimensions having a flat surface, the flat surfaces of these coils being generally vertical and generally parallel to the flat surfaces of other coils; accommodating said coil in a perforated basket; and circulating an electrolyte through said basket in contact with said coil, thereby imparting a particular shape to said coil and said shape of said coil within said basket. It is characterized by the fact that the corrosion effect occurs uniformly over the entire basket due to the arrangement of the basket.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the accompanying drawings.

Referring in particular to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, numeral 10 indicates a typical electrolytic cell containing an electrolyte E and an anode basket, generally designated B. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.

Rod 11 supports porous anode baskets 12 and 13 suspended within the electrolytic cell.

These baskets are arranged within a generally vertical direction (
Multiple new anodes 14-14 closely overlapped
For clarity, the illustration is partially cut away.

The anodes 14-14, which collectively form a coil, are vertically arranged and, when dropped or fed manually or automatically through the anode basket loading port 16, as described below. As shown, it will automatically become somewhat consistent.

These anodes are automatically fed or transported downward as they erode and maintain a generally vertical orientation throughout their lifetime.

The lifetime (variation) of the anode is shown in particular in FIG.

The anode 14-14 is made of (rod-shaped) anode material, such as, but not limited to, copper, zinc, cadmium or nickel, and is spirally wound to a predetermined number of turns and overall as shown in FIG. A coil having a flat surface is formed.

The cross-sectional shape of the initial bar may vary as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5.

The only limitation on the cross-sectional shape of this bar is that at least the outermost helix or turn of each coil 14 has an arcuate or angular shape (as shown at 17 in FIG. 3 and 18 in FIG. 5). All that is required is to create a cross-sectional shape such that the nose or cutting edge (5 hare) faces outward and then wind the bar material.

The significance of the noses or cutting edges 17-17 and 1818 is that when the anode 14 moves towards the bottom G of the anode basket, the shape of these noses or cutting edges facilitates the downward movement of each anode. It is in.

This downward movement occurs automatically as corrosion progresses, and is greatly facilitated by the anode nose or cutting edge and the substantially vertically parallel arrangement of the anode.

The anode basket, made of a material that is not soluble in the electrolyte, has critical dimensions relative to the outer diameter of the anode coils 14-14.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the rectangular opening 19 of the anode basket has a width W smaller than the diameter of the coil and a length L larger than D.

The significance of this dimensional relationship is that by forming the basket loading port and the coil with such a dimension, when the coil is manually or automatically dropped or fed from the charging port 19, the coil as a whole will move in the vertical direction. The point is to ensure that they overlap in parallel to each other.

It should be noted here that the gradual movement of the anodes 14 (while maintaining good anode-to-anode and anode-to-basket contact) does not disrupt the generally vertical parallel alignment of the anodes 14-14. The electrolyte is free (and easy to penetrate) on the surface of the anode or coil while the anode is corroded from the shape shown at the top left side of Figure 7 to the shape shown at the top right side of Figure 7. This is what we do.

In summary, the salient features and advantages of the present invention are as follows.

(1) Maximum continuous exposure of the surface of the anode to the electrolyte over the entire life of the anode as the anode moves from the top to the bottom of the basket.

(2) Almost no sludge or sediment is generated.

(3) Maximum electrolyte flow through the anode material throughout the depth of the anode basket.

(4) Maintaining good anode-to-anode and anode-to-basket electrical contact throughout the life of the anode.

All of the features and advantages described above improve the efficiency of electroplating and increase the plating speed.

The invention described above is capable of various modifications and design changes without departing from its spirit and scope.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a portion of an electrolytic cell including an anode basket containing a coiled anode suspended from a rod. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a specific example of an anode according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the anode portion taken along line 3--3 of FIG. FIG. 4 shows another specific example of the anode. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the anode section taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 4, showing an angular rather than arcuate nose or cutting edge. FIG. 6 is a somewhat enlarged view of the anode basket with a portion cut away to show the gradual corrosion of the anode as it moves automatically from the top to the bottom of the anode basket; FIG. 7 shows the typical life of an anode as it corrodes. The anode changes as shown by the arrow in the figure. FIG. 8 shows the dimensional relationship between the outer diameter of the coiled anode and the rectangular charging opening of the anode basket. Figures 9 and 10 show variations of the anode basket loading opening, namely parallelogram and elliptical loading openings, respectively. 10... Electrolytic cell,... Anode basket, 11... Rod, 12 and 13. ,. 14...Anode, 16...Charging port, 17 and 18...Nose or cutting edge, 19...
...Charging port.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An anode comprising a helically wound coil of anode material made of a rod or wire and a perforated anode basket having a charging port, in which the iron rod has an arc shape on at least a part of the periphery of its cross section. and is wound such that the arcuate portion of each helical portion of the coil faces outward, and the outer diameter of the coil is sized to be greater than the width of the charging port and smaller than its length. , thereby causing the coils to overlap in a predetermined pattern within the anode basket when the coils are fed through the charging port. 2. The anode according to claim 1, wherein the helical coil is flat as a whole and the iron rod has a circular cross section. 3. An anode according to claim 1, wherein the iron rod is made of an anode material such as copper, zinc, cadmium or nickel, and the anode basket is made of a material that is insoluble in the electrolyte. 4. The anode according to claim 1, wherein the charging port of the anode basket has a generally elliptical shape, and the outer diameter of the coil is larger than the minor axis of the ellipse and smaller than the major axis. 5. The anode according to claim 1, wherein the outward portion of the peripheral edge of the cross section of the iron bar forms an angle smaller than 1800 degrees. 6. The anode according to claim 1, wherein the charging port is rectangular. 7. Regarding a coil of anode material that collectively forms a plurality of spiral portions made from a continuous rod, a portion of the peripheral edge of the cross section of the continuous rod has a predetermined shape, and the portion with the predetermined shape has a predetermined shape. A coil in which the helical part is formed so that at least the outermost part of the helical part faces outward. 8. The coil according to claim 7, wherein a portion of the peripheral portion is semicircular. 9. The coil of claim 7, wherein a portion of the peripheral edge forms an angle of less than 1800°. 10. The coil according to claim 7, wherein the helical portion is flat as a whole. 11 In an electrolytic method in which a corrosive anode material is transferred from an anode to a workpiece forming a cathode in a conventionally energized electrolytic cell, a rod-shaped anode material having a predetermined cross-sectional shape is rolled up to a predetermined size having a flat surface. forming a helical coil of the coil; encasing the coil in a perforated basket such that the flat surface of the coil is generally vertical and generally parallel to the flat surface of the other coil; circulating a liquid through the basket in contact with the coil, characterized in that this causes a corrosive action to occur uniformly over the entire basket due to the shape of the coil and the arrangement of the coil within the basket. electrolysis method.