US2770793A

US2770793A - Anode connector for electroplating lines

Info

Publication number: US2770793A
Application number: US249512A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr John E Erhardt; Albert R Grimes
Original assignee: Crown Cork and Seal Co Inc
Current assignee: Crown Cork and Seal Co Inc
Priority date: 1951-10-03
Filing date: 1951-10-03
Publication date: 1956-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 1973-11-13

Description

Nov. 13, 1956 Elf J. E. ERHARDT, JR, ETAL 2,770,793

ANODE CONNECTOR FOR ELECTROPLATING LINES Filed Oct. 3, i951 .48 28 50 526 3 22 F E z a .5- INVENTOR JOHN E. ERHARDT JR.

, 52p ALBERT. R. GRIMES ATTORNEY United States Patent ANODE CONNECTOR FOR ELECTROPLATING LINES John E. Erhardt, Jr., and Albert R. Grimes, Baltimore, Md., assignors to Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., a corporation of New York Application October 3, 1951, Serial No. 249,512

4 Claims. (Cl. 339-272 This invention relates to anode connectors for use in electroplating and particularly for electroplating elongated steel strips with tin or the like in continuous tank type electroplating lines. i

In electroplating lines, it is preferable to construct the anodes so that they are of less width than the confines of the tank size so that the anodes may be moved along the length of the tank when being changed. In practice, this requires that the anodes cannot have any arms or the like which project beyond the edge of the tank. Accordingly, it has proved very difilcult in the past to attach suitable connectors to the anodes for conducting current between the anode and the connector.

It has been known in the past to provide a slot in the side of the electrolytic tank in the intended position of an anode, and a connector havinga bolt running therethrough has been inserted through the'slot and the connector bolted to a face of the anode by having a tap hole in the anode. However, with that type of connector, serious difliculties have been encountered because heating at the point of contact makes it diflicult to remove the bolts, which are easily twisted off at times. Presumably, the overheating at the point of connection results from havmg a rather limited contact area which concentrates the current flow and results in high heating in this area.

The present invention overcomes the previous difficulties by providing a first member for abutting the face of the anode over a fairly large area with a second member in the form of a yoke or the like which hooks to the anode and overlies the first member. At a point beyond the confines of the tank, an adjustable device such as a Figure 2 shows a top view of the arrangement shown' in Figure 1, and

Figure 3 shows a sectional view taken substantiall along the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Referring now to Figure 1, 10 designates the side wall of an electrolytic plating tank which will contain a suitable electrolytic bath and through which a strip of metal to be plated will be moved in conventional fashion. Within tank 10, there is suspended an anode designated generally as 1 2. Anode 12 consists in part of a depending portion 14 which extends downwardly into the tank and widthwise thereof in the usual manner. The major por tion of the anode 12 and particularly the depending portion 14 is made of the metal which is to be eventually deposited upon the strip of dissimilar metal being run through the tank. For example, the anode'rnay be of tin for electroplating tin onto a strip of steel for use in eventually constructing tin cans and the like.

The anode 12 is further characterized by a horizontal arm portion 16 which is designed, as willbe described in detail below, to provide means for attaching the electrical connector device which will conduct current between the anode and the source of electrical energy. A suitable type of anode may have the horizontal arm 16 constructed as follows: The arm 16 will be of substantially inverted T section having a relatively narrow vertical section 18 and a fairly wide cross-section 20 at the lower side. The lower cross-section 20 will meet with a vertically extending wide section or tongue 22 which will extend upwardly as shown best in Figure l to form a substantially square face as shown best in Figure 3. The upper edge of the relatively thin vertical section 18 may be inclined downwardly as at 24 to meet the vertical section or tongue 22 at a point 26 a short distance below the upper edge 28 of section or tongue 22. In greater detail, the inclined portion 24 may terminate in a vertical portion 30 to form a rectangular notch, for purposes which will become more fully apparent as this descrip-' tion proceeds. The horizontal arm 16 of anode 12 may I be further characterized by a built up portion comprising screw threaded bolt acts between the yoke and the outer end of the first member to apply pressure therebetween. The result is that the first member, which is connected to the electrical circuit, is firmly engaged or abutted against the anode for good electrical contact, and yet there is no danger of the screw threaded adjustment means becoming inoperative due to overheating. Also, the improved connection device, according to this invention, may be readily manipulated from the outside of the tank.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide an anode connector device which provides excellent contact with an anode and -yet is notsubject to undesirable overheating effects.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an anode connector device having a first portion for extending through the tank wall to abut a face of the anode and with a second member also extending through the-tank side to be retained in hooking relation to the anode so that clamping forces may be applied at the exterior of the tank.

Further objects and the entire scope of the invention will become further apparent from the following description and from the appended claims.

The invention may be best understood with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevational view of a connecting device according to the invention.

sections

32 and 34. These sections may be molded intcgral with the anode and will serve to increase the crosssectional area of the anode at the point adjacent the inner face of the tongue or section 22 and through which point current passes to the connection device to be described. However, depending upon the general dimensions of the anode arm 16 in relation to the amount of current which is to be carried, it will be understood that the

sections

32 and 34 may possibly be dispensed with.

In connection with the anode 12, it will be further understood that the complete anode comprising the horizontal arms 16 (there will be a similar arm at the other side of the tank) may be made of the metal which ,is to be deposited, or the arms 16 and adjacent structure may, in fact, be simply an anode yoke to which may be secured a depending section 14 of the metal to be deposited. That is, in practice, it may be desirable to construct the upper portion of the anode of metal such as cast steel or the like which may be used repeatedly by simply connecting thereto a portion of tin or the like which will only extend to 'theupper level of the electrolyte in the tank.

To the tank wall 10, there may be attached an angle iron 36 on which may be mounted an insulator 38 for supporting the anode 12. That is, the anode 12 will rest on one insulator 38 on each side of the tank, by engagement of the insulator with the flat undersurface of section 20 of the anode. The insulators 38 will be located adjacent slots 40 in the tank wall 10.

The connection device according to this invention consists of a first member 42 to which is connected a flexible current conductor 44. The first member may be of circular cross-section as shown in the drawing and is provided with a flat face 46 for firmly engaging the Qatare of s c n or tongue 2 f p s cur e therebetween. Member 42 is further provided with a bar 48 having a downwardly extending hook portion 50 for engaging the inner face of section or tongue .22 in the vicinity of the rectangular slot formed in anode arm 16 defined by previously mentioned surface 30. The purpose of hook 50 is to temporarily retain member 42 in engagement with the anode before a clamping arrangement (to be described) otherwise engages member 42 with anode arm 16.

The connection device is further characterized by a yoke 52 having two parallel arms 52a and 52b joined by a transverse arm or bight 520. The ends of yoke arms 52a and 52b remote from cross-arm 520 are provided with hook portions 54 which are so arranged that they will overlie a portion of the face of the anode section 22 remote from the face of section or tongue 22 which abuts the first connector portion 42. The'crossarm 520 of yoke 52 is then further provided with a theraded aperture 56 through which extends a threaded bolt 58. Accordingly, with the yoke positioned to overlie the portion 42 of the connector, as shown in the draw ing, the bolt 58 may be screwed through the aperture 56 until end 60 of bolt 58 engages the outer end of connector portion 42. It will be clear that as the bolt 58 is tightened, the section or tongue 22 of anode arm 16 will be firmly engaged on its outer face by the face 46 of connector portion 42. At the same time, the opposite and inner face of section or tongue 22 will be firmly engaged by the hook portions 54 of yoke arms 52a and 52b. Therefore, the anode arm 16 will be securely engaged with the connector device, and electric current may readily pass between the anode and the connector.

A lock nut 62 may be provided to maintain the yoke 52 and connector portion 42 in clamped relationship.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that by the present invention there is provided a new and improved anode connector which may be manipulated by the outside of the electroplating tank to firmly engage and provide excellent electrical contact with an electroplating anode located within the tank. By the invention, all of the adjustable parts are located outside the tank and remote from points of possible high temperatures with the result that the adjustable parts will not become corroded or otherwise caused to lock.

The foregoing detailed description has been given only for purposes of illustration and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. On the contrary, the scope of the invention is to be determined from the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An electrical connector device for use with an electroplating anode positioned within an electroplating tank, the anode being ofa type having a flanged vertical section for connection to the connector device, the connector device comprising an elongated member having a first end for abutting a first face of the anode vertical section and a second end adapted to extend through a slot in the side of the electroplating tank in which the anode is positioned, an arm extending from the second end of the elongated member for receiving a flexible electrical conductor, a yoke element for overying the elongated member, the yoke element having parallel side arms each provided with a hook portion for engaging a second face of the vertical anode section opposite the first section face, the yoke element being further provided with a cross-arm, means comprising screw threaded means arranged to act between the cross-arm of the yoke element and the second end of the elongated member for tending to move the said cross-arm and second end of the elongated member apart, the arrangement being such that operation of the screw thread means will firmly clamp the anode vertical section between the first end of the elongated member and the hook portions of the parallel yoke arms.

2. A device as in claim 7 in which the elongated member includes an auxiliary retaining member for hooking to the anode to retain the first end of the elongated member adjacent the said first face of the anode vertical section when the screw thread means is not drawn up to provide said clamping action.

3. An electrical connector device for use with an electroplating anode positioned within an electroplating tank and being provided with a vertically extending tongue for engagement by the connector device, the connector device comprising an elongated member having a first end for abutting a first face of the anode vertical tongue and a second end adapted to extend through a slot in the side of the electroplating tank in which the anode is positioned, means on the second end of the elongated member for receiving a flexible electrical conductor, a yoke element for overlying the elongated member, the yoke element having parallel side arms each provided with a hook portion for engaging a second face of the vertical anode tongue opposite the first tongue face, the yoke element being further provided with a cross-arm, means comprising screw threadedmeans arranged to act between the cross-arm of the yoke element and the second end of the elongated member for tending to move said yoke element and elongated member with respect to each other, the arrangement being such that operation of the screw thread means will firmly clamp the anode tongue between the first end of the elongated member and the hook portions of the parallel yoke arms.

4. A device as in claim 3 in which the elongated member includes an auxiliary retaining member for hooking to the anode tongue to retain the first end of the elongated member adjacent the said first face of the anode tongue when the screw thread means is not drawn up to provide said clamping action.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 707,776 Heroult Aug. 26, 1902 745,412 Blackman Dec. 1, 1903 1,032,723 Young July 16, 1912 1,091,185 Boissier Mar. 24, 1914 1,720,030 Bodendieck et a1 July 9, 1929 1,795,627 Weritz Mar. 10, 1931 1,874,759 Kirkaldy Aug. 30, 1932 1,965,712 Schmidt July 10, 1934 2,287,762 Rogotf June 23, 1942 2,507,417 Noyes May 9, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 591,574 Great Britain Aug. 21, 1947