JP2008179874A - Surface treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a surface treatment apparatus which can further improve a period of time necessary for treatment, application voltage, the quality of surface treatment and the like. <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 an anode which can pass electricity to an object to be treated in the basket 6 held by the basket-holding means 11, arranged rotatably so that the anode can orbit around the periphery of a circumferential wall 6b of the basket 6. <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, an apparatus has been proposed in which a bowl-shaped barrel is rotated in an obliquely inclined processing tank so as to promote a stirring action on a workpiece in the barrel (see Patent Document 1).
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. This lattice body is disposed so as to be spaced from the outer peripheral surface of the barrel so as not to disturb the rotation of the barrel, and is fixed in the processing tank.

In addition, the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 increases the total surface area as an anode by inserting an auxiliary anode, which is a combination of a coiled electrode and a rod-shaped electrode, into the barrel, in addition to the grid-type original anode. Therefore, this is a technique for trying to shorten the surface treatment time.
JP 2003-147594 A

In surface treatment such as plating, continuous efforts are made in terms of time required for treatment, applied voltage, and surface treatment quality (thickness and uniformity of the surface treatment film, etc.). In Patent Document 1 described above, the total surface area as an anode is increased by adopting a structure in which an auxiliary anode in which a coiled electrode and a rod-shaped electrode are combined is used in addition to the grid-type original anode. Therefore, it is trying to shorten the surface treatment time.
By the way, in the anode fixed in the treatment tank, many bubbles are generated in the process of performing the surface treatment such as plating, and are attached to the surface. In this way, the state in which many bubbles are attached to the surface of the anode can be said to be as if the anode is enveloped in bubbles. It is expected that the convection of the processing liquid itself in the processing tank may have an adverse effect due to the surface tension at the surface. The present applicant pays attention to this point and intends to further improve the processing time, applied voltage, surface treatment quality, and the like.

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 an object of the present invention is to provide a surface treatment apparatus capable of further improving processing time, applied voltage, surface treatment quality, and the like.

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. In the processing tank, an anode capable of conducting to an object to be processed in the basket held by the basket holding means is rotatable in a state of circling around the peripheral wall of the basket. Is provided.
Here, “the anode can rotate in a state of circling around the peripheral wall of the basket” does not distinguish whether the anode rotates relative to the basket or rotates integrally with the basket. The center (the center of the closed shape surrounded by the peripheral wall) is said to be coincident or substantially coincident.

Therefore, only the anode rotates and the basket stops, the anode and the basket rotate in the opposite directions, and the anode and the basket rotate in the same direction but at different rotational speeds (whichever And relative rotation) include a state in which the anode and the basket rotate in the same direction and at the same rotation speed (integral rotation).
Thus, in the surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention, since the anode provided in the treatment tank rotates so as to circulate around the peripheral wall of the basket held by the basket holding means, bubbles generated by the anode are formed on the anode surface. It is difficult to adhere, and even if it adheres, it is blown away by the rotation of the anode.

Therefore, the anode has many suitable actions such as preventing the contact opportunity with the treatment liquid from being hindered and preventing adverse effects on the convection of the treatment liquid itself in the treatment tank. Become. Rather, since positive and forced convection occurs in the processing liquid in the processing tank as the anode rotates, the circulation of the processing liquid inside and outside the basket is promoted. Therefore, the efficiency of the surface treatment is further improved.
From these facts, the surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention has succeeded in achieving substantial effects such as shortening of the treatment time, suppression of applied voltage, improvement of surface treatment quality, and the above action has been successful. Inferred. Note that the surface treatment efficiency according to the present invention is only 60%, although it varies depending on the capacity of the treatment tank, the type of surface treatment, the amount and size of the material to be treated, and the material. As a result, it was reported that it was increased to 90 to 95%.

The basket holding means includes an enclosing wall that surrounds the peripheral wall of the basket, and a rotation drive unit that allows the encircling wall to rotate around the center of the basket, and the enclosing wall is formed of a conductor. can do. By doing in this way, an anode can be formed with the surrounding wall itself.
By doing so, it is not necessary to provide an anode as a separate and independent state in the processing tank. Therefore, the processing tank can be made as small as possible within the range that can accommodate the basket, and the processing can be performed accordingly. The tank capacity can be reduced. Therefore, the storage amount of the processing liquid 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. In addition, the time for purifying, adjusting the concentration, generating, and managing the temperature of the processing liquid in the management tank can be shortened. Naturally, the management tank can be downsized.
Furthermore, since the anode can be brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the basket, further improvement can be achieved in terms of time required for the surface treatment, voltage, and surface treatment quality (thickness and uniformity of the surface treatment film).

The surrounding wall of the basket holding means may be formed by standing a large number of support pillars at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction as a state surrounding the peripheral wall of the basket.
By doing so, it becomes a robust structure that can sufficiently withstand as the surrounding wall, and yet it can increase the water permeability, and it can lead to many advantages such that it can be manufactured inexpensively as the surrounding wall.
In this case, in particular, the support column employed in the surrounding wall of the basket holding means is formed as a plate piece that is arranged so as to extend along the plate surface in a direction extending radially outward from the central portion of the basket. It is preferable to do this.

By doing so, the surface area as the surrounding wall can be increased, the anode area can be increased as much as possible, and the cathode-to-anode decimation ratio can be 1: 1, or the anode can be made larger than the cathode. It is connected. Therefore, this is also extremely useful in terms of shortening the surface treatment time and providing a high-quality surface treatment.
A basket having a peripheral wall formed in a tapered shape having a lower recess can be used. In this case, it is assumed that the surrounding wall of the basket holding means is formed in a tapered cone shape corresponding to the peripheral wall of the basket, and in the basket holding state, the inner peripheral surface of the surrounding wall in the basket holding means and the basket It is preferable to make contact with the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall.

By doing in this way, the outer peripheral surface of a basket and the surrounding wall of a basket holding means can be made to contact reliably, and conduction | electrical_connection between both can be ensured. This leads to an advantage that an error in the dimensional accuracy can be absorbed in the basket and the basket holding means (particularly the basket). That is, baskets and the like do not need to be manufactured so accurately, and even when the baskets undergo heat shrinkage deformation or some deformation during use, the operation as a surface treatment apparatus can be continued as it is. become.
The basket holding means may be capable of holding the basket with its rotation axis inclined obliquely.

In this way, when surface treatment is performed, the object to be treated is skillfully agitated in the basket, which is extremely useful in terms of shortening the surface treatment time and performing a good surface treatment. Become.
In addition, the basket holding means includes a processing mode in which the basket is rotated by tilting the rotation axis of the basket obliquely, and a dehydration mode in which the basket is rotated horizontally by setting the rotation axis of the basket to a vertical state. A tilting means for switching may be provided.

In this way, the effect of shortening the surface treatment time and improving the surface treatment as described above can be obtained in the treatment mode, and the dehydration mode can be carried out reliably and promptly as the stable and balanced high-speed rotation can be performed. This leads to the advantage of being able to perform dehydration.
That is, if the basket is rotated at a high speed without being brought into a vertical state while the rotation axis of the basket is inclined in the processing mode, the object to be processed in the basket is in a lump-like state biased to the lower side of the inclination. Suddenly, it receives centrifugal force due to high-speed rotation. Therefore, the object to be processed continues to maintain a lump state, and the processing liquid is hardly shaken off from each object to be processed. Further, since the centrifugal force acting on the basket causes a flywheel-like action (rotation state of the eccentric weight), large vibrations and noises are generated in the entire surface treatment apparatus. In some cases, it may lead to loose coupling or failure of the device components.

  As described above, in the surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the meaning that the rotation axis of the basket is brought into the vertical state when the rotation axis of the basket is inclined in the processing mode and is shifted to the dewatering mode means. It is useful to prevent the various problems described above and to fully bring out the respective functions and effects in the treatment mode and the dehydration mode. It can be said that the dewatering mode is a valuable configuration because it is the surface treatment apparatus of the present invention that generates a strong centrifugal force.

  In the surface treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the time required for treatment, applied voltage, surface treatment quality, and the like can be further improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 9 show a first embodiment of a surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 10 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 3, 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 upper portion of the processing tank 10 is opened so that the basket 6 can be carried in and out, and a lid 16 is provided in the upper open portion. 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 cathode 20 is inserted into the basket 6 by the movement of closing the lid 16 when the lid 16 is closed in a state where the basket 6 is accommodated in the processing tank 10, and a workpiece is loaded in the basket 6. If so, it comes into contact with the workpiece.
As for the structure in which the cathode 20 is provided on the lid 16 as described above, there has not been proposed as a conventional surface treatment apparatus, and it is a new structure. By providing the cathode 20 with respect to the lid 16, the arrangement of the cathode 20 and the application of current (wiring) to the cathode 20 can be facilitated, space saving can be achieved, and the contact of the cathode 20 with the object to be processed can be ensured. Various advantages such as the above can be obtained.

The cathode 20 may be held up and down with respect to the lid 16, and the cathode 20 may be raised and lowered as necessary when the lid 16 is opened and closed. The vertical movement of the cathode 20 at this time can also be mechanically performed by, for example, a fluid pressure cylinder or a motor drive mechanism.
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. 4 and 5, 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. 6, 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. 7, 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.

That is, the anode formed as the basket holding means 11 is in a state where the basket 6 is held by the basket means 11 and rotates around the peripheral wall of the basket 6.
Therefore, the bubbles generated by the anode are difficult to adhere to the anode surface (the surface of each support column 30 of the surrounding wall 26), and even if they are attached, they are blown away by the rotation of the anode. Therefore, the anode has many suitable actions such as preventing the opportunity of contact with the treatment liquid from being hindered and preventing adverse effects on the convection of the treatment liquid itself in the treatment tank 10. become.

Rather, positive and forced convection occurs in the processing liquid in the processing tank 10 with the rotation of the anode, so that the flow of the processing liquid is promoted across the basket 6. Therefore, the efficiency of the surface treatment is further improved.
For these reasons, the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention has succeeded in achieving substantial effects such as shortening of the treatment time, suppression of applied voltage, and improvement of surface treatment quality, and the above action has been successful. It is guessed. In addition, although it changes with the capacity | capacitance of the processing tank 10, the kind of surface treatment, the quantity and size of a to-be-processed object, a material, etc., the surface treatment efficiency which was only 60% conventionally is the surface treatment apparatus 1 which concerns on this invention. It has also been reported that it was increased to 90-95% by carrying out

In relation to the fact that the anode can be formed by the basket holding means 11 itself as described above, the basket 6 is made of PVC, PP, PE resin material, or iron or stainless steel as a core material. In addition, the non-conductor is formed by coating with the 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 in order to tilt the rotation axis of the basket 6 obliquely (see FIG. 8B) or to make it vertical (see FIG. 9A). 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. 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). You can also.

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. 3, 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.

  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 let the processing liquid flow down naturally. Of course, it is possible to use the pump 48 (or a separate pump dedicated to the 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).

First, as shown in FIG. 8A, the surface treatment apparatus 1 waits 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. At the same time, the cathode 20 provided on the lid 16 is inserted into the basket 6.
Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, the processing liquid whose concentration is adjusted in the management tank 13 is supplied from the management tank 13 to the processing 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. 9A, the processing liquid in the processing tank 10 is collected into the management tank 13 and the processing tank 10 is emptied, 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 being in these states, the rotation drive motor 41 provided in the rotation drive unit 12 rotates the basket holding means 11 at a high speed (dehydration mode) while receiving inverter control by the transmission circuit 42 (see FIG. 1) of the transmission means 40. Dehydration is 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.
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 of the object to be processed, viscosity of the treatment liquid, etc.), as shown in FIG. 9B, the lid 16 of the treatment tank 10 is opened, The basket 6 is carried out.
As is clear from the above detailed description, in the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention, the anode (the basket holding means 11 in the first embodiment) circulates around the peripheral wall of the basket 6 in the holding state. It will rotate. Whether the anode rotates integrally with the basket 6 or relative rotation is not particularly limited.

With such a rotating anode, bubbles generated by the anode are unlikely to adhere to the anode surface (the surface of each support column 30 of the surrounding wall 26), and even if attached, the air bubbles are blown away by the rotation of the anode. Therefore, the anode has many suitable actions such that the contact opportunity with the treatment liquid is not hindered and the adverse effect on the convection of the treatment liquid itself in the treatment tank 10 is prevented. become.
Rather, positive and forced convection occurs in the processing liquid in the processing tank 10 with the rotation of the anode, so that the flow of the processing liquid is promoted across the basket 6. Therefore, the efficiency of the surface treatment is further improved.

For these reasons, the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention has succeeded in achieving substantial effects such as shortening of the treatment time, suppression of applied voltage, and improvement of surface treatment quality, and the above action has been successful. It is guessed.
On the other hand, the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention has a speed change means 40, whereby the basket holding means 11 can be switched between "a processing speed suitable for surface treatment" and "a dehydration speed suitable for dehydration". It has become. That is, since the “processing speed suitable for the surface treatment” and the “dehydration speed suitable for the dewatering” can be generated as one apparatus, the basket 6 is taken out from the processing tank 10 after the surface treatment. The dehydration can be carried out as it is.

Of course, since the dehydration performed here reaches a “dehydration rate suitable for dehydration”, a sufficient shaking-off effect (dehydration and drying effects) can be obtained. For this reason, the processing solution to be taken out can be minimized or eliminated. Thus, the processing time can be shortened and the waste of the processing liquid can be omitted.
In addition, since the basket holding means 11 itself (at least the surrounding wall 26) for holding the basket 6 in the processing tank 10 forms an anode, the anode can be used as a separate and independent state in the processing tank 10. There is no need to provide. From this, the processing tank 10 can be miniaturized as much as possible within a range in which the basket 6 can be accommodated, and the capacity can be reduced accordingly, so that 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.
Further, since the anode can be brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the basket 6, the time required for the surface treatment, voltage, and surface treatment quality (thickness and uniformity of the surface treatment film) can be improved.

FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment of the 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.
The surface treatment apparatus 1 of the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) 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.
FIG. 13 shows a third embodiment of the surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The surface treatment apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment is provided with the anode 50 in a state independent of the basket holding means 11.

The anode 50 is formed in an L shape in a side view so as to turn downward with respect to the mounting table 25 of the basket holding means 11, and is externally fitted to the rotary shaft 32 that supports the center of the mounting table 25. A cylindrical rotary shaft 60 provided in a state is coupled via a bracket hub 61 so as to be integrally rotatable.
The cylindrical rotary shaft 60 and the rotary shaft 32 are held coaxially and relatively rotatable with a bush or the like between their inner and outer peripheral surfaces, but do not move relative to each other in the axial direction. It has become. Of the cylindrical rotary shaft 60 and the rotary shaft 32, the cylindrical rotary shaft 60 is rotatably held via a bearing 34 provided on the tank bottom 33 of the processing tank 10.

The cylindrical rotary shaft 60 is formed short, and an inner rotary shaft 32 (on the bracket means 11 side) projects from the lower end portion thereof. A driven pulley 62 of the rotation drive unit 12 that transmits the rotational force to the basket holding means 11 is coupled to the lower end portion of the rotation shaft 32, and is rotated by the rotation drive motor 41. On the other hand, a driven pulley 63 of a rotation drive unit 64 that transmits a rotational force to the anode 50 is coupled to the lower end portion of the cylindrical rotary shaft 60 and is driven to rotate by a rotation drive motor 65.
The rotation of the rotation shaft 32 by the rotation driving unit 12 (that is, rotation of the basket means 11 and the basket 6) and the rotation of the cylindrical rotation shaft 60 by the rotation driving unit 64 (that is, rotation of the anode 50) are the same direction. The speeds can be different or can be the same or different speeds in opposite directions.

Other configurations and operational effects are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment. The rotational drive unit 64 that transmits the rotational force to the anode 50 does not include the rotational drive motor 65, and the differential gear unit or the like from the rotational drive unit 12 or the rotational shaft 32 that transmits the rotational force to the basket holding means 11. It is also possible to adopt a structure in which the rotation is taken out via the.
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. 9) 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 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 a surface treatment apparatus, (A) is a carrying-in stage of a basket, (B) is a surface treatment stage. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a surface treatment apparatus, (A) is a spin-drying | dehydration stage, (B) is a basket carrying out stage. 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 directional view of FIG. 12) 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. It is the sectional side view which showed 3rd Embodiment of the surface treatment apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Surface treatment apparatus 2 Surface treatment system 3 Surface treatment process 4 Water washing process 5 Dehydration process 6 Basket 6a Bottom plate 6b Perimeter wall 10 Processing tank 11 Basket holding means 12 Rotation drive part 13 Management tank 25 Mounting stand 26 Enclosure wall 27 Tilt means 30 Support pillar 40 speed change means 41 motor for rotation drive 42 speed change circuit 46 process liquid feed means

Claims (7)

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). In a surface treatment apparatus having (11),
In the treatment tank (10), an anode capable of conducting to an object to be treated in the basket (6) held by the basket holding means (11) extends around the peripheral wall (6b) of the basket (6). A surface treatment apparatus, wherein the surface treatment apparatus is rotatably provided in a rotating state.   The basket holding means (11) includes an enclosure wall (26) that surrounds the peripheral wall (6b) of the basket (6), and a rotation drive unit that allows the enclosure wall (26) to rotate about the center of the basket (6). 12) and the surrounding wall (26) is formed of a conductor so that the surrounding wall (26) itself can form an anode. Surface treatment equipment.   The surrounding wall (26) of the basket holding means (11) is provided with a plurality of support pillars (30) at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction as if surrounding the peripheral wall (6b) of the basket (6). The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the surface treatment apparatus is formed.   The support column (30) employed in the surrounding wall (26) of the basket holding means (11) is a plate arranged along the plate surface in a direction extending radially outward from the central portion of the basket (6). The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the surface treatment apparatus is formed as a piece.   In the case where the peripheral wall (6b) of the basket (6) is formed in the tapered shape of the bottom recess, the surrounding wall (26) of the basket holding means (11) corresponds to the peripheral wall (6b) of the basket (6). In the holding state of the basket (6), 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) are formed. 5. The surface treatment apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the surface treatment apparatus is capable of contacting each other.   6. The basket holding means (11) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the basket (6) can be held in a state in which the rotational axis of the basket (6) is inclined obliquely. Surface treatment equipment.   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 5, further comprising a tilting means (27) for switching to a dewatering mode in which the basket (6) rotates horizontally.

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