WO2014112816A1

WO2014112816A1 - Cathode roller assembly and plating apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2014112816A1
Application number: PCT/KR2014/000493
Authority: WO
Inventors: 정광춘; 온웅구; 한영구
Original assignee: 주식회사 잉크테크
Priority date: 2013-01-16
Filing date: 2014-01-16
Publication date: 2014-07-24
Also published as: CN205133768U; KR20140092706A; KR101585629B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cathode roller assembly and a plating apparatus, the cathode roller assembly comprising: a first roller for coming into contact with one surface of an object to be plated, the first roller being disposed so as to rotate with a surface hardness of at least first hardness and having at least the outer surface which is electrically conductive; and a second roller for coming into contact with the other surface of the object to be plated, the second roller having a surface hardness of second hardness which is lower than the first hardness, and disposed facing the first roller so that the object to be plated passes through therebetween and so as to rotate by engaging with the first roller.

Description

Cathode roller assembly and plating apparatus

It relates to a cathode roller assembly and a plating apparatus.

Various electronic devices and / or components, such as a printed circuit board, a lead frame, and an LED element, use a plating method to form conductive patterns.

In this plating method, a cathode roller to which a cathode power source is applied is used. The surface of the cathode roller is electrically conductive, the surface hardness of the metal is provided with a certain level or more. Therefore, the cathode roller is likely to cause a bad contact with the surface of the plated material when the surface of the plated material is bent.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, the first cathode in which the base films 510 having the first conductive pattern 521 to the third conductive pattern 523 having different lengths are continuously arranged is provided. When plating proceeds while passing through the rollers 101 to the third cathode roller 103, the first plating patterns 521 are first contacted with the first cathode roller 101 to form a first plating layer 531. (b). Next, as the first conductive patterns 521 and the second conductive patterns 522 contact the second cathode roller 102, a second plating layer 532 is formed and the first plating layer 531 becomes thicker ( c). Thereafter, the first conductive patterns 521, the second conductive patterns 522, and the third conductive pattern 523 are in contact with the third cathode roller 103 to form a third plating layer 533, and the first plating layer. 531 and the second plating layer 532 become thicker.

As the plating progresses as described above, thickness variation of the first plating layer 531 to the third plating layer 533 may occur, which may cause a bad contact between the conductive patterns and the cathode rollers. In the case where the plating layer is to be locally formed on a part of the plated material, such as plating, surface bending occurs due to the conductive patterns formed on the surface of the plated material, so that an environment sufficient for the above-described contact failure may be provided. Can be.

In order to overcome the problems and / or limitations of the prior art, an object according to an aspect of the present invention is to ensure that the contact with the plated material is made uniform, and that the thickness variation of the plating layer can be minimized To provide an assembly and a plating apparatus.

According to one aspect of the invention, at least the surface is provided to rotate with a first hardness and at least the outer surface is provided with an electrical conductivity and is in contact with one surface of the plated material, and at least the surface is smaller than the first hardness A second hardness having a second hardness, disposed to face the first roller so that the plated material passes between the first roller, and being provided to rotate in engagement with the first roller, the second plate being in contact with the other surface of the plated material It provides a cathode roller assembly comprising a roller.

According to another feature of the invention, the angle between the virtual line connecting the rotation axis of the first roller and the rotation axis of the second roller and the advancing direction of the plated material may be at right angles.

According to another feature of the invention, the second roller may be provided to be located ahead of the first roller with respect to the traveling direction of the plated material.

According to another feature of the invention, the radius of the second roller may be larger than the radius of the first roller.

According to another feature of the invention, the second roller may be provided with a flexible material at least on the outside.

According to another feature of the present invention, the second roller may include a first rolling member and a second rolling member positioned outside the first rolling member and having the second hardness.

According to another feature of the invention, the second roller may be provided with at least an outer electrically insulating material.

According to another aspect of the invention, at least the surface is provided to rotate with a first hardness and at least the outer surface is provided with an electrical conductivity and the first roller in contact with one surface of the plated material, and at least the surface is greater than the first hardness A second second hardness having a small second hardness and disposed to face the first roller so that the plated material passes between the first roller and the first roller, the second roller being rotated in engagement with the first roller and being in contact with the other surface of the plated material. A plating apparatus including a two roller and a power unit electrically connected to the first roller and applying a cathode power to the first roller is provided.

According to another feature of the invention, it may further include a drive unit connected to the second roller to rotate the second roller.

Contact failure between the cathode roller and the plated material can be reduced.

It may be useful for spot plating.

1 is a view schematically showing a problem of the conventional plating method.

2 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a part of a plating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the second roller.

4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating in more detail a state in which the first roller and the second roller are in contact with the plated material.

5 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a part of a plating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a plating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a plating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a part of a plating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a part of a plating apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state when plating is performed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a sectional view showing another example of the plated material.

12 is a cross-sectional view showing still another example of the plated material.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a part of a plating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The plating apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 comprises a cathode roller assembly 1 comprising a first roller 11 and a second roller 12.

The first roller 11 and the second roller 12 are disposed opposite and adjacent to each other so that the plated material 5 passes therebetween. The first roller 11 and the second roller 12 may be engaged with each other to rotate.

The first roller 11 is provided so that at least its surface rotates with a first hardness. The first roller 11 may be formed of a metal since at least an outer surface thereof is provided to have electrical conductivity. The entire first roller 11 is not necessarily formed of metal, but the body may be formed of a plastic material and only the surface of the body may have electrical conductivity.

The first roller 11 may be electrically connected to the power unit 3, and the power unit 3 may apply cathode power to the first roller 11.

The first roller 11 is in contact with the surface of one side of the plated material 5 to form a contact with the surface of one side of the plated material 5.

The second roller 12 has a second hardness whose surface is smaller than the first hardness. The second roller 12 is in contact with the other surface of the plated material (5). The other side surface of the to-be-plated material 5 becomes the surface opposite to the surface which the 1st roller 11 contact | connects.

When the surface of the second roller 12 has a hardness that is smaller than that of the first roller 11, the curved surface of one side of the plated material 5 forming a contact with the first roller 11 is present. In addition, the contact point of the 1st roller 11 and the to-be-plated material 5 can be made uniform. Detailed description thereof will be described later.

A drive unit 4 may be further connected to the second roller 12, which may drive the second roller 12 in rotation. Accordingly, the progress of the plated material 5 may be promoted by the rotation of the second roller 12. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the first roller 11 and / or the second roller 12 may be freely rotatable without a separate driving means to rotate in accordance with the progress of the plated material 5. .

In the roller assembly 1 as described above, the caustic line connecting the rotating shaft of the first roller 11 and the rotating shaft of the second roller 12 may be perpendicular to the advancing direction of the plated material 5. Accordingly, contact failures at the contacts of the plated material 5 and the first roller 11 can be further reduced.

The radius R2 of the second roller 12 may be equal to or larger than the radius R1 of the first roller 11. When the radius R2 of the second roller 12 is greater than or equal to the radius R1 of the first roller 11, the effect of improving contact failure between the plated material 5 and the first roller 11 may be further improved. Since at least the surface hardness of the second roller 12 is smaller than at least the surface hardness of the first roller 11, the second roller 12 may be formed even when the surface of the plated material 5 is curved as described later. Is equal to or larger than the radius R1 of the first roller 11 so that the degree of bending of the surface of the plated material 5 can be sufficiently absorbed by the at least surface of the second roller 12. can do.

The second roller 12 may be formed of a flexible material at least outside. Accordingly, as described above, at least the surface of the second roller 12 can sufficiently absorb the degree of bending of the surface of the plated material 5.

In addition, the second roller 12 may be provided with at least the outer side of the electrically insulating material. Since the surface on which the plated material 5 is plated becomes a surface in contact with the first roller 11, the second roller 12 in contact with the back surface has electrical insulation so that the second roller 12 It is possible to prevent the first roller 11 from becoming an obstacle to the electrolytic plating.

To this end, at least the outer side of the second roller 12 may be formed of a polymer-based material, but is not limited thereto, and may be formed of a flexible material that can absorb shocks such as rubber.

The second roller 12 may be entirely formed of a single material, but is not necessarily limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 3, the second roller 12 may be formed of the first rolling member 121 and the first rolling member 121. It may include a second rolling member 122 located outside. In this case, the second rolling member 122 may be formed of a material having a second hardness.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second roller 12 ′ has a first rolling member 121 connected at both ends thereof to the shaft 120, and is positioned outside the first rolling member 121 and has the above-described second rigidity. The second rolling member 122 is provided with a flexible material.

The first rolling member 121 extends in the axial direction X and may be provided on a hollow pipe. The first rolling member 121 may be provided with a metal or hard plastic material, and the shaft 120 is coupled to both ends. The shaft 120 may be integrally formed with the first rolling member 121.

The second rolling member 122 extends in the axial direction X to cover the surface of the first rolling member 121. The second rolling member 122 may be formed of the polymer-based material described above, and may be formed of a rubber material or a soft plastic material.

The thickness t2 of the second rolling member 122 is formed to be thicker than the thickness t1 of the first rolling member 121 so that the above-described surface curvature of the plated material 5 may be applied to the second rolling member 122. It can be absorbed.

As can be seen in Figure 4, the plated material 5 includes a base member 51 in the form of a film, and a plurality of pads 52 formed on the surface thereof. The plating layer is formed at the contact between the pad 52 and the first roller 11. The base member 51 may be a polymer film such as a polyimide film, and the pad 52 may be formed of an electrically conductive metal, and may be formed by printing or the like. At this time, the first roller 11 is in contact with the pad 52, the second roller 12 is preferably located on the opposite side of the pad (52).

In the cathode roller assembly 1 ′ of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the second roller 12 has a first roller 11 with respect to the advancing direction of the plated material 5. It may be provided to be located in front of the). The rotation of the second roller 12 may take the form of pressing the plated material 5 in the direction of the first roller 11, and thus the contact between the first roller 11 and the plated material 5. Defects can be prevented. 5 may also have a second roller 12 ′ as shown in FIG. 2.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the cathode roller assembly 1 (1 ′) can be applied to an electrolytic plating apparatus.

6 is a configuration diagram schematically showing an example of such a plating apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 6, at least one cathode roller assembly 1 is located in the plating bath 6 in which the plating liquid is accommodated, and the anode plate 21 is positioned so as to face the cathode roller assembly 1.

The plated material transfer unit 7 for transferring the plated material 5 is located inside and / or outside the plating bath 6. The plated material conveying unit 7 includes a plurality of support rollers 71 for supporting the plated material 5. The support rollers 71 are provided at least at positions where the traveling direction of the plated material 5 is changed to allow the plated material 5 to pass through the plating bath 6.

At least one cathode roller assembly 1 is disposed in the plating bath 6, and the cathode roller assembly 1 includes a first roller 11 and a second roller 12 adjacent to each other. Description of each of the first roller 11 and the second roller 12 is the same as the above-described embodiment.

According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the plurality of first rollers 11 and the second rollers 12 are each provided, and the plurality of first rollers 11 are all in the same direction and have a plurality of second rollers. 12 are all located in the same direction.

In FIG. 6, although the power unit connected to the first roller 11 and the driving unit connected to the second roller 12 are omitted, the structures of FIGS. 1 to 5 may be applied.

An anode plate 21 may be located in the plating bath 6 so as to face the cathode roller assembly 1. An anode power supply unit (not shown) is electrically connected to the anode plate 21 so that anode power is applied.

According to the plating apparatus as described above, it is possible to prevent a contact failure and to form a uniform plating layer on one surface of the plated material (5).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the cathode roller assembly 1 ′ shown in FIG. 5 may also be applied.

7 is a configuration diagram schematically showing another example of the plating apparatus of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the plated material 5 crosses the first roller 11 and the second roller 12 in the plating bath 6. To this end, the plurality of second rollers 12 are alternately positioned at the top and the bottom with respect to each of the first rollers 11. And the anode plate 21 is also disposed on both the top and bottom of the cathode roller assembly (1). In FIG. 5, the power unit connected to the first roller 11 and the driving unit connected to the second roller 12 are omitted, but the structures of FIGS. 1 to 3 may be applied.

According to the plating apparatus as described above, it is possible to prevent a defective contact and to form a uniform plating layer on both surfaces of the plated material (5).

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the cathode roller assembly 1 ′ shown in FIG. 5 may also be applied.

Meanwhile, the cathode roller assembly 1 (1 ′) as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 may also be applied to a spot plating apparatus.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 further includes a plating liquid injection unit 22 adjacent to the first roller 11 in addition to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. The plating liquid injection unit 22 injects a plating liquid containing anode ions to a contact point between the plated material 5 and the first roller 11 and / or an adjacent portion thereof. This allows local plating to proceed. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, only one cathode roller assembly 1 is provided, but is not limited thereto, and a plurality of cathode roller assemblies 1 and / or a plating liquid injection unit 22 may be provided. to be.

Referring to FIG. 9, a plurality of first rollers 11 are arranged in a circle to rotate the circle, and a plurality of second rollers 12 are disposed on at least a portion of the circle. As shown in FIG. 9, the plurality of second rollers 12 may be arranged to form a semi-circle on an outer side of the circle of the first roller 11. A support roller 71 is disposed outside the second roller 12 to support the transfer of the plated material 5. The plated material is disposed to pass between the circle of the first roller 11 and the semi-circle of the second roller 12 to perform a plating process. In the case of such a plating apparatus, the plating efficiency can be further increased in a relatively narrow space.

FIG. 10 shows a state when plating is performed according to the cathode assembly of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 5.

As described above, the plated material 5 includes a base member 51 in the form of a film and a plurality of pads 52 formed on the surface thereof.

As shown in FIG. 10, the first roller 11 is brought into contact with another pad 52 ′ where the plating layer of the plated material 5, in which the plating layer 53 is already formed on some pads 52, is not formed. When the plating layer is to be formed on the pad 52 ', the back surface of the base member 51 is supported by the second roller 12 having a hardness smaller than that of the first roller 11, that is, made of a flexible material. Contact failure between the pad 52 'and the first roller 11 is no longer generated. This is possible because the second roller 12 can sufficiently absorb the bending of the surface of the plated material 5, that is, the surface of the plated material 5 toward the first roller 11.

As shown in FIG. 10, the above effects may be useful when the plating layers are formed in the

pads

52 and 52 ′ in a different order, but are not necessarily limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 11, pads 52 having the same thickness are formed on the base member 51, and

plating layers

53a, 53b, 53c, and 53d having different thicknesses are formed on the pads 52. ) May also be applied to the plated material 5 '.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, the

pads

52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d having different thicknesses may be applied to the base member 51. In particular, the plated material 5 ″ shown in FIG. 12 may be applied not only to the spot plating described above but also to the case where a plating layer is simultaneously formed on all of the

pads

52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d. Since the thicknesses of the

pads

52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d vary, the second roller 12 absorbs the thickness variation sufficiently, so that the

pads

52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d. ) Can make good contact with the first roller (11).

10 to 12 illustrate only the case where the plated layer is formed on one surface of the plated material 5, but the same may be applied to the case where the plated layer is formed on both surfaces of the plated material 5.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, this is merely exemplary, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Could be. Therefore, the true scope of protection of the present invention should be defined only by the appended claims.

Embodiments of the present invention can be applied to various electronic products.

Claims

A first roller provided with at least a surface having a first hardness to rotate and having at least an outer surface electrically conductive and in contact with one surface of the plated material; And

At least a surface having a second hardness less than the first hardness, disposed to face the first roller so that the plated material passes through the first roller, and is provided to rotate in engagement with the first roller; And a second roller in contact with the other surface of the plated material.
The method of claim 1,

A cathode roller assembly having a right angle between the virtual line connecting the rotating shaft of the first roller and the rotating shaft of the second roller and the traveling direction of the plated material.
The method of claim 1,

The second roller is a cathode roller assembly provided to be located ahead of the first roller with respect to the traveling direction of the plated material.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

And the radius of the second roller is greater than the radius of the first roller.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

The second roller is a cathode roller assembly provided with at least an outer flexible material.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

And the second roller comprises a first rolling member and a second rolling member positioned outside the first rolling member and having the second hardness.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

The second roller is a cathode roller assembly provided with at least an outer side of the electrically insulating material.
A first roller provided with at least a surface having a first hardness to rotate and having at least an outer surface electrically conductive and in contact with one surface of the plated material;

At least a surface having a second hardness less than the first hardness, disposed to face the first roller so as to pass the plated material between the first roller, and provided to rotate in engagement with the first roller; A second roller in contact with the other surface of the plated material; And

And a power supply unit electrically connected to the first roller and configured to apply cathode power to the first roller.
The method of claim 8,

The plating apparatus of claim 1, wherein an imaginary line connecting the rotary shaft of the first roller and the rotary shaft of the second roller and the traveling direction of the plated material are perpendicular to each other.
The method of claim 8,

The second roller is a plating apparatus provided to be located ahead of the first roller with respect to the traveling direction of the plated material.
The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10,

Plating apparatus of the second roller is larger than the radius of the first roller.
The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10,

The second roller is a plating apparatus provided with at least an outer flexible material.
The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10,

And the second roller comprises a first rolling member and a second rolling member positioned outside the first rolling member and having the second hardness.
The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10,

The second roller is a plating apparatus provided with at least an outer side of the electrically insulating material.
The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10,

And a driving unit connected to the second roller to rotate the second roller.