Continuous electroplating equipment

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of electroplating, and particularly relates to continuous electroplating equipment. The cathode structure comprises a cathode bracket loaded with a plurality of photovoltaic sheets; the anode structure comprises an anode bracket loaded with a plurality of anode strips; the lower dispatching track is provided with a transfer track for driving the cathode structure and / or the anode structure to transfer along the travel path direction; the electroplating bath has an extension direction conforming to the travel path direction of the photovoltaic sheet; the photovoltaic sheet is located between the two adjacent anode sheets, and the photovoltaic sheet and the two adjacent anode sheets synchronously move in the electroplating bath in the travel path direction. The anode pieces and the photovoltaic pieces which are interspersed with each other move in the electroplating bath as a whole, so that excessive consumption of local electroplating liquid is avoided; the transfer time in the electroplating bath just enables the ions to be plated to be fully deposited; and the plating solution in the electroplating bath can fully flow and be uniformly mixed, so that the product yield and the productivity of the electroplating equipment are synchronously improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of electroplating, and in particular relates to a continuous electroplating device. Background Art

[0002] The grid lines of solar cells are the core structure that affects the efficiency of photoelectric conversion. At present, the industry generally adopts the electroplating process to prepare the grid lines, that is, the cell is used as the cathode and a metal layer is deposited on its surface to form a conductive channel. The inventor proposed a double-sided electroplating device in the previous patent CN202311320955.0, which realizes the simultaneous deposition of two surfaces to be plated by symmetrically arranging anode sheets on both sides of the photovoltaic cell. In actual applications, the inventor further discovered that there is still room for optimization of this scheme: First, the ions to be plated in the anode and cathode regions are consumed quickly during the electroplating process, and the concentration distribution of the ions to be plated is uneven, which may cause fluctuations in the grid line yield; second, the equipment adopts a static electroplating mode, which requires waiting for the ions to be plated to be fully diffused and deposited on the surface of the photovoltaic cell. The single process cycle is long and the production capacity is limited. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, the present invention hopes to optimize and upgrade the aforementioned electroplating equipment, further improve the yield and production capacity of the device, and expand the application of the equipment in large-scale production scenarios.

[0004] The present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions: A continuous electroplating device, characterized in that it comprises: Electroplating tanks; A cathode structure, comprising a cathode support loaded with a plurality of photovoltaic sheets, and a cathode conductive member disposed on the electroplating tank, wherein the photovoltaic sheets are electrically connected to the cathode conductive member via a cathode drain member on the cathode support; An anode structure, comprising an anode support loaded with a plurality of anode sheets, and an anode conductive member arranged on the electroplating tank, wherein the anode sheets are electrically connected to the anode conductive member through an anode drain member on the anode support; The lower dispatching track has a transfer track for driving the cathode sheet and / or the photovoltaic sheet to transfer along the travel direction; The electroplating tank has an extension direction that conforms to the path direction of the photovoltaic sheet; the photovoltaic sheet is located between two adjacent anode sheets, and the photovoltaic sheet and the two adjacent anode sheets move synchronously in the electroplating tank along the path direction.

[0005] The electroplating process starts with receiving the photovoltaic sheet to be plated and ends with transmitting the plated photovoltaic sheet. Therefore, the direction from receiving to transmitting is defined as the path direction, and the photovoltaic sheet is also transmitted in this direction in the electroplating tank. In an ideal electroplating model, the plating solution should diffuse quickly and evenly on the surface of the surface to be plated; but in the actual model, the ions to be plated in the cathode area are consumed very quickly, and the flow mode of the plating solution itself has a great influence on the diffusion of the ions to be plated. Existing electroplating technologies mainly include horizontal electroplating and vertical electroplating. In horizontal electroplating, the photovoltaic sheet is placed horizontally on the transmission equipment and transmitted in the electroplating tank; if double-sided electroplating is required, it is necessary to set up a plating solution spraying mechanism on the upper and lower sides of the photovoltaic sheet. This method realizes the rapid diffusion of the plating solution, with a small amount of solution and a high level of automation, but a single photovoltaic sheet occupies a large area on the production line, which limits the equipment capacity. In vertical electroplating, multiple groups of photovoltaic sheets are clamped by a fixture and vertically immersed in the plating solution, and the cathode circuit is connected to the upper end of the photovoltaic sheet through the fixture; vertical electroplating has high space utilization and high production capacity, but the disadvantage is that the distance between the anode and cathode is relatively far, and the coating thickness is affected by the primary current distribution, which in turn depends entirely on the geometric shape of the electroplating tank. Therefore, the coating on the edge area of ​​the photovoltaic sheet that is relatively close to the electrode is thicker, and the coating on the central or upper end area that is relatively far away from the electrode is thinner. Accordingly, the present invention adopts a mobile electroplating scheme. The anode sheet and the photovoltaic sheet are interspersed with each other, and the anode sheet and the surface to be plated are placed face to face, which compresses the distance between the anode and cathode and eliminates the influence of the plating tank shape and the electrode distance on the coating thickness distribution. The two continue to maintain a mutually interspersed positional relationship, and driven by the lower dispatching track, the two move synchronously along the path direction. The specific driving method can be that the lower dispatching track drives the carrier of the anode sheet, and the carrier of the anode sheet drives the carrier of the photovoltaic sheet, or the lower dispatching track drives the carrier of the anode sheet and the carrier of the photovoltaic sheet separately, as long as the anode sheet and the photovoltaic sheet move as a whole in the electroplating tank. For the plating solution in the electroplating tank, the overall structure of the anode sheet and the photovoltaic sheet is equivalent to a paddle with multiple layers of blades. When it moves slowly, it drives the plating solution in the electroplating tank to flow and mix, and promotes the concentration of the ions to be plated in the plating solution to exchange from time to time to maintain a stable and balanced concentration everywhere. For the anode sheet and the photovoltaic sheet, their position status changes all the time during the transfer process to avoid excessive consumption of the ions to be plated in the local plating solution, and their transfer time in the electroplating tank is just enough to allow the ions to be plated to be fully deposited. The product yield and production capacity of the electroplating equipment are improved simultaneously.

[0006] Preferably, the single photovoltaic cell is vertically arranged, and the surface to be plated of the photovoltaic cell is substantially parallel to the travel track.

[0007] Since the photovoltaic cell needs to move in the plating solution of the electroplating tank, this posture parallel to the travel direction makes the movement process have less resistance, preventing the photovoltaic cell from being deformed due to the direct impact of the plating solution on the surface to be plated; when the plating solution flows through the photovoltaic cell, a small diversion is generated, which fully flows through the surfaces to be plated on both sides along the travel direction, and the electroplating quality of the surfaces to be plated on both sides remains consistent.

[0008] Preferably, the plurality of photovoltaic panels located on the same cathode support have an arrangement direction substantially perpendicular to the travel track.

[0009] Under this arrangement, the space occupied by the same batch of photovoltaic cells in the direction of travel is roughly equivalent to the width of the photovoltaic cell, which not only absorbs the advantages of full deposition of horizontal electroplating, but also saves more work stations than horizontal electroplating. The same batch of photovoltaic cells on the same flower basket have the same ion deposition time and deposition quality to be plated, which facilitates quality management and control.

[0010] Preferably, a liquid inlet is provided at the bottom of the electroplating tank, and an overflow pipe is provided at the side wall of the electroplating tank; the top opening of the overflow pipe is substantially flush with the working liquid level of the plating solution in the electroplating tank.

[0011] This solution realizes the flow direction of the plating solution from bottom to top by setting a liquid inlet at the bottom of the electroplating tank and an overflow pipe opening at the top. With the vertical state of the photovoltaic panel, the plating solution will fully flow from bottom to top through the surface to be plated. When the working liquid level in the tank is higher than the opening at the upper end of the overflow pipe, the plating solution is discharged from the overflow pipe, keeping the plating solution flowing in the electroplating tank while keeping the volume of the plating solution constant.

[0012] Preferably, the continuous electroplating equipment is also provided with a circulation sub-tank and a circulation pump connected to the electroplating tank; the circulation sub-tank is located below the electroplating tank, and the bottom opening of the overflow pipe is lower than the working liquid level of the plating solution in the circulation sub-tank; the plating solution has a closed flow path that flows through the liquid inlet, the electroplating tank, the overflow pipe, the circulation pump and flows through the liquid inlet again in sequence.

[0013] The circulating plating solution flow system enables this solution to have the advantage of small amount of chemical solution used in horizontal electroplating.

[0014] Preferably, a plurality of groups of liquid inlets are provided at the bottom of the electroplating tank, and the arrangement direction of each group of liquid inlets conforms to the arrangement direction of the photovoltaic panels.

[0015] The distribution of the liquid inlet is coordinated with the arrangement of the photovoltaic cells to achieve a uniform flow effect. The plating solution around each photovoltaic cell can maintain full flow in the vertical direction, and the ions to be plated are updated and replenished in time with the flow of the plating solution, thereby improving the intra-batch homogeneity of the electroplating effect of the same batch of photovoltaic cells.

[0016] Preferably, an ultrasonic device is provided in the electroplating tank.

[0017] The ultrasonic device is used to expel bubbles attached to the area to be plated, reduce the porosity of the coating, and improve the density of the coating.

[0018] Preferably, it also includes an upper scheduling track extending along the travel direction, and the upper scheduling track has a moving track for transferring the photovoltaic sheet and / or the anode sheet along or against the travel direction.

[0019] The upper dispatching track extends along the travel direction. On the one hand, it is used to receive or transmit photovoltaic panels to achieve automated connection between the previous and next processes; on the other hand, it can be used to dispatch the anode panels that have completed a round of electroplating from the end position in the travel direction to the starting position to achieve cycle control within the electroplating process.

[0020] Preferably, the continuous electroplating equipment further comprises a lifting module; the lifting module has a moving track for transferring the photovoltaic sheet and / or the anode sheet between the upper scheduling track and the lower scheduling track.

[0021] The lifting module provides a buffer operation area for adjusting the relative positions of the anode structure and the cathode structure. At the starting position, the photovoltaic cell and the anode cell are first inserted and matched outside the electroplating tank, and then immersed in the plating solution of the electroplating tank as a whole to start electroplating; at the end position, the photovoltaic cell and the anode cell are first separated from the plating solution of the electroplating tank as a whole, and then taken out by the corresponding robotic arms respectively, so as to realize the simultaneous entry and exit of the anode structure and the cathode structure, ensuring the precision of the electroplating process.

[0022] Preferably, there is an electrical connection portion between the cathode lead piece and the cathode conductive piece, and between the anode lead piece and the anode conductive piece, which is opened and closed in the vertical direction.

[0023] In this connection mode, the lifting module can realize synchronous on-off of the circuit between the cathode lead member and the cathode conductive member, and between the anode lead member and the anode conductive member by mechanically controlling the lifting, thereby improving the control capability of the process.

[0024] The present invention retains the advantages of sufficient diffusion of the plating solution in horizontal electroplating and the high space utilization in vertical electroplating, and further improves the quality of the coating on the basis of the two. Through the mutual interlacing of the anode sheet and the photovoltaic sheet, the influence of the plating tank shape and the electrode distance on the distribution of the coating thickness is eliminated, the quality of the coating is optimized, and large-scale double-sided electroplating of photovoltaic sheets can be achieved. By synchronously moving the interlaced anode sheet and photovoltaic sheet, the plating solution is driven to flow and mix, the concentration of the ions to be plated is maintained stable, local excessive consumption is avoided, and sufficient deposition is ensured, thereby improving the yield and production capacity.

[0025] In the optimized electrode structure, there are still two directions of potential difference: direction one is perpendicular to the surface to be plated, and direction two is parallel to the surface to be plated. Uneven distribution of potential difference will directly lead to uneven distribution of ions to be plated and uneven electroplating rate. Therefore, the present invention further eliminates the influence of uneven distribution of potential difference as much as possible through the design of the flow mode of plating solution. The present invention forms a vertical plating solution flow direction by cooperating with the bottom liquid inlet and the top overflow pipe; the plating solution flows from bottom to top in the vertical direction through the surface to be plated, and the ions to be plated in direction two are uniformly flowed to balance the potential difference. The arrangement of a single group of liquid inlets conforms to the arrangement direction of the photovoltaic sheet, while the arrangement of multiple groups of liquid inlets conforms to the moving direction of the photovoltaic sheet. Each photovoltaic sheet can pass through each liquid inlet in turn during the movement, so that the gap between the photovoltaic sheet and the anode sheet can be filled with the newly added plating solution at all times, improving the plating solution environment in direction one. In addition, the device is also provided with an ultrasonic device to expel bubbles in the plating solution to improve the density of the coating. Furthermore, this solution coordinates the placement direction and movement direction of the photovoltaic cell so that the plating solution can also fully act on the surface to be plated in the horizontal direction; in addition, this design also avoids the impact of the plating solution on the surface to be plated, and the movement resistance is small, which helps to form a coating of uniform thickness on the same photovoltaic cell and the same batch of photovoltaic cells, improves the stability of process quality, and facilitates batch quality management. The flow mode of the plating solution combines the circulation sub-tank and the circulation pump to form a closed path to keep the liquid level constant. The upper scheduling track and the lifting module realize the process connection and the synchronous immersion and separation of the anode / cathode structure, and the process control is realized through the vertical circuit connection. The present invention has the characteristics of high processing yield, high productivity, and easy quality control. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 This is the main view of the continuous electroplating equipment; Figure 2 This is the right view of the continuous electroplating equipment; Figure 3 for Figure 1 A magnified schematic diagram of the middle A area; Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the electroplating tank.

[0027] Legend: 1 plating solution flow system, 110 electroplating tank, 120 liquid inlet, 130 overflow pipe, 140 circulation sub-tank, 150 circulation pump, 160 ultrasonic device, 170 flow-uniforming pipe, a working liquid level of plating solution in the electroplating tank, b working liquid level of plating solution in the circulation sub-tank; 2 cathode structure, 210 flower basket, 220 photovoltaic sheet, 230 cathode bracket, 240 cathode drainage piece, 250 cathode conductive piece; 3 anode structure, 310 anode frame, 320 anode sheet, 330 anode bracket, 340 anode drain piece, 350 anode conductive piece; 4 upper dispatching track, 410 first mechanical arm, 420 second mechanical arm, 430 third mechanical arm; 5 lower dispatching tracks, 510 conveying motors; 6 lifting module, 6a first lifting module, 6b second lifting module; 7 preceding process slots, 8 following process slots. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments of the specification. Those of ordinary skill in the art will be able to implement the present invention based on these descriptions. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention involved in the following description are generally only embodiments of a part of the present invention, rather than all embodiments. Therefore, based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative work should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Example

[0029] This embodiment illustrates a continuous electroplating device and its working method.

[0030] See also Figure 1The present continuous electroplating equipment includes three basic functional modules, namely, a plating solution flow system 1, a cathode structure 2 and an anode structure 3. The plating solution flow system 1 includes a plating tank 110 for containing plating solution, and the plating solution in the plating tank 110 maintains a dynamic constant capacity according to a preset working liquid level a. In the cathode structure 2, a plurality of groups of photovoltaic cells 220 are fixed on a cathode support 230, and the cathode support 230 itself is a part of the flower basket 210 structure; a cathode drain 240 is provided on the cathode support 230, and a cathode conductive member 250 electrically connected to an external power supply device is provided on the plating tank 110, and the photovoltaic cells 220 are electrically connected to the cathode conductive member 250 through the cathode drain 240. In the anode structure 3, multiple groups of anode sheets 320 are fixed on the anode bracket 330, and the anode bracket 330 itself is fixed on the anode frame 310; the anode bracket 330 is provided with an anode drain 340, and the electroplating tank 110 is provided with an anode conductive member 350 electrically connected to the external power supply device, and the anode sheet 320 is electrically connected to the anode conductive member 350 through the anode drain 340. In some embodiments, the cathode conductive member 250 and the anode conductive member 350 are copper bars, which are extended and laid along the path direction on the electroplating tank 110; the cathode drain member 240 and the anode drain member 340 are conductive carbon brushes, and the two move synchronously with the cathode structure 2 and the anode structure 3. In a preferred embodiment, the upper surface of the cathode conductive member 250 and the lower surface of the cathode drain member 240 form a set of mutually matched electrical connection parts, and the electrical connection is disconnected when the cathode conductive member 250 and the cathode drain member 240 move away from each other in the vertical direction, and the electrical connection is connected when the cathode conductive member 250 and the cathode drain member 240 contact each other in the vertical direction. The upper surface of the anode conductive member 350 and the lower surface of the anode drain member 340 form a set of mutually matched electrical connection parts, and the electrical connection is disconnected when the anode conductive member 250 and the anode drain member 340 move away from each other in the vertical direction, and the electrical connection is connected when the anode conductive member 250 and the anode drain member 340 contact each other in the vertical direction.

[0031] In the basic functional module, the device further sets lower scheduling tracks 5 on both sides of the electroplating tank 110. Figure 1, the electroplating tank 110 has an extension direction that conforms to the path direction of the photovoltaic sheet 220, and the lower scheduling track 5 has a transfer track that drives the cathode structure 2 and / or the anode structure 3 to transfer along the path direction. When the device is in working state, the flower basket 210 and the anode frame 310 are interlaced with each other in space, each photovoltaic sheet 220 is located between two adjacent anode sheets 320, and the photovoltaic sheet 220 and the anode sheet 320 are simultaneously immersed below the working liquid level a in the electroplating tank 110, forming an insert-type electroplating structure. In some embodiments, the lower scheduling track 5 drives the anode frame 310 through a sprocket structure, and the anode frame 310 drives the flower basket 210 through a spatial snap-fit ​​relationship, and the photovoltaic sheet 220 and the anode sheets 320 on both sides maintain a mutually interlaced positional relationship and move synchronously in the electroplating tank 110 along the path direction.

[0032] By interlacing the anode sheet and the photovoltaic sheet, this device not only eliminates the influence of the plating tank shape and the electrode distance on the distribution of the coating thickness, optimizes the quality of the coating, but also can realize large-scale double-sided electroplating of photovoltaic sheets. While the electroplating efficiency is improved, problems such as fast consumption of the ions to be plated and long waiting time for the deposition of the ions to be plated will also occur simultaneously. In this regard, the present device adopts a mobile electroplating solution, and the interlaced anode sheet 320 and the photovoltaic sheet 220 move smoothly in the electroplating tank 110 as a whole. For the plating solution in the electroplating tank 110, the slow movement of the photovoltaic sheet 220 will drive the plating solution in the electroplating tank 110 to flow and mix, and the ions to be plated in the plating solution can be distributed and exchanged from time to time to maintain a stable and balanced concentration; for a single set of flower baskets 210 and anode frames 310, their position states change constantly during the transfer process to avoid excessive consumption of the local plating solution, and their transfer time in the electroplating tank 110 can just allow the ions to be fully deposited. The product quality and production capacity of the electroplating equipment are improved.

[0033] In the optimized electrode structure, there are still two directions of potential difference: direction one is perpendicular to the surface to be plated, and direction two is parallel to the surface to be plated. The imbalance of potential difference will directly lead to the imbalance of ion distribution and electroplating rate. Therefore, further consideration is given to optimizing the specific movement mode of the cathode structure 2 and the anode structure 3 in the electroplating tank and the flow mode of the plating solution in the electroplating tank, so as to improve the process quality of the continuous electroplating equipment while ensuring the production capacity.

[0034] The details of the cathode structure 2 and the anode structure 3 are optimized.

[0035] See also Figure 3, a single photovoltaic sheet 220 is arranged in the vertical direction, each photovoltaic sheet 220 has two surfaces to be plated and the surfaces to be plated are substantially parallel to the path track. Multiple photovoltaic sheets 220 are arranged in parallel on the cathode bracket 230, the extension direction of the cathode bracket 230 is substantially perpendicular to the path track, and the arrangement direction of the photovoltaic sheets 220 is also substantially perpendicular to the path direction. Since the actual assembly process of the photovoltaic sheet 220 on the cathode bracket 230, the actual assembly process of the cathode bracket 230 in the flower basket 210, and the actual position of the flower basket 210 in the electroplating tank 210 are all allowed to have certain processing errors, the parallel relationship, vertical relationship, etc. required by the technical solution may not be strictly achieved in some embodiments, so the relevant structures can maintain a parallel or vertical relationship within the range allowed by the processing error.

[0036] Since the photovoltaic sheet 220 needs to move in the plating solution of the electroplating tank 110, this posture parallel to the path direction makes the movement process have less resistance, avoids the impact of the plating solution on the surface to be plated, and helps to form a plating layer with uniform thickness; when the plating solution flows through the photovoltaic sheet 220, a small diversion is generated, and it fully flows through the surfaces to be plated on both sides along the path direction, and the electroplating quality of the surfaces to be plated on both sides is consistent, and the electroplating quality of the photovoltaic sheets of the same batch is also consistent, which improves the stability of the process quality. Furthermore, the photovoltaic sheets 220 of the same batch on the same flower basket 210 have the same ion deposition time and deposition quality to be plated, which is convenient for quality management and control; the space occupied by the photovoltaic sheets 220 of the same batch in the path direction is roughly equivalent to the width of the photovoltaic sheet 220, which not only absorbs the advantages of rapid diffusion of horizontal electroplating, but also saves more workstations than horizontal electroplating.

[0037] The plating solution flow system 1 is optimized.

[0038] Since the photovoltaic panel 220 is arranged vertically, it is desired to optimize the plating solution flow system 1 and optimize the plating solution environment of the photovoltaic panel 220 in the aforementioned directions one and two.

[0039] See also Figure 4 , the inlet 120 of the plating solution is arranged at the bottom of the electroplating tank 110 and below the anode frame 310. Overflow pipes 130 are respectively arranged on both sides of the electroplating tank 110, and the upper end opening of the overflow pipe 130 is substantially flush with the working liquid level a of the plating solution in the electroplating tank 110. In actual production, the working liquid level a may fluctuate within a small range, and the positioning of the upper end opening of the overflow pipe 130 can be reasonably adjusted based on this fluctuation range. When the working liquid level a in the tank is higher than the upper end opening of the overflow pipe 130, the plating solution is discharged from the overflow pipe 130, and the volume of the plating solution is kept constant while the plating solution in the electroplating tank 110 is kept flowing. The plating solution flows through the surface to be plated from bottom to top in the vertical direction, uniformly flows the ions to be plated in the second direction, and balances the potential difference.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a circulating plating solution flow system 1 is used, a circulating auxiliary tank 140 is provided to achieve plating solution buffering and processing, and a circulating pump 150 is provided to drive plating solution circulation. Figure 4 The lower end opening of the overflow pipe 130 is located below the working liquid level b of the circulation sub-tank 140, and the circulation sub-tank 140 is connected to the circulation pump 150 outside the circulation sub-tank 140, and the circulation pump 150 is then connected to the liquid inlet 120, and the plating solution forms a closed-loop flow channel that flows through the electroplating tank 110, the overflow pipe 130, the circulation sub-tank 140, the circulation pump 150, and the electroplating tank 110 in sequence. Plating solution processing equipment can be configured before and after the circulation pump 150 according to actual process needs. This design enables the device to have the advantage of small amount of liquid medicine used in horizontal electroplating equipment.

[0041] The distribution of the liquid inlet 120 is optimized in accordance with the arrangement of the photovoltaic panels 220. Figure 4 A flow-equalizing tube 170 is provided at the bottom of the electroplating tank 110. The extension direction of the flow-equalizing tube 170 is perpendicular to the path, that is, the extension direction of the flow-equalizing tube 170 is consistent with the arrangement direction of the photovoltaic panels 220 on the cathode support 230; the flow-equalizing tube 170 has a plurality of liquid inlets 120 equidistantly distributed along its own extension direction, and the liquid inlets 120 on the same flow-equalizing tube 170 are grouped together; see Figure 2 The electroplating tank 110 has multiple flow-distributing tubes 170, i.e., multiple groups of liquid inlets 120, distributed equidistantly along the path direction. The multiple groups of liquid inlets 120 form a dot matrix liquid inlet structure, and each photovoltaic sheet 220 can pass through each liquid inlet in turn during the movement, so that the gap between the photovoltaic sheet 220 and the anode sheet 320 can be filled with newly added plating solution at all times, thereby improving the plating solution environment in direction one.

[0042] See also Figure 2 The photovoltaic sheet 220 moves along the path direction in the electroplating tank 110, and ultrasonic devices 160 are respectively provided at the starting position and the middle section of the moving path to expel bubbles attached to the area to be plated, reduce the porosity of the coating, and improve the density of the coating.

[0043] In the above-mentioned design, the device has fully utilized the waiting time of ion deposition of a single group of photovoltaic sheets 220. In large-scale production, the scheduling of multiple groups of photovoltaic sheets 220 is coordinated to achieve large-scale continuous electroplating.

[0044] See also Figure 2, an upper scheduling track 4 extending along the travel direction is provided above the electroplating tank 110. The upper scheduling track 4 is configured with at least a first robot arm 410 and a second robot arm 420. The first robot arm 410 first has a motion trajectory that reciprocates horizontally along the upper scheduling track 4, and can receive the flower basket 210 carrying the photovoltaic sheet 220 to be electroplated transmitted from the preceding process tank 7 or the electroplating pretreatment module, and secondly, it also has a motion trajectory that rises and falls in the vertical direction, which is convenient for cooperating with other equipment of different heights. The second robot arm 420 also has a motion trajectory that reciprocates horizontally and rises and falls in the vertical direction along the upper scheduling track 4, and is used to transmit the flower basket 210 carrying the electroplated photovoltaic sheet 220 to the subsequent process tank 8 or the electroplating post-processing module to realize the automated advancement of the process. Furthermore, the upper dispatching track 4 is also equipped with a third robotic arm 430, which is used to take out the anode frame 310 that has completed a round of electroplating process from the end of the electroplating tank 110 and transport it to the starting position, so as to complete the cycle of the anode frame 310 and realize the automatic cycle control of the entire electroplating process. As a match, the upper end of the anode frame 310 and the upper end of the flower basket 210 are both provided with a suspension structure that is convenient for the robotic arm to grasp and control; in addition, in some embodiments, since the anode frame 310 needs to drive the flower basket 210 to move, the anode frame 310 is also provided with a fixed structure adapted to the flower basket 210, which can drive the flower basket 210 to move in the horizontal direction without limiting the flower basket 210 to be grasped and lifted by the robotic arm in the vertical direction.

[0045] Furthermore, the starting position and the end position of the electroplating tank 110 are respectively provided with a first lifting module 6a and a second lifting module 6b, and both lifting modules 6 are provided with a supporting structure for the anode frame 310 and / or the flower basket 210, which is used to transfer the flower basket 210 and / or the anode frame 310 between the upper scheduling track 4 and the lower scheduling track 5. At the starting position, the flower basket 210 and the anode frame 310 first complete the interlacing and matching of the positions outside the electroplating tank 110, and the first lifting module 6 then immerses the two as a whole into the plating solution environment of the electroplating tank 110 to start electroplating; at the end position, the flower basket 210 and the anode frame 310 are first separated from the plating solution environment of the electroplating tank 110 as a whole, and then the corresponding mechanical arms are respectively taken out, so as to realize the simultaneous entry and exit of the anode structure 3 and the cathode structure 2. Furthermore, the flower basket 210 and the anode frame 310 control the opening and closing of the electrical connection between the anode copper busbar and the anode conductive carbon brush, and the cathode copper busbar and the cathode conductive carbon brush by adjusting the lifting position. In addition to circuit control, the anode structure 3 and the cathode structure 2 can also achieve synchronous on and off through mechanical control, thereby improving the ability to regulate the process.

[0046] The following is an example of a working mode of the continuous electroplating equipment: 1. The third robot arm 430 moves horizontally along the upper dispatching track 4 to carry the anode frame 310 to above the starting position of the electroplating tank 110; the third robot arm 430 descends to place the anode frame 310 on the supporting structure of the first lifting module 6a; 2. The first robot arm 410 moves horizontally along the upper scheduling track 4 to move the flower basket 210 carrying the silicon wafers to be electroplated from the previous process tank 7 to above the aforementioned anode frame 310; the first robot arm 410 descends to place the flower basket 210 on the fixed structure of the anode frame 310; 3. The first lifting module 6a lowers the anode frame 310 and the flower basket 210 into the electroplating tank 110 and separates them from contact; 4. The conveying motor of the lower dispatching track 5 is started, driving all the anode frames 310 and the flower baskets 210 in the electroplating tank 110 to move along the travel direction, and the movement speed is determined by the process time; 5. The anode frame 310 and the flower basket 210 that have completed electroplating are transferred to the second lifting module 6b, which drives the anode frame 310 and the flower basket 210 to rise simultaneously, so that the two are separated from the electroplating tank 110; 6. The second robot arm 420 grabs the flower basket 210 on the second lifting module 6b and rises, and moves horizontally along the upper scheduling track 4 to transport the flower basket 210 to the subsequent process tank 8; 7. The first lifting module 6a is raised in advance for preparation; the third robot arm 430 grabs the anode frame 310 on the second lifting module 6b and then rises, and moves horizontally along the upper scheduling track 4 to transport the anode frame 310 to the first lifting module 6a; 8. The second lifting module 6b descends and waits for the next set of anode frames 310 and flower baskets 210.

Claims

1. A continuous electroplating device, characterized in that: include: Electroplating tank (110); A cathode structure (2), comprising a cathode support (230) loaded with a plurality of photovoltaic sheets (220), and a cathode conductive member (250) disposed on the electroplating tank (110), wherein the photovoltaic sheets (220) are electrically connected to the cathode conductive member (250) via a cathode drain member (240) on the cathode support (230); An anode structure (3), comprising an anode support (330) loaded with a plurality of anode sheets (320), and an anode conductive member (350) disposed on the electroplating tank (110), wherein the anode sheets (320) are electrically connected to the anode conductive member (350) via an anode guide member (340) on the anode support (330); A lower dispatching track (5) having a transfer track for driving the photovoltaic sheet (220) and / or the anode sheet (320) to transfer along a travel direction; The electroplating tank (110) has an extension direction that conforms to the path direction of the photovoltaic sheet (220); the photovoltaic sheet (220) is located between two adjacent anode sheets (320), and the photovoltaic sheet (220) and the two adjacent anode sheets (320) move synchronously in the electroplating tank (110) along the path direction.

2. The continuous electroplating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The single photovoltaic sheet (220) is arranged vertically, and the surface to be plated of the photovoltaic sheet (220) is substantially parallel to the path track.

3. The continuous electroplating equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The plurality of photovoltaic sheets (220) located on the same cathode support (230) have an arrangement direction substantially perpendicular to the travel track.

4. The continuous electroplating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: A liquid inlet (120) is provided at the bottom of the electroplating tank (110), and an overflow pipe (130) is provided at the side wall of the electroplating tank (110); the top opening of the overflow pipe (130) is substantially flush with the working liquid level (a) of the plating solution in the electroplating tank (110).

5. The continuous electroplating equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that: A circulation sub-tank (140) and a circulation pump (150) which are connected to the electroplating tank (110) are also provided; the circulation sub-tank (140) is located below the electroplating tank (110), and the bottom opening of the overflow pipe (130) is lower than the working liquid level (b) of the plating solution in the circulation sub-tank (140); the plating solution has a closed-loop flow path which flows in sequence through the liquid inlet (120), the electroplating tank (110), the overflow pipe (130), the circulation pump (150), and flows through the liquid inlet (120) again.

6. The continuous electroplating equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that: A plurality of groups of liquid inlets (120) are arranged at the bottom of the electroplating tank (110), and the arrangement direction of each group of liquid inlets (120) is consistent with the arrangement direction of the photovoltaic panels (220).

7. The continuous electroplating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: An ultrasonic device (160) is provided in the electroplating tank (110).

8. The continuous electroplating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes an upper scheduling track (4) extending along the travel direction, and the upper scheduling track (4) has a moving track for transferring the photovoltaic sheet (220) and / or the anode sheet (320) along or against the travel direction.

9. The continuous electroplating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The continuous electroplating equipment further comprises a lifting module (6); the lifting module (6) has a moving track for transferring the photovoltaic sheet (220) and / or the anode sheet (320) between the upper scheduling track (4) and the lower scheduling track (5).

10. The continuous electroplating equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that: There is an electrical connection portion between the cathode lead piece (240) and the cathode conductive piece (250), and between the anode lead piece (340) and the anode conductive piece (350) that opens and closes in the vertical direction.

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