Intermittent alternating type conductive mechanism

Abstract

The invention discloses an intermittent alternating type conductive mechanism, and the mechanism comprises a transmission device which is used for clamping and horizontally conveying PCBs; the driving device is used for driving the transmission device to move; the cathode device is arranged on one side or two sides of the transmission device and is used for providing cathode current for the PCB; wherein the cathode device comprises at least two groups of conductive components and a driving mechanism for driving the conductive components to move; and each group of conductive assemblies performs periodic reciprocating motion according to a preset square motion trail under the action of the driving mechanism, and the motion phases of the at least two groups of conductive assemblies are arranged in a staggered manner, so that alternate continuous conduction of the PCB is realized. According to the intermittent alternating type conductive mechanism, horizontal continuous electroplating of a PCB can be achieved, efficient and stable contact conduction of the PCB is achieved by designing the movement mode of the PCB and changing the cathode conductive structure, and meanwhile the electroplating uniformity and the production efficiency are remarkably improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of PCB electroplating technology, and more specifically to an intermittent alternating conductive mechanism. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of the electronics and information industry towards high density, high performance, and miniaturization, printed circuit boards (PCBs), as the core carriers of electronic devices, face higher requirements for their manufacturing processes. Traditional vertical electroplating technology suffers from problems such as insufficient plating uniformity, poor in-hole deposition effects, and significant edge effects, making it difficult to meet the process requirements of high-end HDI boards, IC carrier boards, and 5G communication boards. At the same time, this process consumes a large amount of chemicals, leading to increasing environmental pressure. Horizontal electroplating technology, through innovative tank structure design and transmission methods, places the PCB substrate horizontally and uses nozzles to spray the solution, achieving more efficient plating solution exchange and ion transport. This significantly improves the uniformity of the plating layer on the PCB surface and within the holes, reducing production costs. Horizontal electroplating technology was first introduced by European and American companies like Ametek. In recent years, with breakthroughs by domestic equipment manufacturers such as Dongwei Technology and Universe Group, the core equipment has gradually been localized and applied on a large scale. As PCBs develop towards higher layer counts and finer linewidths (such as below 3μm), horizontal electroplating technology will continue to upgrade, becoming one of the core pillars driving the electronics industry towards "intelligent manufacturing" and "green factories."

[0003] Patent CN222226620U proposes a novel horizontal electroplating tank that uses a mechanical clamp to hold the PCB board, with a drive chain moving the clamp. Simultaneously, conductive copper flats directly power the clamp. However, this structure struggles to ensure good electrical contact between the PCB and the conductive copper flats during clamp movement, affecting electroplating quality. Patent CN119352139A proposes a device and method for horizontal PCB electroplating, featuring multiple movable conductive pins arranged around a roller. Continuous conductivity of the PCB board is achieved through elastic components (such as conductive springs). However, the dynamic contact of multiple pins makes it difficult to guarantee continuous and stable current transmission, and the complex structure is difficult to maintain.

[0004] Based on the problems existing in the current technology, there is an urgent need to develop a new conductive mechanism to achieve efficient and stable contact conductivity with the PCB board. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the present invention aims to provide an intermittent alternating conductive mechanism that enables continuous horizontal electroplating of PCBs. By designing the movement mode of the PCB board and changing the cathode conductive structure, it achieves efficient and stable contact conductivity with the PCB board, while significantly improving electroplating uniformity and production efficiency.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the technical problem is: an intermittent alternating conductive mechanism, comprising: a transmission device for clamping and horizontally conveying a PCB board; a driving device for driving the transmission device to move; and a cathode device disposed on one or both sides of the transmission device for providing cathode current to the PCB board; wherein, the cathode device comprises at least two sets of conductive components and a driving mechanism for driving the conductive components to move; each set of conductive components performs periodic reciprocating motion according to a preset square motion trajectory under the action of the driving mechanism, and the motion phases of at least two sets of conductive components are staggered to achieve alternating continuous conductivity to the PCB board.

[0007] Furthermore, the conductive component includes a probe, a conductive elastic element, and a conductive connecting piece. The probe is electrically connected to the conductive connecting piece through the conductive elastic element, and the conductive connecting piece is used to connect to the negative terminal of the power supply.

[0008] Furthermore, the driving mechanism includes a cam mechanism, which includes a cam and a probe holder; the probe holder cooperates with and is driven by the cam; a conductive connecting piece is fixed on the probe holder, and the probe holder drives the probe to move along a square motion trajectory.

[0009] Furthermore, the drive mechanism also includes a motor, a belt drive assembly, and a cam rotating shaft. The motor drives the cam rotating shaft to rotate through the belt drive assembly, and the cam rotating shaft is connected to the cam.

[0010] Furthermore, the cathode device is disposed within the transmission device via a cathode fixing rod and a cathode fixing block; the cathode device also includes a fixing base, a top cover, and a cathode fixing plate, the top cover being fixed above the fixing base, the cathode fixing plate being mounted on the front of the top cover, and a track being provided on the cathode fixing plate to conform to the movement trajectory of the probe fixing frame; both the top cover and the cathode fixing plate are provided with corresponding through holes, and the cathode fixing rod passes through the through holes to fix the cathode device within the transmission device.

[0011] Furthermore, the transmission device includes an electroplating tank, multiple pairs of rollers disposed in the electroplating tank, and a transmission shaft for driving the rollers to rotate. The rollers include upper and lower layers, and the PCB board is clamped between the upper and lower rollers. An anode mesh is provided at the bottom of the electroplating tank, and the anode mesh is connected to the positive terminal of the power supply to achieve conductivity.

[0012] Furthermore, both ends of the drive shaft are mounted on the electroplating tank via drive shaft fixing blocks; a spur gear is provided on the drive shaft located on the outer part of the electroplating tank, and the spur gears on the upper and lower drive shafts mesh to realize the synchronous rotation of the upper and lower rollers; a driven bevel gear is provided at the end of the drive shaft, and the driven bevel gear meshes with the driving bevel gear in the drive device to realize transmission.

[0013] Furthermore, the transmission device also includes water-blocking rollers, which are disposed at both ends of the solution area of ​​the electroplating tank to prevent the electroplating solution from overflowing.

[0014] Furthermore, the cathode device is configured in two sets, upper and lower, corresponding to the upper and lower surfaces of the PCB board respectively, to achieve double-sided electroplating.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: Compared with the prior art, the intermittent alternating conductive mechanism provided by this invention achieves stable physical contact and current transmission under dynamic conditions by driving probes to move intermittently along a square trajectory and synchronously following the PCB board, overcoming the problem of unstable sliding contact. The use of multiple sets of probes in an alternating phase conduction method ensures that a probe remains in contact with the PCB board throughout the entire electroplating process, achieving true continuous conductivity and avoiding plating defects caused by current interruption. The use of conductive springs as connecting and buffering components provides flexible contact pressure, ensuring good conductivity while avoiding damage to the PCB board that rigid contact might cause, thus achieving "flexible electroplating." The overall mechanism has a clear principle and a relatively simplified structure, reducing the difficulty and cost of manufacturing, assembly, and maintenance. By adjusting the number of probe sets, motion parameters, or setting a double-sided cathode device, it can flexibly adapt to different PCB sizes, different production capacity requirements, and double-sided electroplating processes, making it widely applicable. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the overall structure of the intermittent alternating conductive mechanism of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the transmission device in this invention.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the cathode device in this invention.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the conductive components and drive mechanism in the cathode device.

[0020] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the conductive components in the cathode device.

[0021] Figure 6This is a schematic diagram of the initial positions of the probes before electroplating begins in the cathode device, where (1) represents the positions of the first and third groups of probes, and (2) represents the positions of the second and fourth groups of probes.

[0022] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the probe's trajectory in the cathode device.

[0023] Among them, 1-transmission device, 101-roller, 102-drive shaft, 103-drive shaft fixing block, 104-water-blocking roller, 105-cathode fixing rod, 106-cathode fixing block, 107-electroplating tank, 108-spur gear, 109-driven bevel gear, 110-anode mesh, 2-cathode device, 201-probe, 202-conductive spring, 203-conductive connecting piece, 204-probe fixing frame, 205-cam, 206-cam rotation shaft, 207-pulley, 208-belt, 209-fixed base, 210-top cover, 211-motor, 212-cathode fixing plate, 213-bearing, 214-through hole, 215-track, 3-drive device; 301-drive shaft, 302-drive bevel gear, 4-PCB board. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The present invention will be further illustrated below with specific embodiments. However, these examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Example

[0025] like Figures 1 to 7 As shown, this embodiment provides an intermittent alternating conductive mechanism, which mainly consists of a transmission device 1, a cathode device 2, and a drive device 3 that provides power to the transmission device 1.

[0026] The transmission device 1 includes an electroplating tank 107, rollers 101, a drive shaft 102, a drive shaft fixing block 103, a water-blocking roller 104, a cathode fixing rod 105, a cathode fixing block 106, a spur gear 108, a driven bevel gear 109, and an anode mesh 110. Multiple pairs of rollers 101 are installed in the electroplating tank 107 via the drive shaft 102, and both ends of the drive shaft 102 are mounted on the electroplating tank 107 via the drive shaft fixing blocks 103. A PCB board 4 is placed between two layers of rollers 101, where the lower roller is the driving roller and the upper roller is the driven roller, and the spacing can be adaptively adjusted to clamp PCB boards of different thicknesses. The upper and lower drive shafts achieve synchronous transmission through the meshing of the spur gear 108; transmission is achieved through the meshing of the driven bevel gear 109 at the end of the drive shaft 102 with the driving bevel gear 302 in the drive device 3. The driving bevel gear 302 is fixed on the drive shaft 301, which is driven by an external motor (not shown). An anode mesh 110 is laid at the bottom of the electroplating tank 107 and connected to the positive terminal of the power supply. Water-blocking rollers 104 are installed at the inlet and outlet ends of the electroplating tank 107 to prevent the electroplating solution from overflowing. The cathode fixing rod 105 fixes the cathode device 2 to the upper inner side of the electroplating tank 107 through cathode fixing blocks 106 at both ends.

[0027] The cathode device 2 is fitted onto the cathode fixing rod 105 through a through hole 214, thereby fixing it to the upper inner side of the electroplating tank 107. The cathode device 2 includes a conductive component and a driving mechanism. The conductive component includes a probe 201, a conductive spring 202, and a conductive connecting piece 203. The probe 201 is welded to one end of the conductive spring 202, and the other end of the conductive spring 202 is welded to the conductive connecting piece 203, which is electrically connected to the negative terminal of the power supply. The driving mechanism includes a probe fixing frame 204, a cam 205, a cam rotation shaft 206, a pulley 207, a belt 208, a fixing base 209, a top cover 210, a motor 211, a cathode fixing plate 212, and a bearing 213. The conductive connecting piece 203 is fixed to the probe fixing frame 204 by bolts. The cam 205 is placed inside the probe fixing frame 204 and mates with the profile inside the probe fixing frame 204. Cam 205 is fixed on cam rotation shaft 206, which is supported on fixed base 209 by bearing 213. Motor 211 is installed on the outside of upper cover 210 and drives cam rotation shaft 206 to rotate via belt 208 and pulley 207, thereby driving cam 205 to rotate. Cathode fixing plate 212 is fixed on the front of upper cover 210 and has a track 215 that matches the movement trajectory of probe fixing frame 204, which guides and limits probe fixing frame 204.

[0028] In this embodiment, four identical conductive components are provided, and their probe holders 204 are all driven by a single cam mechanism, but their initial installation phases are different. For example... Figure 6As shown, the initial positions of the first and third groups of probes 201 are located at the starting point of the bottom horizontal segment of the square motion trajectory, and the initial positions of the second and fourth groups of probes 201 are located at the starting point of the left vertical segment of the square motion trajectory, and the two groups are arranged symmetrically.

[0029] The work process is as follows: The transmission drive device 3 and motor 211 are started. The drive device 3 drives the transmission shaft 102 to rotate through the meshing of bevel gears, thereby causing the roller 101 to drive the PCB board 4 to move horizontally to the right at a constant speed. At the same time, the motor 211 drives the cam 205 to rotate at a constant speed through the belt 208, thereby driving the four sets of probes 201 to move along a strict square trajectory, and the movement speed is synchronized with the movement speed of the PCB board 4.

[0030] When the front end of the PCB board 4 moves below the cathode device 2, the first set of probes 201, located at the starting point of the horizontal segment at the bottom of the movement trajectory, moves downwards and contacts the PCB board 4. Due to synchronized speeds, the probes 201 do not slide relative to the PCB board 4 in the horizontal direction, thus ensuring stable conductivity. When the first set of probes 201 moves along the square trajectory to the end of the horizontal segment and is about to lift up, the second set of probes 201, located at the starting point of the vertical segment, moves to the bottom and contacts the PCB board 4, achieving conductive transfer. Similarly, when the second set of probes 201 leaves, the third set takes over, and when the third set leaves, the fourth set takes over. After the fourth set leaves, the first set completes another cycle and contacts the PCB board again. This cycle repeats continuously, achieving a continuous and uninterrupted supply of cathode current to the moving PCB board 4, completing the electroplating process. The electroplated PCB board 4 is then removed from the electroplating tank by a robotic arm or manually for subsequent steps, or transported to other processes via a conveyor belt. Example

[0031] Based on Example 1, this embodiment, in order to achieve double-sided electroplating of the PCB board 4, symmetrically arranges two sets of cathode devices 2 above and below the electroplating tank 107. The lower cathode device 2 needs to be sealed and corrosion-resistant, and its probe 201 surface, except for the tip, is coated with a Teflon insulating layer. The four sets of probes of the upper and lower cathode devices 2 are also arranged in staggered phases, and the working principle is the same as in Example 1, so as to continuously and stably electroplat the upper and lower surfaces of the PCB board 4 simultaneously.

[0032] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent technical solutions also fall within the scope of the present invention, and the patent protection scope of the present invention should be defined by the claims.

Claims

1. An intermittent alternating conductive mechanism characterized by, The application relates to a PCB electroplating device. The device comprises a transmission device for clamping and horizontally conveying a PCB board, a driving device for driving the transmission device to move, and a cathode device arranged on one side or both sides of the transmission device for providing a cathode current to the PCB board. The cathode device comprises at least two groups of conductive components and a driving mechanism for driving the conductive components to move.

2. An intermittent alternating conductive mechanism as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: Each group of the conductive components moves periodically along a preset square motion track under the action of the driving mechanism, and the motion phases of the at least two groups of the conductive components are staggered to realize alternating and continuous conduction to the PCB board.

3. An intermittent alternating current conducting mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The conductive component comprises a probe, a conductive elastic member and a conductive connecting piece.

4. An intermittently conducting mechanism as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: The driving mechanism comprises a cam mechanism, the cam mechanism comprises a cam and a probe fixing frame.

5. An intermittent commutating conducting mechanism as defined in claim 3 wherein: The probe fixing frame is driven by the cam.

6. An intermittently conducting mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein: The driving mechanism further comprises a motor, a belt transmission assembly and a cam rotating shaft.

7. An intermittent alternating current conducting mechanism as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that: The motor drives the cam rotating shaft to rotate through the belt transmission assembly.

8. An intermittently conducting mechanism as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that: The cathode device is arranged in the transmission device through a cathode fixing rod and a cathode fixing block.

9. An intermittently conducting mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein: The cathode device further comprises a fixed base, an upper cover and a cathode fixing plate. The upper cover is fixed above the fixed base, and the cathode fixing plate is installed on the front face of the upper cover. The cathode fixing plate is provided with a track for matching the motion track of the probe fixing frame. Corresponding through holes are formed in the upper cover and the cathode fixing plate, and the cathode fixing rod passes through the through holes to fix the cathode device in the transmission device. The transmission device comprises an electroplating tank, a plurality of pairs of rollers arranged in the electroplating tank and a transmission shaft for driving the rollers to rotate. The rollers comprise upper and lower layers, and the PCB board is clamped between the upper and lower rollers. An anode net is arranged at the bottom of the electroplating tank, and the anode net is connected with a positive electrode of a power supply to realize conduction. The transmission shaft is installed on the electroplating tank through a transmission shaft fixing block. A straight gear is arranged on the transmission shaft outside the electroplating tank. The straight gears on the upper and lower transmission shafts are engaged to realize synchronous rotation of the upper and lower rollers. The end of the transmission shaft is provided with a driven bevel gear, and the driven bevel gear is engaged with a driving bevel gear in the driving device to realize transmission. The transmission device further comprises water-blocking rollers arranged at both ends of the solution area of the electroplating tank for blocking overflow of electroplating liquid. The cathode device is arranged in two groups, corresponding to the upper and lower surfaces of the PCB board to realize double-sided electroplating.

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