Copper ball adding device and electroplating line

Abstract

This invention provides a copper ball adding device and an electroplating line. The copper ball adding device includes a conveying mechanism, a feeding mechanism, a flipping mechanism, and a feeding mechanism. The conveying mechanism is used to convey copper balls along a first direction and has several discharge ports. The feeding mechanism is mounted on the conveying mechanism and has a discharge end for quantitatively feeding copper balls one by one to the conveying mechanism. The flipping mechanism is installed on each discharge port. This invention feeds copper balls one by one onto the conveying mechanism, which then transports them. The flipping mechanism switches the discharge ports, and the feeding mechanism guides the copper balls into the corresponding titanium baskets. The device can switch between multiple titanium baskets on the electroplating line, allowing workers to add copper balls to multiple linearly arranged titanium baskets with a single-point feeding point, saving labor, avoiding cumbersome handling, and improving adding efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of electroplating production line technology, specifically to a copper ball adding device and an electroplating line. Background Technology

[0002] Electroplating lines, copper balls, and titanium baskets are three inseparable elements in electroplating processes (especially acidic copper plating), together forming a cyclic system of anodic dissolution and cathodic deposition. The titanium baskets hold copper balls, which are gradually consumed during electroplating and need to be replenished. Currently, copper balls are added manually, which is slow, and copper balls may fall into the chemical bath, affecting production quality. Adding copper balls requires stopping the line, reducing production efficiency and increasing labor costs. Existing technologies have addressed the issue of copper balls falling into the chemical bath. For example, Chinese Patent 201821646776.0 discloses a copper ball adding device and an electroplating line assembly, including a copper ball adding structure, a flow channel, and a movable baffle. The copper ball adding structure is a cavity open at both ends, the flow channel is a flexible tube, and one end of the cavity is connected to one end of the flow channel. The movable baffle is movably disposed at the end of the cavity connected to the flow channel.

[0003] Although the existing technology has a flow channel to guide the copper balls and prevent them from falling into the chemical tank, it still requires manual handling to move the copper balls to the respective titanium baskets before adding them to each basket. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the above-mentioned technical deficiencies and propose a copper ball adding device and electroplating line to solve the technical problem in the prior art that copper balls need to be manually transported to each titanium basket and then copper balls are added to each titanium basket during the copper ball adding process.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned technical objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0006] In a first aspect, this utility model provides a copper ball adding device, comprising:

[0007] A conveying mechanism for conveying copper balls along a first direction, and the conveying mechanism is provided with a plurality of discharge ports;

[0008] The feeding mechanism is mounted on the conveying mechanism and has a discharge end for feeding copper balls quantitatively one by one to the conveying mechanism;

[0009] A flapping mechanism, installed one-to-one on the discharge port, includes a rotation drive and flaps. The movable end of the rotation drive is connected to the flap, allowing the flap to have a first position where the discharge port is closed, and a second position where it rotates onto the conveying mechanism and guides the copper balls to slide toward the discharge port.

[0010] The feeding mechanism is installed one-to-one on the discharge port to guide the copper balls to fall into the titanium basket.

[0011] In some embodiments, the feeding mechanism includes a grid basket, a base plate, and a dual-axis drive. The grid basket is connected to the movable end of the dual-axis drive. The dual-axis drive is mounted on the base plate and drives the grid basket to slide on the top of the base plate along a first direction or a second direction. The grid basket has a plurality of vertically penetrating grid holes for stacking copper balls one by one along the axial direction of the grid holes. The base plate is provided with a through hole that matches the grid holes. Under the drive of the dual-axis drive, the through hole aligns with one of the grid holes so that the copper balls roll out one by one from the grid hole.

[0012] In some embodiments, the top of the grid basket is provided with a barrier to form a feeding barrier area at the top of the grid.

[0013] In some embodiments, the feeding mechanism further includes a guide hopper connected between the through hole and the conveying mechanism, for guiding the copper balls to roll onto the conveying mechanism.

[0014] In some embodiments, the conveying mechanism includes a conveyor belt and baffles, the baffles being disposed on both sides of the conveyor belt to restrict the copper balls from moving one by one along the conveying direction, and the discharge port being opened on the baffles on the same side.

[0015] In some embodiments, the feeding mechanism includes a temporary storage cylinder, a feeding component, and a guide tube. One end of the temporary storage cylinder is connected to the discharge port, and the other end is connected to the feeding component. The feeding component is used to open and close the bottom end of the temporary storage cylinder. The guide tube is connected to the bottom end of the feeding component and is used to guide the copper ball vertically downward into the interior of the titanium basket when the feeding component opens the bottom end of the temporary storage cylinder.

[0016] In some embodiments, the feeding component includes a round box, a three-leaf plate, and a drive motor. The output shaft of the drive motor is connected to the three-leaf plate, which is rotatably connected inside the round box and divides the inside of the round box into three compartments. One of the compartments has a through-hole communicating with the top of the temporary storage cylinder, and the bottom of any other compartment has a feeding port communicating with the guide tube.

[0017] In some embodiments, the baffle is provided with laser sensors that correspond one-to-one with the position of the flip plate.

[0018] In some embodiments, a collection hopper is provided at the end of the conveyor belt away from the feeding mechanism.

[0019] Secondly, this utility model also provides an electroplating line, including the copper ball adding device described in any one of the above.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the copper ball adding device provided by this utility model feeds copper balls one by one onto the conveying mechanism via the feeding mechanism. The conveying mechanism transports the copper balls and, in conjunction with the flipping mechanism, switches the discharge port of the conveyor. Then, the feeding mechanism guides the copper balls into the corresponding titanium baskets. The device can switch between discharging to multiple titanium baskets on the electroplating line. Only one point of feeding is required by the worker to add copper balls to multiple titanium baskets arranged linearly on the electroplating line, saving labor, avoiding complicated handling, and improving the adding efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the copper ball adding device provided in this embodiment of the utility model;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a top view of the copper ball adding device provided in this embodiment of the utility model;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a partial front view of the copper ball adding device provided in this embodiment of the utility model;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a top view of the feeding component of the copper ball adding device provided in this embodiment of the utility model.

[0025] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0026] 1. Conveying mechanism; 11. Conveyor belt; 12. Baffle; 101. Discharge port;

[0027] 2. Feeding mechanism; 21. Grid basket; 2101. Grid holes; 2102. Enclosure; 22. Base plate; 2201. Through hole; 23. Dual-shaft drive component; 24. Guide hopper;

[0028] 3. Flip-up mechanism; 31. Rotation drive component; 32. Flip-up plate;

[0029] 4. Feeding mechanism; 41. Temporary storage cylinder; 42. Feeding component; 421. Round box; 422. Three-leaf plate; 423. Drive motor; 43. Guide tube; 401. Compartment; 402. Through port; 403. Feeding port;

[0030] 5. Laser sensor;

[0031] 6. Collect buckets. Detailed Implementation

[0032] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this utility model clearer, the present utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present utility model and are not intended to limit the present utility model.

[0033] To address the technical problem of manually transporting copper balls to various titanium baskets during the copper ball addition process, and then adding copper balls to each basket, this invention provides a copper ball adding device that allows workers to add copper balls to multiple linearly arranged titanium baskets on an electroplating line by single-point feeding.

[0034] It should be noted that the copper ball adding device described in this utility model is used in, but not limited to, electroplating lines. For ease of explanation, this utility model only uses the application of the copper ball adding device in an electroplating line as an example. The principle of the copper ball adding device in other types of equipment is essentially the same as that in an electroplating line, and will not be described in detail here.

[0035] Please see Figure 1-4 This utility model provides a copper ball adding device, which includes a conveying mechanism 1, a feeding mechanism 2, a flipping mechanism 3, and a feeding mechanism 4. The conveying mechanism 1 is used to convey copper balls along a first direction, which is the straight line direction of the linear arrangement of titanium baskets in the electroplating line. The copper balls can be conveyed sequentially to the corresponding positions of each titanium basket. The conveying mechanism 1 is provided with a plurality of discharge ports 101, the number of which corresponds one-to-one with the number of titanium baskets, for adding copper balls to each titanium basket, so that the copper balls can leave the conveying mechanism 1 and move into the interior of the titanium basket. The feeding mechanism 2 is mounted on the conveying mechanism 1, and its specific position is located at the beginning or end of the electroplating line. It has sufficient space for feeding and stores materials for subsequent feeding. The added copper balls include a feeding mechanism 2 that feeds copper balls quantitatively one by one to the outlet end of the conveying mechanism 1, and the number of copper balls added or replenished each time can be adjusted according to needs; a flipping mechanism 3 is installed on the outlet 101 in a corresponding manner, used to switch the connection between the conveying channel of the conveying mechanism 1 and the outlet 101, wherein the flipping mechanism 3 includes a rotation drive 31 and a flipping plate 32, the movable end of the rotation drive 31 is connected to the flipping plate 32, so that the flipping plate 32 has a first position state of closing the outlet 101, and a second position state of rotating onto the conveying mechanism 1 and guiding the copper balls to slide toward the outlet 101. When one outlet 101 is in the open state, please refer to Figure 2At this time, the other discharge ports 101 are in a closed state, while the discharge port 101 in the open state is blocked by the flap 32 from the subsequent conveying channel of the conveying mechanism 1, so that it is guided along the inclined plate surface formed by the flap 32 to guide the copper ball to slide out of the discharge port 101 and enter the feeding mechanism 4. The feeding mechanism 4 is installed on the discharge port 101 one by one to guide the copper ball to fall into the titanium basket. The feeding mechanism 4 mainly plays a guiding role. A simple feeding mechanism 4 can be a tube with its end inserted into the titanium basket. Preferably, the end is vertically downward so that the copper ball can fall vertically into the titanium basket.

[0036] This is understandable; please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 2 For the sake of simplicity, only two sets of the discharge port 101 and the corresponding flip plate mechanism 3 and feeding mechanism 4 are shown in the attached drawings. In actual use, the number of discharge ports 101 and the corresponding flip plate mechanism 3 and feeding mechanism 4 are set according to the number of titanium baskets.

[0037] It should be noted that, in order to provide self-locking, the rotary drive component 31 can adopt a stepper motor and worm gear structure. The output shaft of the stepper motor is connected to the screw, and the worm gear meshes with the turbine for transmission. The stepper motor drives the worm gear, and the worm gear drives the turbine gear to rotate. The flap 32 is coaxially connected to the turbine gear shaft. Other rotary drive structures with locking force can also be used for the rotary drive component 31, such as a structure in which a hydraulic telescopic rod pushes the flap 32 to rotate, which will not be elaborated on here.

[0038] In one embodiment, please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3In order to guide the copper balls one by one onto the conveying mechanism 1 so that they are arranged in sequence and to facilitate control of the quantity added at one time, the feeding mechanism 2 includes a grid basket 21, a base plate 22 and a dual-axis drive component 23. The grid basket 21 has several vertically penetrating grid holes 2101 for stacking copper balls one by one along the axial direction of the grid holes 2101. The grid holes 2101 are arranged in an array so that the copper balls poured into the grid basket 21 can be arranged from top to bottom in the grid holes, which is convenient for operation and makes them neatly arranged. Furthermore, the grid basket 21 is connected to the movable end of the dual-axis drive component 23, which is mounted on the base plate 22 and drives the grid basket 21 to slide on the top of the base plate 22 along a first direction or a second direction. The first direction and the second direction are the X-axis and Y-axis directions, respectively, based on the coordinate system established on the plane of the base plate 22. The reciprocating movement in the first direction and the second direction can create a shaking motion on the grid basket 21, causing the copper balls to enter each grid hole 2101. Furthermore, the base plate 22 is provided with a through hole 2201 that matches the grid hole 2101. Under the drive of the dual-axis drive member 23, it is aligned with one of the grid holes 2101 for the copper balls in the grid hole 2101 to roll out one by one. That is, all the copper balls in a grid hole 2101 can be exported at one time. Therefore, by controlling the number of copper balls filled in each grid hole 2101, the number of copper balls exported each time can be controlled, thus achieving the purpose of controlling the number added at one time. Moreover, since the copper balls are arranged vertically and slide down one after another, they can form the effect of entering the conveying mechanism 1 step by step.

[0039] Furthermore, in order to prevent the copper balls from rolling out when they are poured in, the top of the grid basket 21 is provided with a barrier 2102, which forms a feeding barrier area at the top of the grid 2101. This can form a protective part around the top of the grid 2101 to prevent the copper balls from rolling out from all sides before entering the grid 2101.

[0040] Understandably, the copper balls are packaged in boxes, and workers can pour a whole box at once and then evenly fill each grid hole 2101. Depending on different needs, grid holes 2101 of different heights can be used to control the number of copper balls that can be filled into a single grid hole 2101. In addition, if there are too many or too few copper balls in the grid hole 2101, it can be adjusted manually by adding or removing them.

[0041] It should be noted that, in order to facilitate better maintenance of the perforated basket 21, the perforated basket 21 and the dual-axis drive component 23 are detachably connected and can be fixed with bolts; in addition, the dual-axis drive component 23 can be a lead screw guide pair, used for driving along the X-axis and driving along the Y-axis respectively, or it can be a hydraulic push rod or a pneumatic push rod, all of which are existing mature technologies and will not be described in detail here.

[0042] In one embodiment, please refer to Figure 3In order to stably guide the copper balls into the conveying mechanism 1, the feeding mechanism 2 also includes a guide hopper 24. The guide hopper 24 is connected between the through hole 2201 and the conveying mechanism 1, and is used to guide the copper balls to roll into the conveying mechanism 1. The top of the guide hopper 24 is larger than the diameter of the through hole 2201, and its bottom gradually flattens out until it is basically parallel to the conveying mechanism 1.

[0043] Furthermore, a buffer baffle can be provided at the bottom of the guide hopper 24 to prevent the copper balls from moving too fast and causing excessive spacing between them. In addition, to avoid excessive spacing, the difference between the conveying speed of the conveying mechanism 1 and the rolling speed of the copper balls can be adjusted.

[0044] Understandably, the tilt angle of the guide hopper 24 in the attached diagram is a simplified schematic of the structure. The tilt angle can be adjusted accordingly for the actual required rolling speed.

[0045] In one embodiment, please refer to Figure 2 In order to guide the copper balls and to ensure that they are conveyed sequentially in a single line, the conveying mechanism 1 includes a conveyor belt 11 and baffles 12. The baffles 12 are disposed on both sides of the conveyor belt 11 to restrict the copper balls from moving one by one along the conveying direction. The discharge port 101 is opened on the baffle 12 on the same side.

[0046] In one embodiment, please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 4 To achieve a larger capacity, facilitate the addition of copper balls, and improve the efficiency of subsequent additions, the feeding mechanism 4 includes a temporary storage cylinder 41, a feeding component 42, and a guide tube 43. One end of the temporary storage cylinder 41 is connected to the discharge port 101, and the other end can be connected to the feeding component 42. The feeding component 42 is used to open and close the bottom end of the temporary storage cylinder 41. The guide tube 43 is connected to the bottom end of the feeding component 42 and is used to guide the copper balls vertically downward into the interior of the titanium basket when the feeding component 42 opens the bottom end of the temporary storage cylinder 41. Multiple copper balls can be arranged in a single row inside the temporary storage cylinder 41 as a storage space, and copper balls can be added when needed.

[0047] Understandably, initially, by opening different discharge ports 101 and simultaneously activating the feeding device 42, copper balls can be directly added to the titanium baskets. After copper balls have been added to all the titanium baskets, the electroplating line proceeds with normal production. At this point, the different discharge ports 101 are opened again, and the feeding device 42 is closed to prevent copper balls from entering the titanium baskets and to fill the temporary storage cylinder 41 with copper balls. A certain number of copper balls are added to the temporary storage cylinder 41 sequentially for subsequent additions. When copper balls need to be added, the feeding device 42 can be activated directly, which is faster and more efficient, saving time from the feeding mechanism 2, conveying mechanism 1, and each feeding mechanism 4. Furthermore, copper balls can be added to each titanium basket simultaneously.

[0048] Furthermore, in order to add the copper balls one by one in sequence, the feeding component 42 includes a round box 421, a three-leaf plate 422, and a drive motor 423. The output shaft of the drive motor 423 is connected to the three-leaf plate 422. The three-leaf plate 422 is rotatably connected to the inside of the round box 421 and divides the inside of the round box 421 into three compartments 401. One of the compartments 401 has a through opening 402 that communicates with the top of the temporary storage cylinder 41. The bottom of any other compartment 401 has a feeding port 403 that communicates with the guide tube 43. The drive motor 423 drives the three-leaf plate 422 to rotate, so that each copper ball enters the compartment 401 in sequence and moves to the feeding port 403 for downward feeding.

[0049] Understandably, the temporary storage cylinder 41 is inclined downwards and tangentially connected to the circular box 421 from the side, forming a communication. Furthermore, to ensure smooth feeding of the copper ball, the inner wall of the temporary storage cylinder 41 is coated with a PTFE coating, providing an ultra-low coefficient of friction and corrosion resistance. Additionally, PTFE coatings can be selectively applied to other surfaces that come into contact with the copper ball and may generate frictional resistance affecting its normal feeding.

[0050] It should be noted that the copper ball jamming issue that may occur in the equipment can be addressed through routine maintenance inspections by the staff.

[0051] In one embodiment, please refer to Figure 2 To facilitate subsequent automation, the baffle 12 is equipped with laser sensors 5 that correspond one-to-one with the positions of the flip plate 32. These laser sensors 5 are through-beam laser sensors, with the laser emitter and receiver located on opposite sides of the conveyor belt 11. When a copper ball passes by, a blocking signal is generated. The blocking signal is used to determine whether more copper balls are about to pass. A judgment time is set; after this time is reached, the feeding mechanism 2 is controlled to discharge copper balls from the next grid hole 2101, and other discharge ports 101 are switched on and opened.

[0052] Understandably, a programmable logic controller (PLC) can be used for automated control, following conventional control methods and the control logic described above. This is existing technology and will not be elaborated upon further here. Furthermore, the laser sensor 5 can also be any other sensor capable of detecting the presence of objects; no single limitation is specified here.

[0053] In one embodiment, please refer to Figure 1 The conveyor belt 11 is provided with a collection hopper 6 at the end away from the feeding mechanism 2. When copper balls become stuck, the conveyor belt 11 continues to convey them and collects them in the collection hopper 6. The collection hopper 6 is detachably connected to the conveyor belt 11.

[0054] Understandably, conveyor belt 11 can be a belt conveyor.

[0055] To better understand this utility model, the following is combined with... Figures 1 to 4 The technical solution of this utility model is described in detail as follows: Before operation, the worker pours copper balls into the grid basket 21 through the feeding mechanism 2. Under the shaking of the dual-shaft drive 23, the copper balls enter each grid hole 2101. The worker then manually adjusts the copper balls in each grid hole 2101 to fill each grid hole 2101. Then, the dual-shaft drive 23 aligns one of the grid holes 2101 with the through hole 2201, and guides the copper balls into the guide hopper 24, which then enters the conveyor belt 11 for conveying. First, the farthest flap 32 is moved onto the conveyor belt 11 to add copper balls to the farthest titanium basket. After adding the required number of copper balls, the farthest discharge port 101 is closed, and then the remaining discharge ports 101 are opened one by one in sequence. Copper balls are conveyed and added in sequence according to the above steps.

[0056] This utility model also provides an electroplating line, including a copper ball adding device as described in any of the above embodiments. The guide tubes 43 are arranged parallel to the arrangement direction of the titanium basket, so that each guide tube 43 can be aligned with the top of the titanium basket, and copper balls are added vertically downwards.

[0057] The specific embodiments of this utility model described above do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this utility model. Any other corresponding changes and modifications made based on the technical concept of this utility model should be included within the scope of protection of the claims of this utility model.

Claims

1. A copper ball adding device, characterized in that, include: A conveying mechanism for conveying copper balls along a first direction, and the conveying mechanism is provided with a plurality of discharge ports; The feeding mechanism is mounted on the conveying mechanism and has a discharge end for feeding copper balls quantitatively one by one to the conveying mechanism; A flapping mechanism, installed one-to-one on the discharge port, includes a rotation drive and flaps. The movable end of the rotation drive is connected to the flap, allowing the flap to have a first position where the discharge port is closed, and a second position where it rotates onto the conveying mechanism and guides the copper balls to slide toward the discharge port. The feeding mechanism is installed one-to-one on the discharge port to guide the copper balls to fall into the titanium basket.

2. The copper ball adding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeding mechanism includes a grid basket, a base plate, and a dual-axis drive. The grid basket is connected to the movable end of the dual-axis drive. The dual-axis drive is mounted on the base plate and drives the grid basket to slide on the top of the base plate along a first direction or a second direction. The grid basket has several vertically penetrating grid holes for stacking copper balls one by one along the axial direction of the grid holes. The base plate is provided with a through hole that matches the grid holes. Under the drive of the dual-axis drive, it aligns with one of the grid holes so that the copper balls roll out one by one from the grid hole.

3. The copper ball adding device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The top of the grid basket is equipped with a barrier, forming a feeding enclosure area at the top of the grid.

4. The copper ball adding device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The feeding mechanism also includes a guide hopper, which is connected between the through hole and the conveying mechanism to guide the copper balls to roll onto the conveying mechanism.

5. The copper ball adding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The conveying mechanism includes a conveyor belt and baffles. The baffles are disposed on both sides of the conveyor belt to restrict the copper balls from moving one by one along the conveying direction. The discharge port is opened on the baffle on the same side.

6. The copper ball adding device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeding mechanism includes a temporary storage cylinder, a feeding component, and a guide tube. One end of the temporary storage cylinder is connected to the discharge port, and the other end can be connected to the feeding component. The feeding component is used to open and close the bottom end of the temporary storage cylinder. The guide tube is connected to the bottom end of the feeding component and is used to guide the copper ball vertically downward into the interior of the titanium basket when the feeding component opens the bottom end of the temporary storage cylinder.

7. The copper ball adding device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The feeding component includes a round box, a three-leaf plate, and a drive motor. The output shaft of the drive motor is connected to the three-leaf plate, which is rotatably connected inside the round box and divides the inside of the round box into three compartments. One of the compartments has a through-hole communicating with the top of the temporary storage cylinder, and the bottom of any other compartment has a feeding port communicating with the guide tube.

8. The copper ball adding device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The baffle is equipped with laser sensors that correspond one-to-one with the position of the flip plate.

9. The copper ball adding device according to claim 5, characterized in that, A collection hopper is provided at the end of the conveyor belt away from the feeding mechanism.

10. An electroplating line, characterized in that, Includes the copper ball adding device as described in any one of claims 1-9.

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