Agitation apparatus of plating workpiece

Abstract

To improve portability of a workpiece in an agitation apparatus in which a basket is rotated while keeping an inclined posture of the apparatus around the shaft center tilted from the vertical direction.SOLUTION: An agitation apparatus 11 is a device for accommodating a plating workpiece to agitate in a basket 13 rotatable around the shaft center tilted from the vertical direction. The basket 13 comprises an opening on the upper surface for putting in and taking out the plating workpiece; a mesh 44 through which a fluid can pass; and a flange 41. An agitation apparatus body 12 comprises: a basket holding unit 29 for detachably holding the flange 41 in the state of tilting the basket 13; and a rotation driving unit 23 for rotating the basket holding unit 29 around the shaft center of the basket 13.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for stirring an object to be plated. Specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus for immersing an object to be plated accommodated in a basket in an inclined posture in a plating solution, a cleaning solution, or other liquid, and rotating the basket to stir the object to be plated.

Background Art

[0002] In the process of plating a fine object to be plated (hereinafter referred to as an object to be processed), a basket-type stirring apparatus may be used. As a basket-type stirring apparatus, there is one described in Non-Patent Document 1. This stirring apparatus 201 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2(A)(B). In the stirring apparatus 201, a drive motor 204 is housed in a control box 203 attached to the upper part of a resin frame 202, and a drive gear 205 is attached to a drive shaft 204a of the drive motor 204. Rotating shafts 206 and 207 are provided at the central part and the lower inclined surface of the frame 202, respectively, and an intermediate gear 208 and a driven gear 209 are rotatably supported by the respective rotating shafts 206 and 207. The rotation of the drive gear 205 is transmitted to the driven gear 209 via the intermediate gear 208. As shown in FIG. 2(A), the rotating shaft 207 of the driven gear 209 is inclined so as to face obliquely upward, and a cup-shaped resin basket 210 is integrally formed with the driven gear 209 at the tip of the rotating shaft 207. The basket 210 has a mesh 210b stretched over an opening of a resin rib 210a, and the mesh 210b has a coarseness that allows the plating solution to pass through but does not allow fine objects to be processed to pass through. A power supply cable 211 extends from the control box 203, and the tip (cathode electrode) of the power supply cable 211 enters the basket 210.

[0003] When performing plating treatment, as shown in Fig. 2(B), the object to be treated S is put into the basket 210, the stirring device 201 is placed in the plating tank, and the lower part of the basket 210 is immersed in the plating solution 212. Then, the basket 210 is rotated by the rotating shaft 207 to stir the object to be treated S, and a current is passed between the cathode electrode and a plating material (anode electrode) not shown in the figure to perform plating on the object to be treated S.

[0004] In addition, since this stirring device can circulate and replace the liquid through the mesh, it can also be used in processes other than the plating process (such as degreasing, preliminary cleaning, cleaning, etc.).

[0005] However, in this stirring device, the central axis (rotating shaft) of the basket is greatly inclined from the vertical direction of the liquid surface, and the basket is in an inclined posture. Therefore, there is a risk that the basket becomes unstable during rotation, so the basket is integrally formed with the rotating shaft of the driven gear, and the basket cannot be separated from the stirring device.

[0006] Therefore, for example, when moving the object to be treated from the degreasing process to the preliminary cleaning process, from the preliminary cleaning process to the plating process, or from the plating process to the cleaning process, the entire stirring device must be moved. As a result, the automatic conveyance of the object to be treated between each process is troublesome.

[0007] In addition, when different types of untreated objects to be treated are placed in different baskets and stocked respectively, and an attempt is made to perform plating treatment on each object to be treated sequentially and continuously by shifting the process timing, a large number of stirring devices are required, resulting in a high equipment cost.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0008]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] An object of the present invention is to improve the portability of an object to be processed in a stirring device including a basket that rotates while maintaining an inclined posture about an axis inclined from the vertical direction.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] The present invention relates to a stirring device for accommodating a plating object to be processed in a basket that rotates about an axis inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction and stirring the plating object to be processed. This stirring device includes a stirring device main body and a basket. The basket has an opening for taking in and out the plating object to be processed, a space for accommodating the plating object to be processed, and a wall surface through which a liquid can pass. The stirring device main body includes a basket gripping portion that detachably holds the basket in a posture in which its axis is inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction, and a rotation driving portion that rotates the basket gripping portion about the axis of the basket.

[0011] Since the stirring device of the present invention is a type of stirring device that rotates the basket around an axis inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction, it has a high stirring effect on the object to be processed. In such a type of stirring device, the present invention provides a basket gripping portion for holding the basket in a posture in which its axis is inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction in the stirring device main body, and the basket can be attached to and detached from the stirring device main body. Therefore, the basket containing the object to be processed can be separated from the stirring device main body and only the basket can be moved.

[0012] In certain embodiments of the stirring device of the present invention, the basket has a flange around the opening, the basket gripping portion has a surface for supporting the lower surface of the flange, and has a structure for transmitting the rotation of the basket gripping portion to the flange, and the flange is detachable from the structure for transmitting the rotation to the flange. According to such an embodiment, the basket can be held and rotated in an inclined state, and the basket can be separated from the basket gripping portion.

[0013] As a first structure for holding the basket in the basket gripping portion, a protrusion is projected on either one of the surface for supporting the lower surface of the flange in the basket gripping portion and the flange, and a hole for receiving the protrusion is provided on the other. According to such an embodiment, by inserting the protrusion into the hole, the basket can be detachably attached and supported to the basket gripping portion, and thereby the basket can be prevented from falling off. Further, since the protrusion is fitted in the hole, the rotational force of the basket gripping portion can be transmitted to the basket.

[0014] In this embodiment, the surface for supporting the lower surface of the flange may be formed of a metal material, and a magnet may be provided on the lower surface of the flange. According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the flange from floating and the protrusion from coming out of the hole.

[0015] As a second structure for holding the basket in the basket gripping portion, a groove for holding the basket by inserting a flange provided around the opening of the basket may be provided in the basket gripping portion, and a insertion port for inserting or extracting the flange into or from the groove may be provided. By providing such a basket gripping portion, the basket can be easily attached to and detached from the basket gripping portion simply by inserting the flange of the basket into the groove. Also, the basket can be stably held in an inclined state.

[0016] It is desirable to provide a means for preventing the flange from falling out of the groove in the basket gripping portion. If such a means for preventing the flange from falling out is provided, it is possible to reliably prevent the basket from falling off or shifting from the basket gripping portion when the basket is rotated.

[0017] As a first embodiment of the means for preventing the flange from falling out, a hatch may be provided so as to at least partially block the insertion opening, and a spring member for returning the hatch may be provided. When the flange is inserted into or withdrawn from the groove, the hatch moves against the elastic force of the spring member to open the insertion opening, and when not, the hatch returns by the elastic force of the spring member to close the insertion opening.

[0018] More specifically, for example, the spring member in the form of a leaf spring may be disposed in parallel with the basket gripping portion, the hatch may be provided at the tip of the spring member, and an inclined surface for pushing the hatch may be provided on the hatch. When the inclined surface is pushed, the spring member bends and the hatch member moves, and the insertion opening blocked by the hatch is opened.

[0019] In this means for preventing the flange from falling out, the inclined surface of the hatch may be pushed by the flange to open the insertion opening, or a pushing device may be provided. That is, the inclined surface may be pushed by the pushing device to move the hatch and open the insertion opening.

[0020] As a second embodiment of the means for preventing the flange from falling out, it may be composed of a protrusion protruding from either one of the surface supporting the lower surface of the flange and the flange, and a hole portion provided on the other for receiving the protrusion. That is, the flange is held by the fitting of the protrusion into the hole portion.

[0021] As a third embodiment of the means for preventing the flange from falling out, a screw may be provided protruding into the groove to press the flange.

[0022] The third embodiment of the anti - detachment means is the simplest means. However, it is difficult to operate the screw, which is the anti - detachment means, by mechanical means (for example, a robot). However, according to the first and second anti - detachment means, the basket can be easily attached to and detached from the basket gripping part by mechanical means, contributing to the automation of the plating process system. Moreover, since it has a mechanical configuration, there is no risk of electrical short - circuit even when it comes into contact with liquid.

[0023] In the stirring device of the present invention, inclination adjustment means for adjusting the inclination of the basket gripping part with respect to the output shaft of the rotation driving part may be provided on the basket gripping part. According to such inclination adjustment means, since the rotation axis of the rotation driving part and the axis of the basket can be adjusted to be parallel, the rotation of the basket can be stabilized.

[0024] Further, in the basket according to the present invention, a conical part with a gradually decreasing cross - sectional dimension is formed at the lower end of a cylindrical part with a constant outer - shape dimension in cross - section. When the angle of the axis of the basket with respect to the vertical direction is θ, the length along the axial direction of the cylindrical part is L, and the diameter of the cylinder inscribed in the inner wall surface of the cylindrical part is d, L ≧ d × tan(θ) it is desirable to satisfy this. According to such an embodiment, when the basket is tilted and immersed in the liquid, the conical part can be surely immersed in the liquid and the opening of the cylindrical part can be surely kept above the liquid level. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the workpiece from flowing out from the opening of the cylindrical part, and to prevent the workpiece in the conical part from rising above the liquid level and causing plating defects or cleaning defects.

[0025] The stirring device of the present invention can be used in a preliminary cleaning device, a plating device, a cleaning device, etc. Further, by combining a drying device for drying the workpiece and a basket conveying means for conveying the basket with a preliminary cleaning device, a plating device, a cleaning device, etc. equipped with the stirring device, a plating process system can be configured.

[0026] If these stirring devices are used in a plating system, only the basket can be transported for plating, enabling the labor-saving, preferably unmanned, of the plating process.

[0027] In the plating system of the present invention, a robot can also be used as the basket transport means.

[0028] It should be noted that the means for solving the above problems in the present invention has features obtained by appropriately combining the components described above, and the present invention enables many variations by such combinations of components.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0029]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0030] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0031] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a stirring device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 4 is a side view thereof. The stirring device 11 is for stirring an object to be processed (a plating object to be processed), particularly a fine object to be processed, and includes a stirring device main body 12 and a basket 13 for accommodating the object to be processed. Examples of the object to be processed for plating include electronic components such as chip-type ceramic electronic components, crystal oscillators, and contact probes, but are not limited to these components.

[0032] The stirring device 11 is used in various devices such as a plating device for plating an object to be processed, a degreasing device for removing dirt and grease in the pre-process of plating, a preliminary cleaning device for cleaning the object to be processed with a cleaning liquid after degreasing, and a cleaning device for cleaning the object to be processed after plating in the post-process of plating. The stirring device main body 12 holds the basket 13 in such a way that the axial direction (C-C) of the basket 13 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction G in a plating device or other devices, rotates the basket 13 around the axis C-C, and stirs the object to be processed accommodated in the basket 13. Since the stirring device 11 is used with the axis inclined, the direction along the axis should be called the diagonally upward direction or the diagonally downward direction, but in the following, it will be simply referred to as the upward direction or the downward direction.

[0033] (Structure of the Stirring Device) The structure of the stirring device main body 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. A rotation drive unit 23 is installed on the lower surface of a metal base plate 21 via a plurality of support columns 22. The rotation drive unit 23 is formed by connecting a motor 24b to the side surface of a gear box 24a, converts the rotation of the motor 24b to an appropriate rotational speed by the gear box 24a, and rotates the rotation output shaft 25 in one direction. A connecting shaft 27 integrally formed on the upper surface of an intermediate plate 26 is connected to the rotation output shaft 25 of the rotation drive unit 23. A plurality of upper ends of connecting bars 28 are vertically attached to the intermediate plate 26, and a basket gripping portion 29 is provided at the lower end of the connecting bar 28. The basket gripping portion 29 holds the flange 41 of the basket 13. In addition, a plurality of bearing portions 40 for supporting by a horizontal fixed shaft are provided on the upper surface of the base plate 21. Therefore, by driving the rotation drive unit 23, the intermediate plate 26 can be rotated, and the basket gripping portion 29 rotates together with the intermediate plate 26.

[0034] The structure of the basket 13 held by the stirring device body 12 is shown in FIGS. 5(A), (B), and (C). FIG. 5(A) is a perspective view of the basket 13, FIG. 5(B) is a bottom view of the basket 13, and FIG. 5(C) is a front view of the basket 13. The basket 13 is a resin product and has a cage portion 42 formed in a deep cage shape with an open upper surface. The cage portion 42 has a plurality of opening portions formed on the outer peripheral surface by ribs 43 serving as its skeleton, and a mesh 44 is integrally formed on the opening portions except for the upper surface. The upper part of the cage portion 42 is a cylindrical portion with a constant cross-sectional dimension, that is, a cylindrical portion 42a formed in a polygonal cylindrical shape or a cylindrical shape, and the lower end portion of the cage portion 42 is a conical portion with a gradually decreasing cross-sectional dimension, that is, a polygonal conical shape or a conical shape, or a polygonal frustum shape or a conical frustum shape, which is a sieve portion 42b. In the illustrated example, the basket 13 has the cylindrical portion 42a in a hexagonal cylindrical shape and the sieve portion 42b in a hexagonal conical shape or a hexagonal frustum shape, but it is not limited thereto. For example, the cylindrical portion 42a may be in an N-sided cylindrical shape and the sieve portion 42b may be in an N-sided conical shape or an N-sided frustum shape (however, N = 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, etc.). Also, in some cases, the cylindrical portion 42a may be in a cylindrical shape and the sieve portion 42b may be in a conical shape or a conical frustum shape. However, since the stirring effect is higher when the sieve portion 42b is in a polygonal shape or a polygonal frustum shape than when it is in a conical shape or a conical frustum shape, in the following, it will be described assuming that the cylindrical portion 42a is in a polygonal cylindrical shape and the sieve portion 42b is in a polygonal conical shape or a polygonal frustum shape. The cage portion 42 has a relatively long (deep) axial length. Around the upper surface opening 45 of the cage portion 42, there is a rigid angular plate-shaped flange 41 that extends outward. The coarseness and thickness of the mesh 44 of the mesh 44 are determined in consideration of the ease of passage of plating solutions and the like, the size of the object to be processed, etc., according to the type of plating solution and the like. A plurality of pieces of a reinforcing material 46 made of a plastic plate are arranged on the lower surface of the flange 41 so as to surround the periphery of the cylindrical portion 42a, and are adhered to the lower surface of the flange 41 and the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 42a.

[0035] In the basket 13 with such a structure, since the lower end of the basket part 42 is a square pyramid-shaped or truncated square pyramid-shaped sieve part 42b, the objects to be processed accommodated in the basket 13 gather at the center within the sieve part 42b, and the plating treatment parts are likely to come into contact with each other. For this reason, when the electrode 35 is placed in the basket 13 and brought into contact with the objects to be processed, a potential can be surely applied to the plating treatment parts of a large number of objects to be processed.

[0036] Next, the structure of the basket gripping part 29 for holding the basket 13 is shown in FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B). The basket gripping part 29 is formed by assembling a stainless steel frame material (grooved steel) in a U-shape (substantially U-shaped). On the inner peripheral surface (three sides) of the basket gripping part 29, grooves, that is, rails 51, are formed for inserting and holding the edge of the flange 41. Both ends of the basket gripping part 29 are open, and the open ends of the rails 51 serve as insertion ports 52 for inserting or extracting the flange 41. By inserting the flange 41 into the rails 51 through the insertion ports 52 and holding the three sides of the flange 41 with the rails 51, the basket 13 can be attached to the basket gripping part 29. Further, by gripping the flange 41 with the basket gripping part 29, a rotational force is transmitted from the basket gripping part 29 to the flange 41 so that the basket 13 can be rotated.

[0037] In order to hold the basket 13 by the basket gripping part 29, if the width of the flange 41 of the basket 13 is M, the distance between the left and right frame materials is D, and the distance between the inner wall surfaces of the left and right rails 51 is H, it is necessary to satisfy D < M ≤ H. Further, if the overall width of the reinforcing material 46 when viewed from the insertion direction of the flange 41 into the basket gripping part 29 is B (see FIG. 5), in order to prevent the reinforcing material 46 from interfering with the basket gripping part 29, it is necessary to satisfy B ≤ D.

[0038] The basket gripping portion 29 is provided with a means for preventing the basket 13 from falling off. That is, wing screws 31 are attached at a plurality of locations on the upper surface of the basket gripping portion 29. When the wing screw 31 is turned, the tip of the wing screw 31 protrudes or retracts into the rail 51. Therefore, when inserting the flange 41 into the rail 51, the tip of the wing screw 31 is retracted. After setting the flange 41 on the basket gripping portion 29, if the tip of the wing screw 31 is tightened against the upper surface of the flange 41, the flange 41 can be fixed.

[0039] The lower part of the reverse L-shaped bar connecting portion 30 is welded to the outer surface of the basket gripping portion 29, and a through hole (not shown) is opened in the upper piece 30a of the bar connecting portion 30. On the other hand, screw shaft portions 32 are provided at the lower ends of the respective connecting bars 28, and cylindrical nuts 33 are screwed onto the respective screw shaft portions 32. The screw shaft portion 32 is inserted through the through hole of the bar connecting portion 30 under the cylindrical nut 33 and a hexagonal nut 34 is screwed under the upper piece 30a. Therefore, the bar connecting portion 30 is sandwiched and fixed between the cylindrical nut 33 and the hexagonal nut 34, and the basket gripping portion 29 is attached to the lower end portion of the connecting bar 28. Thus, an inclination adjusting means is constituted. Therefore, by turning the cylindrical nut 33 to adjust the position of the cylindrical nut 33 in each connecting bar 28, each position of the bar connecting portion 30 can be adjusted, and thereby the inclination of the basket gripping portion 29 can be adjusted.

[0040] The stirring device main body 12 is installed in a plating device, a degreasing device, a pre - cleaning device, a cleaning device, etc. A horizontal axis (not shown) is installed above the plating device and the like. By inserting the horizontal axis into the bearing portion 40 of the base plate 21, the stirring device main body 12 is rotatably supported by the horizontal axis. Therefore, although the stirring device main body 12 is supported so as to be rotatable about the horizontal axis, the axis C - C of the stirring device main body 12 can be fixed in a state inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction G. During the stirring operation, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, the stirring device main body 12 is fixed such that the axis C - C forms a relatively large angle θ with respect to the vertical direction G, and the lower part of the basket 13 is immersed in a liquid such as a plating solution or a cleaning solution. Also, when attaching or detaching the basket 13 to / from the basket gripping portion 29, as shown by the thin line in FIG. 4, the stirring device main body 12 can be tilted more greatly than during the stirring operation to move the basket 13 above the liquid surface. By loosening the wing nut 31 in this state, the basket 13 can be attached to or detached from the basket gripping portion 29. As another method, instead of rotating the stirring device main body 12, it is also possible to move the stirring device main body 12 up and down in the vertical direction.

[0041] In a plating device, a cleaning device, etc., the basket 13 containing the workpiece is set on the stirring device main body 12, and the lower part of the basket 13 is immersed in a liquid such as a plating solution or a cleaning solution. When the rotation drive unit 23 is driven in this state, the basket 13 rotates around the axis C - C, and the workpiece is stirred in the liquid. If the workpieces remain in contact at the same location, there is a risk of poor plating or insufficient cleaning at that location. However, by rolling and stirring the workpieces, it is possible to prevent the workpieces from remaining in contact at the same location. Moreover, in this stirring device 11, since the basket 13 rotates in an inclined state, the workpiece attached to and lifted on the inner wall surface of the basket 13 collapses and falls inside the basket 13, and the workpiece is efficiently stirred.

[0042] In addition, since the basket 13 can be attached to and detached from the stirring device main body 12, if the stirring device main body 12 is provided in each device such as a plating device and a cleaning device, in order to move the workpiece to be processed to a degreasing device, a preliminary cleaning device, a plating device, a cleaning device in a subsequent process, etc., only the basket 13 containing the workpiece to be processed needs to be moved, and the transfer of the workpiece to be processed in the plating process is simplified.

[0043] Furthermore, since the basket 13 can be fixed with the wing screw 31, it is possible to prevent the basket 13 from falling off, rattling, or shifting from the basket gripping portion 29 due to the rotation of the basket gripping portion 29.

[0044] The basket 13 has a relatively long shape for the following reasons. FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B) show a basket 221 of a comparative example having a relatively short shape. This basket 221 includes a funnel-shaped part 223 in the shape of a pyramid (frustum) under a polygonal cylindrical tubular part 222, and the workpiece S to be processed is accommodated in the funnel-shaped part 223. In this case, in order to prevent the workpiece S accommodated in the funnel-shaped part 223 from remaining attached to the inner surface of the rotating basket 221 and not being exposed above the liquid level K, it is necessary to sink the basket 221 deeply into the liquid as shown in FIG. 7(A). However, if a part of the upper surface opening 224 of the basket 221 is below the liquid level K at that time, there is a risk that the workpiece S will flow out of the basket 221 from the upper surface opening 224. On the contrary, if the entire upper surface opening 224 is above the liquid level K, since the funnel-shaped part 223 is partially above the liquid level K, the workpiece S attached to the inner surface of the basket 221 may pass above the liquid level K, and there is a risk of plating defects and cleaning defects.

[0045] On the other hand, in the basket 13 according to the present invention, a basket part 42b with gradually decreasing cross-sectional dimensions is provided at the lower end of a cylindrical part 42a with a constant outer cross-sectional dimension, and the length L of this cylindrical part 42a is relatively long. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 7(C), the entire basket part 42b can be submerged below the liquid level K, and the basket position can be adjusted so that the entire upper surface opening 45 protrudes above the liquid level K. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the workpiece S from flowing out from the upper surface opening 45 or the workpiece S attached to the inner surface of the basket 13 from protruding above the liquid level K.

[0046] In order to achieve such an effect, the basket 13 may satisfy the following relational expression. L ≧ d × tan(θ) Here, θ is the angle of the axis C-C with respect to the vertical direction G when a part of the basket 13 is immersed in the liquid and rotated to perform plating treatment, cleaning treatment, etc. L is the length along the axial direction of the cylindrical part 42a, and d is the diameter of a virtual cylinder inscribed in the inner wall surface of the cylindrical part 42a.

[0047] In the case of a plating apparatus, electrodes for plating treatment are required (electrodes are not necessary in a cleaning apparatus, a preliminary cleaning apparatus, etc.). Therefore, in the case of the stirring device 11 used in the plating apparatus, an electrode 35 (cathode electrode) is provided on the stirring device 11. FIG. 8 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the tip of a power supply cable 36 provided with the electrode 35. The electrode 35 is formed of a good conductor. A flexible electric wire 37 having conductivity is provided with the electrode 35 at its tip, and the periphery of the electric wire 37 is covered with an insulating flexible tube 38. The base end of the power supply cable 36 is fixed to the intermediate plate 26 by a mounting bracket 39 as shown in FIG. 3, and the power supply cable 36 has a length that reaches the bottom of the basket 13 in which the electrode 35 is held by the basket gripping portion 29. A power supply line (not shown) is wired in the rotary drive unit 23, and this power supply line is electrically connected to the base end of the electric wire 37 via a brush structure (not shown). Since the power supply cable 36 is fixed to the intermediate plate 26, it rotates together with the intermediate plate 26. However, since the power supply line is connected to the power supply cable 36 via a brush structure, the power supply line is not twisted even when the power supply cable 36 rotates. This electrode 35 is an electrode for applying a potential of one polarity, that is, a negative potential, to the object to be processed S in the basket 13.

[0048] (Plating apparatus) Next, the structure of the plating apparatus 71 provided with the stirring device 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the plating apparatus 71 viewed obliquely. FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the plating apparatus 71. Since the plating apparatus 71 is provided with the stirring device 11 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the description of the stirring device 11 will be omitted. Note that the stirring device 11 has a power supply cable 36.

[0049] The plating apparatus 71 is provided with a plating tank 72 for storing the plating solution. On the outer side of one wall surface of the plating tank 72, a plating solution recovery tank 73 is integrally provided with the plating tank 72. At the upper part of the wall surface separating the inside of the plating tank 72 and the inside of the plating solution recovery tank 73, a recovery window 74 is opened for pouring the plating solution overflowing from the plating tank 72 into the plating solution recovery tank 73 and recovering it in the plating solution recovery tank 73. One end of a plating solution recovery pipe 75 is inserted into the lower part of the plating solution recovery tank 73. The other end of the plating solution recovery pipe 75 is connected to the intake port of a circulation pump 76. One end of a plating solution supply pipe 77 is connected to the discharge port of the circulation pump 76, and the other end of the plating solution supply pipe 77 is led from the upper part of the plating tank 72 to near the bottom surface. A filter 78 is installed in the middle of the plating solution supply pipe 77.

[0050] Due to the above structure, the plating solution supplied from the plating solution supply pipe 77 or shaken by the stirring device 11 and overflowing flows into the plating solution recovery tank 73 from the recovery window 74 and is recovered. The circulation pump 76 is always in operation, and the plating solution in the plating solution recovery tank 73 is drawn out from the plating solution recovery pipe 75 and sent to the circulation pump 76. The plating solution sent to the circulation pump 76 is pushed out into the plating solution supply pipe 77, and fine dust and foreign matters are removed by the filter 78 on the way, and the clean plating solution passing through the filter 78 is returned from the plating solution supply pipe 77 to the plating tank 72. Therefore, the plating solution in the plating tank 72 is always kept in a clean state, and the plating quality is maintained. The stirring device 11 is installed in a posture inclined with respect to the vertical direction so that a part of the basket 13 is submerged in the plating solution in the plating tank 72.

[0051] A frame 81 is installed along the perimeter of the upper end of the plating bath 72. Inside the plating bath 72, boxes 83 are arranged adjacent to the four wall surfaces respectively. The boxes 83 are suspended from the frame 81 by hanging brackets 82 and are arranged such that almost the entire body is positioned below the liquid level. The boxes 83 are for loading and holding conductive plating materials 84 such as Sn and Ni that serve as anode electrodes, and have a number of holes to allow the metal ions of the plating material 84 to pass through. The frame 81 is formed of tough pitch copper, and the hanging brackets 82 and the boxes 83 are formed of titanium and are electrically conductive with each other.

[0052] To perform plating treatment on a fine workpiece using the plating apparatus 71, an appropriate quantity of workpieces S is placed in the basket 13. At this time, to ensure electrical conductivity between the workpieces S and to prevent the workpieces S from sticking to each other through the plating film, fine particles such as Cu and Fe (referred to as media) may also be placed in the basket 13 together. As shown by the thin line in Fig. 4, the stirring device main body 12 is rotated to lift the basket gripping portion 29 upward, the basket 13 is held by the basket gripping portion 29, and the wing nut 31 is tightened to fix the basket 13. Next, the tip of the power supply cable 36 is inserted into the basket 13 to bring the electrode 35 into contact with the workpiece S.

[0053] When a voltage is applied between the power supply cable 36 and the frame 81 in this state, the plating material 84 (anode electrode) is maintained at a positive potential through the frame 81, the suspension fitting 82, and the box 83, and the workpiece S is maintained at a negative potential through contact with the electrode 35 or contact between the workpieces S. At the same time, when the stirring device 11 is driven, the basket 13 held by the basket gripping portion 29 is rotated at an optimal rotation speed (for example, about 10 to 150 rotations per minute) while being obliquely immersed in the plating solution. As a result, metal ions dissolve out from the plating material 84 and are deposited on the surface of the workpiece S, and the workpiece S is electrolytically plated. Further, since the basket 13 rotates around the axis C-C inclined obliquely by the stirring device 11, the workpieces S in the basket 13 are surely stirred, the workpieces S are uniformly plated, and the workpieces S are prevented from sticking to each other.

[0054] As described in the explanation of the stirring device 11, the workpiece remains held in the basket 13 and is transferred to the plating device 71 together with the basket 13. Further, the workpiece after plating is taken out of the plating device 71 together with the basket 13 and transferred to the next process.

[0055] (Cleaning device) FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a cleaning device 91 according to the present invention. Briefly speaking, this cleaning device 91 is filled with a clean cleaning liquid in the tank instead of the plating solution, excluding the members for plating (the box 83 and the plating material 84) from the above plating device 71. Specifically, it is a preliminary cleaning device in a pre-process for cleaning the workpiece after the degreasing process, a cleaning device in a post-process for cleaning the workpiece after plating, and the like. The stirring device 11 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is also used in these cleaning devices, but the stirring device main body 12 does not have the power supply cable 36.

[0056] That is, the cleaning tank 92 is filled with the cleaning liquid W, and the cleaning liquid W that overflows from the recovery window 94 is recovered into the cleaning liquid recovery tank 93. The cleaning liquid recovered into the cleaning liquid recovery tank 93 is sent from the cleaning liquid recovery pipe 95 to the circulation pump 96. The cleaning liquid W discharged from the circulation pump 96 is returned to the cleaning tank 92 again from the cleaning liquid supply pipe 97 after the fine dust and foreign matters are removed by the filter 98. Further, the stirring device main body 12 is installed in the cleaning tank 92, and the basket 13 containing the object to be processed S is set in the basket gripping part 29. When the basket 13 is rotated by the stirring device 11, the object to be processed S is stirred and cleaned with the cleaning liquid W.

[0057] Even with such a cleaning device, the same effects as those of the plating device can be obtained. Note that in the degreasing process before the plating process and the like, the stirring device 11 of the present invention can be used in the same manner as the cleaning device 91.

[0058] (Plating Processing System) FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a plating processing system according to the present invention. The plating processing system 111 is a group of devices for performing various plating processes such as Ni plating and solder plating, or a series of processes such as electroforming coating. The plating processing system 111 in the illustrated example includes a degreasing device 112 for removing dirt from the object to be processed, a plurality of preliminary cleaning devices 113 for preliminarily cleaning the degreased object to be processed, a plating device 114 for plating the object to be processed, a plurality of cleaning devices 115 for cleaning the plated object to be processed, and a drying device 116 for drying the object to be processed. An acid pickling device, a cleaning device after acid pickling, and further a secondary cleaning device for repeating cleaning may be added to this plating processing system as necessary.

[0059] These devices are arranged in sequence in a row, and stirring device main bodies 12 are installed in devices 112 to 115 except for the drying device 116. Further, industrial robots (robot hands) 117a, 117b, 117c, 117d, and 117e are attached to the degreasing device 112, the pre-cleaning device 113, the plating device 114, the cleaning device 115, and the drying device 116. Considering the residence time (processing time) of the object to be processed in each device (in the pre-cleaning device 113 and the cleaning device 115, the processing time is long), a plurality of pre-cleaning devices 113 and cleaning devices 115 are installed so that the processing flows smoothly. However, only one robot 117b and 117d needs to be installed for each of the plurality of pre-cleaning devices 113 and the plurality of cleaning devices 115.

[0060] For example, the robot 117a takes out the basket 13 containing the object to be processed from the rack and sets it on the basket gripping part 29 of the stirring device main body 12 installed in the degreasing device 112. After the degreasing process, the robot 117a removes the basket 13 from the basket gripping part 29 and passes it to the robot 117b in the next process.

[0061] The robot 117b distributes the basket 13 received from the robot 117a to any one of the plurality of pre-cleaning devices 113 and sets the basket 13 on the basket gripping part 29 of the stirring device main body 12 there. After the cleaning process, the robot 117b removes the basket 13 from the basket gripping part 29 and passes it to the robot 117c in the next process. In this way, the basket 13 holding the object to be processed is transferred from robot to robot and is attached to and detached from the basket gripping part 29 of the stirring device 11 by each robot.

[0062] The plating device 114 has the same structure as the plating device 71 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The preliminary cleaning device 113 and the cleaning device 115 have the same structure as the cleaning device 91 shown in FIG. 11. However, in the plating device 114, it may be difficult for the robot to insert or remove the tip of the power supply cable 36 as shown in FIG. 8 into or from the basket 13. In such a case, the power supply cable 36 may be slid by power like the stirring device 121 shown in FIG. 13. In this stirring device 121, the rotary output shaft 25 is provided so as to penetrate the gear box 24a, and the upper and lower ends of the rotary output shaft 25 project from the upper and lower surfaces of the gear box 24a. The power supply cable 36 has a straight rod-like structure that is difficult to bend, and the electrode 35 is exposed at the tip. The rotary output shaft 25 is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, and the connecting shaft 27 is also formed in a hollow cylindrical shape. The power supply cable 36 vertically penetrates through the rotary output shaft 25 and the connecting shaft 27. The upper end of the power supply cable 36 is connected to a linear motion type air actuator 122 fixed to the base plate 21. Therefore, when the air actuator 122 is driven, the power supply cable 36 passes through the rotary output shaft 25 and the connecting shaft 27 and projects downward or retracts upward. Therefore, when attaching or detaching the basket 13 to the basket gripping portion 29, the power supply cable 36 is retracted above the basket gripping portion 29, and after setting the basket 13, the air actuator 122 is driven to insert the tip of the power supply cable 36 into the basket 13.

[0063] In addition, in the stirring device 11 provided in each device, it is difficult for a robot to tighten or loosen the butterfly screw 31 of the basket gripping part 29 when the basket 13 is detached or attached, and manually operating the butterfly screw 31 is contrary to labor saving. The basket gripping part 29 shown in FIG. 14 solves such problems. In this embodiment, the anti-drop means is constituted by the protrusions 131 in the rail 51 and the holes 132 in the flange 41. In the basket gripping part 29 of FIG. 14, a plurality of protrusions 131 are provided on the bottom surface in the rail 51. A gap larger than the thickness of the flange 41 of the basket 13 is formed between the protrusion 131 and the top surface of the rail 51. In the flange 41 of the basket 13, a hole 132 is formed at a position corresponding to the protrusion 131 when the basket 13 is correctly set.

[0064] FIGS. 15(A) to (D) are schematic views for explaining the operation when the robot attaches the basket 13 to the basket gripping part 29 shown in FIG. 14. The robot (any one of the robots 117a to 117e) that grips the flange 41 of the basket 13 by the robot hand 118 carries the basket 13 to the basket gripping part 29 (FIG. 15(A)) and carries the flange 41 into the upper part in the rail 51 (FIG. 15(B)). Then, when the hole 132 of the flange 41 coincides with the protrusion 131, the robot hand 118 releases the basket 13. The released basket 13 descends by its own weight, and the protrusion 131 is inserted into the hole 132 (FIG. 15(C)). After that, the robot hand 118 returns to the original direction (FIG. 15(D)). If the tip of the protrusion 131 is made thin so as to guide the hole 132, even if the position of the flange 41 is slightly deviated, the protrusion 131 is smoothly inserted into the hole 132.

[0065] If the protrusion 131 is inserted into the hole 132 in this way, even if the basket 13 is rotated by the stirring device 11, it is possible to prevent the flange 41 from falling off or shifting from the basket gripping part 29. When removing the basket 13 from the basket gripping part 29, the operations of FIGS. 15(A) to (D) may be executed in reverse.

[0066] FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a different basket gripping portion 29 and a basket 13. In the embodiment of FIG. 16, a flat plate-like material is used for the basket gripping portion 29. That is, a plurality of protrusions 131 are raised on the upper surface of a plate material 51a having a substantially U-shaped cross section to form the basket gripping portion 29, and bar connection portions 30 are provided on both side portions thereof.

[0067] In the embodiment of FIG. 14, when the basket 13 is carried into the basket gripping portion 29, the flange 41 may hit the upper tongue piece of the frame material. However, in this embodiment, since the plate material 51a is used, as shown in FIG. 17, it becomes difficult for the flange 41 to interfere with the basket gripping portion 29, and the process of attaching and detaching the basket 13 to and from the basket gripping portion 29 becomes easy.

[0068] According to the basket gripping portion 29 having such a structure, the lower surface of the flange 41 is supported on the upper surface of the plate material 51a. Further, the fitting of the protrusion 131 and the hole 132 prevents the basket 13 from falling off from the basket gripping portion 29 and transmits a rotational force from the basket gripping portion 29 to the basket 13.

[0069] On the other hand, in such an embodiment, since it is not possible to restrict the upward floating of the flange 41 through which the protrusion 131 is inserted into the hole 132, there is a concern that the flange 41 may come off from the protrusion 131 during basket rotation. Therefore, by making the length of the protrusion 131 sufficiently long, it is possible to prevent the flange 41 from accidentally coming off from the protrusion 131.

[0070] Further, in order to reduce the floating of the flange 41, it is desirable to reduce the clearance between the protrusion 131 and the hole 132. Alternatively, the inner peripheral portion of the hole 132 may be formed of a rubber material having appropriate flexibility so that the clearance becomes zero.

[0071] Although not shown, it is also possible to assemble the basket gripping portion 29 using an angle material.

[0072] FIG. 18 is a partially broken-away front view showing a basket gripping portion 29 and a basket 13 provided with yet another different anti-drop means. As shown in this modification, the positions of the protrusions and the holes may be interchanged. That is, in this modification, a protrusion 133 is provided on the lower surface of the flange of the basket 13, and a hole 134 is provided in the plate material 51a of the basket gripping portion 29.

[0073] When providing the protrusion 133 on the lower surface of the flange 41, if the protrusion 133 cannot be made sufficiently long, the basket gripping portion 29 may be formed of steel or stainless steel, and a magnet 135 may be provided on the lower surface of the flange 41 as shown in the figure. If this is done, the flange 41 will be attracted to the basket gripping portion 29. However, since there is also a possibility that the magnetism may have a physical property influence on the object to be processed S in the basket 13 or the magnet 135 may attract the object to be processed S, it is preferable that the magnet 135 has as small a magnetic force as possible within the range where the attracting force can be maintained even during rotation of the basket 13. Also, in order to minimize the influence of the magnet 135, it is also possible to use a method of increasing the length of the cage portion 42 of the basket 13 or a method of selecting a material for the basket gripping portion 29 such that the magnetic field lines of the magnet 135 are less likely to leak downward (toward the cage portion of the basket).

[0074] Note that in the embodiment of FIG. 14 as well, it is possible to interchange the positions of the protrusions and the holes. Also, in the embodiments of FIGS. 14 and 16 as well, it is possible to provide a magnet on the lower surface of the flange 41.

[0075] FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of the basket gripping portion 29 provided with yet another anti-drop means. In this embodiment, a stopper 142 having the shape shown in FIG. 19 is attached to the lower surface of the basket gripping portion 29 via a spacer 141. The stopper 142 has a pair of leaf spring pieces 144 (spring members) extending in a cantilevered manner from a base end portion 143, and the tip portions of the respective leaf spring pieces 144 are bent into a triangular shape to form a hatch 145. The length from the inner wall surface of the rail of the central frame member to the bent tip portion 145a of the hatch 145 is approximately equal to the length of one side of the flange 41. Through holes 146 and 147 are respectively formed in the base end portion 143 of the stopper 142 and the spacer 141, and a screw hole 148 is provided in the bottom surface of the basket gripping portion 29. Then, a bolt 149 passed through the through holes 146 and 147 is tightened into the screw hole 148, and the stopper 142 is attached to the lower surface of the basket gripping portion 29 via the spacer 141. When attached to the lower surface of the basket gripping portion 29, the leaf spring pieces 144 of the stopper 142 are positioned in the space between the opposing rails 51 (grooved steel). That is, the width E2 of the stopper 142 is smaller than the distance D between the left and right frame members (E2 < D). Further, the distance E1 between the leaf spring pieces 144 is larger than the width B of the reinforcing member 46 (E1 > B).

[0076] The robot hand 118 holding the flange 41 can easily attach and detach the basket 13 as shown in Fig. 20. Figs. 20(A) to (B) show the operation when attaching the basket 13 to the basket gripping part 29, and Fig. 20(C) shows the operation when removing the basket 13 from the basket gripping part 29. First, the operation when attaching the basket 13 will be described. The robot hand 118 holding the flange 41 carries the flange 41 parallel to the rail 51 and presses the inclined surface 145b on the outer surface side of the hatch 145 with the end of the flange 41. The hatch 145 pressed by the flange 41 against the inclined surface 145b deflects the leaf spring piece 144 and descends as shown in Fig. 20(A), and the flange 41 is inserted into the rail 51 as shown in Fig. 20(B). When the flange 41 is inserted to the back of the rail 51, as shown in Fig. 20(C), the hatch 145 rises to its original position and faces the end surface of the flange 41, preventing the flange 41 from coming out of the rail 51. Therefore, in the state where the basket 13 is set on the basket gripping part 29 as shown in Fig. 20(D), even if the basket gripping part 29 and the basket 13 rotate, it is difficult for the flange 41 to come out of the rail 51, rattle, or shift.

[0077] Also, when removing the basket 13 from the state shown in Fig. 21(A) where the basket 13 is set on the basket gripping part 29, as shown in Fig. 21(B), the robot hand 118 grips the flange 41 in the rail 51 and pulls out the flange 41 parallel to the rail 51 with a strong force. The pulled-out flange 41 presses the bent tip part 145a of the hatch 145 with its end surface. The hatch 145 pressed by the flange 41 deflects the leaf spring piece 144 and descends as shown in Fig. 21(C), and as shown in Fig. 21(D), the robot hand 118 further pulls out the flange 41 to extract the flange 41 from the rail 51. When pulling out the basket 13, in order to make it easier to push down the hatch 145 with the flange 41, the bending angle of the bent tip part 145a of the hatch 145 is slightly inclined from the direction perpendicular to the leaf spring piece 144.

[0078] Note that in the operation explanatory diagram of FIG. 20, the insertion port 52 of the rail 51 faces the bent tip portion 145a of the hatch 145 when viewed from the side. However, as shown in FIGS. 22(A) and 22(B), the rails 51 (grooved steel) on both sides may be lengthened so that the hatch 145 is positioned in the space sandwiched by the rails 51 it faces. With this configuration, first, as shown in FIG. 22(A), the end of the flange 41 is inserted into the rail 51, and then, as shown in FIG. 22(B), the hatch 145 can be pushed down with the flange 41 while being guided by the rail 51. Therefore, the operation of attaching the flange 41 to the basket gripping portion 29 becomes easier.

[0079] As a means for fixing the flange 41 within the rail 51, in addition to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 14, 16, and 18, it is also conceivable to use an electrically operated actuator. However, when using an electric actuator, there is a risk that the electrical components may short-circuit due to being wetted by a liquid. To prevent this, it is necessary to completely waterproof the actuator, which increases the cost. Also, since the basket gripping portion 29 rotates, it is necessary to solve the problem that the power supply line to the actuator is twisted. The embodiments shown in FIGS. 14, 16, 18, 19, and 21 are configured to be able to substantially fix the flange 41 by mechanical means, so there is no room for such problems to occur.

[0080] Both FIGS. 23(A) and 23(B) are schematic diagrams showing an embodiment provided with a pushing device 129 for forcibly pushing down the hatch 145 to open the insertion port 52. The pushing device 129 is configured such that a rod 127 having a smooth pin head 128 at its tip is projected and retracted by a driving portion 126. The driving portion 126 can be constituted by an air cylinder or a motor. This pushing device 129 can project the pin head 128 toward the hatch 145 in front of the hatch 145, push the inclined surface 145b of the hatch 145 by the pin head 128, and push down the hatch 145 against the elasticity of the leaf spring piece 144.

[0081] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 23(A), a pushing device 129 is attached to the lower surface of the robot arm 119. Since there are a pair of leaf spring pieces 144, in the case of this embodiment, the pushing device 129 may be provided on each of the two robot arms 119, or a pair of 129 may be arranged side by side on the lower surface of the wide robot arm 119, or a wide (laterally extended) pin head 128 may be used. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 23(B), the pushing devices 129 are respectively attached to both side surfaces of the robot arm 119.

[0082] FIGS. 24(A) to (D) are diagrams for explaining the operation when the basket 13 is attached to the basket gripping portion 29 by the robot arm 119 provided with FIG. 23(A). FIG. 24(A) shows a state in which the basket 13 is grasped by the robot hand 118 and the end of the flange 41 is inserted into the rail 51 and the end of the flange 41 is held by the rail 51. At this time, the rod 127 and the pin head 128 are retracted.

[0083] Next, as shown in FIG. 24(B), the driving unit 126 advances the rod 127 and presses the pin head 128 against the inclined surface 145b of the hatch 145. Further, when the pin head 128 is protruded to push down the inclined surface 145b, as shown in FIG. 24(C), the hatch 145 that has blocked the inside of the rail 51 so far moves downward, and the inside of the rail 51 is opened.

[0084] When the rail 51 is opened, as shown in FIG. 24(D), the robot arm 119 advances and the flange 41 is fed into the rail 51. At this time, the pin head 128 continues to retract by the same distance as the advancing distance of the robot arm 119. Therefore, the pin head 128 is in a fixed position with respect to the basket gripping portion 29, and the hatch 145 is kept in a lowered state.

[0085] When the flange 41 is thus inserted to the back of the rail 51, the rod 127 and the pin head 128 retract, and the hatch 145 returns to its original position by the elastic force of the leaf spring piece 144 and blocks the rail 51.

[0086] When removing the flange 41 from the rail 51, the operations in the reverse order to the above may be performed.

[0087] In the embodiment of FIG. 20, in order to pull out the flange 41 from the rail 51, it was necessary to slightly incline the bent tip portion 145a of the latch 145. Therefore, the end face of the flange 41 and the bent tip portion 145a were not parallel, the holding of the flange 41 became weak, and there was a possibility that the flange 41 would rattle slightly. However, in the embodiment of FIG. 23, since the latch 145 is operated by the pushing device 129, the bent tip portion 145a can be made perpendicular to the leaf spring piece 144. Therefore, when the flange 41 is held in the rail 51, the bent tip portion 145a becomes parallel to the end face of the flange 41, the contact area increases, and the rattling of the flange 41 is reduced.

[0088] Note that the above operations are described step by step for convenience of explanation, but the actual operations are continuously performed without interruption.

[0089] (Drying device) In the step of drying the object to be processed accommodated in the basket 13, the drying device 116 is used. This drying device has substantially the same structure as the suction drying device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-292041 (Patent No. 5021364). However, the structure of the support base provided in the drying chamber has been redesigned according to the shape of the basket. The overall structure of the drying device 116 is schematically shown in FIG. 25, but for the details, refer to the above publication.

[0090] Inside the drying chamber 163 of the drying device 116, a support base 151 for holding the basket 13 is installed. The upper surface opening of the drying chamber 163 can be sealed by a door 164, and a handle 165 is provided on the door 164. On the upper part of the wall surface of the drying chamber 163, an air outlet hole 167 for supplying the air heated by the air heater 166 into the drying chamber 163 is opened. On the lower wall surface of the drying chamber 163, an air suction port 169 for sucking the air in the drying chamber 163 by the blower 168 is opened. The bottom surface of the drying chamber 163 is formed in a funnel shape, and a drain port 170 is opened at the lowermost part thereof, and a drain passage 171 is connected to the drain port 170. The support base 151 is horizontally installed at a position higher than the air suction port 169 in the lower part of the drying chamber 163.

[0091] FIG. 26(A) is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the support base 151 of the drying device 116 (this corresponds to FIG. 5 of the above-mentioned publication). The support base 151 is composed of a support base main body 152 and a cap 153, and has a structure that allows air and moisture to pass through. That is, the support base main body 152 is formed by fixing the lower end of the holder 155 to the upper surface of a stainless steel shelf plate 154 having a flat plate shape, and a circular through hole 156 is opened in the shelf plate 154 inside the holder 155. Further, inside the holder 155, a water-absorbing packing 157 having water absorption is attached to the upper surface of the shelf plate 154. The water-absorbing packing 157 is formed of an elastic material such as porous silicon rubber having continuous air bubbles, for example.

[0092] The cap 153 is formed in an inverted dish shape, and a plurality of ventilation holes 158 penetrate through the upper part thereof. A flange 159 extends from the outer periphery of the lower end of the cap 153. On the upper surface of the stainless - steel cap 153, a water - absorbing sheet 160 (water - absorbing material) having water - absorption property is pasted. The water - absorbing sheet 160 is formed of an elastic material such as porous silicon rubber having continuous air bubbles, for example. This cap 153 is accommodated in the holder 155, and the flange 159 rides on the water - absorbing packing 157. In the water - absorbing sheet 160, a ventilation hole 161 is opened at the same position as the ventilation hole 158. Therefore, air and moisture can pass through the support base 151 through the ventilation holes 161 and 158.

[0093] The holder 155 is made of resin or metal and is formed in a cylindrical shape penetrating vertically. The upper surface of the holder 155 serves as a flange receiver 162 for supporting the flange 41 of the basket 13.

[0094] Thus, in the drying process, the robot 117e grasps the handle 165 of the drying device 116 and opens the door 164 (usually opened by taking out the previous basket). Then, the robot 117e receives the basket 13 containing the workpiece S that has completed the cleaning process from the robot 117d and holds the flange 41 of the basket 13. The robot 117e that has grasped the flange 41 carries the basket 13 into the drying chamber 163, inserts the basket 13 into the holder 155, places the flange 41 on the flange receiver 162, and releases the basket 13. Thus, the basket 13 is supported in mid - air above the cap 153. Then, the robot 117e grasps the handle 165 and closes the door 164, sealing the drying chamber 163.

[0095] When the preparation is thus completed, the blower 168 is operated to strongly suck the air in the drying chamber 163 downward. Then, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 26(B), the dried hot air sent into the drying chamber 163 from the blow holes 167 passes through the basket 13 and further escapes downward under the support base 151. Therefore, the air in the drying chamber 163 is sucked through the gaps between the objects to be processed S, so that the moisture adhering to the surface of the objects to be processed S and the moisture held in the gaps of the objects to be processed S are drawn downward and fall below the drying chamber 163. Thus, the objects to be processed S in the basket 13 are forcibly dried together with the basket 13. For more details of the operation of the drying device, reference can be made to the above publication.

[0096] The surface of the flange receiver 162 may be covered with rubber or soft resin so that air does not pass through the gap between the lower surface of the flange 41 and the flange receiver 162.

[0097] When the objects to be processed are sufficiently dried, the robot 117e opens the door 164, takes out the basket 13 from the drying chamber 163, transports it to a predetermined position, and transfers the dried objects to be processed S to a tray or the like. In this way, since the objects to be processed are taken out of the basket after the basket and the objects to be processed are sufficiently (completely) dried, there is no risk that the objects to be processed will adhere to the basket and remain. Therefore, even if the basket is reused for the plating process of different objects to be processed, there is no risk that different objects to be processed will be mixed into the basket, and the reliability of the plating process is improved.

[0098] Also, by using this drying device, the objects to be processed accommodated in the basket can be dried as they are, so that the drying device can be made inline, and full automation of the plating process can also be achieved.

[0099] Next, when media are put in together with the objects to be processed, they are separated by sieving the objects to be processed and the media.

[0100] In the drying device of the above-described embodiment, although the door is configured to be opened and closed by a robot, the following may also be employed. That is, the door of the drying device may be a slide-type door that moves in the horizontal direction, and the door may be opened when the sensor of the drying device detects the basket above the door, or the door may be opened when it is detected that the basket has been set in the holder. Further, when the drying operation of the drying device is completed, the door may be automatically opened to allow the basket to be taken out.

[0101] In the plating processing apparatus according to the present invention, since it has the above-described configuration, the object to be processed can be sequentially transferred from the degreasing device to the drying device while being accommodated in the basket, and the plating processing steps are simplified. Moreover, since only the basket is moved separately from the stirring device, the plating processing steps can be simplified. Further, since the operations of moving the basket and attaching and detaching the basket to and from the stirring device body are performed by the robot, almost all steps can be automated.

Explanation of Signs

[0102] 11 Stirring device 12 Stirring device body 13 Basket 23 Rotation drive unit 29 Basket gripping part 30 Bar connection part 31 Butterfly screw 35 Electrode 36 Power supply cable 41 Flange 42a Cylindrical part 42b Tray part 44 Mesh 51 Rail 71 Plating device 91 Cleaning device 111 Plating processing system 112 Degreasing device 113 Preliminary cleaning device 114 Plating device 115 Cleaning device 116 Drying device 117a~117e Robot 131, 133 Protrusion 132, 134 Hole 135 Magnet 141 Spacer 142 Stopper 144 leaf spring piece 145 hatch 145a bending tip 145b inclined surface 151 support base 155 holder 163 drying chamber 164 door Axis S of C-C basket Workpiece

Claims

1. A stirring device for accommodating a plating object to be processed in a basket that rotates about an axis inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction and stirring the plating object to be processed, comprising: a basket having an opening for inserting and removing the plating object to be processed, a space for accommodating the plating object to be processed, and a wall surface through which a liquid can pass; a basket gripping portion that detachably holds the basket in a posture in which its axis is inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction; and a rotation drive portion that rotates the basket gripping portion about the axis of the basket. The stirring device is characterized by the above.

2. The basket has a flange around the opening, the basket gripping portion has a surface for supporting the lower surface of the flange and a structure for transmitting the rotation of the basket gripping portion to the flange, The stirring device according to claim 1, wherein the flange is detachable from the structure for transmitting the rotation to the flange.

3. The stirring device according to claim 2, wherein a protrusion is projected on either one of the surface for supporting the lower surface of the flange and the flange in the basket gripping portion, and a hole for receiving the protrusion is provided on the other one.

4. The stirring device according to claim 3, wherein the surface for supporting the lower surface of the flange is formed of a metal material, and a magnet is provided on the lower surface of the flange.

5. The stirring device according to claim 2, wherein the basket gripping portion has a groove for inserting the flange to hold the basket, and an insertion port for inserting or extracting the flange into or from the groove.

6. The stirring device according to claim 5, wherein the basket gripping portion is provided with a dropout prevention means for preventing the flange from falling out of the groove.

7. The dropout prevention means includes: a hatch provided so as to at least partially block the insertion port and capable of opening the insertion port when inserting or extracting the flange into or from the groove; and a spring member for returning the hatch to close the insertion port. The stirring device according to claim 6, characterized by comprising the above.

8. a leaf spring-shaped spring member disposed in parallel with the basket gripping portion; and the hatch provided at the tip of the spring member. an inclined surface provided on the hatch for pushing and moving the hatch, comprising When the inclined surface is pushed, the spring member is bent and the hatch member moves, so that the insertion port blocked by the hatch is opened. The stirring device according to claim 7, characterized in that.

9. The stirring device according to claim 8, further comprising a pushing device for pushing the inclined surface to move the hatch.

10. The anti-detachment means comprises a protrusion protruding from either one of a surface supporting the lower surface of the flange and the flange, and a hole for receiving the protrusion provided on the other. The stirring device according to claim 6, characterized in that.

11. The anti-detachment means is a screw protruding into the groove and pressing the flange. The stirring device according to claim 6, characterized in that.

12. The stirring device according to claim 2, further comprising an inclination adjusting means for adjusting the inclination of the basket gripping portion with respect to the output shaft of the rotation driving portion.

13. The basket has a conical portion with a gradually decreasing cross-sectional dimension formed at the lower end of a cylindrical portion having a constant outer dimension in cross-section, When the angle of the axis of the basket with respect to the vertical direction is θ, the length along the axial direction of the cylindrical portion is L, and the diameter of the cylinder inscribed in the inner wall surface of the cylindrical portion is d, L ≧ d × tan(θ) The stirring device according to claim 2, characterized in that it satisfies.

14. a cleaning tank for storing a degreasing liquid, the stirring device according to claim 1 or 2, A preliminary cleaning device characterized by comprising.

15. a plating tank for storing a plating solution, the stirring device according to claim 1 or 2, and an electrode for plating a plating object accommodated in the stirring device A plating treatment device characterized by comprising.

16. a cleaning tank for storing a cleaning liquid, the stirring device according to claim 1 or 2, A cleaning device characterized by comprising.

17. A preliminary cleaning device, a plating treatment device, a cleaning device, a drying device, and basket conveying means for moving the basket between the respective devices, A plating treatment system, characterized in that the stirring device according to claim 1 or 2 is provided in at least one of the preliminary cleaning device, the plating treatment device, or the cleaning device.

18. The plating processing system according to claim 17, wherein the basket conveying means is constituted by a robot, and the robot attaches and detaches a basket to and from the basket gripping portion.

Images