U.S. patent application number 13/739001 was filed with the patent office on 2014-07-17 for electroplating aid board and electroplating device using same.
The applicant listed for this patent is MING-HONG KUO. Invention is credited to MING-HONG KUO.
Application Number | 20140197027 13/739001 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51164343 |
Filed Date | 2014-07-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140197027 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KUO; MING-HONG |
July 17, 2014 |
ELECTROPLATING AID BOARD AND ELECTROPLATING DEVICE USING SAME
Abstract
An electroplating device includes a plating solution, at least
one anode basket located in the plating solution, and a workpiece
to be plated. An electroplating aid board is arranged between the
anode basket and the workpiece to be plated. The electroplating aid
board has at least one side that has a length exceeding the
workpiece to be plated. The electroplating aid board is made of a
plastic material that is not electrically conductive and includes a
plurality of holes formed therein. In an electroplating operation,
the holes provide an effect of tunnel that guides positive ions
(such as copper ions) of the plating solution to flow from the
anode basket (namely anode) straightforward to the nearest surface
portion of the workpiece to be plated.
Inventors: |
KUO; MING-HONG; (Taipei
City, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
KUO; MING-HONG |
Taipei City |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
51164343 |
Appl. No.: |
13/739001 |
Filed: |
January 11, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
204/242 ;
204/279 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C25D 5/08 20130101; C25D
17/008 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
204/242 ;
204/279 |
International
Class: |
C25D 17/00 20060101
C25D017/00 |
Claims
1. An electroplating aid board, which is adapted to be used in
electroplating facility, is made of a plastic material that is not
electrically conductive, and comprises a plurality of holes formed
therein, the holes guiding positive ions contained in a plating
solution.
2. The electroplating aid board according to claim 1, wherein the
holes are arranged in rows and the holes are set to alternate each
other.
3. An electroplating device, comprising: a plating solution; at
least one anode basket, which is located in the plating solution
and is connected to an anode of a power supply; and a workpiece to
be plated, which is placed in the plating solution and is connected
to a cathode of the power supply; and characterized in that an
electroplating aid board is arranged between the anode basket and
the workpiece to be plated, the electroplating aid board having at
least one side that has a length exceeding the workpiece to be
plated, the electroplating aid board being made of a plastic
material that is not electrically conductive and comprising a
plurality of holes formed therein.
4. The electroplating device according to claim 3, wherein the
holes are arranged in rows and the holes are set to alternate each
other.
5. The electroplating device according to claim 3, wherein the
electroplating aid board is secured to a fastener provided on a
spray tube.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention generally relates to an electroplating
aid board and an electroplating device using the electroplating aid
board, wherein the electroplating aid board is arrange between
anode and cathode of the electroplating device and comprises a
plurality of holes so that an electroplated product can be
manufactured with excellent and homogeneous thickness of plated
layers without using a conventionally used shielding plate.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
[0002] For electroplating devices that are commonly used in the
electroplating industry, such as vertical continuous electroplating
machine, the primary requirement for an electroplating operation,
such as plating copper on a circuit board, is to provide homogenous
and excellent thickness of plated layers on the electroplated
product.
[0003] The traditional electroplating operation uses a copper-made
anode. The copper-made anode, however, will get increasingly
thinner. A late developed anode comprises an iridium alloy made
anode screen (which is an insoluble anode), which is characterized
by large current flow for fast plating.
[0004] Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, schematic views are given to
illustrate a copper plating operation carried out with a
conventional electroplating device, which comprises a plating
solution 90, two anode baskets 91 (serving as anode of
electroplating operation) located in the plating solution 90 and a
workpiece 92 to be plated (serving as a cathode of the
electroplating operation and the workpiece to be plated 92 being a
circuit board in the instant embodiment), wherein the workpiece 92
to be plated is clamped by a clip 93. A drive device is provided to
drive the workpiece 92 to be plated to move between the anode
baskets 91.
[0005] Since there may be a large number of workpieces 92 that are
to be plated, these workpieces 92 are generally of different sizes,
so that the anode baskets 91 (anode) may be greater in size than
the workpiece 92 to be plated (cathode) and thus the anode baskets
91 (anode) and the workpiece 92 to be plated (cathode) do not match
each other. Consequently, a central portion of the workpiece 92 to
be plated (cathode), which is not affected by the size of the anode
baskets 91 (anode), may have a normal plated layer (the thick black
line segments on the workpiece 92 of FIG. 5 indicating the plated
layers), while three side edges of the workpiece 92 that are
located in the plating solution 90 may be provided with excessive
supply of positive ions (such as copper ions indicated by arrows in
the drawing) due to the anode baskets 91 (anode) being greater in
size than the workpiece 92 (cathode). The excessive positive ions
are attached to the three side edges, making a plated layer 921
formed in the three edges having a thickness greater than that of
the central area. Consequently, such an electroplating device
cannot provide homogeneous and excellent plating thickness for
electroplated products.
[0006] Referring to FIG. 7, to overcome such a shortcoming of
non-homogeneous thickness of plated layers formed on an
electroplated product, a solution commonly adopted in the industry
is setting up a V-shaped shielding plate 94 adjacent to a workpiece
92 to be plated. The V-shaped shielding plate 94 functions to block
excessive positive ions (such as copper ions, arrows shown in the
drawings indicating the positive ions) so as to prevent the
occurrence of non-homogeneous thickness of plated layers on the
workpiece 92 to be plated (the thick black line segments shown on
surfaces of the workpiece 92 to be plated of FIG. 7 indicating the
plated layers).
[0007] The arrangement of V-shaped shielding plate 94 effectively
prevents the occurrence of non-homogeneous thickness of plated
layers on the workpiece 92 to be plated. However, the V-shaped
shielding plate 94 must be properly moved up and down to correspond
to peripheral sites of the workpiece 92 to be plated. To move the
V-shaped shielding plate 94 up and down, a driving mechanism and
associated controller must be additionally provided. This makes the
components of the electroplating facility complicated and numerous.
Further, errors may occur in the up and down movement of the
V-shaped shielding plate 94.
[0008] So far, in the electroplating industry, a perfect
electroplating device that provides an excellent electroplated
product having a homogeneous thickness of plated layers is yet
available.
[0009] Thus, the present invention aims to provide a solution to
overcome such problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide an
electroplating aid board that is applicable to electroplating
facility to make electroplated product having excellent plated
layers of homogeneous thickness.
[0011] To achieve the object, the present invention provides an
electroplating aid board, which is made of a plastic material that
is not electrically conductive and comprises a plurality of holes
formed therein. The holes function to guide positive ions contained
in the plating solution in such a way that excessive positive ions
induced by the portion of an anode basket (which is the anode) that
exceeds a workpiece to be plated are prohibited from moving
obliquely into these holes and thus cannot reach the workpiece to
be plated, thereby achieving an effect of shielding to prevent
inhomogeneous thickness of plated layers on the workpiece.
[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide an
electroplating device that makes an electroplated product having
excellent plated layers of homogeneous thickness.
[0013] To achieve the object, the present invention provides an
electroplating device that comprises a plating solution, at least
one anode basket, and a workpiece to be plated, wherein the anode
baskets are located in the plating solution and are connected to an
anode of a power supply. The workpiece to be plated is placed in
the plating solution and connected to a cathode of the power
supply. The invention is characterized in that an electroplating
aid board is arranged between the anode basket and the workpiece to
be plated. The electroplating aid board has at least one side that
has a length exceeds the workpiece to be plated. The electroplating
aid board is made of a plastic material that is not electrically
conductive and comprises a plurality of holes formed therein,
whereby in an electroplating operation, with an effect of tunnel
provided by the holes, positive ions of the plating solution are
guided to flow from the anode baskets (namely anode)
straightforward to the nearest surface portion of the workpiece to
be plated and also guide the positive ions to move straightforward
to fully occupy the corresponding holes. Further, for those anode
baskets (namely anode) that are located at portions exceeding the
workpiece to be plated, the positive ions generated thereby are not
allowed to move obliquely into the holes and cannot reach the
workpiece to be plated, whereby an effect of shielding is realized
to prevent inhomogeneous thickness of plated layers formed on the
workpiece to be plated without applying the conventionally used
shielding board.
[0014] The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief
introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these
and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention
itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the
art, the following detailed description of the invention and the
claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical
reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
[0015] Many other advantages and features of the present invention
will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making
reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets
of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment
incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by
way of illustrative example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electroplating aid board
according to the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of an electroplating
device according to the present invention.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a plating tank of the
electroplating device according to the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating an electroplating
operation carried out by the electroplating device according to the
present invention to provide a homogeneous thickness of a plated
layer for a workpiece to be plated.
[0020] FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 4.
[0021] FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a conventional
electroplating device carrying out a copper plating operation.
[0022] FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the conventional
electroplating device that manufactures a workpiece having
inhomogeneous thickness of plated layer.
[0023] FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a conventional
electroplating device that includes a V-shaped shielding plate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0024] The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only,
and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or
configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following
description provides a convenient illustration for implementing
exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the
described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement
of the elements described without departing from the scope of the
invention as set forth in the appended claims.
[0025] Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention provides an
electroplating aid board 10, which is applicable to electroplating
facility, is made of a plastic material that is not electrically
conductive, and comprises a plurality of holes 11 formed therein.
The holes 11 function to guide the movement of the positive ions
(such as copper ions) contained in a plating solution.
[0026] The holes 11 are arranged in multiple rows and the holes 11
are arranged alternating with respect to each other.
[0027] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the present invention also
provides an electroplating device 1, which may be a vertical
continuous electroplating machine capable of operations of plating
copper on a circuit board. The electroplating device 1 comprises a
chassis 20. The chassis 20 comprises a plating tank 30 that
receives and contains therein a plating solution 31; a plurality of
anode baskets 40 that are placed in the plating solution 31 and
arranged in two rows to receive and contain therein a plating
material, such as a copper sphere, and are electrically connected
to an anode of an electroplating power supply. A workpiece 50 to be
plated, such as a circuit board, is placed in the plating solution
31 and is connected to a cathode of the electroplating power
supply. The workpiece 50 to be plated is clamped by a clip 60 and
the clip 60 is moved by a drive device 70 mounted to the chassis
20, whereby the workpiece 50 to be plated is positionable in the
space between the two rows of anode baskets 40 and is movable.
[0028] Referring to FIGS. 2-4, the electroplating device 1
according to the present invention is generally characterized in
that electroplating boards 10 are arranged between the anode
baskets 40 and the workpiece 50 to be plated. The electroplating
aid boards 10 can be secured to fasteners 81 of spray tubes 80.
Further, the electroplating aid boards 10 have at least one side
having a length exceeding the workpiece 50 to be plated. In the
instant embodiment, the electroplating aid boards 10 have lower
sides that exceed the workpiece 50 to be plated. In an
electroplating operation, when the workpiece 50 to be plated is
driven by the drive device 70 to move into the space between the
two rows of anode baskets 40, the electroplating aid boards 10 of
the present invention provide an effect of tunnel with the holes
thereof to guide the positive ions of the plating solution 31 (such
as copper ions indicated by arrows in FIG. 4) to move
straightforward from each of the anode baskets 40 toward the
nearest surface portion of the workpiece 50 to be plated (the thick
black line segments on the surfaces of the workpiece 50 to be
plated of FIG. 4 indicating plated layers) and also guide the
positive ions to move straightforward to fully occupy the
corresponding holes 11. Further, for those anode baskets 40 that
are located at portions exceeding the workpiece 50 to be plated
(see the portion below the phantom line of FIG. 4), the positive
ions generated thereby are not allowed to move obliquely into the
holes 11 and cannot reach the workpiece 50 to be plated, whereby an
effect of shielding is realized. As such, the problem of
non-homogenous thickness of a plated layer formed on the workpiece
50 to be plated is avoided.
[0029] Practical tests and experiments show that the electroplating
aid board 10 of the present invention is preferably of a thickness
of 6-10 mm. The holes 11 of the electroplating aid board 10
according to the present invention are preferably of a hole
diameter of 2-5 mm. Distance between the holes 11 formed in the
electroplating aid board 10 of the present invention is preferably
0.3-0.5 mm. It is preferred that the number of holes 11 formed in a
unit area of the electroplating aid board 10 is as many as
possible.
[0030] The arrows shown in FIG. 2 indicate the flow of the plating
solution 31 that enters and is sprayed from the spray tube 80 so
that the plating solution 31 is cyclically circulated for further
circulation with fresh solution.
[0031] In summary, through using the electroplating aid board and
the electroplating device according to the present invention, an
electroplated product may be manufactured with excellent plated
layers that have homogeneous thickness without using the
conventionally used shielding plate.
[0032] It will be understood that each of the elements described
above, or two or more together may also find a useful application
in other types of methods differing from the type described
above.
[0033] While certain novel features of this invention have been
shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is
not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be
understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and
changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in
its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without
departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
* * * * *