US1426141A - Process and apparatus for electroplating - Google Patents

Description

W. E. BELKE.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR ELECTROPLATING. APPLICAUON FILED MARA l5l 1922.

l ,426y 1 4 1 Paiend Aug. 15, 1922.

"done -be kept open when in use, so that the work unirse stares "ege-Tsar serios.

WILLIAM BELKE, 0F CHICAGO, IL LINOIS.

PROCESS AND .APPARATUS FOeR EIECTROPLTNG.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1922.

Application lcd March 15, 19,22. Serial No. 543,889.

To all 'whom t may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. BELKE, a citizenof the United States, and a resident of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improve-- ment in Processes and Apparatus for Electroplating, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electroplating in general, and more particularly to methods or processes of this kind in which a tank or other receptacle is provided for the electroplating solution in which the work is Obviously, a tank of this kind must `therefore, quite liable to interfere very seriously with the efficiency of the electroplating apparatus, and to result in an inferior o r poor grade of `plating Work. Generally stated, therefore, the object o the invention is to provide an improved con'- struction and an improved method or proc# ess whereby the electroplating solution is drawn from the tank or other receptacle, .by suction produced b a jet of compressed air, or by other suitab e means, and is then filtered and returned to the ltank or other receptacle, by filtration means of any suitable character, thus continuously eliminating the foreign matter or impurities from the solution, and ensuring better results in the work of electroplating various objects, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

It is also an object to provide certain details and'features of improvement tending to increase the general efliciency and desirability of an electroplating 'process or method of this particular character. l

To this and'other useful ends the'invention consists in matters hereinafter setv forth and claimed and-shownin the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective of an electrop1at ing apparatus having filtration means embodying the principlesof the invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail sectional View of a portion of said filtration means.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a tank l, or a receptacle of any suitvable or desired character, in which the electroplating .solution is held. Said solution,

of course, may be of any suitable or desired character, depending upon the character of the Work to be done. For the purpose of continuously filtering the solution, an intake pipe 2 having openings 3 in the sides there- 'of is arranged to extend along the bottom of the tank, and is provided with an upwardly extending portion 4 which is coupled at its upper end to the base 5 of the filf tration means, said base being secured to the tank or any sultable support in any suitable or desired manner. The solution is sucked 'in through the openings 3, bythe air jet discharged upwardly 'in the pipe 4 from the small comressed air pipe 6, and is discharged /from the top of the pipe 4 into the hollow head 7 of said filtration means, and from said head vinto the vfilter bag 8, which latter may be of any suitable or desired material, depending upon the chavacter of the solution; There 'are well known materials which are not attacked by the various solutions employed =in electroplating, and any of these materials may be used for this purpose, themeshes of the head being fine enough to prevent dirt and4 sediment and other foreign matter from passing through, but being open enough to permit the sc lution itself to flow-through easily and back into the tank. This filter bag is removably attached to the bag at 9 by a screw connection of any suitable character, or in any suitable or desired manner. The compressed air is supplied to the pipe 6 from a main pressure pipe 10 through a lvalve 11 by which the force of the upwardly directed jet from pipe 4 may be controlled at will, and whereby the jet may be shut'ofl entirely when such is necessary or desirable. It is desirable to eliminate the Yair from the solution, before the latter passes into the filter bag 8, and this may be done in various Ways. 'For example, a hollow trap 12 may be provided to extend upf wardly. on the base 5, into which theK air from the solution will pass and beheld, while the solution thus segregated from the air will then pass through the head 7 and into the filter bag. A small relief valve 13, or outlet of any suitable character, may be provided on one side of the air trap 12 to permit the escape of the air in a manner that will not create too much back pres-I sure, but only enough to keep the solution from rising in the trap 12, thereb to compel the solution to pass in the ot er direction. and enter the filter bag. rlhe dirt or impurities or foreign matter will naturally settle, more or less, to the bottom of the tank, and it will be sucked into the openings 3 with the liquid solution, and will be caught and held by the bag 8, which latter can be cleaned from time to time in order to dispose of the accumulation of dirt and foreign substance therein. Thus the solution is filtered' afterit is forcibly drawn or sucked from the tank and before it is again discharged vinto the top of the tank in'purified form, having been filtered and thereby reduced to a better condition lfor use in the electroplating work. Gradually, therefore, dirt and impurities and precipitates and other foreign substances are eliminated from the solution, so that the electroplating work may proceed with higher eiciency, and with better results, and with less liability of blemishes or disy colorations or pinholes or other defects on the surface of the work. A 'further beneficial action is obtained by agitation of the solution, and this is preferably done by bubbling the solution, or by aeration, so to speak, so that the solution `is maintained in an agitated condition which not only produces certain beneficial e'ects heretofore obtained by agitation, but it also renders the filtration apparatus more eRective. F or example, outlets l'therein may be placed on the bottom of the tank and'connected with the riser 16, the latter being in turn `connected by a valve 17 with the main compressed air pipe 10 previously mentioned. `lt .will be .seen that the previously mentioned pipe 2 is arranged to rest on the pipe 14, and with this arrangement rair is forceqd down through the pipe 16' and into the` pipe 14 and outthrough the openings 15 into the solution, thereby causing a bubbling action,

` resulting in the j. desired agitationl of the solution, and aeration of the liquid. -Thus air agitation is combinedl with ltration of the solution, in the manner shown and. described, so that the work not only has the advantage of the agitation-to ensure better results, but also the beneficial action resulting from lthe filtration of the solution. The filtering action is facilitated bythe agita-l tion, as vthe air injected into the solution stirs up the sediment or foreign matter. and in. this way the solution with the. foreigna zigzag pipe14 having thereof in the tank;

valve 13 is closed enough, the

matter in suspension passes through the openings 3 previously mentioned and into the pipe 2 and then up and into the filter in the manner explained. lit is true, therefore, that not only is the solution filtered in this manner, by lifting or drawing the solution upward by means of an air jet, but also that the solution is agitated by air during the circulation and filtering of the solution. Again, as a matter of still further and special improvement, .in conjunction with the filtration of the solution, a vertically disposed reservoir 18 is provided for the head 7, in position to 4discharge downwardly toward the filter bag 8, in the manner shown in Figure 2 of theydrawings. For this purpose a fine wire mesh strainer 19 is provided at the top of the filter bag to receive the discharge from the reservoir or magazine 18, it being understood that this tubular magazine 18 is provided at its upper end `'with a removable cover 19 to' permit the lling of the tube with any suitable or desired substance, depending upon the chemical action to be obtained. rlhe salts 20, or other substance, feed gradually downwardin the magazine 18 and rest upon the strainer 19 in position to intercept the solution as the latter flows from the head 7 into the filter bag. In other words, the solution must pass throughl the salts or other substance 20 before it can enter the filter bag, and in this way the solution can be subjected to any desired or beneficial action tinuously subjected tofour things, succes-4 sively as follows: First, the air agitation second, the raising or drawing of the agitated solution upward by the jet of the solution, after the air is freed therefrom, by the salts or other substance 20 in the magazine 18 as stated; and fourth, the ltering of the solution by the filter bag 8 before it is' discharged by gravity on to the upper surface of the body of the solution in the tank. All this, of course, tends to ensure better res lts in the .work of metal plating any suitabh may be immersed in the solution, and en- 1si'ireis against blemishes or defects of other posit of such object. .The relief valve 13 has a pipe 21 which extends pward in the air trap 12 to a point near the top of the latter, so that the solution canrise quite a distance therein before it overfiows into the pipe and out through said valve., lf the air pressure in the topy of the trap will prevent the solution from rising very much air; third, the interception of` l e or desired object which s on the surface of the metallic dev therein, as

might be the situation for some purposes; but for other kindsvof work the relief valve 13 will be wide open -to prevent any back pressure of the air, and the solution will overflow through the pipe 21 if it does not lflow fast enough through the filter bag, as might be the case if the latter becomes clogged to some extent. It is understood, of course, that the apparatus shown and described is merely illustrative of the invention, for the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to any particular form of a paratus.

Vifliat I claim as my invention is 1. In a process of electroplating, the.

tion and force it upward to said point where it is filtered and returned to the body of the solution.

3. A process as specified in claim 1, including the use of air pressure to circulate the solution upward to said point of filtration thereof, and the elimination of the air from the solution before said point of filtration is reached.y

'4. A process as specified in claim 1, comprising the use of a jet of air to suck the solution into the path of circulation and to force the same upward to the point of filtration thereof, and releasing the air from the circulating portion of the solution before it reaches said point of filtration, so that the released air escapes in one direction while the solution is filtered and allowed to return by gravity in purified condition to the said main body of the solution.

5. The process as specified in claim 1, comprising in addition the agitation of the main body of the solution to facilitate the gradual elimination of the impurities or foreign matter by said circulation and filtration of the solution.

6. A process as specified inv claim 1, in-

cluding also the agitation and the bubbling of the main body of the solution by jets of air at the bottom thereof, whereby the solution is aerated and agitated before v`being raised to point of filtration thereof.

7. A process as specified in claim 1, including the passage of the circulating solution through any desired substance before reaching the point of filtration" thereof,

whereby 'to produce the desired chemical effect on the solution before beingvfiltered.

8. A process as'specified in claim 1, in'

cluding the automatic feeding of soluble salts into the path of the circulating solution, before the solution reaches the point of filtration thereof, thereby to produce the desired eect.

9. In electroplating apparatus, the combination of a receptacle to hold the main body of the electroplating solution, means to circulate the solution from the body thereof and then upward to a point over the body of the solution, means to filter the solution before it is returned by gravity to the .top of the solution in the said receptacle, and means for forming a jet of air in the path of circulation of the solution to raise the latter tosaid point of filtration thereof.

10. Apparatus as specified in claim 9, comprising means to release the air from the solution before the latter reaches said point of filtration thereof.

11. Apparatus as specified in claim 9, comprising a reservoir for automatically'feeding any desired substance into the path of the solution before' the latter reaches the point of filtration thereof.

12. Apparatus as specified in claim 9, in combination with means for using air to agitate the mainv body of the solution.

13. In a process of electroplating, the circulation of the electroplating solution from the body thereof to a point above the body of the solution and the filtering of the solu- A tion thus drawnofil before it is discharged on to the top of the body of said solution,

comprising the use of a jet of air to suck the solution into the path of circulation and to force' the same upward to the point of filtration thereof, and releasing the air from the circulating portion of the solution before it reaches said point of filtration, so that the released air escapes in one direction while the solution is filtered and allowed to return by gravity in purified condition to the said main body of the solution, including also the agitation and the bubbling of the main body of the solution by jets of air at the bottom thereof, whereby the solution is aerated and' agitated before being raised to the point of filtration thereof.

14. A process as' specified in claim 13,'iin-` cluding the passage of the circulating solution through any desired substance before reaching the point of filtration thereof, whereby to produce the desired chemical ef; fect on the solution before being filtered.

WILLIAM E. .BELKE

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