US3176850A - Anodizing rack and method of making same - Google Patents

Description

April 6, 1965 E. B. ROSNER ANODIZING BACK AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 17, 1962 as INVENTOR:

ERNEST B. ROSNER BY [W ATT Y5 April 6, 1965 E. B. ROSNER 3,176,850

ANODIZING RACK AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Dec. 17, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR:

ERNEST B. ROSNER ATT'YS 3,176,850 ANODIZING RACK AND WTHOD F MAKENG ear/m Ernest B. Rosner, 194 N. Green St., @hicago, lill. Filed Dec. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 244,982

Claims. (til. ZlL-lIW) This invention relates in general to rack structures for supporting articles during plating and like processes and in particular to a novel adjustable rack structure which is ideally suited for use in the process of anodization of articles of varying sizes and dimensions. This invention also relates to the method of manufacture of such a racl; structure. This invention is an improvement on the anodizing rack shown and described in my US. Patent No. 3,033,776, issued May 8, 1962, and entitled Anodizing Rack. r

The process of anodization is quite different from the general process of electroplating and rack structures used for the electroplating process are normally unsuitable for the anodization process.

In ordinary electroplating processes, two dissimilar metals are used as an anode and a cathode, respectively, and metal is transferred from the anode to the cathode by well-known electrolytic action. The articles being electroplated are the cathode electrode and may be any of a wide variety of metals. The rack structure for supporting these articles in the chemical bath is a part of the cathode and may be of a metal difierent than the article being electroplated as long as it has sufficient capacity to carry adequate electroplating current.

In the anodization process a current is passed through an acid bath and through the immersed article being anodized causing the formation of an oxide layer on the article. Since the supporting rack for articles being anodized will be partially or Whollyimmersed, an oxide layer will be formed on the rack also. The oxides of both the rack and the articles being anodized should be compatible with the bath solution being used. This requires a supporting rack fabricated from a metal having sufiicient current carrying capacity, having sufficient strength for supporting articles of various weights and being of a metal similar to the metal of the article being anodized.

The metals which are suitable for anodization are generally limited to aluminum, titanium, zirconium, tantalum and metals of that family. Thus, the supporting rack structure should be made from one of these metals in order to preclude the use of dissimilar metals in the anodizing acid bath.

Rack structures made from aluminum have been known. However, aluminum does not provide the desired electrical contact and article holding ability due to its basic softness. In contrast, titanium metal racks are strong and provide sufficient capacity to assure adequate current density to anodize substantial numbers of individual parts held thereby. Because of its high corrosion resistance and the highly corrosive environment of its operation, the use of titanium is highly desirable, if not imperative, in certain circumstances. Titanium racks are little affected by the chemical baths into which they must be immersed and since they are so resistant to deterioration, consistent tensions and electrical contact may be maintained throughout the anodization runs. Another disadvantage of aluminum racks is that they become coated with a layer of the anodic oxide with the result that their current carrying capacity is markedly reduced. To render them usable thereafter, the racks must be stripped of their oXide coating by frequent stripping solutions and treatment. Since such treatments are errtremely'detrimental to the racks, they have a rela- 3,176,856 Patented Apr. 6, 1965 tively short life. Titanium, on the other hand, has no such current resisting property and thus does not need repetitive stripping treatments. However, although titanium is most preferred, prior racks utilized entirely too much metal to make the the use of titanium economically feasible. 1 v

The principal object of th s invention is to provide a structure for anodizing racks which is made from the ideal, but expensive, metal titanium and which is more economically manufactured than prior art structures.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anodizing rack comprising an article holding disc having a plurality of radially extending fingers thereon of uniform elasticity with. the grain in the metal extending longitudinally of each finger thereby insuring a minimum of metal fatigue from repeated bending and flexingoperations and insuring uniform article holding ability.

Still another object is to provide an article holding disc of the above character which is devoid of any cavities or compartments which could trap liquids therein and contaminate other baths when the holding disc is removed from one bath for transfer to another.

A further object is to provide a simple and reliable clamping structure which is permanently secured to the central portion of the holding disc and which is adjustable to securely clamp the disc at any desired location on an elongated bar structure which during the anodizing process is normally vertically immersed in the said baths. V

- A related feature is concerned with the arrangement wherein the noted permanent securemen't of the clamp to the holding disc performs a construction function for the disc member.

Other related features are concerned with notching the central portion of the disc to enable the entry of a clamp adjusting tool for adjusting the position of the disc on the noted bar structure without interfering with objects mounted in the rack, and is concerned also with arrangements for providing tabs on the clamp to permit the clamping operation to be accomplished with a single fastener without any undesirable tilting movement of the disc. r

Heretofore, holding discs, such as disclosed in my noted US. Patent No. 3,033,776, consisted of a circular stamping having a plurality of radially extending fingers integral therewith. This circular stamping necessitated the use of titanium stock of dimensions at least the diameter of the disc being fabricated, resulting in substantial amounts of expensive titanium being scrapped. According to the present invention, a novel method of fabricating the disc is disclosed in which rectangular stock material is still used but with the only scrap produced being limited to the material removed informing slots between the fingers which during the stamping operation are formed parallel to one another. Accordingly, it is another object of the invention to provide a novel method of manufacturing the holding disc which results in a substantial reduction in scrap material over other known methods.

Additionally, the central area of known holding discs utilizes a substantial amount of material which, if eliminated during manufacture, would appreciably reduce the cost of the discs made from titanium. It is accordingly another object of the invention to provide a novel method of manufacturing thenoted holding disc in the general shape of an annulu without the material normally lo.- cated within the central area being scrapped.

A still further object is to provide a method of manufacturing the holding disc from a rectangular piece of stock which is thereafter bent into a circular form and permanently maintained in its circular form by a welding operation which also holds a clamping bracket for the disc, thereby simplifying the manufacturing steps.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain features of construction, arrangement and a combination of parts and steps of the method hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a complete rack structure having two pair of my novel discs thereon for use in supporting different kinds of articles, one such article being shown in phantom view supported between juxtaposed fingers of a pair of discs;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the holding discs constructed according to the invention with portions broken away;

FIG. 3is an enlarged fragmentary view of a clamping bracket combination utilizing a single fastener and a pair of projecting tabs for rigidly, but adjustably, securing the disc to the vertical supporting bar or standard;

- FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views of the holding disc intwo different stages of manufacture; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the holding disc before the various parts are finally assembled, with directional arrows indicating the movements to be effected in completing the final assembly.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated an anodizing rack designated generally by the reference character 10. The rack is adapted to be hung from an overhead bus bar or the like and suspended in a chemical anodizing bath contained within a tank or cell. The rack may be stationary or may be moved by means of a conveyorized moving belt or hook-like arrangement. The lining of the tank is usually the-cathode of the cell and the rack with the articles secured thereto is usually the anode for such cell.

The hook member 12, which is shown in broken outline, is an example of many different supporting means available to suspend the rack in the chemical bath. The entire rack is preferably formed of titanium metal, but such other metals as aluminum, tantalum, zirconium and others of this family and their alloys may be also advantageously used. The hook member 12 may be made of other than the material comprising the rack member 10, however, if so, said material must be conductive and must not be immersed in the chemical anodizing bath.

The rack comprises a vertically disposed slotted bar member or standard 14 of substantially polygonal crosssection, the particular configuration shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 being rectangular. Member 14 is preferably made of titanium.

The rack 10 of FIG. 1 is made up of two pairs of holding discs all mounted on slotted member 14 of the rack. The discs of FIG. 1 are designated'as pairs 22A and 22B, and 24A and 24B, the upper disc of each pair being characterized by the letter A and the lower member by the letter B. All of the discs have substantially the same configuration and metal grain direction, but it is to be understoodthat variations in the specific finger configurations are within the scope of this invention.

The discs are used in pairs with the fingers of each pair aligned to cooperate to hold articles either in compression or tension, one such being shown in phantom outline. The disc pairs are illustrated in FIG. 1 to hold articles by compression between corresponding fingers on adjacent discs of any pair but a simple reversal of the discs ofeither pair will hold articles by tension exerted by the corresponding fingers on adjacent discs of any pair.

The discs are slidable and may be spaced at varying points along the length of bar 14 so as to accommodate varying lengths of articles on the same rack.

Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, a more detailed description of the novel disc will be given.

The disc of FIG. 2, as seen from the top (a relative direction), is of annular configuration with the inner periphery 21 comprising a cylindrical sleeve terminating in a plurality of radially extending fingers 23. The fingers 23 extend axially with the cylindrical sleeve 21 a short distance and then are bent angularly to generally define a fiat frusto-conical surface. The extremities or tips 25 of the fingers 23 are further bent to define the outer periphery of the annular shaped disc and are notched at 25' to provide bifurcated sections to enhance the holding of articles. Various other types of tips may be provided. The overall disc is of a generally open-center dish-like configuration with the dept-h and diameter being a matter of choice with the user. The open circular area in the center of the disc permits free circulation of the chemical bath in addition to reducing the amount of material used.

A pair of clamp brackets 26A and 26B are shown in FIG. 2 positioned within the confines of sleeve 21. Each bracket is generally C-shaped with the center portion thereof defining a straight section, such as 27A and 27B- as best shown in FIG. 6. When the brackets 26A and 26B are positioned back to back as shown in FIG. 2, the sections 27A and 27B are parallel and juxtaposed one to the other and are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the thickness of slotted bar 14. The ends of each bracket are curved and of a radius substantially the same as sleeve 21. The four curved ends 40A, 41A, 40B and 41B are spaced approximately degrees apart and are secured to the sleeve 21-by any suitable means, such as Welding as shown at 43. The angular positioning of these curved ends with respect to each other is a matter of choice as long as sufiicient rigidity is provided. However, one curved end such as 40B should be positioned such that when welded to sleeve 21 it will secure the two ends of the sleeve 21 in abutting relation with each other as shown for sleeve ends 21A and 21B of FIGS. 3 and 6. The butt joint so formed is designated 44.

The straight section of at least one of the brackets 26A and 26B has a pair of tabs 28 formed therein and arranged to engage outside the edges of bar 14 when the discs are positioned thereon. These tabs 28 function to seat and maintain the disc such as 22A normal to the slotted bar 14 at all times.

A pair of threaded bolts 29 pass through corresponding and aligned apertures in the straight sections 27A and 27B of the brackets and in cooperation with clamp members 3t) and 31 securely clamp the brackets 26A and 26B against the face of slotted bar 14. The member 31 may be provided with tapped holes to receive the threaded bolts 29. The brackets 26A and 26B are originally spaced apart to permit free movement along bar 14 but'are of sufiicient resiliency to provide a reliable clamping action when bolts 29 are tightened. The bolt apertures in the straight sections of the brackets 26A and 26B are shown spaced apart a predetermined distance so that they perform the same anti-tilt function as tabs 28.

Since the bolts 29 are positioned within the confines of the frusto-conical configuration, an adjusting tool normally might have to be used at an angle to adjust the bolts. This disadvantage is overcome by providing cutouts or notches, such as 32 and 33, on edges of sleeve 21 which are seen most clearly in FIGS. 4 and 5. These notches are angularly spaced about the periphery of sleeve 21 so that an adjusting tool passes freely between the associated fingers 23. While only one pair of notches is needed, two pairs are provided so that the curved end of the bracket, being used to secure the two ends 21A and 21B of sleeve 21 in abutting relation, can be secured thereto in either of its two possible positions.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a slightly diiferent bolt arrangement is disclosed. Since bar 14 is slotted, a singlebolt34- and nut 35 may be used in place of the two bolts and thick bar members of FIG. 2. Bolt 34 passes through the slot on bar 14 to securely clamp the brackets thereto and the lugs or tabs 2% provide the seating function. This clamping embodiment is more economical than that shown in FIG. 2. Only one edge notch equivalent to the pairs 32 and 33 is needed here. 7

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show the discs, such as 22A and 22B, in various stages of manufacture. A piece of titanium flat stock, rectangular in shape and preferably having the metal grain extending transversely thereof is used. As best seen in FIG. 5, the fingers 23 iare'formed by stamping out a small strip of metal between each finger to define the slots 36, the stampings being carried out one at a time or in multiple. At this stage of operations, the notches 32 and 33 may be formed. All of these stampings take place while the stock is fiat material.

, The fiat stamping is then placed in a conventional sheet metal brake and the sleeve portion 21 and finger tips 25 are formed in one or more steps as shown in FIG. 4. It is to be noted that the bend 56 forming the sleeve 21' includes a portion 37 of the slots 36. As hereinbefore pointed out, the slotted portions as automatically provide drainage outlets for the anodizing solutions when the rack is transferred from one cell of the chemical bath to another. The particular configuration shown in FIG. 4 could be formed in one step as by a forming die or similar tools. Also, the sleeve section 21 could be bent in a direction opposite to the free ends 25.

The generally channel-shaped configuration shown in FIG. 5 is then formed in its final shape by bending sleeve 21 in a circle as shown in FIG. 6 about axis 51 with the fingers radially extending therefrom. The ends 21A and 21B are brought into aligned abutting relation with each other by moving them in the direction indicated by arrows 52 and brackets 26A and 26B are positioned within the confines of sleeve 21 and welded in place. The curved end such as dilB of one of the brackets is initially positioned to overlap the abutted ends 21A and 21B and several points on each of the latter ends are spot welded as at 43 to the positioned bracket end. This secures the circular configuration of the sleeve 21, forming the butt joint 44. Thereafter, the other end 41B of the said bracket 26B is welded in position, followed by the welding of the other bracket 26A to sleeve 21 to define the parallel straight sections 27A and 27B adapted to engage the aces of slotted bar 14.

The assembled disc 22A is thus fabricated from a minimum of material and is formed in its final configuration with a minimum of operations. The utilization of the curved end of one bracket to hold the two ends or" the circularly shaped disc structure eliminates additional parts and manufacturing steps. Also, the provision of a central opening, while reducing the amount of material used, enhances the circulation of the anodizing solutions around the articles being anodized and the slot ends 3''! provide maximum drainage between baths. l

While the invention is principally directed to-a structure useful in the anodizing process, it is equally applicable to the structures used in other processes wherein a simple and economical disc rack is utilized and wherein a simple method of fabrication is followed.

It is believed that this invention, its mode of COIlStlIlC- tion and method of assembly, and many of its advantageous advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that, while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the specific details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A holder for supporting articles in a chemical bath or the like adapted to be mounted along the length of a bar extend therethrough, comprising an annular shaped unitary structure having an inner sleeve section terminating in the plurality of radially extending resilient finger means with the extremities of said fingers'collectively defining the outer periphery of said annular shaped struc ture, and adjustable clamping means fixedly secured to said sleeve section and disposed within the confines thereof for frictionally engaging said bar to support the said article holder in any desired location therealong.

2. A holder for supporting articles in a chemical bath or the like adapted to be mounted along the length of a bar extending therethrough, comprising a series of generally U-shaped elements with each element succeeding the first being interconnected with a preceding element at one point and with the series of elements being formed into an annular configuration with the first element of said series in abutting relation with the last element of said series, and clamping means secured to the inner periphery of said annular configuration for frictionally engaging said bar to support the said article holder in any desired location therealong, the said clamping means maintaining said first and said last U-shaped elements in abutting relation.

3. A holder for supporting articles in a chemical bath or the like adapted to be mounted along the length of a bar extending therethrough, comprising a unitary structure having an inner sleeve section terminating in a plurality of radially extending resilient finger means, each said finger being separated from adjacent fingers at the said sleeve section by a narrow aperture and being angularly disposed relative to said sleeve section to define a disc-like annular structure with the said apertures entering partially into the edge of the sleeve section, and clamping means secured to said sleeve section for fric tionally engaging said bar to support the said article holder in any desired location therealong.

4. A holder for supporting articles in a chemical bath or thelike adapted to be mounted along the length of a bar extending therethrough, comprising an annular unitary structure having an inner sleeve section terminating in a plurality of radially extending resilient finger means, a pair of substantially C-shaped clamping means positioned back to back a distance apart at least equal to the distance between one pair of sides of said bar and fixedly secured to said sleeve section, with at least one of said clamping means having protruding tab means therein spaced a distance apart at least equal to the distance between another pair of sides of said bar, and tensioning means for frictionally engaging said bar between said pair of clamping means and between said tab means to support the said article holder in any desired location along said bar.

5. A holder for supporting articles in a chemical bath or the like adapted to be mounted along the length of a bar extending therethrough, comprising an annular unitary structure having an inner sleeve section terminating in a plurality of spaced apart radially extending resilient finger means, a pair of substantially C-shapecl clamping means positioned back to back a distance apart at least equal to the distance between one pair of sides of said bar and fixedly secured to said sleeve section, with at least one of said clamping means having a pair of projecting tab means therein spaced a distance apart at least equal to a distance between another pair of sides of said bar, and tool adjustable tensioning means for frictionally engaging said bar between said pair of clamping means and between said tab means to support the said article holder in any desired location along said bar, said sleeve section having aperture means located therein in alignment with said tool adjustable tensioning means and with the opening between a pair of said spaced apart finger means.

6. A holder for supporting articles in a chemical bath or the like adapted to be mounted along the length of a polygonal slotted bar extending through said holder, 3

comprising an annular unitary structure having an inner sleeve section terminating in a plurality of radially extending resilient finger means elasticity, a pair of substantially C-shaped clamping means positioned back to back a distance apart at least equal to the distance between one pair of sides of said bar and fixedly secured to same sleeve section, with at least one of said clamping means having a pair of projecting tab means therein spaced a distance apart at least equal to the distance between another pair of sides of said bar, and tensioning means extending through the slotted portion of said bar for frictionally engaging the said bar between said pair of clamping means and betweensaid tab means to support the said article holder in any desired location along said bar.

7. The method-of making a generally circular holder for supporting articles in a chemical bath and said holder adapted to be mounted to a standard extending axially therethrough, comprising the steps of cutting from an elongate flat sheet'metal member a comb-like structure having a series of free-ended spaced apart fingers with the fingers extending transversely of the member to form the teeth of the comb-like structure and the remainder of the member being a strip portion extending along an edge of the length of the sheet metal member and forming the back of the comb-like structure with all of the fingers commonly connected therealong; bending the fingers on an angle relative to said strip portion; forming the strip portion into a cylindrical ring of predetermined diameter whereby to spread the fingers in a radial array about said ring; and securing the strip portion in said cylindrical ring configuration.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7 in which the sheet metal member is of predetermined length and in forming the same into said ring the ends of the strip portion are welded together, and which method includes the step of securing standard clamping means within the formed ring simultaneously with securing the strip portion in said configuration.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7 in which the fingers are bent on a bend spaced from their connections with the strip member.

10. The method as claimed in claim 7 which additionally includes the step of forming the free tips of the fingers into articles grasping configuration prior to forming the strip into a circular ring.

11. The method as claimed in claim 7 in which the elongate flat sheet metal member has the grain thereof oriented transversely of the strip portion and substantially parallel with the length of the fingers.

12. The method of making an annular holder for supporting articles in a chemical bath and the holder adaptedto be mounted to a vertical bar extending axially through" the same and having clamping bracket means secured thereto for clamping the holder to the bar, which comprises the steps of stamping from a-rectangular strip of flat sheet stock a comb-like structure having teeth and an elongate back, forming article holding configurations on the free ends of the teeth, bending the teeth on an angle relative to the back, forming the back into a cylindrical configuration with the ends abutting and Welding the clamping bracket means inside of said abutting ends to secure said cylindrical configuration while attaching said clamping bracket means thereto.

13. A holder of sheet metal for supporting articles immersed in a chemical bath or the like and adapted to be secured to a standard and the holder comprising an annular shaped structure having a central cylindrical sleeve and means on the interior of the sleeve for securing the holder to the standard, a plurality of radially outwardly extending article supporting fingers secured to said sleeve, spaced circumferentially therearound and the direction of the grain of the metal of said fingers being uniformly parallel with the lengths of said fingers whereby to provide uniform resilience therein.

14. A holder as claimed in claim 13 in which the fingers and sleeve are integral, with the fingers connected to one end of the sleeve.

15. Holder means for supporting articles in a chemical bath or the like and having clamping means for mounting same frictionally secured along the length of a bar extending therethrough and at any desired location along the length of said bar; said holder means comprising a generally circular holder having an inner sleeve section and terminating in a plurality of radially extending resilent fingers, said fingers having the extremities thereof bent and collectively defining the outer periphery of said circular holder.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 897,015 8/08 Richmond 211-117 2,639,003 5/53 Russell 29-455 2,999,802 9/61 Gault 204-297 3,006,481 10/61 Gussack 211-117 3,031,746 5 62 Ciarleglio 29-455 3,033,776 5/62 Rosner 204-297 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. FRANK L. ABBOTT, Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,176 ,850 I April 6, 1965 Ernest B. Rosner It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 1, line 26, for "cathode" read cathodes 0 I e column 2 line 5 strike out "the" first occurrence column 7, line 3, strike out "elasticity".

Signed and sealed this 17th day of August 1965.

(SEAL) Atlest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

Claims (1)

1. A HOLDER FOR SUPPORTING ARTICLES IN A CHEMICAL BATH OR THE LIKE ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ALONG THE LENGTH OF A BAR EXTEND THERETHROUGH, COMPRISING AN ANNULAR SHAPED UNITARY STRUCTURE HAVING AN INNER SLEEVE SECTION TERMINATING IN THE PLURALITY OF RADIALLY EXTENDING RESILIENT FINGER MEANS WITH THE EXTREMITIES OF SAID FINGERS COLLECTIVELY DEFINING THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID ANNULAR SHAPED STRUCTURE, AND ADJUSTABLE CLAMPING MEANS FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID SLEEVE SECTION AND DISPOSED WITHIN THE CONFINES THEREOF FORM FRICTIONALLY ENGAGING SAID BAR TO SUPPORT THE SAID ARTICLE HOLDER IN ANY DESIRED LOCATION THEREALONG.

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