JPS626749B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention, in the preparatory stage for loading electrode plates into an electrolytic cell, prepares the seed plate and anode after plate sorting in advance to cope with either electrode replacement or single pole replacement. The method relates to a preparation method for loading electrode plates, in which a predetermined number of electrode plates are arranged and stored in several stocks.

In metal electrolysis, typified by electrolytic refining or electrowinning of metals, a large number of electrolytic cells are installed in an electrolytic factory, and each electrolytic cell is loaded with several dozen electrode plates. For example, in the case of parallel electrolysis of copper, a seed plate cathode and a refined blister copper cast anode are alternately suspended in an electrolytic cell at small intervals, and as the electrolysis progresses, the copper melts from the anode. It is deposited on the cathode seed plate. A seed plate is a plate on which a target metal is thinly electrodeposited on a metal mother liquor by electrolytic method, and then peeled off and arranged to form a cathode. In order to improve productivity, the anode and cathode seed plates are placed into the electrolytic cell with as little distance as possible. In a copper electrolytic cell, usually 40 to 60 anodes and one more cathode seed plate are hung alternately at regular intervals of about 100 mm. During electrolysis, copper is eluted from the anode and its thickness gradually decreases, while copper is deposited on the cathode seed plate and its thickness gradually increases. A cycle is completed when the anode is melted to its limit and at the same time a corresponding amount of copper is deposited on the cathode seed plate. The cathode seed plate is often replaced at half the cycle of anode replacement. That is, two cathode seed plates are sequentially used for one anode.
This is called raising the second generation. Therefore, in one cycle of electrolysis (21 to 28 days), 1/2 cycle (10
~14 days), the seed plate cathode with copper electrodeposited on it corresponding to approximately 1/2 of the amount of copper eluted from the anode was recovered from the electrolytic cell.
A new seed plate cathode is charged. This operation is called unipolar swapping. After that, after the remaining 1/2 cycle, the anode has eluted almost to its limit, and the amount of copper eluted from the anode after replacing the single electrode has been deposited on the newly inserted cathode seed plate. At this point the cathode and residual anode (called residual copper or cast back) are replaced with a new cathode seed plate and anode. This operation is called bipolar swapping. In this way, in the second-generation electrolysis factory, electrolysis work is carried out while alternating single-pole replacement and bipolar replacement. Therefore, for example, an electrolysis factory with a monthly production capacity of 10,000 tons will require 3,000 to 4,000 cathodes per day and 1,500 to 2,000 anodes per day. This means that in an electrolysis factory, bipolar replacement and unipolar replacement work is performed sequentially on dozens of electrolytic cells per day.

Conventionally, the method of replacing the poles in the electrolytic cell is to (1) pull up and transport the electrolytic copper from the electrolytic cell using a crane; (2)
Two reciprocating steps were required: loading the anode into the other electrolytic cell, (3) pulling up and carrying out the castback, and (4) loading the seed plate into the other electrolytic cell. In contrast, the applicant prepared one tank by arranging the seed plate cathodes and anodes alternately in advance, pulled up and carried out all the recasting and electrolytic copper at the same time, and then carried out the prepared anodes and seeds. He proposed charging the steel with plates (Special Publication No. 55-34094).
This allows the crane to operate in one round trip. With this method, taking into account the total crane operation time, the total time required for charging and lifting, the mutual interference time between cranes, etc., the electrolysis factory work efficiency ratio is 2.
improved by nearly double. In addition to work efficiency, when replacing the conventional bipolar electrodes, it is necessary to insert a seed plate between the anodes that were previously inserted into the electrolytic cell with a pitch of about 100 mm.
Inserting seed plates, which are not necessarily vertically suspended, into the narrow gaps between dozens of anodes, which are not necessarily vertically suspended, from above using a crane is an extremely delicate operation. Even if great care was taken, the seed plate would get caught on the upper end of the anode during insertion and become severely distorted, resulting in a waste seed plate, or even if not, it would get caught on the anode in the electrolytic cell and become bent, resulting in short-circuit conditions. Instead, in the electrode plate loading preparation stage, a seed plate is automatically inserted between the anodes with a pitch of, for example, 200 mm, and then a seed plate is automatically inserted between the anodes with a pitch of, for example, 200 mm. By preparing the poles in advance, the crane can simply place the poles for one tank into the electrolytic tank at a predetermined position, eliminating the need for difficult insertion work. Therefore, high electrolytic results can be obtained without causing waste plate generation or short circuits.

In this way, when replacing both electrodes, preparing the electrode plates in which the anode and cathode seed plates are alternately arranged at a predetermined pitch for one tank (full pitch bipolar stock) in advance improves the efficiency of the electrolytic replacement work and the insertion of the seed plate. This provides great benefits in terms of eliminating the obstacles associated with this. In the case of unipolar replacement, it is necessary to insert only the seed plate between the anodes, as in the conventional method, but
In this case, since the thickness of the anodes has been reduced by half, the spacing between the anodes is wide and insertion can be easily done one by one, so the insertion problem is not correct. However, even for seed plate cathodes for single pole replacement, work efficiency can be improved by preparing a predetermined pitch of cathode seed plate groups (full pitch seed plate stock) to be transported to the electrolytic cell at any time.

Therefore, in preparation for the unipolar and bipolar replacement work mentioned above,
After receiving the anode and cathode seed plates into the electrolysis factory, a preparatory step is necessary to distribute and accumulate them as full-pitch bipolar electrode stock and full-pitch seed plate stock. Full automation is extremely important from the standpoint of efficient factory operation. In order to avoid running out of stock when needed, we monitor the status of electrolytic cells in the factory and allocate seed plates to the seed plate stock line and bipolar stock line in priority order according to instructions from there. This allows for even more optimal factory management.

In response to the above requirements, the present invention streamlines the process of distributing and accumulating the seed plate cathodes and anodes brought into the electrolytic factory as a full-pitch seed plate stock and a full-pitch bipolar stock in preparation for replacing one pole and both poles in an electrolytic cell. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a completely automated method for preparing electrode plate loading.

In the present invention, the sorted seed plates sent to the electrolytic factory are distributed in groups of several by a conveying device to at least one line for full-pitch seed plate stock and at least one line for full-pitch bipolar stock. It will be done. The preliminary bipolar seed plate array sent to the full-pitch bipolar stock line is then separately fed to the electrolytic plant and inserted between the anodes aligned at a spacing of more than a full pitch, and is then inserted into the full-pitch bipolar stock line. The interval is adjusted as follows. Means are provided for transferring the seed plates from the bipolar seed plate pre-array to between the anodes. Seed plates are transferred to the seed plate stock line and the bipolar stock line in a predetermined priority order.

In the present invention, the cathode seed plate sent to the electrolytic factory refers to a so-called cathode seed plate that is prepared by peeling off the thin plate electrodeposited on the mother plate in seed plate electrolysis, attaching ribbons and beams to it, and subjecting it to a striped press to prevent bending. Indicates the cathode seed plate after plate adjustment. Recently, in order to improve the electrolytic performance of the cathode seed plate, it has been proposed to use a trimmed cathode seed plate in which the peripheral edge with many irregularities is trimmed (cut off), and this does not preclude its use. Further, full pitch (fixed pitch) refers to the distance between the centers of the anode and cathode when the electrolytic cell is loaded, and is generally about 100 mm. half pitch,
Double pitch refers to pitch that is 1/2 or twice that amount. No pitch refers to a state where there is no interval.

The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of the present invention, and an outline will first be explained based on this. The cathode seed plate (hereinafter referred to as the seed plate) after being plated is fed into the conveying device 1 in a vertical position from the seed plate carry-in line L1. The conveying device 1 includes at least one single-pole replacement seed plate stock conveyor line L1-1 ( Here, only one is shown) and seed plate transfer conveyor lines L1-2, L1-3,...... for forming seed plate preliminary arrays M, M'......... for bipolar replacement.
Allocate to. Sorting is performed in a specified priority order as described below. On the other hand, after the anode is carried into the factory along the anode carrying line L2, it advances to the seed plate insertion line L3 formed at a position parallel to the lines L1-2, L1-3......
Therefore, the seed plates transferred from the seed plate preliminary arrays M, M', . . . are inserted between the anodes at an anode interval of full pitch or more. In this way, the electrode plate group in which the seed plates and anodes are alternately arranged advances to the full-pitch bipolar stock conveyor line L4 for bipolar replacement, where it forms a full-pitch bipolar stock W for bipolar replacement. As explained earlier, the full-pitch seed plate stock S for single-pole replacement is one in which more than one tank's worth of seed plates are arranged at full pitch in order to replace the seed plates every 1/2 cycle. The full-pitch inter-electrode stock W has more than one tank's worth of seed plates and anodes arranged alternately in order to replace the seed plates and anodes every cycle. Each stock is
They are transported in groups by crane to one of the electrolyzers in the factory.

As a conveyance device, a cross-feeding conveyor using an endless chain is shown here as an example, but
Not limited to this, each line L1-1, L1-2, L1-
3. Transport vehicles or robots may also be used, in which case these lines may be relatively far apart and need not be parallel.

FIG. 2 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing the movement of the seed plate and the anode. The seed plates sent along the line L1 are loaded onto the conveying device 1 several sheets at a time.
Lines L1-1, L1 at almost right angles from line L1
-2, and across the entrances of L1-3. Each line is provided with accumulation sections C1, C2, and C3 which act as buffers for the input thereof, and pushers P1, P2 for pushing the seed plate are arranged opposite to each other with the accumulation sections C1, C2, and C3 sandwiching the conveying device 1 between them.
and P3 are installed. Several seed plate sets sent by the conveyor 1 are on lines L1-1 and L1-2.
Or either accumulation section C1, C2 of L1-3
Alternatively, it is pushed into C3 by pushers P1, P2, or P3. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the pusher P2 has pushed the seed plate set into the accumulation section C2. Seed boards in a no-pitch state from the accumulation sections C1, C2, and C3 are transferred one by one to line L1- at appropriate intervals such as full pitch, double pitch, and half pitch.
1, L1-2 and L1-3, respectively. The seed plate carried out is connected to a single pole replacement seed plate stock S in line L1-1, and then to line L1.
-2 and L1-3, seed plate preliminary arrays M and M' are formed. Stock S stands by in preparation for unipolar replacement work. The preliminary arrays M and M are lifted from there and connected to the anode carry-in line L2, as described below.
The seed plate is introduced through the seed plate insertion line L3 and is lowered between the anodes arranged at intervals larger than a full pitch. A group of electrode plates in which anodes and seed plates are alternately arranged advances to a full-pitch bipolar stock conveyor line L4 for bipolar replacement, where it is adjusted to full pitch and stands by as a full-pitch bipolar stock for bipolar replacement in preparation for bipolar replacement work.

FIG. 3 shows a front view of line L1-3 as a representative example of the three lines shown. In FIG. 3, there is also shown above the line L1-3 a seed plate lifting and lowering machine 20 for lifting, transporting, and lowering the seed plate from there to the line L3. Details will be described later.

FIG. 4 shows the situation of each line as seen from the direction along the line XX in FIG. Since the line L1-1 is in front of the page, only the seed plate is shown as a dotted line. Here, the seed plate lifting/lowering device 20 lifts the seed plate preliminary array M' from the line L1-3. preliminary array
M' is transferred onto line L3 and then dropped between each anode. To facilitate insertion, a seed plate insertion guide 40 is set adjacent to line L3.

Referring to FIG. 1, in the seed plate conveyance line L1, the seed plate conveyed by the conveyor from the plate sorting machine is held in a vertical position by an appropriate mechanism such as supporting a ribbon beam and raising it up with a tilting machine. The sheets are oriented and then pushed in batches onto adjacent chain hangers at one end of the conveying device 1. Thereafter, as the chain moves, it moves across the line entrance and is pushed by the pusher as described above into the line collection compartment to be refilled on command.

FIG. 5 shows a specific example of lines L2 to L4.
Details of the lines L2 to L4 are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-34094. An anode having ears as shown on line L3 in FIG. The trolley 6 is of a type that can be rotated through 90 degrees and 180 degrees and can be raised and lowered, and after directing the anodes to the front, it delivers a group of anodes to the anode receiving conveyor 7. The conveyor 7 consists of a pair of chain conveyors 8, on which the ears of the received anode groups are hung to suspend them. Conveyor 8 as shown in detail in Figure 6
At the other end, a push-up cylinder 9a and a piston rod 9b, which constitute a push-up device 9 for pushing up the anodes one by one, are installed, and push up the fed anodes one by one. Further, an anode delivery device 10 is installed adjacent to the end of the conveyor 8, and this plays the role of sending the anodes pushed up one by one by the push-up device 9 to the line L3 at a distance wider than a full pitch, for example, in a double pitch. . The anode delivery device 10 includes a cylinder 10a, a delivery rod 10b, and delivery claws 10c and delivery bars 10f arranged in a row at a constant pitch on the delivery rod 10b. The bottom ends of the anodes sent in close contact with the conveyor 8 are pushed up one by one by the push-up piston rod 9b, sending out claws 10c, 10c, . . .
...The upper end is inserted between them. The delivery rod 10b is pushed out by the cylinder 10a and delivered at a fixed pitch onto the delivery bar 10f by each claw 10c. When the delivery rod 10b is retracted, the pawl 10c hits the top of the anode placed on the bar 10f and is tilted counterclockwise so as not to carry the anode in the return direction. In this way, the anode advances by a constant pitch by the repeated operation of the delivery rod, and is finally delivered to the insertion line chain conveyor 12 constituting the seed plate insertion line L3.

The anodes traveling along the insertion line chain conveyor 12 are stopped when a required number of anodes come to line L3 with the lines L1-2 and L1-3. At this time, as described above, the anodes are spaced apart by a pitch larger than the full pitch. In this state, the preliminary seed plate array suspended from line L1-2 or L1-3 is lowered and inserted between each anode. Due to the large anode pitch, the insertion process is very easy. The insertion operation is performed by the seed plate lifting/lowering transfer machine 20 with the help of a seed plate insertion guide 40 (described later).

In this way, the electrode plate group in which the seed plates and anodes are arranged alternately has the seed plates and the anodes aligned in order to correct the pitch to full pitch.
It is delivered to the full pitch bipolar stock conveyor line L4 for bipolar insertion via the anode extrusion device 14.
As shown in FIG. 7, the extrusion device 14 includes a cylinder 14a, a delivery rod 14b, claws 14c arranged in a row on the rod, and a relay bar 14f. Claw 14
c is a delivery rod 14b for engagement with the anode ear.
They are installed in parallel at each claw position.

Next, the seed plate lifting/lowering transfer machine will be explained. Referring to Figures 3, 4 and 8, the seed plate lifting and lowering transfer machine 2
0 includes a platform 24 that is movable along a rail 23 provided on a support structure 22 that crosses lines L1-2, L1-3, and L3. Carrier platform 2
4 can be self-propelled by the on-board motor. Carriage platform 24
supports a support frame 26 that can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction. Vertical movement can be effected, for example, by the engagement of racks or rails on the outer frame 28 depending from the carriage 24 with pinions or wheels mounted on both sides of the support frame 26. As clearly shown in FIG.
The support frame 26 is assumed to move up and down under the engagement of the wheels. The support frame 26 generally supports a number of hooks 30 corresponding to the number of seed plates within half of one tank which are suspended at full pitch. The hook 30 is rotatable between a plane parallel to the seed plate and a plane perpendicular thereto,
In the former orientation, it is inserted into the seed plate gap of the seed plate pre-array, rotates 90° and grips the seed plate beam,
After being transferred, the seed plate is lowered between the anodes, placed on line L3, rotated back 90 degrees, and then pulled up. The simultaneous rotation of the hook 30 is effected by a cylinder piston 31. The piston and the hook are linked so that the hook 30 is simultaneously rotated through 90 degrees by the operation of the cylinder piston 31.

A seed plate insertion guide 40 is installed adjacent to line L3 in order to correctly lower the cathode lifted and transferred from line L1-2 or L1-3 between the anodes. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the guide 40 consists of guide plates 42 arranged at intervals corresponding to the thickness of the seed plate and an actuating cylinder 44 for extending and retracting them. The seed plate lifted by the transfer machine 20 and transferred above the line L3 is inserted between the guide plates through the enlarged entrance between the guide plates 42. Thereafter, the guide plate is retracted by the cylinder 44 to a position where it does not interfere with the descent.

By transferring the seed plates from the accumulation sections C1 to C3 of each line onto a conveyor having projections at a predetermined pitch, it is possible to transport or store the seed plates in a suspended state at a fixed pitch.

The configuration of the present invention has been described above in detail. This equipment can be operated in a fully automatic manner, and line L3
Detection of the presence of a predetermined number of anodes is integrated by a photocell counter at the entrance of line L3, and when the predetermined number of sheets has been detected, the conveyor 12 is stopped after a predetermined time delay. Lines L1-2 and L1
To detect the presence of a predetermined number of seed plates in step 3, when the seed plate beam comes into contact with the limit switch at the tip of each line, a signal is generated indicating that the line is full;
If the transfer can begin at any time and the subsequent accumulation compartments C2 and C3 are full, a signal is generated indicating that seed plate replenishment is not necessary.

When the transfer device 1 distributes seed plates to lines L1-1, L1-2, and L1-3 in a fully automatic manner, (a) Line L1-3 is given top priority, and if there is space there, the seed plates are transferred first. It will be posted.

(b) When lines L1-3 are full, the next line L
Transferred to 1-2.

(c) If (a) and (b) are full, the cargo is transferred to line L1-1.

By setting the priority order, the seed plates from line L1 are automatically distributed. However, in factories, there are almost no bipolar replacements, and there are days when only unilateral replacements occur. In such a case, it is also possible to cancel the fully automatic priority order, switch to a switch for commanding the transfer destination, and send the seed plate to the line L1-1.

Electrolysis is carried out day and night in the electrolytic cells in the electrolysis factory, and the electrolysis progress status from each of these cells is input into a central control computer. Unipole or bipolar replacement is normally carried out based on the electrolysis days schedule table, but a computer determines from the input information which tank is near the time for unipolar or bipolar replacement, and issues a command to transfer the unipolar or bipolar stock. You can also take it out. In addition, based on the information as to which one of the unipolar and bipolar stock is requested next, the transfer device issues a command to the finished plate line to be distributed, and manages the stock so that neither stock runs out at the time of request.

As explained above, the present invention provides an electrolytic operation that improves the work efficiency and electrolytic performance of electrolytic work by using a seed plate for bipolar replacement prepared in advance - a bipolar alignment stock and a seed plate stock for single pole replacement. As a preparatory step for the new method, we fully automated the process of sorting, combining, and arranging the seed plates and anodes brought into the electrolysis factory into designated pitches so that these stocks would always be on standby in response to calls. and
It will greatly contribute to labor saving in factories, improving work efficiency, and improving electrolysis results.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of equipment for showing an outline of the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially omitted plan view of FIG. 1, and FIG.
The figure is a front view along line L1-3, Figure 4 is a side view from the X-X direction in Figure 2, Figure 5 is a front view of the anode delivery line, and Figure 6 is the front view of the anode delivery device. Figures 7A and 7B are front and side views of the anode-seed plate delivery device, Figure 8 is a plan view of the seed plate lifting/lowering transfer device, and Figure 9 is a front view of the same type plate lifting/lowering transfer device. be. L1: Seed plate carry-in line, L1-1: Stock conveyor line for single pole exchange, L1-2: Seed plate transfer conveyor line, L1-3: Seed plate transfer conveyor line, L2: Anode carry-in line, L3: Seed plate insertion line, L4: Full-pitch bipolar stock conveyor line for bipolar exchange, S: Full-pitch bipolar stock for single-pole exchange, M, M': Seed plate preliminary array, W: Full-pitch bipolar stock for bipolar exchange, C1-C3:
Accumulation section, P1-P3: Pusher, 1: Conveyance device, 2: Endless chain, 5: Hanging tool, 6:
Anode receiving truck, 7: Anode receiving conveyor, 8: Chain conveyor, 9: Anode pushing device, 10: Anode sending device, 12: Insertion conveyor, 14: Seed plate-anode sending device, 20: Seed plate lifting/lowering transfer device, 22: Support structure, 23: Rail, 24: Platform, 26: Support frame, 28: Outer frame, 29: Hook lifting cylinder, 3
0: Hook, 31: Hook rotation cylinder, 40:
Seed plate insertion guide, 42: guide plate, 44: guide plate operating cylinder.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A plurality of sorted seed plates are stacked in a vertical position, and at least one seed plate stock conveyor line for unipolar replacement and at least one seed plate transfer conveyor line are provided. The accumulated seed plate group is transferred to the one-pole exchange seed plate stock conveyor line and the seed plate transfer conveyor line in accordance with the priority order specified according to the electrolysis progress status in the electrolytic factory by a traversing conveyance device. A method for preparing electrode plates for loading, characterized by automatically replenishing them sequentially. 2 A plurality of sorted seed plates are stacked in a vertical position, and transported by a conveying device that traverses at least one single-pole replacement seed plate stock conveyor line and at least one seed plate transfer conveyor line. According to the priority order specified according to the electrolytic collection situation in the electrolysis factory, the accumulated seed plate groups are automatically replenished to the single pole replacement seed plate stock conveyor line and the seed plate transfer conveyor line in sequence. Then, the seed plates of the seed plate transfer conveyor line, which has been replenished with a predetermined number of seed plates, are transported separately, and the anodes arranged at intervals of at least a full pitch are aligned on the seed plate transfer conveyor line. 1. A method for preparing electrode plates for loading, comprising inserting anodes and seed plates alternately into a group, and then changing the alternating seed plates and anodes to full pitch.