Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02041927 1997-09-03
CATHODE STRIPPING APPARATUS
The present invention relates to a method and
apparatus for stripping electrodeposited metal sheets from
cathodes, and is particularly directed to a method and
apparatus for stripping electrodeposited copper sheets
from stainless steel cathodes.
The stripping of electrodeposited metal sheets
such as zinc or copper metal sheets from cathodes by means
o of mechanical stripping apparatus is well known. U.S.
Patent 4,039,418 granted August 2, 1977 discloses an
apparatus for peeling electrodeposited metal plate from a
cathode including a hammering apparatus, peeling apparatus
and transfer means wherein sensing and control means are
provided to remove cathodes having electrodeposited metal
plates remaining thereon.
U.S. Patent 3,953,312 issued April 27, 1976
discloses an apparatus for peeling electrodeposited metal
plate from a cathode by giving a mechanical impact to the
upper edge of the electrodeposited metal plate to form a
fine void, jetting a low pressure fluid into the fine void
to separate the upper edges of the electrodeposited metal
plate from the cathode, and then inserting a wedge to peel
the electrodeposited metal plate from the cathode.
CA 02041927 1997-09-03
It is an object of the present invention to
provide a stripping method and apparatus for stripping
electrodeposited metal sheets from a cathode in a positive
manner within a relatively small operating area, using a
rotating carousel for that purpose.
SUMMARY OF THE lNv~l.~ION
The present invention is directed to the
stripping of electrodeposited metal sheets from cathodes
and, although the description will proceed with reference
0 to the stripping of electrodeposited copper sheet or plate
from stainless steel cathodes, it will be understood that
this description is exemplary only and that the method and
apparatus of the invention may also have utility in the
stripping and separation of electrodeposited zinc sheets
from aluminum cathodes, of nickel and cobalt sheets from
cathodes and generally of electrodeposited metal sheets
from permanent cathodes.
The method of the present invention relates to
the stripping of electrodeposited sheets from cathodes
having a hanger bar for vertical support of the cathodes
on the periphery of a carousel apparatus mounted for
rotation through 360~past a plurality of stations located
about the periphery of the carousel and comprises the
steps of feeding said cathodes sequentially at a loading
station onto the carousel, rotating the carousel to
transfer a cathode from the loading station to a hammering
station
2~927
for loosening of upper edges of the electrodeposited
sheets from the cathode, rotating the carousel to transfer
said cathode to an opening station for stripping of the
electrodeposited sheets from the cathode, rotating the
carousel to transfer the cathode to a discharge station
for discharging the stripped sheets, and rotating the
carousel to transfer the stripped cathodes to an unloading
station for removal of said stripped cathodes
The upper edges of the electrodeposited sheets are
]~ loosened at the hammering station by clamping the upper
end of the cathode and by striking the electrodeposited
sheets on the cathode in a random pattern in proximity to
their upper edges from opposite sides of the cathode
Gaps are formed between the upper edge~ of the
electrodeposited sheets and the cathode at the opsning
station by fl-xing a central portion of the cathode
lat-rally in a first dir-ction to create a gap between an
upper edg~ oi an electrodepo-ited sheot and the cathode
and in~-rting at least one finger in said gap, and flexing
th cathod- laterally in the opposite direction to create
a g~p ~t _- th- upper edge of th- other electrodeposited
sheQt and the cathode and inserting at least one finger in
said gap, and retracting said finger~ from the cathGde to
strip tha el-ctrodeposited sheets from the cathode If,
at thi~ ~tage, the separation of the sheet~ from the
cathode is not complete, it can be completed at another
CA 02041927 1997-09-03
cathode is not complete, it can be completed at another
full-opening, station by feeding each of the partially
stripped sheets between a pair of stripping fingers which
engage the upper edges of the sheets and, upon retraction
from the cathode, fully strip the sheets from the
cathodes. Furthermore, completion of stripping may be
ensured for thin sheets by providing a separation station
after the opening or full-opening station wherein the
upper end of the cathode is secured and a pair of opposed
o stripping knives are lowered between the sheets and the
cathode to complete stripping from the cathode. It was
found, however, that in most cases the full-opening
station and the additional separation station are not
required as the complete stripping operation is usually
readily performed at the opening station.
A passive guide extending to the next station may
be interposed between the electrodeposited sheets and the
cathode to prevent the sheets from returning to rest
against the cathode if they were only partially stripped,
and a second passive guide extending to the next station
is positioned exterior to the electrodeposited sheets to
restrain the said sheets from excess lateral movement when
the sheets are completely freed from the cathode.
The apparatus of the invention for stripping
electrodeposited metal sheets from cathodes comprises, in
combination, a carousel mounted for rotation through 360~
CA 02041927 1997-09-03
having means for supporting and sequentially advancing
cathodes to a plurality of stations located about the
periphery of the carousel. The stations will normally
include a loading station for receiving cathode plates
having electrodeposited sheets thereon, a hammering
station for loosening the upper edges of the said metallic
sheets from the cathodes, an opening station for gripping
the loosened upper edges of the said metallic sheets and
forming a gap between the said loosened upper edges and
o cathodes as well as inserting retractable fingers in said
gaps and stripping of the metallic sheets from the
cathodes by retracting said fingers, a discharge station
for discharge of pairs of metallic sheets, and an
unloading station for removal of stripped cathodes.
The carousel is multi-sided and the means on the
carousel for supporting the cathodes each comprises a pair
of downwardly extending side arms spaced apart to receive
a cathode therebetween secured to the carousel at each of
the sides, a hanger bracket secured to each side arm in
proximity to its upper end for supporting the hanger bar
of a cathode, a V-support having an apex secured at
opposite ends to the lower ends of the pair of side arms
below the bottom of a cathode, and means for opening the
V-support. Each of the hanger brackets is L-shaped and
has a slight recess formed in a lower horizontal portion
of the L to receive the cathode hanger therein.
Each V-support comprises a pair of spaced-apart,
parallel rods rotatably mounted in the lower ends of the
pair of side arms, and a pair of opposed plates, one of
which i~ secured to one of each of said rods, to define a
V-shape therebetween in a closed position, and means to
rota e said bars and the plates secured thereto to
separate said plates into an open position
The hammering station comprises a pair of opposed,
reciprocally mounted carriages, each having a plurality of
air hammers, one on each side of the cathode, adapted to
be extended towards and retracted away from the cathode
whereby the air hammers strike th- elQctrodeposited sheets
in a random pattern in proximity to upper edges of said
sheets for loosening of said upper edges The carriages
1~ carry upper g~pGL~ means which rigidly abut the cathode
abov- th- el-ct~ posited sh~ets and low-r support means
whlch rigidly grip the elect~ o~ited sheets below the
air hammer~
Th- 5~ ~ ~ ng station comprise~ a pair of opposed,
r-ciprocally mounted carriages on each side of the cathode
each having an upper clamp for abutting the cathode above
th- upper edg- of the electrodepo~ited sheat and a lower
clamp for abutting the electrodeposit-d sheet in proximity
to its low~r edge, a central push bar having a
2e piston-cylinder assembly operatively connected thereto for
~nd~endrnt actuation and at least one downwardly
9 2 7
depending ~inger pivotally mountod at the top o~ the
carriage, whereby the cathode can be rigidly clamped
between the upper clamp~ and the electrodepo~ited sheets
in proxlmity to their lower ends clamped by the lower
cla~p~ upon extenslon of the carriages toward~ each other
The cathode i~ flexed in a fir~t direction by extending a
~irst push bar to ~orm a gap between the upper edge of the
electrodeposited sheet and the cathode on the opposite
sidQ o~ the cathode and insertlon Or at least one ~inger
into said gap, and then ~lexed in the opposite direction
by retracting th- ~irst push bar and ex*en~tng the second
push bar to form a gap betwe-n the upper edge of the
electrodeposited sh--t and th- cathod- on the other side
o~ th- cathod- with ins-rtion of at least one ~inger into
1~ said gap Th- s-cond push bar and th- carriage~ are
retract-d so that th- fing-r~ ln~-rt-d b-tw-en
elD_t~&~ oit d ~h--tJ and th- cathod- will at least
partially and u-ually compl-t-ly ~trip the
el~o~ it d ~h--t~ from the cathode
An ~longat-d arcuat- pa~-iv- guid- may bo mounted to
~xt-nd ~ro~ th- oF~nir1 station to th- next ~tatlon
b-tw -n ~a¢h o~ th- upp-r edg-~ o~ th- ~l-ctrodeposited
she-t~ and th- cathode to p~a~ ~ said upp-r edges from
r-turning to r-~t aga~n4t th- cathode if they are only
partially ~tripp-d Al~o, an elongat-d arcuat- passive
guid- i4 mount-d to extend b-tween the openin~ station and
CA 02041927 1997-09-03
the next station to support the electrodeposited sheets in
the event the sheets are completely freed from the
cathodes, as is commonly the case.
An optional, full-opening station comprises a
pair of opposed, reciprocally mounted carriages on each
side of the cathode each having a pair of downwardly
depending, spaced-apart fingers for receiving and engaging
a partially-stripped upper edge of an electrodeposited
sheet therebetween, and means for retracting said
o carriages with depending fingers for stripping of the
electrodeposited sheets from the cathode if they have not
been completely stripped in the opening station.
A separation station may also be located between
the full-opening station and the discharge station to
ensure completion of stripping of electrodeposited metal
sheets from the cathodes prior to discharge. The
separation station comprises means for securing the upper
end of the cathode and a pair of opposed stripping knives,
one on each side of the cathode, for completion of
stripping of electrodeposited sheets from the cathode by
lowering the knives between the electrodeposited sheets
and the cathode. Such station will be required only on
rare occasions and normally it is unnecessary.
The discharge station is a bottom discharge
station having an envelope for receiving pairs of
vertically-disposed metallic sheets, for rotating said
pairs of vertical metallic sheets to a horizontal
2 7
position, and for discharglng said pairs of metallic
sheets horizontally from the carousel
More particularly, the discharge station comprises
an envelope positioned below the cathode for receiving the
pair o~ stripped electrodeposited sheots, means for
pushing the sheets into looso vertical abutment alignment
against the cathode, and means for actuating the opening
means for the V-support whereby the electrodeposited
sheets drop by gravity into the envelope, means for
rotating the env-lope into a substantially horizontal
position, and e~ection means rOr di~ch~rge o~ the
sub~tantially horizontal stripp-d sh-ets from the
envelope
A corrugating pr-ss pref-rably is provided for
corrugating alternato pairs o~ strippod metal sheets and a
stack-r i- provld-d ~or g~ac~ng sald palrs o~ metallic
she-t~ ln alt-rnating pairs of planar and corrugated metal
sh--t~ to a ~ t-rminod h-ight, and bundling said
st~ck d ~h--ta into a bundle
Po~ D~a~~~ O~ Qr TP~ g~
An ~mbodlm~nt of tho apparatu~ of the invention will
now b- d-scrib-d with re~erenc- to th- accompany$ng
drawinga, in which
Figur~ a plan viow o~ th- carousel apparatus of
the inv-ntion showing tho cathode ~e-d system and
~charge sy~tom
- lO - 2041 921
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the frame of the
carousel apparatus;
Figure 3 is a plan view of the carousel apparatus
shown in Figure 2 illustrating the drive mechanism;
Figure 4 is a side elevation, partly cut away, of
the carousel assembly shown in Figure 3;
Figure 5 is an enlarged plan view, partly cut away,
of the drive mechanism of the invention showing partial
rotation thereof by ghost lines;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of the drive
mechanism shown in Figure 5;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of a cathode hanger
assembly showing a cathode with metallic sheet deposited
thereon in ghost lines;
Figure 8 is an end elevation of a cathode in an
operative position at a hammering station;
Figure 9 (located on the same sheet as Figure 7) is
a perspective view illustrating the operation of opposed
hammers at the hammering station depicted in Figure 8;
Figure 10 is an end elevation of a cathode in its
operative position at the opening station;
Figure 11 is an enlarged end elevation of a cathode
at the opening station;
Figure 12 is an end elevation of an upper portion of
a cathode at the opening station illustrated in Figures
CA 02041927 1997-09-03
and 11 showing the interaction of grippers with the upper
edges of the metallic sheets;
Figure 13 is an end elevation of a cathode at an
optional additional full-opening station depicted in
Figure 1 showing the partially separated metallic strips
preparatory to stripping by peeling from the cathode when
required;
Figure 14 is an end elevation of a cathode
showing the pair of metallic strips fully detached from
o the cathodei
Figure 15 is an end elevation of the lower
portion of a cathode having the metallic sheets pivoted
into abutment with the cathode preparatory to bottom
discharge into the sheet rotator for substantially
horizontal discharge;
Figure 16 is an enlarged end elevation of a
cathode with metallic sheets pivoted thereagainst, as
shown in Figure 15, indicating opening of the bottom V-
support by ghost lines;
Figures 17 is an end elevation, partly cut away,
of a portion of a stack of alternate corrugated and
uncorrugated pairs of metallic sheets, with strapping; and
Figure 18 is a side elevation of an optional
separation station.
2 ~
--12--
~Y~.~n D~CRIP~lON or ~w~ pP~DU~ nnT~T
With re~erence to Figure 1 of the drawings, the
apparatus ~or stripping metal sheets from cathodes
generally comprises a multi-sided carousel 10 having, in
the ~ nt illustrated, 12 sides, rotated about
central support shaft 12 to convey cathodes having
electrodepo~ited metal sheet~ on opposite sides thereof in
a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1 sequentially
past a number of station locations The stations in this
particular ~ '-'1 a~t include loading station 14,
1~ hammering station 16, 3~n~ng station 18, full-opening
station 20, separation station 22, ~l~charge station 24,
in ~ ion station 25, cathod- eYrhA-J~ station 26 and
cathod- unloading station 28
A load of cathode~ bearing electrodeposited metal
shoet~, aft-r ~ ~t~g, i~ load-d onto a carrier car 30
mount-d for r-ciprocal trav-l on th- top rails 32 of a
tranJpOrt-r fram- for tran~portation of the bundle to
rotating and low-ring tran-~-r a~--mbly 34 The bundle of
cathod-~, uJually cont~ning 44 cathod-s, is rotated
t~roug~ about 30 by rotating and lowering assembly 34
onto chain con~yor dopict6d by numeral 36 A complete
bundl- of cathod-~ i~ depo-it-d on chain conveyor 36 which
advanc-J th- bundl- toward- loading ~tation 14 An
overh-ad w~l~tng b-am 38 pick- up a cathod- for
advancement onto a fixed beam with repeat of this motion
2 ~
untll the cathode ig trang~erred onto the hanger of the
carousel at loading gtation 14 for 9equential advancement
through each station for eventual di~charge of stripped
sheets from discharge station 24 and removal of stripped
5 cathodes at cathode unloading station 28
With particular reference now to Figures 2-6, the
carousel 10 comprises a support frame 50 having rigid
~teel structural corner post-~ 52, diagonal reinforcing
gussets 54 bolted or welded to lateral beams 56, and
longitudinal b-ams 58 Rectangular transverse beams 60,
shown mo~t clearly in Figures 3 and 4, support drive
assembly 62 Upright central shatt 70 is mounted at its
lower end on ba~- 72 having a bearing, not shown, for
rotation thereon and is ~upported at its upper end by
bearing 74 mount-d in housing 76 supported by transverse
beam- 60
Radial b-~nJ 78 ~ at th-ir inner ends to
collar 80, whlch in turn is secur-d to a column 82 forming
part o~ ~hatt 70, ar- ~upported by diagonal struts 84
extt '1n~ ~,t/ -~ the bas- o~ collar 80 and an
int-rm-diat- point on radial beam~ 78 Peripheral beams
86 int-,~orn~ t th- outer ends ot b-ams 78 to define a
sid- ot th- multi-sid-d carous-l and ~upport an equal
numb-r Or cathod- hang-rs 88, thre- o~ which are shown in
Figur- 2
~il 927
-14-
Each cathode hanger 88, details for which are shown
in Figure 7, comprises downwardly extendi~g side-arms 90
rigidly interconnected to beams 86 by plates 92 welded
thereto An L-shaped hanger bracket 94 welded to the
inner side of each of arms 90 is adapted to receive hanger
bar 96 secured to the top edge of cathode 98, shown by
ghost lines Cathode 98 and its construction are
disclosed in detail in applicant's U S Patent No
4,882,027
A pair of spaced apart transverse rods 100 are
mounted for rotation in bushings 102 rigidly secured to
the underside of arms 90 to carry V-support 104 Each
V-support 104 comprises a pair of opposgd upper plates 106
rigidly interconnected to their Les~e~Live transverse rods
100 by spaced apart plates 108, for reasons which will
hac~ - appar-nt as the description p~ e'~
It will be obs-rv-d that the conterminous bottom
edge~ 110 of cathod- 98 and metallic sheets 112, 114 are
po-ition-d a ~hort distance above V-support 104
The carousel 10 is driven in a clockwise direction,
a~ viewed in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings, by a
Geneva-type,~r'-Y~n1 drive ~ ly 62 which comprises an
hydraulic motor 120 driving via a counter-clockwise
rotating shaft 132 a torgue arm drive 122 having a pair of
downwardly exts~n~ roller subshafts 124, 126, engaging
into radial slots 128 formed in the Geneva drive wheel
2~1927
-15-
130, a shown most clearly by t~le ghost lineg in Figure s
The Genova drive wheel 130 has twelve radial slots 128
spaced 30 apart, onQ for each of the twelve station
locations, to permlt accurate inexing of a cathode hanger
on tho carousel into each station At the time when both
rollers 124, 126 are in contact with consecutive slots,
tho wheel 130 and consequently the entire carousel
as~ 'ly, are stationary At these junctures, the cathode
hangers are correctly po~itioned within a station and the
driv~ 120 ig stoppQd for a predeteL ~ne~ period of time to
allow the desired functionJ to occur at the plurality of
stations
!~'r~T~ 8~ 0~1
Cathod-- 98 having mQtallic sh-ets 112, 114 are
tran~-rr-d ~-gu-ntially onto a cathod- hanger assembly 8 8
at loading ~tation 14 Hang-r bar 96 is supported at each
end in hang-r brack-t- 94 with bottom edg-- 110 suspended
abov- V ~uyyG~ 104 Th- tran~-r of a cathode 98 onto
hang-r b~ S~lt~ pr-r-rably is compl-ted in about 2 5
~ within a minimum cycl- tim- at each station of
about 4 5 ~ , thu~ allowing about 2 0 secon~ for
tran~-r to and ~n~ ng o~ the cathod- hanger and cathode
at th- n-xt station Cathod- 98 is th-n advanced to
hamm-ring station 16 by rotation Or drive assembly 62 for
b~ ng th- adh-~ion of the upp-r edg-J of th- deposited
metal she-t~ to th- cathod-
CA 02041927 1997-09-03
THE HAMMERING STATION
Turning now to figures 8 and 9, hammering station
16 comprises a pair of opposed, reciprocally mounted
carriages 150, 152 mounted on frame 153 adapted to be
extended towards and retracted away from cathode 98 such
that opposed air hammers 154, 156 supported thereby will,
upon actuation, strike metallic sheets 112, 114 on cathode
98 in proximity to the upper edges 158, 160 of the sheets.
Upper pair of opposed clamps 162, 163 mounted on vertical
o support members 166, 167 carried by carriages 150, 152,
about the upper end of cathode 98 during the hammering
operation while the lower pair of opposed clamps 164, 165
grip the lower portions of sheets 112, 114 therebetween to
ensure the metallic sheets are not prematurely dislodged
from the cathode. In the preferred operation, the
striking surfaces of the hammers are composed of steel and
the hammers are driven by a common air-cylinder such that
their striking action follows a random pattern.
THE OPENING STATION
The hammering operation normally releases the
upper edges 158, 160 of the metallic sheets from cathode
98 whereby flexing of the cathode, shown in Figures 10-12,
at
CA 0204l927 l997-09-03
- 17 -
the opening station 18 frees one upper edge 160 and then
the second upper edge 158 from cathode g8. With
particular reference to Figure 10, the opening station 18
comprises a pair of opposed carriages 168, 169 each
mounted for reciprocal travel towards each other and away
from each other on guide frame 170 by the actuation of
piston-cylinder assemblies 171 mounted on frame 173. The
right hand portion of the figure shows polyurethane-
covered upper clamp 172 adapted to rigidly engage the
o upper portion of cathode 98 above the upper edges 158, 160
of the metallic sheets and lower steel clamps 174 adapted
to engage the lower extremity of cathode 98 and metal
sheets 112, 114 immediately above V-support 104. Piston
cylinder assembly 176, carried by carriage 168, unit 164
permits initial extension of central push bar 180 to the
position depicted in Figure 10, and by ghost lines in
Figure 11, thereby bending the cathode to separate
loosened upper edge 160 from cathode 98. The deflection
of cathode 98 opens the upper edge 160 from cathode 98 a
sufficient distance to allow the insertion of finger 182
on the side opposite to bar 180 into the said opening by
actuation of piston-cylinder 184.
Piston-cylinder assembly 176 is then retracted
and the procedure repeated on the opposite side of cathode
98 by actuating an opposite piston-cylinder assembly, not
2 7
-18-
shown, to deSect cathode 98 in the opposite direction for
separation o~ the loosened upper edge 158 from cathode 98
to ~reate an opening into which finger 183 is inserted in
like mannor, as illustrated in Figure 12
Upon completion of the inQertion of the fingers 182,
183 into the gaps between upper edgea 158, 160 and cathode
98, the fingers 182, 183 are retracted with carriages 168,
169 sequentially or simultaneously to at least partially
and usually fully strip the metallic sheets from the
1~ cathode such that upper edges 158, 160 are bent outwardly
Or arcuate passlve guides 192 which extend to the next
stat~on to engag- and p~.ve t said uppor edges 158, 160
from returning to rest against cathode 98 during rotation
and in~y~ng of the carou el to the next station Arcuate
passiv- gulde~ 190, one of which is shown, extend to the
next ~tation on each ~id- of th- cathodo 98 to support the
m-tallic ~h--t~, a~ shown by gho~t lines in Figure 10, in
the ev-nt a ~h--t i~ compl-tely freed from the cathode as
iJ noroally th- ca~-
_~5~Q~r~ o~ 8~IO~
Turnlng now to Figuro~ 13 and 14, in case of partial
stripping only, th- cathod- with partially opened metallic
sheot~ i~ n-xt po~itioned at station 20 wher- a pair of
oppos~ r-ciprocating carriageQ mounted on opposite side
of th- cathod- are normally in an at-rest position with
stripping fingera 200, 202 in po~ition to receive the
2~f~ 27
--19--
metallic sheet~ therebetween from the opening station
The fingers 200, 202 of each pair are supported a spaced
distance apart on carriages 204 which are reciprocally
mounted on frame 206 to peel the metallic shQets from the
S cathode upon retraction of the eaid fingers 200, 202
Inner finger 202, upon complete retraction of carriage 204
as shown by ghost lines in Figuro 14, is withdrawn
sufficiently to allow metallic sheets 112, 114 to drop
against the passive guide rail-~ 210 which extend in an arc
to the ~-qchArge station The lower end~ of metallic
sheets 112, 114 normally have bQs - dotached from cathode
98 and drop onto th- V-support 104, th- angle sub-tended
between plate~ 106 being about the same as the angle
asaumQd b~6-- the metallic sheets ~ully opened
OPT~ONrT 9~Y~lO~ 8T'~10~
Separation statlon 22, which may be located after
full o,~ ~nq ~tation 20, may b- us-d ~or stripping of
relatlv-ly ~l-xlble ~lectrodeposit-d shoet~ such as thin
~a~ sh--t- or zinc sheets which do not have the
stl~n-s- o~ normal thickn-ss copp-r she-ts The
~-parating m chanism at ~tation 22 comprises frame 191 and
carriag-e 193, 194 reciprocally mount-d thereon for
extension toward- and retraction ~rom cathode 98 by
actuation of pi~ton-cylinder a~g l~lies l9S, one of which
is shown, wh-r-by th- upper end o~ partially stripped
cathod- 98 can be rigidly gripped between opposed clamps
CA 02041927 1997-09-03
- 20 -
196, 198. Polyethylene-coated knives 198 supported by
piston-cylinder assembly 199, one of which is shown are
then simultaneously lowered between the electrodeposited
sheets and the cathode to complete stripping of the said
sheets to the bottom of the cathode. This is illustrated
in Figure 18.
THF DISCHARGE STATION
Cathodes 98 having metallic sheets 112, 114 separated
therefrom and supported by V-support 104 are indexed to
o discharge station 24, shown more clearly in Figure 15, for
horizontal discharge from the stripping apparatus.
Station 24 comprises a pair of opposed hydraulic rams 220
mounted for extension and retraction on support frames 222
and each actuated by piston 224 extending from cylinder
226. Stripped metallic sheets 112, 114 are pushed from
the spread-apart position shown by ghost lines in Figures
and 16 to loose abutment against cathode 98 for
vertical alignment followed by opening of V-support 104,
as illustrated by the ghost lines in Figure 16 by rotation
of rods 100 and pivoting of plates 106 away from each
other by actuating means, not shown, located at station
24. Metallic strips 112, 114 fall by gravity vertically
to the position designated by 112a, 114a shown in Figure
15 under the guidance of opposed rollers 230 journaled at
the ends of rams 220. Lower support assembly or envelope
232 is rotated through
2~41192r5'
about 90 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1~
to the position depicted by ghost lines 232a and the pair
of abutting metallic sheets ej~cted by hydraulic ram 234
to the position depicted by numerals 112b, 114b for
A i gch~rge onto a shuttle conveyor
The stripped cathodo may then be indexed through
in ~r~ion station 25 to a re~ect and replacement station
26 for substitution of damaged cathodes
The carousel is then indeYed to a cathode unloading
station 28 for sequential loading and ~is~hArge of the
cathodes onto a chain conveyor for accumulation of a full
load of cathod-s for removal from the stripping assembly
and transfer to a t~n~hou~- for reus-
TR~ B~a ~q!so~
Th- stripped metallic sheet travels in pairs from
th~ ch~rg- station 24 by means of a shuttle conveyor
onto a 100 tonn- corrugat$ng pr--s 2S0 Every second pair
of m-tallic sh--ts is corrugat-d and th- alternate
cO~u~at-d and planar pairs of sh-ets moved onto a set of
tr~p rolls which deposits the sheets onto a stacker lift
252 at th- cycl- rat- of about 4 5 secon~ per double
sh--t
Th~ stack-r lift 252 compri~es a lowering assembly
which lowers th- bundlo as it is form-d so that the
distanco b~t~ th- trip roll and the top of the bundle
~5 re~ains constant When the reguired guantity of pairs of
2 ~ ri
--22--
metallic sheets, i.e. planar sheets 112, 114 and
corrugated sheets 112a and 114a as typified in Figure 17,
has been attained to form a bundle, e.g. approximately 3
tonnes, the bundle is lowered on to a chain conveyor 254
for transfer to weight lift 256 and strapper lift 258.
The lowering assembly is returned to its uppermost
position to receive pairs of metallic sheets for the next
bundle.
After weighing of the bundle by conventional
weighing equipment at lift 2S6, the bundle normally is
placed on a pair of wood blocks, not shown, and compressed
prior to wrapping and clamping steel straps 115 about the
bundle.
The present invention provides a number of important
advantages. Cathodes such as stainlQss steel cathodes
having copper sheets electrodeposited thereon can be
quickly and positively stripped of the sheets without
damag- to th- cathodes or sheets permitting an effective
and r-liabl- operation. Automation of the operation
minimizQJ or Qliminates -nual operations to increase rate
of ~rod~cLivity while obviating many hazards. The
carou~Ql configuration minimizes space requirements for
important ~avings in construction costs.
The bundles of product metallic sheet stacked and
bound in altsrnate layer~ of pairs of corrugated and
uncor.~gated or planar sheets provide continuous elongated
2~4~ 92r~J
air gaps extend$ng from one end o~ the bundle to other to
enhance the rate o~ heat transfer in a subsequent melting
operation. Such bundle represents a novel product.
It will bs understood, of course, that modifications
can b~ mad- in the ~ 'o'1 ~nt o~ the invention illustrated
and describQd herein without departing fro~ the scope and
purview o~ the invention a~ deflnQd by the appended
claims.
.
