SURFACE-TREATING SUPPORT MEMBER, SURFACE-TREATING HOLDER, SURFACE-TREATING PROCESS, AND SURFACE-TREATING APPARATUS

• Main Authors: KEN OHTAGAKI, YOSHIMI TOCHISHITA, YOSHIO FUJIWARA, YOSHIHIRO ASAGAI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 31.05.2004
• Subjects: CHEMICAL SURFACE TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATIONOR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY IONIMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; DIFFUSION TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL; INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION INGENERAL; METALLURGY; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THESURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION

IN A PROCESS FOR SURFACE-TREATING A PLURALITY OF WORKS, THE SURFACES OF THE WORKS ARE TREATED IN A TREATING CHAMBER, WHILE BEING ROTATED ABOUT THEIR AXES, OR ABOUT A ROTATIONAL AXIS, OR ABOUT THEIR AXES AND ABOUT THE ROTATIONAL AXIS. THE WORKS ARE SUPPORTED IN A SUPPORT MEMBER (10;20) WHICH MAY BE COMPRISED OF AN UPPER CAGE (LA) AND A LOWER CAGE (LB) INCLUDING A LARGE NUMBER OF COMPARTMENTS (3), SO THAT THE CAGES ARE OPENABLE AND CLOSABLE IN A LENGTHWISE DIRECTION. THE SUPPORT MEMBER (20) MAY BE COMPRISED OF PLATE-LIKEELEMENTS (6) OPENABLY AND CLOSABLY FOLDABLE IN A LENGTHWISE DIRECTION, SO THAT A PLURALITY OF NARROW SECTIONS (9) EACH HAVING A LENGTH CORRESPONDING TO AN INSIDE DIAMETER OF A WORK ARE DEFINED IN OPENED STATES OF THE PLATE-LIKE ELEMENTS (6). THE WORKS MAY BE SUPPORTED IN A HOLDER (30) WHICH IS FORMED BY COILING A WIRE (11) AT DISTANCES IN SUCH A MANNER THAT IT IS FORMED AS A SPRING-LIKE TUBULAR STRUCTURE (13), SO THAT THE WORKS CAN BE ACCOMMODATED IN THE TUBULAR STRUCTURE. A SURFACE TREATING APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE SURFACE TREATING PROCESS INCLUDES A TREATING MATERIAL SOURCE (42) PROVIDED WITHIN A TREATING CHAMBER (40), SO THAT A TREATING MATERIAL RELEASED FROM THE TREATING MATERIAL SOURCE IS DELIVERED TO REACH WORKS FOR A SURFACE TREATMENT, AND A MEANS (50) FOR ROTATING A SUPPORT MEMBER SUPPORTING THE WORKS ABOUT ITS AXIS, OR ABOUT A ROTATIONAL AXIS, OR ABOUTITS AXIS AND ABOUT THE ROTATIONAL AXIS. THUS, THE WORKS CAN BE SURFACE-TREATED SIMULTANEOUSLY AND UNIFORMLY, WHILE BEING ROTATED ABOUT THEIR AXES, OR ABOUT THE ROTATIONAL AXIS, OR ABOUT THEIR AXES AND ABOUT THE ROTATIONAL AXIS. (FIGURE 3A)