Method for electroplating a strip of foam
AssigneeEfoam S.A.
InventorsMarc Kuhn, Louis Masotti, Damien Michel, Liyan Yang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for electroplating a strip of foam, the strip of foam having two opposite sides and an electrically conductive surface, comprises the steps of: continuously applying the strip of foam onto a moving cathode immersed in an electroplating bath so that the strip travels through the bath in contact with the moving cathode to electroplate metal on the strip of foam, a first side of the strip of foam facing a working surface of the moving cathode, and continuously removing the electroplated strip of foam from the moving cathode when metal has been plated to a desired thickness.
Claims17
A method for electroplating a strip of foam, said strip of foam having two opposite sides and an electrically conductive surface, comprising the steps of:
- (a) continuously applying the strip of foam onto a moving cathode immersed in an electroplating bath so that the strip travels through the bath in contact with the moving cathode to electroplate metal on the strip of foam, a first side of the strip of foam facing a working surface of the moving cathode, and
- (b) continuously removing the electroplated strip of foam from the moving cathode when metal has been plated to a desired thickness.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the moving cathode is a rotary drum having an electrically conductive surface, which forms the working surface.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the working surface of the moving cathode is made of a material on which metal plating is difficult.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that after step (b), the electroplated strip of foam is guided to a further immersed moving cathode to be electroplated, with the second side in contact with this moving cathode, in substantially the same conditions as at steps (a) and (b).
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the surface of the strip of foam is made electrically conductive by:
- deposing on the strip of foam a monomer that is electrically conductive in a polymerized form;
- and
- polymerizing the monomer into an electrically conductive polymer.
The method according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electroplating bath is a copper sulfate bath so as to plate copper on the strip of foam.
The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the further step of depositing a further metal or alloy layer on the electroplated strip of foam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.