The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a conductive metal sheet and an apparatus for manufacturing a conductive metal sheet.
There have been methods disclosed in, for example, Patent Literature 1 and the like as a method of manufacturing an aluminum alloy sheet. The methods disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and the like are methods of manufacturing an aluminum sheet material that include a step of performing the hot rolling of an aluminum alloy sheet material and performing annealing and solution heat treatment without performing substantially intermediate cooling and rapid cooling.
Patent Literature 1: JP 6-71303 A
Patent Literature 2: JP 6-71304 A
Patent Literature 3: JP 7-11402 A
The methods disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and the like are methods that can obtain an aluminum alloy sheet without requiring so-called separate batch treatment. However, since the present inventor has had an object unique to the invention that is to provide a conductive metal sheet having quality higher than that in the related art in a short time, the invention has been made to achieve the object unique to the present inventor and is to provide a method of manufacturing a conductive metal sheet and an apparatus for manufacturing a conductive metal sheet.
A method of manufacturing a conductive metal sheet according to an embodiment of the invention is a method of manufacturing a conductive metal sheet, the method comprises cooling and solidifying molten conductive metal flowing out of a melting furnace by a cooling device to form a conductive metal sheet, cooling a raw material in which all of the conductive metal is in a molten state to make the raw material become a pre-product of which a part is solidified and the rest is in a molten state, and cooling further the pre-product to make the pre-product become the conductive metal sheet as a product in which all of the molten metal is solidified, the method comprising:
applying a magnetic field to the raw material or the pre-product in a thickness direction by a magnetic field unit including permanent magnets;
making alternating current flow at least between the front position and the rear position of a lengthwise direction of the magnetic field unite, and making the alternating current flow at least one of the raw material and molten metal of the pre-product, so that the alternating current intersects the magnetic field; and
applying vibration to at least one of the raw material and the molten metal of the pre-product by an electromagnetic force generated due to the intersection to modify the molten metal and form the conductive metal sheet in which all of the molten metal is solidified.
An apparatus for manufacturing a conductive metal sheet according to an embodiment of the invention is an apparatus for manufacturing a conductive metal sheet, the apparatus comprises a cooling device for cooling and solidifying molten conductive metal flowing out of a melting furnace to form a conductive metal sheet, for cooling a raw material in which all of the conductive metal is in a molten state to make the raw material become a pre-product of which a part is solidified and the rest is in a molten state, and for cooling further the pre-product to make the pre-product become the conductive metal sheet as a product in which all of the molten metal is solidified, the apparatus comprising:
a magnetic field unit that applies a magnetic field to the raw material or the pre-product in a thickness direction and includes permanent magnets; and
a first electrode and a second electrode that make alternating current, which intersects the magnetic field and generates an electromagnetic force vibrating and modifying the molten metal, flow in at least one of the raw material and the pre-product.
In more detail, the apparatus for manufacturing a conductive metal sheet includes the melting furnace 1 that stores the molten conductive metal M. A reservoir 3 as a purifier, which performs degassing and filtration, is provided on the next stage of the melting furnace 1. A flow channel 5 as a trough, which allows the molten metal M to flow, is provided on the outlet side of the reservoir 3. In the flow channel 5, the conductive metal is in a liquid state, that is, the state of the molten metal M. A magnetic field unit 21 as a part of a quality improvement device 7, which improves the quality of the molten metal M by vibrating (rotating) the molten metal M as described below, is provided on the flow channel 5.
A cooling device 8, which cools the molten metal M to form a conductive metal sheet, is provided on the outlet side of the flow channel 5. That is, as publicly known, a long mold frame body (not illustrated), into which the molten metal M flows and which determines a width and a thickness, is connected to the outlet side of the flow channel 5 and the cooling device 8 is provided on the upper and lower sides of the mold frame body. The molten metal M is gradually solidified by the cooling device 8, but the solidification rate of the molten metal M depends on the pulling speed of the conductive metal sheet. That is, for example, if the pulling speed is low, the molten metal M is completely solidified and becomes a product P (that is, a product P which is solidified up to the inside of a sheet) when coming out from front pulleys 11a to be described below. If the pulling speed is high, the molten metal M becomes a pre-product Pp of which only the surface of is solidified and the inside is in the state of the molten metal M when coming out from the front pulleys 11a.
In more detail, the cooling device 8 includes an upper cooling device 8a and a lower cooling device 8d, and the upper and lower cooling devices 8u and 8d have substantially the same structure. Accordingly, the upper cooling device 8u will be described first. A belt 13 for cooling is stretched between a pair of pulleys 11a and 11b. At least one of the pulleys 11a and 11b is rotationally driven, so that the belt 13 is rotated clockwise in
Further, a downstream electrode 17a electrically connected to the product P having come out from the cooling device 8 and an upstream electrode 17b electrically connected to the molten metal M present in the melting furnace 1 are provided. These electrodes 17a and 17b form a part of the quality improvement device 7. These electrodes 17a and 17b are connected to a power source 18 by wires 19a and 19b. The power source 18 is formed of a power source that can make alternating current and direct current flow between the electrodes 17a and 17b and adjust polarity reversal, a voltage, current, and a frequency.
Current I can be made to flow between the electrodes 17a and 17b by the power source 18. That is, a current path, which is formed in the order of the power source 18, the wire 19a, the electrode 17a, the product P, the molten metal M present in the flow channel 5, the molten metal M present in the reservoir 3, the molten metal M present in the melting furnace 1, the wire 19b, and the power source 18, is formed; and alternating current can be made to flow in the current path at, for example, a frequency set by the power source 18. The magnetic field unit 21 of the quality improvement device 7 is provided on the current path. That is, the magnetic field unit 21 includes permanent magnets 21a and 21b that are disposed on the upper and lower sides in
Further, since current I (I1(a) and I2(b)) flows in the molten metal M present in the flow channel 5 in a horizontal direction of
That is, in the apparatus for manufacturing a conductive metal sheet, the molten metal M becomes a product P in a solid state by flowing through the melting furnace 1, the reservoir 3, the flow channel 5, and the cooling device 8 although also briefly described above. Even though all of the molten metal M is in a liquid state or the outer periphery of the molten metal M is solidified and only the inside of the molten metal M is in a liquid state in the flow channel 5, the molten metal M is vibrated by the electromagnetic forces Fa and Fb that are generated by magnetic lines ML of force generated from the magnetic field unit 21 and the current I flowing between the electrodes 17a and 17b. Accordingly, the molten metal M is modified. That is, for the purpose of the improvement of the quality of the molten metal M, the magnetic lines ML of force and a magnetic field have only to be applied to the molten metal M at any position where the molten metal M is not yet solidified.
As known from the above description, according to each of the embodiments, the improvement of quality can be performed with high efficiency since the molten metal M or a pre-product Pp as a target is thin even though the intensity of a magnetic field generated from the magnetic field unit 21 is low and even though the current I flowing between the electrodes 17a and 17b is small. Furthermore, a conductive metal sheet (an aluminum sheet or the like) can be made from the molten metal M, which is present in the melting furnace, in a very short time.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2014-265822 | Dec 2014 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2015/085044 | 12/15/2015 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2016/104244 | 6/30/2016 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
20020060061 | Lee et al. | May 2002 | A1 |
20140069602 | Takahashi | Mar 2014 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
6-71303 | Mar 1994 | JP |
6-71304 | Mar 1994 | JP |
7-11402 | Jan 1995 | JP |
2002-153957 | May 2002 | JP |
2013-103229 | May 2013 | JP |
WO-2013069314 | May 2013 | WO |
Entry |
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International Search Report dated Feb. 16, 2016 in PCT/JP2015/085044 filed Dec. 15, 2015. |
Extended European Search Report dated Nov. 15, 2017 in Patent Application No. 15872813.9. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20170368598 A1 | Dec 2017 | US |