Abstract:
A continuous panel frame that includes a sliding platform that uses rail members and sliding seats to continuously and stably move a vertical panel frame, dust free, in a nanometer precision wet manufacturing process.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to panel frame and more particularly to a continuous panel frame having rail elements sliding seats for continuously moving the vertical panel frame. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional continuous panel frame  60  for electroplating is shown in  FIG. 1  and comprises a plurality of parallel transverse bars  61  each including an upper roller  62  rotatably engaged with a bottom of a longitudinal pressing bar  64 , and a plurality of lower rollers  63  rotatably disposed on a lower member. Thus, the continuous panel frame  60  may move. 
     However, there are a number of drawbacks in above continuous panel frame  60 . For example, the rollers  62 ,  63  tend to wear after a short period time of use. Further, the continuous panel frame  60  may abnormally displace laterally, i.e., along X-axis and thus is not aligned with the longitudinal pressing bar  64 , i.e., not aligned along Y-axis. The conventional continuous panel frame  60  is applicable to electroplating having precision of millimeters only rather than electroplating having precision more than millimeters such as wet manufacturing processes of nanometer precision. 
     Thus, the need for improvement still exists. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a continuous panel frame to use rail members and sliding seats for continuously moving the vertical panel frame in order to avoid dust in wet manufacturing processes, and enhance the precision of the continuous wet manufacturing processes, meeting the need of wet manufacturing processes of nanometer precision. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a continuous panel frame for stable movement of the sliding platform and for connecting to other rails to change the movement direction. 
     In order to achieve the above objects, a continuous panel frame comprises: a support; at least two rail elements transversely arranged on the support; at least four sliding seats separately arranged on the rail elements; a sliding platform across arranged on the sliding seats, having at least four ends of the bottom edges fixed to the sliding seats and connected to a sliding power to linearly move on the rail elements; and a panel frame connected to the sliding platform by a hanging arm to be hanged and moved with the sliding platform. 
     Based on the features disclosed, the sliding seat corresponding to a contact surface of the rail element has polymer composites materials. 
     Further, the hanging arm in an L-shaped has a horizontal portion fixed to the sliding platform and a vertical portion fixed to the panel frame; the panel frame has a dust-proof cover. 
     The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a portion of a conventional continuous panel frame for electroplating; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is cross-sectional view taken along the line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of the rail element and the sliding seat shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a side elevation of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is an application example of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 to 9 , the preferred embodiment of a continuous panel frame in accordance with the present invention comprises the following components as discussed in detail below. 
     A support  10  includes at least two rail elements  20  transversely arranged on the support  10 . In the embodiment, three rail elements are provided but it is not a limitation. At least four sliding seats  30  are separately arranged on the rail elements  20 . A sliding platform  40  is across arranged on the sliding seats  30 , has at least four ends of the bottom edges fixed to the sliding seats  30  and is connected to a sliding power  11  to linearly move on the rail elements  20 . In the embodiment, the sliding seat  30  corresponding to a contact surface of the rail element  20  has polymer composites materials  31 . The polymer composites materials have properties of stronger, lighter, high-temperature resistance, etc. Thus, the sliding seat  30  can slide on the rail element  20  for a long period of time without being malfunctioned. 
     A panel frame  50  is connected to the sliding platform  40  by a hanging arm  51  to be hanged and moved with the sliding platform  40 . In the embodiment, the hanging arm  51  in an L-shaped has a horizontal portion  51 L fixed to the sliding platform  40  and a vertical portion  51 H fixed to the panel frame  50 , and the panel frame  50  has a dust-proof cover  52  secured to a bottom end of the vertical portion  51 H. Thus, the panel frame  50  can be disposed vertically. This is particularly important because the panel frame  50  can be positioned in a tank  53  for wet manufacturing processes. 
     Further, the sliding power  11  may be a transmission chain connected to a connected block  42  at a bottom of the sliding platform  40 . A pushing block  41  is arranged at a front and rear ends of a top of the sliding platform  40 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the rail element  20  has a projection  21  and a circular section but not limited to so that the polymer composites materials  31  of the sliding seat  30  may smoothly ride on the rail element  20 , achieving the best performance and stability and effectively avoiding friction dust which affects the quality of wet manufacturing processes. 
     In the invention, width W between the sliding seats  30  on the rail element  20  is about 30-40 cm and distance D between t the sliding seats  30  on the rail element  20  is also 30-40 cm but it is not a limitation. 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , the present invention applying to a panel frame carrier  1  comprises a transformed platform  12  for carrying both the sliding platform  40  and the panel frame  50  to another rail behind the rail elements  20  and engaging with one end of the rail. Thus, both the sliding platform  40  and the panel frame  50  can be moved from the front rail to the rear rail by the transformed platform  12 , having continuous and smooth operation of the wet manufacturing processes. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.