Continuous electroplating apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR THE CONTINUOUS ELECTROPLATING OF A GLASS SHEET HAVING A MECHANICALLY SENSITIVE MIRROR SURFACE, COMPRISING MEANS FOR SUPPORTING AND CONVEYING SUCH A SHEET FOR LENGTHWISE MOVEMENT IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE WITH ITS SENSITIVE SURFACE UPPERMOST, AT LEAST ONE TROUGH-SHAPED METALLIC CONTAINER HAVING A FLAT BOTTOM EXTENDING ACROSS THE WIDTH OF THE SHEET AND OF SUBSTANTIAL EXTENT IN THE DIRECTION OF LENGTHWISE SHEET TRAVEL, MEANS SUPPORTING SAID CONTAINER IN CLOSELY SPACED RELATION ABOVE THE SENSITIVE SURFACE OF SAID SHEET, THE CONTAINER BOTTOM HAVING A MULTIPLICITY OF SMALL, DISCRETE APERTURES EXTENDING THERETHROUGH AND SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE BOTTOM AREA, AT LEAST ONE FREELY ROTATABLE METALLIC CONTRACT ROLLER SUPPORTED IN CONTRACT WITH SAID SENSITIVE SURFACE OUTSIDE THE AREA COVERED BY SAID CONTAINER, MEANS FOR FLOWING PLATING SOLUTION INTO SAID TROUGH-SHAPED CONTAINER IN SUFFICIENT QUANTITY TO MAINTAIN A BODY OF SOLUTION THEREIN AND FROM WHICH THE SOLUTION CAN FLOW THROUGH SAID APERTURES INTO THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID SURFACE AND THE BOTTOM OF SAID CONTAINER, AND THEREAFTER OUT FROM SAID SPACE, AT SUCH A RATE AS TO MAINTAIN A CONTINUOUS CONTACT LAYER OF SOLUTION BETWEEN THE BOTTOM OF SAID CONTAINER AND THE SENSITIVE SURFACE, AND MEANS FOR IMPARTING A DIRECT CURRENT POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SAID CONTAINER AND SAID CONTACT ROLLER WHEREBY THE CONTAINER BECOMES AN ANODE AND THE ROLLER A CATHODE.