Thin Floor Plate with Raised Slip-Resistant Pattern
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing steel floor plates are thick and expensive, making it challenging to create thinner, cost-effective options that maintain sturdiness and provide an effective slip-resistant pattern for safety in applications like construction and walkways.
Innovation Solution
A method using a twin roll caster system to cast thin steel strips with a raised slip-resistant pattern, where molten metal is introduced between counter-rotated casting rolls, forming a solidified strip that is then rolled to create a floor plate with a thickness of less than 1.7 mm and a slip-resistant pattern of 0.3 to 0.7 mm in height, using a hot rolling mill with patterned work rolls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional thick steel floor plates are used, then structural strength and durability are improved, but cost and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the thickness parameter of the floor plate from traditional thick (typically >3mm) to thin (0.3-1.7mm), while compensating for strength through a raised slip-resistant pattern that provides structural reinforcement. This parameter change reduces weight by 60-80% while maintaining adequate strength through the pattern design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure by forming a raised pattern (0.3-0.7mm height) on the thin floor plate surface. This pattern acts as a reinforcement layer, creating a composite effect where the thin base plate combined with the raised pattern provides both weight reduction and structural strength.
2Weight of stationary object
If floor plate thickness is reduced to lower cost and weight, then manufacturing cost and weight decrease, but structural strength and slip resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a raised slip-resistant pattern (0.3-0.7mm height) in specific areas of the thin floor plate. This pattern is strategically positioned to provide localized reinforcement where strength and slip resistance are needed most, while the rest of the plate remains thin for weight reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The raised pattern creates a composite structure where the thin base plate (0.3-1.7mm) combined with the raised pattern provides both weight reduction and structural strength. The pattern acts as a reinforcement layer that compensates for the reduced thickness.
3Reliability
If a raised slip-resistant pattern is added to thin floor plates, then slip resistance improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the casting and pattern formation processes into a single integrated operation. The raised slip-resistant pattern is formed directly during the twin-roll casting process by using patterned rolls, eliminating the need for separate pattern addition steps and reducing manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical pattern application systems with a simplified casting-based pattern formation system. By using patterned rolling surfaces during casting, the slip-resistant pattern is created automatically as the metal solidifies, replacing what would otherwise require complex mechanical or chemical patterning processes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method produces thinner, more cost-effective steel floor plates with enhanced slip resistance and durability, suitable for applications requiring impact resistance and safety, while maintaining structural integrity and ease of movement.
Implementation Method 1
molten metal is introduced between a pair of counter-rotated, internally cooled casting rolls so that metal shells solidify on the moving roll surfaces
Implementation Method 2
internally cooled casting rolls
Data Source
AI summary
A method of making floor plate includes assembling a pair of casting rolls laterally disposed to form a nip, assembling a hot rolling mill downstream of the nip having work rolls with a surface pattern forming the negative of a raised slip-resistant pattern desired in a floor plate, introducing molten metal through at least one metal delivery nozzle to form a casting pool supported on the casting rolls above the nip; counter rotating the casting rolls to form shells on the casting surfaces of the casting rolls to cast metal strip of less than 2.2 mm thickness downwardly from the nip, and delivering the cast metal strip to and through the hot rolling mill to form by the negative of the slip-resistant pattern on the work rolls a raised slip-resistant pattern of between 0.3 and 0.7 mm in height in a floor plate of less than 1.7 mm thickness.