Apparatus for making thin floor plate and a thin floor plate

Abstract

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.

1 - 7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . A hot rolling mill comprising:
 a single pair of work rolls, one work roll of the pair of work rolls including a surface pattern forming a negative of a raised slip resistant pattern desired in a floor plate between 0.3 and 0.7 mm in height and wherein the single pair of work rolls delivers a floor plate having a thickness of less than 1.7 mm.   
     
     
         9 . The hot rolling mill of  claim 8 , where the delivered floor plate is greater than 0.7 mm in thickness. 
     
     
         10 . The hot rolling mill of  claim 8 , where the delivered floor plate is greater than 1.0 mm in thickness. 
     
     
         11 . The hot rolling mill of  claim 8 , where the delivered floor plate has a slip resistant pattern formed as specified in ASTM A786M-2004, pattern 4. 
     
     
         12 . The hot rolling mill of  claim 9 , where the delivered floor plate has a slip resistant pattern formed as specified in ASTM A786M-2004, pattern 4. 
     
     
         13 . The hot rolling mill of  claim 10 , where the delivered floor plate has a slip resistant pattern formed as specified in ASTM A786M-2004, pattern 4. 
     
     
         14 . A hot rolling mill comprising:
 a pair of work rolls, one work roll of the pair of work rolls including a surface pattern forming a negative of a raised slip resistant pattern desired in a floor plate between 0.3 and 0.7 mm in height and wherein the single pair of work rolls delivers a floor plate having a thickness of less than 1.7 mm;   wherein the pair of work rolls are arranged between only two additional pairs of pinch rolls forming a first and second pair of pinch rolls such that a cast metal strip is directed from a nip directly to the first pair of pinch rolls, directly thereafter to the pair of work rolls, and directly thereafter to the second pair of pinch rolls.   
     
     
         15 . A thin cast metal strip comprising:
 a thickness of less than 1.7 mm and a raised slip resistant pattern desired in a floor plate between 0.3 and 0.7 mm in height formed by a single hot rolling mill having a single pair of work rolls where one work roll of the pair of work rolls includes a surface pattern that is a negative of the raised slip-resistant pattern.   
     
     
         16 . The thin cast metal strip of  claim 15  wherein the thickness is greater than 0.7 mm. 
     
     
         17 . The thin cast metal strip of  claim 15  wherein the thickness is greater than 1.0 mm. 
     
     
         18 . The thin cast metal strip of  claim 15  wherein the raised slip resistant pattern is formed as specified in ASTM A786M-2004, pattern 4. 
     
     
         19 . The thin cast metal strip of  claim 16  wherein the raised slip resistant pattern is formed as specified in ASTM A786M-2004, pattern 4. 
     
     
         20 . The thin cast metal strip of  claim 17  wherein the raised slip resistant pattern is formed as specified in ASTM A786M-2004, pattern 4. 
     
     
         21 . The thin cast metal strip of  claim 15  that is coiled.