An electron-beam exposure mask that is able to realize the required pattern transfer accuracy independent of the deflection distortion and aberration of an electron beam. This mask includes a substrate with a first area and a second area, a first plurality of cell apertures formed in the first area of the substrate, and a second plurality of cell apertures formed in the second area of the substrate. The first area of the substrate is designed so that a charged-beam irradiated to the first area has a deflection angle less than a reference angle. The second area of the substrate is designed so that a charged-beam irradiated to the second area has a deflection angle equal to or greater than the reference angle. Each of the first plurality of cell apertures corresponds to fine patterns necessitating high pattern transfer accuracy. Each of the second plurality of cell apertures corresponds to rough patterns unnecessitating the high pattern transfer accuracy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to charged-beam exposure such as electron- or ion-beam exposure used in semiconductor device fabrication and more particularly, to a charged-beam exposure mask having different cell apertures each of which typically corresponds to unit repetitive patterns of an integrated circuit (IC) chip, and a charged-beam exposure method using the exposure mask.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, the need for high throughput has been becoming stronger and stronger in semiconductor device fabrication processes with the progressing integration scale and increasing packing density in ICs. It is needless to say that this need is applied to lithography processes using an electron beam, i.e., electron beam lithography.
To cope with the need for higher throughput, an improved method termed the "cell projection method" has been developed in electron-beam lithography. With this "cell projection method", typically, an exposure mask has different cell apertures, each of which corresponds to unit repetitive patterns of an IC chip, in addition to a shaping aperture for forming a variable-shaping aperture. On use, an electron beam is repetitively irradiated to the individual cell apertures or the shaping aperture for each IC chip.
FIG. 1 shows an example of the conventional exposure masks designed for the cell projection method. In FIG. 1, a plurality of apertures 102a, 102b, and 102c are regularly formed in a substrate 101 of a conventional exposure mask 100.
The shaping aperture 102a, which is rectangular and serves to form a variable-shaped electron beam, is located in the central area of the substrate 101. The cell apertures 102b, each of which corresponds to unit repetitive patterns of an IC chip, are located in the peripheral area of the substrate 101. The cell apertures 102c, each of which corresponds to unit repetitive patterns of the same IC chip, are located in an intermediate area of the substrate 101. The geometry of these cell apertures 102b and 102c is determined according to the designed layout (or exposure) data of the IC chip.
The selection of the apertures 102a, 102b, and 102c is carried out by deflection of an electron beam. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, a rectangular-shaped electron beam 121 is irradiated toward the conventional exposure mask 100. The beam 121 has been shaped into a rectangle by a beam-shaping mask (not shown) located between an electron source and the mask 100.
The electron beam 121 is deflected by a beam deflector (not shown) located between the beam-shaping mask and the exposure mask 100 so as to be irradiated to one of the apertures 102a, 102b, and 102c, thereby selecting the aperture 102a, 102b, or 102c. The beam 121 having passed through the selected aperture 102a, 102b, or 102c is projected on an area of an electron-beam resist layer on a semiconductor wafer, thereby transferring the patterns corresponding to the apertures 102a, 102b, and 102c onto the resist layer.
The layout or arrangement of the apertures 102a, 102b, and 102c is optionally determined according to an intention of a mask designer.
With the conventional exposure mask 100 shown in FIG. 1, when the electron beam 121 is irradiated to the shaping aperture 102a located in the central area of the mask 100, no deflection is necessary for the beam 121, because the axis of the beam 121 is designed to be aligned with the center of the mask 100.
However, when the electron beam 121 is irradiated to any one of the cell apertures 102b and 102c located in the peripheral and intermediate areas of the mask 100, the beam 121 needs to be deflected by an angle .theta. with the use of the beam deflector. It is clear that the value of the angle .theta. for the cell apertures 102b in the peripheral area is greater than that for the cell apertures 102c in the intermediate area.
The deflection distortion and aberration of the beam 121 increases with the increasing amount of the beam deflection, i.e., the deflection angle .theta.. Therefore, obtainable pattern-placement accuracy on a semiconductor wafer will degrade proportional to the deflection angle .theta.. This means that some problems will occur due to the degradation in pattern-placement accuracy when one of the apertures 102b in the peripheral area of the mask 100 is selected.
To solve the above problems due to the degradation in pattern-placement accuracy, conventionally, various approaches have been made for the purpose of decreasing the deflection distortion and aberration of the electron beam 121.
For example, an improved electron beam exposure system is disclosed in the Japanese Non-Examined Patent Publication No. 7-201701 published in August 1995. With this system, a driving voltage applied across a pair of opposing electrodes forming a sub beam deflector is increased by a specific amount according to the deflection amount of an electron beam caused by a main deflector. At the same time, another driving voltage applied across another pair of opposing electrodes forming the sub beam deflector is decreased by the same specific amount. Thus, the aberration of the electron beam is compensated.
Further, an improved deflection compensation method of an electron-beam exposure system is disclosed in the Japanese Non-Examined Patent Publication No. 7-142321 published in June 1995. In this method, the deflection amount of an electron beam is measured when a mark formed at a specific location on a semiconductor wafer is detected in a first step. Next, the measured deflection amount is set as compensation data for the electron beam in a second step. A time period until the measured deflection amount will reach the maximum tolerance limit is predicted based on the changing rate of the measured deflection amount in a third step. The first, second, and third steps are directed to be performed for a next measurement at the time when the predicted time period will be passed in a fourth step.
With the conventional techniques disclosed in the Japanese Non-Examined Patent Publication Nos. 7-201701 and 7-142321, however, there are the following problems.
Because these conventional techniques necessitate the structural change of the electron-optical system for deflecting an electron beam, the resultant electron exposure system will have a complicated structure. Also, they are unable to completely eliminate the above-described problems due to the degradation in pattern placement accuracy.
Especially, in recent years, miniaturization of the semiconductor devices or ICs has been progressing more and more and therefore, the required pattern-placement accuracy in electron beam lithography has been becoming severer and severer. From this point of view, it is difficult for the conventional techniques disclosed in the Japanese Non-Examined Patent Publication Nos. 7-201701 and 7-142321 to realize the satisfactory pattern-placement accuracy.

Charged-beam exposure mask and charged-beam exposure method


Provided are a crystalline iron phosphate doped with metals (MFePO4), which is used as a precursor of olivine-structured LiMFePO4 (LMFP) used as a cathode active material for lithium secondary batteries, and a method of preparing the crystalline iron phosphate, in which a crystalline iron phosphate doped with metals has the following Formula I obtained by crystallizing amorphous iron phosphate and doping the latter with a different type of a metal. Formula I: MFePO4, where M is selected from the group consisting of Ni, Co, Mn, Cr, Zr, Nb, Cu, V, Ti, Zn, Al, Ga, Mg, and B. The preparation of olivine-structured LMFP, which is used as a cathode active material for lithium secondary batteries, using the crystalline iron phosphate doped with metals as a precursor can increase efficiency and reduce processing costs as compared to another method of preparing the same by mixing different types of metals in a solid state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a crystalline iron phosphate doped with metals, a method of preparing the same, and an olivine-structured lithium composite metal phosphate prepared therefrom, and more particularly to a crystalline iron phosphate doped with a metal (MFePO4, hereinafter referred to as an MFP), which is used as a precursor of an olivine-structured lithium composite metal phosphate (LiMFePO4, referred to as an LMFP) used as a cathode active material for lithium secondary batteries, and a method of preparing the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
In general, as an olivine-structured LMFP used as a cathode active material for lithium secondary batteries, an LMFP (LiMFePO4) doped with a different type of metals has been prepared by mixing different types of metals in a solid state.
However, when a raw material in a solid state is present in a method of preparing an LMFP, in order to prepare nano-sized LMFP particles, there are problems in that particulate raw materials should be used; the raw materials should be pulverized; there are many restrictions on the controls of the shape and size of the particles as compared with a liquid state method; and in case of adding two types or three types of metals at a position of M, there is a potential that a solid solution such as LiFe1-xMxPO4 is not properly formed but is present in a state of being separated into LiFePO4 and LiMPO4.
Therefore, the present inventors found that when a crystalline iron phosphate used as a precursor of an LMFP is prepared, that is, in a case in which while a small quantity of a different type of metals is added during crystallizing an amorphous iron phosphate to prepare a crystalline iron phosphate, a metal doping is induced, efficiency on preparing an LMFP from a crystalline iron phosphate doped with metals can be increased and the processing costs can be reduced. Therefore, the present inventors completed the present invention.

Crystalline iron phosphate doped with metal, method of preparing the same, and lithium composite metal phosphate prepared therefrom


A tubular capacitor with variable capacitance, including a cylindrical tube (3) of dielectric material, a metallic outer electrode (1) which surrounds the cylindrical tube (3), and an inner electrode which can axially move in the inner bore (41) of the cylindrical tube (3) and which abuts the inner bore (41), wherein the inner electrode includes a metallic rod (2; 2a; 2b; 2c), is characterized in that the metallic rod (2; 2a; 2b; 2c) is axially extended at its end (5′), located in the inner bore (41) of the cylindrical tube (3), using a rod (9; 9a; 9b; 9c) of dielectric material. The inventive tubular capacitor has an increased dielectric strength and improves the resolution of NMR spectrometers.

The invention concerns a tubular capacitor with variable capacitance comprising a cylindrical tube of dielectric material, a metallic outer electrode which surrounds the cylindrical tube, and an inner electrode which can axially move in the inner bore of the cylindrical tube and which abuts the inner bore, the inner electrode comprising a metallic rod.
Tubular capacitors of this type are e.g. used in NMR spectroscopic systems as described in the company leaflet "Avance—The Pulse Of Innovation" by the company Bruker BioSpin AG, Fällanden, Switzerland, April 2004.
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry is one of the most powerful methods of instrumental analytics and is used, in particular, in biological sciences and material research. A radio frequency (RF) resonator thereby irradiates RF field pulses into a sample and the response of the sample is measured and evaluated.
Irradiation of RF field pulses of minimum length yields NMR spectra of high quality. The minimum achievable length depends on the maximum value of the RF field amplitude that can be set without generating high voltage sparkovers in the RF resonator and, in particular, also in the capacitive tuning elements of the RF resonator. For this reason, the high voltage resistance (or dielectric strength) of the capacitive tuning elements limits the quality of the resulting NMR spectra. Conventional capacitive tuning elements are tubular capacitors with variable capacitance, as described above.
It is therefore the underlying purpose of the present invention to increase the dielectric strength of tubular capacitors with variable capacitance and, in particular, to improve the resolution of NMR spectrometers using these tubular capacitors.

Tubular capacitor with variable capacitance and dielectrically elongated inner electrode for NMR applications


A health and nutrition supplement dosage for pets, particularly feline pets, consisting essentially of anti-oxidant vitamins, B complex vitamins, bioflavonoids, chelated minerals, digestive enzymes, herbs, nutrients, and essential fatty acids and amino acids.

People and pets are now living longer than ever before. Cat owners naturally want their cats to live the longest, healthiest life possible. Cats, like people, have specific nutritional needs. As the cat gets older, the aging process takes it toll. The cat tends to slow down mentally and physically.
Although the aging process is different for every animal it generally begins at maturity, somewhere between ten and twelve months of age. Cats are considered seniors at age seven and geriatrics at age 12. Shorter lived breeds like Persians become seniors at age 6.
To determine whether or not a cat is old, it's important to distinguish between chronological and biological age. Chronological age is merely the number of years a cat has lived while biological age is determined by how the cat looks, acts and feels. From an anti-aging standpoint the cats biological age is more important that its chronological age. Longevity is attributed 70% to lifestyle and 30% to genetics. Up to 90% of diseases in cats are due to the degenerative process associated with aging.
Balanced diets are essential, but alone they cannot provide a cat with optimal levels of nutrients his or her body needs. In fact, just to obtain adequate levels of vitamin E the cat would have to consume 2500 calories a day. Consuming this many calories is detrimental to the cats health and could quickly lead to obesity and several other health-related problems. Also, taking vitamins once a day may not be sufficient to provide anti-aging benefits for the cat. Many vitamins are water-soluble and are diluted and secreted from the body fairly quickly.

Pet anti-aging wellness supplement for cats


The present invention provides a squelch detecting circuit capable of high-speed transfer while using a reduced number of high-speed operating operational amplifiers to reduce power consumption and the cost of parts. Input differential signals inputted to a differential amplification circuit are amplified and the amplified signal is outputted to a gain proportion circuit. The gain proportion circuit supplies a potential holding circuit with a potential proportional to the amplified signal. The potential holding circuit holds the potential supplied from the gain proportion circuit. A comparator circuit compares the potential held by the potential holding circuit with a reference potential to decide whether it is a squelch state or a non-squelch state and outputs the result as a detect signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to squelch detecting circuits, and particularly to a squelch detecting circuit used in a serial interface.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently, interfaces used to send/receive digital data are in progress toward higher speed, smaller amplitude, more differentiation, and more serialization. Factors causing these trends include the need to process larger amounts of digital data. Sending/receiving larger amounts of digital data (e.g. images or motion pictures) without delay requires higher-speed interfaces. Increased speed can be achieved by raising the transfer clock speed, but it has physical limitations. Another way to achieve increased speed is to reduce amplitudes of sent/received signals. Reducing signal amplitudes increases through rates at rises and falls of signals and thus speeds up signal sending/receiving.
However, reducing signal amplitudes reduces noise tolerance. To avoid this problem, signals are differentiated to increase the noise tolerance. Also, serializing interfaces offers cross-talk resistance and enables lower-cost production. From these viewpoints, recent personal computers, peripheral devices, etc. adopt the USB2.0, for example. Also, SerialATA standard is now in progress to provide interfaces faster than USB2.0.
Such serial interfaces are provided with squelch detecting circuits for detecting whether signals contain data or not. Such squelch detecting circuits are often used to generate a kind of pattern according to data presence/absence time intervals and establish a pre-communication prior to data transmission and reception. Also, the squelch detecting circuits are circuits for detecting signal squelch (no-signal) condition. The squelch condition is defined as a condition in which input differential signals Vin+ and Vin− are at the same potential. However, in reality, it is difficult to cause the input differential signals Vin+ and Vin− to be perfectly at the same potential, but potential differences occur to some degree. For example, the SerialATA standard provides that a reference value for distinguishing squelch and non-squelch should be set between 50 mV and 200 mV in terms of the amplitude after converted to single-end. When the reference value is set at 100 mV, a signal amplitude of 50 mV after the single-end conversion is judged to be a squelch state and a signal amplitude of 150 mV after the single-end conversion is judged to be a non-squelch state (signal level).
Next, a conventional squelch detecting circuit is described. First, the squelch detecting circuit includes an operational amplifier that receives input differential signals and an operational amplifier that receives a voltage based on a squelch state judging reference. The plus outputs of these operational amplifiers are connected to each other and their minus outputs are connected to each other, too. Therefore the output differential signal exhibits a waveform in which an offset value is added on one side. When the individual operational amplifiers have a gain of one, the offset value is a voltage value based on the squelch state judging reference.
The differential signal with the offset value added on one side is amplified through plural stages of operational amplifiers to obtain a final signal. The differential signal with offset value added on one side includes a plus-side signal and a minus-side signal. When the plus-side signal and the minus-side signal have an amplitude larger than the offset value, then the signals are superimposed on each other to finally provide an output signal corresponding to the data. When the plus-side signal and the minus-side signal have an amplitude smaller than the offset value, then the signals are not superimposed and finally provide an output signal fixed at a low level. The conventional squelch detecting circuit thus operates to detect a squelch state and a non-squelch state.
The operation of the squelch detecting circuit is similar to that of a signal receiver circuit. However, the squelch detecting circuit which adds an offset value to detect a squelch state and a non-squelch state differs from the receiver circuit that requires no offset value. If a squelch detecting circuit is provided with a function as a receiver circuit, then the addition of the offset value affects the duty ratio of the finally obtained data. Therefore a receiver circuit is provided separately from the squelch detecting circuit.
Next, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2002-344540 (pp. 8–19, FIGS. 1–14: this reference is hereinafter referred to as First Patent Document) and 2002-344541 (pp. 7–16, FIGS. 1–10: this reference is hereinafter referred to as Second Patent Document) describe improvements of conventional squelch detecting circuits. In the squelch detecting circuits described in First and Second Patent Documents, a peak hold circuit holds a peak value of an input signal at a given node. Then, while the potential at the given node varies as the peak hold circuit holds the peak value, a constant-potential setting circuit constantly brings it back to a given potential with a time constant larger than the potential variation caused by the holding of the peak value. Then a comparator circuit compares with a given reference level the potential at the node that is held at the peak value and slowly brought back to the given potential and outputs the result of the comparison as a detect signal.
However, in order to obtain a final output signal from input differential signals, conventional squelch detecting circuits are required to provide amplifying performance equivalent to or higher than that of receiver circuits. Therefore conventional squelch detecting circuits require plural stages of operational amplifiers and consume huge power. In fact, the USB2.0 (with a transfer rate of 480 Mbps) requires six to seven stages of operational amplifiers. Also, high transfer rates, like that of USB2.0, require operational amplifiers to operate at high speed, leading to increased cost of parts.
Moreover, when a plurality of operational amplifiers are provided, the amplification factors of individual operational amplifiers vary due to electrical characteristic differences among them, temperature variations during operation, and supplied voltage variations. The variations of individual operational amplifiers make it difficult for the conventional squelch detecting circuits to operate steadily.
The squelch detecting circuits described in First and Second Patent Documents cited above use peak hold circuits and therefore, unlike other conventional squelch detecting circuits, they do not need plural stages of operational amplifiers. Thus the squelch detecting circuits described in First and Second Patent Documents can solve the above-described problems. However, since the circuit configurations of the squelch detecting circuits described in First and Second Patent Documents include feedback portions, the held peak values are limited. A squelch detecting circuit with limited peak value can operate up to the transfer rate of 480 Mbps of USB2.0, but, with SerialATA with a transfer rate of 1.5 Gbps, such a squelch detecting circuit with limited peak value may be unable to obtain sufficient gain and unable to operate.


There is provided an engine rotation speed control device for performing over-speed rotation prevention control to decrease an engine rotation speed if the engine rotation speed exceeds a first upper limit rotation speed. If a gear position of a transmission is a neutral state or an intermediate neutral state in which predetermined gears are not engaged with each other in the middle of a gear change operation of the transmission, a second upper limit rotation speed which is lower than the first upper limit rotation speed is set. If the engine rotation speed at the time when the gear position of the transmission is the neutral state or the intermediate neutral state is higher than the second upper limit rotation speed, the over-speed rotation prevention control is performed.

In a motorcycle transmission, a so-called constant-mesh type transmission in which a plurality of gears is constantly in mesh is used (see Patent Document 1 for instance). The transmission disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a counter shaft to which rotation of a crankshaft is transmitted via a clutch mechanism, and a drive shaft which transmits the rotation to the rear wheel which is a drive wheel via a drive chain. Moreover, a plurality of transmission gears having different numbers of teeth is provided on the two shafts, and the assemblage of the transmission gears is switched, whereby primary deceleration is performed.
In Patent Document 1, the transmission gears are composed of, for example, a gear configured to rotate integrally with one shaft, a slider gear provided so as to rotate integrally with the shaft and be able to slide on the other shaft along the axial direction, and a free gear provided on the other shaft so as to be able to freely rotate and idly rotate. These gears are constantly in mesh to rotate, and the side surfaces of the individual gears have dogs. For gear change, a shift cam is rotated by operating a change pedal arm, and a shift fork is slid by rotation of the shift cam. As a result, the dogs of the slider gear is engaged with the doges of a neighboring gear such that they can integrally rotate. Therefore, it is possible to switch the assemblage of the transmission gears.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-148615A
By the way, immediately after a rider performs a gear change operation, a state in which the dogs cannot be properly engaged with a gear which is the destination of gear change and bounce from it and which is called "gear disengagement" may occur. In this case, torque transmission between the engine and the drive wheel is interrupted, and the engine becomes a no-load state. In this case, for example, it is assumed that if the rider misunderstands that gear change has been completed (the dogs have been engaged) and operates the accelerator again such that the throttle valve becomes an open state, a rise in the engine rotation speed which is not intended by the rider occurs.


Disclosed is a cascode configuration that moves the gate of the cascode substantially without delay relative to an output node by capacitively coupling the latter onto the cascode gates. The passive coupling eliminates the need for actively driving the gates of the cascode. In some embodiments, the only circuitry needed on the cascode gate may be a biasing circuit that limits the swing on the cascode gate between Vmax and 2×Vmax, where Vmax is a transistor device rating.

Unless otherwise indicated, the foregoing is not admitted to be prior art to the claims recited herein and should not be construed as such.
Modern portable applications may require power management devices that connect directly to Li-ion batteries. Such configurations can subject the sensitive circuits of the power management devices to voltages of 4.8V or higher. In 28 nm CMOS technologies, standard IO devices can have a maximum rating (Vmax) of about 2.3V. Higher voltage devices with Vmax of 5V can be fabricated in 28 nm technology, but at significantly higher mask costs and incurring power efficiency degradation. Vmax typically refers to the gate-source voltage (Vgs) or gate-drain voltage (Vgd) of the device.
Merely to illustrate this point, FIG. 4 shows an example of a power stage using 28 nm technology FETs. For this example, suppose Vmax is 2.3V and the input voltage Vin is 3×Vmax. The output Vout of the power stage will therefore swing from 0V to 3×Vmax. The gates of Q1 and Q2 may be driven by a gate driver; for example, a switching power supply, a Class D amplifier, etc. FIG. 4 shows a configuration of a switching supply in which the power stage outputs 3×Vmax. In order for Vout to output 3×Vmax, the gate of Q2 needs to be grounded in order to turn OFF Q2 (the gate of Q1 is driven to 2×Vmax in order to turn ON Q1). However, driving the gate of device Q2 to ground when its drain is at 3×Vmax creates a condition where Vgd of Q2 exceeds its Vmax rating, which over time can break down the gate oxide layer.


A signal assembly mountable to an exterior of a vehicle is configured with a light-generating unit operable to emit a visually perceptible signal, and with a sound-generating unit operable to generate a sound signal. The light and sound generating units are coupled to one another to form a unitary assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed generally to a vehicle warning signal system assembly and, particularly, to a signal assembly having light and sound generating signal units coupled together to form a unitary structure.
2. Related Art Discussion
Light systems may be utilized in conjunction with many different types of vehicles such as vans, trucks, ambulances, tow trucks, utility trucks, maintenance trucks, as well as other vehicles which may benefit from an improved warning light system. Similarly, sound warning systems are an indispensable vehicle accessory improving traffic safety.
A variety of configurations of both light and sound warning signal systems are known in the art. Some of the known sound systems have a horn configuration. For example, digital horns are disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,489,885 fully incorporated herein by reference. A sound generating horn system is typically known for its distinct sound. It is not unusual for a truck or car to have this system installed. However, typically, the horn system may not be space-effective.
At least some of the known light systems are provided with a visual display carrying important insignia. For example, the above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,489,885 discloses the use of lights for the displaying purposes. However, at least some of the known display systems may not be conspicuously positioned. Others are configured so that a display occupies a lot of precious space, as disclosed, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,454, which is also incorporated herein by reference.
It is, therefore, desirable, to provide a display assembly generating a light signal and provided with a horn configuration.
Another need exists for a signal assembly operable to generate light and sound signals that is conspicuously positioned on a vehicle.
Still another need exists for a signal assembly operable to generate light and sound signals that has a modular structure including a sound and light generating units.
A further need exists for a signal assembly provided with sound and light generating units that are detachably coupled to one another to form a modular structure that can be easily assembled, installed and maintained.

Display assembly with horn configuration for vehicle


The present invention provides nucleic acid sequences having an altered viral movement protein and 126/183 kDa replicase proteins further characterized in its ability tostabilize a transgene contained in a virus that expresses the altered movement protein. The present invention also provides viral vectors expressing the altered movement protein, cells transformed with the vectors, and host plants infected by the viral vectors.

In the last fifteen years, considerable progress has been made in expressing foreign genes in plants. Foreign proteins are now routinely produced in many plant species for modification of the plant or for production of proteins for use after extraction. Vectors for the genetic manipulation of plants have been derived from several naturally occurring plant viruses. For the production of specific proteins, transient expression of foreign genes in plants using virus-based vectors has several advantages. Products of plant viruses are among the highest produced proteins in plants. Often a viral gene product is the major protein produced in plant cells during virus replication. Many viruses are able to systemically move from an initial infection site to almost all cells of the plant. Because of these reasons, plant viruses have been developed into efficient transient expression vectors for foreign genes in plants. Viruses of multi-cellular plants are relatively small, probably due to the size limitation in the pathways that allow viruses to move to adjacent cells in the systemic infection of entire plants. One such plant virus upon which plant expression vectors are based is TMV (tobacco mosaic virus). TMV is the type member of the tobamovirus group. TMV has straight tubular virions of approximately 300×18 nm with a 4 nm-diameter hollow canal consisting of approximately 2000 units of a single capsid protein wound helically around a single RNA molecule. Virion particles are 95% protein and 5% RNA by weight. The genome of TMV is composed of a single-stranded RNA of 6395 nucleotides containing five large ORFs. Expression of each gene is regulated independently. The virion RNA serves as the messenger RNA (mRNA) for the 5′ genes, encoding the 126 kDa replicase subunit and the overlapping 183 kDa replicase subunit that is produced by read through of an amber stop codon approximately 5% of the time. Expression of the internal genes is controlled by different promoters on the minus-sense RNA that direct synthesis of 3′-coterminal subgenomic mRNAs which are produced during replication. A detailed description of tobamovirus gene expression and life cycle can be found, among other places, in Dawson and Lehto, Advances in Virus Research 38:307–342 (1991).
Thus, it is of scientific and commercial interest to provide new and improved vectors for the genetic manipulation of plants.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The present invention disclose a salicide process with a self-preamorphization step to reduce the sheet resistance of the source/drain region. The salicide process, comprising the steps of performing a pre-amorphization step on the surface of the silicon and simultaneously forming a metal layer, further contains the substeps of applying a back bias to the bottom of the substrate, using ion metal plasma to transform the surface of the substrate into amorphous silicon, forming a metal layer on the surface of the substrate and then using a thermal process having two stages to transform the metal into the salicide.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to the improvement of the self-aligned silicide (Salicide) process, and more particularly to a process which combines the salicide process and a self-preamorphization process.
As the level of integration for MOS devices increases, resistance in the source/drain terminals of the MOS device gradually rises to a value comparable to the channel resistance of the MOS device. To ensure integrity at the shallow junction between metallic contacts and the MOS terminals, and for the downward adjustment of sheet resistance in the source/drain terminals, self-aligned silicide processes are now employed in the manufacturing of very large scale integrated (VLSI) and ultra large scale integrated (ULSI) circuits. However, the thermal stability of TiSi.sub.2 with narrow line is easily degraded by the thermal budget and TiSi.sub.2 thickness. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a low sheet resistance and high uniformity Ti-salicide with narrow line (<0.5 .mu.m). Pre-amorphization implantation has been reported to improved the resistance of TiS.sub.2. However, an additional implantation is needed for this technique, and cost is increased by this implantation.
One of the conventional methods to obtain a low sheet resistance comprises implanting arsenic (AS) or Argon (Ar) atoms into the surface of the amorphous silicon, and then performing a self-aligned silicide process, as shown in FIG. 1A-FIG. 1D.
First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a semiconductor substrate 10 is provided, and shallow trench isolation regions 12 and MOS transistors 10' are formed above the substrate 10. The MOS transistors 10' consisting of gate electrodes 18, spacers 16 formed around the periphery of the gate electrodes 18 and source/drain regions 14 formed near the surface of the substrate 10 and around the periphery of the gate electrodes 18. The spacers 16 can be made from material such as dielectric compound.
Next, in FIG. 1B, the surface of source/drain regions 14 are transformed into amorphous phase by implanting As or Ar atoms into the substrate 10 using gate electrodes 18 as masks. Thus, the thickness of the titanium metal formed in the subsequent process can be controlled and the resistance of the titanium silicide can be improved by this amorphous surface. However, this additional implantation step increases the cost of the process.
Next, referring to FIG. 1C, a layer of titanium metal 28 is deposited, for example, using magnetically controlled DC sputtering method, over the surface of the semiconductor substrate 10 to a thickness of about 200.about.1000.sub.--. Because the amorphous surface is pre-formed in the surface 24 of the source/drain regions 14, the titanium metal will not penetrate deeply into the source/drain regions 14, effectively controlling the resistance of the interface.
Next, in FIG. 1D, a layer of titanium silicide is formed at the interface between the titanium and silicon. Namely, a layer of titanium silicide 28a is formed on the surface of the source/drain regions 14 to reduce the sheet resistance of the source/drain regions 14. Meanwhile, a titanium silicide layer 28b is formed by using a rapid thermal process (RTP) which has two stages. The early titanium silicide is formed by using a rapid thermal anneal (RTA) with nitrogen gases at a temperature of about 600.degree..about.650.degree. C. in the first stage. Then, the unreacted titanium metal and the titanium nitride formed by the reaction between the titanium metal and nitrogen gases are removed, for example, by using a RCA cleaning solution. The RCA cleaning solution consists of NH.sub.4 OH/HDIW (Hot De-ionization Water)/H.sub.2 O.sub.2. The temperature is raised to about 800.degree.-900.degree. C. and the RTA process is performed with nitrogen gases to transfer the phase of the titanium silicide from C.sub.49 to C.sub.54 in the second stage. The titanium silicide is formed by the diffusion and chemical reaction between the titanium and silicon. Because of the low resistance of the titanium silicide, the ohmic contact formed at the interface between titanium and silicon will be excellent.
As the size of the device is diminished, a conventional pre-amorphous implantation process is performed to obtain a low sheet resistance and high uniformity titanium silicide with narrow line. However, this additional implantation step will increases the cost of the process.

Method of manufacturing self-aligned silicide


A transition duct for a combustor of a gas turbine generally includes a transition duct having a frame at an aft end of the transition duct. The frame generally includes a downstream end, a radially outer portion, a radially inner portion opposed to the radially outer portion, a first side portion between the radially outer and inner portions, and a second side portion opposed to the first side portion. A slot in the first side portion of the frame may have a downstream surface adjacent to the downstream end of the frame. A heat shield having an inner surface, an outer surface and a plurality of spacers may extend generally outward from the heat shield inner surface such that the inner surface is adjacent to the slot downstream surface and the frame downstream end.

Turbine systems are widely used in fields such as power generation. For example, a conventional gas turbine system includes a compressor, one or more combustors, and a turbine. In a conventional gas turbine system, compressed air is provided from the compressor to the one or more combustors. The air entering the one or more combustors is mixed with fuel and combusted. Hot gases of combustion flow from each of one or more combustors through a transition duct and into the turbine to drive the gas turbine system and generate power.
In certain combustor designs, a frame may surround an aft end of the transition duct. The frame may generally include a downstream end having an inner portion, an outer portion, and a pair of side portions. The frame downstream end may be positioned adjacent to the turbine. As a result, the frame downstream end may be exposed to extreme thermal stresses caused by the hot gases flowing from the transition duct into the turbine. In particular, as the hot gases flow from adjacent transition ducts, a hot gas recirculation zone may be formed downstream from the transition ducts downstream ends in a volume that extends between the adjacent transition ducts. As a result, a portion of the hot gases flowing into the turbine may be focused on the downstream ends of the adjacent transition ducts frames, causing high temperatures and consequent high thermal stresses.
Current methods to reduce the temperatures and thermal stresses and to enhance the mechanical life of the frame, particularly downstream end of the frame, includes machining cooling passages through the frame downstream end so that a cooling medium such as the compressed air from the compressor may flow through the passages to cool the frame. There is a desire for a transition duct that includes a heat shield to shield at least a portion of the frame downstream end from the hot gases would be useful, since it would reduce frame temperature and thermal stresses and reduce or eliminate the need for machined cooling passages.


A system for generating a schedule by generating assignments for the tasks of a project and sequentially scheduling the individual assignments to available resources. First, input information is received which includes a resource calendar and a task list. A resource calendar identifies the resources available to work on a project and any constraints that are associated with the resources. A task list identifies the tasks that must be performed and any constraints that are associated with the tasks. At a minimum, the constraints associated with the tasks must identify each of the resources assigned to the task, and the work-amount that each resource must perform. Next, assignments are generated for each of the tasks. Each of the assignments identifies a specific resource and the work-amount required by the specific resource. Finally, each of the assignments are scheduled in accordance with the provided resource constraints identified in the resource calendar. The resulting schedule maximizes the utilization of the resources by scheduling on an assignment basis. The assignments are individually scheduled into the next available time-slot of the resources, thus, eliminating idle time where a resource is under-utilized.

Scheduling programs have gained considerable popularity among project-oriented professions such as product engineering companies, construction firms, and manufacturing plants. Scheduling programs allow a project manager to organize and track the development of a project. In the most general sense, a scheduling program operates by receiving an input of project-related information, generating a schedule based on this information, and then graphically or in a tabular manner, displaying the details concerning the status of the project, projected completion date, anticipated delays, etc.
The critical path method (CPM) of scheduling is used in a significant number of scheduling programs. CPM scheduling generally operates by receiving a list of tasks, each task having varying restrictions or constraints, and generating a schedule based on the task restrictions or constraints. More specifically, a set of tasks are provided to the scheduling program. Each task represents a specific job or discrete amount of work that must be performed on a project. Additionally, each task has a set of restrictions or constraints which dictate when and how long the task should be performed. To generate a meaningful schedule, CPM scheduling requires the input of information which identifies when each task is to be performed. This information can be provided by specifying constraints such as: a start date and a finish date, a start date and a task duration, a task duration and a finish date, or a task duration and a start or finish date which is dependent upon another task. If this information is not specified, the typical CPM scheduling program will assume the start date for each task to be the current date, and the duration of the task will default to a specific granularity such as one day, one week, etc.
Linking information concerning one or more of the tasks may also be entered. For instance, if a project consists of three tasks (Task 1, Task 2, and Task 3), the user may specify that Task 1 must be completed before Task 2 and Task 2 must be completed before Task 3. This information can be provided in the form of entering a start date for Task 2, which is equivalent to the finish date for Task 1, or by specifying that the start date for Task 2 is dependent upon the completion of Task 1. The latter method is referred to as a link.
Once the user enters the task information, a CPM scheduling program generates a schedule based on the provided task constraints. This is accomplished by performing a forward pass in which each task is examined. At the completion of the forward pass, a schedule is created that starts on the start date of the first task that can be scheduled and satisfies all of the provided task constraints. Next, the critical path for the project is determined. The critical path can be defined as the longest duration path through the network of task dependencies. The critical path is calculated by performing a backward pass from the last finish date to the earliest start date.
CPM scheduling programs are most beneficial for projects in which the tasks have dependencies on each other. Because of this, they are well suited for product-oriented projects which inherently have tasks that must be performed in a specific order. As an example, in building a house, the tasks of laying a foundation, framing the house, and shingling the roofing must be performed in this order. There are, however, many situations where the order of performing certain tasks of a project are arbitrary. For instance, in publishing a news letter, the order in which the articles are written is arbitrary. CPM scheduling programs typically do not produce meaningful results when the tasks do not have dependencies. As an example, if the three tasks (Task 1, Task 2 and Task 3) are not required to be performed in any specific order (i.e., do not have any dependencies), a CPM scheduling program will generate a "flat schedule" as illustrated in Schedule Example 1.
Schedule Example 1|----Task 1-----||----Task 2----------------------||----Task 3----------------------|
The problems associated with flat scheduling are evident when the tasks are viewed with respect to the resources assigned to the tasks. For instance, if a single resource is assigned to each of these three tasks, the flat schedule indicates that the resource will be required to work on three tasks at the same time. This results in "overloading" the resource. Alternatively, separate resources (Resource 1, Resource 2 and Resource 3) could be assigned to each of the three tasks respectively. This would result in a 100% utilization of Resource 2 and Resource 3; however, after the completion of Task 1, Resource 1 would be idle. This is referred to as "under-utilizing" a resource.
To avoid the generation of a flat schedule by a CPM scheduling program, the user is required to enter artificial dependency information such as links or start dates. Thus, to avoid the flat schedule shown in Schedule Example 1, the user could define the start date of Task 2 as dependent upon the completion of Task 1, and the start date of Task 3 as dependent upon the completion of Task 2. For projects with several tasks, this process may require a significant amount of effort for the user. Thus, there is a need for a scheduling program which can generate a meaningful schedule for a set of non-dependent tasks. Furthermore, there is a need for a scheduling program that can generate a meaningful schedule for a set of non-dependent tasks without requiring the input of artificial constraints such as start dates or dependencies.
A schedule in which resources are overloaded and/or under-utilized is referred to as an "unbalanced" schedule. As previously illustrated, CPM scheduling programs are susceptible to producing unbalanced schedules. One method that has been developed to address this deficiency in CPM scheduling programs is referred to as "leveling". The leveling process operates separately from the CPM scheduling and is designed to balance the resource utilization of a schedule. In this process, an overloaded resource is identified, and the task or tasks causing the first instance of the overload are determined. Next, adjustments are made to the start and/or finish dates of the task or tasks causing the overload to reduce the resource usage to 100%. Because this adjustment may result in changing the critical path, each time a leveling adjustment is made, the critical path must be recalculated before further leveling adjustments can be performed. Thus, for each leveling adjustment, a forward pass is performed to reschedule the tasks, and a backward pass is performed to recalculate the critical path. Depending on the number of tasks and the amount of overloading, this process can require a significant amount of iterative processing which wastes valuable processor time. Thus, there is a need for a method of scheduling which produces a balanced schedule. There is also a need for a method of scheduling that efficiently and quickly produces a balanced schedule which maximizes the use of the available resources.
CPM scheduling programs operate on a task-oriented basis. A problem that results from task-oriented scheduling is the tendency to under-utilize the available resources. The following example is illustrative of this problem. If the following information is provided to a CPM scheduling program:
Resource 1 (R1) is assigned to Task 1,
Resources 1 and 2 (R1,R2) are assigned to Task 2, and
Resource 2 is assigned to Task 3,
upon completion of the scheduling process, the schedule shown in Schedule Example 1 would be created. Next, upon completion of the leveling process, a possible outcome of the schedule is shown in Schedule Example 2.
Schedule Example 2|-----Task 1 (R1)-----|          |---Task 2 (R1, R2)---|                  |-------Task 3 (R2)------|
In Schedule Example 2, Task 2 has been scheduled to start upon the completion of Task 1 and Task 3 has been scheduled to start upon the completion of Task 2. Task 2 is scheduled to begin after Task 1 in order to avoid overloading of Resource 1. This results, however, in under-utilizing Resource 2, which is not scheduled during the time Resource 1 is working on Task 1. This under-utilization occurs as a result of using task-oriented scheduling. CPM scheduling with leveling would not allow Resource 2 to be scheduled to work on Task 2 in parallel with Resource 1 working on Task 1 because that would appear to overload Resource 1.
A second possible schedule that could result from the input information provided above is shown in Scheduling Example 3.
Schedule Example 3|------Task 1 (R1)------|               |---Task 2 (R1,R2)----||------------Task 3 (R2)-------------|
In Scheduling, Example 3, Resource 2 has been scheduled to work on Task 3 in parallel with Resource 1 working on Task 1, and Task 2 has been scheduled to begin upon the completion of Task 3. In this schedule, Resource 1 is under-utilized during the time after the completion of Task 1 and prior to the start of Task 2. Again, the under-utilization occurs as a result of task-oriented scheduling. Because Resource 2 is assigned to both Task 2 and Task 3, Task 2 can not begin until the completion of Task 3.
An alternative to task-oriented scheduling is assignment-oriented scheduling. In Schedule Examples 2 and 3, Task 2 can be viewed as consisting of two assignments, one assignment for Resource 1 and another for Resource 2. By performing assignment-oriented scheduling in Schedule Example 2, Resource 2 could begin working on Task 2 in parallel with Resource 1 working on Task 1. The resulting schedule is shown in Schedule Example 4.
Schedule Example 4|------Task1(R1)------|          |------Task2(R1)------||------Task2(R2)------|          |------------Task3(R2)-------------|
Likewise, by utilizing assignment-oriented scheduling in Schedule Example 3, Resource 1 can begin work on Task 2 upon the completion of Task 1, thereby avoiding the under-utilization of Resource 1. Scheduling Example 5 illustrates a schedule that could result from use of assignment-oriented scheduling.
Schedule Example 5|------Task1(R1)------|          |------Task2(R1)-----|             |------Task2(R2)-----||------------Task3(R2)-------------|
Thus, to allow for the most efficient allocation of resources, there is a need for a method to generate a schedule which is assignment-oriented rather than task-oriented. There is also a need for a method which allows the independent scheduling of individual assignments of a task. This is illustrated in Scheduling Example 4 and 5 by splitting Task 2 into two independent assignments.
CPM scheduling programs schedule tasks linearly, which contributes to the under-utilization of resources. Linear scheduling implies that once a task is started, work must continue on that task until it is completed. Thus, in Schedule Example 2, if the start of Task 2 is dependent upon the completion of Task 1, then Resource 2 could not work on Task 2 in parallel with Task 1 as illustrated in Schedule Example 4. Thus, Resource 2 will be under-utilized. An alternative to linear scheduling is to view each task as a series of smaller assignments which can be performed independently. For example, if the duration of Task 3 is one month, then Task 3 can be viewed as four (4) one week assignments or twenty (20) one day assignments. Each of these assignments can then be independently scheduled and Schedule Example 6 could result.
Schedule Example 6|------Task1(R1)------|          |---Task2(R1, R2)----||------Task3(R2)-------|         |--Task3(R2)-|
In Schedule Example 6, Task 3 has been subdivided into two assignments. The first assignment is performed in parallel with Task 1 to avoid the under-utilization of Resource 2 during this period of time. Because CPM scheduling utilizes linear scheduling, a CPM-based scheduling program could not subdivide Task 3 as illustrated. Thus, there is a need for a scheduling method which subdivides a task or assignment into components which can be individually scheduled, and generates a maximum resource utilization schedule based on these components.
Thus, there are several problems and deficiencies associated with CPM scheduling programs. Some of these problems, such as flat scheduling, can be alleviated by burdening the user with the requirement of creating artificial constraints upon the entered tasks. Other problems, such as the under-utilization of resources can not be alleviated within the constraints of CPM scheduling. Therefore, there is a need for an efficient method of scheduling that will generate meaningful schedules which maximize resource utilization by performing assignment-oriented scheduling.

System and method for generating a schedule based on resource assignments


Organo clay and activated carbon are mixed to form a particle mixture. The particle mixture is contacted with waste water having chlorides and other contaminants, such as organic materials, heavy metals, chlorides, and low level radio nuclei in solution. Acids, oxidizing chemicals, and compressed air are added to pretreat and to treat the waste water. The mixture is filtered with catalytic activated carbon filters to remove the remaining contaminants. The filters produce a clean chloride solution that is discharged or is subjected to a finishing process to produce a marketable chloride product.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for treating shale gas waste water that includes dissolved chlorides and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for producing a chloride-based product from a clean chloride solution obtained through a waste water treatment process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Purified water is used in many industries including the chemical, foodstuffs, electronics, power, medical and pharmaceutical industries, as well as for human consumption. Typically, prior to use in any one of these fields, the water is treated to reduce the level of contaminants to acceptable levels. These treatment techniques include disinfection, distillation, filtration, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, photooxidation, ozonation, and combinations thereof.
Various levels of purity may be required for different end uses. Water quality may be regulated by various government agencies and trade organizations including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
One field in which the treatment of water is necessary is in the natural gas extraction field. Extracting natural gas trapped in shale formations and other gas reservoirs often requires the use of hydraulic fracturing (also known as "fracing" or "well stimulation"). Fracing has been used safely and effectively for over sixty years. The goal of the fracing process is to create a pathway of man-made cracks in the rock that allow gas to flow from the shale into the wellbore. Without this technique, many natural gas reservoirs would not produce natural gas.
The fracing process is very water intensive, so that steps must be taken to protect groundwater. In very tight rock formations (i.e. rock formations in which gas cannot migrate through the formation naturally), a greater amount of water is used to stimulate the fractures and enhance gas flow. These formations require more water than a traditional shallow well.
The fracing of a shale well takes place after the well has reached a desired vertical and/or horizontal depth and can last for several days. Once well casing is cemented in place to protect the water aquifers and gas production zones, a charge is fired into the formation at the end of the wellbore. It perforates the steel casing, cement and shale formation to provide a pathway for the fresh water injection.
Fluids pumped under pressure act as a wedge to crack the rock during fracing operations. The fluid includes water, sand, and special-purpose additives that are injected into the wellbore. The additives are mixed in self-contained systems where fluids are not exposed to the environment. Some of the additives are commonly referred to as "slickers" or "slicker" chemicals.
Some additives include acids, such as hydrochloric acid or muriatic acid, which dissolve minerals and initiate cracks in the rocks, and anti-bacterial agents, such as glutaraldehyde, which eliminate bacteria in the water that produce corrosive by-products. Breakers, such as ammonium persulfate, that allow for a delayed break down of the gel are also used to thicken the water in order to suspend the sand. Corrosion inhibitors, such as n,n-dimethylformamide, are also used to prevent the corrosion of pipe.
Common additives also include crosslinking agents, such as borate salts, that maintain fluid viscosity as temperature increases, and gels, such as Guar gum or hydroxyethyl cellulose, that thicken the water in order to suspend the sand. Other common additives include chemicals for controlling iron content, such as citric acid, which prevent the precipitation of metal oxides, and potassium chloride that creates a brine carrier fluid.
Oxygen scavengers, such as ammonium bisulfate, are used to remove oxygen from the water to protect pipes from corrosion. Other common additives include pH adjusting agents, such as sodium or potassium carbonate, for maintaining the effectiveness of other components such as the crosslinking agents.
Other additives also include proppants, such as silica or quartz sand, which allows the fractures to remain open so that the gas can escape, and scale inhibitors, such as ethylene glycol, which prevent scale deposits in the pipe. Surfactants, such as isopropanol, are also used to increase the viscosity of the fracture fluid.
A significant portion of the fluid returns to the surface through the protective casing. It is highly monitored, collected and saved in tanks or lined pits on the well site for later transport to permitted disposal facilities. This returned fluid, called "flowback," can pick up heavy salts and minerals.
Additional amounts of water used in the fracing process remain in the shale formation nearly a mile below the Earth. The remaining water returns slowly over time at the well site and is redirected into collection tanks where it is removed and treated.
The fracing process produces a waste water stream that is contaminated with multiple contaminants, namely oil/grease, soluble organics, heavy salts, minerals, trace metals, extremely high concentration of chlorides, and, optionally, radioactive nuclei. Since the need to protect ground water is great, the waste water must be treated to remove the contaminants so that the waste water does not contaminate the ground water.
Many methods for treating waste water are known. U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2008/0116136 and 2009/0045135 disclose general methods for treating waste water. Other methods include methods for removing metals, particularly heavy metals, such as the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,761,381, 4,157,942, 4,171,255, and 4,652,352.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,352 discloses a method for recovering heavy metals from dilute solutions. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,761,381, 4,157,942 and 4,171,255 disclose methods for recovering heavy metals from aqueous solutions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,214,233 discloses a method for treating a waste water stream that contains cyanide bearing compounds and heavy metals, such as copper, silver, nickel, and iron. The method utilizes a stripping solution to remove adsorbed metals from adsorption materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,090 discloses a method for treating a waste water stream that contains heavy metals, such as chromium, zinc, and copper. The method utilizes activated carbon as an adsorption material. The method also utilizes a stripping solution to remove the adsorbed metals from the adsorption material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,987 discloses a water recycle treatment system. The system feeds treated water to a distillation unit to precipitate the metals and salts in sludge and also forms a water vapor output.
Other methods for treating waste water are directed to methods and apparatus for removing organic compounds from the water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,929,359 discloses a method for treating highly concentrated and toxic petroleum-based and synthetic fuels waste waters, such as oil shale retort water using electrolysis. The treatment is performed in a reactor that contains polyurethane foams.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,441,665 discloses a water purification cartridge. The water purification cartridge includes porous diatomaceous earthen ceramic water filters or carbon filters packed with granulated activated carbon or block.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,709,585 discloses a waste water purification system. The system includes a tank-filter for performing a pre-treatment step. The tank includes a flocculant that is uniformly mixed with an agitator. The pretreated water is directed to a collecting tank for clarification. The clarified, pre-treated water is directed through a safety filter to a battery of activated carbon columns for treatment. In another embodiment, a polypropylene bag filter that includes diatomaceous earth is used to pre-treat the waste water.
Many waste water treatment methods utilize diatomaceous earth or activated carbon. U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,463 discloses a method and apparatus for purifying aqueous solutions. A diatomaceous earth coarse filter is used to pre-treat the solution. An activated charcoal column is used to finish the process. Optionally, chloride is utilized to kill microorganisms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,044 discloses a water treatment process. The process involves contacting water with a relatively small amount of diatomaceous earth particles or activated carbon particles to adsorb impurities. After contact with the particles, the water is passed through a filter.
U.S. Pat. No. RE 35,871 discloses a water reclamation system for car washes. The system uses a diatomaceous earth filter for removing particulates and a carbon filter for removing organic contaminants. The diatomaceous earth filter removes particles of dirt, oil, and rust. The carbon filter includes activated charcoal that removes dissolved organic materials, such as oil and surfactants. The system also utilizes chloride or ozone to kill algae.
Other methods for treating water are directed to desalination methods. A publication entitled "Capacitive Deionization Technology™: An alternative desalination solution" by T. J. Welgemoed and C. F. Schutte, Desalination 183 (2005) at 327-40, discloses that possible desalination techniques for brackish water include reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, and a low-pressure non-membrane desalination process that is identified by the trademark Capacitive Deionization Technology™.
A publication entitled "Desalination technology could clean up wastewater from coal-bed methane production" by K. Christen, Environmental Science & Technology Online News, Jan. 11, 2006, accessed http://pubs.acs.org on Oct. 28, 2008, discloses that such technologies can be used in the treatment of waste water from coal-bed methane production.
However, none of the above described water treatment methods are effective in treating the waste water streams that include the combination of oil and grease, soluble organics, trace metals, and extremely high concentration of chlorides that are produced in "fracing" operations in the extraction of natural gas from shale formations. Accordingly, an improved waste water treatment is needed.

Method and apparatus for treating shale gas waste water


An authentication mark-up data of multiple local area networks is disclosed. In one embodiment of a system, the system includes a wide area network, an update device coupled to the wide area network, and any number of gateway devices coupled to the wide area network. Each of the gateway devices is associated with a separate local area network. Each of the plurality of gateway devices automatically provide an authentication page stored in the update device based upon a data provided to the update device. In addition, the authentication page is the same for at least some of the plurality of gateway devices, according to the one embodiment.

Improvements in communication technology have enabled coffee shops, restaurants, and other retail establishments to offer network connectivity to patrons (e.g., access to an Internet). Furthermore, some large chain retail establishments (e.g., such as Starbucks®, McDonalds®, and others) have enabled each of their retail locations with wired and wireless network connectivity for patrons (e.g., through "hot spots" created using a gateway device such as an access point device, and/or through a physical Ethernet port).
In one scenario, a patron wishing to access the Internet wirelessly through a laptop may enter a coffee shop offering wireless Internet service. After detecting a presence of a gateway device (e.g., a nearby access point device, and/or a nearby security device), the laptop may indicate the strength of an available wireless connection, and may redirect a browser on the laptop to an authentication page (e.g., and/or authentication file) physically stored within a memory on the gateway device.
The authentication page or pages may be generated using a mark-up language data such as, for example, HTML (hypertext markup language), requiring the patron to enter authentication information (e.g., a user name, a password, credit card information, etc.). Before the patron is permitted to access the Internet (e.g., and/or other network), the authentication page may require validation (e.g., through a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) server) to ensure that the patron has paid the required fee and/or is permitted access to restricted content (e.g., it should be noted that the authentication page may require validation for both wired and wirelessly associated patrons). The authentication page may also include marketing information (e.g., such as promotions, specials, announcements, coffee specials, coupons, weather, etc.).
When a coffee shop headquarters has new marketing information for patrons using network connectivity, the coffee shop headquarters may instruct each of their retail locations to manually replace the authentication page on each gateway device within each retail location. For example, this may require each retail location of the coffee shop to temporarily disrupt network service and reconfigure the gateway device with a new authentication page. If a particular retail location of the coffee shop forgets to update to the new authentication page, outdated information may be displayed to patrons resulting in a less than perfect patron experience (e.g., loss of marketing opportunity, patron confusion, misrepresentation, etc.). In addition, replacing authentication pages at each retail location when the new marketing information is made public is expensive and cumbersome because skilled employee time is required to replace old authentication pages.

Authentication mark-up data of multiple local area networks


The invention relates to a process for preparing alkoxyamines. This process consists in mixing, in an organic solvent, a metal salt, a ligand for the metal, a halocarbon compound ZX and a nitroxide, in keeping the reaction medium stirring at a temperature of between 20xc2x0 C. and 90xc2x0 C. until the nitroxide has disappeared, in recovering the organic phase, in washing it with water and then in isolating the alkoxyamine by evaporating the organic solvent under reduced pressure.

This application is a 371 of pct/FR00/00750, filed Mar. 24, 2000.
The present invention relates to a process for preparing xcex1,xcex2,xcex2-trisubstituted hydroxylamines, referred to hereinbelow as alkoxyamines, obtained from nitroxides, which can be used in particular as radical-polymerization initiators. The use of alkoxyamines such as those derived from (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl)-N-oxide (TEMPO) in the preparation of macromolecules has given rise to many publications.
Thus, Hawker C. J. et al. (Macromolecules 1996, 29, pages 5245-5254) showed that the use of TEMPO-based alkoxyamines such as (2xe2x80x2,2xe2x80x2,6xe2x80x2,6xe2x80x2-tetra-methyl-1xe2x80x2-piperidyloxy)methylbenzene as initiators for the radical-mediated polymerization of styrene made it possible to control the polymerization and to gain access to well-defined polymers with low polydispersity indices, and they found that the polymerization rates were substantially equivalent to the rates obtained when they used conventional initiators such as AIBN or benzoyl peroxide in the presence of TEMPO.
Alkoxyamines can be prepared according to methods known in the literature. The most common method involves the coupling of a carbon radical with a nitroxide radical.
If an alkoxyamine is denoted by:
Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4, Y5, Y6, Z being defined later, the carbon radical Z* can be generated by various methods described in the literature: decomposition of an azo compound, abstraction of a hydrogen atom from a suitable substrate, addition of a radical to an olefin. The radical Z* can also be generated from an organometallic compound such as an organomagnesium reagent Z-MgX as described by Hawker C. J. et al. in Macromolecules 1996, 29, 5245-5254 or from a halo derivative Z-X in the presence of an organometallic system such as CuX/bipyridine (X=Cl or Br) according to a reaction of ATRA (Atom Transfer Radical Addition) type as described by Dorota Greszta et al. in Macromolecules 1996, 29, 7661-7670.
One of the methods most commonly used for preparing alkoxyamines (I) is the method involving the ATRA reaction.
This method consists in transferring an atom or a group of atoms onto another molecule in the presence of a CuX/bipyridine organometallic system, in solvent medium, according to the scheme:
In the organometallic system, X preferably represents a bromine atom.
The procedure generally used consists in dissolving the organometallic system such as CuBr/bipyridine in an organic solvent, preferably an aromatic solvent such as benzene or toluene, and then in introducing the compound ZX and the nitroxide (II) into the solution.
This approach has the major drawback of requiring long reaction times, that are unacceptable for an industrial preparation of alkoxyamines, or of using a large excess of one of the reagents.
Furthermore, the organometallic system used involves expensive ligands (bipyridine or derivatives).
In addition, the removal of the residual metal from the products obtained is difficult, requiring expensive purification operations such as passing the products through a column of silica.
Thus, in international patent application WO 9B/40415, for example, Matyjaszewski K. et al. obtain 1-(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyloxy)-1-phenylethane in a yield of 69% after purification by column chromatography, by reactingTEMPO and (1-bromoethyl)benzene in a TEMPO/(1-bromoethyl)benzene molar ratio of 2 (i.e. a molar excess of TEMPO equal to 100%) for 2 hours at 90xc2x0 C., in the presence of an organometallic system [4,4xe2x80x2-bis(5-nonyl)-2,2xe2x80x2-bipyridine/Cu(OTf)2/Cu0].
A process has now been found for preparing alkoxyamines of formula:
from nitroxides:
the said process consisting in reacting the said nitroxide (II) with a halocarbon compound ZX in which X represents a chlorine, bromine or iodine atom, in a water-immiscible organic solvent medium, in the presence of an organometallic system MA (L)n (III) in which:
M represents a metal such as Cu, Ag or Au,
A represents a halogen atom, a carboxylate group or a triflate group,
L represents a ligand for the metal M,
n is 1, 2 or 3, according to the scheme:
xe2x80x83the said process being characterized in that it consists in carrying out the following steps:
a) a metal salt MA, the ligand L, the halocarbon compound ZX and the nitroxide (II) are mixed together with stirring, in an organic solvent, in a ZX/nitroxide (II) molar ratio ranging from 1 to 1.4,
b) the reaction medium is kept stirring at a temperature of between 20xc2x0 C. and 90xc2x0 C. until the nitroxide (II) has completely disappeared,
c) the organic phase is recovered and washed with water, and then
d) the alkoxyamine (I) is isolated by evaporating the organic solvent under reduced pressure.
Preferably, M represents Cu, A represents a halogen such as Cl or Br, a carboxylate group such as acetate or a triflate group, and X represents a chlorine atom or a bromine atom.
According to the present invention, the ligand L for the metal M in the organometallic system (III) is chosen from the compounds represented by the general formula (IV):
in which R1, R2, R3 and R4, which may be identical or different, represent a hydrogen atom, a linear or branched alkyl group containing a number of carbon atoms ranging from 1 to 10 and preferably ranging from 1 to 4, R5 represents a hydrogen atom, a linear or branched alkyl group containing a number of carbon atoms ranging from 1 to 10 and preferably ranging from 1 to 4, a residue
in which R6 and R7 have the same meanings as R5, or alternatively at least two of the radicals R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 may be linked together to form a ring; m, p and q, which may be identical or different, represent integers ranging from 1 to 4, preferably equal to 2, x ranging from 0 to 4.
By way of illustration of ligands L represented by formula (IV) mention will be made of:
tris [2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]amine:
xe2x80x83N,N,Nxe2x80x2,Nxe2x80x2,Nxe2x80x3-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA):
xe2x80x83N,N,Nxe2x80x2,Nxe2x80x2-tetramethylethylenediamine:
(CH3)2xe2x80x94Nxe2x80x94CH2CH2xe2x80x94Nxe2x80x94CH3)2,
xe2x80x831,1,4,7,10,10-hexamethyltriethylenetetramine (HMTETA):
xe2x80x83cyclic polyamines such as:
1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane,
1,5,9-trimethyl-1,5,9-triazacyclododecane,
1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane.
PMDETA will preferably be used.
The process according to the invention consists in mixing, with stirring, a metal salt MA, the ligand L, the compound ZX and the nitroxide (II) in an organic solvent which is preferably an aromatic hydrocarbon such as benzene, toluene or xylenes, or an alkylchloride such as CH2Cl2 or alternatively an ether.
The oxidation state of the active species of the metal M is equal to 1 (MI)
According to the present invention, this active species can be added, without modification, to the reaction medium, preferably in the form of a metal halide MIA.
The preferred metal halide is CuBr.
The active species can also be generated in situ according to the redox reaction:
MIIA+MO⇄2MIA
from a metal salt MIIA in which the metal M is in oxidation state 2 (MII) and the same metal in oxidation state zero (MO).
According to this variant, the metal halide MIIA which is preferred is CuBr2.
According to another variant, a metal salt MA in which the metal M is in oxidation state 1 (MIA) and the same metal M in oxidation-state zero (MO) may also be introduced into the reaction medium.
The ligand L is used in an L/MI molar ratio ranging from 1 to 5 and preferably ranging from 1 to 2.
The ZX/nitroxide (II) molar ratio ranges from 1 to 1.4 and is preferably equal to 1.
The reaction mixture is then stirred at a temperature of between 20xc2x0 C. and 90xc2x0 C. and preferably in the region of room temperature.
The process is performed under an atmosphere of inert gas such as nitrogen or argon and preferably at atmospheric pressure.
The reaction times are very short. The end of the reaction can be monitored by the disappearance of the reagents, by chromatographic methods (GC, HPLC, TLC). Once the reaction is complete,. any precipitate obtained. is filtered off, rinsed, preferably with the same solvent used in the reaction, and the organic phase is then washed with water until the extracted aqueous phases become colorless.
The organic solvent is removed under reduced pressure, preferably at room temperature, and the alkoxyamine is recovered.
According to the invention, the water used to wash the organic phase can contain one or more salts in weight amounts that are not more than the solubility limit of the said salts in water at room temperature.
These salts will preferably be chosen from alkali metal salts, ammonium salts and alkylammonium salts of chloride, formate or oxalate.
By way of illustration of such salts which can be used according to the present invention, mention will be made of sodium chloride, ammonium. formate, triethylammonium formate and diammonium oxalate.
The alkoxyamines may be characterized by elemental analysis, HPLC, IR and NMR.
The process according to the invention has the advantage of being carried out with commercially available ligands. The reaction between the nitroxide (II) and the halocarbon compound ZX is fast. The removal of the metal M of the organometallic system MAa(L)n is particularly easy to carry out by simple washing with water.
The process according to the invention produces alkoxyamines that are virtually free of metal M.
In the alkoxyamines obtained according to the process of the invention, the content of metal M is less than 10 ppm.
In addition, the alkoxyamine yields are high.
The process according to the invention applies most particularly to the preparation of alkoxyamines of formula:
from nitroxides of formula:
in which formulae the groups Y1 to Y6, which may be identical or different, represent a hydrogen atom, a linear or branched alkyl radical containing a number of carbon atoms ranging from 1 to 10, a cycloalkyl radical containing a number of carbon atoms ranging from 3 to 20, a halogen atom, a cyano radical, a phenyl radical, a hydroxyalkyl radical containing a number of carbon atoms ranging from 1 to 4, a dialkoxyphosphonyl or diphenoxyphosphonyl radical, an alkoxycarbonyl or alkoxycarbonylalkyl radical, or alternatively two or more of the groups Y1 to Y6 can be linked with the carbon atom which bears them to form cyclic structures, which can comprise one or more exocyclic functions chosen from: HOxe2x80x94, CH3C(O)xe2x80x94, CH3Oxe2x80x94, H2Nxe2x80x94CH3C(O)NHxe2x80x94, (CH3)2Nxe2x80x94; or alternatively can comprise one or more exocyclic or endocyclic hetero atoms such as O or N;
Z is a residue of formula
in which W1, W2 and W3, which may be identical or different, represent a hydrogen atom, a linear or branched alkyl radical containing a number of carbon atoms ranging from 1 to 10, a phenyl radical, a benzyl radical, a cyano radical, a cycloalkyl radical containing a number of carbon atoms ranging from 3 to 12; a radical xe2x80x94(CH2)rC(O)OW4 in which W4 represents a linear or branched alkyl containing a number of carbon atoms ranging from 1 to 6, r=0 to 6;
X represents a chlorine, bromine or iodine atom.
By way of illustration of nitroxides (II) which can be used according to the present invention, mention will be made of:
2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-pyrrolidinyloxy (generally sold under the trade name PROXYL);
3-carboxy-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidinyloxy (commonly known as 3-carboxy PROXYL);
2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidyloxy (commonly known as TEMPO);
4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidyloxy (commonly known as 4-hydroxy-TEMPO);
4-methoxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidyloxy (commonly known as 4-methoxy-TEMPO);
4-oxo-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidyloxy (commonly known as 4-oxo-TEMPO);
4-amino-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidyloxy (commonly known as 4-amino-TEMPO);
4-acetamido-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidyloxy (commonly known as 4-acetamido-TEMPO);
N-tert-butyl-1-phenyl-2-methylpropyl nitroxide,
N-(2-hydroxymethylpropyl)-1-phenyl-2-methylpropyl nitroxide,
N-tert-butyl-1-diethylphosphono-2,2-dimethylpropyl nitroxide,
N-tert-butyl-1-dibenzylphosphono-2,2-dimethylpropyl nitroxide,
N-tert-butyl-1-di(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)-phosphono-2,2-dimethylpropyl nitroxide,
N-tert-butyl-[(1-diethylphosphono)-2-methylpropyl]nitroxide,
N-(1-methylethyl)-1-cyclohexyl-1-(diethylphosphono) nitroxide,
N-(1-phenylbenzyl)-[(1-diethylphosphono)-1-methylethyl]nitroxide,
N-phenyl-1-diethylphosphono-2,2-dimethylpropyl nitroxide,
N-phenyl-1-diethylphosphono-1-methylethyl nitroxide,
N-(1-phenyl-2-methylpropyl)-1-diethylphosphonomethylethyl nitroxide,
bis-1-oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperid-4-yl sebacate
sold under the brand name xe2x80x9cCXA 5415xe2x80x9d by the company CIBA SPEC. CHEM.
By way of illustration of compounds ZX which can be used, mention will be made of the compounds of formula: C6H5CH2Br, (CH3)2C(CN) Br, CH3OC(O)C(CH3)2Br, CH3OC(O)CH(CH3)Br, C6F13I.
The alkoxyamines of formula (I) obtained according to the process of the present invention can be used for the polymerization and copolymerization of any monomer containing a carbon-carbon double bond which can undergo radical-mediated polymerization. The polymerization or copolymerization is carried out under the usual conditions known to those skilled in the art, taking into account the monomer(s) under consideration. The monomers under consideration may be a vinylaromatic monomer (styrene, substituted styrenes), a diene or an acrylic or methyacrylic monomer. The monomer may also be vinyl chloride, vinylidene difluoride or acrylonitrile.

Method for preparing alkoxyamines from nitroxides


Systems and methods for accurately and quickly simulating link performance of a transceiver operating with any given transmission medium are provided. Accurate and quick link simulations may be provided using a link simulation platform. The link simulation platform may simulate link performance using transceiver behavioral models (e.g., transmitter and receiver behavioral models) that incorporate silicon level parameters, which parameters enable the behavioral models to substantially emulate the actual behavior of the transceiver portions of the link.

The present disclosure relates to high-speed serial interface links, and more particularly to systems and methods for providing behavior models of such links.
HSSI (high-speed serial interface) applications are well known. Such applications include high-speed transceivers and have been adopted for use in chip-to-chip, board-to-board, backplane, box-to-box, and other designs. In general, a HSSI application or HSSI transceiver includes a transmitter portion, a transmission medium, a receiver portion, and associated circuitry that may support transmission and reception of signals (e.g., clock data recovery circuitry). The transmitter and receiver portions, the transmission medium, and associated circuitry may collectively be referred to herein as a link. The transmission portion may provide data to the receiver portion via the transmission medium at a predetermined data rate. As data rates have increased and continue to increase (up to 10 Gb/s and beyond), HSSI transceivers have become and continue to increase in complexity—to preserve or maintain a certain level of signal integrity. For example, it is desirable to minimize or prevent the occurrence of bit errors in the transmission of data through a link. The occurrence of a bit errors may be quantified as a bit-error-ratio (BER). BER may be influenced by several factors most notably random noise that causes random jitter (RJ) several sources of deterministic jitter (DJ)—inter-symbol-interference (ISI) often being the most dominant contributor, as well as other sources such as cross-talk.
ISI may limit the maximum distance and bit rate carrying capacity of a transmission medium (e.g., a backplane). ISI may be caused by channel impairments such as amplitude attenuation and group delay distortion. In order to compensate for ISI, transceivers may be constructed to have a number of pre-emphasis and/or equalization settings. Optimizing these settings to obtain the best transceiver performance is necessary to maximize link performance for any given link or backplane. Doing so, without aid of link simulation tools, can be time consuming and difficult. Several tools exist, but each is beset with limitations.
Hspice (or other spice-like circuit solvers) is a known tool that may be used to simulate link performance. While Hspice may provide highly accurate silicon level link simulations, a disadvantage of using Hspice to perform a link simulation is that the time required for Hspice to perform a single simulation of a link may take hours or days, depending on the extensiveness of various parameters (e.g., pre-emphasis and equalization settings, transmission mediums, signal characteristics) used. This is because Hspice performs electrical circuit analysis (e.g., current and voltage calculations) when rendering simulations of the link. In addition, the time it takes for an experienced engineer to configure a circuit model and simulation setup may also require an unacceptable period of time. Other tools such as board design tools may exist that provide proprietary models. However, known board design tools do not support link simulations, and are limited to board design. One example is device modeling language (DML) model in Cadence Allegro design environment.
Another known tool is StatEye, which uses MATLAB, to support compliance testing of differential backplane channels. StatEye includes parameterized models for transmitter and receiver and channel function but is not able to incorporate silicon device models with any ease. Furthermore, StatEye also inputs spectral information of sorts that may not accurately reflect what is actually driven in the lab such as certain pseudo-random-sequence (PRBS) or fixed-patterns. Therefore, Stateye may not be able to produce simulation results which accurately correlate to results that would be obtained on an actual link.
What is needed is a tool that accurately and quickly simulates link performance of a transceiver operating with any given transmission medium.

Systems and methods for simulating link performance


Locking pliers for being one-handed adjustable, clampable, and releasable. The locking pliers includes a fixed portion, a movable portion, a first apparatus for moving the movable portion relative to the fixed portion a desired amount in order to clamp a workpiece using only one hand, and a second apparatus for releasing the movable portion from the fixed portion in order to release the workpiece using only the one hand. The movable portion is movably connected to the fixed portion. The first apparatus is operatively connected to the fixed portion. The second apparatus is operatively connected to the movable portion.

A. The Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the present invention relate to locking pliers, and more particularly, the embodiments of the present invention relate to locking pliers for being one-handed adjustable, clampable, and releasable.
B. The Description of the Prior Art
The art is sated with various self-locking adjustable pliers wrenches for gripping and locking onto objects within a rather wide size range. The innovations in these pliers are marked largely by improvements to the toggle mechanisms that permit the jaws to not only accommodate differently sized objects, but also to lock onto the objects with varying degrees of force. Existing toggle mechanisms employ an adjustment component for use in adjusting the distance between the jaws so that they can grip and lock onto differently sized objects. The jaws must be pre-adjusted so that they can engage and grip an object, regardless of the size. As a result, existing self-locking adjustable pliers wrenches cannot be used with only one hand in the sequential gripping of differently sized objects because a pre-adjustment of the jaws is required from the gripping of one object to the gripping of another differently sized object.
This required pre-adjustment of the jaws in the sequential gripping of differently sized objects is a significant deficiency in the art, and it is clear that a adjustable wrench that could be employed for sequentially gripping differently sized objects with a selected gripping force without having to be sequentially pre-adjusted would mark a significant improvement over the prior art.
Thus, there exists a need for locking pliers that is easy to employ with only one hand, especially for sequentially gripping differently sized objects without the need for sequentially pre-adjusting the jaws.
Numerous innovations for locking pliers have been provided in the prior art, which will be described below in chronological order to show advancement in the art, and which are incorporated herein by reference thereto. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention in that they do not teach locking pliers for being one-handed adjustable, clampable, and releasable.
(1) U.S. Pat. No. 2,592,803 to Heim.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,592,803 issued to Heim on Apr. 15, 1952 in U.S. class 81 and subclass 84 teaches a wrench having a relatively stationary handle with a non-movable jaw mounted upon one end thereof. A movable jaw is secured to a jaw mounting plate which is pivotally mounted upon a first pivot pin intermediate the ends of the stationary handle and adapted to carry the movable jaw into operative relationship with the non-movable jaw. An adjusting apparatus is mounted in the stationary handle and is adapted to adjust the movable jaw in relationship to the non-movable jaw. A second pivot pin passes through the jaw mounting plate and is spaced from the first pivot pin. A locking handle is pivoted at one end upon the jaw mounting plate through the medium of the second pivot pin. A third pivot pin passes through the locking handle intermediate the ends thereof. A toggle link is pivotally secured at one end to the locking handle through the medium of the third pivot pin and at its other end to the adjusting apparatus. The toggle link has a lug formed thereupon adapted to limit the inward movement of the locking handle toward the stationary handle. Another adjusting apparatus mounted upon the locking handle is adapted to cooperate with the lug upon the toggle link to control the amount of adjustment of the movable jaw. A release apparatus interposed between the adjusting apparatus in the stationary handle and the adjacent end of the toggle link is adapted to release the movable jaw from an object after the movable jaw has been clamped upon the object.
(2) U.S. Pat. No. 2,842,996 to Coslow et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,842,996 issued to Coslow et al. on Jul. 15, 1958 in U.S. class 81 and subclass 378 teaches a compound leverage, toggle operated plier including a first handle member including a first gripping jaw, a jaw member pivoted on the handle member and including a second gripping jaw opposed to and movable toward the first gripping jaw upon pivotal movement of the jaw member, a second handle member, apparatus rotatably and movably mounting one end of the second handle member on the first handle member for movement of the one end along a given linear path with respect to the first handle member, apparatus rotatably and movably mounting the one end of the second handle member on the jaw member for movement of one end of the second handle member along a linear path with respect to the jaw member inclined relative to the first mentioned path, and apparatus connected between the handle members for moving the one end of the second handle member along the one linear path in a direction to move the second gripping jaw toward the first gripping jaw upon movement of the handle members together.
(3) U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,901 to Peviani.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,901 issued to Peviani on Apr. 11, 1989 in U.S. class 219 and subclass 138 teaches a quick releasable clamp for welder's ground and rod connections, which includes a thumb operable release lever releasing an adjustable toggle link. Opposed jaws have toothed engagement buried into a work piece clamped by extended lever arms having resilience for reserved clamping energy, and alternately, the opposed arms have wedging action to position a rod normal to the disposition of the clamp and the cable conductor is anchored remote from its terminal electrical fitting to the frame of the clamp.
(4) U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,022 to Peviani.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,022 issued to Peviani on Dec. 26, 1989 in U.S. class 81 and subclass 368 teaches a quick releasable vice-grip pliers that includes a thumb operable release lever releasing an adjustable toggle link. The release lever extends alongside an actuating lever of the pliers and has a finger engageable pad near the pivot pin of the pliers jaws.
(5) U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,080 to Flavigny.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,080 issued to Flavigny on Mar. 11, 1997 in U.S. class 81 and subclass 368 teaches locking pliers including a fixed unit of generally elongate shape, which forms at one end a fixed handle and at the other end a fixed jaw. A movable unit includes a movable jaw articulated to the fixed jaw, and an actuating lever of which one end is articulated to the movable jaw and the other end forms a movable handle. Also, a toggle mechanism includes a link articulated to an intermediate point of the lever and extends to a rear bearing point adjustable along the length of the fixed handle. The actuating lever crosses a straight line that joins the articulation of the movable jaw to the bearing point of the link. The fixed handle extends substantially along a straight line joining the articulation to the bearing point.
(6) United States Patent Application Publication Number US 2004/0255729 A1 to Poole et al.
United States Patent Application Publication Number US 2004/0255729 A1 published to Poole et al. on Dec. 23, 2004 in U.S. class 81 and subclass 370 teaches an adjustable pliers wrench including a fixture having a handle, an opposing stationary jaw, a co-acting jaw pivoted to the fixture, and a lever pivoted to the co-acting jaw. A guide is attached proximate the handle and a locking element is arranged on the guide for reciprocal and canting movement. At least one attached biasing element urges the locking element toward the stationary jaw. An arm is pivoted to the lever and a cam is pivoted to the arm and to the locking element so as to be movable between a first condition permitting the locking element to reciprocate along the guide and a second condition bearing against the guide and canting the locking element into frictional engagement against the guide.
(7) U.S. Pat. No. 6,862,961 B2 to Winkler.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,862,961 B2 issued to Winkler on Mar. 8, 2005 in U.S. class 81 and subclass 367 teaches a locking pliers tool combining a self-locking frictional brake, a gap setting apparatus to set jaw gap size automatically when clamping onto a workpiece, an over-center linkage clamping apparatus to securely clamp the workpiece between the opposing tool jaws, and an adjustment apparatus for setting the clamping force to be exerted onto the gripped workpiece.
(8) United States Patent Application Publication Number US 2007/0180957A1 to Johnson.
United States Patent Application Publication Number US 2007/0180957 A1 published to Johnson on Aug. 9, 2007 in U.S. class 81 and subclass 368 teaches a toggle locking tool with an adjustment screw assembly, which includes a force-enhancing shank that enables the holding force of the tool to be multiplied manifold. The adjustment screw assembly includes an adjustment screw conventionally adapted to be fed into and to engage a threaded bore in the outer end of the fixed handle of the tool. The adjustment screw itself, however, includes an internal fine-threaded bore that extends through the length of the screw and receives a threaded force-enhancing shank having a head portion adapted for turning manually or with a turning tool. An end portion of the shank extends beyond the adjustment screw to form the bearing surface which, in a conventional toggle locking tool, is provided by the tip of the adjustment screw. Rotation of the adjustment screw provides rapid low-force locking adjustment of the tool, and subsequent torquing of the force-enhancing shank results in the application of a multiplied locking force to the jaws of the tool.
It is apparent that numerous innovations for locking pliers have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the embodiments of the present invention as heretofore described, namely, locking pliers for being one-handed adjustable, clampable, and releasable.