The invention relates to a random access procedure for use in a mobile communication system. Furthermore, the invention also provides a mobile terminal and a base station that as suitably adapted to perform the random access procedure as well as the definition of a special format of a random access response message signalled during the random access procedure. To suggest a random access procedure that allows more information to be conveyed in the first scheduled transmission of the random access procedure, the invention proposes a random access procedure for use in a mobile communication system, wherein a base station transmits a random access response in response to receiving a random access preamble from a mobile terminal, wherein the random access response message comprises a grant for a scheduled transmission by the mobile terminal and an indication on the uplink transmission mode for the scheduled transmission.

Long Term Evolution (LTE)
Third-generation mobile systems (3G) based on WCDMA radio-access technology are being deployed on a broad scale all around the world. A first step in enhancing or evolving this technology entails introducing High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and an enhanced uplink, also referred to as High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), giving a radio-access technology that is highly competitive.
In order to be prepared for further increasing user demands and to be competitive against new radio access technologies 3GPP introduced a new mobile communication system which is called Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE is designed to meet the carrier needs for high speed data and media transport as well as high capacity voice support to the next decade. The ability to provide high bit rates is a key measure for LTE.
The work item (WI) specification on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) called Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) and UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) is to be finalized as Release 8 (LTE Rel. 8). The LTE system represents efficient packet-based radio access and radio access networks that provide full IP-based functionalities with low latency and low cost. The detailed system requirements are given in. In LTE, scalable multiple transmission bandwidths are specified such as 1.4, 3.0, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0, and 20.0 MHz, in order to achieve flexible system deployment using a given spectrum. In the downlink, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) based radio access was adopted because of its inherent immunity to multipath interference (MPI) due to a low symbol rate, the use of a cyclic prefix (CP), and its affinity to different transmission bandwidth arrangements. Single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) based radio access was adopted in the uplink, since provisioning of wide area coverage was prioritized over improvement in the peak data rate considering the restricted transmission power of the user equipment (UE). Many key packet radio access techniques are employed including multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel transmission techniques, and a highly efficient control signaling structure is achieved in LTE Rel. 8.
LTE Architecture
The overall architecture is shown in FIG. 1 and a more detailed representation of the E-UTRAN architecture is given in FIG. 2. The E-UTRAN consists of eNode B, providing the E-UTRA user plane (PDCP/RLC/MAC/PHY) and control plane (RRC) protocol terminations towards the user equipment (UE). The eNode B (eNB) hosts the Physical (PHY), Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Control Protocol (PDCP) layers that include the functionality of user-plane header-compression and encryption. It also offers Radio Resource Control (RRC) functionality corresponding to the control plane. It performs many functions including radio resource management, admission control, scheduling, enforcement of negotiated uplink QoS, cell information broadcast, ciphering/deciphering of user and control plane data, and compression/decompression of downlink/uplink user plane packet headers. The eNode Bs are interconnected with each other by means of the X2 interface.
The eNode Bs are also connected by means of the S1 interface to the EPC (Evolved Packet Core), more specifically to the MME (Mobility Management Entity) by means of the S1-MME and to the Serving Gateway (SGW) by means of the S1-U. The S1 interface supports a many-to-many relation between MMEs/Serving Gateways and eNode Bs. The SGW routes and forwards user data packets, while also acting as the mobility anchor for the user plane during inter-eNode B handovers and as the anchor for mobility between LTE and other 3GPP technologies (terminating S4 interface and relaying the traffic between 2G/3G systems and PDN GW). For idle state user equipments, the SGW terminates the downlink data path and triggers paging when downlink data arrives for the user equipment. It manages and stores user equipment contexts, e.g. parameters of the IP bearer service, network internal routing information. It also performs replication of the user traffic in case of lawful interception.
The MME is the key control-node for the LTE access-network. It is responsible for idle mode user equipment tracking and paging procedure including retransmissions. It is involved in the bearer activation/deactivation process and is also responsible for choosing the SGW for a user equipment at the initial attach and at time of intra-LTE handover involving Core Network (CN) node relocation. It is responsible for authenticating the user (by interacting with the HSS). The Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling terminates at the MME and it is also responsible for generation and allocation of temporary identities to user equipments. It checks the authorization of the user equipment to camp on the service provider's Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) and enforces user equipment roaming restrictions. The MME is the termination point in the network for ciphering/integrity protection for NAS signaling and handles the security key management. Lawful interception of signaling is also supported by the MME. The MME also provides the control plane function for mobility between LTE and 2G/3G access networks with the S3 interface terminating at the MME from the SGSN. The MME also terminates the S6a interface towards the home HSS for roaming user equipments.
Uplink Access Scheme for LTE
For uplink transmission, power-efficient user-terminal transmission is necessary to maximize coverage. Single-carrier transmission combined with FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access) with dynamic bandwidth allocation has been chosen as the evolved UTRA uplink transmission scheme. The main reason for the preference for single-carrier transmission is the lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), compared to multi-carrier signals (OFDMA—Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), and the corresponding improved power-amplifier efficiency and assumed improved coverage (higher data rates for a given terminal peak power). During each time interval, eNode B assigns users a unique time/frequency resource for transmitting user data thereby ensuring intra-cell orthogonality. An orthogonal access in the uplink promises increased spectral efficiency by eliminating intra-cell interference. Interference due to multipath propagation is handled at the base station (eNode B), aided by insertion of a cyclic prefix in the transmitted signal.
The basic physical resource used for data transmission consists of a frequency resource of size BWgrant during one time interval, e.g. a sub-frame of 0.5 ms, onto which coded information bits are mapped. It should be noted that a sub-frame, also referred to as transmission time interval (TTI), is the smallest time interval for user data transmission. It is however possible to assign a frequency resource BWgrant over a longer time period than one TTI to a user by concatenation of sub-frames.
The frequency resource can either be in a localized or distributed spectrum as illustrated, however for 3GPP LTE (Rel. 8) it was decided to only support localized allocations in the uplink. As can be seen from FIG. 3, localized single-carrier is characterized by the transmitted signal having a continuous spectrum that occupies a part of the total available spectrum. Different symbol rates (corresponding to different data rates) of the transmitted signal imply different bandwidths of a localized single-carrier signal.
On the other hand distributed single-carrier is characterized by the transmitted signal having a non-continuous ("comb-shaped") spectrum that is distributed over system bandwidth. Note that, although the distributed single-carrier signal is distributed over the system bandwidth, the total amount of occupied spectrum is, in essence, the same as that of localized single-carrier. Furthermore, for higher/lower symbol rate, the number of "comb-fingers" is increased/reduced, while the "bandwidth" of each "comb finger" remains the same.
Distributed transmission can provide, a larger frequency diversity gain than localized transmission, while localized transmission more easily allows for channel-dependent scheduling. Note that, in many cases the scheduling decision may decide to give the whole bandwidth to a single user equipment to achieve high data rates.
Uplink Scheduling Scheme for LTE
The uplink scheme allows for both scheduled access, i.e. controlled by eNodeB, and contention based access.
In case of scheduled access the user equipment is allocated a certain frequency resource for a certain time (i.e. a time/frequency resource) for uplink data transmission. However, some time/frequency resources can be allocated for contention based access. Within these time/frequency resources, user equipments can transmit without first being scheduled. One scenario where user equipment is making a contention based access is for example the random access, i.e. when user equipment is performing initial access to a cell or for requesting uplink resources.
For the scheduled access eNode B scheduler assigns a user a unique frequency/time resource for uplink data transmission. More specifically the scheduler determines                which user equipment(s) that is (are) allowed to transmit,        which physical channel resources (frequency),        Transport format (Transport Block Size (TBS) and Modulation Coding Scheme (MCS)) to be used by the mobile terminal for transmission
The allocation information is signaled to the user equipment via a scheduling grant, sent on the so-called L1/L2 control channel. For simplicity, this downlink channel is referred to the "uplink grant channel" in the following.
A scheduling grant message (also referred to as an resource assignment herein) contains at least information which part of the frequency band the user equipment is allowed to use, the validity period of the grant, and the transport format the user equipment has to use for the upcoming uplink transmission. The shortest validity period is one sub-frame. Additional information may also be included in the grant message, depending on the selected scheme. Only "per user equipment" grants are used to grant the right to transmit on the Uplink Shared Channel UL-SCH (i.e. there are no "per user equipment per RB" grants). Therefore the user equipment needs to distribute the allocated resources among the radio bearers according to some rules, which will be explained in detail in the next section.
Unlike in HSUPA there is no user equipment based transport format selection. The base station (eNodeB) decides the transport format based on some information, e.g. reported scheduling information and QoS information, and user equipment has to follow the selected transport format. In HSUPA eNodeB assigns the maximum uplink resource and user equipment selects accordingly the actual transport format for the data transmissions.
Uplink data transmissions are only allowed to use the time-frequency resources assigned to the user equipment through the scheduling grant. If the user equipment does not have a valid grant, it is not allowed to transmit any uplink data. Unlike in HSUPA, where each user equipment is always allocated a dedicated channel there is only one uplink data channel shared by multiple users (UL-SCH) for data transmissions.
To request resources, the user equipment transmits a resource request message to the eNodeB. This resources request message could for example contain information on the buffer status, the power status of the user equipment and some Quality of Services (QoS) related information. This information, which will be referred to as scheduling information, allows eNodeB to make an appropriate resource allocation. Throughout the document it's assumed that the buffer status is reported for a group of radio bearers. Of course other configurations for the buffer status reporting are also possible. Since the scheduling of radio resources is the most important function in a shared channel access network for determining Quality of Service, there are a number of requirements that should be fulfilled by the uplink scheduling scheme for LTE in order to allow for an efficient QoS management (see 3GPP RAN WG#2 Tdoc. R2-R2-062606, "QoS operator requirements/use cases for services sharing the same bearer", by T-Mobile, NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone, Orange, KPN; available at http://www.3gpp.org/ and incorporated herein by reference):                Starvation of low priority services should be avoided        Clear QoS differentiation for radio bearers/services should be supported by the scheduling scheme        The uplink reporting should allow fine granular buffer reports (e.g. per radio bearer or per radio bearer group) in order to allow the eNode B scheduler to identify for which Radio Bearer/service data is to be sent.        It should be possible to make clear QoS differentiation between services of different users        It should be possible to provide a minimum bit-rate per radio bearer
As can be seen from above list one essential aspect of the LTE scheduling scheme is to provide mechanisms with which the operator can control the partitioning of its aggregate cell capacity between the radio bearers of the different QoS classes. The QoS class of a radio bearer is identified by the QoS profile of the corresponding SAE bearer signaled from serving gateway to eNode B as described before. An operator can then allocate a certain amount of its aggregate cell capacity to the aggregate traffic associated with radio bearers of a certain QoS class.
The main goal of employing this class-based approach is to be able to differentiate the treatment of packets depending on the QoS class they belong to. For example, as the load in a cell increases, it should be possible for an operator to handle this by throttling traffic belonging to a low-priority QoS class. At this stage, the high-priority traffic can still experience a low-loaded situation, since the aggregate resources allocated to this traffic is sufficient to serve it. This should be possible in both uplink and downlink direction.
One benefit of employing this approach is to give the operator full control of the policies that govern the partitioning of the bandwidth. For example, one operator's policy could be to, even at extremely high loads, avoid starvation of traffic belonging to its lowest priority QoS Class. The avoidance of starvation of low priority traffic is one of the main requirements for the uplink scheduling scheme in LTE. In current UMTS Release 6 (HSUPA) scheduling mechanism the absolute prioritization scheme may lead to starvation of low priority applications. E-TFC selection (Enhanced Transport Format Combination selection) is done only in accordance to absolute logical channel priorities, i.e. the transmission of high priority data is maximized, which means that low priority data is possibly starved by high priority data. In order to avoid starvation the eNode B scheduler must have means to control from which radio bearers a user equipment transmits data. This mainly influences the design and use of the scheduling grants transmitted on the L1/L2 control channel in downlink. In the following the details of the uplink rate control procedure in LTE is outlined.
Random Access Procedure
A mobile terminal in LTE can only be scheduled for uplink transmission, if its uplink transmission is time synchronized. Therefore the Random Access (RACH) procedure plays an important role as an interface between non-synchronized mobile terminals (UEs) and the orthogonal transmission of the uplink radio access.
Essentially the Random Access in LTE is used to achieve uplink time synchronization for a user equipment which either has not yet acquired, or has lost, its uplink synchronization. Once a user equipment has achieved uplink synchronization the eNodeB can schedule uplink transmission resources for it. The following scenarios are therefore relevant for random access:                A user equipment in RRC_CONNECTED state, but not uplink-synchronized, wishing to send new uplink data or control information        A user equipment in RRC_CONNECTED state, but not uplink-synchronized, required to receive downlink data, and therefore to transmit corresponding HARQ feedback, i.e. ACK/NACK, in the uplink. This scenario is also referred to as Downlink data arrival        A user equipment in RRC_CONNECTED state, handing over from its current serving cell to a new target cell; in order to achieve uplink time-synchronization in the target cell Random Access procedure is performed        A transition from RRC_IDLE state to RRC_CONNECTED, for example for initial access or tracking area updates        Recovering from radio link failure, i.e. RRC connection re-establishment
There is one more additional case, where user equipment performs random access procedure, even though user equipment is time-synchronized. In this scenario the user equipment uses the random access procedure in order to send a scheduling request, i.e. uplink buffer status report, to its eNodeB, in case it does not have any other uplink resource allocated in which to send the scheduling request, i.e. dedicated scheduling request (D-SR) channel is not configured.
LTE offers two types of random access procedures that allow access to be either contention based, i.e. implying an inherent risk of collision, or contention-free (non-contention based). It should be noted that contention-based random access can be applied for all six scenarios listed above, whereas a non-contention based random access procedure can only be applied for the downlink data arrival and handover scenario.
In the following the contention based random access procedure is being described in more detail with respect to FIG. 5. A detailed description of the random access procedure can be also found in 3GPP TS 36.321, "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification", version 8.5.0, available at http://www.3gpp.org and incorporated herein by reference. FIG. 5 shows the contention based RACH procedure of LTE. This procedure consists of four "steps". First, the user equipment transmits 501 a random access preamble on the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) to the eNodeB. The preamble is selected by user equipment from the set of available random access preambles reserved by eNodeB for contention based access. In LTE, there are 64 preambles per cell which can be used for contention-free as well as contention based random access. The set of contention based preambles can be further subdivided into two groups, so that the choice of preamble can carry one bit of information to indicate information relating to the amount of transmission resources needed to transmit for the first scheduled transmission, which is referred to as msg3 in TS36.321 (see step 503). The system information broadcasted in the cell contain the information which signatures (preambles) are in each of the two subgroups as well as the meaning of each subgroup. The user equipment randomly selects one preamble from the subgroup corresponding to the size of transmission resource needed for message 3 transmission.
After eNodeB has detected a RACH preamble, it sends 502 a Random Access Response (RAR) on the PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) addressed on the PDCCH with the (Random Access) RA-RNTI identifying the time-frequency slot in which the preamble was detected. If multiple user equipments transmitted the same RACH preamble in the same PRACH resource, which is also referred to as collision, they would receive the same random access response.
The random access response itself conveys the detected RACH preamble, a timing alignment command (TA command) for synchronization of subsequent uplink transmissions, an initial uplink resource assignment (grant) for the transmission of the first scheduled transmission (see step 503) and an assignment of a Temporary Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (T-CRNTI). This T-CRNTI is used by eNodeB in order to address the mobile(s) whose RACH preamble were detected until RACH procedure is finished, since the "real" identity of the mobile is at this point not yet known by eNodeB.
Furthermore the random access message can also contain a so-called back-off indicator, which the eNodeB can set to instruct the user equipment to back off for a period of time before retrying a random access attempt. The user equipment monitors the PDCCH for reception of random access response within a given time window, which is configured by the eNodeB. In case user equipment doesn't receive a random access response within the configured time window, it retransmits the preamble at the next PRACH opportunity considering a potentially back off period.
In response to the random access response message received from the eNodeB, the user equipment transmits 503 the first scheduled uplink transmission on the resources assigned by the grant within the random access response. This scheduled uplink transmission conveys the actual random access procedure message like for example RRC connection request, tracking area update or buffer status report. Furthermore it includes either the C-RNTI for user equipments in RRC_CONNECTED mode or the unique 48-bit user equipment identity if the user equipments are in RRC_IDLE mode. In case of a preamble collision having occurred, i.e. multiple user equipments have sent the same preamble on the same PRACH resource, the colliding user equipments will receive the same T-CRNTI within the random access response and will also collide in the same uplink resources when transmitting 503 their scheduled transmission. This may result in interference that no transmission from a colliding user equipment can be decoded at the eNodeB, and the user equipments will restart the random access procedure after having reached maximum number of retransmission for their scheduled transmission. In case the scheduled transmission from one user equipment is successfully decoded by eNodeB, the contention remains unsolved for the other user equipments.
For resolution of this type of contention, the eNode B sends 504 a contention resolution message addressed to the C-RNTI or Temporary C-RNTI, and, in the latter case, echoes the 48-bit user equipment identity contained the scheduled transmission. It supports HARQ. In case of collision followed by a successful decoding of the message 3, the HARQ feedback (ACK) is only transmitted by the user equipment which detects its own identity, either C-RNTI or unique user equipment ID. Other UEs understand that there was a collision at step 1 and can quickly exit the current RACH procedure and starts another one.
FIG. 6 is illustrating the contention-free random access procedure of LTE. In comparison to the contention based random access procedure, the contention-free random access procedure is simplified. The eNodeB provides 601 the user equipment with the preamble to use for random access so that there is no risk of collisions, i.e. multiple user equipment transmitting the same preamble. Accordingly, the user equipment is sending 602 the preamble which was signaled by eNodeB in the uplink on a PRACH resource. Since the case that multiple UEs are sending the same preamble is avoided for a contention-free random access, no contention resolution is necessary, which in turn implies that step 504 of the contention based procedure shown in FIG. 5 can be omitted. Essentially a contention-free random access procedure is finished after having successfully received the random access response.
HARQ Protocol Operation for Unicast Data Transmissions
A common technique for error detection and correction in packet transmission systems over unreliable channels is called hybrid Automatic Repeat request (HARQ). Hybrid ARQ is a combination of Forward Error Correction (FEC) and ARQ.
If a FEC encoded packet is transmitted and the receiver fails to decode the packet correctly (errors are usually checked by a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check)), the receiver requests a retransmission of the packet
In LTE there are two levels of re-transmissions for providing reliability, namely, HARQ at the MAC layer and outer ARQ at the RLC layer. The outer ARQ is required to handle residual errors that are not corrected by HARQ that is kept simple by the use of a single bit error-feedback mechanism, i.e. ACK/NACK. An N-process stop-and-wait HARQ is employed that has asynchronous re-transmissions in the downlink and synchronous re-transmissions in the uplink. Synchronous HARQ means that the re-transmissions of HARQ blocks occur at pre-defined periodic intervals. Hence, no explicit signaling is required to indicate to the receiver the retransmission schedule. Asynchronous HARQ offers the flexibility of scheduling re-transmissions based on air interface conditions. In this case some identification of the HARQ process needs to be signaled in order to allow for a correct combing and protocol operation. In 3GPP, HARQ operations with eight processes is used in LTE Rel. 8. The HARQ protocol operation for Downlink data transmission will be similar or even identical to HSDPA.
In uplink HARQ protocol operation there are two different options on how to schedule a retransmission. Retransmissions are either scheduled by a NACK, synchronous non-adaptive retransmission, or explicitly scheduled by a PDCCH, synchronous adaptive retransmissions. In case of a synchronous non-adaptive retransmission the retransmission will use the same parameters as the previous uplink transmission, i.e. the retransmission will be signaled on the same physical channel resources respectively uses the same modulation scheme. Since synchronous adaptive retransmissions are explicitly scheduled via PDCCH, the eNode B has the possibility to change certain parameters for the retransmission. A retransmission could be for example scheduled on a different frequency resource in order to avoid fragmentation in the uplink, or the eNode B could change the modulation scheme or alternatively indicate user equipment what redundancy version to use for the retransmission. It should be noted that the HARQ feedback (ACK/NACK) and PDCCH signaling occurs at the same timing. Therefore user equipment only needs to check once whether a synchronous non-adaptive retransmission is triggered, only NACK is received, or whether the eNode B requests a synchronous adaptive retransmission, i.e. PDCCH is signaled.
L1/L2 Control Signaling
In order to inform the scheduled users about their allocation status, transport format and other data related information (e.g. HARQ) L1/L2 control signaling needs to be transmitted on the downlink along with the data. The control signaling needs to be multiplexed with the downlink data in a sub-frame (assuming that the user allocation can change from sub-frame to sub-frame). Here, it should be noted, that user allocation might also be performed on a TTI (Transmission Time Interval) basis, where the TTI length is a multiple of the sub-frames. The TTI length may be fixed in a service area for all users, may be different for different users, or may even by dynamic for each user. Generally, then the L1/2 control signaling needs only be transmitted once per TTI. The L1/L2 control signaling is transmitted on the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). It should be noted that assignments for uplink data transmissions, uplink grants, are also transmitted on the PDCCH.
Generally, the PDCCH information sent on the L1/L2 control signaling may be separated into the Shared Control Information (SCI) and Dedicated Control Information (DCI).
Shared Control Information (SCI)
Shared Control Information (SCI) carries so-called Cat 1 information. The SCI part of the L1/L2 control signaling contains information related to the resource allocation (indication). The SCI typically contains the following information:                User identity, indicating the user which is allocated        RB allocation information, indicating the resources (Resource Blocks, RBs) on which a user is allocated. Note, that the number of RBs on which a user is allocated can be dynamic.        Duration of assignment (optional) if an assignment over multiple sub-frames (or TTIs) is possible
Depending on the setup of other channels and the setup of the Dedicated Control Information (DCI), the SCI may additionally contain information such as ACK/NACK for uplink transmission, uplink scheduling information, information on the DCI (resource, MCS, etc.).
Dedicated Control Information (DCI)
Dedicated Control Information (DCI) carries the so-called Cat 2/3 information. The DCI part of the L1/L2 control signaling contains information related to the transmission format (Cat 2) of the data transmitted to a scheduled user indicated by Cat 1. Moreover, in case of application of (hybrid) ARQ it carries HARQ (Cat 3) information. The DCI needs only to be decoded by the user scheduled according to Cat 1. The DCI typically contains information on:                Cat 2: Modulation scheme, transport-block (payload) size (or coding rate), MIMO related information, etc. Note, either the transport-block (or payload size) or the code rate can be signaled. In any case these parameters can be calculated from each other by using the modulation scheme information and the resource information (number of allocated RBs).        Cat 3: HARQ related information, e.g. hybrid ARQ process number, redundancy version, retransmission sequence numberL1/L2 Control Signaling Information for Downlink Data Transmission
Along with the downlink packet data transmission, L1/L2 control signaling is transmitted on a separate physical channel (PDCCH). This L1/L2 control signaling typically contains information on:                The physical channel resource(s) on which the data is transmitted (e.g. subcarriers or subcarrier blocks in case of OFDM, codes in case of CDMA). This information allows the user equipment (receiver) to identify the resources on which the data is transmitted.        The transport Format, which is used for the transmission. This can be the transport block size of the data (payload size, information bits size), the MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) level, the Spectral Efficiency, the code rate, etc. This information (usually together with the resource allocation) allows the user equipment (receiver) to identify the information bit size, the modulation scheme and the code rate in order to start the demodulation, the de-rate-matching and the decoding process. In some cases the modulation scheme maybe signaled explicitly.        HARQ information:                    Process number: Allows the user equipment to identify the HARQ process on which the data is mapped.            Sequence number or new data indicator: Allows the user equipment to identify if the transmission is a new packet or a retransmitted packet.            Redundancy and/or constellation version: Tells the user equipment, which hybrid ARQ redundancy version is used (required for de-rate-matching) and/or which modulation constellation version is used (required for demodulation)                        user equipment Identity (user equipment ID): Tells for which user equipment the L1/L2 control signaling is intended for. In typical implementations this information is used to mask the CRC of the L1/L2 control signaling in order to prevent other user equipments to read this information.L1/L2 Control Signaling Information for Uplink Data Transmission
To enable an uplink packet data transmission, L1/L2 control signaling is transmitted on the downlink (PDCCH) to tell the user equipment about the transmission details. This L1/L2 control signaling typically contains information on:                The physical channel resource(s) on which the user equipment should transmit the data (e.g. subcarriers or subcarrier blocks in case of OFDM, codes in case of CDMA).        The transport format, the user equipment should use for the transmission. This can be the transport block size of the data (payload size, information bits size), the MCS (Modulation and Coding Scheme) level, the Spectral Efficiency, the code rate, etc. This information (usually together with the resource allocation) allows the user equipment (transmitter) to pick the information bit size, the modulation scheme and the code rate in order to start the modulation, the rate-matching and the encoding process. In some cases the modulation scheme maybe signaled explicitly.        Hybrid ARQ information:                    Process number: Tells the user equipment from which hybrid ARQ process it should pick the data.            Sequence number or new data indicator: Tells the user equipment to transmit a new packet or to retransmit a packet.            Redundancy and/or constellation version: Tells the user equipment, which hybrid ARQ redundancy version to use (required for rate-matching) and/or which modulation constellation version to use (required for modulation).                        user equipment Identity (user equipment ID): Tells which user equipment should transmit data. In typical implementations this information is used to mask the CRC of the L1/L2 control signaling in order to prevent other user equipments to read this information.
There are several different flavors how to exactly transmit the information pieces mentioned above. Moreover, the L1/L2 control information may also contain additional information or may omit some of the information. E.g.:                HARQ process number may not be needed in case of a synchronous HARQ protocol.        A redundancy and/or constellation version may not be needed if Chase Combining is used (always the same redundancy and/or constellation version) or if the sequence of redundancy and/or constellation versions is pre defined.        Power control information may be additionally included in the control signaling.        MIMO related control information, such as e.g. pre-coding, may be additionally included in the control signaling.        In case of multi-codeword MIMO transmission transport format and/or HARQ information for multiple code words may be included.
For uplink resource assignments (PUSCH) signaled on PDCCH in LTE, the L1/L2 control information does not contain a HARQ process number, since a synchronous HARQ protocol is employed for LTE uplink. The HARQ process to be used for an uplink transmission is given by the timing. Furthermore it should be noted that the redundancy version (RV) information is jointly encoded with the transport format information, i.e. the RV info is embedded in the transport format (TF) field. The TF respectively MCS field has for example a size of 5 bits, which corresponds to 32 entries. 3 TF/MCS table entries are reserved for indicating RVs 1, 2 or 3. The remaining MCS table entries are used to signal the MCS level (TBS) implicitly indicating RV0. The size of the CRC field of the PDCCH is 16 bits. Furthermore the L1 control information for uplink resource assignment contain a so-called CQI request bit, which is set by eNodeB in order to instruct the UE to include downlink channel quality information (CQI) within the scheduled uplink transmissions. The CQI information is used by the eNodeB to schedule downlink data transmissions. The CQI request bit allows the eNodeB the poll information on UE's downlink channel conditions.
For downlink assignments (PDSCH) signaled on PDCCH in LTE the Redundancy Version (RV) is signaled separately in a two-bit field. Furthermore the modulation order information is jointly encoded with the transport format information. Similar to the uplink case there is 5 bit MCS field signaled on PDCCH. Three of the entries are reserved to signal an explicit modulation order, providing no Transport format (Transport block) info. For the remaining 29 entries modulation order and Transport block size info are signaled.
Further Advancements for LTE (LTE-A)
The frequency spectrum for IMT-Advanced was decided at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2007 (WRC-07) last November [4]. Although the overall frequency spectrum for IMT-Advanced was decided, the actual available frequency bandwidth is different according to each region or country. Following the decision on the available frequency spectrum outline, however, standardization of a radio interface started in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). At the 3GPP TSG RAN #39 meeting, the Study Item description on "Further Advancements for E-UTRA (LTE-Advanced)" was approved. The study item covers technology components to be considered for the evolution of E-UTRA, e.g. to fulfill the requirements on IMT-Advanced. Two major technology components which are currently under consideration for LTE-A are described in the following.
LTE-A Support of Wider Bandwidth
Carrier aggregation, where two or more component carriers are aggregated, is considered for LTE-Advanced in order to support wider transmission bandwidths e.g. up to 100 MHz and for spectrum aggregation.
A terminal may simultaneously receive or transmit on one or multiple component carriers depending on its capabilities:                An LTE-Advanced terminal with reception and/or transmission capabilities for carrier aggregation can simultaneously receive and/or transmit on multiple component carriers. There is one Transport Block (in absence of spatial multiplexing) and one HARQ entity per component carrier.        An LTE Rel. 8 terminal can receive and transmit on a single component carrier only, provided that the structure of the component carrier follows the Rel. 8 specifications.
It shall be possible to configure all component carriers LTE Release 8 compatible, at least when the aggregated numbers of component carriers in the uplink and the downlink are same. Consideration of non-backward-compatible configurations of LTE-A component carriers is not precluded
LTE-A Support of Relaying Functionality
Relaying is considered for LTE-Advanced as a tool to improve e.g. the coverage of high data rates, group mobility, temporary network deployment, the cell-edge throughput and/or to provide coverage in new areas.
The relay node is wirelessly connected to radio-access network via a donor cell. The connection can be                inband, in which case the network-to-relay link share the same band with direct network-to-user equipment links within the donor cell. Rel. 8 user equipments should be able to connect to the donor cell in this case.        outband, in which case the network-to-relay link does not operate in the same band as direct network-to-user equipment links within the donor cell
With respect to the knowledge in the user equipment, relays can be classified into                transparent, in which case the user equipment is not aware of whether or not it communicates with the network via the relay.        non-transparent, in which case the user equipment is aware of whether or not it is communicating with the network via the relay.
Depending on the relaying strategy, a relay may                be part of the donor cell        control cells of its own
In the case the relay is part of the donor cell, the relay does not have a cell identity of its own (but may still have a relay ID). At least part of the RRM is controlled by the eNodeB to which the donor cell belongs, while parts of the RRM may be located in the relay. In this case, a relay should preferably support also LTE Rel. 8 user equipments. Smart repeaters, decode-and-forward relays and different types of L2 relays are examples of this type of relaying.
In the case the relay is in control of cells of its own, the relay controls one or several cells and a unique physical-layer cell identity is provided in each of the cells controlled by the relay. The same RRM mechanisms are available and from a user equipment perspective there is no difference in accessing cells controlled by a relay and cells controlled by a "normal" eNodeB. The cells controlled by the relay should support also LTE Rel. 8 user equipments. Self-backhauling (L3 relay) uses this type of relaying.
In FIG. 4 an exemplary LTE-A system is shown which utilizes relay nodes (RN). The wireless interface between eNode B and RN, which connects a RN with the radio access network, is referred to as S1 interface.
For 3GPP LTE (Rel. 8) it is required that the user equipment can perform an IDLE-to-ACTIVE mode transition within 100 ms, i.e. the initial access should be established within 100 ms. For 3GPP LTE (Rel. 8) this delay requirement can be fulfilled. For 3GPP LTE-A (Rel. 10) however the overall control plane latency, i.e. IDLE-to-ACTIVE transition, shall be significantly decreased compared to EPS (Evolved Packet System) 3GPP LTE (Rel. 8). The desired target for transition time from RRC_IDLE mode-to-RRC_CONNECTED mode currently considered is about 50 ms, which is however not achievable for cell edge user equipments with the currently specified contention based RACH procedure of 3GPP LTE (Rel. 8)

Enhanced random access procedure for mobile communications


A wireless communication network uses Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO). Network circuitry stores geographic data that indicates geographic containers. Transceiver circuitry wirelessly receives network signaling from User Equipment (UEs) located in the geographic containers. The network circuitry processes the network signaling to determine UE MU-MIMO correlation factors between the UEs and associate the UE MU-MIMO correlation factors with the geographic containers. The network circuitry processes the UE MU-MIMO correlation factors associated with the geographic containers to determine container MU-MIMO correlation factors between the geographic containers. The network circuitry selects UEs for MU-MIMO based on their container MU-MIMO correlation factors. The transceiver circuitry wirelessly transfers MU-MIMO signals to the UEs that were selected based on their container MU-MIMO correlation factors.

Wireless communication networks provide wireless data services to wireless user devices. Exemplary wireless data services include voice-calling, internet-access, and machine communications. Exemplary wireless user devices comprise phones, computers, drones, and robots. The wireless communication networks have wireless access nodes that exchange wireless signals with the wireless user devices. The wireless signals transport user data and network signaling. The wireless access nodes exchange the user data and network signaling with other network elements to help deliver the wireless data services. Exemplary wireless communication networks include Fifth Generation New Radio (5GNR) networks and Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks.
The wireless communication networks use a technology called Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO). With MU-MIMO, a wireless access node uses the same time and frequency resources for groups of the wireless user devices. Thus, a group of the wireless user devices shares the same resource blocks using MU-MIMO. Sharing time and frequency resources using MU-MIMO can dramatically improve the spectral efficiency of the wireless communication networks.
To share time and frequency resources using MU-MMO, the wireless access nodes and the wireless user devices use beamforming and signal processing to separate the individual user signals in the shared resource blocks. For successful MU-MIMO reception, the wireless user devices should have a small MU-MIMO correlation factor. The MU-MIMO correlation factor predicts the likely beam interference for a group of wireless user devices sharing resource blocks. A group of wireless user devices that are close to one another have a high MU-MIMO correlation factor because their beams are so close. A group of wireless user devices that are distant from one another have a low MU-MIMO correlation factor because their beams are separated—especially when there is a large angle at the wireless access node between the wireless user devices.
The wireless access points execute Physical Layer (PHY) software to process Sounding Reference Signals (SRS) from the wireless user devices and determine received signal strength, Angle-of-Arrival (AoA), and other radio metrics. The wireless access nodes execute Media Access Control (MAC) software to process the signal strength, AoA, and other radio metrics to determine the MU-MIMO correlation factors between the wireless user devices. If the MU-MIMO correlation factor between a group of wireless user devices is low enough, then the MAC schedules the group of wireless user devices to receive MU-MIMO transmissions over shared resource blocks.
Unfortunately, the calculation of the MU-MIMO correlation factors for the wireless user devices is a heavy burden on the processing resources of the wireless access nodes.

Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) user equipment (UE) grouping with geographic correlation factors


A sheet conveying apparatus for printer, comprises an apparatus body with first and second sheet exhaust ports, a printing unit provided in the apparatus body, a paid of feeding rollers for feeding a sheet to the printing unit, and a pair of exhaust rollers for exhausting the sheet from the printing unit. The apparatus body has a support frame for rotatably carrying one of the feeding rollers and one of the exhaust rollers. The contact force of the feeding rollers and the contact force of the exhaust rollers are simultaneously adjusted by an eccentric roller. Further, the apparatus body has a sheet exhaust direction changing mechanism for selecting one of the sheet exhaust ports in accordance with the type of sheet, in cooperation with the movement of the support frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a sheet conveying apparatus for a printer, and more particularly to a sheet conveying apparatus comprising rollers for conveying various types of sheets to a printing unit and exhaust ports, and a sheet exhaust guide for selecting one of the exhaust ports in accordance with the thickness of the sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
When printing is effected on a continuous sheet (e.g. a fanfold sheet) and a non-continuous sheet (a thin sheet of "B5" size or the like, or a relatively thick and hard sheet such as a postcard) with use of a single printer, the following problems occur:
(1) In order to ensure the exact feeding of sheets, it is necessary that the contact state of a pair of driven and driving rollers on the upstream side of a printing unit and the contact state of a pair of driven and driving rollers on the downstream side of the printing unit be adjusted in accordance with the type of sheets.
For example, when a thin non-continuous sheet is subjected to printing, it is necessary that both driven rollers on the upstream and downstream sides of the printing unit be brought into contact with the associated driving rollers with a predetermined contact force. However, when a thick non-continuous sheet is subjected to printing, this contact force needs to be slightly weakened.
In the prior art, the contact state of the upstream-side rollers and the contact state of the downstream-side rollers have been adjusted independently, resulting in complex structure of the apparatus.
(2) In order for an operator to easily take out a printed sheet from an exhaust port, it is desirable that the exhaust port is provided in the uppe part of the printer. However, in the conventional apparatus, a printed sheet is often inverted while it is conveyed to the exhaust port; therefore, wrinkles may appear on a relatively thick and hard sheet such as a postcard. For this reason, the printer has upper and lower exhaust ports. In this case, the operator operates an exhaust guide according to the type of sheet, thus selecting one of the exhaust ports. However, the operator often forgets to select the exhaust port, and a trouble of exhaust of sheets may occur.


A multi-sensor system includes multiple sensors that are integrated onto the same substrate forming a unitary multi-sensor platform that provides a known consistent physical relationship between the multiple sensors. A processor can also be integrated onto the substrate so that data from the multiple sensors can be processed locally by the multi-sensor system.

Different sensors can be used in vehicles to identify objects and possible collision conditions. For example, there may be an optical sensor, such as a camera, mounted to the roof of the vehicle. Another Infrared (IR) sensor may be mounted in the front grill of the vehicle. A third inertial sensor may be located in yet another location in the central portion of the vehicle. Data from these different sensors is correlated together to identify and track objects that may come within a certain vicinity of the vehicle.
The measurements from the different sensors must be translated to a common reference point before the different data can be accurately correlated. This translation is difficult because the sensors are positioned in different locations on the vehicle. For example, the sensor located inside the front bumper of the vehicle may move in one direction during a collision while the sensor located on the top of the vehicle roof may move in a different direction.
One of the sensors may also experience vibrations at a different time than the other sensor. For example, the front bumper sensor may experience a vertical or horizontal movement when the vehicle runs over an obstacle before any movements or vibrations are experienced by the roof sensor. This different movements of sensors relative to each other make is very difficult to accurately determine the precise position and orientation of the sensors when the sensor readings are taken. This makes it difficult to translate the data into common reference coordinates.
The present invention addresses this and other problems associated with the prior art.
A multi-sensor system includes multiple sensors that are integrated onto the same substrate forming a unitary multi-sensor platform that provides a known consistent physical relationship between the multiple sensors. A processor can also be integrated onto the substrate so that data from the multiple sensors can be processed locally by the multi-sensor system.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.


A zoom lens includes a first lens unit having a positive optical power, a second lens unit having a negative optical power, a third lens unit having a positive optical power, and a fourth lens unit having a negative optical power in sequence from an object side. The zoom lens executes zooming by moving all the four lens units on an optical axis. At least one of the four lens units has at least one diffractive optical surface. By this arrangement, the size of the zoom lens can be easily reduced while securing a desired variable power ratio and correcting lateral chromatic aberration that is varied by zooming.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens and optical equipment, and more particularly, to a zoom lens that favorably corrects the various aberrations of an optical system, in particular, the lateral chromatic aberration thereof by effectively using a diffractive optical element (diffractive optical surface), the zoom lens being suitably applied to optical equipment such as a lens shutter camera, a video camera, a digital camera, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as the size of optical equipment such as a lens shutter camera, a video camera, and the like is reduced, a compact zoom lens having a high variable power ratio and a short overall lens length is desired as an imaging lens used in such optical equipment.
A so-called positive lead-type zoom lens, in which a lens unit having a positive optical power is the lens unit closest to the object, is employed in many cases as a means for reducing the size of an imaging lens. A remarkable feature of this type of imaging lens is that the length of the back focus can be reduced, which is effective for use in a lens shutter camera and the like that require no space behind a lens system to dispose a quick return mirror as used in a single-lens reflex camera.
Recent optical equipment employs a zoom type imaging lens composed of three or four lens units to cope with an additional requirement for a high variable power ratio, in addition to the requirement for reducing the size of the imaging lens.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-250088, for example, proposes a zoom lens composed of four lens units which sequentially have positive, negative (or positive), positive, and negative optical powers from an object as a zoom lens composed of four lens units to simultaneously realize both a reduction in size of an optical system and the improvement of optical performance.
This proposal introduces a compact zoom lens the overall size of which is reduced by reducing the diameter of a front lens and which is excellent in optical performance by arranging a third lens unit as a focusing lens unit.
Similarly, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-265788 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,529) proposes a zoom lens composed of four lens units having positive, negative, positive, and negative optical powers from an object.
The proposal introduces a simply constructed zoom lens having a high optical performance, which achieves these characteristics by regulating the shift amount of respective lens units in zooming and properly disposing aspherical surfaces.
As disclosed in the invention of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-265788, recently, various types of aberration can be relatively easily corrected by a smaller number of lenses due to advances in the technologies for making and designing an aspherical surface, which permits an imaging lens, which is small in size and excellent in an optical performance, to be obtained.
In the various types of aberration, however, chromatic aberration must be ordinarily corrected by the chromatic dispersion characteristics of a glass material constituting lenses and the combination of positive lenses and negative lenses. Thus, the correction of the chromatic aberration by an aspherical surface cannot be much expected.
Recently, a technology has been developed that corrects the chromatic aberration by a diffractive optical surface of a diffractive optical element disposed to a lens surface or a part of an optical system. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-213421 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,706), Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-324262 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,321), U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,790, and the like propose this technology.
Of these proposals, U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,790 proposes a zoom lens composed of four lens units having positive, negative, positive, and negative optical powers. In the zoom lens, which executes zooming by moving second and third lens units, diffractive optical elements are used in the second lens unit used for zooming and in the third lens unit for correcting variations of an image surface caused by the zooming.
In general, to increase a variable power while reducing the size of a zoom lens, there is a method of, for example, increasing the optical power of the respective lens units as well as increasing the amount of movement of the respective lens units used for a variable power.
However, a simple increase in the optical power of the lens units and in the amount of movement of the respective lens units increases variations in aberration, in particular, variations in chromatic aberration that are caused by the zooming. Thus, it is difficult to obtain an excellent optical performance over an entire variable power range.
While Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 4-213421 and 6-324262 propose correcting chromatic aberration by the application of the diffractive optical element, they do not specifically describe a method of removing variations in chromatic aberration caused by the zooming characteristic to a zoom lens.
Further, the zoom lens disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,790 performs zooming by moving the second and third lens units. Thus, it is difficult for the zoom lens to increase the variable power ratio while avoiding an increase in the size thereof. Furthermore, since the diffractive optical element is used in the second lens unit acting as a main zoom lens unit, chromatic aberration is multiplied or varied in zooming by the movement of the second lens unit acting as the zoom lens unit, and thus chromatic aberration cannot be effectively corrected.
Accordingly, it is at least one object of the present invention to provide a zoom lens and optical equipment using the zoom lens, wherein the zoom lens can obtain a desired variable power ratio, the size of which can be easily reduced, and which can favorably correct lateral chromatic aberration varied by zooming and has excellent optical performance over the entire variable power range by properly constructing the lenses of respective lens units and properly setting diffractive optical surfaces to be disposed on the lens units.
To achieve the above purpose, the zoom lens of the present invention comprises in sequence from an object side a first lens unit having a positive optical power, a second lens unit having a negative optical power, a third lens unit having a positive optical power, and a fourth lens unit having a negative optical power, wherein the zoom lens executes zooming by moving all of the first, second, third, and fourth lens units on an optical axis, and at least one of the first, second, third, and fourth lens units has at least one diffractive optical surface.
Further purposes, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

Zoom lens and optical equipment using the same


The invention relates to antibodies which specifically bind to the gc chain of cytokine receptors, as well as to cell lines which produce such antibodies, pharmaceutical compositions, and methods of treating immunological diseases by treating patients with such antibodies.

The invention relates to compounds which specifically interfere with the function of the common gamma chain of cytokine receptors and which are able to block cytokine responses. It also relates to cell lines which produce such compounds, compositions comprising such compounds, methods of blocking the effects of cytokines on cells, and methods of treating immunological diseases by treating patients with the compounds.
Cytokines are important molecules produced by cells of the immune system. Cellular responses to cytokines are regulated by cell surface receptors, polypeptide chains that individually and/or coordinately bind cytokines and transmit signals that regulate activation of cellular genes. The affinities of these receptors regulate the magnitude of the cellular response, which can impact the pattern and determine the physiologic outcome. Regulation of cytokine responses can therefore determine if a cell is activated, divides, differentiates, becomes tolerant or dies. Regulation of cytokine response can also determine if auto-immune cells are permitted to survive and proliferate.
Each cytokine receptor contains one or more cytokine-specific polypeptide chains. As discussed below, when cytokines bind to their cognate receptors, signals through these multiple cell surface polypeptide chains of cytokine receptors control cell growth, activation and differentiation, and appear to be critical in regulating the generation and maintenance of immune responses (Sugamura et al., Adv. Immunol. 59:225-277 (1995)).
Briefly, immune responses are initiated by antigen presenting cells (APC) which display peptide fragments of processed foreign antigen in association with MHC class II molecules on their surfaces to CD4+ helper T lymphocytes (T helper cells or Th cells) which interact with these APC""s. The Th cells are activated when they recognize particular epitopes of a foreign antigen displayed on the appropriate APC surface for which the Th cells express a specific T cell receptor (TcR). In addition to the TcR interaction with a peptide/MHC complex, T cells require a second cognate costimulatory signal, usually through a cell surface receptor, for eg. CD28 (Harding, Nature 356:607-609 (1992) interacting with ligands for CD28 expressed on APC including B7-1 and B7-2 (Bluestone, Immunity 2:555-559 (1995). Productive engagement of these two types of cell surface receptors primes the T cells to make and to respond to one or more cytokines secreted or released by activated cells. A key cytokine is interleukin-2 (IL-2), which stimulates and supports cell division, increasing the number of interacting cell types and hence the magnitude of the immune response.
In addition to regulating the magnitude of immune responses, the pattern of cytokines released at the onset of an immune challenge affects the subsequent choice of which immune effector pathways are activated (Paul and Seder, Cell 76:241-251 (1993). These cytokines are released by several cell types involved in initiating the immune response, including APC and CD4+ helper Th cells which interact with the APCs. Activated Th cells secrete cytokines which, together with the APC-derived cytokines, direct their differentiation into one of several types of Th cells. These different types of Th cells are then responsible for activating diverse effector mechanisms including killer T cell activation, B cell antibody production and macrophage activation. The choice between effector mechanisms is mediated largely by which cytokines are produced by the activated Th cells.
Th cells can be divided into three subgroups based on their cytokine secretion patterns (Fitch et al., Ann. Rev. Immunol., 11, pp. 2948 (1993); Mosmann and Sad, Immunol. Today 17:138-146 (1996)). These subgroups are called Th0, Th1 and Th2. In humans, the Th1 pattern of cytokine secretion has been generally associated with cellular immunity and resistance to infection with viruses and intracellular parasites. The Th1 cytokines such as IFN xcex3 and IL-2 tend to activate macrophages, natural killer cells and cytotoxic T cells. Other cytokines produced by APCs, such as IL-7 and IL-15, may also participate in the activation of these cytotoxic functions. In addition to their protective functions, Th1 cytokines promote deleterious inflammatory responses such as delayed type hypersensitivity. Pathological Th1 responses are also associated with a number of organ-specific and systemic autoimmune conditions and with chronic inflammatory diseases, and play an important role in cellular rejection of tissue grafts and organ transplants. In contrast, the Th2 pattern of cytokine secretion (IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-9 and IL-10) promotes the fill expansion and maturation of B cells thereby providing humoral protection, for example, against extracellular pathogens (Howard et al., xe2x80x9cT cell-derived cytokines and their receptorxe2x80x9d, Fundamental Immunology, 3d ed., Raven Press, New York (1993)). Th2 cytokines such as IL-4 and IL-9 also increase eosinophil and mast cell production. But like Th1 responses, deleterious Th2 responses can lead to pathologic conditions, including IgE antibodies associated with allergic responses, autoimmune antibodies such as those in idiopathic thrombocytopenia, myasthenia gravis, and systemic lupus erythematosus, and anti-graft antibodies.
The pattern and magnitude of cytokine responses can also be used to negatively regulate activated cells. The absence of appropriate cytokine dependent signaling to activated cells (physiologically, an inadequate or temporally discordant signal) usually results in their death. In some circumstances it can lead to a so called tolerant state, also called unresponsiveness or anergy, where cells survive but fail to respond to subsequent stimuli (Schwartz, Science, 248, 1349-1356 (1990); Jenkins et al., J. Immunol., 140, 3324-3330 (1988). Thus, inhibition of cytokine signaling to activated cells may represent a physiological means of regulating for eg. autoreactive cells. It also may be therapeutically useful in treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
One way to block cytokine responses is to target the receptor. In the case of IL-2, the receptor is composed of three distinct polypeptide chains: alpha, beta and xcex3 common (hereinafter xe2x80x9cgcxe2x80x9d). The alpha chain specifically binds to IL-2 but has no capacity to signal the cell which expresses it. The beta chain binds IL-2 poorly (KD=1 micromolar), but with the alpha chain creates a two chain receptor with an affinity that exceeds that of either chain alone. The gc chain binds IL-2 very weakly, if at all, but combines with the alpha and beta chains to create a three chain receptor with very high affinity [10 picomolar] for IL-2 (Sugamura et al., Adv. Immunol. 59:225-277(1995)). Other combinations of the IL-2 receptor chains are also possible. For example, on NK cells the beta and gc chains combine to form an IL-2 receptor of intermediate affinity (KD=1 nanomolar).
The gc chain is a cell surface polypeptide component of cytokine receptors and forms part of the receptors for several other interleukins besides IL-2 such as IL-4, 7, 9, and 15. The extracellular region of the gc chain of these IL receptors (IL-R) is composed of 2 FNIII type domains, each comprised of 7 strands connected by loop sequences which are presumed to form intermolecular contacts (see structural model derived for the IL-4/IL-4 chain gc chain complex, Gustchina et al., Proteins: Structure, Function and Genetics 21:140 (1995)), and for the IL-2/IL-2R complex, Bamborough et al., Structure 2:839-851(1994)).
In the case of the IL-4 receptor, the gc chain is paired only with a cytokine binding alpha chain; no additional beta chain has been identified to date. The same is true for the IL-7 and IL-9 receptors; each brings its own cytokine binding alpha chain to combine with the gc chain to create a complete cooperating two chain receptor. The receptor for IL-15 is composed of an alpha chain specific for IL-15 together with the beta chain of the IL-2 receptor and the gc chain. The participation of two and sometimes three polypeptide chains in the functional receptor thus adds another layer of complexity to the regulation of the immune response. Since the gc chain is shared by a number cytokine receptors, blocking the function of the gc chain may affect cells that depend on signaling from IL-2, IL-4, IL-7, IL-9 or IL-15.
Several mAbs which block the function of the murine and human gc chains have been described in the literature. Sugamura and colleagues developed a mAb which binds to murine gc chain and which blocks responses to IL-4, IL-7 and IL-9. The mAb needed auxiliary molecules to inhibit IL-2 (i.e. the mAb failed to inhibit IL-2 responses when used alone). See Kondo et al., Science, 262, pp.1874-1877(1993); Kondo et al., Science, 263, pp.1453-1454; Kimura et al., International Immunology, 7, pp.115-120(1994). See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,826 (anti-human gc antibody significantly inhibiting cellular IL-2 activity requires an auxiliary antibody).
He et al. (J. Immunol., 154, pp.1596-1605 (1995) reported two mAbs which bind to murine gc chain. When used without auxiliary molecules (i.e., when used alone) one mAb partially blocked IL-4 but failed to block IL-2 or IL-7, and the other mAb partially blocked IL-7 but failed to block IL-4 or IL-2. These results demonstrate that the gc chain is employed in distinct ways by different receptors. This observation indicates that screening for mAbs that bind to gc chain or that block the cellular response to a given cytokine of the group including IL-2, IL-4, IL-7 IL-9 and IL-15, will not necessarily produce mAbs that can block the cellular responses to any of the other cytokines of this group.
Moreover, given the extremely high affinity (10 pM) of this group of cytokine receptors for their respective cytokines, it would be difficult to achieve effective inhibition using a blocking agent of much lower affinity (e.g., 1-100 nanomolar affinity typical of a mAb) that is competing with cytokine for binding to the same receptor, particularly in the presence of high concentrations of cytokine.
There are no mAbs reported in the prior art that bind to gc chain and block cellular responses to IL-2 when used in the absence of auxiliary molecules. Nor has any single mAb been reported which can block cellular responses to any subset of cytokine which includes IL-2. Indeed, all mAb specific for gc chain developed to date require the addition of an auxiliary molecules i.e., a second compound which could act in concert with that agent to inhibit the cellular response to IL-2.
Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that block the function of the gc chain and thereby block cellular responses to cytokines which employ the gc chain in their receptors could provide useful agents to treat various Th cell-based immunological conditions. To date, however, such treatment generally has employed immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive agents as well as a number of drugs (eg. gold or penicillamine) with poorly characterized mechanisms. Three general immunosuppressive agents used currently are steroids, cyclosporine and azathioprine. These non-specific agents are generally required chronically and in high doses are associated with significant toxicity, particularly nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity, as well as other adverse side effects.
Useful agents of this kind would include those which block cellular responses to any one of the group of cytokines that have the gc chain in their receptors, to selected members of these, or to all members of this group.
Accordingly, the invention solves the problems discussed above and provides compositions and methods for treating immunological diseases by inhibiting cytokine signaling using gc chain blocking agents. We have found a) mabs specific for gc chain do not require auxiliary molecules to inhibit IL-2 responses and b) anti-human gc mAbs are cross reactive with non-human gc and have clinical efficacy in a non-human animal model of disease. We have also found a method of finding a class of compounds that are noncompetitive inhibitors of cytokines.
To address the problems caused by conventional treatments with non-specific immunosuppressive agents, it is an object of the invention to provide therapeutic agents which limit pathologic antigen-specific responses by providing a means to inhibit T cell responsiveness, to induce Th cell anergy, or to selectively suppress or activate Th1 vs. Th2 responses.
One aspect of the invention is a gc chain blocking agent that is a soluble gc-binding polypeptide, a soluble gc-blocking polypeptide, or a soluble gc mimetic agent. The preferred gc blocking agents of the invention have the unique property of significantly blocking a response of a cell to interleukin-2 (IL-2) without any requirement for a second compound which also affects response of the cell to IL-2. A preferred gc blocking agent is a monoclonal antibody that cross competes with monoclonal antibody CP.B8 produced by hybridoma cell line ATCC No. HB-12107 for binding to gc chain, and also cross competes with Fab, F(abxe2x80x2)2, and Fv fragments and conjugates of CP.B8. Other antibodies of the invention cross compete with monoclonal antibodies CQ.C11, AE.C9 and AK.F12 as well as Fab, F(abxe2x80x2)2, and Fv fragments and conjugates thereof.
The gc blocking agents of the invention are also able to block a response of a cell to a cytokine that is different from IL-2 and preferred blocking agents are also able to block cytokine responses to interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-7, IL-9 and IL-15.
Preferred gc blocking agents of the invention contain sequences that can bind to at least one of particular epitopic sequences (SEQ ID NOS:13-17) of the gc chain.
The invention further embodies a series of continuous hybridoma cell line selected from the group consisting of ATCC No. HB-12107, ATCC No. HB-12105, ATCC No. HB-12104 and ATCC No. HB-12106, as well as specific anti human-gc monoclonal antibodies produced by these hybridoma cell lines and compositions of these monoclonal antibodies.
A further aspect of the invention is directed to particular polynucleotides obtainable from anti human-gc monoclonal antibodies. Preferred sequences are selected from the group of sequences consisting of: (a) SEQ ID NOS.: 5 and/or 6; (b) polynucleotides that hybridize to SEQ ID NOS. 5 and/or 6 under standard hybridization conditions and that encode at least part of a polypeptide having the property of significantly blocking a response of a cell to interleukin-2 (IL-2); and (copyright) polynucleotides that encode a protein encoded by any of the foregoing polynucleotide sequences.
Other compositions of the invention include a monoclonal antibody having complementary determining regions (CRDs) encoded by polynucleotide sequences selected from the group consisting of: (a) SEQ ID NOS: 5 and/or 6; (b) polynucleotides that hybridize to SEQ ID NOS: 5 an/or 6 under standard hybridization conditions; and polynucleotides that encode a protein encoded by any of the foregoing polynucleotide sequences.
Still other compositions of the invention include a monoclonal antibody having a light chain variable region CDR with an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: (a) amino acids 24 to 34 of SEQ ID NO: 4; amino acids 50 to 56 of SEQ ID NO: 4 and amino acids 89 to 97 of SEQ ID NO:4. Another composition includes a monoclonal antibody having a heavy chain variable region CDR with an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of: (a) amino acids 28 to 32 of SEQ ID NO: 3; amino acids 47 to 61 of SEQ ID NO: 3 and amino acids 95 to 104 of SEQ ID NO: 3.
Pharmaceutical compositions of the invention comprise a gc-blocking agent that is selected from the group consisting of a gc-blocking antibody homolog, a soluble gc-binding polypeptide, a soluble gc-blocking polypeptide, and a soluble gc mimetic agent. Preferred pharmaceutical compositions include a monoclonal antibody that specifically binds to an antigenic determinant of the gc chain of cytokine receptors. Particularly preferred compositions include the CP.B8 mAb.
Methods of the invention include a method of raising an antibody against a protein antigen (such as a gc chain antigen) comprising administering an immunogen that is a non-denatured form of the protein antigen. The non-denatured form of a gc chain antigen preferably comprises a fusion molecule that includes at least part of the gc chain fused to at least part of an immunoglobulin constant region. In another method, the non-denatured form of protein antigen (e.g., gc chain) is coadministered with protein a.
A further aspect of the invention is a method for treating or reducing the advancement, severity or effects of an immunological disease in a subject, comprising the step of administering a composition which comprises a gc-blocking agent. The preferred method includes administration of a blocking agent selected from the group consisting of a gc-blocking antibody homolog, a soluble gc-binding polypeptide, a soluble gc-blocking polypeptide, and a soluble gc mimetic agent. Preferred gc blocking antibody homologs include a monoclonal antibody that specifically binds to an antigenic determinant of the gc chain of cytokine receptors. This method may be used to treat a variety of immunological diseases, including myasthenia gravis, IBD, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, insulin-dependent diabetes, sympathetic ophthalmia, uveitis, allergy, asthma, parasitic disease, graft versus host disease (GVHD), and psoriasis.
Another method of the invention is a method for inducing tolerance in a subject comprising the step of administering a composition which comprises a a gc-blocking agent. Preferred methods of this type administer a blocking agent selected from the group consisting of a gc-blocking antibody homolog, a soluble gc-binding polypeptide, a soluble gc-blocking polypeptide, and a soluble gc mimetic agent.
Another method of the invention is a method for inhibiting cytokine responsiveness in a subject comprising the step of administering a composition which comprises a gc-blocking agent, the preferred agent being selected from the group consisting of a gc-blocking antibody homolog, a soluble gc-binding polypeptide, a soluble gc-blocking polypeptide, and a soluble gc mimetic agent.
Yet another method of the invention is a method for treating or reducing the advancement, severity or effects of an immunological disease in a subject comprising the step of administering a composition which comprises a noncompetitive inhibitor of a cytokine receptor. This noncompetitive inhibitor is preferably a gc blocking agent that blocks either IL-2 or IL4. The method is useful for treating an immunological disease that is refractory to treatment by any competitive inhibitor of a cytokine.
Our discovery of noncompetitive inhibitors of cytokine receptors allows a further method of identifing a compound that non-competitively inhibits functioning of a cytokine receptor, the method comprising demonstrating that the capacity of the compound to inhibit the function is not attenuated by high concentrations of cytokine. Most preferably, the cytokine receptor utilizes gc as one of its receptor components.
Gc blocking agents of the present invention have the singular advantage of not requiring the addition of an auxiliary compound which could act in concert with that agent to inhibit the cellular response to IL-2.


A mechanism is described for facilitating dynamic detection and intelligent use of segmentation on flexible display screens according to one embodiment. A method of embodiments, as described herein, includes detecting, via one or more touch sensors, alterations in current in and around one or more areas of a flexible display screen, where the alterations represent pressure being applied to cause at least one of bending, rolling, and curving of the flexible display screen at the one or more areas. The method may further include dividing the flexible display screen into a plurality of zones corresponding to the one or more areas, where the marking/dividing logic is further to mark a plurality of portions of the plurality of zones to serve as a plurality of segments. The method may further include facilitating displaying of contents via the plurality of segments of the flexible display screen.

With the growth in computing technology, display screens, including flexible display screens, are also gaining popularity and noticeable traction in becoming a mainstream technology as seen being employed in various devices, such as televisions, wearable devices, smartphones, tablet computers, etc., and even as standalone flexible displays. However, conventional techniques treat flexible displays as single displays and are severely limited in their application.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Facilitating dynamic detection and intelligent use of segmentation on flexible display screens


Process for the preparation of copolymeric polypeptides, which comprises, in a first stage, reacting glutamic acid and/or derivatives thereof with amines in the absence of solvents and catalysts, under condensation conditions and, in a second stage, adding one or more further amino acids and/or derivatives thereof and/or one or more identical and/or further amines simultaneously or in any desired order, and reacting them with the reaction product of the first stage in the absence of solvents and catalysts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hydrophobically modified copolymeric polyglutamic acid derivatives and to a process for their preparation by condensation of glutamic acid or derivatives thereof with amines and coamino acids. The present invention also relates to the use of the hydrophobically modified copolymeric polyglutamic acid derivatives of the present invention.
2. Background of the Invention
Polypeptides, constructed from naturally occurring amino acids, are readily biodegradable and toxicologically safe. Moreover, polypeptides are valuable additives which, due to their properties, have received particular attention and are being used to an increasing extent.
Depending on the grade of amidation and hydrophobicity of the amine component, polyglutamides, in addition to their toxicological safety, their excellent mildness and biodegradability, are characterized by excellent properties as film formers and coatings, particularly in pharmacy and in the food sector. In addition, applications as biodegradable complexing agents, softeners and detergent builders are proposed.
The literature describes a large number of polypeptides and processes for their preparation, in particular those based on aspartic acid.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,057,597 describes the thermal polymerization of solid aspartic acid in a moving-bed or fluidized-bed reactor at temperatures of at least 180xc2x0 C. to 250xc2x0 C., where the reaction mixture remains flowable throughout the entire process.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,052,655 describes the preparation of copolymeric polypeptides which, in addition to aspartic acid, can also contain one or more other xcex1-amino acids. To prepare a liquid reaction mixture, the addition of an equimolar amount, based on the total amount of the amino acids, of concentrated phosphoric acid is required.
DE-A-36 12 102 discloses soluble and biodegradable copolymeric polypeptide amides, which, in the main chain, contain aspartic acid and/or glutamic acid units and units of other amino acids, and in which the hydrocarbon radical of the amide moiety can have 3 to 7 carbon atoms. These prior art compounds have molar masses of from 5,000 to 1,000,000 and are used, following reaction with amino alcohols or hydrazine, for binding biologically active substances.
EP-A-0 959 091 relates to copolymeric polyaspartic ester amides which have been modified with alkyl or alkenyl radicals having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, as well as their preparation and their use. As a result of the preparation process of the polyaspartic acid in which, in the first step, maleic monoesters are reacted with ammonia, and subsequent (partial) hydrolysis of the ester bonds, followed by the amidation of the free carboxyl groups, this prior art process forms products that still contain ester bonds.
According to DE-A-39 21 912, reaction products from polysuccinimide and amines having 1 to 8 carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon radical, which, in addition to the amide groups, also contain imide groups and optionally free carboxyl groups or ammonium salts thereof, can be used as coatings and/or retardants for medicaments and foods. The amidation of the polysuccinimide is carried out in dimethylformamide (DMF) as solvent, which in turn has to be removed afterward by laborious process steps and using large amounts of less acceptable solvents.
An object of the present invention is to provide simpler and more effective processes for the preparation of optionally copolymeric polypeptides, in particular those based on glutamic acid and aspartic acid, which, through simple variation of the starting materials and/or the reaction parameters, permits polymers with a predetermined distribution of the monomers within the molecule, i.e., from random distribution to the desired block formation, and also the setting of tailored molecular weights.
It has now been found that the foregoing object is achieved by a process for the preparation of optionally copolymeric polypeptides by simultaneous or stepwise reaction of glutamic acid and at least one further xcex1-amino acid and/or derivatives thereof with amines in the absence of solvents and catalysts under condensation conditions, optionally at subatmospheric pressure and with removal of the condensate from the reaction mixture.
The present invention therefore provides a process for the preparation of copolymeric polypeptides which comprises, in a first stage, reacting glutamic acid and/or derivatives thereof with amines in the absence of solvents and catalysts under condensation conditions, optionally at subatmospheric pressure and with removal of the condensate from the reaction mixture and, in a second stage, adding one or more further amino acids and/or derivatives thereof and/or one or more identical and/or further amines simultaneously or in any desired order, and reacting them with the reaction product of the first stage in the absence of solvents and catalysts.
The present invention further provides a process for the preparation of optionally copolymeric polypeptides, which comprises, in a first stage, reacting glutamic acid and/or derivatives thereof with one or more further xcex1-amino acids and/or derivatives thereof in the absence of solvents and catalysts under condensation conditions, optionally at subatmospheric pressure and with removal of the condensate from the reaction mixture and, in a second stage, reacting one or more amines simultaneously or in any desired order with the reaction product of the first stage in the absence of solvents and catalysts, under condensation conditions, optionally at subatmospheric pressure and with removal of the condensate from the reaction mixture.
The present invention further provides a process for the preparation of optionally copolymeric polypeptides, which comprises, in a first stage, reacting glutamic acid and/or derivatives thereof with one or more further xcex1-amino acids and/or derivatives thereof, with one or more amines simultaneously or in any desired order in the absence of solvents and catalysts, under condensation conditions, optionally at subatmospheric pressure and with removal of the condensate from the reaction mixture and, in a second stage, reacting glutamic acid and/or one or more further coamino acids and/or derivatives thereof and/or one or more identical and/or further amines simultaneously or in any desired order with the reaction product of the first stage in the absence of solvents and catalysts under condensation conditions, optionally at subatmospheric pressure and with removal of the condensate from the reaction mixture.
The present invention further provides a process for the preparation of optionally copolymeric polypeptides, which comprises, in a first stage, mixing at least one amino acid and/or derivatives thereof with amines in a ratio such that the mixtures are liquid at the condensation temperature, and heating them in the absence of solvents and catalysts to at least the melting temperature and, in a second stage, optionally metering in further coamino acids and/or amines simultaneously or in any desired order, and reacting the mixture with the mixture or the reaction product of the first stage under condensation conditions, optionally at subatmospheric pressure and with removal of the condensate from the reaction mixture.
The present invention, which provides processes for producing hydrophobically modified polyglutamic acid derivatives, will now be described in more detail.
In accordance with the present invention, 30 to 90%, by weight, of the units present in the inventive copolymers consist of structural units of general formula (I), and 70 to 30%, by weight, of the units consist of structural units of general formula (II)
in which
A is a trifunctional radical with three carbon atoms and has one of the following structures
and in which
R1 can have the meaning of R2, R3 and R4, where
R2 is identical or different amide radicals xe2x80x94C(O)NHxe2x80x94R9 where
R9 is straight-chain or branched, saturated and unsaturated alkyl radicals having 1 to 24, preferably 6 to 24, carbon atoms or radicals of the structure xe2x80x94C(O)NHxe2x80x94Xxe2x80x94R9, where
X is an oligo- or polyoxyalkylene chain having 1 to 100 oxyalkylene units, preferably ethylene oxide units,
R3 are identical or different amide radicals xe2x80x94C(O)NHxe2x80x94(CH2)nxe2x80x94N(R10)(R11) where
n is 2 to 10, preferably 2 to 4, and
R10, R11, independently of one another, are straight-chain or branched, saturated or unsaturated alkyl radicals having 1 to 24 carbon atoms and/or hydroxyalkyl radicals,
R4 has the meaning COOxe2x88x92X+, where
X+ is one or more radicals selected from the group of alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, hydrogen or ammonium, [NR5R6R7R8]+, in which
R5 to R8, independently of one another, are hydrogen, alkyl or hydroxyalkyl or [NH3xe2x80x94Xxe2x80x94R9]+, and/or [NH3xe2x80x94R9]+, and/or [NH3xe2x80x94(CH2)nxe2x80x94N(R10)(R11)]+,
and, in each case, at least one radical R1 must have the meaning of R2, R3 and/or R4 and the units [xe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94Bxe2x80x94COxe2x80x94] are building blocks from the group of proteinogenic and/or nonproteinogenic amino acids (H2Nxe2x80x94Bxe2x80x94COOH), in which B is the radical of the respective amino acid.
Suitable amino acid building blocks [xe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94Bxe2x80x94CO] from the group of proteinogenic amino acids H2Nxe2x80x94Bxe2x80x94COOH are, for example, glycine, alanine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, serine, cysteine, methionine, glutamic acid, glutamine, aspartic acid, asparagine, lysine, hydroxylysine, arginine, tryptophan, histidine, valine, threonine, proline, hydroxyproline and derivatives thereof. Nonproteinogenic amino acids may, for example, be xcex2-alanine, xcfx89-amino-1-alkanoic acids, and etc.
Suitable amines which can be co-used according to the present invention are compounds which contain at least one amino group which can react with carboxyl groups, such as, for example: NH2xe2x80x94R9 and/or NH2xe2x80x94Xxe2x80x94R9 and/or NH2xe2x80x94(CH2)nxe2x80x94N(R10)(R11), in which R9, R10, R11, X and n have the meanings given above.
Preference is given in the present invention to using those compounds which are liquid under the given reaction conditions and do not distill off from the reaction mixture. Such amines are the higher amines having 6 or more carbon atoms in the alkyl chain such as the homologous series of the fatty amines NH2xe2x80x94R9.
These fatty amines are prepared by known processes by reacting fatty acids with NH3 in the presence of catalysts to give the nitrile and subsequent hydrogenation to give the primary or secondary amine.
The fatty acids co-used here are, individually or in mixtures, acids such as caprylic acid, capric acid, 2-ethylhexanoic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, isostearic acid, stearic acid, hydroxystearic acid (ricinoleic acid), dihydroxystearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, petroselic acid, elaidic acid, arachidic acid, behenic acid and erucic acid, gadoleic acid and the technical-grade mixtures which form during the pressurized cleavage of natural fats and oils, such as oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and in particular rapeseed oil fatty acid, soybean oil fatty acid, sunflower oil fatty acid, tall oil fatty acid. Suitable in principle are all fatty acids with a similar chain distribution.
The content of unsaturated fractions in these fatty acids or fatty acid esters is, wherever necessary, adjusted to a desired iodine number by known catalytic hydrogenation processes, or is achieved by admixing completely hydrogenated fatty components with nonhydrogenated fatty components. The iodine number, which represents a measure of the average degree of saturation of a fatty acid, is the amount of iodine that is absorbed by 100 g of the compound to saturate the double bonds.
Preference is given to using partially hydrogenated C8-18-coconut and palm fatty acids, rapeseed oil fatty acids, sunflower oil fatty acids, soybean oil fatty acids and tall oil fatty acids having iodine numbers in the range from about 80 to 150 and, in particular, technical-grade C8-18-coconut fatty acids, where in some instances, it may be advantageous to use cis/trans isomers, such as elaidic acid-rich C16-18-fatty acid cuts. The fatty acids employed in the present invention are commercially available products and are supplied by various companies under their respective trade names.
Further amines which can be co-used are those of the general formula NH2xe2x80x94(CH2)nxe2x80x94N(R10)(R11) which, in addition to a primary amino group, also contain at least one secondary, or preferably, tertiary amino group, in particular dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA).
Further amines that can be co-used in the present invention are those of the general formula NH2xe2x80x94Xxe2x80x94R9, such as, in particular, the compounds sold by Huntsman under the trade name Jeffamine(copyright).
Further amines that can be co-used in the present invention are compounds which contain imidazoline rings, such as, for example, those which are prepared from the above-listed fatty acids and diethylenetriamine by known methods.
In the compounds prepared in accordance with the present invention, the glutamic acid/coamino acid ratio is: 90:10 to 30:70%, by weight, preferably 90:10 to 50:50%, by weight, and the amino acids/amine ratio is: 90:10 to 30:70%, by weight, preferably 40:60 to 60:40, by weight.
Preparation Processes:
In a first stage, glutamic acid is melted, for example, at 170xc2x0 to 190xc2x0 C., during which the cyclic amide, pyroglutamic acid, forms as a result of the elimination of water. Aspartic acid and/or other coamino acids are then added and the melt is heated further at the same temperature. The water of reaction which forms is distilled off continuously. Typically, the longer the heating time and the higher the temperature, the greater the molecular mass of the resulting peptide. This peptide can also be prepared in a stepless process, where coamino acid, glutamic acid and optionally further amino acids are heated and polymerized simultaneously at the same temperature.
In the next step, amines are added to the peptide and reacted further at 170xc2x0 to 190xc2x0 C. The resulting melt is either poured out and comminuted after cooling, or treated directly afterward with aqueous bases, e.g., aqueous sodium hydroxide solution. The suspension formed in this way can either be further used directly or isolated.
In one process variant, the amine is added after the glutamic acid, and only in the subsequent step are aspartic acid and/or other coamino acids added thereto.
In a further process variant, all of the components can be mixed together and reacted under the conditions stated.
The following examples are provided to illustrate the process of the present invention.

Process for the preparation of copolymeric hydrophobically modified polyglutamic acid derivatives and their use