A method and architecture optimizes transaction ordering in a hierarchical bridge environment. A parent-bridge is one level above a child-bridge, which in turn is one level above a grand-child component. The parent-bridge is a bridge-bridge. The child-bridge can be a bus-bridge or a bridge-bridge. The grand-child component can be a bus, a bus-bridge or a bridge-bridge. A parent-bridge is connected to a child-bridge via child-links, the child-bridge connected to grandchild-links, and the parent-bridge having multiple transaction order queues (TOQs) per child-link. Ideally, the parent-bridge has one TOQ for each grandchild-link where the parent-bridge applies separate transaction ordering for each of the grandchild-links. However, at a minimum, the system uses at least two TOQs per child-link, and as such, provides a higher level of transaction throughput than systems using one TOQ per child-link. The child-bridge sends a signal to the parent-bridge identifying from which grandchild-link a transaction was sent.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to ordering cycles originating from multiple subordinate devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern computer systems generally include input/output (I/O) devices that are connected to a central processing unit (CPU) via a system bus. The system bus operates to transfer addresses, data and control signals between the CPU and the I/O devices. Many modern computer systems include multiple buses, each in turn, with multiple I/O devices. Typically, any particular I/O device is coupled to only a single bus.
Bus bridges(bus-bridges) are often used in these multiple-bus systems to connect the multiple I/O devices connected to the multiple buses. "Bridge brides"(bridge-brides) are also often used in such systems to connect bus-bridges and thus handle communications from an even greater number of I/O devices. The commands transferred through both of these types of bridges frequently have data associated with them (e.g., read or write commands). The rate at which this multi-bridge architecture can process the communications generated from its multiple I/O devices directly affects the overall system performance. There is a constant demand for increasing the performance of modern computer systems generally. One way to achieve greater performance is to increase the rate at which communications from the I/O devices are processed.
As shown in FIG. 1, multi-bridge architectures can be viewed as having several different levels. A level 0 containing buses 122 and 124 and devices 112A–112F, which may be collectively referenced as 112, a level 1 containing bus-bridges 139 and a level 2 including bridge-bridges 149. Level 0 includes I/O devices 112 connected to buses 122 and 124. At level 1, bus-bridge 139 is connected to the buses 122 and 124 of level 0. Further, the bus-bridge 139 has a transaction order queues (TOQ) 131 and transaction buffers 186 for each bus-bridge/bus link, such as bus-bridge/bus link 162. TOQ 131 stores transaction buffer identifiers for certain transactions to ensure that system ordering rules, such as PCI and PCI-X ordering rules, are not violated. The purpose of the TOQ 131 is to ensure that transactions will execute in an order consistent with the system ordering rules. As such, not all transactions go into the TOQ, only those for which ordering rules apply. In contrast, transaction buffers store transaction information, such as cycle address, command, data, and the like. Next, level 2 contains one or more bridge-bridges, which may be represented by bridge-bridge 149. Bridge-bridge 149 is connected to one or more bus-bridges, such as bus-bridge 139 from level 1. Each bridge-bridge/bus-bridge link, such as bridge-bridge/bus-bridge link 152 between bridge-bridge 149 and bus-bridge 152, has one representative TOQ, which is TOQ 142, and one transaction buffer, such as transactional buffer 180, in the corresponding bridge-bridge 149. An inherent difference between bus-bridge 139 and bridge-bridge 149 is that bus-bridge 139 connect a series of buses 122 and 124, while bridge-bridge 149 connect a series of bridges. The bus-bridge's 139 direct link to buses 122 and 124 assures that bus-bridge 139 always know from which one of the buses 122 and 124 a transaction originated. Bridge-bridge 149, in contrast, does not have a separate link for each of the buses 122 and 124, and as such, are not inherently able to identify the bus source of any transaction. This inability to identify the bus source negatively impacts the ability for ordering transactions at the bridge-bridge level, and as such, also unnecessarily limits the corresponding transactional throughput of the entire system.
Transaction ordering, as discussed in more detail in the two U.S. patent applications incorporated below: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/749,111 by Paras Shah, "Relaxed Read Completion Ordering in a System Using a Transaction Order Queue," filed Dec. 26, 2000, and issued into U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,295 on Sep. 2, 2003, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/779,424, entitled "Enhancement to Transaction Order Queue," filed Feb. 8, 2001, orders a set of transactions based on a predefined set of rules. These rules are designed to achieve optimum transaction ordering where a single TOQ receives transactions originating from a single bus. However, where a TOQ receives transactions originating from multiple buses, optimum transaction ordering is lost and the overall transaction throughput is reduced. In further detail, and as shown in FIG. 1, TOQs 142 and 131, are used in two different types of bridges in two different levels. The first bridge, in level 2, is a bridge-bridge 149, where single TOQs 142 are used per each bridge-bridge/bus-bridge link (child-link) 152, regardless of the number of buses 122 and 124 attached to the corresponding bus-bridge 139. The second bridge, at level 1, is a bus-bridge 139 where single TOQs 131 are used for each bus-bridge/bus link (grandchild-link) 160. In the case of a bus-bridge 139, where there exists a one-to-one ratio between TOQs 131 and 132 and buses 122 and 124, a TOQ 131, as designed, is limited to ordering the transactions from a single bus, and as such, is able to perform at its top design efficiency. However, in the case of a bridge-bridge 149, where there exists a one-to-many ratio between TOQs 142 to buses 122 and 124, a TOQ 142 is required to process transactions from multiple busses 122 and 124 over a single child-link 152. Specifically, TOQ 142 for example, is required to process transactions from multiple buses 122 and 124, and treat every transaction received through child-link 152, whether from bus 122 or bus 124, as though it originated from a single bus, and as such, the TOQ 142 is unable to function at its intended efficiency. In other words, because the bridge-bridge 149 is unable to discern between transactions of different buses 122 and 124 connected to a bus-bridge 139, the bridge-bridge 149 must order such transactions as though they occurred on the same bus, bus 122 for example. Because of this, unnecessary blocking occurs where a blocking condition on one bus, bus 122 for example, is imposed, across the entire child-link, child-link 152 for example, effecting every attached bus 122 and 124, and unnecessarily reduces transaction throughput.

System to optimally order cycles originating from a single physical link

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A multiphase switching regulator includes a power stage with at least a first phase and a second phase for supplying power to a load through inductors coupling the phases to the load. The multiphase switching regulator is operated by switching the first phase at a higher switching frequency than the second phase via pulse width modulation (PWM) signals provided to the phases. A phase-specific target current is generated for each phase at the switching frequency for that phase based on the difference between an output voltage of the power stage and a reference voltage. The current in the inductors coupling the phases to the load is sensed, and a duty cycle of the PWM signal provided to each phase is adjusted based on the phase-specific target current and sensed inductor current for that phase.

Switching power supplies are widely used for high power applications because of their high efficiency and small size. Multiphase buck converters are particularly well suited for providing high current at low voltages required by state of the art high performance integrated circuits such as microprocessors, graphics processors, and network processors. Buck converters are typically implemented with active components such as a pulse width modulation controller (PWM), driver, power MOSFETs (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors), and passive components such as inductors, transformers or coupled inductors, capacitors, and resistors.
Multiphase buck converters are typically designed so that the elements of each phase (channel) are similar or identical and operated in an interleaved manner to minimize output ripple and provide fastest dynamic response. Buck converters typically operate over a large range of output current, for example from zero to maximum load, and therefore conventional buck converters are not necessarily optimized at any given range. Instead, the designer is restricted in the selection of components and switching frequency to optimize diverse performance parameters such as light load efficiency and fast response to a maximum load step.
For example, multiphase buck converters for microprocessors or other high performance integrated circuits require large amounts of supply current and are subject to very fast transients. Conventional multiphase buck converters typically include many phases (channels) connected in parallel and phase interleaved to equally share and provide high output current so that the regulator can respond quickly to fast dynamic voltage transitions and fast transient load conditions. 'Fast dynamic voltage transitions' and 'fast transient load conditions' are referred to collectively herein as 'fast dynamic conditions'. To cope with fast transients, a relatively high switching rate is required. However, high switching frequency yields an inefficient system. The usual solution for obtaining the desired efficiency is to reduce the switching frequency, increase the output capacitor and use several channels in parallel which leads to an increased system cost.

Multiphase digital current mode controller with dynamic current allocation


A substantially hemispherical lens surrounding an LED die is described that creates a sparkle as an observer views the lens from different angles. The lens is formed of an interconnected array of 100-10,000 or more lenslets. Each lenslet focuses an image of the LED die at an output of the lenslet such that the LED die image area at the output is less than 1/9 the area of the LED die to create a substantially point source image of the LED die at an outer surface of the lens. When the LED die is energized, the shape of each lenslet causes point source images of the LED die to be perceived by an observer at various viewing angles, such that the emitted LED light appears to sparkle and speckle as the observer moves relative to the lens.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional flip-chip LED die 10 mounted on a submount 12 and encapsulated by a hemispherical lens 14. The emitted light creates a Lambertian pattern. The electrodes 16 on the bottom of the LED die 10 are bonded to metal pads on the submount 12, which are connected by vias to robust bonding pads 18 on the bottom of the submount 12 for soldering to a printed circuit board. The submount 12 may be any size. One or more phosphor layers may be overlying the LED die 10 so that the structure 20 can output any color light, including white. Such structures 20, outputting a variety of colors, can be purchased from the assignee.
In certain applications where aesthetics of the light emission are relevant, creating an attention-getting light emission may be desirable.


An object of the present invention is to achieve an efficient and low-cost processing for switching contents on a display according to travel areas, time frames and vehicle attributions of a transportation object. To this end, the present invention provides a system constituted of a content delivery server and the e-paper. The content delivery server includes: an designation receiving unit for storing schedule designation information in a database of content/schedule information; a transportation object specification unit for specifying a transportation object according to attribute information of an e-paper; a travel schedule specification unit for specifying information on a scheduled travel time in an display area; an interval-period computing unit for associating a display period of content with a display area; a travel area specification unit for storing information on a travel area corresponding to the display area; a content setting unit for associating the information on the travel area with attribute information of the content; and a delivery processing unit for transmitting, to the e-paper, display schedule information and the content. The e-paper includes: a data obtaining unit for obtaining contents and display schedule information from the content delivery server; and a display processing unit for switching the contents to be output on a display panel according to the display schedule of the contents.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a content delivery system, a content delivery method, a content delivery server and electric paper (e-paper). Specifically, the present invention relates to a method of scheduling contents to be delivered to e-paper displays (hereinafter, simply referred to as "e-paper") placed in a vehicle body of a railway vehicle, a bus or the like which travels according to information on a time schedule. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique which makes it possible to make a delivery schedule so that contents, whose display areas are registered, can be delivered to each of e-papers mounted on a vehicle body according to information on a travel timetable.
2. Related Art
A technique for displaying advertisement information (ad-information) in a vehicle is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2002-251159. In the technique described in this patent document, ad-information is transmitted from an ad-maker (a server), and then is stored in an ad-information source device. Concurrently, the ad-information is transmitted to a vehicle which is capable of traveling. In addition, while transmitting the ad-information as above, a vehicle-side system displays the ad-information to be shown to passengers, the ad-information related to an area where the vehicle is currently traveling.
Currently, as advertising media in a vehicle body, paper media are mainly used for adverting display. In a case of the paper advertisement, however, someone has to replace sheets of advertising paper with other sheets by hand after a display period of the advertising paper passes, and there has been a problem that this replacement work is so troublesome that expense is required for time and effort. In consideration of this problem, a technique has been known for displaying ad-information transmitted from an ad-maker on an electronic advertising screen or the like placed in a vehicle. This technique has been proposed as a transportation advertising system or the like for the purpose of providing a transportation advertising system capable of improving the effect of advertisements remarkably by effectively showing ad-information typified by folded leafs, for example, to business commuters, student commuters and other passengers (See Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication (JPA) No. 2002-251159). The proposed transportation advertising system includes: an ad-information server for transmitting ad-information via a network; an ad-information source apparatus for storing the ad-information, while transmitting the ad-information to a vehicle capable of traveling; and a vehicle-side apparatus, which is installed in the vehicle, and which is for displaying ad-information related to an area where the vehicle is currently traveling.
Recently, in addition to the foregoing paper media, LED display devices and monitor displays have been used as advertising media or information displaying media in a vehicle. Contents displayed via these media are switched according to an order (display period, transportation area and time frame) of an advertising client and the like. In a case of the paper media, someone has to do replacement work by hand according to the order, and thereby it is difficult to change the contents of advertisements flexibly and timely by following complex conditions such as periods, areas, time frames and vehicles for displaying the contents. Moreover, in the case of JPA 2002-251159, a liquid crystal display is used as a display media. However, when a liquid crystal display, an LED display device or a monitor display is used, power needs to be supplied to the display medium itself. This brings about a problem that it is necessary to consider a wiring from a power source to a display in a vehicle, and an installation location of the display.
In addition, advertisement notices (ad-notices) displayed on the respective displays mutually have the same contents, unlike the advertisement via the paper media with which every ad-notice shows a different content. Accordingly, various kinds of ad-notices cannot be provided by using advertisement notices of still images, without considering a time factor.
An e-paper is a power-saving display medium which is as thin as a sheet of paper. Use of the e-paper, instead of a liquid crystal display, does not require the consideration of a wiring for power supply and an installation location, but leads to the following problems.
The e-paper employs a PULL type information control in which the e-paper accesses a server which transmits contents, and thereby obtains information. The reason why the e-paper employs the PULL type information control is that the e-paper has a structure in which power is usually supplied only to units needed for the e-paper to display contents for the purpose of saving power. Accordingly, a communication unit or the like is usually powered off. In this state, the communication unit or the like is powered on in order to obtain the information only at a PULL timing.
As a result, even though information is transmitted from a content delivery server in a PUSH manner, the power is not always supplied to the communication unit or the like of the e-paper sufficiently enough to allow the communication unit or the like to operate. For this reason, unlike the publicly-known example, the PUSH type content delivery method cannot be applied, without modification, to a case of the e-paper. In accordance with PUSH type information control, the content delivery server is required to generate information for causing contents to be displayed on the e-paper.
In addition, another problem is that the same contents are uniformly displayed in all the transportation routes, when advertisements are displayed in vehicles. Instead, it is necessary to display advertisements suitable for traveling areas and also for traveling time frames, since such display can enhance the effect of the advertisements.

Content display control method and content delivery server


An automatic focusing apparatus of a camera includes a photographing lens having a focusing lens group and a focus control mechanism which moves the focusing lens group to a hyper-focal distance position when no effective object distance is obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic focusing apparatus in a camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent digital still cameras (digital cameras), object images are recorded as electric digital image data. In the digital cameras, a CCD image pickup device (CCD image sensor) is employed in place of a silver-halide film.
Conventional compact digital still cameras are provided with a unifocal or bifocal photographing lens. In general, the light receiving surface area of the CCD image pickup device is smaller than that of the camera using the silver-halide film. Consequently, the focal length of the photographing lens of a digital camera is shorter than that of the camera using the silver-halide camera for the same angle of view, and hence the depth-of-field (focal depth) of the digital still camera is greater than that of the camera using the silver-halide camera. Therefore, a pan-focus can be obtained by the wide-angle unifocal lens.
To make it possible for a digital camera to carry out macro-photographing, an object in a distance range from a few centimeters (near point) from the digital camera to the infinite distance (far point) must be accommodated in the depth-of-field. To this end, the f-number of the photographing lens must be considerably increased and the focal length thereof must be considerably decreased. This is impractical. If the photographing lens is made of a zoom lens, the depth-of-field (focal depth) at the long focal length is small, and hence an automatic focusing apparatus is needed.
However, in conventional automatic focusing apparatuses, there are times when, depending on the conditions of the object, it is impossible to focus correctly, as is well known. There has been a need for an automatic focusing apparatus in which the automatic focus control can be executed for almost all object distance conditions, or where no or little images that are out-of-focus are formed.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic focusing apparatus of a camera in which the distance range of an object on which the photographing lens can be focused even under the conditions that no automatic focusing operation is available can be expanded or the probability of a formation of an object image that is out-of-focus can be reduced.

Automatic focusing apparatus in a camera


A continuous information gathering and evaluating system uses five highly coupled databases and software for gathering user input (respondent software), for evaluating input (evaluator software), and for administering the system (administrative software). The first database includes the categories of users for an organization. The second database stores information about each user. The third database includes all topics and issues of interest and queries for each combination of topic, issue, and respondent category. Responses to query statements are preferably collected using a 7 point Likert scale. The fourth database is the repository for the responses from users and appropriate statistics based on the responses. The fifth database includes authorization data and rules that determine how the process and system are implemented for a particular organization.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for gathering and evaluating qualitative inputs or feedback, including perceptions and opinions, from employees and customers.
2. Discussion of the Background
Leaders and managers use both quantitative and qualitative information to run their organization. Qualitative information from employees and customers is both difficult to gather and difficult to evaluate. However, qualitative information is often the most relevant input or feedback that a leader or manager needs.
Methods for gathering qualitative information from employees and customers range from very ad hoc (e.g. discussion over a cup of coffee, suggestion boxes, chat rooms, etc.) to standardized surveys. The ad hoc methods lack the consistency that is needed to make them reliable and repeatable. Each input must be evaluated separately—with no standards for comparison and no way to quantify the results. The value of most information gathered in an ad hoc method is dependent on the skills of the leader or manager who happens to be listening or reading the input. Ad hoc methods often provide inputs from a very small, vocal group of employees or customers. When this occurs leaders and managers cannot determine if the perceptions and opinions reflect the views of a majority or just a few individuals. The ad hoc methods lack the efficiency that is essential to making them a consistently valuable source of critical, qualitative information.
More standardized methods, such as surveys, provide the much-needed consistency, but they are not efficient enough to make them a continuous source of qualitative information that is needed by leaders and managers. For example, surveys take considerable time to develop, distribute, collect, and analyze. Once the analysis is complete the results must be conveyed to the appropriate managers for action. All of this takes both effort (labor hours and funding) and time (actual calendar days) that is not available. Time delays from the start of survey development until the appropriate manager has results significantly reduce the value of the information because it is too late. That is, when done right, a survey takes months and the information is quite often no longer important to the leaders and managers, or the information is too late to help. In addition, standard surveys cannot be used to identify trends in perceptions or opinions unless the same questions, or cleverly worded questions that are similar, are asked on repetitive surveys. The repetition makes employees and customers lose interest and surveys of this type are most likely left unanswered.
What is not available is a method and system that allows leaders and managers to rapidly identify and gather qualitative information from employees and customers on topics and issues that are important to them at the time the information is gathered. Existing methods and systems do not allow leaders and manager to identify trends in employee and customer perception in an effective and efficient manner. The advent of computers and the Internet has provided some efficiency in the distribution, collection and analysis of standardized surveys. However, these technologies have not overcome the major impediments that make standard surveys ineffective for gathering and evaluating continuous, consistent and cost effective inputs from employees and customers. Below is a list of the major steps in the development and use of standard surveys:
StepStandard Survey ProcessComputer and Internet Impact1Determine that perceptions and opinions ofNoneemployees and/or customers must be collected2Determine what specific perceptions andNoneopinions are needed3Determine who should provide perceptionsNoneand opinions4Develop and approve a process or obtainingNoneperceptions and opinions5Develop a format for an instrument forNoneobtaining perceptions and opinions6Develop query statements or questions forNoneobtaining perceptions and opinions7Distribute the instrument for obtainingInternet impact is potentiallyperceptions and opinionssignificant8Collect and load data from each respondentSignificant impact of computers onelectronic or machine readableresponses; Internet impact oncollection is potentially significant9Analyze dataComputer impact is significant onstatistical computations; computerimpact on interpreting results isminimal unless the formats forpresentation are consistent10Develop and distribute reportsComputer impact on standardreports is significant
Out of the ten steps listed above, the use of computers and the Internet has helped only in the collection and loading of the data (in the cases where the inputs are in electronic form or machine readable form), the analysis of the data, and the development and distribution of standard reports. The use of computers and the Internet has not helped in the majority of the steps listed above.
What is needed is a way to overcome the time consuming process of identifying the information needed, translating the identified information into an instrument for gathering the information, selecting the people who are to provide the information, compiling or modifying distribution lists to reflect the selection of respondents, analyzing (evaluating) the information and distributing the information to all the people who need it within an organization.
Specifically, what is needed is an effective and efficient method and system that:
Allows leaders and managers in an organization to obtain inputs from employees and customers on specific topics (products, activities or tasks, projects, programs, policies, benefits, etc.) in their organization at any time and with any frequency they desire;
Allows leaders and managers in an organization to obtain input from employees and customers on general issues (morale, adequacy of communications, customer satisfaction, level of team work, etc.);
Allows leaders and managers to identify trends with respect to employee and customer perceptions and opinions on both specific topics and issues;
Allows leaders and managers to identify when employees and customers perceive certain issues (e.g. inadequate communication) as very important with respect to specific topics (e.g. health benefits);
Allows leaders and managers to identify which groups of respondents are providing both positive and negative perceptions and opinions on specific topics and issues;
Allows all managers and leaders in an organization to rapidly evaluate inputs to help them gain a common view of the perceptions and opinions of employees and customers—thereby enhancing their ability to operate as a cohesive leadership team;
Provides leaders and managers at every level in the organization with critical, qualitative information they need to correct problems and make the organization more effective and efficient without having to wait for information and direction to flow down from a higher level leader or manager;
Allows employees and customers to pick the topics that are most important to them when they provide periodic input—thereby not subjecting them to many questions on lengthy surveys that are not relevant to them;
Ensures leaders and managers that the methods and techniques used to gather employee and customer input is consistent and reliable—without the normal time and effort needed to develop this confidence on individual survey instruments.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for gathering and evaluating information


A doll includes a hollow torso supporting a head, arm appendages and foot appendages. A pair of shoes are received upon the doll's feet and support a slidable drawer having an ink pad disposed therein and a stamp roller. A pendent is secured to the doll's neck by a chain and defines an interior cavity and hingeable cover. The pendent receives a plurality of paper tags in an accordion folded configuration. An earring is removably coupled to the doll's ear and includes a stamp and covering cap in removable attachment thereto. A sticker dispenser is supported within the doll torso and is operatively coupled to one of the doll's arms such that pivotal motion of the doll's arm dispenses a sticker from a supply of stickers retained within the dispenser. A slot is provided on the frontal portion of the doll torso through which the dispenser dispenses the stickers.

Dolls and toy figures have, through the years, enjoyed substantial popularity among children of broad age range and interest. To add interest to such dolls and toy figures beyond their appearance, practitioners in the art have endeavored to provide dolls and toy figures which participate in a variety of activities including walking, talking, eating, sleeping and other similar actions.
Certain dolls and toy figures have been associated with additional material such as messages, treats or other items which are housed within or worn upon the doll or toy figure. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,499,678 issued to Moreau sets forth a MECHANICAL DEVICE FOR CONCEALING OR DISPLAYING PRINTED MATTER having a doll with a removable head portion. The head portion includes a ribbon or scroll roll-up mechanism and supply. The outer end of the ribbon or scroll is secured to the neck portion of the toy figure. As a result, the head may be removed and drawn from the remainder of the figure causing the scroll or ribbon to be unwound displaying a message printed thereon. In an alternate embodiment, a heart-shaped article is similarly configured.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,726 issued to Brzezinski, et al. sets forth a TOY DOLL FIGURE FOR DISPLAYING COLORS having an opening formed in the doll torso. The torso opening is covered with a hinged flap member. Disposed inside the torso is a drum member supported within the housing. The drum member is covered with colored strip members which may be moved into position covering the torso opening and altering the displayed color of the toy figure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,347 issued to Ruchser sets forth a WATCHING BIRD NOVELTY ITEM which includes a bird cage having a base housing and upper cage portion within which a simulated bird figure is disposed. A message dispenser is supported within the housing and conveys selected messages for children. In the embodiment shown, the bird and messages are intended to appear as messages from Santa Claus for young children.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,479,101 issued to Poor, et al. sets forth an AUTOMATIC DISPENSER having a coffin-like housing supporting a hingeable upper lid which opens to expose a simulated human corpse having a plurality of cigarettes or the like in the grasp of one hand. Operative means are supported within the simulated coffin which respond to the coffin opening to raise the figure to a seated position with the arm and clutched cigarettes extending toward the observer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,030 issued to Morris, et al. sets forth CANDY DISPENSER configured to appear as a fowl or the like and having a candy container therein. In its preferred form, the candy pieces are egg-shaped and are dispensed by squeezing the container causing an egg to be ejected from an orifice on the bottom of the container with accompanying air driven sound using a reed sound making device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,149 issued to Stone sets forth a STUFFED ANIMAL WITH BOOK ENCLOSURE APPARATUS having a plush body configured in a fanciful animal shape. A book receiving compartment is formed in the animal torso and is covered by a removable covering flap. Means are provided for pageably securing a book within the animal torso.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,959 issued to Shaver, et al. sets forth a METHOD FOR DIAGNOSING AND TREATING PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA having a toy figure such as a fanciful animal which includes a torso receptacle. In response to questions, the child selects a plurality of objects which are representative of either the nature or intensity of emotional feelings in the response and inserts them into a slot receptacle in which they may be observed by the practitioner treating the child. Objects are formed as coin-like disks having various symbols such as happy smiles or sad frowns as well as mood indicating colors formed on the faces thereof.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have increased the interest value of certain dolls and toy figures and, in some case provided increased utility, there remains a continuing need in the art for evermore interesting amusing and useful dolls and toy figures.

Doll having concealed sticker dispensers


A light field generation system includes a two dimensional emitter array for projecting light and a directionally-sensitive optical element in front of the emitter array but before a directional diffuser. Certain classes of emitters are intended to project information principally along one axis (e.g. amplitude modulated in the horizontal plane, i.e. so that each eye sees a potentially different image) and are the basis of horizontal-parallax-only (HPO) displays. Examples include surface acoustic wave (SAW) modulators, such as edge-emitting or surface-emitting modulators. They often project undesired or stray light along directions along a different axis (e.g. vertically) and the diffuser will also spread the visibility of the stray light field components. Thus, the directionally-sensitive optical element will improve contrast in this scenario.

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) optical modulator systems are being proposed as an optical engine for three dimensional (3D) display systems. These modulators function as emitters to provide controllable sub-holograms from which a light field can be constructed.
One type of SAW modulator is the guided-to-leaky-mode device fabricated using lithium niobate as described, for example, in Hinkov et al., Collinear Acoustooptical TM-TE Mode Conversion in Proton Exchanged Ti:LiNbO3 Waveguide Structures, J. Lightwave Tech., vol. 6(6), pp. 900-08 (1988), Smalley et al., Anisotropic leaky-mode modulator for holographic video displays, Nature, vol. 498, pp. 313-317 (2013), herein after "Smalley"; McLaughlin et al., Optimized guided-to-leaky-mode device for graphics processing unit controlled frequency division of color, Appl. Opt., vol. 54(12), pp. 3732-36 (2015), Qaderi et al., Leaky-mode waveguide modulators with high deflection angle for use in holographic video displays, Opt. Expr., vol. 24(18), pp. 20831-41 (2016), hereinafter "Qaderi"; and Savidis et al., Progress in fabrication of waveguide spatial light modulators via femtosecond laser micromachining, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 10115, 2017.
In these SAW modulators, a surface acoustic wave diffracts light propagating in a waveguide and causes at least some of the light to change from a guided mode to a leaky mode that exits the waveguide.
In SAW modulator-based three dimensional (3D) displays and more generally light field projection systems, often many hundreds or more of the SAW modulators must be integrated together to construct the desired smooth light field.
Such light field projection systems will tend to operate principally in one axis, and commonly provide horizontal-parallax-only (HPO). Each SAW modulator emitter projects information principally along one axis (e.g. amplitude modulated in the horizontal plane, i.e. so that each eye sees a potentially different image). The systems will typically employ a directional diffuser at the hologram plane in order to significantly broaden the (for example) vertical extent of the system's exit pupil. This intentional "discarding" of one axis of perspective was a critical advance in print display holography and electronic display holography because of various, still-relevant, technical barriers to full parallax holography. For example, see:
De Bitetto, D. J., "Bandwidth reduction of hologram transmission systems by elimination of vertical parallax," Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 12, No. 5, 176-178 (March 1968).
St. Hilaire, P., "Scalable optical architecture for electronic holography," Optical Engineering, Vol. 34, No. 10, 2900-2911 (section 6.6.2) (October 1995).

Light field generation system including directionally-sensitive optical element for improved contrast

The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.


A filter assembly in the form of a laminated structure incorporates a breather filter section and a recirculation filter section. A hinge is incorporated in the laminated structure to allow the recirculation filter section to be moved relative to the breather filter section during installation of the filter assembly in a disk drive. A low permeability side of the breather filter section is disposed on the “environment” side of a filtering media to control access to the filtering media from the environment. A high permeability side of the breather filter section is disposed on the “drive side” of this filtering media to control access to the filtering media from within the interior of the drive.

Various types of filters are used in disk drives. Breather filters are commonly used to filter an airflow into the disk drive through a breather port that extends through the disk drive housing (e.g., a hole in the cover; a hole in the base plate). Vapors are typically addressed by filters of this type, for instance by the breather filter utilizing an appropriate adsorbent. Oftentimes this airflow is directed through a meandering or tortuous path to provide a diffusion barrier of sorts, and then through the breather filter. These types of filters may also provide a filtering function for fluids within the interior of the disk drive.
Recirculation filters are also commonly included in disk drives. A fluid flow from within the disk drive is commonly directed through the recirculation filter, and then back into the disk drive. That is, recirculation filters are associated with an internal fluid flow within the disk drive. These types of filters may provide one or more of a chemical and mechanical filtering function.
Efforts continue to be directed to reducing the overall cost of the disk drive. Reducing the total number of parts can of course reduce the cost of the disk drive. Particulate and chemical filtering functions have been integrated into a single filter in the past. Moreover, filter designs exist that combine a breather filter section and a recirculation filter section. However, the need remains for such a multi-functional filter having a design that is adaptable to low cost mass production in an automated process, that has minimal packaging requirements, that may be shipped in a "flat" form and then manipulated into a different shape during installation, that is easy to install in the disk drive, and that may alleviate the need for a complex diffusion path.

Disk drive with flexible, integrated breather/recirculation filter elements


Systems and methods for a temperature control loop in a vehicular engine compartment to concurrently cool at least two devices with a single fluid supply source when each device requires the cooling supply fluid to have a distinct temperature. The supply fluid, having a first temperature, can be simultaneously routed through a primary heat exchanger and a mixing valve. The primary heat exchanger cools the first temperature fluid to produce a second temperature fluid. The mixing valve controllably receives at least some of the first temperature fluid and some of the second temperature fluid discharged from the primary heat exchanger and mixes the respective fluids to produce a third temperature fluid. The second temperature fluid not diverted to the mixing valve is used to cool a first device located downstream of the primary heat exchanger. The third temperature fluid is used to cool a second device located downstream of the mixing valve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward systems and methods for controlling cooling fluid temperature within a vehicular engine compartment.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vehicle engine compartment, such as one containing a fuel cell, often contains more than one device using a single cooling fluid supply. Cooling fluid supply lines may be routed through a heat exchanger to cool the fluid, then may be used to cool other components located downstream, such as the fuel cell or a condensing heat exchanger. However, the set point temperature requirement of the fuel cell may be significantly different than the set point temperature requirement of the condensing heat exchanger or other devices. The set point temperature is the temperature specified by the manufacturer that will permit the given device to operate optimally and efficiently.
A common solution for cooling multiple components with only one heat exchanger has been to accept the fact that one or both of the downstream components will receive cooled system fluid that is not on par with the component's set point temperature. For example, if a fuel cell has a set point temperature requirement of 200° F., but the condensing heat exchanger has a set point temperature of only 100° F., then all of the system fluid is commonly cooled to the lower temperature to prevent the condensing heat exchanger from overheating or operating inefficiently. The cooling fluid may then be routed to the fuel cell at an undesired temperature, or may need to be heated before it is routed to the fuel cell, each of which is an inefficient use of cooling fluid resources. This solution is doubly ineffective because the primary heat exchanger must have a high operational capacity to process all of the cooling fluid. Further, there are significant energy losses caused by processing all of the system fluid through the primary heat exchanger because all of the fluid does not need to be cooled to the lowest set point temperature. These energy losses are not recoverable.
Another solution to the above problem is to provide a secondary heat exchanger. Using the above mentioned example of a fuel cell having a set point temperature higher than the set point temperature of a condensing heat exchanger, the primary heat exchanger could be configured to provide cooling fluid to the fuel cell at the higher temperature. The cooling fluid could then be further cooled by the secondary heat exchanger before it is routed to the condensing heat exchanger. However, the added costs of a secondary heat exchanger make this option undesirable.
Another solution to the above problem has been to use a customized heat exchanger. Using a customized heat exchanger greatly increases the initial assembly cost and the long-term maintenance cost. Customized heat exchangers are much more expensive than standard, so-called "off-the-shelf" heat exchangers, require more maintenance and in the event of component failure, and are extremely difficult to replace.
Another solution is to merely provide independent supply lines or cooling loops. However, the added expense, spatial and weight requirements, and increased complexity make this option undesirable.
Accordingly, there is a need in the industry for an efficient, streamlined, and cost effective cooling system that can adequately control two or more temperatures.

Systems and methods for controlling cooling fluid temperature in a fuel cell engine


A circuit for protecting against controller failure wherein the controller provides control signals for controlling a DC to AC inverter fed by a DC bus and driving a permanent magnet motor, the circuit comprising a first circuit for monitoring the DC bus voltage and, in the event the DC bus voltage exceeds a first threshold due to a counter EMF generated by the motor, for producing a signal to the controller to provide a switch state to the inverter whereby the counter EMF is dissipated substantially in a motor circuit resistance of the permanent magnet motor as a result of a short circuit condition provided by the switch state of the inverter, thereby preventing the DC bus voltage of the inverter from exceeding the first threshold and causing the permanent magnet motor speed to be reduced.

The present invention relates to a safety interlock and protection circuit used in a DC-AC inverter motor controller driving a permanent magnet motor, for example, driving the drum of a washing machine. The circuit according to the invention performs a door lock function and provides overvoltage protection and motor braking when the main motor controller fails and loses control while the permanent magnet motor is still spinning.
A permanent magnet motor has higher power density and higher torque per ampere than an induction motor. Induction motors have been commonly used in the past in washing machine applications. Permanent magnet motors have been used in more modem washing machines and have become an important power source for energy efficient appliances such as washing machines but also including air conditioners and refrigerators.
Permanent magnet motors are often driven by a DC-AC inverter circuit fed from an AC supply, that is the AC main supply is first converted to a DC voltage which is maintained across a DC bus and the DC bus voltage is then supplied to the inverter to be converted to an AC signal for each of the phases of the permanent magnet motor, typically three phases. A permanent magnet motor, unlike an induction motor, requires additional safety circuits and mechanisms, particularly in the washing machine application with its high speed drum operating in the spin mode.
A microcontroller and/or a DSP (digital signal processor) are common controller components to control the inverter power switches (IGBTs or FETs typically) to apply the desired voltage to the permanent magnet motor. When the controller fails and loses control, traditionally the solution to the problem of a runaway motor has been realized by a separate mechanical solution for the safety door lock and braking mechanism. This solution consists of a discrete relay, timer and crowbar switch with power transistors for overvoltage protection in conjunction with a mechanical brake. While this mechanical solution is achievable, it is prohibitively expensive and complex and also is subject to mechanical failure.
In the event of a controller failure, a permanent magnet motor exhibits two potentially dangerous conditions. One is the condition that a permanent magnet motor spins at high speed when coasting down. In this condition, if the door or the lid of the washer is opened, it creates a safety hazard of bodily injury if a person physically attempts to access the spinning drum. Therefore, it is essential that the door or lid must be locked while the motor spins and preferably the spin speed must be reduced to a stop condition (braked) as quickly as possible in the event of a controller failure.
The other condition is that a permanent magnet motor may generate overvoltage on the DC bus when the controller disengages from energizing the motor as a result of controller failure. This is due to the counter EMF (also known as back EMF) generated by the motor when it spins freely. This voltage can be particularly high when operated under a field weakening control to achieve a very high spin operation. If a failure occurs at this time, the voltage generated is quite high. The voltage is proportional to the product of motor speed (ω) and flux (Φ) generated by the permanent magnet as it moves with respect to the windings. In the field weakening mode, if the controller fails and is unable to control the motor, the weakened flux changes to the full amount of flux due to loss of flux weakening while the motor speed may be reaching more than three or four times its nominal operating speed depending on the spin mode speed. If no action is taken during such a controller failure during field weakening operation, the DC bus voltage, which is nominally rated at about 310 volts DC for a 230 volt AC RMS input main voltage, could reach approximately 1000 volts (three or four times the nominal DC bus voltage). This will result in damaging the power devices and high voltage ICs in the system since they are normally rated at 600 volts for a 230 volt AC RMS main input. The DC bus capacitor can also be damaged. Once damage occurs in the power system, it may no longer be possible to provide a safety door lock/braking mechanism since any circuits on the board likely will be damaged as well or be inoperative. Accordingly, it is necessary to 1) prevent such overvoltage in the event of controller failure, 2) quickly reduce the motor and drum speed and 3) provide a safety interlock to prevent physical injury.

Safety interlock and protection circuit for permanent magnet motor drive


An information processing apparatus includes an acquiring unit configured to acquire first data and second data, a deriving unit configured to derive gradient data describing a gradient of correspondence data on the basis of the correspondence data describing a correspondence between partial data of the first data and partial data of the second data, and a propagating unit configured to propagate the correspondence data on the basis of the gradient data.

From the past, a correspondence between a plurality of data sets is acquired for use in various kinds of processing. For example, a correspondence between local regions of a plurality of images may be estimated on the basis of a matching degree between pixel values therein (by image block matching, for example). This may be used for estimation of a parallax or a distance based on stereo images, recognition and tracking of an object on an image, and synthesis and editing of an image or images, for example.
Any data excluding image data may be subject to the estimation method, without limiting image data. For example, the correspondence-based estimation method has been examined for various types of data such as one-dimensional audio or text data and three-dimensional moving picture or voxel data.
NPL 1 discloses a method for estimating a map of correspondence data (parallax data) showing a correspondence between coordinates on stereo images. A map of correspondence data is estimated by repeating the following two processes. First of all, correspondence data at a coordinate position on a map are propagated to data at a surrounding position such that the correspondence data can be replaced by correspondence data having a higher evaluation value. Correspondence data at coordinates on the map are changed randomly so that the correspondence data can be replaced by correspondence data having a higher evaluation value. The evaluation value is calculated in accordance with the matching degree between two local regions on stereo images described by correspondence data.
However, because, according to the method disclosed in NPL 1 correspondence data are randomly varied, the probability for drawing correspondence data having a high evaluation value is low. For that, conversion to correspondence data with higher accuracy may take time disadvantageously.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program


A circuit for enabling a modification of an input data stream is described. The circuit comprises a first plurality of registers coupled in series; an input register of the first plurality of registers coupled to receive the input data stream; an output register of the first plurality of registers positioned at an end of the first plurality of registers; and a control circuit enabling a data value which is independent of the input data stream to be generated as an output of the circuit at a predetermined time.

Data transmission is an important application of many integrated circuit devices. Data may be transmitted according to different transmission protocols, and may be transmitted as serial data or parallel data. Data may also be transmitted within a circuit between registers. On common arrangement of registers which enables the transmission of data is a shift register. A shift register is a series of registers which continuously advances bits of a data stream using a clock signal coupled to the individual registers of the shift register. Accordingly, a bit of the data stream (bitstream) which is provided to an input of the shift register will be output at the end of the shift register after a number of clock cycles corresponding to the number registers making up the shift register.
Depending upon the functionality of the circuit implementing the registers, the registers may be implemented so that data in the registers can be changed. For example, a technique is known by which additional logic functions could be added to a design to implement a shift-register with common load behavior. That is, the conventional technique transforms an original shift-register queue in which all of the registers have a common reset (or set) behavior. However, such an arrangement presents significant limitations to the functionality of the circuit.

Circuits for and methods of enabling the modification of an input data stream


Method and system for detecting a cleaning process in a radar level gauge configured to determine a fill level of a product contained in a tank, the radar level gauge comprising a transceiver configured to provide a transmit signal, ST, to be propagated towards the product by a propagating device, to receive a reflected signal, SR, resulting from a reflection of the transmit signal at a surface of the product, and to determine a fill level in the tank based on the received reflected signal, wherein the method comprises: at a measurement position above the fill level and a known distance from a reference position near a ceiling of the tank, determining a difference in signal amplitude between at least two different fill level measurements; and if the determined difference in signal amplitude exceeds a predetermined threshold value, determining that a cleaning process is ongoing in the tank.

Radar level gauge (RLG) systems are in wide use for determining the filling level of a product contained in a tank. Radar level gauging is generally performed either by means of non-contact measurement, whereby electromagnetic signals are radiated towards the product contained in the tank, or by means of contact measurement, often referred to as guided wave radar (GWR), whereby electromagnetic signals are guided towards and into the product by a probe acting as a waveguide. The probe is generally arranged to extend vertically from the top towards the bottom of the tank.
The transmitted electromagnetic signals are reflected at the surface of the product, and the reflected signals are received by a receiver or transceiver comprised in the radar level gauge. Based on the transmitted and reflected signals, the distance to the surface of the product can be determined. More particularly, the distance to the surface of the product is generally determined based on the time between transmission of an electromagnetic signal and reception of the reflection thereof in the interface between the atmosphere in the tank and the product contained therein. In order to determine the actual filling level of the product, the distance from a reference position to the surface is determined based on the above-mentioned time (the so-called time-of-flight) and the propagation velocity of the electromagnetic signals.
In some applications, tank cleaning is an important part of the production cycle. This may for example be true for food production or in chemical processes. During cleaning of the tank, the fill level determination may be difficult or impossible to perform due to disturbances related to the cleaning process. In view of this, it is desirable to provide a solution for handling a cleaning process in a radar level gauge.

Radar level gauge and method for detecting a cleaning process using the radar level gauge


An acoustical plaster system features a base layer mixture and a finish layer mixture. The base layer mixture includes a first binder, a first thickener and a plurality of first particles, with the first particles being porous, lightweight, non-close packing particles having a first mean diameter. The finish layer mixture includes a powder latex binder, a second thickener and a plurality of second particles, with the second particles being porous, lightweight particles having a second diameter. The first mean diameter is larger than said second mean diameter.

Trends to reduce noise pollution and provide quiet interior spaces encourage the use of sound reducing materials, creating a growing market for acoustical building materials. However, there is also a desire for an aesthetically pleasing finish, since at least one surface of the sound reducing material is visible from inhabited areas.
Traditional plaster has a smooth monolithic appearance that is considered to be a model surface. It accepts a variety of decorative finishes, such as paint, wallpaper, and the new faux finishes. However, the plaster also reflects sound, thereby increasing noise pollution. Some sound frequencies are also distorted, making the reflected sounds even less desirable.
Conventional acoustical panels are well-suited for absorbing sounds. The surface of the panel is treated to provide openings into which sounds penetrate. For example, the panel may be needled, that is, it is punctured with rows of needles that create pores in the panel surface. When combined with a porous panel structure, the sounds enter the needle voids and pass into the panel pores. As the sounds reflect off the walls of the voids or pores, a portion of the sound is absorbed. This results in little or no sound exiting the panel. However, the aesthetics of the panels are not widely accepted and consumers are looking for an acoustical panel without visible holes or fissures.
There are other acoustical systems commercially available that deliver both an aesthetically pleasing finish and sound attenuation. However, the systems require fixing of a specialty fiberglass mat to the substrate with an adhesive, treatment of the joints and application of a finish-coat plaster by hand. Thus, these systems have several disadvantages. The specialty fiberglass panel must be purchased and transported to the job site without damage. A large number of specialty supplies are needed, including the panel, adhesive and at least two types of acoustical plaster. At least four time-consuming steps are needed for installation of the panel, such as preparing the panel, adhering the panel, treating the joints and applying the plaster.
Thus, it would be advantageous to design a system for finishing a substrate that provides both improved sound absorbency and an aesthetically pleasing surface.


The present invention concerns compositions of matter, for example, but not limited to, modified antibodies, in which one or more biologically active peptides are incorporated into a loop region of a non-terminal domain of an immunoglobulin Fc domain.

The success of the drug Enbrel® (etanercept) brought to fruition the promise of therapeutic agents modified with the constant domain of an antibody. Antibodies comprise two functionally independent parts, a variable domain known as "Fab", which binds antigen, and a constant domain known as "Fc", which links to such effector functions as complement activation and attack by phagocytic cells. An Fc has a long serum half-life, whereas an Fab is short-lived. Capon et al. (1989), Nature 337: 525-31. When constructed together with a therapeutic protein, an Fc domain can provide longer half-life or incorporate such functions as Fc receptor binding, protein A binding, complement fixation and perhaps even placental transfer. Id. Table 1 summarizes use of Fc fusion proteins known in the art.
TABLE 1Fc fusion with therapeutic proteinsFusionTherapeuticForm of FcpartnerimplicationsReferenceIgG1N-terminusHodgkin's disease;U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,981of CD30-Lanaplastic lymphoma; T-cell leukemiaMurine Fcγ2aIL-10anti-inflammatory;Zheng et al. (1995), J.transplant rejectionImmunol. 154: 5590-600IgG1TNFseptic shockFisher et al. (1996), N. Engl. J.receptorMed. 334: 1697-1702; VanZee, K. et al. (1996), J.Immunol. 156: 2221-30IgG, IgA, IgM, orTNFinflammation,U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,029,IgE (excluding thereceptorautoimmune disordersissued Sep. 15, 1998first domain)IgG1CD4 receptorAIDSCapon et al. (1989), Nature 337:525-31IgG1,N-terminusanti-cancer, antiviralHarvill et al. (1995), Immunotech. 1:IgG3of IL-295-105IgG1C-terminus ofosteoarthritis;WO 97/23614, published Jul. 3,OPGbone density1997IgG1N-terminus ofanti-obesityWO 98/28427, filed Dec. 11,leptin1997Human IgCTLA-4autoimmuneLinsley (1991), J. Exp. Med.Cγ1disorders174: 561-9
A much different approach to development of therapeutic agents is peptide library screening. The interaction of a protein ligand with its receptor often takes place at a relatively large interface. However, as demonstrated for human growth hormone and its receptor, only a few key residues at the interface contribute to most of the binding energy. Clackson et al. (1995), Science 267: 383-6. The bulk of the protein ligand merely displays the binding epitopes in the right topology or serves functions unrelated to binding. Thus, molecules of only "peptide" length (2 to 40 amino acids) can bind to the receptor protein of a given large protein ligand. Such peptides may mimic the bioactivity of the large protein ligand ("peptide agonists") or, through competitive binding, inhibit the bioactivity of the large protein ligand ("peptide antagonists").
Phage display peptide libraries have emerged as a powerful method in identifying such peptide agonists and antagonists. See, for example, Scott et al. (1990), Science 249: 386; Devlin et al. (1990), Science 249: 404; U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,409, issued Jun. 29, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,731, issued Mar. 31, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,530, issued Mar. 12, 1996; U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,018, issued Jul. 11, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,665, issued Aug. 16, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,545, issued Jul. 13, 1999; WO 96/40987, published Dec. 19, 1996; and WO 98/15833, published Apr. 16, 1998 (each of which is incorporated by reference). In such libraries, random peptide sequences are displayed by fusion with coat proteins of filamentous phage. Typically, the displayed peptides are affinity-eluted against an antibody-affinity-eluted against an antibody-immobilized extracellular domain of a receptor. The retained phages may be enriched by successive rounds of affinity purification and repropagation. The best binding peptides may be sequenced to identify key residues within one or more structurally related families of peptides. See, e.g., Cwirla et al. (1997), Science 276: 1696-9, in which two distinct families were identified. The peptide sequences may also suggest which residues may be safely replaced by alanine scanning or by mutagenesis at the DNA level. Mutagenesis libraries may be created and screened to further optimize the sequence of the best binders. Lowman (1997), Ann. Rev. Biophys. Biomol. Struct. 26: 401-24.
Other methods compete with phage display in peptide research. A peptide library can be fused to the carboxyl terminus of the lac repressor and expressed in E. coli. Another E. coli-based method allows display on the cell's outer membrane by fusion with a peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL). Hereinafter, these and related methods are collectively referred to as "E. coli display." Another biological approach to screening soluble peptide mixtures uses yeast for expression and secretion. See Smith et al. (1993), Mol. Pharmacol. 43: 741-8. Hereinafter, the method of Smith et al. and related methods are referred to as "yeast-based screening." In another method, translation of random RNA is halted prior to ribosome release, resulting in a library of polypeptides with their associated RNA still attached. Hereinafter, this and related methods are collectively referred to as "ribosome display." Other methods employ chemical linkage of peptides to RNA; see, for example, Roberts & Szostak (1997), Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 94: 12297-303. Hereinafter, this and related methods are collectively referred to as "RNA-peptide screening." Chemically derived peptide libraries have been developed in which peptides are immobilized on stable, non-biological materials, such as polyethylene rods or solvent-permeable resins. Another chemically derived peptide library uses photolithography photolithography to scan peptides immobilized on glass slides. Hereinafter, these and related methods are collectively referred to as "chemical-peptide screening." Chemical-peptide screening may be advantageous in that it allows use of D-amino acids and other unnatural analogues, as well as non-peptide elements. Both biological and chemical methods are reviewed in Wells & Lowman (1992), Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 3: 355-62.
In the case of known bioactive peptides, rational design of peptide ligands with favorable therapeutic properties can be completed. In such an approach, one makes stepwise changes to a peptide sequence and determines the effect of the substitution upon bioactivity or a predictive biophysical property of the peptide (e.g., solution structure). Hereinafter, these techniques are collectively referred to as "rational design." In one such technique, one makes a series of peptides in which one replaces a single residue at a time with alanine. This technique is commonly referred to as an "alanine walk" or an "alanine scan." When two residues (contiguous or spaced apart) are replaced, it is referred to as a "double alanine walk." The resultant amino acid substitutions can be used alone or in combination to result in a new peptide entity with favorable therapeutic properties.
Structural analysis of protein-protein interaction may also be used to suggest peptides that mimic the binding activity of large protein ligands. In such an analysis, the crystal structure may suggest the identity and relative orientation of critical residues of the large protein ligand, from which a peptide may be designed. See, e.g., Takasaki et al. (1997), Nature Biotech. 15: 1266-70. Hereinafter, these and related methods are referred to as "protein structural analysis." These analytical methods may also be used to investigate the interaction between a receptor protein and peptides selected by phage display, which may suggest further modification of the peptides modification of the peptides to increase binding affinity.
Conceptually, one may discover peptide mimetics of any protein using phage display and the other methods mentioned above. These methods have been used for epitope mapping, for identification of critical amino acids in protein-protein interactions, and as leads for the discovery of new therapeutic agents. E.g., Cortese et al. (1996), Curr. Opin. Biotech. 7: 616-21. Peptide libraries are now being used most often in immunological studies, such as epitope mapping. Kreeger (1996), The Scientist 10(13): 19-20.
Of particular interest here is use of peptide libraries and other techniques in the discovery of pharmacologically active peptides. A number of such peptides identified in the art are summarized in Table 2. The peptides are described in the listed publications, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The pharmacologic activity of the peptides is described, and in many instances is followed by a shorthand term therefore in parentheses. Some of these peptides have been modified (e.g., to form C-terminally cross-linked dimers). Typically, peptide libraries were screened for binding to a receptor for a pharmacologically active protein (e.g., EPO receptor). In at least one instance (CTLA4), the peptide library was screened for binding to a monoclonal antibody.
TABLE 2Pharmacologically active peptidesForm ofBinding partner/peptideprotein of interestaPharmacologic activityReferenceintrapeptideEPO receptorEPO-mimeticWrighton et al. (1996),disulfide-Science 273: 458-63; U.S.bondedPat. No. 5,773,569, issuedJun. 30, 1998 to Wrightonet al.C-terminallyEPO receptorEPO-mimeticLivnah et al. (1996),cross-linkedScience 273: 464-71;dimerWrighton et al. (1997),Nature Biotechnology 15:1261-5; Internationalpatent application WO96/40772, published Dec.19, 1996linearEPO receptorEPO-mimeticNaranda et al. (1999), Proc.Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 96:7569-74; WO 99/47151,published Sep. 23,1999linear; C-c-MplTPO-mimeticCwirla et al.(1997) Scienceterminally276: 1696-9; U.S. Pat. No.cross-linked5,869,451, issued Feb. 9,dimer1999; WO 00/24770,published May 4, 2000;U.S. Pat. App. No.2003/0176352, publishedSept. 18, 2003; WO03/031589, publishedApr. 17, 2003disulfide-stimulation ofPaukovits et al. (1984),linked dimerhematopoiesisHoppe-Seylers Z. Physiol.("G-CSF-mimetic")Chem. 365: 303-11;Laerum et al. (1988), Exp.Hemat. 16: 274-80alkylene-G-CSF-mimeticBhatnagar et al. (1996), J.linked dimerMed. Chem. 39: 3814-9;Cuthbertson et al. (1997), J.Med. Chem. 40: 2876-82;King et al. (1991), Exp.Hematol. 19: 481; King etal. (1995), Blood 86 (Suppl.1): 309alinearIL-1 receptorinflammatory andU.S. Pat. No. 5,608,035;autoimmune diseasesU.S. Pat. No. 5,786,331;("IL-1 antagonist" orU.S. Pat. No. 5,880,096;"IL-1ra-mimetic")Yanofsky et al. (1996),Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 93:7381-6; Akeson et al.(1996), J. Biol. Chem. 271:30517-23; Wiekzorek et al.(1997), Pol. J. Pharmacol.49: 107-17; Yanofsky(1996), PNAs, 93: 7381-7386.linearFacteur thymiquestimulation ofInagaki-Ohara et al. (1996),serique (FTS)lymphocytesCellular Immunol. 171: 30-40;("FTS-mimetic")Yoshida (1984), Int. J.Immunopharmacol, 6: 141-6.intrapeptideCTLA4 MAbCTLA4-mimeticFukumoto et al. (1998),disulfideNature Biotech. 16: 267-70bondedexocyclicTNF-α receptorTNF-α antagonistTakasaki et al. (1997),Nature Biotech. 15: 1266-70;WO 98/53842,published Dec. 3,1998linearTNF-α receptorTNF-α antagonistChirinos-Rojas ( ), J.Imm., 5621-5626.intrapeptideC3binhibition ofSahu et al. (1996), J.disulfidecomplement activation;Immunol. 157: 884-91;bondedautoimmune diseasesMorikis et al. (1998),("C3b-antagonist")Protein Sci. 7: 619-27linearvinculincell adhesionAdey et al. (1997),processes-cell growth,Biochem. J. 324: 523-8differentiation, woundhealing, tumormetastasis ("vinculinbinding")linearC4 binding proteinanti-thromboticLinse et al. (1997), J. Biol.(C4BP)Chem. 272: 14658-65linearurokinase receptorprocesses associatedGoodson et al. (1994),with urokinaseProc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 91:interaction with its7129-33; Internationalreceptor (e.g.,application WO 97/35969,angiogenesis, tumor cellpublished Oct. 2, 1997invasion and metastasis);("UKR antagonist")linearMdm2, Hdm2Inhibition of inactivationPicksley et al. (1994),of p53 mediated byOncogene 9: 2523-9;Mdm2 or hdm2; anti-Bottger et al. (1997) J. Mol.tumor ("Mdm/hdmBiol. 269: 744-56; Bottger etantagonist")al. (1996), Oncogene 13:2141-7linearp21WAF1anti-tumor by mimickingBall et al. (1997), Curr.the activity of p21WAF1Biol. 7: 71-80linearfarnesyl transferaseanti-cancer byGibbs et al. (1994), Cellpreventing activation of77: 175-178ras oncogenelinearRas effector domainanti-cancer by inhibitingMoodie et al. (1994),biological function of theTrends Genet 10: 44-48ras oncogeneRodriguez et al. (1994),Nature 370: 527-532linearSH2/SH3 domainsanti-cancer by inhibitingPawson et al (1993), Curr.tumor growth withBiol. 3: 434-432activated tyrosineYu et al. (1994), Cellkinases; treatment of76: 933-945; Rickles et al.SH3-mediated disease(1994), EMBO J. 13: 5598-5604;states ("SH3 antagonist")Sparks et al. (1994), J.Biol. Chem. 269: 23853-6;Sparks et al. (1996),Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 93:1540-4; U.S. Pat. No.5,886,150, issued Mar.23, 1999; U.S. Pat. No.5,888,763, issued Mar.30, 1999linearp16INK4anti-cancer byFåhraeus et al. (1996),mimicking activity ofCurr. Biol. 6: 84-91p16; e.g., inhibitingcyclin D-Cdk complex("p16-mimetic")linearSrc, Lyninhibition of Mast cellStauffer et al. (1997),activation, IgE-relatedBiochem. 36: 9388-94conditions, type Ihypersensitivity ("Mastcell antagonist")linearMast cell proteasetreatment ofInternational applicationinflammatory disordersWO 98/33812, publishedmediated by release ofAug. 6, 1998tryptase-6("Mast cell proteaseinhibitors")linearHBV core antigentreatment of HBV viralDyson & Muray (1995),(HBcAg)infections ("anti-HBV")Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 92:2194-8linearselectinsneutrophil adhesion;Martens et al. (1995), J.inflammatory diseasesBiol. Chem. 270: 21129-36;("selectin antagonist")European patentapplication EP 0 714 912,published Jun. 5, 1996linear,calmodulincalmodulin antagonistPierce et al. (1995), Molec.cyclizedDiversity 1: 259-65;Dedman et al. (1993), J.Biol. Chem. 268: 23025-30;Adey & Kay (1996), Gene169: 133-4linear,integrinstumor-homing;International applicationscyclized-treatment for conditionsWO 95/14714, publishedrelated to integrin-Jun. 1, 1995; WOmediated cellular events,97/08203, publishedincluding plateletMar. 6, 1997; WOaggregation, thrombosis,98/10795, publishedwound healing,Mar. 19, 1998; WOosteoporosis, tissue99/24462, published Mayrepair, angiogenesis20, 1999; Kraft et al. (1999),(e.g., for treatment ofJ. Biol. Chem. 274: 1979-1985cancer), and tumorinvasion("integrin-binding")cyclic, linearfibronectin andtreatment ofWO 98/09985, publishedextracellular matrixinflammatory andMar. 12, 1998components of T cellsautoimmune conditionsand macrophageslinearsomatostatin andtreatment or preventionEuropean patentcortistatinof hormone-producingapplication 0 911 393,tumors, acromegaly,published Apr. 28, 1999giantism, dementia,gastric ulcer, tumorgrowth, inhibition ofhormone secretion,modulation of sleep orneural activitylinearbacterialantibiotic; septic shock;U.S. Pat. No. 5,877,151,lipopolysaccharidedisorders modulatableissued Mar. 2, 1999by CAP37linear orpardaxin, mellitinantipathogenicWO 97/31019, publishedcyclic,28 Aug. 1997including D-amino acidslinear, cyclicVIPimpotence,WO 97/40070, publishedneurodegenerativeOct. 30, 1997disorderslinearCTLscancerEP 0 770 624, publishedMay 2, 1997linearTHF-gamma2Burnstein (1988),Biochem., 27: 4066-71.linearAmylinCooper (1987), Proc. Natl.Acad. Sci., 84: 8628-32.linearAdrenomedullinKitamura (1993), BBRC,192: 553-60.cyclic, linearVEGFanti-angiogenic; cancer,Fairbrother (1998),rheumatoid arthritis,Biochem., 37: 17754-17764.diabetic retinopathy,psoriasis ("VEGFantagonist")cyclicMMPinflammation andKoivunen (1999), Natureautoimmune disorders;Biotech., 17: 768-774.tumor growth("MMP inhibitor")HGH fragmenttreatment of obesityU.S. Pat. No. 5,869,452Echistatininhibition of plateletGan (1988), J. Biol. Chem.,aggregation263: 19827-32.linearSLE autoantibodySLEWO 96/30057, publishedOct. 3, 1996GD1alphasuppression of tumorIshikawa et al. (1998),metastasisFEBS Lett. 441 (1): 20-4antiphospholipidendothelial cellBlank et al. (1999), Proc.beta-2-glycoprotein-Iactivation,Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 96:(∘2GPI) antibodiesantiphospholipid5164-8syndrome (APS),thromboembolicphenomena,thrombocytopenia, andrecurrent fetal losslinearT Cell Receptor betadiabetesWO 96/11214, publishedchainApr. 18, 1996.Antiproliferative,WO 00/01402, publishedantiviralJan. 13, 2000.anti-ischemic, growthWO 99/62539, publishedhormone-liberatingDec. 9, 1999.anti-angiogenicWO 99/61476, publishedDec. 2, 1999.linearApoptosis agonist;WO 99/38526, publishedtreatment of T cell-Aug. 5, 1999.associated disorders(e.g., autoimmunediseases, viral infection,T cell leukemia, T celllymphoma)linearMHC class IItreatment ofU.S. Pat. No. 5,880,103,autoimmune diseasesissued Mar. 9, 1999.linearandrogen R, p75,proapoptotic, useful inWO 99/45944, publishedMJD, DCC,treating cancerSep. 16, 1999.huntingtinlinearvon Willebrandinhibition of Factor VIIIWO 97/41220, publishedFactor; Factor VIIIinteraction;Apr. 29, 1997.anticoagulantslinearlentivirus LLP1antimicrobialU.S. Pat. No. 5,945,507,issued Aug. 31, 1999.linearDelta-Sleep Inducingsleep disordersGraf (1986), PeptidesPeptide7: 1165.linearC-Reactive Proteininflammation and cancerBarna (1994), Cancer(CRP)Immunol. Immunother.38: 38 (1994).linearSperm-ActivatinginfertilitySuzuki (1992), Comp.PeptidesBiochem. Physiol.102B: 679.linearangiotensinshematopoietic factors forLundergan (1999), J.hematocytopenicPeriodontal Res. 34(4): 223-228.conditions from cancer,AIDS, etc.linearHIV-1 gp41anti-AIDSChan (1998), Cell 93: 681-684.linearPKCinhibition of boneMoonga (1998), Exp.resorptionPhysiol. 83: 717-725.lineardefensins (HNP-1, -2,antimicrobialHarvig (1994), Methods-3, -4)Enz. 236: 160-172.linearp185HER2/neu, C-erbB-2AHNP-mimetic: anti-Park (2000), Nat.tumorBiotechnol. 18: 194-198.lineargp130IL-6 antagonistWO 99/60013, publishedNov. 25, 1999.linearcollagen, other joint,autoimmune diseasesWO 99/50282, publishedcartilage, arthritis-Oct. 7, 1999.related proteinslinearHIV-1 envelopetreatment of neurologicalWO 99/51254, publishedproteindegenerative diseasesOct. 14, 1999.linearIL-2autoimmune disordersWO 00/04048, published(e.g., graft rejection,Jan. 27, 2000; WOrheumatoid arthritis)00/11028, publishedMar. 2, 2000.linear, cyclicvariousinflammatory conditions,U.S. Pat. No. 6,660,843autoimmune disease,otherslinear, cyclicAng-2inhibition ofU.S. Pat. App. No.angiogenesis (e.g., for2003/0229023, publishedtreatment of tumor)Dec. 11, 2003; WO03/057134, publishedJul. 17, 2003; U.S.2003/0236193, publishedDec. 25, 2003NGFchronic pain, migraine,WO 04/026329, publishedasthma, hyperactiveApr. 1, 2004bladder, psoriasis,cancer, other conditionslinked to NGFmyostatinU.S. Serial No. 10/742,379,filed Dec. 19, 2003;PCT/US03/40781, filedDec. 19, 2003BAFF/TALL-1B-cell mediatedU.S. 2003/0195156,autoimmune diseasespublished Oct. 16, 2003;and cancers (e.g., lupus,WO 02/092620, publishedB-cell lymphoma)Nov. 21, 2002linearGLP-1Diabetes, metabolicsyndromeaThe protein listed in this column may be bound by the associated peptide (e.g., EPO receptor, IL-1 receptor) or mimicked by the associated peptide. The references listed for each clarify whether the molecule is bound by or mimicked by the peptides.
Peptides identified by peptide library screening were for a long time regarded simply as "leads" in development of therapeutic agents rather than as therapeutic agents themselves. Like other proteins and peptides, they would be rapidly removed in vivo either by renal filtration, cellular clearance mechanisms in the reticuloendothelial system, or proteolytic degradation. Francis (1992), Focus on Growth Factors 3: 4-11. As a result, the art used the identified peptides to validate drug targets or as scaffolds as scaffolds for design of organic compounds that might not have been as easily or as quickly identified through chemical library screening. Lowman (1997), Ann. Rev. Biophys. Biomol. Struct. 26: 401-24; Kay et al. (1998), Drug Disc. Today 3: 370-8.
A more recent development is fusion of randomly generated peptides with the Fc domain. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,660,843, issued Dec. 9, 2003 to Feige et al. (incorporated by reference in its entirety). Such molecules have come to be known as "peptibodies." They include one or more peptides linked to the N-terminus, C-terminus, amino acid sidechains, or to more than one of these sites. Peptibody technology enables design of therapeutic agents that incorporate peptides that target one or more ligands or receptors, tumor-homing peptides, membrane-transporting peptides, and the like. Peptibody technology has proven useful in design of a number of such molecules, including linear and disulfide-constrained peptides, "tandem peptide multimers" (i.e., more than one peptide on a single chain of an Fc domain). See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,660,843; U.S. Pat. App. No. 2003/0195156, published Oct. 16, 2003 (corresponding to WO 02/092620, published Nov. 21, 2002); U.S. Pat. App. No. 2003/0176352, published Sep. 18, 2003 (corresponding to WO 03/031589, published Apr. 17, 2003); U.S. Ser. No. 09/422,838, filed Oct. 22, 1999 (corresponding to WO 00/24770, published May 4, 2000); U.S. Pat. App. No. 2003/0229023, published Dec. 11, 2003; WO 03/057134, published Jul. 17, 2003; U.S. Pat. App. No. 2003/0236193, published Dec. 25, 2003 (corresponding to PCT/US04/010989, filed Apr. 8, 2004); U.S. Ser. No. 10/666,480, filed Sep. 18, 2003 (corresponding to WO 04/026329, published Apr. 1, 2004), each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The art would benefit from further technology enabling such rational design of polypeptide therapeutic agents.


A central region susceptible to medium magnetic field is formed. End regions (13 to 15) sandwich and extend from the ends of the central region, and apply a vertical bias to the central region. These regions are formed on a substrate (1 to 5). The central region comprises a laminate layer having a SAL layer (5), a magnetic separation layer (6), a magnetoresistance layer (8), and an insulating layer (9), these layers being nearer the substrate in the mentioned order. The thicknesses of the individual layers, particularly the thickness of the insulating layer, are controlled to satisfy a relation of the thicknesses and ion milling rates of the layers given as: EQU (.delta..sub.a /R.sub.a)+(.delta..sub.b /R.sub.b)<(.delta..sub.c /R.sub.c)+(.delta..sub.d /R.sub.d). where .delta..sub.a and R.sub.a are respectively thickness and ion milling rate of the horizontal bias layer, .delta..sup.b and R.sub.b are those of the magnetic separation layer, .delta..sub.c and R.sub.c are those of the magnetoresistance layer, and .delta..sub.d and R.sub.d are those of the insulating layer.

The present invention relates to a magnetoresistive effect head and a method of manufacturing the same and, more particularly, to a magnetoresistive effect head employed for magnetic recorders and a method for manufacturing the same.
With a recent trend for size reduction and capacity increase of magnetic recorders, the magnetic recording techniques have a tendency of rapidly increasing integration density. Magnetic transducers utilizing magnetoresistance (MR) (hereinafter referred to as MR heads) can obtain a large reproduction output, and is one of the most important techniques for propelling the density increase of the magnetic recording. The MR head is dealt with in "A Magnetoresistive Readout Transducer", IEEE Trans. on Magn., MAG7 (1970) 150.
In the MR head, it is necessary to apply a domain control uni-directional magnetic field (i.e., vertical bias field) to a magnetoresistive (MR) effect film (mainly Ni--Fe film) as a region susceptible to medium magnetic field in order to prevent Barkhausen noise. U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,315 discloses a method of applying a vertical bias field across a magnetism-susceptible region of an Ni--Fe layer (film) serving as a magnetoresistive effect layer. In this technique, an antiferromagnetic layer such as an Fe--Ni layer is laminated on end portions of the magnetism-susceptible region to provide, as the vertical bias field, a uni-directional magnetic field provided by exchange coupling at the interface of the Ni--Fe layer and antiferromagnetic layer.
In the disclosed structure, the Ni--Fe layer is formed continuously to cover, as well as the magnetism-susceptible region, the domain control uni-directional magnetic field generating regions with the antiferromagnetic layer formed therein. Since the Ni--Fe layer in the magnetism-susceptible region is continuous to the Ni--Fe layer in the regions which are magnetized by the antiferromagnetic layer, with the vertical bias magnetic field applied to the magnetism-susceptible region and with the antiferromagnetic layer formed, the magnetization of the ends of the magnetism-susceptible region are fixed by the exchange coupling to result in reduction of the sensitivity to the medium magnetic field. In addition, the Ni--Fe layer and horizontal bias soft magnetic layer (SAL layer) located outside the magnetism-susceptible region are adversely affected by magnetic fluxes from tracks other than the read track to result in noise generation.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Heisei 3-125311 discloses a vertical bias application method for overcoming the above drawbacks. In the disclosed method, an Ni--Fe layer is formed in only a magnetism-susceptible region, and a soft magnetic layer is formed on opposite end portions of the Ni--Fe layer for magnetization to generate a uni-directional magnetic field, which is used for the vertical bias application to the magnetism-susceptible region.
However, in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Heisei 3-125311 structure noted above the magnetism-susceptible region which is a central region is joined in a very slant surface having a very small dimension to the permanent magnet layer formed at its opposite ends and also an electrode layer laminated on the permanent magnet layer, and the electrical connection in this juncture is insufficient, resulting an increase in resistance of the MR head.
In a process of patterning the central region as the magnetism-susceptible region and forming the vertical bias layer at the opposite ends of the central region, as shown in FIGS. 1(a), 1(b), 2(c) and 2(d), a photo-resist stencil pattern is formed (FIG. 1(a)), a central region is then patterned by slant ion milling (FIG. 1(b)), then the vertical bias layer is formed by sputtering (FIG. 2(c), and then lift-off is made (FIG. 2(d)).
In this case, the magnetoresistive effect layer (MR layer) in the central region is usually hidden by a peak layer of the stencil mask, and the junction of the vertical bias layer and electrode layer that are formed as a result of round-about sputtering on the inner side of the stencil mask is found in difficult locality compared to the SAL layer or magnetic separation layer. The magnetoresistance layer is predominately low in resistance compared to the SAL layer or magnetic separation layer, and the difficulty of directly uniting the vertical bias layer or electrode layer to the magnetoresistance layer results in MR head resistance increase.

Magnetoresistive effect head with individual layers satisfying a basic inequality involving layer thickness and ion milling rates


A system, method, and software for optimizing the commingling of well fluids from a plurality of producing subsea wells. The mixing temperature and water content in each header of a collection manifold are calculated for each subsea well and header combinations, responsive to data from sensors at the collection manifold. Combinations with conditions outside operational limits are then discarded. Remaining combinations are ranked based on predetermined optimization criteria. The ranked combinations are provided for the operator for optimizing flow properties and well fluid production. The calculations can restart with new, real-time sensed values from the subsea collection manifold.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to subsea well installations and in particular to a method of managing production from a plurality of subsea wells.
2. Background of the Invention
In a subsea oil field it is common practice to drill a plurality or cluster of subsea wells for the more efficient production of well fluid from an oil field. The well fluid typically contains water, hydrocarbon gas (gas), and hydrocarbon liquid (oil). A subsea collection manifold is sometimes used to collect the well fluid from each of the plurality of subsea wells rather than transporting the well fluid from each of the individual wells to the surface. From the collection manifold, a common riser can transport the well fluid from all of the subsea wells to a vessel at the surface of the sea.
In other situations, a riser extends from each subsea well to a vessel or platform at the surface. The well fluid from each of the wells is then transported through a common conduit to a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel located away from the platform. In this situation, the well fluid from each of the subsea wells commingle in a collection manifold located topside, on the platform, and are then pumped down to the FPSO. The conduit typically extends from the platform, along the subsea surface, and then back up to the FPSO.
In both situations, the well fluid from each of the subsea wells are commingled in a collection manifold, and then conveyed through a common riser or conduit. When multiple inflows are merged into a smaller number of outflows at a commingling point in a converging production network, the resulting mixing temperature and mixing watercut or water content in each outflow depend on how the inflows are combined. An optimum or desired combination is sometimes determined by mixing temperatures and/or water cuts. For example, an optimum or desired combination could be one that gives the highest mixing temperature in the coldest outflow in order to minimize wax or hydrate problems, or one that ensures a water cut far away from the inversion point in each outflow in order to minimize emulsion problems. In other words, in various situations, the desired or optimized mixing temperature and water content of the mixing well fluid can vary based on the situation, and the operating conditions.
The number of possible combinations can be extremely large. With n inflows and k outflows, where each inflow can be routed to any outflow, the total number N of possible combinations is given asN=kn
For example, with 20 inflows and 4 outflows, there are more than a trillion combinations. Trying to optimize the commingling by trial and error or offline hand calculations can therefore be cumbersome. Furthermore, flow conditions change continuously and offline calculations based on flow rates measured in the last well tests might become inaccurate, in particular if key events, like water breakthrough, have occurred after the last well tests.


In the present invention, input data are extracted by a clock and compared with the previous input data. A cyclic counter is provided for cyclically counting clock signals in each noise erasure time period (the maximum retaining time of a signal referred to as noise). When a change is detected in input data, the counter value is stored. When the input data indicate no changes, the counter value and the stored counter value are compared. If a non-coincident result is outputted, it indicates that the noise erasure time has not passed since the input data indicated a change. Therefore, the input data are not outputted. If a coincident result is outputted, it indicates that the cyclic counter counted one cycle. That is, the noise erasure time has passed. Therefore, the input data are outputted since the input data are not recognized as noise.

The present invention relates to a digital noise erasing method executed with a circuit of an efficient scale for erasing noise contained in time-series digital input signals regardless of signal retaining time.
Input signals received in time series include signals indicating ON/OFF states generated by relays, etc., and direct current dial signals generated by telephone units. When such time-series signals are detected or received, errors may frequently be detected due to noise generated by chattering, etc., at a relay joint, but disappearing within a predetermined time period. That is, after a signal inputted in time series turns from "0" (OFF) to "1" (ON), a "0" (OFF) state is generated for a short time. If such noise is received as is, control is executed incorrectly.
In the prior art technologies, a detecting signal for detecting a change in a digital input signal is generated together with an extracting signal for extracting the digital input signal according to a clock signal, and extracted signals are stored in separate memories. The digital input signals are not outputted as noise (erased) if they become changed before being stored as the same signals ("0s" or "1s")
in a predetermined number of memories. The input signals are outputted as accepted data if the same signals ("0s" or "1s") are stored without any change in a predetermined number of memories.
FIG. 1 shows the circuit configuration of a prior art device for erasing noise according to the above described method.
First, d.sub.in 100 applies digital input signals ("1" or "0") to a distributing circuit 110. The distributing circuit 110 is connected to n 1-bit memories 120 (120-1-120-n). The distributing circuit 110 distributes the digital input signals d.sub.in according to a clock signal 170 and sequentially stores them in the memories 120.
The n memories 120 are connected to a comparator 130. The comparator 130 sequentially determines whether or not there is a change in the digital signals ("1" or "0") stored in the memories 120, and outputs a signal 180 to indicate that a change is detected". The outputted signal 180 is a selection signal for a selector 140. The selector 140 is connected to the n-th memory 120-n and to a memory 150 provided separately, and outputs the value of either memory 120-n or 150 as an output value d.sub.on 160. The output from the selector 140 is connected to the memory 150 and the value outputted from the selector is stored in the memory 150.
That is, in the initial state, the first digital input signal value ("1" or "0") is set in the memory 150. Then, the following digital input signal values are sequentially stored in the memories 120 (120-1-120-n). Each time an input signal is stored in one of the memories 120, the comparator compares the value currently stored in this memory 120 with the value previously stored. If a change is detected, a selection signal 180 indicating "a change is detected" is outputted. Then the value stored in the memory 150 is selected and outputted as d.sub.on 160. If the digital input signal values stored in all of the memories 120 are all equal, the selection signal 180 indicates "no changes" when the comparator finishes comparing the values in memory 120-n and the memory 120-(n-1). If the selection signal 180 indicates "no changes", the selector 140 selects the value stored in memory 120-n, outputs it as d.sub.on 160, and stores it in the memory 150.
In the above described circuit configuration, inputted signals are determined to be noise and are erased unless n equal signals are inputted. The number n of the memories 120 is set as the noise erasure time (the maximum time of a signal to be erased as noise). That is, if a signal having a clock signal cycle of 250 .mu.s and a retaining time equal to or less than 14 ms is defined as noise, a total of 56 units (that is, 56 bits) of memories 120 are required.
As described above, in the prior art technology, sufficient memories for storing a predetermined number of signals (having a capacity for a predetermined time period) are required. Therefore, if a longer noise erasure time is set, the memory capacity must be larger. That is, since the circuit is built in an input interface LSI, etc., of a system which processes digital input signals, a large memory causes the problem that the digital unit must be large and uneconomical.
Besides, a system in which noise erasure time can be changed must have a large memory capacity and the circuit must be modified as necessary, thus making the method troublesome.

Circuit for providing digital data having high clarity in a digital signal receiver


A user associated with a first organization is authenticated, via a meeting server, for participation in an online session hosted by a second organization. It is determined, via the meeting server, that the first organization requires the user to accept a first policy. It is also determined, via the meeting server, that the second organization requires the user to accept a second policy. The first policy and the second policy are presented to the user for acceptance.

Online sessions, including web conferencing, video conferencing, and integrated web and video conferencing, are services that allow geographically distributed teams to share and annotate content real-time across remote locations. The services allow real-time point-to-point communications as well as multicast communications from one sender to many receivers. The services may also provide text-based messages, as well as voice and video chat to be shared simultaneously across geographically dispersed locations. Applications for web conferencing include meetings, training events, lectures, or short presentations from any computer.
Online session may also include online collaborative sessions, often between parties seeking to protect their intellectual property rights in any content shared during a session. In order to ensure protection of intellectual property, parties may enter into agreements, binding the participants to keep information exchanged during the collaborations confidential.

Acceptance of policies for cross-company online sessions