Author: claimsbot

1. A method for evaluating a portfolio of price risk instruments in a market related to a commodity delivered over a network, comprising the steps of:
a computer estimating a plurality of distribution factors indicating effects on one or more congestible lines in the network due to transfers of the commodity at respective locations in the network; and
a computer evaluating the portfolio based on the estimated distribution factors,
wherein the step of evaluating the portfolio includes a step of calculating a cost f based on the formula f=(z\u2032A\u2212y\u2032P\u2032A)\u03bb+y\u2032F, wherein:
y represents the portfolio of price risk instruments;
z represents underlying positions in the market at the prospective time;
P represents a market of available price risk instruments;
F represents prices for the available price risk instruments;
A represents the distribution factors;
\u03bb represents prices of congestion for the congestible lines; and
\u2032 (prime) denotes a transpose of a matrix.
2. A computer-readable medium bearing instructions for evaluating a portfolio of price risk instruments in a market related to a commodity delivered over a network, said instructions being arranged to cause one or more processors upon execution thereby to perform the steps of:
estimating a plurality of distribution factors indicating effects on one or more congestible lines in the network due to transfers of the commodity at respective locations in the network; and
evaluating the portfolio based on the estimated distribution factors,
wherein the step of evaluating the portfolio includes a step of calculating a cost f based on the formula f=(z\u2032A\u2212y\u2032P\u2032A)\u03bb+y\u2032F, wherein;
y represents the portfolio of price risk instruments;
z represents underlying positions in the market at the prospective time;
P represents a market of available price risk instruments;
F represents prices for the available price risk instruments;
A represents the distribution factors;
\u03bb represents prices of congestion for the congestible lines; and
\u2032 (prime) denotes a transpose of a matrix.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A vehicle heating, ventilation and air conditioning system comprising: a plurality of ducts for providing conditioned air to an interior of a vehicle, the plurality of ducts including a window defrost duct and a floor duct,
a mixing chamber upstream of the window defrost and floor duct for mixing heated air with cooled air, the mixing chamber being a region of high turbulent air flow and the floor duct being a region of low turbulence air flow, respectively;
a unitary damper selectively controllable to distribute the conditioned air from the mixing chamber to one or more of the plurality of ducts, the damper configured so that when in a window defrost mode position, the damper directs conditioned air in the mixing chamber to the window defrost duct through an opening in the mixing chamber, the damper further configured so that when in a floor-only mode position, the damper directs conditioned air in the mixing chamber only to the floor duct and prevents conditioned air from entering the window defrost duct via the opening;
a bypass conduit connected to the floor duct and the window defrost duct, and configured to direct air from the floor duct to the window defrost duct when the damper is in the floor-only mode position, wherein the conditioned air directed through the bypass conduit exhibits attenuated noise with respect to noise in the mixing chamber as a result of the air being directed from the floor duct and a noise attenuator operatively engaging the bypass conduit for attenuating noise progressing through the bypass conduit.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the noise attenuator includes a muffler.
3. The system of claim 2 wherein the muffler includes a sound dampening material for attenuating noise progressing through the bypass conduit.
4. The system of claim 2 wherein the muffler includes a hollowed section for attenuating noise progressing through the bypass conduit.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein a first end of the bypass conduit is coupled to the floor duct and a second end is coupled to the window defrost duct.
6. The system of claim 5 wherein the floor duct is a low turbulence region.
7. The system of claim 6 wherein the bypass conduit is coupled to a high pressure region of the floor duct.
8. The system of claim 5 wherein the mixing chamber is formed by a mixing chamber housing and the bypass conduit is integrally formed as part of the mixing chamber housing.
9. The system of claim 5 wherein the mixing chamber is formed within a mixing chamber housing and the bypass conduit is formed separately from the mixing chamber housing and is selectably attachable to the floor duct and the window defrost duct.
10. The system of claim 1 wherein a shape of the bypass conduit is formed to attenuate noise generated by the air flow emanating from the mixing chamber.
11. The system of claim 1 wherein a wall thickness of the bypass conduit is configured to attenuate noise generated by the air flow emanating from the mixing chamber.
12. The system of claim 1 wherein a material composition of the bypass conduit attenuates noise generated by the air flow emanating from the mixing chamber.
13. The system of claim 1 further comprising a second bypass conduit connected to the floor duct and the window defrost duct, and configured to direct air from the floor duct to a respective window defrost duct when the damper is in the floor-only mode position, wherein the conditioned air directed through the second bypass conduit exhibits attenuated noise with respect to noise in the mixing chamber.
14. A method for bleeding air to a window defrost duct of a vehicle when a unitary damper that is selectively controllable to distribute conditioned air to one or more of a plurality of ducts, the unitary damper configured so that when in a window defrost mode position, the damper directs conditioned air in a mixing chamber to the window defrost duct through an opening in the mixing chamber, the damper further configured so that when in a floor-only mode position, the unitary damper directs conditioned air in the mixing chamber only to a floor duct and prevents conditioned air from entering the window defrost duct via the opening, the method comprising the steps of:
flowing air into a mixing chamber, the mixing chamber being a region of high turbulence;
actuating the unitary damper into the floor-only mode to so that the unitary damper direct all of the air flowing from the mixing chamber into a floor duct and blocks air flowing from the mixing chamber directly to the window defrost duct via the opening;
while in the floor-only mode, redirecting a portion of the air flowing in the floor duct into a bypass conduit, the bypass conduit coupled to the floor duct and the window defrost duct, the floor duct being a low turbulence region relative to the mixing chamber; and
while in the floor-only mode, directing the portion of the air in the bypass conduit into the window defrost duct downstream of the opening of the window defrost duct leading from the mixing chamber;
wherein the conditioned air directed through the bypass conduit exhibits attenuated noise with respect to noise in the mixing chamber as a result of the air being directed from the floor duct and step of redirecting the portion of the air includes redirecting the air through a noise attenuator in the bypass duct.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the noise attenuator is tuned for a specific frequency of the audible noise generated in the mixing chamber.
16. The method of claim 14 wherein the noise attenuator attenuates high frequencies generated by the air flow transitioning from the floor duct to the bypass conduit.
17. The method of claim 14 wherein the noise attenuator attenuates broadband noise generated from the mixing chamber.

What is claimed is:

1. A semiconductor integrated circuit device, comprising:
a power control circuit; and
a plurality of circuit blocks, wherein each of said plurality of circuit blocks has a plurality of states including at least a first state and a second state, further wherein each of said plurality of circuit blocks works in accordance with its function in said first state and rests in said second state, further wherein said power control circuit determines the operation of each of said plurality of circuit blocks so as not to exceed a maximum power consumption of said semiconductor integrated circuit device.
2. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein said power control circuit determines the state of at least one of said plurality of circuit blocks according to the power consumption in said first state and the power consumption required in a transition to said first state.
3. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, further comprising:
a main circuit whose power is not controlled by said power control circuit, wherein said power control circuit, upon receiving a request for accessing one of said plurality of circuit blocks from said main circuit and determining to enable said access to said one circuit block, outputs an enable signal to said main circuit, further wherein said one circuit block makes a transition to said first state.
4. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein said plurality of circuit blocks further comprise:
a first circuit block; and
a second circuit block privileged to access said first circuit block, wherein said power control circuit, upon receiving a request for accessing said first circuit block from said second circuit block and determining to enable said access to said first circuit block, outputs an enable signal to the second circuit, so that said second circuit block makes a transition to said first state.
5. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein said power control circuit and said plurality of circuit blocks are housed in a single package.
6. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein said power control circuit and said plurality of circuit blocks are integrated on a single semiconductor substrate.
7. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of circuit blocks further comprises:
a leakage current control circuit for controlling power consumption by a leakage current; and
a chargingdischarging power control circuit for controlling power consumption by chargingdischarging of a load, wherein power consumption of said at least one circuit block is controlled in accordance with the state of said at least one circuit block by said leakage current control circuit and said chargingdischarging power control circuit.
8. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 7, further comprising:
a clock distribution system, wherein said chargingdischarging power control circuit of said at least one circuit block controls power consumption by chargingdischarging of a load, by controlling the clock frequency distributed to said at least one circuit block.
9. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, further comprising:
a non-volatile memory, wherein said maximum power consumption is stored in said non-volatile memory.
10. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of circuit blocks is configured by a MOS transistor whose threshold voltage is 0.2V or less.
11. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of circuit blocks is configured by a MOS transistor whose gate oxide thickness is 4 nm or less.
12. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 1, further comprising:
a state transition limiting circuit for limiting the state transition frequency of at least one of said plurality of circuit blocks under a predetermined value.
13. A semiconductor integrated circuit device, comprising:
a first circuit block having a plurality of states with different power consumption values;
a second circuit block privileged to access said first circuit block; and
a power control circuit, wherein said second circuit block is adapted to issue a request for accessing said first circuit block to said power control circuit, further wherein said power control circuit is adapted to determine whether to enable said access to said first circuit block according to a predetermined maximum power consumption, and further wherein said second circuit block is adapted to access said first circuit block when said power control circuit enables said access to said first circuit block.
14. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 13, wherein said first circuit block comprises:
a leakage current control circuit for controlling power consumption by a leakage current; and
a chargingdischarging power control circuit for controlling power consumption by chargingdischarging of a load, wherein said plurality of states of said first circuit block include a state in which either power consumption by said leakage current or power consumption by chargingdischarging of said load in said first circuit block is limited.
15. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 13, wherein said power control circuit, when enabling said access to said first circuit block, outputs a signal for enabling said access to said first circuit block to said second circuit block.
16. The semiconductor integrated circuit device of claim 13, wherein said power control circuit determines whether to enable said access to said first circuit block according to the power consumption required for said first circuit block to work in accordance with its function and the power consumption required for said first circuit block to make a transition to a state for enabling an access from said second circuit block.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A shooting target apparatus comprising:
a coil spring supported in a position extending along and coiling around a linear axis with open space between adjacent coils of the coil spring; and
a spinning target comprising:
a sleeve disposed externally and rotatably around the coil spring, and comprising a guide feature reaching radially inward from the sleeve into the open space of the coil spring in a condition slidable along the adjacent coils of the spring within said open space; and
at least one arm that has a respective proximal end connected to the sleeve and extends away therefrom to a respective target plate carried on said arm;

whereby impact of the respective target plate by a projectile rotates the sleeve about the axis in a respective rotational direction, which causes translation of the sleeve along the axis in a respective translational direction due to cooperation between the coil spring and the guide feature on the sleeve.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the guide feature comprises at least one guide stud projecting radially inwardly from the sleeve.
4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the guide stud is defined by a guide member reaching into an interior of the sleeve through a radial bore of the sleeve.
5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the guide stud and the radial bore are matingly threaded.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a shaft passing axially through the coil spring and spaced radially inward therefrom in a stationarily held, non-rotatable position, whereby the coil spring coils around a partial length of the shaft with a clearance space present between the shaft and the coil spring.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 comprising a pair of stops fastened to the shaft at respective positions therealong with the coil spring disposed between said pair of stops.
8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein ends of the coil spring are held in fixed relation to the shaft.
9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein ends of the the coil spring are respectively attached to the stops in fixed relation thereto, and the stops are held in fixed relation to the shaft.
10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein an outer radius of each stop measured from the axis exceeds an outer radius of the coil spring in order to block movement of the sleeve past either stop.
11. The apparatus of claim 6 comprising a first support and a second support each having a lower end for placement on a ground surface in order to stand said supports in upright positions placing upper ends of said supports at an elevation spaced above said ground surface, wherein opposing ends of the shaft are connected or connectable to the first and second supports at a distance spaced from the lower ends thereof so as to span between said first and second supports in a stationary, non-rotatable position at a height above said ground surface and thereby carry the coil spring at said height as part of a cross-member spanning between the first and second supports.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one arm comprises first and second arms extending from the sleeve in generally opposing directions.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the spring is held in a non-rotatable condition.
14. A screw mechanism comprising a coil spring supported in a position extending along and coiling around a linear axis with open space between adjacent coils of the coil spring; and a sleeve disposed externally and rotatably around the coil spring, and comprising a guide feature reaching radially inward from the sleeve into the open space of the coil spring in a condition slidable along the adjacent coils of the spring within said open space, whereby rotation of the sleeve about the axis in a either rotational direction causes translation of the sleeve along the axis in a respective translational direction due to cooperation between the coil spring and the guide feature on the sleeve.
15. The screw mechanism of claim 14 wherein the guide feature comprises at least one guide stud projecting radially inwardly from the sleeve.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the guide stud is defined by a guide member reaching into an interior of the sleeve through a radial bore of the sleeve.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein the guide stud and the radial bore are matingly threaded.
18. The mechanism of claim 14 wherein the spring is held in a non-rotatable condition.
19. The mechanism of claim 14 comprising a shaft passing axially through the coil spring and spaced radially inward therefrom in a stationarily held, non-rotatable position, whereby the coil spring coils around a partial length of the shaft with a clearance space present between the shaft and the coil spring.
20. A shooting target apparatus comprising:
a coil spring supported in a non-rotatable, radially deflectable position extending along and coiling around a linear axis with open space between adjacent coils of the coil spring; and
a spinning target comprising:
a sleeve disposed externally and rotatably around the coil spring, and comprising a guide feature reaching radially inward from the sleeve into the open space of the coil spring in a condition slidable along the adjacent coils of the spring within said open space; and
at least one arm that has a respective proximal end connected to the sleeve and extends away therefrom to a respective target plate carried on said arm;

whereby impact of the respective target plate by a projectile rotates the sleeve about the axis in a respective rotational direction, which causes translation of the sleeve along the axis in a respective translational direction due to cooperation between the coil spring and the guide feature on the sleeve.