In a method for producing a circuit board for a semiconductor package, portions of the resist film formed on the respective surface of the core substrate are removed during the exposure/development process, which portions correspond to the circuit pattern and to the cavity opening but having a diameter smaller than that of the cavity opening, whereby the photosensitive portion of the resist film is hardened while extending inward from the upper edge of the cavity opening to a predetermined distance. The resist film operates as a resist for the conductor layer to be formed on the inner wall of the cavity opening and connected to the circuit pattern on one surface of the core substrate. Thereby, since the finally formed conductor layer does not reach the upper edge of the cavity opening at a predetermined vacant space therefrom, short-circuiting of the signal line is prevented from occurring even if the bonding wire is brought into contact with the upper edge of the cavity opening. Thus, it is possible to improve the yield in the production of plastic packages as well as the quality of the resultant packages.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing a circuit board, for a semiconductor package, comprising a core substrate covered with metallic layers on the opposite surfaces thereof and having an opening for a cavity for accommodating a semiconductor element, wherein the cavity opening has a conductive layer on an inner wall thereof to be connected with a circuit pattern carried on one surface of the core substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
A prior art method for producing a circuit board for a semiconductor package such as a plastic package or the like will be described with reference to FIGS. 4(a) to 4(i). An opening 54 for a cavity (herein after referred to as "a cavity opening") is formed by means of a drill (see FIG. 4(b)) in a copper-clad substrate 53 (see FIG. 4(a)) prepared by overlaying copper foils 52 on the opposite surfaces of a core substrate made of a glass cloth or others. Onto the inner wall of the cavity opening 54 of the copper-clad substrate 53 is applied an electroless plating of copper and then an electro-plating of copper to form a copper-plating film 55 on the opposite surfaces of the copper-clad substrate 53 as well as the inner wall of the cavity hole 54 (see FIG. 4(c)). In this regard, alternatively to the electroless plating of copper described above, after forming a palladium core on the inner wall of the cavity opening 54, an electroplating may be applied thereto.
Next, a photosensitive resist film 56 is formed on the opposite surfaces of the copper-clad substrate 53 (by, for example, a hot-press bonding of a dry film) (see FIG. 4(d)), and a photo-mask is overlaid with the resist layer 56, on which an exposure/development process is carried out. Thereby, a portion 56a of the photosensitive film 56 corresponding to a circuit pattern is hardened and left after a non-exposed portion 56b covered with the mask is dissolved (see FIG. 4(e)).
Thereafter, a tin-plating or solder-plating layer 57 is formed on a portion where the copper-plating film 55 is exposed on the copper-clad substrate 53 (corresponding to the circuit pattern) (see FIG. 4(f)). After the copper-plating film 55 exposed by peeling the photosensitive portion 56a of the photosensitive resist film 56 on the copper-clad substrate 53 and the copper foil 52 disposed beneath the same is removed by the etching (see FIG. 4(g)), the tin-plating or solder-plating layer 57 is removed by the dissolution, whereby a circuit pattern such as a signal line or a power source line covered with the copper-plating film 55 is formed on the opposite surfaces of the copper-clad substrate 53, and a conductive layer 55a to be connected with a circuit pattern such as a ground layer on the lower surface of the core substrate 51 is formed on the inner wall of the cavity opening 54 (see FIG. 4(h)).
After a semiconductor element 59 such as an LSI is accommodated in a cavity formed by bonding a heat-radiation plate 58 or the like on the lower surface of the copper-clad substrate 53, the signal lines or the power source lines formed on the upper surface of the copper-clad substrate 53 are connected with bonding pads of the semiconductor element 59 by a wire-bonding so that the semiconductor element is electrically connected to the circuit pattern via bonding wires 60 (see FIG. 4(i)).
In the cavity area, since the photo-mask overlaid with the photosensitive resist film 56 is formed along a profile of the periphery of the cavity opening 54, a deviation is liable to occur between the actual circuit pattern and the photo-mask.
Specifically, since the glass cloth used as the core substrate 51 is contractible or expandable due to heat, the core substrate 51 on which the dry film is bonded by a hot-press bonding is mobile prior to being subjected to the exposure/development process to deviate from the photo-mask. For example, as shown in FIG. 4(e), if the core substrate 51 expands, the portion 56a of the photosensitive resist film 56 may be displaced away from an upper periphery 54a of the cavity opening 54. When the conductive layer 55a is formed on the inner wall of the cavity opening 54, as shown in FIG. 4(c), for the purpose of the electrical conduction with the circuit pattern provided on the lower surface of the core substrate 51, the conductive layer 55a is formed even in an area wherein no conductive pattern is required, as shown in FIG. 4(h), if the photosensitive resist film 56 deviates from the upper periphery 54a.
Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4(i), when the wire-bonding is carried out after the semiconductor element 59 is accommodated in the cavity formed by bonding the heat radiation plate 58 with the lower surface of the copper-clad substrate 53, there is a risk in that the bonding wires 60 may be brought into contact with an edge 61 of the conductive layer 55a formed on the upper periphery 54a of the cavity opening 54. That is, since a bonding finger moves from the inside to the outside of the cavity opening 54 during the wire-bonding so that the bonding wire 60 streches from the bonding pad of the semiconductor element 59 within the cavity to that of the signal line or the power source line formed on the upper surface of the copper-clad substrate 53, there is a risk of the bonding wire 60 contacting the edge 61 of the conductive layer 55a formed on the upper periphery 54a, resulting in a short-circuit.

Method for producing circuit board, for semiconductor package, having cavity for accommodating semiconductor element


A computer interface having time frame dependent functional designation of parallel port lines system. A communication cycle is established with a plurality of time frames for a group of parallel port lines. Discrete data bytes are transferred to and from a computer, during at least one of the time frames and data blocks are transferred, to and from the computer, during at least one other of the time frames. The designation of the parallel port lines is redefined during each of the time frames to accommodate the transfers to and from the computer of the discrete data bytes and data blocks. Discrete data bytes and data blocks to be sent and received are stored and this storing is conditioned as a function of the designation of the parallel port lines during each of the time frames.

A growing need in the area of microcomputers is the ability to communicate with peripheral devices and other computers at a high rate of speed and while transferring large amounts of data to and from the microcomputer. To communicate effectively at high speed, it is desirable to transfer eight or more parallel bits of information simultaneously.
A problem with developing a standard product to communicate in parallel is that, although many microcomputers contain functionally similar operating systems, their hardware may differ as well as their physical size and configuration, and, thus, the addition of a standardized parallel communications circuit board to the main computer board is almost impossible. As such, a product may have to rely on auxiliary communications ports, if they even exist, which also may not work in a standardized manner, and further, may not reliably function or possess the necessary speed. In the alternative, a product, to achieve standardization, must rely on the slowly operating serial port available on most microcomputers for input and output of data.
However a data port that is universally available in a standard configuration in microcomputers is the parallel printer port. This port also possesses the desired speed. A problem with this printer port still arises in that it is not designed for full eight and nine bit parallel communication. Although a sufficient number of bits are available for transfer of data from the microcomputer, generally an insufficient number of lines exist for data transfer into the microcomputer. Although some lines may be bidirectional, allowing two way data transfer, an insufficient number of bidirectional lines can be relied upon to exist in a standard number and format in all computers. Thus, the use of bidirectional lines is limited in a standardized product.
To properly carry out a communication function in two directions requires more than eight lines per direction, in fact, at least ten lines must be dedicated (eight data bits as well as parity and synchronization bits) to each direction. The standard parallel port, however, contains only seventeen active lines, few of which may be relied upon as bidirectional.
Other products have attempted to circumvent the problems of having too few lines in the desired direction on the parallel port, by omitting necessary error checking and handshake functions such as parity checking. Such attempts have, thus, inevitably resulted in a significantly unreliable product.

Interface for establishing a number of consecutive time frames of bidirectional command and data block communication between a Host's standard parallel port and a peripheral device


A system, method, and computer program for analyzing code execution and software performance characteristics are disclosed. Samples of executing code may be taken based on any of a number of various triggers. For example, samples may be triggered based on function calls, such as malloc calls. Alternatively, samples may be triggered based on occurrence of a specified event. Code execution is graphically displayed such that certain patterns may be easily identified. Multiple redundant function calls and areas of code having excessively deep function calls can be readily spotted. Such areas represent opportunities for performance optimization.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to analyzing software performance, and more particularly, to a system, method, and program for graphically presenting code execution data in order to quickly identify of areas of code which may represent opportunities for optimization.
2. Related Art
Performance is an important aspect of software design. If an application does not perform well, users will not likely want to use that application. Performance is a subjective term referring to the general way in which something operates. Performance may include how efficiently system resources (e.g., CPU, memory, and hard disk drive) are used. There are aspects of performance, including but not limited to speed, memory footprint, memory turnover, memory usage, file-system usage, etc., that can be measured. Improving on these measurements increases the efficiency of the software.
Software programs can have poor performance due to any of a number of different problems. The reason for poor performance of a particular software program is not always apparent. In particular, large-scale software can be extremely complex, with multiple layers and many modules, such that implementation details (those causing performance problems) are often hidden across the layers and modules.
In connection with analyzing software performance, software programs can be "sampled" at runtime. The samples may provide a statistical representation of how much CPU time is spent in each function. Samples may be taken continuously, for example, during execution of a program, from a specified start time to a specified end time. Samples may also be taken periodically, for example, at specified time intervals (time-based sampling). When a sample is taken, the program's stack backtrace and other information can be recorded, and entered into a "trace table." A trace table may have many thousands of such entries, depending on how many samples were taken. Analyzing sizeable trace tables for complex software programs can be very difficult and time-consuming.

Code execution visualization using software fingerprinting


A rotation transmission device with a built-in one-way clutch having an inside rotational member, an outside rotational member disposed concentrically with the inside rotational member is proposed. The device includes a one-way clutch that is radially disposed in an annular space defined between the inside rotational member and the outside rotational member, and at least one bearing disposed in the said annular space. The outside rotational member is made in a plastic material and is overmolded onto at least one stiffening insert.

As is known, a transmission belt drives an outer crown of a pulley alternator, driving an internal hub. This pulley is subject to speed and torque variations in service, mainly due to the engine acyclisms. There are different ways to smooth the said variations exerted on the pulley, for example by providing a one-way clutch between the hub and the pulley crown. In one rotation direction, the one-way clutch transmits a torque from the hub to the pulley crown while in the other rotation direction the pulley operates as freewheel.
The said pulley crown is generally made in metal and is rotationally supported by at least one rolling bearing comprising an inner ring, an outer ring and rolling elements between the said rings, the said rolling bearing parts being made in metal. The rotation transmission device comprising such elements has a weight generating an important inertia.
Moreover, a metallic pulley crown necessitates thermal coatings for preventing corrosion or improving the hardness, for example. Such surface treatments are expensive and increase the rotation transmission device manufacturing cost.
It is therefore a particular object of the present invention to overcome these aforementioned drawbacks by providing a rotation transmission device of simple design that is easy to assemble, economical, able to operate for a long time in both an effective and an economic manner.

Rotation transmission device with built-in one-way clutch and alternator comprising such a device


A method for controlling a wind farm connected to an electrical grid includes receiving, via a farm-level controller, a frequency signal from the electrical grid. If the frequency signal is indicative of a frequency event occurring in the electrical grid, the method includes implementing, via the farm-level controller, a control scheme for providing frequency regulation and power-swing stabilization for the electrical grid. For example, the control scheme includes receiving, via the farm-level controller, individual output boost capabilities from each of the plurality of wind turbine generators, calculating, via the farm-level controller, a power command based on the individual output boost capabilities and based on one or more grid code requirements of the electrical grid, distributing, via the farm-level controller, the power command to each of the wind turbine generators.

Wind power is considered one of the cleanest, most environmentally friendly energy sources presently available, and wind turbines have gained increased attention in this regard. A modern wind turbine typically includes a tower, generator, gearbox, nacelle, and one or more rotor blades. The rotor blades capture kinetic energy of wind using known airfoil principles. For example, rotor blades typically have the cross-sectional profile of an airfoil such that, during operation, air flows over the blade producing a pressure difference between the sides. Consequently, a lift force, which is directed from a pressure side towards a suction side, acts on the blade. The lift force generates torque on the main rotor shaft, which is geared to a generator for producing electricity. In addition, a plurality of the wind turbines may be arranged in a predetermined geological location and electrically connected together to form a wind farm.
During operation, wind impacts the rotor blades of the wind turbine and the blades transform wind energy into a mechanical rotational torque that rotatably drives a low-speed shaft. The low-speed shaft is configured to drive the gearbox that subsequently steps up the low rotational speed of the low-speed shaft to drive a high-speed shaft at an increased rotational speed. As such, typical wind turbines also include various electrical components for converting the mechanical energy to electrical power. For example, the high-speed shaft is generally rotatably coupled to a generator so as to rotatably drive a generator rotor. As such, a rotating magnetic field may be induced by the generator rotor and a voltage may be induced within a generator stator that is magnetically coupled to the generator rotor. In certain configurations, the associated electrical power can be transmitted to a turbine transformer that is typically connected to an electrical grid via a grid breaker. Thus, the turbine transformer steps up the voltage amplitude of the electrical power such that the transformed electrical power may be further transmitted to the electrical grid.
Moreover, in many instances, a plurality of wind turbines may be arranged in a common geographical location referred to as a wind farm. Wind turbines and wind farms are typically designed to deliver power to the utility system with the power being independent of system frequency. Some wind turbine generators have a variable frequency operation and require a variable frequency power electronic inverter to interface the wind turbine generator output with the utility grid. In one common approach, the wind turbine generator output is directly fed to a power electronic converter, where the turbine frequency is rectified and inverted into a fixed frequency as needed by the utility system. An alternative approach uses a doubly fed asynchronous generator (DFAG) with a variable frequency power electronic inverter exciting the DFAG rotor and stator windings being coupled directly to the utility system.
In traditional power systems, the frequency of the synchronous generators of the power system matches the utility system and the dynamic response of the frequency of the utility system is dependent upon the inertia of the synchronous generators and loads. Synchronous generators used in traditional power systems are able to contribute in frequency and voltage control of the power system during transient conditions, that is, sudden failure of generation, line fault or connection of a large load. During such transient conditions, the system frequency starts to change at a rate mainly determined by the total angular momentum of the system, which is a sum of the angular moment of all the generators and rotating loads connected to the power system. In such transient conditions, the synchronous generators may also provide additional control services that modulate active power to stabilize the power system and restore frequency to its nominal value.
For larger wind farms or high penetration scenarios, however, the power being independent of system frequency may adversely affect power system frequency. In addition, it is common for turbine controllers to freeze or hold the power set point during a frequency event and to block external commands. As a result, some system operators are now requiring the wind farms, in addition the individual wind turbines, to provide enhanced capabilities, such as transient power boost during under frequency dips to more intelligently participate in frequency regulation and power-swing stabilization for the utility system.
Therefore, a system and method for farm-level control of transient power boost during grid frequency events would be welcomed in the art.

System and method for farm-level control of transient power boost during frequency events


One aspect of the present invention is an adhesive composition formed from two packs. One pack includes an isocyanate-functional prepolymer formed by reacting a polyisocyanate with an alcohol (e.g., polyol). The isocyanate equivalents from the polyisocyanate exceed the hydroxyl equivalents from the alcohol. The second pack is an aqueous polymer emulsion. These two packs are combined to form the novel adhesive composition. Another aspect of the invention is a method for joining together two surfaces of wood products by application of an adhesive thereto. The first step in this method is to mist with water the wood product surfaces to be joined. An adhesive composition then is applied to the misted wood product surfaces. Alternatively, the water misting can be replaced with an aqueous emulsion being part of the adhesive composition. Finally, the adhesive composition is cured.

The present invention generally relates to adhesives for joining wood products, and more particularly to two-part polyurethane adhesives modified with an aqueous emulsion.
Glued wood products have been traditionally used in this country in a variety of applications. The adhesives for such bonded or laminated wood products conventionally are based on phenol-formaldehyde, urea-formaldehyde, polyvinyl acetate, resorcinol-formaldehyde, polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), and hot met adhesives. The glued wood products include plywood, particleboard, oriented strand board (OSB), medium density fiberboard (MDF), laminated veneer lumber (LVL), laminated beams, and a variety of other engineered wood products. Among them, laminated beams, I-beams, LVL, and a variety of engineered wood products are used for structural wood applications. Generally, these engineered wood products require an initial finger jointing of short pieces of wood or parallel laminated veneers (PLV) before they can be constructed into long and/or thick beams or lumbers and in the case of I-Beams an adhesive is required to assemble the I-Beam itself. A fast curing structural adhesive is required to manufacture I-Beams in both the web-to-flange joint as well as the butt joint between web pieces. Consequently, it is important that, in the finger-jointed area and the I-Beam bonding areas, the adhesive have good strength, structural adhesive properties, and cure quickly. For present purposes, all of the foregoing products are known as "laminated wood products."
At present, phenol-resorcinol-formaldehyde (PRF) is widely used in industry for finger joint applications. When adhesive is applied to the fingers, the finger jointed wood or PLV is crowded together using an end pressure until a "tip gap" of 1-40 mils is achieved. Its is essential that the fingers do not "bottom out." The finger joints then are moved into a curing zone where hot platens or dielectric plates are used to cure the finger joints under heat or radio frequency and pressure for typically less than 30 seconds and then the joints are removed away from the curing zone. The adhesives must be able to fill the gaps or voids between the fingers when curing is complete in order for the product to exhibit good strength and a smooth appearance.
One the other hand, the speed of curing must be fast under these conditions in order to hold the finger-jointed pieces together for further processing, such as beam lamination and I-joint assembly. This is especially true in a high-speed commercial finger jointing process. Generally, adhesives with high solids and fast curing profiles are regarded as appropriate for such an application.
It should be mentioned also that two-part PRF and melamine-formaldehyde (MF) adhesives generally are used in industry as adhesives in preparation of radio frequency (RF) cured finger joint assemblies. Both of these adhesives are highly polar, which makes them respond well to RF curing. RF curing drives the bondline temperature sufficiently high to permit the MF or PRF to condense quickly. Due to the rigid ring structure of both PRF and MF, these adhesives cure to give a high Tg, rigid, three-dimensional network in a short time; thus, producing acceptable immediate handling strength (proof-loading).
Heretofore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,088 proposes an aqueous adhesive composition of an aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol, an aqueous emulsion of vinyl acetate polymer or an aqueous latex of a butadiene polymer in combination with a hydrophobic solution of an isocyanate compound. RE 34,093 proposes an aqueous adhesive composed of an aqueous emulsion of a polymer or interpolymer of one or more of vinyl monomers in combination with an aqueous emulsion of a polyisocyanate, which has been at least partially reacted with a C6 to C30 alkanol.

Two-part polyurethane adhesives for structural finger joints and method therefor


A synchronization (sync) signal detector and associated method detect the occurrence of a known sync signal in a received signal. The known sync signal is generated and correlated with the received signal to generate a correlation waveform. A peak value of the correlation waveform, indicative of the occurrence of the sync signal in the received signal, is detected and used to determine a timing offset between the received signal and the sync signal. The sync signal is then shifted in time to compensate for the timing offset. Such shifting of the sync signal is simpler and requires substantially less processing time and resources compared to known sync signal detection schemes, in which a received signal or the sampling timing of a received signal is shifted to compensate for timing offset.

In some communication systems, a data pattern or portion of a received signal (i.e. a synchronization signal) is used to control decoding or other processing of the remainder of the received signal. In such systems, successful decoding or processing of a received signal is dependent upon accurate reception of the synchronization signal. The present invention addresses this need.

Synchronization signal detector and method


A process for depositing a film of metal chalcogenide is disclosed. The process comprises providing a single source of a metal chalcogenide and heating said source to a temperature sufficient to sublime the single source under a pressure ranging from 0.0001 to 760 torr so that the sublimate is delivered into a reaction zone. Within this reaction zone, a substrate is deposed upon which deposition may occur. The reaction zone is heated to approximately 200.degree. to 800.degree. C. The sublimate is passed through this reaction zone and over the substrate to produce a thin film of metal chalcogenide which is deposited upon the substrate.

In recent years, thin films of certain species of metal chalcogenides, such as titanium disulfide (TiS.sub.2) and other transition metal sulfide materials have been studied. Films of TiS.sub.2 may be formed using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods, by sulfurization of titanium metals at elevated temperatures, and sputtering methods.
A number of CVD processes have been described by the prior art. Deficiencies in such methods were discussed in the parent case which is herein incorporated by reference. Typically in these prior art processes, gaseous streams of the two reactants (i.e. titanium tetrachloride and hydrogen sulfide) are mixed in a heated reactor to deposit the desired metal chalcogenide as a film on a substrate suspended in the reactor. It is often necessary in these processes to use a large excess of the chalcogenide source (i.e. H.sub.2 S) in order to achieve reasonable deposition rates. Moreover, the chemical yield of the films in such cases is often extremely low. This results in the waste of most of the agents required to form the film, which in turn, leads to an inefficient process with concomitant toxic waste problems.
It would be highly desirable to have a volatile single source precursor capable of being sublimed into the CVD reactor to deposit the film. Ideally such precursors would contain the correct stoichiometry of elements needed for the metal chalcogenide film and would minimize waste materials. Unfortunately, however, the prior art has been unable to provide such a material and no single source precursor to CVD titanium disulfide films has been reported in the literature.
The most important commercial application for titanium disulfide films is as cathodes in lithium batteries. In such an application it is highly desirable that the thin film of TiS.sub.2 have a crystallographic orientation such that the c-axis is parallel to the plane of the substrate. In such an orientation, pores in the crystals are perpendicular to the plane of the substrate and are optimum for the intercalation of lithium, which constitutes the primary discharge reaction in the lithium battery. Conversely, an orientation in which the pores of the crystals are parallel to the plane of the substrate leads to an inefficient cathode reaction, due to poor intercalation of lithium ions into the TiS.sub.2.
It has been demonstrated by Kikkawa et al. (J. Mater. Res. 1990, 5, 2894) and Kanehori et al. (J. Electrochem. Soc. 1989, 136, 1265) that TiS.sub.2 films with predominant (110) crystallographic orientation provide optimum cathode performance in a lithium battery. However, such preferred films with the highly desirable (110) orientation have only been prepared from CVD techniques using two separate gaseous streams of titanium tetrachloride and hydrogen sulfide and thus incorporate all of the prior art limitations, including the undesirable deposition characteristics discussed above.

Chemical vapor deposition of metal chalcogenide films


An optical system for performing an absorption measurement of a medium sample includes a laser source configured to output a laser beam having a wavelength corresponding to an absorption region of interest; a ringdown cavity comprising a chamber configured to receive the medium sample, an input mirror at an input end, an output mirror at an output end, and an optical axis that extends through the centers of the input mirror and the output mirror; a coupling device configured to couple the laser beam through the input mirror into the chamber; and a detector optically coupled with the cavity, and configured to detect an intensity of light of the wavelength corresponding to the absorption region of interest that extends through the output mirror, wherein a cavity geometry of the cavity increases the re-entrant condition of the cavity relative to a conventional cavity comprised of two spherical mirrors.

Cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy (CEAS) systems are used in numerous applications to measure compounds that are of environmental, industrial, medical, and military interest. Typically, in CEAS, a laser is coupled into a high-finesse optical cavity comprised of two, highly-reflective (R>99.9% typical) mirrors. Optical loss within the cavity is then measured by modulating the laser (cavity ringdown spectroscopy), measuring the transmitted intensity (integrated cavity output spectroscopy), or employing other similar methods.
One of the key challenges in CEAS system is coupling the laser into the cavity. In conventional, coherent coupling, a laser of good mode-quality must be perfectly directed into a very well aligned cavity. In other words, the laser must perfectly align with the centerline of the two mirrors. This perfect alignment is difficult to achieve. In addition to the very stringent alignment requirements, the laser frequency must match a cavity resonance frequency. This is done by either tuning and measuring the laser wavelength very accurately or by tuning the cavity by moving one of its mirrors in less than 1 micron increments using a piezoelectric.
Prior solutions to the forgoing challenges have focused on either using an incoherent light source or coupling the light into the cavity in an off axis fashion. The first solution involves using a light source (e.g. light emitting diode, broadband laser, or similar) whose spectral bandwidth spans multiple cavity longitudinal modes. In this scheme, there is no need to frequency-match the laser and cavity as the laser linewidth automatically spans multiple modes. Note that this method is not suited for high-resolution spectroscopy and sometimes suffers from optical feedback issues. The second solution involves aligning the laser beam into the cavity in an off-axis fashion. In this scheme, the input beam couples to multiple cavity transverse modes, which, for non-degenerate cases, provides incoherent coupling. This method typically requires larger mirrors, e.g., 2″ diameter, for sufficient off-axis alignment and piezoelectric mirror dithering to remove residual etalon effects.

System and method of providing incoherent coupling of a laser into a high finesse optical cavity


A controlled evacuation ostomy appliance comprises a membrane that is urged into sealing engagement with a stoma, by the generation of radial tension in the membrane. A tensioning device applies tension, with respect to the stoma, at one or more positions that are (i) outboard of the periphery of the projecting portion of the stoma, and/or (ii) between the level of the peristomal skin and the level of the most projecting part of the stoma. Tension limiting means are disclosed. The membrane may be gas-permeable to allow flatus to be vented.

The creation of an ostomy (stoma) is the therapy for many sufferers of diseases or injury of the gastrointestinal or urinary tract. An ostomy is the rerouting of the tract through the abdominal wall to outside the patient's body. Once a stoma has been created, the patient must, usually for the rest of his or her life, use a device worn on the body for capturing or containing the body waste. This has traditionally been done with a bag or pouch attached to the body with adhesive patches or constricting belts. However, the wearing of such a pouch may be an embarrassing experience for some ostomates. A pouch may require changes in a person's public and personal activities.
A controlled evacuation appliance offers the potential benefit to an ostomate of achieving some control over the evacuation of body waste. The appliance is used to block the stoma opening, in order to store the liquid and/or solid stool temporarily inside the tract. The appliance is deactivatable and/or removable manually when the ostomate desires to discharge the stool from the stoma. A structural feature which distinguishes a controlled evacuation appliance from a conventional ostomy pouch is the presence of a stoma seal, for blocking the stoma opening. However, there are many practical and challenging difficulties associated with implementing a cost efficient, yet effective and comfortable stoma seal. It is believed that this is one of the reasons why controlled evacuation appliances have hitherto not found widespread use.

Seal for controlled evacuation ostomy appliance


A 3D picture frame for making a 3D framed display. A mounted background picture is bent into a concavo-convex shape for adding a 3D effect to the displayed picture. A mounted bottom edge picture achieves a depth of the field and a wrap-around effect. A floating picture, which is preferably a self trimmed composite picture for bearing a customer's image, obtained without manual trimming process, is displayed in front of and spaced apart from the background picture. A created arch-shaped void space in this frame can house one or more magnetically held 3D arts therein. A toy platform can be installed to turn the 3D picture frame into a play-and-display station. An animated 3D art with a built-in insert will add “live” to the 3D framed display. All above contents can be mounted or removed without taking down the frame body from the wall.

This invention relates in general to picture frames, and more specifically, three dimensional framed display (3DFD) and 3D picture frame for making such 3D framed displays. Here the picture frame refers to a frame capable of displaying a picture sheet. The 3D picture frame refers to said picture frame capable of imparting a 3D effect to one or more displayed picture sheets and/or capable of displaying a 3D art. The 3D framed display refers to the display made possible with said 3D picture frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,293,038 discloses a novel 3D framed display. In this 3D framed display a 3D picture frame is employed which comprises a frame body typically formed by joining four frame moldings. In one embodiment a regular picture sheet is sandwiched between a curved transparent plate and a curved backing plate and bent into a concavo-convex shape for creating a 3D effect to the displayed picture sheet. In this 3D picture frame a top edge picture and a bottom edge picture can also be displayed. It creates a depth of the field and wrap-around effect which further strengthen the 3D feeling in the mind of the viewer.
In this prior art 3D picture frame an arch shaped void space is also created in front of the displayed picture sheet. This space can allow one or more 3D arts to be magnetically held and displayed in complementing the picture sheet. These displayed 3D arts will also further enhance the overall 3D effect of the framed display.
In spite of the above-stated novel features this prior art 3D picture frame still has several problems. One most serious problem is the fact that a shadow of the frame top wall may be cast on the displayed picture. The size of this shadow will vary depending on the position of the external lighting in relation to the 3D picture frame.
A second problem of this prior art 3D picture frame is also related to the source of lighting. If this lighting is above the top of the 3D picture frame very little light may reach to the top edge picture. This may render the top edge picture virtually invisible.
A 3D picture frame for the present 3D framed display is typically wall mounted due to its large size. It is very inconvenient to remove this bulky 3D picture frame from the wall whenever the display of the picture sheet is to be changed. If the displayed 3D arts can only be accessed from the back of the frame this frame must also be removed from the wall if the display of the 3D arts is to be changed. It is therefore very desirable that all such display contents replacement can be achieved without taking down the 3D picture frame from the wall.
Metal, porcelain and glass are all preferred materials for making picture frames. However, such materials are rarely employed for making large wall mounted picture frames because of its weight and/or fragileness. Instead of hanging, more secure mounting of such 3D picture frame will be desired.
In a 3D framed display it is often desirable that a picture sheet bearing the image of the customer be placed in front of and spaced apart from the background picture. One standard way to include a customer's image into a 3D framed display is through photographically taking the picture of the customer. Any other way such as hand painting or drawing would be prohibitively expensive.
One typical output of such photographical process is a rectilinear photo bearing the image of the customer along with the background such as a back drop, wall or simply empty sky. To place such a rectilinear photo as is in the 3D framed display would totally ruin the aesthetical atmosphere painstakingly created by the background picture and the 3D picture frame.
A more pleasing way to bring the customer's image into the 3D framed display is to trim or crop the rectilinear photo to create a trimmed photo showing only the customer without the unwanted background in the photo. Unfortunately the process of trimming a photo for the above purpose is usually a manual, tedious and time consuming procedure. Due to different shapes of the customers appeared in the photos there is no easy way to automate or speed up such a trimming process. Once a mistake is made in the trimming, the entire photo may have to be discarded.
It is therefore highly desirable that a process be devised so that once the customer's image is taken photographically a trimmed photo bearing the customer's image can be created easily, quickly and without the manual trimming procedure.

Three dimensional framed display and frame calendar


A toilet cleansing agent dispenser is composed of a cylindrical housing, an inner cylinder, a receiving body, a bolt rod, a base, a coil spring and a float piece. The bolt rod and the float piece are connected. The cylindrical housing is provided with a connection slide piece for fastening with a locating frame for mounting the dispenser in a toilet water tank. The float piece and the bolt rod are capable of up-and-down displacement in accordance with the water level in the toilet water tank, so as to regulate the flow of the toilet cleansing agent from the receiving body into the toilet water tank. As the water level in the toilet water tank rises to a certain level after the flush, the float piece and the bolt rod are caused to rise to seal off the flow hole of the receiving body so as to terminate the flow of the cleansing agent into the toilet water tank.

The conventional way of cleansing a toilet bowl is done by flushing the toilet so that the water mixed with the cleansing agent is flushed out of the toilet water tank to cleanse the toilet bowl. Such a conventional cleansing method as described above is defective in design in that the concentration of the cleansing agent in each flush can not be regulated, thereby resulting in a waste of the cleansing agent.

1, Lane Tien Chien, Pai Sha Village, Hua Tan Hsiang


A sealing member for sealing an opening of a container is provided with a sealing face facing contents in the container. This sealing face is formed into a shape without being externally exposing during an unsealing operation of the sealing member. The container can include the opening sealed with the sealing member, and a seal taking-out hole for taking out the sealing member when the opening is unsealed. A sealing member can include a leader for pinching the sealing member when the sealing member is peeled off from the container, and the leader can be inserted through the seal taking-out hole so that an opening sealing-face of the sealing member is bent inside when the unsealing operation of the sealing member is performed. A convex protrusion having a shape such that a face of the sealing member can be bent can be mounted on the seal taking-out hole. The sealing member for sealing an opening of the container can be formed into a cylindrical shape with a flexible material, and a part of an outer peripheral face of the sealing member seals the opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sealing member for sealing an opening of a container, and a container having the opening sealed with the sealing member, the container having a hole for taking out the sealing member when the sealing member is unsealed.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
A sealing member for sealing an opening of a container is well known. For example, a sealing member has been used on a toner container, toner hopper, and the like, and incorporated to a machine such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, and the like, which is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 4-136961/1992 (hereinafter referred to as background art 1), Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-80653/1993 (background art 2), Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-197287/1993 (background art 3), Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-204246/1993 (background art 4), and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-121019 (background art 5).
The sealing member disclosed in the aforementioned background arts 3 and 4 is mounted so that the sealing member seals the opening from one end towards another end, and from one end to approximately a middle part of the sealing member having an adhesive portion, and a rest of the sealing member which exceeds the length of the opening in a longitudinal direction is folded back to the side of the first end of the sealing member, and a folding portion at a side end of the opening is used as a knob portion for operation (a leader for pinching the sealing member). That is, the opening is constructed so that the sealing member can be removed from the opening by pulling out the sealing member and pinching the knob portion thereof, when the sealing member is unsealed.
An example of such a sealing member is shown in FIG. 31. Referring to FIG. 31, edge portions of four sides of a pulling-out seal 104 as a sealing member are adhered to a seal adhering-face 103 of a toner-supplying outlet 102 formed on a toner case 101 as a toner container supplying toner to a developing device (not shown). Thereby, the toner-supplying outlet 102 is sealed. When the seal of the toner-supplying outlet 102 is unsealed, an operator pulls out the pulling-out seal 104 in a direction indicated by a white arrow shown in FIG. 31, pinching the knob-end 104a thereof. Thereby, the pulling-out seal 104 is peeled off from the seal adhering-face 103 on the backside of the toner case 101, and the seal of the toner-supplying outlet 102 is unsealed.
However, a sealing face of the sealing member 104 which faces the contents (for example, a developer such as toner) inside the toner case 101 is externally exposed when the sealing member 104 is unsealed by being peeled off, and at a time of throwing away the sealing member. As a result, toner taken off from the opening (toner-supplying outlet 102) of the toner case 101 in this kind of sealing member 104 has a strong possibility of dirtying an operator""s hands, clothing, and the like, with contents (for example, toner, or the like developer) which are stuck to the sealing-face of sealing member 104.
In contrast, a sealing member can be constructed to be made of a sheet-like shape having an opening at a part which can be wound so that open/close operations of the sealing member are automatically performed by moving the sealing member to the opening of the toner container. Such a device for winding a sealing member is disclosed in the aforementioned background art 1, and in this disclosed construction the toner-supplying outlet 102 of the toner hopper is sealed with an end of the sealing member, and another end of the sealing member is fixed at an agitation member in the toner hopper. Further, a sealing member is wound with a rotation of the agitation member in the aforementioned background art 2. Since in this art the open/close operations of the sealing member are automatically performed, and the sealing member can be easily wound at a side of the container after an unsealing operation is performed, there is less possibility that the operator""s hand and clothing is dirtied with the contents (for example, a developer such as toner) stuck to the opening sealing-face of the sealing member.
However, these background arts 1 and 2 have a complicated construction and the mounting method of the sealing member is not easy, and manufacturing costs may be increased accordingly.
Furthermore, the background art 5 is another art relevant to a sealing method for sealing an opening of a toner container with a sealing member. This art discloses a device such that when an opening of a toner container is sealed, an elastic element sheet is detachably mounted at an end of a longitudinal direction of an inserting member, and the elastic element sheet is led to a position for sealing the opening by penetrating the inserting member through a gap between the toner container and a developing device frame. Subsequently, the opening of the toner container is sealed as if the elastic element sheet is detached from the inserting member. However, since this operation procedure is complicated and the operation includes many steps, this method is not considered practical.
On the other hand, in a cartridge as a container, such as a toner cartridge or a process cartridge, having a construction in which an opening of a developer containing section for containing toner or the like developer as contents is sealed with the aforementioned sealing member, a seal taking-out hole for taking out the sealing member when the sealing member is unsealed is formed on the side of the cartridge housing. A maximum size of the seal taking-out hole formed on the side portion of the cartridge housing has been hitherto formed larger than a width of the sealing section that is rectangular to the opening direction of the sealing member so that the aforementioned sealing member can be pulled out with relative ease. However, the seal taking-out hole formed on the side portion of the container, such as the cartridge, is in a state of being connected to the containing section in an opening state of the opening of the containing section for the contents such as the developer after the sealing member is unsealed.
Accordingly, there is a problem that if the seal taking-out hole is kept open, contents contained in the containing section flow out through the seal taking-out hole formed on the side portion of the container in this kind of hitherto provided container. Therefore, in this kind of hitherto provided container, the seal taking-out hole is sealed with the taking-out hole sealing member for preventing the flowing out of the contents from the seal taking-out hole of the container after the opening of the container is opened by pulling out the sealing member via the seal taking-out hole. However, if a size of the seal taking-out hole of the container is large, a pressure of the contents contained in the container forced to flow out from the seal taking-out hole becomes high, and accordingly, there is a problem in which a sealing performance of the taking-out hole sealing member that seals the seal taking-out hole deteriorates.
Further, in a case that a shape and a size of the opening of the container are different, the shape and the size of the seal taking-out member for sealing the opening are different, and the shape and the size of the seal taking-out hole individually is in a different shape and size corresponding to the shape and the size of the sealing member. Accordingly, in hitherto used containers, the taking-out hole sealing members having individually a different shape and size are required to be prepared corresponding to the shape and the size of the seal taking-out holes, and therefore, there has been a problem that selection of the sealing member for the taking-out hole becomes complicated.
The present invention is made in light of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel container and sealing member having a simple and inexpensive construction capable of preventing dirtying of an operator""s hands, clothing, and the like, due to contacting contents of a developer container stuck to a sealing member.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel container capable of suppressing flowing-out of its contents, and for which it is easy to select a sealing member for a taking-out hole that is additionally required.
As one feature, the novel sealing member is provided for sealing an opening of a container in which an opening sealing-face of the sealing member facing contents in the container is formed into a shape without being externally exposed, in accordance with an unsealing operation of the sealing member.
The novel sealing member can include a leader for pinching the sealing member when the sealing member is peeled off from a container, and the leader can extend outside of the container through a seal guide hole for forming the sealing member so that the opening sealing-face is formed into a shape without being externally exposed. A container can include an opening sealed with the novel sealing member, and a seal taking-out hole for taking out the sealing member when the opening is unsealed. A maximum measure of the seal taking-out hole can be formed into a size smaller than a width of a sealing portion rectangular to an unsealing direction of the sealing member. Further, a convex portion having a shape such that a face of the sealing member can be bent can be mounted on the seal taking-out hole. A covering portion can be provided for covering the opening sealing-face along with an unsealing operation for the opening from an end portion. The sealing member can also be formed into a cylindrical shape with a flexible material, and a part of the outer peripheral face of the sealing member seals the opening.
In a further feature, the novel sealing member can be composed of a lower sheet for sealing an opening of a container capable of being peeled off and an upper sheet fixed on the lower sheet with a pair of parts extending respectively in a peeling off direction, facing each other, in which an opening sealing face of the lower sheet which faces contents in the container when the opening is sealed enters between the lower sheet and the upper sheet during a peeling off operation of the sealing member from an end portion of the opening.
The novel container can also include an opening sealed with a sealing member having a leader, and a seal taking-out hole for taking out the sealing member when the opening is unsealed, in which the seal taking-out hole is sealed with a seal taking-out hole sealing member for preventing leakage and scattering of contents from the seal taking-out hole due to an unsealing of the opening by removing the sealing member, in which the taking-out hole sealing member is previously mounted at the seal taking-out hole of a container, preventing leakage and scattering of the contents, having a seal insertion hole for inserting the sealing member, in a state of the leader of the sealing member being externally exposed from the container through the seal insertion hole.

Sealing member which prevents contamination when removed and container having the sealing member


A pixel design for CMOS image sensors that has a high frame rate potential and, therefore, provides motion capture capabilities. The pixel is designed for global electronic shuttering so every pixel is exposed simultaneously to images incident upon the pixel array plane. The present invention has the advantages of: (1) Allowing the accommodation of changes in the pixel output groupings for different monochrome output format or CFA patterns with only changes in metal routing layers; (2) allowing true electronic shuttering to image moving scene with all the pixels having the same capture time windows; and (3) providing a symmetric global shutter gate and transfer gate to minimize pixel related fixed pattern noise. The pixel architecture provides for a CMOS based, active pixel image sensor comprising an array of pixels formed in rows and columns, with each of the pixels containing at least one active circuit element. There are a plurality of output channels formed such that each of the output channels are operatively connected to a subset of pixels wherein each of the pixel have an attribute that is the same. The pixel architecture also provides an output gate region and a shutter gate region that are symmetric about the center of the pixel. By arranging the shutter and transfer gates, a symmetric manner about the center of the pixel, a more efficient transfer of electrons to these gates is provided. A Pixel Output Bus structure allows configurable connections to column-wise signal busses that provide parallel output channels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of solid-state image sensing devices and, more specifically, to CMOS based active pixel sensors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
CMOS active pixel image sensors have been rapidly developed to supplement and replace charge-coupled devices in many applications. CMOS image sensors have advantages in low-power operation as well as the higher integration capabilities for on-chip signal processing and control functions that are available with CMOS technology. Therefore, the technology is suitable for many consumer applications, including low-cost portable imaging devices. CMOS based sensors allow for the incorporation of numerous functions onto a single chip. Various prior art references have disclosed Active Pixel Sensors based on CMOS that employ sense node connected to photodetectors through transfer gates. Typically a reset gate is provided that can be used for shuttering purposes. However, in the application areas of industrial cameras and high-frame rate recording, CMOS sensors have been handicapped by embodiments which employ row-by-row exposure controls which allows a slit shuttering mode that is not capable of simultaneous exposure of the entire CMOS pixel array. An additional shutter gate is added to provide direct reset of the photodetector independent of the transfer gate. However, the addition of the gate may cause increased fixed pattern noise due to non-optimal removal rates for charges stored within the photodetectors in the prior art devices.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be readily apparent that there remains a need within the art for a CMOS based Active Pixel Sensor design that provides for independent electronic shuttering while providing optimal removal rates for charges stored within the photodetectors.

Image sensor pixel for global electronic shuttering


A multi-speed transmission for transmitting power between a first shaft and a second shaft which includes a plurality of gear sets, a plurality of connector gears corresponding to the plurality of gear sets and a shifting mechanism. Each gear set includes a first gear rotatably disposed about the first shaft, a uni-directional free wheeling mechanism between the first gear and the first shaft, and a second gear coupled to the second shaft. The uni-directional free wheeling mechanism permits the first gear to freely rotate about the shaft when the first gear rotates in a preselected direction relative to the rotation of the first shaft and locks the first gear to the first shaft at all other times. The first and second gears are spaced apart from one another but may be interconnected by one of the plurality of connector gears. Each connector gear is movable between an engaged position, which mutually engages the first gear and the second gear, and a disengaged position. The shifting mechanism moves each one of the plurality of connector gears between the engaged position and the disengaged position. The shifting mechanism maintains at least one of the plurality of connector gears in the engaged position at all times. Each gear set includes a free-wheeling mechanism that allows two gear sets to be simultaneously engaged during the shifting sequence without a clutch or a neutral position between gear sets.

The present invention relates to a multi-speed transmission for transmitting power between a pair of shafts. In particular, the present invention relates to a multi-speed transmission wherein a uni-directional free wheeling mechanism is provided between a gear and its shaft so that the gear rotates freely about its shaft when the gear rotates in a preselected direction relative to the rotation of its shaft and so that the gear is locked to its shaft at all other times. As a result, only one gear set transmits power from an input shaft to an output shaft when a plurality of gears of the input shaft are interconnected to a plurality of gears of the output shaft.
Transmissions are utilized in a wide variety of vehicles and stationary equipment to transmit power and to change rotational speeds between input and output shafts. Generally, power is supplied to the input shaft either mechanically or non-mechanically. In applications where power is mechanically applied to the input shaft, a clutch mechanism is usually required to interrupt the transmission of power and to shift gear speeds.
Bicycles are examples where the power supply is provided to the input shaft by non-mechanical means. As a result, the rotation of the input shaft may be easily interrupted without a clutch mechanism. Bicycles typically include chain derailleur mechanisms for shifting a drive chain from one sprocket to an adjacent sprocket to change speed ratios. Most multi-speed bicycles have derailleurs and multiple sprockets at both the front pedal hubs and rear wheel hubs to provide a variety of speed ratios. Furthermore, most chain sprocket systems may be shifted under full power.
However, chain and sprocket systems suffer from several key disadvantages. The multiple sprockets at both the front pedal hubs and the rear wheel hubs are interconnected by the drive chain which extends along a substantial length of the bicycle. As a result, chain and sprocket systems are difficult to house or enclose. Consequently, the chain and sprockets are susceptible to damaging impacts and are exposed to road elements such as dirt and water. Damaging impacts may cause the derailleur mechanisms or sprockets to become bent or misaligned which may impair shifting between sprockets. Moreover, road elements may also come in contact with the derailleur, chain or sprocket to hamper shifting or even damage the components. As a result, the performance of chain and sprocket systems becomes impaired unless the chain and sprocket systems are periodically cleaned and adjusted.
In addition, chain and sprocket systems have inherent design limitations which limit the effective number of speed ratios which may be provided. As a result, chain and sprocket systems do not provide as many speed ratios as indicated by their conventional designations. For example, a bicycle having three sprockets at the front pedal hub and seven sprockets at the rear wheel hub is conventionally designated as a "21 speed" bicycle. Although the bicycle has 21 sprocket combinations, the "21 speed" bicycle actually provides only 11 speed ratios as illustrated by Table 1. Table 1 shows twenty-one sprocket combinations and their associated speed ratios for a typical "21-speed" bicycle. Table 1 also shows the percent of change between speed ratios of adjacent sprocket combinations.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Speed Ratios and Percent of Change of "21-Sprocket Combination" Chain and Sprocket System Pedal Hub Sprocket Teeth 48 38 28 Rear Percent Rear Percent Rear Percent Hub of Hub of Hub of Teeth Ratio Change Teeth Ratio Change Teeth Ratio Change ______________________________________ 30 3.69 15.4 26 3.20 13.3 23 2.82 30 2.92 17.6 15.4 20 2.40 26 2.53 15.0 13.3 17 2.09 23 2.24 30 2.15 13.0 17.6 15.4 15 1.85 20 1.90 26 1.87 15.4 15.0 13.3 13 1.60 17 1.65 23 1.65 13.0 17.6 15 1.46 20 1.40 15.4 15.0 13 1.27 17 1.22 13.0 15 1.08 15.4 13 0.93 ______________________________________
As shown in bold by Table 1, the speed ratios provided by the second hub sprocket having 38 teeth and the third hub sprocket having 28 teeth are redundant except for the two lower speed ratios of each sprocket. Similarly, an 18 speed system provides only 10 effective ratios, a 14-speed system provides only 9 effective ratios and a 12-speed system provides only 8 effective ratios.
As further illustrated by Table 1, chain and sprocket systems also fail to provide a smooth power curve. The number of teeth in the rear hub sprockets of chain and sprocket systems are typically selected so as to provide a degree of uniformity in speed ratios when used in conjunction with the pedal hub sprockets. However, because the number of teeth and the size of sprockets used on bicycles is limited, the combinations of front and rear sprocket teeth are also limited. As a result, chain and sprocket systems result in an erratic percent of change between speed ratios which results in a poor power curve. A preferred power curve for most bicycle applications would have a lower percent of change between lower speed ratios and a higher "overdrive" percent of change between higher speed ratios.
Furthermore, chain and sprocket systems require extensive shifting of both the front and rear sprockets. For example, shifting of the front sprocket may require additional shifting of the rear sprocket by several ranges just to maintain the same speed ratio. In addition, chain and sprocket systems also require shifting twice or "cross-shifting" to reach all speed ratios. As illustrated in Table 1 for the 21-sprocket combination bicycle, shifting from the highest speed ratio of the pedal hub sprocket with 28 teeth to the next higher speed ratio would require first shifting to the pedal hub sprocket with 38 teeth and then shifting from the rear hub sprocket with 30 teeth to the rear hub sprocket with 26 teeth. This extensive shifting is difficult as well as confusing.
In an attempt to protect chain and sprocket systems from road elements such as dirt and water, several modifications have been made to multi-speed bicycle transmissions. For example, Hartman U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,433 (Hartman '433) discloses an enclosed multiple speed drive for mountain bicycles. Hartman '433 discloses four drive gears rotatably mounted on a drive carrier and three drive gears rotatably mounted on a driven carrier. Each gear is meshed with a corresponding gear on each of four countershafts. Hartman '433 utilizes a first gear selector to lock a selected drive gear to the drive gear carrier and a second gear selector to lock a selected driven gear to the driven gear carrier. The shifting arrangement of Hartman '433 requires that each gear selector be moved to a neutral position before engaging a successive gear. As a result, the transmission does not provide continuous power while shifting. In addition, because two shifting mechanisms are employed, "cross-shifting" is required to reach all possible speed ratios. Furthermore, the selection of speed ratios is also limited because the distance from the center line of the gear carrier to the center line of the countershaft is fixed and the sum of the radii of each gear set must exactly match this preset distance. The free-wheeling mechanism shown in FIG. 4 of Hartman '433 is external to the transmission and allows the rear wheel to continue to rotate if the rider ceases pedalling. Because all thirty-five gears of Hartman '433 are meshed and rotating continuously, the transmission of Hartman creates considerable friction and results in wasted effort on the part of the rider.
Similarly, Bailey U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,714 (Bailey '714) describes an enclosed multi-gear transmission that requires reverse pedalling to shift gears. However, as with Hartman '433, the transmission of Bailey '714 does not allow for shifting under continuous power. Bailey '714 discloses gears rotatably positioned about the pedal shaft. Each gear includes an internal pawl disposed in a pawl slot within a pedal shaft Bailey '714 changes or shifts gear speeds by axially positioning a single pawl selector finger within a channel adjacent the slot within the pedal shaft to cause a selected pawl of a selected gear to engage the selected gear so as to couple the shaft to the selected gear. Movement of the pawl selector finger out from under the selected pawl causes the selected pawl to retract within the slot and to be completely disengaged from its corresponding gear. By selectively positioning the pawl selector finger, different pawls may be forced into engagement with their respective gears to provide different speed ratios. As the pawl selector finger 108 is axially moved between pawls, power from the pedal shaft is not transmitted to the output shaft via any gears. The shifting arrangement of Bailey '714 does not provide continuous power while shifting. Because the individual pawls of each gear are not biased so as to be in constant engagement with each pawl's respective gear, the pawls of Bailey '714 do not automatically lock the input shaft to the gear in response to the relative rotational directions of the pedal shaft and the gear.
Moreover, because the center line of the gear shafts are a fixed dimension apart, the transmission of Bailey '714 also provides only a restricted number of different gear radii and speed ratios. As in Hartman '433, the transmission of Bailey '714 requires that all of the gears mesh with one another and rotate continuously. Consequently, a considerable amount of friction and wasted effort results.


An assembly for tanning in which a canopy containing both a source of fluorescent tanning lamps and electronic ballasts is attached to and able to rotate about the upper end of a pivoting arm. The lower end of the pivoting arm is inserted within and able to rotate about a leg of a base which is in the shape of a dog leg, the bend being in the plane of rotation of the pivoting arm. A counterbalancing member is attached to both the base and to the pivoting arm near the dog leg bend. The planes of rotation of both the pivoting arm and the counterbalancing member lie on the closed side of the "U" shape of the base. The pivoting arm may be rotated about its connection to the base, such that the entire assembly is placed in a compressed condition. In this compressed condition, a strap attached to either the canopy or pivoting arm can be attached to the base to maintain the assembly in the compressed condition during transport and storage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention presents improvements to the methods of arranging and supporting tanning assemblies.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many tanning canopies are supported on an arm that holds the canopy from above its center, with the arm supported by a vertical, telescoping member that attaches to a base. This type of canopy uses a lock to secure the canopy in the desired rotational position.
Fluorescent lamps are generally used for creation of the tanning radiant energy. Such lamps require ballasts to modify their electrical power and prevent excessive power consumption. Often these ballasts are mounted in the base. Because of this the center of gravity is low, causing the assembly to be stable when used, but requiring substantial wiring and manufacturing costs.
In at least one design, the sun tanning canopy is supported by a pivoting arm attached rotatably to both the canopy and base. The weight of the canopy and the arm is counterbalanced by a counterbalancing member attached to both the pivoting arm and the base. The attachment of the counterbalance to the pivoting arm is through a bracket attached to the side of the arm.
Bases used to support tanning canopies are often arranged in a "T" or "U" shape. In at least one design with a "T" shaped base, the electrical ballasts are located in a box arrangement on the base, which necessitates the use of electrical wiring up a telescoping arm to transmit power to the canopy for the fluorescent lamps. In another design with a pivoting arm and a "U" shaped base, the counterbalancing member is arranged such that, when viewed from above, it lies on the open side of the "U".
A tanning canopy supported on a pivoting arm may be ccmpressed into a relatively flat position against the base. However, if the canopy is then tilted or lifted such that the base no longer supports a sufficient weight of the canopy, then the counterbalancing member may extend the base.


A system and method for mounting a length of material such as a canvas or sheet delimited by edges substantially in one plane. A plurality of engagement members is attached on the back of the canvas or sheet adjacent corners of the canvas or sheet between two edges or along two opposite edges thereof. These engagement members are forced apart by fitting one or more mounting members in between.

A mounted canvas or sheet, the object of which is to show an image on the image side thereof, such as a poster, a photograph, a thin (roll-up) screen, a projection screen and the like, should preferably remain flat during use.
One problem when mounting such a canvas or sheet is the fact that the latter cannot easily be mounted so that it is truly flat. Every canvas or sheet has a tendency to curl along the edges when it is being mounted. This is due to the fact that the tension along the edges is lower than in the centre, resulting in the edges between the corners being slack. Thus, the edges may start to curl or flap. Wrinkling also occurs easily and a conventionally mounted canvas or sheet is sensitive to external factors, such as pressure, temperature and humidity, as a result of which the canvas or sheet may deform. Partly due to this, the canvas or sheet is not perfectly flat, despite having been mounted.

Method and system for mounting a canvas or sheet substantially in one plane


Compositions, methods and kits are provided that are useful, for example, for determining activities of multiple cis-regulatory sequences, such as promoters and enhancers, and/or multiple trans-acting factors, such as transcription factors, in a cell. In particular, in certain embodiments, compositions are provided comprising a population of polynucleotide reporter transcription units (RTUs) in which each RTU comprises a reporter sequence, a processing tag located in the reporter sequence; and a cis-regulatory element operably linked to the reporter sequence, wherein the reporter sequences between any two RTUs in the population, outside of the processing tags, are substantially identical and wherein the positions of the processing tags within the reporter sequences distinguish between any two RTUs differing, for example, in their cis-regulatory elements. The compositions, methods and kits can further be used, for example, to identify a cell type or disease state, for example, in a biological organism.

Cell identity and behavior are determined by the repertoire of genes that are expressed within the particular cell. Of approximately 26,000 genes that are present in the human genome, only a fraction is expressed within a particular cell type at a given time. Cells alter the pattern of gene expression in order to accommodate the changing environment. Multiple mechanisms are employed by the cell to regulate gene expression. For instance, regulatory sequences such as promoters and enhancers, which are usually found in untranslated regions of genes, contain elements that are specifically recognized by intracellular DNA-binding proteins that are called transcription factors (TFs). The binding of transcription factors to their cognate sites in a regulatory sequence controls the recruitment of the basal transcription machinery that initiates gene transcription. The ability of cis-regulatory sequences and transcription factors to activate transcription is referred to as the transcriptional activity. Gene expression is also known to be regulated at the post-transcriptional level. For example, many RNAs contain cis-regulatory elements that regulate the maturation, stability, and or degradation of RNA transcripts. The multiple mechanisms of regulating transcript levels allow cells to maintain the homeostatic regulation of gene expression.
Impairments of the finely tuned regulation can cause cell death, transformation, or metabolic diseases. Therefore, it is important to put in place technologies that enable the assessment of the activities of the machinery that controls gene expression.
For example, easily detected reporter proteins, such as luciferase, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, and green fluorescent protein, can be made to be expressed by reporter constructs that are introduced into a cell. Detecting reporter proteins, however, is not well suited for assays intended to measure multiple transcriptional activities. This is due, in part, to the relatively small numbers of protein products amenable to convenient and rapid detection, and to the differences in transcribed amounts and stabilities between different reporter proteins.
Another broad class of approaches to assess gene expression is based on the evaluation of the amounts of gene transcripts, e.g., Northern blotting, reverse transcription PCR, and RNA array hybridization. However, as RNA abundance is regulated by many mechanisms, including the transcriptional regulation, RNA processing, accumulation, and degradation, these methods provide limited information about the activities of cis-regulatory sequences and trans-acting factors. Moreover, while the use of reporter construct libraries to detect multiple transcription factor activities have been described (see, e.g., U.S. patent application Publication Ser. Nos. 2003/0148287 and 2003/0143547), the problems associated detecting RNA abundance, including differences in the transcription levels, methylation, stability, hybridization efficacy, and susceptibilities to RNAses, that exist between different reporter RNAs expressed by reporter construct libraries, have not been addressed.
As transcription factors need to bind their cognate DNA sequence in order to initiate transcription, DNA binding has been widely used as a marker of transcription factor activation. Gel-shift assay, also known as EMSA, is a classical method for assessing DNA binding. However, many mechanisms exist that can effect the activity of transcription factors at multiple levels of regulation independently from DNA binding (Baldwin (2001) J Clin Invest 107:241-246). Therefore, DNA binding assays provide only limited information about the ability of transcription factors to activate transcription.
As impaired regulation of various transcription factors has been associated with various human diseases, including chronic inflammatory conditions, autoimmunity, and cancer (see, e.g., Makarov (2000) Mol Med Today 6:441-448; Baldwin et al. (2001) J. Clin Invest 107:241-246), transcription factors are considered attractive targets for drug development. To screen libraries of synthetic or biological compounds for their ability to selectively modulate the transcriptional activity of transcription factors of interest, one needs an appropriate assay enabling high throughput profiling of numerous transcription factors. To start addressing these questions, the art requires technology that permits the profiling of the activities of numerous transcription factors. The progress in this area has been hampered by the lack of adequate tools.

Reporter transcription unit populations and kits comprising same


A system and methods for performing phased reconfiguration in a wireless communications system are disclosed. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) may perform a phased reconfiguration from a source cell to a target cell. The WTRU may be connected to the source cell and may execute a first set of functions towards the source cell. The WTRU may monitor for a first set of preconfigured trigger conditions and a second set of preconfigured trigger conditions. The WTRU may commence a second set of functions towards the target cell based on detection of at least one of the first set of preconfigured trigger conditions while continuing to execute the first set of functions towards the source cell. The WTRU may cease to perform at least a subset of the first set of functions towards the source cell based on detection of at least one of the second set of preconfigured trigger conditions.

Mobile communications have progressed through several generations of technical specifications. New use cases generally contribute to setting the requirements for each new generation, such as 5G. New use cases for 5G systems may be any case where technical requirements differ from what is already available. A non-limiting list of examples are: improved broadband performance (IBB); industrial control and communications (ICC); vehicular applications (V2X); and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC). For 5G systems, New Radio (NR) radio interface and access technologies need to be defined to address the new technical demands of new use cases.

System and methods for phased reconfiguration in wireless systems


A low-density parity check min-sum decoder including a variable node processing unit having N+1 inputs. A first bank of N+1 two-input adders each have an associated output, and at least one of the N+1 inputs go to more than two of the adders of the first bank. A second bank of N two-input adders has no adders in common with the first bank. At least one of the adders of the first bank provides its associated output to more than one adder of the second bank. The banks of adders are disposed in series. A sign module outputs a sign value produced from one of the inputs and an output from one of the adders of the second bank. N+1 outputs are provided, where one of the outputs is the sign value.

Low density parity-check (LDPC) codes were first proposed by Gallager in 1962, and then "rediscovered" by MacKay in 1996. LDPC codes have been shown to achieve an outstanding performance that is very close to the Shannon transmission limit. However it is very difficult to build an efficient hardware implementation of a circuit for decoding LDPC codes. All existing hardware implementations of LDPC decoding algorithms suffer from low speed and large area and power requirements. It is very important to develop an LDPC-decoder that has better speed, area, and power characteristics than the existing implementations.
The most promising algorithm for decoding LDPC-codes is so the called min-sum algorithm. Generally speaking this algorithm performs two main operations                1. Find a minimum number among a given set of signed numbers, and        2. For a given group of signed numbers A1, . . . , AN and a signed number M calculate:Si=S−Ai,wherei=1, . . . N, S=A1+ . . . +AN+M, andSIGN=sign(S)={0, if S≧0; 1, if S<0}.
A typical hardware implementation of this algorithm represents the LDPC decoder as a set of multiple node processing units performing operations (1) and (2) as given above. There are two types of units:
1. So-called "check node processing units" (CNU) that perform operation (1), and
2. So-called "variable node processing units" (VNU) that perform operation (2).
The decoder may contain up to thousands of these two units working in parallel. One hardware realization of a VNU as depicted in FIG. 1 contains N-input adder module (denoted by the "+" sign) for calculating the total sum S, and N two-input subtractor modules (denoted by the "−" sign) for calculating "partial" sums Si.
What is needed, therefore, is a VNU that improves—at least in part—the speed, area, and power characteristics of the VNU, and therefore enables the construction of a better LDPC decoder.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


Apparatus and methods to analyze downhole fluids are described herein. A disclosed example method involves obtaining a sample of a downhole fluid, and depressurizing at least a portion of the sample. Additionally, a disclosed example method involves ionizing at least the portion of the sample, and analyzing the ionized portion of the sample to determine a parameter of the downhole fluid.

Drilling, completion, and production of reservoir wells involve measuring various subsurface formation parameters. Companies often measure percentages of oil, water, and gas mixtures contained in representative fluid samples drawn from wells to determine fluid composition or fluid quality. A detailed description of the fluid properties and characteristics is desirable for an accurate modeling of the fluids in the reservoir and to determine the economic value of producing hydrocarbons from the reservoir well.
Historically, the fluid samples were brought to the surface for analysis in a laboratory, but recent developments have facilitated directly measuring fluid properties downhole during a pumping or sampling sequence using downhole fluid analysis (DFA) techniques. In contrast to laboratory analyses or surface wellsite analyses, which may require a relatively extended amount of time to produce results and may result in undesirable phase transitions as well as the loss of key constituents in samples, DFA techniques may be used to perform fluid analysis in situ and to provide analysis results in real-time.
Known techniques for determining characteristics of a formation fluid often involve performing spectroscopic analysis at a particular wavelength to measure an optical response of the formation fluid that is indicative of the presence of a particular molecule. Additionally, known techniques for determining the characteristics of a formation fluid often involve performing a resistivity analysis of the formation fluid to facilitate a determination of composition of the formation fluid. However, known fluid analysis techniques typically target a limited of analytes, such as methane, carbon dioxide, water, or groups of analytes, such as alkanes having six or more carbon atoms in the molecule.

Apparatus and methods to analyze downhole fluids using ionized fluid samples


A hair iron comprises a pair of holding members having a heating surface and/or a pressing surface oppositionally on their interior surfaces being joined so that they can be flexibly opened and closed via a joint member at their ends. Furthermore, a slip preventing surface, a fingertip fitting cup and/or a finger trapping loop is formed on the exterior surface of at least one of the holding members at a position where the fingers A straddle the joint member so that a bundle of hair can be ironed flexibly by a simple finger operation.

The present invention relates to a hair iron to straighten hair by a finger operation, and in particular to a castanet-like hair iron which makes it possible to iron freely by a simple finger operation.
A conventional hair iron has a plane, elongated, virtually rectangular shape, having a heating surface on the interior surface of one end of an arm-like holder bar so that in an ironing operation, a user has to hold the end of a joint member in a position remote from the heating surface. Therefore, the operation is extremely difficult for females having a weak grip.
FIG. 15 shows a perspective view of a conventional arm-like hair iron. This arm-like hair iron 101 comprises elongated rectangular holding members 104 and 105, which are joined via a joint member 106 for flexible opening and closing and have a heating surface 102 and a pressing surface 103 oppositionally on their interior surfaces. Hair ironing operation with this hair iron 101 is performed by gripping the holding members 104 and 105 with fingers A, sandwiching a bundle of hair between the abovementioned heating surface 102 and pressing surface 103 positioned remote from the fingers A and the palm, and controlling the force on the holding members 104 and 105 to iron the bundle of hair. However, in the abovementioned arm-like hair iron 101, it is difficult to control the force because the part for gripping with the fingers A is positioned remote from the abovementioned heating surface and pressing surface when the arm-like holding members 104 and 105 having the abovementioned heating surface 102 and pressing surface 103 oppositionally on their interior surfaces are gripped with the fingers A. This makes it difficult especially for females with a weak grip to sandwich the bundle of hair between the abovementioned heating surface 102 and pressing surface 103 to perform ironing with force. Furthermore, since the heating surface is positioned remote from the fingers, it takes considerable time to master the hair ironing operation which requires a delicate force control.
In a castanet-like hair iron of the present invention, holding members are not conventional arm-like, elongated, virtually rectangular-shaped, but castanet-shaped, in which the reverse sides of the heating surface and pressing surface, namely the exterior surface of the holding members can be directly gripped so that the reverse sides of the heating surface and pressing surface of the holding members, namely the exterior surface of the holding members having the heating surface and the pressing surface oppositionally in their interior surfaces can be pressed with the thumb and the other 3 or 4 fingers while the palm supports the area where the fingers straddle the joining part of said holding members. Thus, the heating surface and the pressing surface can be manipulated more accurately, delicately and easily than those in the conventional arm-like hair iron so that the hair ironing can be flexibly performed.
In order to solve the abovementioned problems associated with the conventional arm-like hair iron, the present invention provides a castanet-like hair iron in which a heating surface and a pressing surface are oppositionally placed on the interior surfaces of a pair of plane, virtually square holding members joined with a joint member at their ends so as to realize an easy hair ironing operation.
Namely, the present invention is fundamentally composed of the following configurations.
(1) A castanet-like hair iron characterized in that a pair of holding members having a heating surface and a pressing surface oppositionally on their interior surfaces are joined via a joint member at their ends and flexibly opened and closed by the pressing force of the palm and fingers which straddle said joint member.
(2) A castanet-like hair iron as described in (1) above, wherein hair heating surfaces are placed oppositionally.
(3) A castanet-like hair iron as described in (1) or (2) above, wherein the exterior surfaces of said holding members are smooth surfaces.
(4) A castanet-like hair iron as described in (1), (2) or (3) above, wherein a slip preventing surface to prevent the fingers from slipping is provided on the exterior surface of at least one of said holding members in immediate proximity to a position where the fingers straddle the joint member.
(5) A castanet-like hair iron as described in any one of (1) through (4) above, wherein said slip preventing surfaces have continuous or discontinuous grooves formed parallel to and/or at right angles to the fingers.
(6) A castanet-like hair iron as described in any one of (1) through (5) above, wherein a fingertip fitting cup to prevent the fingers from slipping is provided on the exterior surface of at least one of said holding members in immediate proximity to a position where the fingers straddle the joint member.
(7) A castanet-like hair iron as described in any one of (1) through (6) above, wherein a finger trapping loop to prevent the fingers from slipping is provided on the exterior surface of at least one of said holding members in immediate proximity to a position where the fingers straddle the joint member.
(8) A castanet-like hair iron as described in (7) above, wherein said finger trapping loop is made of an elastic material in multiple numbers for individual fingers or in one loop for multiple fingers.
(9) A castanet-like hair iron as described in any one of (1) through (8) above, wherein a slip preventing surface, a fingertip fitting cup and/or a finger trapping loop to prevent the fingers from slipping are provided on the exterior surface of at least one of said holding members in immediate proximity to a position where the fingers straddle the joint member.
(10) A castanet-like hair iron as described in any one of (1) through (9) above, wherein the holding members can be strongly pulled in the side direction by grasping them with the palm or fingers at a position so as to straddle the joint member so that a bunch of hair can be ironed to the tip in one stroke by pulling the hair in the side direction while sandwiching it between the holding members.
(11) A castanet-like hair iron as described in any one of (1) through (10) above, wherein an exterior connecting member is extended from the side of the joint member at a position separate from the joining end of said holding members.
In a castanet-like hair iron of the present invention, the holding members having a heating surface and/or a pressing surface oppositionally on their interior surfaces are held with fingers so as to be sandwiched in the palm straddling a joint member which joins said holding members so that an opening and closing motion of the holding members and an opening and closing operation of the fingers are unified. As a result, the hair iron can be easily held and the opening and closing of the holding members can be flexibly and firmly controlled by a delicate finger operation.
Furthermore, in a castanet-like hair iron of the present invention which is operated by placing fingers to straddle said joint member, erroneous actions associated with the opening and closing motion of the holding members can be prevented by providing a slip preventing surface on the exterior surface of at least one of the holding members to prevent the fingers from slipping, although a plain surface on the exterior surface of the holding members causes no problem in operation.
Furthermore, in a castanet-like hair iron of the present invention, a cup is appropriately formed on the exterior surface of at least one of the holding members, corresponding to the thumb and/or a fingertip of the index finger, the middle finger and/or the third finger, which makes it possible to unify the pressing force of the finger and the opening and closing motion of the holding members by fitting the finger in the cup. As a result, the hair iron can be held more securely and the opening and closing of the holding members can be flexibly controlled by a delicate finger operation to provide the desired pressure on the bundle of hair.
Furthermore, in a hair iron of the present invention, since a slip preventing surface to prevent the fingers from slipping or a cup to fit fingertips is provided on the exterior surface of one or both of the holding members, a strong pulling action in the side direction becomes possible so that a bunch of hair can be ironed to the tip in one stroke by pulling the hair to the side while sandwiching it between the holding members, which improves the flexibility of the ironing operation. Similar ironing is possible by providing a finger trapping loop into which a fingertip can be inserted. Further, the exterior connecting member is extended from the side of the joint member in a position separate from the end of the joint member side of said holding members so that the fingers can straddle the joint member without being interfered by the exterior connecting member. As a result, workability can be secured even in cases where a power source or any other exterior connecting member is installed.
Embodiments of the invention will be explained as follows.
A castanet-like hair iron of the present invention is to be explained by several examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.
In a hair iron of the present invention, a pair of holding members having a heating surface and a pressing surface oppositionally on their interior surfaces are joined so that they can be opened and closed via a joint member at their ends. An external connecting member such as a cord for a power source is extended from the side of said holding member at a position separate from the end of the joint member. Unfolding springs are installed on both holding members to realize flexible opening and closing.
In this case, it is preferable to provide a slip preventing surface on the exterior surface of at least one of the holding members to prevent the fingers from slipping, although a plain surface on the exterior surface of the holding members causes no problem in operation. On the slip preventing surface, a number of fine, continuous or discontinuous grooves are formed parallel to and/or at right angles to the fingers to make the surface highly frictional.
Furthermore, a cup into which a fingertip of the thumb, the index finger, the middle finger, or the third finger can fit is appropriately formed on the exterior surface of at least one of the holding members. Of course, it is possible to provide both a slip preventing surface and a cup.
Furthermore, in order to secure the opening and closing operation of the holding members, a finger trapping loop to secure a finger is formed on the exterior surface of at least one of the abovementioned holding members, which makes the operation easier. This finger trapping loop placed in a position for fingers straddling the joint member is used to insert fingers for opening and closing of the holding members. This finger trapping loop is made in multiple numbers for individual fingers or in one loop for all fingers for an effective operation of both holding members.


A new and distinct cultivar of Gaura plant named ‘Little Janie’, characterized by its white and rose bicolored flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, upright growth habit, is disclosed.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Gaura plant botanically known as Gaura lindheimeri and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Little Janie'.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Elburn, Ill. during June 2005. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Gaura cultivars that are free flowering with a more compact growth habit.
The new Gaura cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Gaura lindheimeri breeding selection coded 0024-B2-B2, not patented, characterized by its dark rose-colored flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, semi-upright growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Gaura lindheimeri breeding selection coded 0032-A1-4, not patented, characterized by its light blush-pink colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, semi-upright growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during November 2012 in a controlled environment in Elburn, Ill.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since November 2012 in Elburn, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.