The disclosure relates to a data source-based service customizing device, method and system, and a computer readable storage medium. The data source-based service customizing device includes: a memory, a processor and the data source-based service customizing system stored on the memory and operated on the processor. The data source-based service customizing system is executed by the processor to implement the following steps: acquiring user generated contents in various predetermined data sources; recognizing the user generated contents by using a user group label recognition model generated by pre-training to recognize user group labels corresponding to the various data sources; determining group services corresponding to the various data sources according to a predetermined mapping relation between the user group labels and the group services, and sending the various data sources and the corresponding group services to a predetermined terminal to perform group service customization on the various data sources.

A UGC (User Generated Content) is a content created by a user in participation of a website or other open media. This content can be independently transmitted, displayed and played, for example, microblogs, BBS discussions, user-made audios/videos, questions and answers, various netnews, etc. At the present, many financial companies (for example, banks, insurance companies, etc.) analyze these user generated contents, and determine a behavior characteristic label of the user, thus customizing (promoting) a corresponding service according to the behavior characteristic label of the user.
However, with regard to massive user generated contents on the network, this solution of determining the behavior characteristic label of each user and customizing the service for each user would lead to an extremely large limitation to the customization of the services, so that the service customization efficiency is low.

Data source-based service customizing device, method and system, and storage medium


Plasma processing equipment having a structure for preventing gap formation includes: a chamber inside which a plasma environment is formed; an upper electrode positioned at a upper position of the chamber; an electrostatic chuck positioned at a lower position of the electrostatic chuck, having a lower electrode and holding a wafer on a top surface thereof; a ring positioned at an outer side of the electrostatic chuck; and a gap prevention unit for isolating from the outside a space between the electrostatic chuck and the ring.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to plasma processing equipment and, more particularly, to a structure for preventing gap formation, which prevents plasma deposition in the space between a chuck and a ring, and plasma processing equipment having the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Generally, a semiconductor device is fabricated by selectively and repeatedly performing certain fabrication processes, such as photolithography, etching, ashing, diffusion, chemical vapor deposition, ion implantation, metal deposition, and the like, on a wafer.
Among the aforementioned semiconductor device fabrication processes, an etching process is divided into a wet etching process and a dry etching process.
The dry etching process etches a layer material formed on a wafer, by supplying a reactive gas into a chamber to form plasma in the chamber, and using a chemical and physical reaction of reactive ions to perform the etching.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of conventional plasma processing equipment used for a dry etching process.
In FIG. 1, the conventional plasma processing equipment comprises: a chamber, an electrostatic chuck, an upper electrode, and a gas supply unit. The electrostatic chuck is positioned inside the chamber, holds a wafer on which a layer material is formed, and has a lower electrode. The upper electrode is positioned in the chamber to be above the electrostatic chuck. The gas supply unit supplies a reactive gas into the chamber.
Therefore, when the reactive gas is supplied from the gas supply unit into the chamber and RF power is applied from an external power source to the upper and lower electrodes, a plasma environment is formed inside the chamber.
Specifically, the conventional plasma processing equipment includes a focus ring at an outer side of the electrostatic chuck. The focus ring is composed of a silicon material and surrounds the outer side of the electrostatic chuck. Therefore, the focus ring allows a plasma generation region to be uniformly formed on the wafer held on the electrostatic chuck.
A number of rings are positioned around the focus ring. This constitution will be described in more detail hereinbelow.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the electrostatic chuck 20 has a stepped part around its outside circumference. The focus ring 30 is positioned on the stepped part. A number of other rings are positioned at an outer side of the focus ring 30. These other rings are positioned at the outside circumference of the electrostatic chuck 20 and include a holder ring 50 positioned under the focus ring 30, an outer ring positioned at an outer side of the holder ring 50, and a cover ring positioned on the outer ring and covering the outer side of the focus ring.
A gap is formed in the spaces between the outer circumference surfaces of the holder ring 50 and the focus ring 30 and between the rings, thereby forming channels, as represented by the arrows shown in FIG. 1. A gap is present that is an exhaust channel through which the gas is exhausted after the process is performed inside the chamber.
Among the conventional plasma processing equipment, the Me_SCCM equipment of TEL includes a rubber element 31 composed of the silicon (Si) material. The rubber element 31 is interposed between the electrostatic chuck 20 and the focus ring 30 to improve thermal conductivity of the focus ring 30.
The rubber element 31 is interposed between the bottom surface of the focus ring 30 and the stepped part of the electrostatic chuck 20, as illustrated in FIG. 1.
An operation of the conventional plasma processing equipment in the aforementioned constitution will be described below.
Referring to FIG. 1, an external power supply (not shown) applies the RF power to the upper and lower electrodes (not shown). The gas supply unit supplies the reactive gas into the chamber. Therefore, the reactive gas supplied into the chamber is formed as plasma inside the chamber by the RF power. Reaction ions of the plasma are attracted towards the wafer W by the self bias electric potential of the wafer, and the attracted reaction ions etch the layer material formed on the wafer W.
Then, the reaction ions etch an inner circumference surface of the focus ring 30 and an outer circumference surface of the electrostatic chuck 20 that are in contact with each other, to form a gap B between the inner circumference surface of the focus ring 30 and the outer circumference surface of the electrostatic chuck 20. Therefore, in the conventional plasma processing equipment, because the reaction ions introduced through the gap B flow along the channel following the arrow directions shown in FIG. 1, the rubber element 31 positioned at the stepped part of the electrostatic chuck 20 becomes burned.
Moreover, after etching, the reaction ions pass through the channel along the direction of the arrows, to be exhausted outside the chamber. Then, in the conventional plasma processing equipment, after the reaction at high temperatures, the reaction ions burn the rubber element 31, as indicated above.
Furthermore, in the conventional plasma processing equipment, polymers or other byproducts, which are generated when the layer material formed on the wafer W is etched by the reaction ions, accumulate or flow into the inside of the channel along the direction of the arrows shown in FIG. 1.

Structure for preventing gap formation and plasma processing equipment having the same


Systems and methods for electronically processing financial transactions involving corporate checks. A front end device at a location associated with a merchant and a check processing service configured to detect and process corporate checks. In one embodiment, the detection of the corporate check is achieved at the front end device by reading of an auxiliary on-us field in the check's magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) line. Such information denoting the check as a corporate check is used by the check processing service to at least partially base its assessment of whether to approve and process the corporate check electronically.

1. Field
The present teachings generally relate to processing of financial transactions and in particular, relates to processing of electronic transactions involving corporate checks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many check transactions between a customer and a merchant begin electronically at a point of purchase associated with the merchant. One way to convert a check to an electronic information is to scan the check at the point of purchase. The check may be scanned to generate a substantially full image or a partial image. The scanning of the check typically includes reading of the check's magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) line having information that facilitates subsequent electronic processing of the check. Typically, the information obtained from the scanned check is transmitted to a check processing service that processes the check transaction in a variety of manners.
In a typical electronic processing of a check, the electronic check information is transmitted from the merchant to the check processing service. The processing service then determines whether the check transaction should be approved based on factors such as risk assessment and the level of service subscribed by the merchant. If the check transaction is approved, the processing service may forward the transaction information to an Automated Clearing House (ACH) for paperless execution of appropriate debit and credit entries for the customer and the merchant. Such electronic processing of checks is substantially advantageous in both efficiency and cost.
Conventional systems and methods for processing checks in the foregoing manner are usually geared for processing of personal checks. Personal checks differ from corporate checks in the physical formats of the checks, as well as in the manner in which they are processed. Consequently, when a corporate check is presented to a merchant, it usually cannot be processed in a similar manner as the personal checks to thereby enjoy the benefits associated with electronic check processing. Thus from the foregoing, there is an ongoing need for an improved approach to the manner in which electronic financial transactions involving corporate checks are conducted.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for generating transaction receipts


A method of dividing a clock signal by an input signal of N bits with M most significant bits is described herein. The method includes dividing the clock signal by the most significant bits of the input signal 2N-M−1 times out of 2N-M divisions of the clock signal, using a divider. The clock signal is divided by a sum of the most significant bits and the least significant bits one time out of 2N-M divisions of the clock signal, using the divider. The clock signal is also divided by 2N-M, 2N-M times, using the divider.

Phase-locked loops are widely employed in radio, telecommunications, smartphones, computers, and other electronic applications. They can be used in circuits which function to demodulate a signal, recover a signal from a noisy communication channel, generate a stable frequency at multiples of an input frequency, or distribute precisely timed clock pulses in digital logic circuits such as microprocessors.
Such phase-locked loops typically employ asynchronous counters and dividers to divide a clock signal down to another frequency. However, asynchronous counters have a maximum operation frequency that decreases as the number of bits of the divisor used increases due to the delay in each of its stages due to ripple. In addition, power consumption increases as the number of bits of the divisor increases.
Therefore, new designs for asynchronous counters that can work at higher frequencies and consume less power are desirable.

Asynchronous high-speed programmable divider


A backup-type power supply system aims to integrate power output according to different potentials through different power supply modules. Each power supply module includes backup-type N+1 power supply devices and an independent power balance unit to output power in a balanced fashion so that users can add the power supply module of independent potential according requirements. Thereby transformation power loss of the power supply devices can be reduced. The power supply devices can be designed with different specifications and dimensions corresponding to different electronic devices.

The conventional backup-type power supply system for an industrial computer usually adopts a N+M combination mode to maintain continuous operation of the industrial computer without interrupting power supply. In general, "N" means the number of power supply devices that can jointly meet the total power requirement of the industrial computer, and "M" means the number of power supply devices allowable in the malfunction condition. The commonly adopted design is N+1 architecture. In the event that one of the power supply devices malfunctions, the system generates an alarm signal to alert operators to perform repairs or replacement.
The present power supply device mostly adopts a design of signal input power and multiple output power at varying potentials. The common output potentials are 12V, 5V and 3.3V. Each power supply device has to distribute same amount of power. Hence the conventional power supply devices mostly have same specifications and dimensions. The specifications can be divided into 1U-4U. However, as the technologies of multimedia and Internet advance, power requirements of electronic devices increase significantly. But the technology of the power supply devices does not change very much. They merely adopt transformer elements with improved material characteristics to increase output power, such as 600 W-750 W. In practice, the power supply devices are constrained by the standard specifications and have limited power enhancement. As the number of power supply devices can be installed on a chassis usually is restricted, to meet the fast increasing power requirement of the electronic devices becomes difficult or even impossible. Moreover, the present requirement of enhancing power for electronic devices often focuses on a selected potential, especially 12V. But the generally adopted technique for enhancing the power of the power supply device takes the average enhancement approach rather than an independent upgrade targeting a selected potential. As a result, the enhanced power could still not meet the actual requirement of the electronic devices.


A method for generating an interrupt signal in a memory controller and supporting a multi-processor is provided. Whether an access for a determined memory region occurs is determined. When the access for the determined memory region occurs, whether the access for the determined memory region has a right is determined. When the access for the determined memory region has the right, a core that will generate an interrupt signal is determined. The determined core is requested to generate the interrupt signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a memory controller in an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
The concept of a processor can be extended to include a Direct Memory Access (DMA) controller that may be regarded as an independent processor. That is, the DMA controller has a right for accessing a memory as a master right.
When data exist inside a memory during data exchange between processors, memory location information and an interrupt signal for the data may be provided to a processor which will receive the data. A representative method includes a mail box method between processors. Here, the mail box method is formed of a message and a hardware interrupt signal (e.g., an except signal).
When the processor or the DMA controller operates, the processor or the DMA controller generates an interrupt signal. That is, an interrupt signal is used as a means for controlling message exchange.
An Interrupt Service software Routine (ISR) reacting to an interrupt signal generated by hardware requires a minimum pre-processing time for context switching, and a delay of about 10 μs˜50 μs is generated due to this pre-processing, depending on an operating system.
However, it is impossible to develop apparatus handler software using a method for processing all these interrupt signals only inside the ISR.
This is because an influence due to the ISR is different depending on a user operation, and because of an Application Programming Interface (API) call that is provided by an operating system when an ISR operates, that is, a system call should be accompanied, which unavoidably generates a delay and has a negative influence on a system performance.
Therefore, a technology for removing an interrupt signal delay is desired.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.

Apparatus and method for generating interrupt signal that supports multi-processor


A porous wall hollow glass microsphere is provided having a diameter range of between 1 to 200 microns, a density of between 1.0 to 2.0 gm/cc, a porous-wall structure having wall openings defining an average pore size of between 10 to 1000 angstroms, and which contains therein a hydrogen storage material. The porous-wall structure facilitates the introduction of a hydrogen storage material into the interior of the porous wall hollow glass microsphere. In this manner, the resulting hollow glass microsphere can provide a membrane for the selective transport of hydrogen through the porous walls of the microsphere, the small pore size preventing gaseous or liquid contaminants from entering the interior of the hollow glass microsphere.

The formation of hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) is well known in the art. The production of hollow glass microspheres has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,365,315 (Beck); U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,137 (Garnier); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,180 (Garnier), and which are incorporated herein by reference.
It is also known in the art to produce large macrospheres having hollow glass walls which provide a semipermeable liquid separation medium for containing absorbents. The production of macrosphere structures can be seen in reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,397,759 and 5,225,123 to Torobin and which are incorporated herein by reference. The Torobin references disclose hollow glass macrospheres comprising multiple particle glass walls. The reference teaches the use of the macrospheres for gas/liquid separation and for use with absorbents but does not discuss any features or characteristics which would make the macrospheres suitable as a hydrogen storage medium.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,620 (PPG Industries) is directed to non-crystalline silica fibers having porous walls which are used in gas separation. The fibers described in this application have different physical characteristics than microspheres and which makes fibers less desirable with respect to hydrogen separation and storage capabilities.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,358,532 (CaP Biotechnology, Inc.) uses porous-wall hollow glass microspheres for cell clustering and biomedical uses. The porous-wall structures are designed to readily release microsphere contents when present within a biotic system. Alternatively, the microspheres are used to provide a substrate to support cell growth within the porous-wall structure.
While the above references disclose a variety of glass microspheres and porous-wall structures having various uses in material separation or drug delivery capabilities, there remains room for improvement and variation within the art.

Hollow porous-wall glass microspheres for hydrogen storage


Methods for amplification and sequencing of at least one nucleic acid comprising the following steps: (1) forming at least one nucleic acid template comprising the nucleic acid(s) to be amplified or sequenced, wherein said nucleic acid(s) to be amplified or sequenced, wherein said nucleic acid(s) contains at the 5′ end an oligonucleotide sequence Y and at the 3′ end an oligonucleotide sequence Z and, in addition, the nucleic acid(s) carry at the 5′ end a means for attaching the nucleic acid(s) to a solid support; (2) mixing said nucleic acid template(s) with one or more colony primers X, which can hybridize to the oligonucleotide sequence Z and carries at the 5′ end a means for attaching the colony primers to a solid support, in the presence of a solid support so that the 5′ ends of both the nucleic acid template and the colony primers bind to the solid support; (3) performing one or more nucleic acid amplification reactions on the bound template(s), so that nucleic acid colonies are generated and optionally, performing at least one step of sequence determination of one or more of the nucleic acid colonies generated. Solid supports, kits and apparatus for use in these methods.

Nucleic acid sequence analysis has become a corner-stone in many activities in biology, biotechnology and medicine. The ability to determine nucleic acid sequences has become increasingly important as efforts have commenced to determine the sequences of the large genomes of humans and other higher organisms and also, for example, in single nucleotide polymorphism detection and screening and gene expression monitoring. The genetic information provided by nucleic acid sequencing has many applications in areas such as for example drug target discovery and validation, disease diagnosis and risk scoring and organism identification and characterization.
The first step in such applications is the determination of the actual chemical composition of the nucleic acids of interest, more precisely the determination of the sequence of occurrence of the four bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T) or uracil (U) which comprise nucleic acids. However, such applications require the sequencing of nucleic acids on a large scale, making high throughput methods of nucleic acid sequencing extremely desirable.
Methods of nucleic acid sequencing are documented in the art. The two most commonly used are the chemical cleavage technique by Maxam and Gilbert which relies on base-specific chemistry and the now more popular Sanger sequencing technique which relies on an enzymatic chain terminating principle and is now used on a routine basis for nucleic acid sequencing.
In Sanger sequencing, each nucleic acid to be sequenced is replicated in a reaction involving DNA polymerase, deoxynucleotide triphosphates (dNTPs) and dideoxynucleotide triphosphates (ddNTPs). The DNA polymerase can incorporate both dNTPs and ddNTPs into the growing DNA strand. However, once a ddNTP is incorporated, the 3′ end of the growing DNA strand lacks a hydroxyl group and is no longer a substrate for chain elongation, thus terminating the nucleic acid chain. Hence, in a particular reaction including one type of ddNTP a mixture of nucleic acids of different lengths is produced, all terminating with the same ddNTP. Usually separate reactions are set up for each of the four types of ddNTP and the distribution of lengths of the nucleic acid fragments produced is analysed by denaturing gel electrophoresis (which resolves nucleic acid fragments according to their size), or more recently, by mass-spectroscopy. Usually, one or more of the deoxynucleotide triphosphates in the reaction mixture is labelled to enable detection of the fragments of different lengths.
The above described methods are disadvantageous because each nucleic acid to be sequenced has to be processed individually during the biochemical reaction. Gel electrophoresis is cumbersome, labour intensive and intrinsically slow even when capillary electrophoresis is used and is not well suited for large scale high throughput sequencing. In addition, the subsequent determination of the sequence is cumbersome. Mass-spectroscopy is still at the prototype level, requires very expensive apparatus and each sample has to be analysed individually.
One way to increase throughput is to process many samples in parallel. Methods using DNA hybridization of nucleic acid probes are in use and allow for some multiplexing of the process during the biochemical and the electrophoretic processes, but at the cost of lengthy additional manipulations.
More recently methods based on DNA chips and DNA hybridization are becoming available (Thomas and Burke Exp. Opin. Ther. Patents 8: 503–508 (1998)). These methods are disadvantageous because for each application, a DNA chip has to be designed and manufactured first: this is a lengthy operation and the price of an individual chip drops only when very large numbers of the chip are required. Also, the chips are not reusable and for each chip only one sample of nucleic acids, e.g. one patient to be diagnosed, can be processed at each time. Finally, the extent of sequence which can be analysed by such a chip is limited to less than 100,000 bases, and is limited to some applications such as DNA genotyping and gene expression profiling.
In most known techniques for nucleic acid sequence analysis, amplification of the nucleic acids of interest is a prerequisite step in order to obtain the nucleic acid in a quantity sufficient for analysis.
Several methods of nucleic acid amplification are well known and documented in the art. For example, nucleic acids can be amplified by inserting the nucleic acid of interest into an expression vector construct. Such vectors can then be introduced into suitable biological host cells and the vector DNA, including the nucleic acid of interest, amplified by culturing the biological host using well established protocols.
Nucleic acids amplified by such methods can be isolated from the host cells by methods well known and documented in the art. However, such methods have the disadvantage of being generally time consuming, labour intensive and difficult to automate.
The technique of DNA amplification by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was disclosed in 1985 (Saiki et al. Science 230, 1350–1354) and is now a method well known and documented in the art. A target nucleic acid fragment of interest can be amplified using two short oligonucleotide sequences (usually referred to as primers) which are specific to known sequences flanking the DNA sequence that is to be amplified. The primers hybridize to opposite strands of the double-stranded DNA fragment after it has been denatured, and are oriented so that DNA synthesis by the DNA polymerase proceeds through the region between the two primers, with the primer sequences being extended by the sequential incorporation of nucleotides by the polymerase. The extension reactions create two double-stranded target regions, each of which can again be denatured ready for a second cycle of hybridisation and extension. The third cycle produces two double-stranded molecules that comprise precisely the target region in double-stranded form. By repeated cycles of heat denaturation, primer hybridisation, and extension, there follows a rapid exponential accumulation of the specific target fragment of DNA. Traditionally, this method is performed in solution and the amplified target nucleic acid fragment purified from solution by methods well known in the art, for example by gel electrophoresis.
More recently, however, methods have been disclosed which use one primer grafted to a surface in conjunction with free primers in solution. These methods allow the simultaneous amplification and attachment of a PCR product onto the surface (Oroskar, A. A. et al., Clinical Chemistry 42:1547 (1996)).
WO96/04404 and WO98/36094 (Mosaic Technologies, Inc. et al) discloses a method of detection of a target nucleic acid in a sample which potentially contains the target nucleic acid, The method involves the induction of a PCR based amplification of the target nucleic acid only when the target nucleic acid is present in the sample being tested. For the amplification of the target sequence, both primers are attached to a solid support, which results in the amplified target nucleic acid sequences also being attached to the solid support. The amplification technique disclosed in this document is sometimes referred to as the "bridge amplification" technique. In this technique the two primers are, as for conventional PCR, specifically designed so that they flank the particular target DNA sequence to be amplified. Thus, if the particular target nucleic acid is present in the sample, the target nucleic acid can hybridise to the primers and be amplified by PCR. The first step in this PCR amplification process is the hybridisation of the target nucleic acid to the first specific primer attached to the support ("primer 1"). A first amplification product, which is complementary to the target nucleic acid, is then formed by extension of the primer 1 sequence. On subjecting the support to denaturation conditions the target nucleic acid is released and can then participate in further hybridisation reactions with other primer 1 sequences which may be attached to the support. The first amplification product which is attached to the support, may then hybridise with the second specific primer ("primer 2") attached to the support and a second amplification product comprising a nucleic acid sequence complementary to the first amplification product can be formed by extension of the primer 2 sequence and is also attached to the support. Thus, the target nucleic acid and the first and second amplification products are capable of participating in a plurality of hybridisation and extension processes, limited only by the initial presence of the target nucleic acid and the number of primer 1 and primer 2 sequences initially present and the result is a number of copies of the target sequence attached to the surface.
Since, on carrying out this process, amplification products are only formed if the target nucleic acid is present, monitoring the support for the presence or absence of one or more amplification products is indicative of the presence or absence of a specific target sequence.
The Mosaic technique can be used to achieve an amount of multiplexing in that several different target nucleic acid sequences can be amplified simultaneously by arraying different sets of first and second primers, specific for each different target nucleic acid sequence, on different regions of the solid support.
The disadvantage of the Mosaic process is that, as the first and second primer sequences have to be specific for each target nucleic acid to be amplified, it can only be used to amplify known sequences. In addition, the throughput is limited by the number of different sets of specific primers and subsequently amplified target nucleic acid molecules which can be arrayed in distinct regions of a given solid support and the time taken to array the nucleic acids in distinct regions. Also, the Mosaic process requires that 2 different primers are homogeneously attached by the 5′ end to the support within the distinct region where the amplification product is formed. This cannot be achieved with presently available DNA chip manufacturing technology and has to be achieved by some means of sample dispensing. Thus, the density that can be achieved by this approach has the same limitation as other classical arraying technologies. A further limitation is the speed of monitoring the individual distinct regions of the support for the presence or absence of the amplified target nucleic acids.
Arraying of DNA samples is classically performed on membranes (e.g., nylon or nitro-cellulose membranes). The use of suitable robotics (e.g., Q-bot™, Genetix Ltd, Dorset BH23 3TG UK) means that it is possible to obtain a density of up to 10 samples/mm2. In such methods, the DNA is covalently linked to a membrane by physicochemical means (e.g., UV irradiation) and the arraying of large DNA molecules (e.g. molecules over 100 nucleotides long) as well as smaller DNA molecules such as oligonucleotide primers is possible.
Other techniques are known whereby higher density arrays of oligonucleotides can be obtained. For example, approaches based on pre-arrayed glass slides wherein arrays of reactive areas are obtained by ink-jet technology (Blanchard, A. P. and L. Hood, Microbial and Comparative Genomics, 1:225 (1996)) or arrays of reactive polyacrylamide gels (Yershov, G. et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA, 93:4913–4918 (1996)) allow in theory the arraying of up to 100 samples/mm2.
Higher sample densities still are achievable by the use of DNA chips (Fodor, S. P. A. et al., Science 251:767(1991)). Currently, chips with 625 oligonucleotide probes/mm2 are used in molecular biology techniques (Lockhart, D. J. et al., Nature Biotechnology 14:1675 (1996)). Probe densities of up to 250 000 samples/cm2 (2500/mm2) are claimed to be achievable (Chee, M. et al., Science 274:610 (1996)). However, at present up to 132000 different oligonucleotides can be arrayed on a single chips of approximately 2.5 cm2. Importantly, these chips are manufactured in such a way so that the 3′OH end of the oligonucleotide is attached to the solid surface. This means that oligonucleotides attached to chips in such a way cannot be used as primers in a PCR amplification reaction.
Importantly, when PCR products are linked to the vessel in which PCR amplification takes place, the density of the resultant array of PCR products is limited by the available vessel. Currently available vessels are only in 96 well microtiter plate format. These allow only around 0.02 samples of PCR products/mm2 of surface to be obtained.
For example, using the commercially available Nucleolink™ system (Nunc A/S, Roskilde, Denmark) it is possible to achieve simultaneous amplification and arraying of samples at a density of 0.02 samples/mm2 in wells on the surface of which oligonucleotide primers have been grafted. However, technical problems mean that it is unlikely that a significant increase in this sample density will be achieved with this approach.
Thus, it can be seen that in order to increase throughput there is a need in the art for new methods of nucleic acid amplification which allow the simultaneous amplification and array of nucleic acid samples at a higher density, and furthermore, allows the monitoring of samples at a faster rate, preferably in parallel.
In addition, it is apparent that there is a need in the art for new methods of sequencing which allow large numbers of samples to be processed and sequenced in parallel, i.e. there is a need for methods of sequencing which allow significant multiplexing of the process. Significant multiplexing of the sequencing process would in turn lead to a higher throughput than that achievable with the methods of sequencing known in the art. Such new methods would be even more desirable if they could achieve such high throughput sequencing at a reasonable cost and with less labour intensiveness than conventional sequencing techniques.

Methods of nucleic acid amplification and sequencing


A method for delivering articles using a container having a substantially vertical rear wall with a baseplate extending therefrom is disclosed herein. A plurality of articles may be loaded onto the baseplate. The rear wall, baseplate, and articles are preferably transported to the destination. Once at the final destination, the articles can be removed from the baseplate by sliding the baseplate and rear wall away from the articles. In some embodiments, the rear wall remains substantially vertical during transportation to the destination. In other embodiments, the rear wall can be removably connected to a wheeled apparatus for secure transport.

Consumer retail companies have been searching for more efficient ways of loading and delivering products to their customers. Currently, the major distributors of consumer retail products use Direct Store Delivery (DSD) as the method of delivering products from the distributor directly to the retail store, bypassing a retailer's warehouse. In this method, the vendor manages the product from order to shelf. While this method is preferable, there has been little innovation and advancement in the efficiency in the execution of product loading and delivery methods.
Using the beverage industry as an example, most beverage distributors divide their customer orders into two categories, bulk (box trailer) and route (sideload) truck deliveries. Bulk orders are typically for large retail customers who order quantities that would fill a pallet or multiple pallets of mixed SKU's. Bulk accounts typically are large grocery chains or general merchandise stores that have a truck dock area for receiving. Bulk orders are normally discrete picked to pallets, stretch wrapped and loaded in reverse route stop sequence for delivery. The pallets are typically moved into the customer's facility via pallet jack at the receiving docks.
Route orders are generally smaller customer orders like convenient stores, liquor stores or local bars and restaurants. Route orders are typically "batch" picked for a group of customers by package type to pallets and delivered via sideload delivery truck. Each pallet on the sideload truck is comprised of the aggregate quantity of each package and flavor for the "batch" of customer orders on the truck. This means that warehouse personnel "batch" pick the product once in the warehouse and the driver picks the discrete customer orders off of the truck into stacks of products which may fit on a two-wheel hand truck.
In studying sideload drivers in the soft drink industry, on a 16 bay truck, the driver typically handles each case on the truck four (4) times before delivering it. He also opens the overhead sliding bay doors 283 times per day to accomplish the day's deliveries. It has been found that this method causes a number of operation and ergonomic issues including inefficient handling practices and decreased productivity, product damage from handling and weather, inability to meet customer delivery windows, reduced customer service and merchandising time, and poor ergonomic conditions leading to OSHA and workers compensation issues.
These negative operational issues coupled with the effect of the SKU proliferation and the ever changing world of new packaging has had an immense impact on both the order picking and DSD process across many different industries. There is now a desire for a better means of truck loading and delivery to allow distribution facilities to increase productivity and provide an ergonomically friendly work environment for the delivery driver.

Apparatus and method for efficiently transporting various articles


A device for cyclically operating a trigger of a firearm includes biasing means for biasing a finger applied to a trigger away from the trigger, and a contact switch coupled to the biasing means and configured to be disposed between the finger and the trigger. In response to the contact switch detecting contact between the finger and the trigger, the biasing means actuates to cyclically bias the finger away from the trigger.

For hundreds of years, mankind has been fascinated with the propulsion of objects with black powder and the technology for enabling it. Whether launching a cannonball thousands of yards or firing a handgun, the act is an amazing and exhilarating experience. For the hobbyist, discharging a fully automatic weapon is invigorating and can be an incredibly fun and enjoyable sporting experience.
Many people have never experienced firing a fully automatic weapon. Fully automatic weapons—weapons which fire multiple rounds in response to a single trigger pull—are heavily regulated at both the state and federal level. Due in part to such legislation, but also because of low supply and complexity of manufacture, fully automatic weapons can be incredibly expensive.
As a result of the high price, low supply, and heavy regulation of fully automatic weapons, most hobbyists own only semi-automatic weapons. For purposes of definition, semi-automatic weapons are distinguished from fully automatic weapons in that semi-automatic weapons fire only a single shot for each pull of the trigger. There is thus a one-to-one correspondence between the discharge of a round from the firearm and depression of the trigger of the firearm in a semi-automatic weapon. Continuously depressing the trigger of a semi-automatic weapon does not result in the weapon discharging more than one bullet.
Various attempts have been made to modify semi-automatic weapons to fire in a fully automatic mode. However, these modifications usually involve dismantling the weapon and fundamentally altering the mechanisms that control firing. Not only are modifications such as these generally illegal, but they are also highly dangerous.
Others have attempted to supplement semi-automatic weapons with mechanisms that allow them to fire rapidly. However, these changes often make the weapon unstable, such that the owner cannot achieve precision or accuracy while shooting, and in some cases, may render the weapon dangerous, illegal, or both. An improved way of firing a semi-automatic weapon like a fully automatic weapon is needed.

Device for cyclically operating a firearm trigger


Predetermined macrosegments of the fundamental frequency are determined by a neural network, and these predefined macrosegments are reproduced by fundamental-frequency sequences stored in a database. The fundamental frequency is generated on the basis of a relatively large text section which is analyzed by the neural network. Microstructures from the database are received in the fundamental frequency. The fundamental frequency thus formed is thus optimized both with regard to its macrostructure and to its microstructure. As a result, an extremely natural sound is achieved.

The invention relates to a method for determining the time characteristic of a fundamental frequency of a voice response to be synthesized.
At the ICASSP 97 conference in Munich, a method for synthesizing voice from a text, which is completely trainable and assembles and generates the prosody of a text by prosody patterns stored in a database, was presented under the title "Recent Improvements on Microsoft's Trainable Text-to-Speech System Whistler", X. Huang et al. The prosody of a text is essentially defined by the fundamental frequency which is why this known method can also be considered as a method for generating a fundamental frequency on the basis of corresponding patterns stored in a database. To achieve a type of speech which is as natural as possible, elaborate correction methods are provided which interpolate, smooth and correct the contour of the fundamental frequency.
At the ICASSP 98 in Seattle, a further method for generating a synthetic voice response from a text was presented under the title "Optimization of a Neural Network for Speaker and Task Dependent F0 Generation", Ralf Haury et al. To generate the fundamental frequency, this known method uses, instead of a database with patterns, a neural network by which the time characteristic of the fundamental frequency for the voice response is defined.
The methods described above are to be used for creating a voice response which does not have a metallic, mechanical and unnatural sound as is known from conventional speech synthesis systems. These methods represent a distinct improvement compared with the conventional speech synthesis systems. Nevertheless, there are considerable tonal differences between the voice response based on this method and a human voice.
In a speech synthesis in which the fundamental frequency is composed of individual fundamental-frequency patterns, in particular, a metallic, mechanical sound is still generated which can be clearly distinguished from a natural voice. If, in contrast, the fundamental frequency is defined by a neural network, the voice is more natural but it is somewhat dull.
One aspect of the invention is, therefore, based on the object of creating a method for determining the time characteristic of a fundamental frequency of a voice response to be synthesized which imparts a natural sound to the voice response which is very similar to a human voice.

Method for detecting the time sequences of a fundamental frequency of an audio response unit to be synthesized


A user input for controlling acceleration of a vehicle. The user input has a movable member capable of deflection by a user such that a degree of deflection corresponds to a specified velocity commanded by the user. The correspondence between the degree of deflection and the specified velocity may include a plurality of zones, each zone characterized by a distinct sensitivity that may be capable of customization for a specific user. The user input may also include a neutral position of the movable member, wherein a substantially sudden motion of the movable member to the neutral position causes a slewed slowing of the vehicle.

Personal vehicles (those used by handicapped persons, for example), may require stabilization in one or more of the fore-aft or left-right planes, such as when no more than two wheels are in ground contact at a time. Vehicles of this sort may be more efficiently and safely operated employing control modes supplementary to those described in the prior art. A personal vehicle may be referred to in this description, interchangeably, as a "transporter."


A refrigerator including a refrigerated compartment and a door to open and close at least a portion of the refrigerated compartment. A dispenser unit is positioned on the door that is configured to dispense content into a receptacle. The dispenser unit includes a receptacle support, a dispensing system, a sensor system with at least a first sensor and a second sensor. A control unit electrically coupled to the dispensing system and sensor system. The dispensing system is configured to operate the first sensor to determine the receptacle height and the second sensor to determine the liquid height within the receptacle. The control unit determines when to stop filling the receptacle based on the two measurements. A method for detecting when to shut off the dispensing unit when dispensing liquid into a receptacle.

Modern refrigeration appliances, such as household refrigerators for example, often include as one of their features a dispenser for dispensing content, the content typically being water and/or ice. Frequently, the dispenser is located within a recess in the exterior surface of a door of the appliance. The refrigeration appliance can take any one of a number of forms. For example, the refrigeration appliance can have freezer and fresh food compartments that are arranged side-by-side, the freezer compartment can be located above the fresh food compartment, or the freezer can be located below the fresh food compartment. In any case, separate doors can be provided for the freezer and fresh food compartments and a dispenser can be located within the recess in the exterior of at least one of the doors.

Auto-water shut-off for an external door water dispenser


A radar sensor having multiple antenna elements for transmitting and receiving radar signals, an associated transmitting and receiving element and an evaluation device for determining the azimuth angle of located objects on the basis of a relationship between the signals received from different antenna elements, wherein the transmitting and receiving element is designed to supply to the antenna elements transmission signals in parallel, the frequencies of which are offset with respect to one another, and the evaluation device is designed to distinguish between signals that were transmitted by different antenna elements on the basis of the frequency offset.

Antenna elements may be individual antennas or patches, for example, which are offset with respect to the optical axis of a common radar lens. The directional characteristic of each antenna element, specifically the direction in the greatest radiation intensity or the greatest sensitivity, is then given by the offset of the respective element with respect to the optical axis. Alternatively, however, the antenna elements may be so-called phased arrays made up of multiple sub-elements, which are supplied with transmission signals having such a phase relationship that the desired directional characteristic results by interference. The same antenna elements or alternatively separate antenna elements may be used for transmitting and for receiving the radar signals.
Such radar sensors are used, for example, in so-called ACC systems (adaptive cruise control) for motor vehicles and serve the purpose of measuring the distances and relative speeds of preceding vehicles so as to allow for an adaptive distance and speed control. The determination of the azimuth angles of the located objects is then used to distinguish between preceding vehicles on the same lane as the host vehicle and vehicles on adjacent lanes.
As an example of such a radar sensor, European Patent Application No. EP 1 380 854 A2 describes a static FMCW multibeam radar. In this context, the term "static" signifies that the directions of the radar beams generated by the individual antenna elements are invariable over time such that the entire locating angle range of the angular resolution radar sensor may be monitored simultaneously by parallel evaluation of the signals supplied by the individual antenna elements.
In an FMCW radar (frequency modulated continuous wave), the frequency of the transmission signals supplied to the individual antenna elements is modulated in ramped-shaped fashion. The signal received from each individual antenna element is mixed with the transmission signal that is supplied to this antenna element. In this manner, an intermediate-frequency signal is obtained, the frequency of which indicates the frequency difference between the transmitted signal and the received signal. This frequency difference is a function of the relative speed of the located object on account of the Doppler effect, but is also a function of the signal propagation time and thus of the distance of the object due to the modulation of the transmitted signal.
The intermediate frequency signals are digitized and recorded over a time span approximately corresponding to one individual frequency ramp. The signal pattern thus obtained is then split up into its frequency spectrum by fast Fourier transform. In this spectrum, each located object emerges as one individual peak, the frequency position of which is a function of the distance and the relative speed of the respective object. If the transmitted signals are alternately modulated using frequency ramps having different ramp slopes, for example having a rising ramp and a falling ramp, then it is possible definitely to determine, for an individual object, the distance and the relative speed of the object from the position of the peaks in the spectrums obtained for the two ramps. If multiple objects are located simultaneously, then it is necessary for a definite allocation of the peaks to the respective objects to modulate the transmitted signals using at least one additional frequency ramp.
For each channel, i.e. for each antenna element, a spectrum is obtained on each frequency ramp, in which the located objects emerge in the form of a peak. For the peaks pertaining to an individual object, the amplitude and the phase of the intermediate frequency signal, for example at the apex of the peak, differ somewhat from channel to channel. The differences in the amplitude and phase, collectively also known as a complex amplitude, result from the different directional characteristics of the antenna elements and are a function of the azimuth angle of the respective object.
For each individual antenna element, the complex amplitude displays a characteristic dependence on the azimuth angle, which may be represented in an antenna diagram. The distance and the relative speed of the object enter into the complex amplitude only in the form of a phase factor, which is identical for all channels. By comparing the complex amplitudes in the different channels it is thus possible to determine the azimuth angle of the respective object. Stated in a simplified manner, the azimuth angle is sought at which the complex amplitudes measured respectively at the apex of the peak fit best with the associated antenna diagrams. In the radar sensor described in European Patent Application No. EP 1 380 854 A2, in order to improve the angular resolution, the complex amplitude is evaluated not only at the apex of the respective peak, but at multiple frequencies in proximity to this apex.
In the conventional radar sensor, the same frequency-modulated transmission signal is supplied to all antenna elements. As an example, let it be assumed that the same antenna elements are used for transmission and for reception. Each antenna element then receives a radar echo, not only from the signal that it had sent itself, but also from the signals sent by the other antenna elements. Provided they come from the same object, all these signals have the same frequency and are superposed on each other on the receiving antenna element to form a composite signal. Now, if, for example, two objects differ in their azimuth angle, but have the same distance and the same relative speed, then their signals can no longer be separated in the spectrum such that the radar sensor is unable to resolve the different azimuth angles of the two objects.
Another effect that impairs the angular resolution capacity of the known radar sensor results from the fact that the individual antenna elements do not generate sharply bundled beams, but rather relatively widely fanned radar lobes, due to diffraction and interference effects. Typically, two or more secondary lobes form in addition to a main lobe. These may arise in particular also by coupling with the signals of equal frequency transmitted by other antenna elements.


An image-taking lens apparatus has an image sensor for converting an optical image of a subject into an electrical signal and an image-taking lens system for forming the optical image on the image sensor. The image-taking lens system includes a prism for bending the optical path, and the refractive index of the prism fulfills a prescribed conditional formula.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image-taking lens apparatus, and more particularly to an image-taking lens apparatus (used as a main component of, for example, a digital still camera, digital video camera, or camera incorporated in or externally fitted to a personal computer, mobile computer, cellular phone, personal digital assistant, or the like) that optically takes in an image of a subject through an image-taking lens system and then outputs it as an electrical signal by means of an image sensor. The present invention relates, in particular, to an image-taking lens apparatus provided with a compact image-taking lens system, and to a slim camera provided with such an image-taking lens apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, as personal computers and the like become increasingly widespread, digital still cameras, digital video cameras, and the like (hereinafter referred to simply as "digital cameras"), which permit easy acquisition of image information into digital appliances, have been becoming more and more popular among individual users. Digital cameras are expected to become still more popular in future as image information inputting devices. In general, the image quality of such a digital camera is determined by the number of pixels provided in the solid-state image sensor, such as a CCD (charge-coupled device), incorporated therein. Nowadays, digital cameras designed for general consumers offer high resolutions over 500 million pixels, and are thus approaching silver-halide film cameras in image quality. Accordingly, in the image-taking lens systems used in digital cameras, high optical performance is sought to cope with the increasingly high resolutions of image sensors.
On the other hand, even in digital cameras designed for general consumers, zooming of an image, in particular optical zooming with little image degradation, is sought, and in addition, for higher portability, slimming-down is also sought. The biggest bottleneck in slimming down a camera is the thickness of the image-taking lens system from the surface closest to the object to the image surface. A well-known technique for reducing this thickness is the so-called collapsible construction in which the image-taking lens system is moved out of the camera body when photographing is performed and is collapsed into the camera body when the camera is carried around. However, with the collapsible construction, it is impossible to make the thickness of the image-taking lens apparatus smaller than the sum of the thickness of the lens system itself, the thickness of the image sensor, and the thickness of the optical filter components required by the image sensor. This makes it impossible to make digital cameras satisfactorily compact. Moreover, with the collapsible construction, the lens needs to be moved out when the camera is used, and this requires a complicated lens barrel construction. This results in high manufacturing difficulty, leading to great degradation in image quality and a great increase in costs. Furthermore, in a construction where the lens is moved out after the camera power is turned on, it takes time to complete the preparations for photographing. This makes the user more likely to miss good opportunities for photographing.
To solve the problems mentioned above, zoom lens systems that attempt to slim down a camera as a whole by bending the optical path by using a prism provided in the middle of the optical system are proposed in the following patent publications:                Publication 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-131610        Publication 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-43354        Publication 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-107356        Publication 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-98430
In the zoom lens systems disclosed in Publication 1, a prism having a refractive index of 1.569 or less is used. That is, the prism has too low a refractive index, making the total length of the zoom lens systems unduly long. Moreover, here, the technique of bending the optical axis is not used to effectively achieve slimming-down. Thus, the obtained image-taking lens systems cannot be said to be satisfactorily compact.
The zoom lens systems disclosed in Publications 2 to 4 adopt zoom constructions of the type (the so-called negative-led type) in which the first lens unit has a negative optical power. Most of these zoom lens systems include a plastic prism of which both the entrance-side and exit-side surfaces are given curvatures, and thus many of them are supposed to be difficult to manufacture. The zoom lens systems disclosed in Publication 3 include a glass prism of which both the entrance-side and exit-side surfaces are given curvatures, and such a glass prism is more difficult to manufacture than a plastic equivalent. When consideration is given to the technology of glass molding and of plastic injection molding and to the after-molding machining of a prism, giving curvatures to a prism involves many problems to be solved in terms of the manufacture of the prism. For example, manufacturing errors arising in integral molding may result in degraded performance, and the manufacturing difficulty of integral molding itself may result in higher costs. Moreover, the prisms used have refractive indices of 1.883 or less. Thus, the obtained image-taking lens systems cannot be said to be satisfactorily compact.


A multiple vertically stacked connector is capable of minimizing the occupied area of connectors stacked on a printed circuit board, and also effectively reducing electromagnet interference generated by stacked connectors. The multiple stacked connector structure includes: a printed circuit board adapted to provide a plurality of connectors vertically stackable thereon, the connecting ground pin of each of the plurality of connectors being respectively connected to the printed circuit board, wherein a groove formed on the printed circuit board spaces apart the regions where the connectors are connected on the printed circuit board.

Portable electronic devices, such as cell phones and compact computers, need an efficient circuit configuration that occupies a small volume. Conventional connectors consume excessive package volume and printed circuit board area. As functionality increases, the demand for volume reduction becomes increasingly important, especially for slim-profile casings. The limitations of space and height for configuring connectors on a printed circuit board necessitates that the connectors be utilized in a vertically-stacked fashion, such that the connector-occupied area can be minimized, conserving valuable real estate on the surface of the circuit board for other components and circuitry.
Although a stacked configuration can save valuable configuration space on a circuit board to allow for optimal use, multiple connectors stacked together commonly influence and interfere with electrical properties of one another. For instance, a video connector transmits analog signals and a serial connector transmits digital signals are often stacked together. In prior techniques where a conventional vertically-stacked connector is employed to connect both a video connector transmitting analog signals and a serial connector transmitting digital signals, transmission interference of the analog and digital signals is likely to occur, thereby adversely affecting signal quality and the reliability of transmission.
Therefore, a need exists for a novel stacked connector structure that not only minimizes the total occupied volume and occupied area of a printed circuit board (PCB) but also can effectively reduce electromagnetic interference caused by the stacked configuration of connectors.

Multiple vertically stacked connector structure


In a conventional equalizer circuit, in an equalizing operation for setting voltages of a wiring pair having a predetermined voltage difference therebetween to be the same, it takes a long time to make the voltages of the wirings in a pair converge to a voltage having an offset with respect to a midpoint voltage of the voltages of the wiring pair after the equalizing operation. According to an equalizer circuit of the present invention, provided is an equalizer circuit (50) which sets the voltages of a first wiring (SAP) and a second wiring (SAN) to be substantially the same and which has a first transistor (N1) connected between the first wiring (SAP) and a first power supply circuit (for example, HVDD−Va) and a second transistor (N2) connected between the first wiring SAP and the second wiring (SAN). The equalizer circuit 50 makes the first transistor (N1) conductive, and then makes the second transistor (N2) conductive.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an equalizer circuit and a method of controlling the same. In particular, the present invention relates to an equalizer circuit, in which voltages of a first wiring and a second wiring which are connected to the equalizer circuit, and which causes the voltages to have offsets with respect to a midpoint voltage of the voltages supplied to the two wirings, and a method of controlling the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A volatile semiconductor memory device (hereinafter, referred to as "memory") such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) reads out data after differentially amplifying voltage difference generated in a pair of signal lines for the purpose of attaining high-speed operation. In the differential amplification, before reading out data, precharge operation and equalizing operation are performed for setting the voltages of the signal line pair to be substantially the same voltage (for example, a midpoint voltage between a power supply voltage and a ground voltage). After those operations are completed and an equalizer circuit is turned off, a gate transistor of a memory cell is made conductive, which generates a voltage difference between the signal lines of the pair. By differentially amplifying the voltage difference with a sense amplifier, the data is read out.
Further, in a DRAM, because charge held by a capacitor of the memory cell decreases over time and there is a fear that the stored data may be lost, it is necessary to perform a refresh operation to recharge the memory cell. Also in the refresh operation, first, the precharge operation is performed with respect to the signal line pair. Then, the gate transistor of the memory cell is made conductive and the voltage of one of the signal line pair is made close to the voltage of the memory cell, which generates a voltage, difference between the signal line pair. The voltage difference is differentially amplified by the sense amplifier to thereby increase the voltage of the signal line to which the memory cell is connected. As a result, the memory cell is recharged.
In recent years, many DRAMs are used also in portable equipment and the like. Therefore, those DRAMs are required to consume low power. However, a DRAM requires the refresh operation even when the DRAM is not accessed, and power is to be consumed in the refresh operation. Therefore, it is effective in lowering the power consumption of the DRAM to lower the power consumption in the refresh operation.
JP 2003-173679 A discloses a conventional technique relating to lowering of the power consumption in the refresh operation. The conventional technique decreases charge and discharge current with respect to a signal line pair by charge recycling. Further, by improving charge holding characteristics of the charge held in a capacitor of a memory cell, the frequency of the refresh operation is decreased. A semiconductor memory device according to the conventional technique lowers power consumption by those improvements.
An exemplary circuit disclosed in the conventional art is illustrated in FIG. 9. The circuit illustrated in FIG. 9 has sense amplifiers SA0 to SAn. A high-voltage-side power supply wiring SAP and a low-voltage-side power supply wiring SAN are each connected to the sense amplifiers SA0 to SAn. Further, one bit line Bit to which a memory cell is connected and the other bit line Bit_B for supplying a reference voltage to the sense amplifiers are each connected to the sense amplifiers SA0 to SAn. Still further, the bit lines Bit and Bit_B are connected to each other by an equalizer circuit EQ. The voltages of the bit lines Bit and Bit_B are the same when the equalizer circuit EQ is conductive. On the other hand, when the equalizer circuit EQ is nonconductive and the sense amplifiers SA0 to SAn are operated, the voltages of the bit lines Bit and Bit_B depend on an amount of charge stored in the memory cell, the voltage of the high-voltage-side power supply wiring SAP, and the voltage of the low-voltage-side power supply wiring SAN.
An NMOS transistor Ns is connected between the low-voltage-side power supply wiring SAN and a ground voltage VSS. A PMOS transistor Pd is connected between the high-voltage-side power supply wiring SAP and a power supply voltage VDD. Further, a PMOS transistor Pi is connected to the high-voltage-side power supply wiring SAP. A recycling capacitor CAP is connected between the PMOS transistor Pi and the ground voltage VSS.
FIG. 10 is a timing chart of the refresh operation of the circuit illustrated in FIG. 9. First, at a time Ta, the equalizer circuit is made nonconductive, the NMOS transistor Ns is made conductive, and the voltage of the low-voltage-side power supply wiring SAN is set as the ground voltage VSS. Further, the PMOS transistor Pi is made conductive, and the voltage of the high-voltage-side power supply wiring SAP set as VIID (i.e., voltage of a terminal of the recycling capacitor CAP on the side of the transistor Pi) (time Ta). In this case, the high-voltage-side power supply wiring SAP is charged with charge stored in the recycling capacitor CAP (time Tb), which operates the sense amplifiers SA0 to San. Accordingly, the voltages of the bit lines Bit and Bit_B are set based on the voltages of the high-voltage-side power supply wiring SAP and the low-voltage-side power supply wiring SAN, respectively.
Then, the PMOS transistor Pi is made nonconductive while the PMOS transistor Pd is made conductive. As a result, the voltage of the high-voltage-side power supply wiring SAP is set as the power supply voltage VDD. After that, the PMOS transistor Pi is made conductive while the PMOS transistor Pd is made nonconductive. As a result, the charge in the high-voltage-side power supply wiring SAP is stored (or recycled) in the recycling capacitor CAP, and the voltage of the high-voltage-side power supply wiring SAP is set as VIID (time Tc). Then, the PMOS transistor Pi and the NMOS transistor Ns are made nonconductive and the equalizer circuit EQ is made conductive to thereby connect the bit lines Bit and Bit_B to each other. As a result, the voltages of the bit lines Bit and Bit_B are set as the same voltage VIID/2 (time Td).
Specifically, in the conventional circuit, charge corresponding to the voltage difference between a first voltage (for example, the power supply voltage) and a second voltage (the voltage VIID) is stored in the recycling capacitor CAP. By recycling the stored charge in the subsequent refresh operation, consumption of the charge corresponding to the voltage difference is lowered to realize low power consumption.
Further, in the conventional circuit, the voltage of the bit lines Bit and Bit_B after the refresh operation (precharge voltage) is lower than half of the power supply voltage VDD. The precharge voltage is a reference voltage of the sense amplifiers. If the voltage becomes lower, time required for the voltage of the memory cell to drop due to leakage current to reach the reference voltage can be made longer. Specifically, the conventional circuit can decrease the frequency of the refresh operation. Further, the conventional circuit can lower the power consumption in the refresh operation.
However, the conventional circuit needs time for charging from the recycling capacitor CAP to the high-voltage-side power supply wiring SAP. There is a problem in that the charging time prevents a high-speed operation. Further, a capacitor generally requires a larger layout area than other elements. Therefore, when such a recycling capacitor is formed on the same substrate, there is a problem in that a chip area is increased.

Equalizer circuit and method of controlling the same


A blade guard (12) for preventing a saw blade (16) or other cutting member from cutting into tissue the cutting member is not intended to cut. The blade guard includes a body (20) that is attached to the surgical tool (10) from which the cutting member extends. A leg (24) extends from the body. A foot (34) is attached to the end of the leg. The foot encapsulates the end of the cutting member to prevent it from penetrating into tissue the cutting member is not intended to cut. The leg is formed with a tapered profile such that it has a leading edge (29) adjacent the cutting member that is narrow in width than the trailing edge (30) spaced from the cutting member. The tapered profile of the leg provides the leg with structural strength. The tapered profile also facilitates the separation of the sections of the bone that define the kerf as the cutting member and blade guard pass through the bone.

The powered surgical saw has evolved into an important surgical tool. A typical powered surgical saw includes a motor that, through a drive mechanism, causes a complementary blade to move in a repeating pattern. Powered surgical saws have become very efficient tools for cutting into both hard tissue, commonly referred to as bone, and soft tissue.
When a surgical saw is used, it should only cut the tissue it is intended to cut; the saw blade should not cut into the surrounding tissue. A class of saw accessories, referred to as blade guards, prevent a surgical saw blade from penetrating tissue other than that the blade is intended to cut. One particular blade guard has been developed for use with a sternum saw. The sternum is the bone that extends down the front of the chest of an individual. The sternum is the bone that covers organs such as the thorax and heart as well as parts of the lungs and liver. In order to gain access to these soft tissue organs, the sternum saw is employed to cut and separate the sternum. The complementary blade guard prevents the end of the blade from penetrating the underlying soft tissue organs. A typical sternum guard is a one-piece unit that has three separate components. The first of these components is the body. This is the component that connects the blade guard to the complementary saw with which it is used. The second component is an elongated leg. The leg extends outwardly from the body and is positioned behind the trailing edge of the associated saw blade. A foot is connected to the distal end of the leg. The foot extends forward from the leg and is formed with an opening in which the end of the blade is located. The leg and foot are dimensioned so that, during actuation of the blade, the blade does not extend out of either the distal or proximal ends of the foot. Since the end of the blade is encapsulated in the foot, the possibility that the blade will inadvertently cut any of the tissue underneath the sternum is essentially eliminated.
While current blade guards prevent the unintended cutting of tissue by the ends of the blades with which they are used, there are some disadvantages associated with their use. Some current blade guards are provided with legs that are formed out of thin, flat pieces of metal. This is because the space in which a blade guard travels, the kerf in the bone cut by the blade, is itself relatively narrow. For example, some sternum blade have thickness ranging between 36 to 44 mils (0.036 to 0.044 inches). The associated legs are often constructed to be approximately 25 mils thick. The reason the blade guard legs are even thinner than the blades themselves is that, during surgery, the surrounding tissue has a tendency to move the separated sections of the sternum back together. Moreover, sometimes a surgeon cuts the bone so that the kerf has a non-linear profile. Owing to the curved or angled profile of these kerfs, it can be difficult to maneuver a flat blade guard through them. Therefore, to ensure that the leg can freely travel in the kerf, the leg should be thinner than the saw blade that forms the kerf.
A problem with making a leg this thin is that it is structurally a weak component. Consequently, if a leg is subjected to significant lateral pressure, it is prone to bend. Such bending naturally causes the associated foot to move out of alignment with the blade with which the blade guard is intended for use. Also, once this misalignment occurs, the blade guard may strike the blade. Also as a result of misalignment, the blade guard may bear against the bone. Once either of these events occur, significant heat may be generated at the blade guard-blade or blade guard-bone interface. Should the blade guard abut the moving blade, a significant amount of noise may also be generated. Moreover, in some circumstances, the pressing of the blade guard against either the blade or the bone may inhibit the cutting action of the surgical tool. Thus, once a blade guard falls out of alignment with the associated blade, the blade guard may no longer be useful for its intended purpose.


The method includes using a voting computer to represent the user selected voting options gathered by a voting application running in the voting computer, using an element that has a machine readable format such as a barcode, recording then the element in a physical media using a printing device connected to the voting computer, so that it is suitable to be delivered by the user using a physical channel such as a postal service to the electoral officers. Once the delivered physical media is received by the intended destination (e.g., election officials), the method introduces the step of reading the element information contained in the physical media using a reading device connected to a retrieving computer. Finally, the method introduces a process for generating a physical ballot in the retrieving computer using the information delivered by the voter and a printing device.

Absentee ballots are used in elections to allow registered voters to cast their ballots remotely. Therefore, some states have provisions for emailing ballots, faxing ballots, or delivering them in person to a designated location.
However, the delivery process and counting of these ballots are not free from errors that could prevent the processing of cast votes. To this end, several proposals have been focused on reducing these issues with more or less success.
The proposal of the method and system described in this invention is to solve all these issues, including the ones not yet solved by other proposals. Below we will analyze the different problems, how are they managed by the currently existing solutions and how our proposal covers the gaps not yet solved by these solutions.
Blank Ballot Delivery by Mail
The absentee ballots are usually sent initially by post to the voters. This process is usually called blank ballot delivery. Then, the voter marks her selections in the blank ballot and mails it back to her State election officials for its counting. Once the marked absentee ballots are received in the central election offices, they are counted either manually or electronically.
However, this system presents several problems:                Blank ballot delivery on time: One of the most challenging issues in absentee voting is how to bring the ballots to the absentee voters on time. The initial blank ballot delivery time depends on the deadline for the addition of candidates or questions to the ballot, and it is usually close to the start of the voting period. Therefore, postal mail is not always fast enough to deliver the ballots on time for filling and mailing them back to the state in the time period assigned to the absentee voting process. In fact, several times, absentee ballots have not been accepted in the vote recount for arriving late. Therefore, absentee voters are disenfranchised.        Manual marking of optical scanner votes: Usually, most States use optical scanning for electronic counting of in person votes. Furthermore, the electoral law forces them to use the same counting system for absentee voters. Therefore, in these cases, election officers need to count the absentee ballots thought optical scanners. Postal votes cannot be directly fed into the optical scanners since they are folded inside the envelope (folded sheets tend to stuck in optical scanners). Therefore, electoral officers are in charge of manually copying the selections coming from these absentee votes to the optical scanner compatible votes. This leads to the possibility of human errors or malicious electoral officers modifying the contents of the absentee votes.        Invalid votes due to voter mistakes: The blank ballot is manually marked, and it is not checked after the time of counting. Therefore, the voter cannot be warned while filling the ballot in case she is making any mistake that could invalidate it (e.g. under-voting or over-voting). The result is that a considerable amount of absentee votes are invalidated and the voter it is not aware about it.
Therefore, alternative absentee ballot delivery methods have been introduced recently, like the electronic blank ballot delivery, or the online ballot marking.
Electronic Blank Ballot Delivery
In the electronic blank ballot delivery proposal, the voter accesses to a web service to download her blank ballot in an electronic format. Then, voter prints the blank ballot and manually fills in. The mailing back and counting process is the same than in the mail blank ballot delivery system.
This system solves the problem of the blank ballot delivery on time, but it does not address issues on the manual marking of optical scanner votes or having absentee invalid votes due to voter mistakes.
Online Ballot Marking
In case of online ballot marking, the voter accesses to a web application that displays the voting options and guides her through the process of making her selections. At this point, the marked ballot is printed in paper to mail or fax it back to the state.
This system solves the problems of blank ballot delivery on time and prevention of voter mistakes while filling the ballot. Regarding the manual marking of the votes to be read in optical scanners, despite there are some proposals in this area, none of them solve this issue.
The Open Voting Consortium [1] and EveryoneCounts [2] propose a system for electronic ballot marking that prints the marked ballot in paper and attaches a bar code representing the voting options. After the voting phase, the barcodes of these votes are read with a barcode reader to perform an electronic count, but in any case they are proposing any method for creating a vote that can be processed by an optical scanner. Therefore, these systems cannot be used in the States were election officers need to count the votes using optical scanning. Furthermore, the format of the ballot is not the same as the ones cast in polling stations. Therefore, they are distinguishable from these votes in a manual counting process.
In the state of the art, there are other proposals, like AutoMark (U.S. Pat. No. 7,753,273) or Populex (U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,148), that provide an electronic interface for ballot marking and printing of votes in a format suitable to be read by an optical scanner. However, these proposals are related to specific devices designed to be used in polling places. Therefore, these solutions cannot be used in absentee voting processes since they cannot be distributed to voters (i.e., they have a standalone architecture).
The object of the present invention is a ballot marking method suitable to be used in a voting computer by an absentee voter that generates an element representing the voting options in a physical machine readable media, such as a printed bar code. On the reception of this generated element in the election central office, the information of the generated element is used for issuing a printed ballot that is suitable for being processed by an optical scanner or manual counting. The difference with the existing proposals is that the information of the generated element (e.g., bar code contents) is not processed for generating a result, but for generating a paper ballot that has exactly the same appearance as the paper ballots from non-absentee voters. Therefore, absentee ballots can be counted by the same automated means (e.g., optical scanning machines) used for counting the paper ballots from the rest of the voters.

Method and system for the protection of voting options for remote voting


The present invention provides an indene derivatives having a new structure and an organic light-emitting diode using the same. The organic light-emitting diode according to the present invention shows improved effects in efficiency, driving voltage and stability.

In general, the term "organic light-emitting phenomenon" refers to a phenomenon in which electric energy is converted to light energy by means of an organic material. The organic light-emitting diode using the organic light-emitting phenomenon has a structure usually comprising an anode, a cathode and an organic material layer interposed therebetween. Herein, the organic material layer may be mostly formed in a multilayer structure comprising layers of different materials, for example, the hole-injecting layer, the hole-transporting layer, the light-emitting layer, the electron-transporting layer, the electron-injecting layer and the like, in order to improve efficiency and stability of the organic light-emitting diode. In the organic light-emitting diode having such a structure, when a voltage is applied between two electrodes, holes from the anode and electrons from a cathode are injected into the organic material layer, the holes and the electrons injected are combined together to form excitons. Further, when the excitons drop to a ground state, lights are emitted. Such an organic light-emitting diode is known to have characteristics such as self-luminescence, high brightness, high efficiency, low drive voltage, wide viewing angle, high contrast and high-speed response.
The materials used for the organic material layer of the organic light-emitting diode can be classified into a light-emitting material and a charge-transporting material, for example, a hole-injecting material, a hole-transporting material, an electron-transporting material and an electron-injecting material, according to their functions. The light-emitting material can be classified into a high molecular weight-type and a low molecular weight-type, according to their molecular weight, or fluorescent materials, emitting light from singlet excited state of electrons, and phosphorescent materials, emitting light from, triplet excited state of electrons, according to their emitting mechanism. Further, the light-emitting material can be divided into a blue, green or red light-emitting material and a yellow or orange light-emitting material required for giving more natural color, according to a light-emitting color.
On the other hand, an efficiency of a device is lowered owing to maximum luminescence wavelength moved to a longer wavelength due to the interaction between molecules, deterioration of color purity and reduction in light-emitting efficiency when only one material is used for the light-emitting material, and therefore a host/dopant system can be used as the light-emitting material for the purpose of enhancing color purity and light-emitting efficiency through energy transfer. When dopants, having smaller energy band gap than that of hosts, are mixed into light-emitting layer in a small amount, excitons generated from the light-emitting layer are transported to the dopants and then emit light efficiently. In this case, since a wavelength of emitted light shifts from a wavelength of the hosts to a wavelength of the dopants, light having a desired wavelength can be obtained depending on the type of the dopant.
In order to allow the organic light-emitting diode to fully exhibit the above-mentioned excellent characteristics, a material constituting the organic material layer in the device, for example, a hole-injecting material, a hole-transporting material, a light-emitting material, an electron-transporting material and an electron-injecting material should be essentially composed of a stable and efficient material. However, the development of a stable and efficient organic material layer material for the organic light-emitting diode has not yet been fully realized. Accordingly, the development of new materials is continuously desired.

Indene derivatives and organic light emitting diode using the same


An automatically movable storage apparatus for retaining a ladder on top of an emergency vehicle and facilitating movement thereof to a deployed position extending downwardly and rearwardly therefrom selectively to make the ladder available for usage. After usage the ladder will be replaced and the automatic storage apparatus will power the movement of the ladder retained within the ladder retaining frame up to the storage position on top of the emergency vehicle for transport. A pivotally movable carriage is secured to the ladder retaining frame with various drive means thereon to facilitate movement of the frame to the rearwardly extended position and the inclined position and to facilitate locking thereof in the storage position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention deals with the field of devices usable for storage of equipment on emergency vehicles such as fire trucks. Firefighting requires a great deal of different types of equipment in the modern world and as a result there is a great premium on space when attaching the many different types of emergency equipment with respect to an emergency vehicle in a manner such that it is easily accessible and readily usable by firefighters and other emergency personnel. The apparatus of the present invention provides a means for automatically moving a ladder positioned within a ladder retaining frame from a ladder storage position on top of an emergency vehicle to a rearwardly extended position extending rearwardly therefrom and finally to a rearwardly and downwardly inclined position wherein the ladder is deployed ready for usage and movement back to the storage position. These movements are all powered by various different driving means and are operable to maintain the ladder and the ladder storage parts at all times within a very restricted space envelope or window in such a manner that a minimal amount of space is used.
Significant space saving is achieved because the ladder is stored on top of the emergency vehicle. The top of the emergency vehicle is a very difficult place to store materials in view of the fact that they have only limited accessibility when stored thereon. However, the present invention provides a means for powering movement of the relatively large ladders used in firefighting and other emergency services between the fully stored position out of reach of the firefighting or emergency personnel and the fully deployed position extending rearwardly therefrom such that the ladder is made readily available. Thus the present invention provides a means for making use of the upper or top area of an emergency vehicle which is otherwise difficult to make use of in such emergency vehicles for the storage of equipment used in emergency situations such as ladders.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous patents have been granted for the purposes of storing ladders with respect to vehicles or at remote limited access locations such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,890,940 issued Dec. 13, 1932 to C. H. Fox on a "Fire Engine"; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,898,826 issued Feb. 21, 1933 to C. H. Fox on a "Fire Engine"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,005,990 issued to W. S. Darley on Jun. 25, 1935 on a "Fire Truck"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,586,531 issued Feb. 19, 1952 to D. L. Gordon on a "Wheeled Support Having Ladder Assembly"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,946,397 issued Jul. 26, 1960 to W. A. Berberich on a "Ladder Mount For Vehicles"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,013,681 issued Dec. 19, 1961 to E. V. Garnett on a "Device For Storage Of Elongated Articles On A Vehicle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,058,607 issued Oct. 16, 1962 to J. T. Kiley on "Ladder Racks"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,563,342 issued Feb. 16, 1971 to E. Lasiter on a "Truck Ladder"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,549 issued Jun. 27, 1972 to A. J. Chorey on a "Car Top Carrier And Access Ladder"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,243 issued Nov. 15, 1977 to L. E. Tappan on a "Car Top Load Carrier"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,281 issued Nov. 22, 1977 to D. W. Evans and assigned to Towmotor Corporation on a "Mounting Assembly For A Controllably Movable Fluid Tank"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,464 issued Dec. 13, 1977 to R. E. Grove on "Mounting Brackets For An Article Handling Apparatus"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,078 issued Feb. 13, 1979 to J. R. Keller on a "Ladder Assembly"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,997 issued Jul. 24, 1979 to T. W. Norman on a "Self-Storing Step Structure For Vehicular Mounting"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,331 issued Oct. 9, 1979 to E. W. Faulstich on a "Vehicle Ladder Rack"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,438 issued Dec. 16, 1980 to C. R. Everson on a "Device For Lifting And Carrying Loads On Top Of Pickup Trucks"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,508 issued Aug. 17, 1982 to A. W. Peck and assigned to Alcan Research and Development Limited on a "Lift Mechanism For A Vehicle Tail-Board Or Other Load Platform"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,680 issued Oct. 11, 1983 to D. O. Ross on a "Ladder Support Assembly"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,083 issued Oct. 21, 1986 to K. F. Weger, Jr. and assigned to Knaack Mfg. Co. on a "Ladder Clamping Device For Vehicle Rack"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,582 issued Apr. 19, 1988 to J. E. Roberts and assigned to E Manufacturing Company Inc. on a "Tank Carrier And Manipulator"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,981 issued Jun. 21, 1988 to J. C. Mitchell et al on a "Detachably Mounted Ladder Rack"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,742 issued May 9, 1989 to R. R. McDonald and assigned to Unistrut Australia Pty. Ltd. on a "Security Assembly For Vehicle Roofrack"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,725 issued Aug. 22, 1989 to L. H. Griffin on a "Ladder Brace"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,108 issued Oct. 31, 1989 to L. H. Griffin et al on a "Hydraulic Ladder Brace"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,352 issued Mar. 20, 1990 to K. McComb on a "Ladder Support System"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,757 issued Sep. 4, 1990 to J. R. Stevens et al on a "Front Rack For A Truck"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,350 issued Apr. 23, 1991 to J. M. Schill et al on "Retainer Assemblies For Elongated Objects"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,641 issued Sep. 17, 1991 to J. N. Holcomb et al and assigned to Jack N. Holcomb on a "Van-Mounted Ladder Assembly With Concealed Radio Antennas"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,022 issued Nov. 12, 1991 to G. W. Graham and assigned to Marrowbone Development Company on a "Ladder Apparatus And Method For Large Mobile Eguipment"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,308 issued Dec. 10, 1991 to J. Tibbet on an "Apparatus For Loading And Carrying Boats"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,280 issued to M. P. Ziaylek et al on Apr. 14, 1992 and assigned to Michael P. Ziaylek on an "Apparatus For Use With An Emergency Vehicle For Storage And Retrieval Of Remotely Located Emergency Devices"; and U.S. Design Pat. No. Des.331,030 issued Nov. 17, 1992 to M. P. Ziaylek et al on a "Unit For Use With An Emergency Vehicle For Storage And Retrieval Of Remotely Located Emergency Devices"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,952 issued Dec. 22, 1992 to R. Lasnetski on an "Overhead Storage Rack For Storing Ladders Or The Like"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,495 issued Jun. 6, 1995 to L. Bubik et al and assigned to Innovative Bicycle Design Inc. on a "Vehicle Roof Rack"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,912 issued to A. Y. Levi on Mar. 29, 1994 and assigned to JAJ Products, Inc. on a "Ladder Rack For Motor Vehicles" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,933 issued Nov. 28, 1995 to J. Thomason on a "Vehicle Mounted Ladder"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,357 issued May 21, 1996 to T. Ziaylek, Jr. et al and assigned to Theodore Ziaylek, Jr. and Michael P. Ziaylek on a "Retaining And Retrieval Apparatus For Storage Of A Ladder Upon A Vehicle Shelf Area"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,100 issued Jul. 23, 1996 to R. I. Hedley on an "Access Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,591 issued May 27, 1997 to K, R. Henriquez on a "Ladder Storage And Transport Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,702 issued Apr. 28, 1998 to M. J. Gunderson on a "Method And Apparatus For A Vehicle Mounted Hoisting System"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,857 issued Aug. 11, 1998 to T. Ziaylek, Jr. et al and assigned to Theodore Ziaylek, Jr. and Michael Paul Ziaylek on an "Automatic Ladder Lowering And Storage Device For Use With An Emergency Vehicle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,891 issued Dec. 22 1998 to J. J. Olms et al and assigned to Trimble Navigation Limited on a "Motorized Rack System" and U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,633 issued Dec. 21, 1999 to R. G. Rolson and assigned to Robert G. Rolson on a "Portable Truck Or Trailer Ladder Assembly"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,545 issued Jan. 11, 2000 to E. Faleide on a "Foldable Vehicle Ladder System"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,750 issued Feb. 29, 2000 to B. E. Carrier on an "All Terrain Fire-Fighting Vehicle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,972 issued Jul. 25, 2000 to A. Y. Levi on a "Truck Mounted Ladder Rack"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,181 issued Nov. 13, 2001 to J. A. Bradley et al and assigned to Adrian Steel Company on a "Ladder Rack Apparatus And Method"; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,427,889 issued Aug. 6, 2002 to A. Y. Levi on a "Ladder Rack For Hi Bay Vans".

Powered ladder storage apparatus for an emergency vehicle