VWGoA - Ex. 1001
`Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. - Petitioner
`
`1
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`

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`US 8,065,156 B2
`Page 2
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`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`5,551,532 A
`9/1996 Kupersmith
`515051154 A
`2/1997 D018“ 0131‘
`516891094 A
`11/ 1997 F11ed“‘°*”‘1~
`517491443 A
`5/1998 R°ma°
`518441181 A
`12/1998 Am° 0131‘
`518871139 A
`3;1999 Mu*1‘{d1S°“ ital‘
`5,918,222 A
`61999 F
`ui eta.
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`8/1999 Friedlietal.
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`9/ 1999 1311715111211
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`11/1999 Tracy et al.
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`11/1999 Morgan etal.
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`1/2000 Friedlietal.
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`6/2000 DiFranzaeta1.
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`6/2000 Schnase etal.
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`7/2000 Amo etal.
`6,202,008 B1
`3/2001 Beckert etal.
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`3/2001 Drop
`6,206,142 B1
`3/2001 Meacham
`6,223,160 B1
`4/2001 Kostkaet al.
`6,236,968 B1
`5/2001 Kanevsky et al.
`5,349,797 B1
`2/2002 NeWV111e 531 31
`6397976 B1
`6/2002 H516 gt 31'
`6’421’305 B1
`7/2002 Gloscla et 31'
`6,460,036 B1
`10/2002 Herz
`6,466,232 B1
`10/2002 Newell et 31.
`6,504,571 B1
`1/2003 Narayanaswamiet 31,
`6,571,279 B1
`5/2003 Herz et al.
`6,587,835 B1
`7/2003 Treyz et a1.
`6,606,644 B1*
`8/2003 Ford et al.
`6,615,175 B1
`9/2003 Gazdzinski
`
`................... .. 709/203
`
`6,651,045 B1* 11/2003 Macaulay
`E}
`1§ffif,‘§f§Sei‘,‘f1' """"""" " 725/42
`6,990,312 B1
`1/2006 Gioscia etal.
`7,136,853 B1
`11/2006 Kohda etal.
`2004/0104842 A1
`6/2004 Drury etal.
`2005/0239402 A1
`10/2005 Giosciaetal
`2009/0077100 A1*
`3/2009 Hancocket a1
`707/10
`' """"""" "
`-
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`2010/0023392 A1
`1/2010 Merr1man et al.
`....... .. 705/14.42
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`
`52039237 A
`01225581 A
`03272977 A
`05017083 A
`05058554 A
`05201524 A
`
`3/1977
`9/1989
`12/1991
`1/1993
`3/ 1993
`8/1993
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Karen Jacobs (Dec. 7, 1999) “Elevator Maker to Add Commercial
`Touch,” The Wall Street Journal, pp. 1-2.
`Lewis Perdue (Jul. 20, 1999) “Forget Elevator Music, Here Comes
`Elevator Internet ” InternetVC Watch pp 1-2
`.
`’
`.
`’
`'
`'.
`Stevens Institute ofTechnology, Spring 1999 Final Report, pp. 1-12.
`KenjiYoneda, eta1.(Dec. 1997) “Multi-Objective Elevator Supervi-
`sory-Control System with Individual Floor-Situation Control,”
`Hitachi Review, p. 1.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Nov. 22, 2011
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`Sheet 24 of 24
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`US 8,065,156 B2
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`US 8,065,156 B2
`
`1
`ADAPTIVE INFORMATION PRESENTATION
`APPARATUS AND METHODS
`
`This application is a continuation of and claims priority to
`co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/506,975 filed
`Aug. 17, 2006 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,565 and entitled
`“SMART ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND METHOD”, which is
`a divisional of and claims priority to co-owned U.S. patent
`application Ser. No. 10/935,957 filed Sep. 7, 2004 and
`entitled “SMART ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND METHOD”,
`now U.S. Pat. No. 7,093,693, which is a divisional of co-
`owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/651,451 filedAug.
`29, 2003 and entitled “SMART ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND
`METHOD”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,988,071, which is a con-
`tinuation of co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No.
`09/330,101 filed Jun. 10, 1999 and entitled “SMART
`ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND METHOD”, now U.S. Pat. No.
`6,615,175, each ofthe foregoing incorporated into the present
`application by reference in its entirety. This application is also
`related to co-pending and co-owned U.S. patent application
`Ser. No. 12/703,666 filed Feb. 10, 2010 entitled “Adaptive
`Advertising Apparatus and Methods”, to co-pending and co-
`owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/704,431 filed Feb.
`1 1, 2010 entitled “Adaptive Advertising Apparatus and Meth-
`ods”, and to Ser. No. 12/711,692 filed contemporaneously
`herewith on Feb. 24, 2010 entitled “ADAPTIVE INFORMA-
`TION PRESENTATION APPARATUS AND METHODS”
`
`each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its
`entirety.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`The present invention relates to the field ofpersonnel trans-
`port apparatus, and specifically to elevators and similar
`devices for transporting people from one location to another
`which incorporate various information technologies.
`2. Description of Related Technology
`Elevators and similar personnel transport devices (such as
`moving walkways or shuttles) are important aspects of mod-
`em urban life. Commonly used in office buildings, airports,
`shopping malls, and other large structures, these devices
`transport large numbers of people and equipment between
`two locations on a routine basis. Elevators in particular are
`widely used throughout the world.
`Depending on loading, a person may spend up to several
`minutes on an elevator during travel between floors. Signifi-
`cant amounts of time may also be spent waiting for the eleva-
`tor to arrive when called. This time is usually “dead” from the
`standpoint that very little can be accomplished or very few
`tasks undertaken during these few minutes. However, often
`times an individual may require information which will be of
`use after leaving the elevator. For example, the person may
`wish to obtain travel information such as directions to the
`
`nearest airport or public transportation node, or the location
`of a nearby restaurant. Weather-related information or trafiic
`reports may also be useful. A plethora of different types of
`information, including financial data, breaking news head-
`lines, sports scores and the like may also be of interest to one
`waiting for or riding on an elevator or other transport device.
`An associated problem relates to determining the location
`of a person, firm, or store within a building when unfamiliar.
`Building directories are often posted in the lobby ofthe build-
`ing, yet these require the user to manually or visually locate
`the name of the person, firm, or store which they are looking
`for, and remember the location information associated there-
`with. Additionally, such directories often do not provide pre-
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`cise location information, but rather merely a floor number
`and/or suite number. The user often times does not have a
`
`graphical representation of the desired location in relation to
`the elevators, thereby resulting in additional wasted time in
`finding the location once off of the elevator. Even if a graphi-
`cal display is provided, it often requires the user to spatially
`orient themselves to determine relative location.
`
`Security is also a concern when riding elevators late at
`night or to remote locations. Many elevator systems are used
`partly or entirely within parking garages, which often may be
`sparsely populated at off hours. People are all too frequently
`assaulted or robbed when departing from elevators under
`such conditions. Unfortunately, existing elevator systems do
`not have the facility to provide the occupant(s) with the ability
`to selectively observe the area immediately surrounding the
`elevator doors on one or more destination floors, or otherwise
`take precautions to enhance their security.
`Another problem associated with existing elevator systems
`relates to their loading capacity. Often, especially at peak use
`hours such as during the noon hour, the call buttons for several
`different floors within a building will be activated, and eleva-
`tor cars which are at or near their loading capacity will
`respond. With no additional room available in the elevator, the
`person depressing the call button on a given floor is left to wait
`for the elevator doors to close, depress the call button again,
`and wait for another (hopefully partially vacant) car to arrive.
`This process not only delays the person waiting for the car, but
`also those on the elevator car(s), and those waiting on other
`floors.
`
`In addition to the foregoing, many elevators must have a
`means of restricting access to certain floors during certain
`time periods while not interfering with other operations.
`These elevators generally also include means by which cer-
`tain users may gain access to the restricted floors, such as a
`magnetic striped card which is inserted into a card reader on
`the elevator. However, such card readers are prone to wear and
`having to re-swipe the card several times in order to obtain
`access. Furthermore, as the card wears due to repeated swip-
`ing or bending (such as when left in the pocket of the indi-
`vidual carrying the card), the card will be more prone to
`failure and will eventually require replacement. Also, such
`cards are prone to unauthorized use. Someone stealing or
`finding the lost card can simply insert it into the card reader of
`the elevator and gain access to the restricted floor(s). It is also
`noted that since access is restricted to certain floors typically
`during late-night or weekend hours, HVAC and lighting sys-
`tems are typically turned off or dormant in order to conserve
`energy. Hence, when the user arrives at one ofthese restricted
`access floors, several minutes are typically spent turning on
`the HVAC, lights, and any other number of electrical devices.
`Some systems require the user to insert their magnetic strip
`card in a separate reader, such as in the control room for the
`HVAC (which is typically located on a different floor), in
`order to initiate equipment operation. This is obviously time
`consuming and cumbersome.
`Lastly, there is often an element of discomfort associated
`with riding an elevator car, especially when several individu-
`als are present in the car. Due in part to minimal space within
`the car and nothing to occupy the occupants attention visu-
`ally, there is a natural tendency for one to stare up, down, or
`forward at the door of the elevator, or at the visual floor
`indicators so as to avoid prolonged eye contact with the other
`occupants.
`Heretofore, many of the technologies necessary to address
`the aforementioned issues have not been available or, alter-
`natively, have been cost or space prohibitive to implement.
`However, recent advances in data networking, thin or flat
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`US 8,065,156 B2
`
`3
`panel display technology, personal electronics, and speech
`recognition and compression algorithms and processing have
`enhanced the viability of such features from both technologi-
`cal and commercial perspectives.
`Based on the foregoing, there is a need for an improved
`elevator system and method of operation which will reduce
`the time spent waiting for and travelling on the elevator car,
`reduce the frustration associated with repeated stops at dif-
`ferent floors, and allow the occupants of the elevator (as well
`as those waiting for the car) to use their time more efficiently
`and obtain needed information. Additionally, such an elevator
`system would enhance the security of the occupants upon
`egress, and allow for automatic recognition of an individual in
`order to provide access to certain restricted locations and
`initiation of certain functions such as lighting and HVAC.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`In a first aspect of the invention, computer readable appa-
`ratus comprising a storage medium is disclosed. In one
`embodiment, the storage medium comprises at least one com-
`puter program with a plurality of instructions, the at least one
`program being configured to: receive a first query for first
`information, the first query relating to a first functional con-
`text; retrieve the first information in response to the query, the
`first
`information being retrieved from a remote Internet
`server; cause display of the first information on a display
`device; cause selection of advertising based on the first con-
`text; obtain the selected advertising from a second remote
`server; and present the selected advertising on the display
`device contemporaneously with the information.
`In a second embodiment, the at least one computer pro-
`gram comprises a plurality of instructions, the at least one
`program being configured to: receive input from a user via
`one of a plurality of different function keys associated with a
`touch-screen input and display device, each of the different
`function keys having a different context associated therewith;
`determine a context associated with the one function key;
`forward the determined context to a remote networked server
`
`for the selection of advertising content, the selection being
`based at least in part on the forwarded context; and present the
`selected content via the input and display device for viewing
`by the user.
`In a third embodiment, the at least one program is config-
`ured to: receive input from a user via a first soft function key
`associated with a touch-screen input and display device;
`based at least in part on the input, generate a plurality of
`different soft function keys on the input and display device,
`the different soft functions keys each having a different con-
`text associated therewith; receive a second input via one ofthe
`generated plurality of soft function keys; cause selection of
`advertising content based at least in part on the context asso-
`ciated with the one generated soft function key associated
`with the second input; and present the selected advertising
`content via the input and display device for viewing by the
`user.
`
`In a fourth embodiment, the at least one program is con-
`figured to: receive an input from a user of a transport appara-
`tus, the input relating to a desired function; cause access of a
`remote server via an associated wireless interface to access
`
`information relating to the desired function; receive accessed
`information via the wireless interface; and implement the
`desired function using at least a portion of the received infor-
`mation; wherein the storage medium is part ofa computerized
`information system disposed on or within the transport appa-
`ratus, the transport apparatus being configured to transport at
`least one person from one location to another.
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`In a fifth embodiment, the at least one program is config-
`ured to: receive an digitized representation of a speech input
`from a user of a transport apparatus, the transport apparatus
`being configured to transport at least one person from one
`location to another, the input relating to a desired function;
`cause access of a remote server via an associated wireless
`
`interface to access information relating to the desired func-
`tion; receive accessed information via the wireless interface,
`the received information being configured specifically for the
`user based at least in part on data stored on the remote server
`or an entity in communication therewith, the data being con-
`figured specifically for that user based at least in part on one
`or more previously supplied user-selected configuration
`parameters; and implement the desired function using at least
`a portion of the received information, the implementation of
`the desired function being accomplished at least in part using
`an output system disposed in the transport apparatus; wherein
`the storage medium is part of a computerized information
`system disposed on or within the transport apparatus. The
`computer readable apparatus is capable of causing search of a
`remote database of business entities,
`the database being
`searchable at least by a name of a business entity; and the
`speech input is received via a microphone located within the
`transport apparatus, the speech input comprising the name of
`the business entity.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the infor-
`mation and control system of the invention, showing those
`components local to each elevator car.
`FIG. 2 is a plan view of a first embodiment of the interface
`panel ofthe information and control system ofFIG. 1, includ-
`ing the touch keypad and the display device.
`FIG. 3 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the infor-
`mation and control system network architecture.
`FIG. 4 is a logic diagram illustrating the operation of one
`embodiment of the building directory sub-system of the
`invention.
`
`FIG. 5 is a plan view of one embodiment of a building
`directory sub-system graphic location file, as shown on the
`display device of the information and control system.
`FIG. 6a is a plan view of one embodiment of a network
`input device having dedicated function keys thereon.
`FIGS. 6b and 6c illustrate one embodiment of an exem-
`
`plary coordinated graphic weather display according to the
`present invention.
`FIG. 7 is a plan view of one embodiment of the PED data
`download terminal of the invention.
`
`FIG. 8 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the capac-
`ity sensing sub-system according to the present invention.
`FIG. 9 is a plan view of one embodiment of the elevator
`floor sensor array used in conjunction with the capacity sens-
`ing sub-system of FIG. 8.
`FIG. 10 is a logic diagram illustrating the method of opera-
`tion of the capacity sensing sub-system of FIG. 8.
`FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of
`the monitoring and security sub-system of the present inven-
`tion.
`FIG. 12 illustrates one embodiment of the elevator car
`
`touch panel used in conjunction with the monitoring and
`security sub-system of FIG. 11.
`FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the
`monitoring and security sub-system of the present invention.
`FIGS. 14a and 14b are plan views of one embodiment of
`the parking and video monitoring displays, respectively, of
`the monitoring and security sub-system of FIG. 11.
`
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`

`
`US 8,065,156 B2
`
`5
`FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of
`the identification and access sub-system ofthe present inven-
`tion.
`
`FIG. 16 is a logic diagram illustrating the operation of the
`identification and access sub-system of FIG. 15.
`FIG. 17 is a plan View of one embodiment of a utility
`services selection display associated with the identification
`and access sub-system of FIG. 15.
`FIG. 18a is a logic diagram illustrating the operation of a
`first embodiment of the prompt mode of the adaptive adver-
`tising sub-system of the invention.
`FIG. 18b illustrates the library data file structure used in
`conjunction with the advertising sub-system of the invention.
`FIG. 18c is a logic diagram illustrating the operation of a
`second embodiment of the advertising sub-system of the
`invention.
`
`FIG. 18d is a logic diagram illustrating the operation of a
`third embodiment of the adaptive advertising sub-system of
`the invention.
`
`FIG. 19 is a logic diagram illustrating the operation of a
`fourth embodiment of the adaptive advertising sub-system of
`the invention.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
`
`Reference is now made to the drawings listed above,
`wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.
`It is noted that while the system and methods of the inven-
`tion disclosed herein are described primarily with respect to
`an elevator car, certain aspects of the invention may be useful
`in other applications,
`including, without limitation, other
`types of personnel transport devices such as trams or shuttles
`or moving walkways, or stationary devices such as kiosks
`within the lobby or elevator waiting areas of a building. As
`used herein, the term “building” is meant to encompass any
`structure, whether above ground or underground, permanent
`or temporary, used for any function.
`General Description
`Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, one embodiment of an
`improved elevator information system is generally described.
`As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes an input device
`102, speech recognition (SR) module 104, central processor
`106 with associated motherboard 121, video RAM 107, non-
`volatile storage device 108 containing a database (not
`shown), graphics co-processor 109, volatile or dynamic stor-
`age device 110 with associated DMA module 139, audio
`amplifier and speaker module 111, speech synthesis module
`112, micro-controller 123, PCI slots 147, and display device
`113. The system also includes a serial bus with universal
`asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART) 117 or alterna-
`tively universal serial bus (USB), as described in greater
`detail below with respect to FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 2, the
`input device 102 of the present embodiment is a touch-sen-
`sitive keypad and/or display screen of the type well known in
`the electrical arts. The input device 102 includes a variety of
`different functional keys 114 on a keypad 116 (and/or on a
`touch-sensitive display screen 113, as described below)
`which allow the user to initiate a query of the database either
`manually via the keypad 116, display device 113, or audibly
`through the speech recognition module 104.
`As shown in FIG. 1, the speech recognition module 104 of
`the present invention includes a high quality, high SNR audio
`microphone 118, analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 141, and
`linear predictive coding (LPC)-based spectral analysis algo-
`rithm run on a digital signal processor 125 having associated
`SR module RAM 127. It will be recognized that other forms
`of spectral analysis, such as MFCC (Mel Frequency Cepstral
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`Coefficients) or cochlea modeling, may be used. Phoneme/
`word recognition in the present embodiment is based on
`HMM (hidden Markov modeling), although other processes
`such as, without limitation, DTW (Dynamic Time Warping)
`or NNs (Neural Networks) may be used. Myriad speech rec-
`ognition systems and algorithms are available, all considered
`within the scope of the invention disclosed herein.
`In the present embodiment, CELP-based voice data com-
`pression is also utilized for transmission and storage of voice
`data. CELP algorithms in general are useful for converting
`analog speech to a compressed digital format which is more
`rapidly and easily manipulated and stored within a digital
`system using less bandwidth and memory. CELP algorithms
`and low bit rate vocoder technology are well known in the
`signal processing art, and accordingly will not be described
`further herein. Note that as used herein, the term CELP is
`meant to include any and all variants ofthe CELP family such
`as, but not limited to, ACELP, VCELP, and QCELP. It is also
`noted that while CELP is used as the basis of compression
`within the system 100, other types of compression algorithms
`and techniques, whether based on companding or otherwise,
`may be used. For example, PCM (pulse code modulation) or
`ADPCM (adaptive delta PCM) may be employed, as may
`other forms of linear predictive coding (LPC).
`As illustrated in FIG. 1, signals generated by the micro-
`phone 118 are digitized by the ADC 141 and processed using
`the aforementioned speech recognition algorithm and the
`DSP 125 to produce digital representations of the user’s
`speech. The speech library or dictionary stored within the SR
`module memory 127 is used by the DSP 125 to match phe-
`nome strings resulting from the LPC analysis with known
`words. Once a “match” is identified, the central processor 106
`and/or micro-controller 123 implement the desired function-
`ality, such as retrieving one or more data files from the storage
`device 108 for display on the display device 113.
`The DSP 125 of the present embodiment is a Texas Instru-
`ments TMS320C6x VLIW digital signal processor or equiva-
`lent, although it will be recognized that other types ofproces-
`sors may be used. The ’C6x DSP is chosen for its speed and
`capability, thereby allowing for real-time speech recognition.
`The central processor 106 and associated motherboard archi-
`tecture (e.g., northbridge, southbridge, etc.) is optimally an
`Intel Pentium II®-based design, although others, such as the
`AMD K600-series processors, may be used in place of the
`Pentium II®. The aforementioned USB is also advanta-
`
`geously used with the Pentium architecture.
`The information and control system keypads 116 and dis-
`plays 113 (FIG. 2) are placed at waist and eye level, respec-
`tively, within the elevator car 180 to facilitate easy access and
`viewing by the user, and limit the amount of incidental con-
`tact by passengers in the elevator. A plurality of different
`input/display devices are optimally disposed within the smart
`elevator to allow multiple occupants to obtain information
`simultaneously. A capacitive “touch keypad” is used as the
`input device 102 in the present embodiment to increase input
`device longevity and thwart vandalism. Specifically, since the
`function keys 114 on the keypad 116 do not have a mechani-
`cal actuating device (such as a spring and set of electrical
`contacts) which will wear with time, they will as a general
`rule last longer. Additionally, since the keypad 116 has no
`openings in the vicinity of the individual keys, any incidental
`contact with deleterious substances such as cleaning fluids
`will not affect the operation of the system or degrade its
`longevity. Similarly, vandalism is discouraged, since there are
`no openings or other access points present within the interior
`of the elevator car. The keypad 116 may also be covered with
`a protective coating of the type well known in the art without
`
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`US 8,065,156 B2
`
`7
`affecting the operation ofthe panel, since, ifproperly chosen,
`such a coating merely acts as a dielectric for the capacitor
`formed between the underlying contacts and the user. It will
`be recognized, however, that any number of input devices,
`including “mechanical” keypads, trackballs, light pens, pres-
`sure sensitive “touch” keypads, or the like may be used in
`conjunction with the present invention if so desired. The
`touch keypads 116 are, in the present embodiment, mounted
`flush with the vertical wall surfaces 177 of the elevator car so
`
`as to make them