1. An implant for spacing apart vertebral members comprising:
a body including an exterior surface and an interior region, the exterior surface including opposing contact surfaces configured to contact against the vertebral members when the body is inserted into a patient;
a relief cut contained within the body and extending from the exterior surface inward to a terminal end that is disposed between the opposing contact surfaces; the relief cut having a superior side and an inferior side connected by the terminal end;
first and second shims positioned in the relief cut and each slidably engaged with the relief cut;
a stiffness of the implant being adjustable from a first stiffness with the relief cut being empty, a second stiffness with the first shim positioned in the relief cut, and a third stiffness with both the first and second shims positioned in the relief cut;
a height of the implant with the first and second shims positioned in the relief cut is not greater than a distance between the opposing contact surfaces;
wherein the relief cut is sized to simultaneously receive both the first and second shims;
wherein, if the first and second shims are removed from the relief cut, the superior and inferior sides of the relief cut directly face each other.
2. The implant of claim 1, wherein the body is sized to fit within the intervertebral space and the exterior surface is shaped to contact the vertebral members.
3. The implant of claim 1, wherein the body is shaped to fit within an interspinous space and contact spinous processes of the vertebral members.
4. The implant of claim 1, further comprising an aperture that extends through the interior region of the body between inferior and superior sides.
5. The implant of claim 1 wherein the first and second shims have different stiffnesses.
6. The implant of claim 1, further comprising locking means for securing the first and second shims within the body.
7. The implant of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second shims extend outward from body when the shims are positioned in the relief cut.
8. The implant of claim 1, wherein the relief cut extends completely through the body.
9. The implant of claim 1, wherein the body and at least one of the first and second shims are constructed of different materials.
10. The implant of claim 1, wherein at least one of the shims is constructed of a resorbable material.
11. An implant for spacing apart vertebral members comprising:
a body including an exterior surface and an interior region and a central axis; the body also including a superior face and an inferior face; the central axis extending from the superior face to the inferior face;
first and second relief cuts each contained within the body and extending from the exterior surface inward into the interior region in different directions; wherein the first and second relief cuts are positioned within the interior region of the body between the superior and inferior faces of the body; wherein the first and second relief cuts overlap when viewed along the central axis;
a pair of shims, each shim being discrete from the body and including at least one surface for slidably engaging a side of one of the relief cuts to enable sliding the shim from outside the body to a position in the relief cut;
wherein insertion of one of the shims into the first relief cut causes a first stiffness in the implant that affects a first type of vertebral motion, insertion of the pair of shims into the first relief cut causes a greater second stiffness in the implant that affects the first type of vertebral motion, and insertion of one of the shims into the second relief cut causes a stiffness in the implant that affects a second type of vertebral motion;
the first relief cut having superior and inferior sides connected by a terminal end;
wherein, if the shims are removed from the first relief cut, the superior and inferior sides of the first relief cut directly face each other.
12. The implant of claim 11, wherein the first and second relief cuts extend into the interior region of the body in substantially opposing directions.
13. The implant of claim 11, wherein the first and second relief cuts include different shapes.
14. The implant of claim 11, wherein the first and second relief cuts include a substantially common shape.
15. The implant of claim 11, wherein each of the first and second relief cuts include inferior and superior sides formed by the interior region of the body.
16. The implant of claim 11, further including a first locking means for locking the shim in the first relief cut, and a second locking means for locking the shim in the second relief cut.
17. The implant of claim 11, wherein the shim is constructed of a resorbable material.
18. An implant for spacing apart vertebral members comprising:
a body including an exterior surface and an interior region; the body further comprising a central bore extending along a central axis from a superior surface of the body to an inferior surface of the body;
a plurality of relief cuts contained within the body, each extending from the exterior surface inward into the interior region and having a superior side and an inferior side connected by a terminal end; at least a first one of the plurality of relief cuts extending into the interior region from a first side of the body; at least a second one of the plurality of relief cuts extending into the interior region from an opposite second side of the body; wherein the first and second of the plurality of relief cuts are disposed in an overlapping arrangement between inferior and superior sides of the body when viewed along the central axis;
a plurality of shims discrete from the body, each including a defined shape and sized to be positioned in one of the plurality of relief cuts; at least one of the shims including a side for being slidably engaged with the wall of the first one of the relief cuts;
a stiffness of the implant being adjustable from a minimum stiffness with each of the plurality of relief cuts being empty, to a first intermediate stiffness with one of the plurality of relief cuts containing one of the plurality of shims and another of the plurality of relief cuts being empty, to a second intermediate stiffness with one of the plurality of relief cuts containing at least two of the plurality of shims and another of the plurality of relief cuts being empty, to a maximum stiffness with each of the plurality of relief cuts containing at least one of the plurality of shims;
a height of the implant when one of the plurality of shims is positioned in one of the plurality of relief cuts is not greater than a height of the body;
wherein, if the shims are removed from one of the plurality of relief cuts, the superior and inferior sides of the relief cut directly face each other.
19. The implant of claim 18 wherein the plurality of relief cuts result in a first section of the body having a first spring rate, and a second section of the body having a second spring rate.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method, comprising:
receiving, at a publication server from a first message source, an indication of the presence of a first message from a first client device different from the first message source, the first message including a first specification file and a first network address associated with a first print data file;
retrieving, by the publication server, the first print data file from a storage location separate from the publication server and associated with the first network address; and
processing the first specification file and the first print data file using a raster image processor.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first specification file comprises a first Job Definition Format (JDF) file.
3. The method of claim 1, further including:
monitoring the first message source associated with the first client device; and
when the first message is present in the first message source, requesting the first message.
4. The method of claim 1, further including:
receiving an indication of the presence of a second message from a second client device, the second message including a second specification file and a second network address associated with a second print data file;
retrieving the second print data file from the second network address; and
processing the second specification file and the second print data file using the raster image processor.
5. The method of claim 4, further including
monitoring a second message source associated with the second client device; and
when the second message is present in the second message source, requesting the second message.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first specification file includes a binding instruction.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the first message includes receiving the indication of the first message via a firewall between the publication server and the first client device, the firewall configured to prevent receipt of messages from the first client device.
8. A method, comprising:
monitoring a first message source associated with the first client device;
receiving an indication of the presence of a first message from a first client device, the first message including a first network address associated with a first specification file and a first print data file;
retrieving, at the publication server from a storage location separate from the publication server, the first specification file and the first print data file from the first network address; and
processing the first specification file and the first print data file using a raster image processor.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first message comprises a first email message and the first specification file comprises a first Job Definition Format (JDF) file.
10. The method of claim 8, further including:
receiving an indication of the presence of a second message from a second client device, the second message including a second network address associated with a second specification file and a second print data file;
retrieving the second specification file and the second print data file from the second network address; and
processing the second specification file and the second print data file by the raster image processor.
11. The method of claim 8, further including:
receiving an indication of an authentication of the first client device; and
sending, in response to the receiving, an email address to the first client device, the email address configured to receive the first message.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the indication of the authentication is of an authentication token or an authorized username and password pair.
13. A method, comprising:
determining that a first message is available from a message source;
receiving the first message from the message source, the first message including a specification file and an address associated with a location of a data file, the specification file including at least one specification;
retrieving the data file from the address;
processing the specification file and the data file by a printing device configured to (1) generate a raster image based upon the data file and (2) print the raster image based on the at least one specification; and
sending a second message to the message source, the second message including print job confirmation information.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the message source is one of a web form, a file transfer protocol folder, a hot folder, or a hypertext transfer protocol folder.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one specification is a folding instruction.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein the raster image includes a first page and a second page, and the at least one specification includes a first specification and a second specification, the first specification includes a first paper color for the first page and the second specification includes a second paper color, different from the first paper color, for the second page.
17. The method of claim 13, wherein the specification file is a Job Definition Format (JDF) file.
18. The method of claim 13, wherein processing the specification file and the data file includes defining a printable document file based on the specification file and the data file, and processing the printable document file by the raster image processor.
19. A method, comprising:
defining a specification file relating to a print job; and
sending, from a client device, a job request message including the specification file and a network address associated with a print data file, the job request message includes an instruction (1) to monitor a message source and (2) to retrieve the specification file from the first network address.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the network address corresponds to a network location of one of a file transfer protocol folder, a hot folder, or a hypertext transfer protocol folder.
21. The method of claim 19, wherein the specification file is a Job Definition Format (JDF) file.
22. The method of claim 19, wherein the data file is a portable document format (PDF) file.
23. The method of claim 19, wherein the job request message comprises an email message.
24. A method, comprising:
defining a specification file relating to a print job; and
sending, from a client device, a job request message including a first network address associated with the specification file and a second network address associated with a print data file, the job request includes an instruction (1) to monitor a message source and (2) to retrieve the specification file from the first network address.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the first network address corresponds to a network location of one of a file transfer protocol folder, a hot folder, or a hypertext transfer protocol folder.
26. The method of claim 24, wherein the second network address is the same as the first network address.
27. The method of claim 24, wherein the specification file is a Job Definition Format (JDF) file.
28. The method of claim 24, wherein the data file is a portable document format (PDF) file.
29. The method of claim 24, wherein the job request message comprises an email message.