All The Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of soft tissue repair, comprising the steps of:
forming a hole in a bone at a location at which a soft tissue graft is to be affixed;
attaching at least one suture to the soft tissue graft to be affixed;
capturing the suture attached to the graft and inserting the suture into the bottom of the hole;
drawing the soft tissue graft to the hole; and
installing a tissue anchor into the hole to secure the suture in the hole by interference-friction fixation between the tissue anchor and the bone forming the hole.
2. The method of graft repair according to claim 1, wherein the tissue anchor is a cannulated intereference device, and the method further comprises the steps of:
loading the cannulated interference device onto a cannulated driver; and
using the driver to install the interference device into the hole.
3. The method of graft repair according to claim 2, wherein the interference device is a screw.
4. The method of graft repair according to claim 2, wherein the interference device is one of a wedge or a plug.
5. The method of graft repair according to claim 2, further comprising the step of passing suture through the cannula of the driver such that a loop of suture is exposed at the distal end of the driver, wherein the step of capturing the suture attached to the graft includes:
feeding the suture attached to the graft through the loop of suture at the distal end of the driver,
tightening the suture loop, and
inserting the distal end of the driver into the hole.
6. The method of graft repair according to claim 2, wherein the step of capturing and inserting the suture attached to the graft includes:
inserting the suture attached to the graft into the cannula of the driver from the distal end thereof,
feeding the suture through the driver to the proximal end thereof,
drawing the graft towards the distal end of the driver by pulling on the at least one suture from the proximal end of the driver, and
inserting the distal end of the driver into the hole.
7. The method of graft repair according to claim 2, wherein the driver includes an outer shaft disposed around an inner shaft and movable between a proximal position and a distal position along the inner shaft, and wherein the interference device is loaded onto the inner shaft by inserting the inner shaft through the cannula of the interference device with the outer shaft retracted to the proximal position so that the proximal end of the loaded interference device abuts the distal end of the outer shaft.
8. The method of graft repair according to claim 7, wherein
the interference device is a screw having a hex-shaped cannula,
a distal portion of the inner shaft of the driver is hex-shaped to be matingly insertable into the hex-chaped interference screw cannula,
the inner shaft of the driver is rotatable relative to the outer shaft to move the outer shaft between the proximal and distal positions therealong, and
the interference screw is installed by turning the inner shaft to drive the interference screw into the bone while preventing the outer shaft from rotating so that the outer shaft moves distally along the inner shaft to guide the interference screw into the bone.
9. The method of graft repair according to claim 7, wherein
the interference device is a plug,
the inner shaft of the driver is slidable relative to the outer shaft to move the outer shaft between the proximal and distal positions therealong, and
the interference plug is installed by impacting the outer shaft with a mallet until the proximal end of the outer shaft is aligned with the proximal end of the inner shaft, the interference plug being pushed into the bone by the distal end of the outer shaft.
10. A method of soft tissue repair, comprising the steps of:
forming a hole in a bone at a location at which a soft tissue graft is to be affixed;
capturing the soft tissue graft and inserting the soft tissue graft into the bottom of the hole; and
inserting a tissue anchor into the hole to secure the soft tissue graft in the hole by interference-friction fixation between the tissue anchor and the bone forming the hole.
11. The method of graft repair according to claim 10, wherein the tissue anchor is a cannulated interference device, and the method further comprises the steps of:
loading the cannulated interference device onto a cannulated driver;
passing suture through the cannula of the driver to expose a loop of suture at the distal end of the driver; and
using the driver to install the interference device into the hole,
wherein the step of capturing and inserting the graft includes:
feeding the graft through the loop of suture at the distal end of the driver,
tightening the suture loop from the proximal end of the driver, and
inserting the distal end of the driver into the hole.
12. The method of graft repair according to claim 11, wherein the interference device is a screw.
13. The method of graft repair according to claim 11, wherein the interference device is one of a wedge or a plug.
14. The method of graft repair according to claim 11, wherein the driver includes an outer shaft disposed around an inner shaft and movable between a proximal position and a distal position along the inner shaft, and wherein the interference device is loaded onto the inner shaft by inserting the inner shaft through the cannula of the interference device with the outer shaft retracted to the proximal position so that the proximal end of the loaded interference device abuts the distal end of the outer shaft.
15. The method of graft repair according to claim 14, wherein
the interference device is a screw having a hex-shaped cannula,
a distal portion of the inner shaft of the driver is hex-shaped to be matingly insertable into the hex-shaped interference screw cannula,
the inner shaft of the driver is rotatable relative to the outer shaft to move the outer shaft between the proximal and distal positions therealong, and
the interference screw is installed by turning the inner shaft to drive the interference screw into the bone while preventing the outer shaft from rotating so that the outer shaft moves distally along the inner shaft to guide the interference screw into the bone.
16. The method of graft repair according to claim 14, wherein
the interference device is a plug,
the inner shaft of the driver is slidable relative to the outer shaft to move the outer shaft between the proximal and distal positions therealong, and
the interference plug is installed by impacting the outer shaft with a mallet until the proximal end of the outer shaft is aligned with the proximal end of the inner shaft, whereby the interference plug is pushed into the bone by the distal end of the outer shaft.

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 platform-independent system for providing at least one content feed from at least one content application to a user via a standard feed reader supporting the XML language (\u201cXML\u201d) and the Atom format, the system comprising:
a. a content management system (\u201cCMS\u201d) connected to the feed reader for receiving content requests from the feed reader and for transmitting content feeds based upon the content requests, the content requests in URL format and the content feeds comprising XML documents adhering to the Atom format;
b. a content repository connected to the CMS for receiving content requests from and for passing content feeds to the CMS, the content requests in XQuery document format and content feeds in XML document form; and
c. a linkbase connected to the CMS for receiving content requests in URL format, the linkbase having an XQuery Parameter Provider holding URL parameterXQuery parameter relationships and for converting URL parameters in the content request and passing the corresponding XQuery parameters to the linkbase, the linkbase passing content requests having the corresponding XQuery parameters in XQuery document form to the CMS for forwarding to the content repository to obtain the requested content.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the CMS has an Unstructured Information Management Architecture (\u201cUIMA\u201d) application for converting unstructured content to structured content prior to delivering the content feed to the user.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the content feeds have content elements having characteristics and the user providing user desired characteristics, and further wherein the CMS transforms the characteristics of the content elements to the user desired characteristics using XPath functions prior to delivering the content feeds to the user.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the content feeds have content elements having characteristics and the user providing user desired characteristics, and further wherein the CMS transforms the characteristics of the content elements to the user desired characteristics using an Unstructured Information Management Architecture (\u201cUIMA\u201d) application prior to delivering the content feeds to the user.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein the content feed has category elements representing columns so that the feed reader may receive the content feed and interpret the column elements as columns to present a summary view to the user.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the CMS periodically polls the content repository to determine whether there is new content and, if so, the CMS receives the new content and delivers it to the feed reader.
7. The system of claim 6 wherein the content request specifies the characteristics of the content request including subject matter and the CMS receives content from the content repository according to the specified characteristics and subject matter.
8. A method for providing in a platform-independent system for providing at least one content feed from at least one content application to a user via a standard feed reader supporting the XML language (\u201cXML\u201d) and the Atom format, the method comprising the steps of:
a. receiving, at a content management system (\u201cCMS\u201d), from the feed reader, a URL from the feed reader
b. receiving, at a linkbase, the URL, from the CMS;
c. determining whether the URL comprises a query;
d. if so,
a. receiving, at an XQuery parameter provider, the URL and converting URL parameters in the URL and passing the corresponding XQuery parameters to the linkbase, and, from the linkbase, delivering an XQuery document associated with the URL to the CMS, the CMS passing the XQuery document to the content repository to retrieve the requested content;
b. from the content respository, delivering to the CMS, an XML document having the requested content associated with the received URL; and
c. from the CMS, delivering to the feed reader, the XML document in Atom format; and

e. if not, from the CMS, delivering to the feed reader, an XML document associated with the received URL.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the CMS has an Unstructured Information Management Architecture (\u201cUIMA\u201d) application, the method further including the step of, at the UIMA, converting unstructured content to structured content prior to delivering the content feed to the user.
10. The method of claim 8 wherein the content feeds have content elements having characteristics, the method further having the steps of, at the CMS, receiving, from the user, user desired characteristics for the content elements, and, at the CMS, transforming, the characteristics of the content elements to the user desired characteristics using XPath functions prior to delivering the content feeds to the user.
11. The method of claim 8 wherein the content feeds have content elements having characteristics, the method further having the steps of, at the CMS, receiving, from the user, user desired characteristics for the content elements, and, at the CMS, transforming, the characteristics of the content elements to the user desired characteristics using an Unstructured Information Management Architecture (\u201cUIMA\u201d) application prior to delivering the content feeds to the user.
12. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of providing the content feed with category elements representing columns so that the feed reader may receive the content feed and interpret the column elements as columns to present a summary view to the user.
13. The method of claim 8 further having the steps of, from the CMS, periodically polling the content repository to determine whether there is new content and, if so, at the CMS, receiving the new content and delivering it to the feed reader.
14. The method of claim 13 further having the steps of, at the CMS, receiving required characteristics of the content request including subject matter and, at the CMS, receiving content from the content repository according to the specified characteristics and subject matter.
15. A computer program comprising program code stored on a computer-readable medium, which when executed, enables a computer system to implement the following steps for providing in a platform-independent system for providing at least one content feed from at least one content application to a user via a standard feed reader supporting the XML language (\u201cXML\u201d) and the Atom format, the computer program comprising the steps of:
a. receiving, at a content management system (\u201cCMS\u201d), from the feed reader, an URL from the feed reader
b. receiving, at a linkbase, the URL, from the CMS;
c. determining whether the URL comprises a query;
d. if so,
a. receiving, at an XQuery parameter provider, the URL and converting URL parameters in the URL and passing the corresponding XQuery parameters to the linkbase, and, from the linkbase, delivering an XQuery document associated with the URL to the CMS, the CMS forwarding the XQuery document to the content repository to retrieve the requested content;
b. from the content respository, delivering to the CMS, an XML document having the requested content associated with the received URL; and
c. from the CMS, delivering to the feed reader, the XML document in Atom format; and

e. if not, from the CMS, delivering to the feed reader, an XML document associated with the received URL.
16. The computer program of claim 15 wherein the CMS has an Unstructured Information Management Architecture (\u201cUIMA\u201d) application, the method further including the step of, at the UIMA, converting unstructured content to structured content prior to delivering the content feed to the user.
17. The computer program of claim 15 wherein the content feeds have content elements having characteristics, the method further having the steps of, at the CMS, receiving, from the user, user desired characteristics for the content elements, and, at the CMS, transforming, the characteristics of the content elements to the user desired characteristics using XPath functions prior to delivering the content feeds to the user.
18. The computer program of claim 15 wherein the content feeds have content elements having characteristics, the method further having the steps of, at the CMS, receiving, from the user, user desired characteristics for the content elements, and, at the CMS, transforming, the characteristics of the content elements to the user desired characteristics using an Unstructured Information Management Architecture (\u201cUIMA\u201d) application prior to delivering the content feeds to the user.
19. The computer program of claim 15 further comprising the step of providing the content feed with category elements representing columns so that the feed reader may receive the content feed and interpret the column elements as columns to present a summary view to the user.
20. The computer program of claim 15 further having the steps of, from the CMS, periodically polling the content repository to determine whether there is new content and, if so, at the CMS, receiving the new content and delivering it to the feed reader.
21. The computer program of claim 15 further having the steps of, at the CMS, receiving required characteristics of the content request including subject matter and, at the CMS, receiving content from the content repository according to the specified characteristics and subject matter.

1. An electrostatic ink jet head, comprising:
a vibrating plate, and
an electrode installed facing the vibrating plate at a predetermined gap; wherein, an electric pulse is applied between the electrode and the vibrating plate such that the vibrating plate is displaced by electrostatic force, and an ink drop is discharged by mechanical resilience of the vibrating plate pressurizing ink in the ink chamber; wherein, a pixel is formed by the ink that is discharged by one electric pulse; and where a ratio PT of a period during which the vibrating plate and the electrode contact each other to a period required to form a pixel is equal to or less than (2002.79PV) %, where PV is a per cent ratio of displacement volume of the vibrating plate to volume of a vibrating chamber that is a space enclosed by the vibrating plate and a board of the electrode.
2. An electrostatic ink jet head, comprising:
a vibrating plate, and
an electrode installed facing the vibrating plate at a predetermined gap; wherein, an electric pulse is applied between the electrode and the vibrating plate such that the vibrating plate is displaced by electrostatic force, and an ink drop is discharged by mechanical resilience of the vibrating plate pressurizing ink in the ink chamber; wherein, a pixel is formed by the ink that is discharged by a plurality of electric pulses; and where a ratio PT of a period during which the vibrating plate and the electrode contact each other to a period required to form a pixel is equal to or less than (2002.79PV) %, where PV is a per cent ratio of displacement volume of the vibrating plate to volume of a vibrating chamber that is a space enclosed by the vibrating plate and a board of the electrode.
3. An electrostatic ink jet head, comprising:
a nozzle,
an ink chamber that is connected to the nozzle
a vibrating plate that constitutes a common electrode,
an individual electrode installed outside the ink chamber, and facing the vibrating plate at a predetermined gap; and
a plurality of electrostatic actuators that discharge ink drops from the nozzle, the ink being the ink chamber and pressurized by mechanical resilience of the vibrating plate when the vibrating plate is deformed by electrostatic force generated by an electric pulse applied between the vibrating plate and the individual electrode; where a ratio PT of a period during which the vibrating plate and the electrode contact each other to a period required to form a pixel is equal to or less than (2002.79PV) %, where PV is a per cent ratio of displacement volume of the vibrating plate to volume of a vibrating chamber that is a space enclosed by the vibrating plate and a board of the electrode.
4. The electrostatic ink jet head as claimed in claim 3, wherein one electric pulse is applied between the vibrating plate and the individual electrode when forming one pixel.
5. The electrostatic ink jet head as claimed in claim 3, wherein a plurality of electric pulses are applied between the vibrating plate and the individual electrode when forming one pixel.
6. An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising the electrostatic ink jet head as claimed in any one of claims 1 through 5, wherein the electrostatic ink jet head faces recording paper such that recording is performed by ink jet drops.

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. Wiper blade (20) comprised of a wiper strip support (22) and a wiper strip (24) that is guided laterally with respect to a wiper arm (10) by a device (28) with a connecting rod (32, 74), whereby one end of the connecting rod (32, 74) can be fixed so that it can pivot on an articulated part (12) of the wiper arm (10) approximately vertically to a windshield (26), and the connecting rod (32, 74) having lateral guide surfaces adjacent a clip that sits on the wiper blade (20), characterized in that a pivot bearing (86, 88) is arranged on both ends of the connecting rod (32, 74), one of which permits longitudinal movement of either the wiper arm (10) or the wiper blade (20), and characterized in that at least one catch pin (42) that is permanently connected to the connecting rod (32, 74) forms the pivot bearing (88) on the side of the wiper blade (20), whereby the catch pin (42) is received in the clip (30, 78) that sits on the wiper blade (20) and is positioned in a catch groove (48) that runs in the longitudinal direction of the wiper blade (20).
2. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that the clip (30, 78) is embodied as an end cap.
3. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that an elastic locking hook (50) holds the catch pin (42) in the catch groove (48) that is open towards an articulated bolt (18).
4. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that the pivot bearing (86) on the side of the wiper arm (10) is formed by a rotational axis (34), which is positioned in rest bore holes or indentations of the articulated part (12) or in an adapter (52, 62) that is connected to it and guided by lateral stopping faces (36).
5. Wiper blade according to claim 4, characterized in that the adapter (62) is made up of two opposing adapter pieces (52), which are fastened to inner surfaces of side cheeks of the articulated part (12) and each feature a key slot (58) that is open towards the windshield (26) and that has a rest bore hole (60) arranged on an end, into which the rotational axis (34) is clipped.
6. Wiper blade according to claim 5, characterized in that the adapter pieces (52) are connected by spring elements (64) and feature pins (66) on their outer sides, which lock into corresponding recesses or indentations of the articulated part.
7. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that the pivot bearing (86) on the side of the wiper arm (10) is formed by a rotational axis (34) that is permanently connected with the wiper arm (10), on which a hub piece (40) is pivoted, which is permanently connected with the connecting rod (32, 74) and guided by lateral stopping faces (36).
8. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that guide surfaces (44, 46) on the connecting rod (32, 74) or on the clip (30, 78) are arranged between the pivot bearings (86, 88).
9. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that two parallel connecting rods (32) are provided, which feature guide surfaces (44) on their facing sides, which guide surfaces are adjacent to lateral guide surfaces (46) of the clip (30).
10. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting rod (32) is guided into a guide slot (80) of the clip (78).
11. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that two connecting rod are provided, wherein the connecting rods (32, 74) are mutually supported at a hub piece (40) or a rotational axis (34) via a connecting piece (38).
12. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting rod (32, 74) has an annular cross-sectional profile.
13. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting rod (32, 74) features a cross-sectional contour deviating from a circular shape.
14. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that the catch pin (68) is crowned along its length and runs in a corresponding guide groove (70) of the clip (30).
15. Wiper blade according to claim 14, characterized in that the catch pin (68) is positioned on bearing pins (72) on the connecting rods (32).
16. Wiper blade according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting rod (74) is supported at a hub piece (40) or a rotational axis (34) via a supporting angle (76).
17. Wiper blade (20) comprised of a wiper strip support (22) and a wiper strip (24) that is guided laterally with respect to a wiper arm (10) by a device (28) with a connecting rod (32, 74), whereby one end of the connecting rod (32, 74) can be fixed so that it can pivot on an articulated part (12) of the wiper arm (10) approximately vertically to a windshield (26), and the connecting rod (32, 74) having lateral guide surfaces adjacent guide surfaces on a clip that sits on the wiper blade (20), characterized in that a pivot bearing (86, 88) is arranged on both ends of the connecting rod (32, 74), one of which permits longitudinal movement of either the wiper arm (10) or the wiper blade (20), and, characterized in that the guide surfaces (44) on the connecting rod (32, 74) or the guide surfaces (46, 80) on the clip (30, 78) feature spring elements, with which they are adjacent to the respective other guide surfaces (44, 46, 80).
18. Wiper blade according to claim 17, characterized in that the pivot bearing (86) on the side of the wiper arm (10) is formed by a rotational axis (34), which is positioned in rest bore holes or indentations of the articulated part (12) or in an adapter (52, 62) that is connected to it and guided by lateral stopping faces (36).
19. Wiper blade according to claim 18, characterized in that the adapter (62) is made up of two opposing adapter pieces (52), which are fastened to inner surfaces of side cheeks of the articulated part (12) and each feature a key slot (58) that is open towards the windshield (26) and that has a rest bore hole (60) arranged on an end, into which the rotational axis (34) is clipped.
20. Wiper blade according to claim 19, characterized in that the adapter pieces (52) are connected by spring elements (64) and feature pins (66) on their outer sides, which lock into corresponding recesses or indentations of the articulated part.
21. Wiper blade according to claim 17, characterized in that the pivot bearing (86) on the side of the wiper arm (10) is formed by a rotational axis (34) that is permanently connected with the wiper arm (10), on which a hub piece (40) is pivoted, which is permanently connected with the connecting rod (32, 74) and guided by lateral stopping faces (36).
22. Wiper blade according to claim 17, characterized in that the guide surfaces (44, 46) on the connecting rod (32, 74) or on the clip (30, 78) are arranged between the pivot bearings (86, 88).
23. Wiper blade according to claim 17, characterized in that the connecting rod (32, 74) has an annular cross-sectional profile.
24. Wiper blade according to claim 17, characterized in that the connecting rod (32, 74) features a cross-sectional contour deviating from a circular shape.