Abstract:
An audio processing method utilized to generate an audio stream. An audio frame includes N frequency subbands. An Ith frequency subband among the N frequency subbands includes M audio samples and has an Ith psychoacoustic masking value. First, an Ith offset of the Ith frequency subband is calculated. Then, the Ith psychoacoustic masking value and the Ith offset are inputted into a projection formula to generate an Ith projection value. According to the Ith projection value and a limit range, an Ith scale factor is determined. Subsequently, the M audio samples in the Ith frequency subband are adjusted according to the Ith scale factor.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a method for determining quantization parameters, particularly a method for determining quantization parameters in a bit allocation process. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Since Thomas Alva Edison invented the gramophone, music has been playing an important role in people&#39;s lives. Because of people&#39;s demand of music, engineers keep on researching and have advanced the method to record and reproduce audio signals from the preliminary analog system to the presently popular digital system. Nowadays, CD (compact disc) is a popular format for storing audio signals. However, as the Internet continues to gain more popularity, the traditional format of CD music recordings is gradually replaced by some other coding algorithm formats, such as MPEG-audio Layer-3 or AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), because CD format recording generally has much more data size. 
   There are three steps in the traditional analog to digital music transforming process—Sampling, Quantization and Pulse Code Modulation (PCM). Sampling means reading the signal level of the music at each equal time interval. Quantization means representing the amplitude of each read signal in a quantization degree with a limited numerical value. Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) means representing the quantized value with a binary number. Traditional music CDs employ the aforementioned PCM technique to record analog music in the digital format, but it demands huge storage space and communication bandwidth. For example, nowadays music CDs adopt the 16 bits quantization degree. Therefore, it needs about 10 MB storage space for the music recording per minute. Due to the limited data transmission bandwidth for digital TV, wireless communication and the Internet, some encoding techniques for higher compression ratio on music signals are invented and developed. 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 1  shows a functional block diagram of an audio encoding system  10  of the prior art. Encoders, such as the aforementioned MPEG-audio LAYER-3 or AAC, encode a PCM sample into an audio bitstream of MPEG-audio LAYER-3 or AAC in the audio encoding system  10  in  FIG. 1 . The traditional audio encoding system  10  comprises a Modified Discrete Cosine Transform module (MDCT module)  12 , a psychoacoustic module  14 , a quantization module  16 , an encoding module  18 , and a bitstream packing module  19 . 
   The PCM samples are inputted to both the MDCT module  12  and the psychoacoustic module  14 , and the samples are first analyzed by the psychoacoustic module  14  to generate a masking curve and a window message. The masking curve delineates the range of audio signals to be perceived by ordinary human ears. Ordinary human ears can perceive only audio signals that are higher above than the masking curve. 
   According to the window message transmitted from the psychoacoustic module  14 , the MDCT module  12  performs a modified discrete cosine transformation on the PCM samples. The PCM samples are transformed to a plurality of MDCT samples, and then the MDCT samples are grouped, according to the characteristic of human acoustic perception, to form a plurality of frequency subbands with non-equivalent bandwidth; each frequency subband is associated with a masking threshold. The quantization module  16  cooperates with the encoding module  18 , repeatedly performing a bit allocation process on every frequency subband; such procedure ensures every MDCT sample in the frequency subbands conforms to the coding distortion standard. For instance, by means of a limited available bit numbers, the final encoding distortion of every MDCT sample is made to be lower than the corresponding masking threshold determined by the psychoacoustic module  14 . After the bit allocation procedure, the encoding module  18  performs Huffman encoding on all MDCT samples in that frequency subband. Further, the bitstream packing module  19  combines all encoded frequency subbands, and packs all frequency subbands with corresponding side information so as to generate an audio bitstream, The side information contains information related to the entire audio encoding process, for example, window message, stepsize factor, Huffman encoding information, etc. 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 2  shows the flow chart of a conventional audio encoding. The conventional audio encoding such as MPEG-audio LAYER-3 (MP3) or AAC includes the following steps: 
   STEP  200 : Start. 
   STEP  202 : Receive PCM samples. Then go to step  204  and step  206 . 
   STEP  204 : Analyze the PCM samples using the psychoacoustic module to determine the corresponding masking curve. 
   STEP  206 : Perform the modified discrete cosine transformation on the PCM samples to generate a plurality of MDCT samples which are grouped into several frequency subbands; each frequency subband may include different number of MDCT samples. 
   STEP  208 : According to the masking threshold of each corresponding frequency subband, perform a bit allocation process on every MDCT sample in the frequency subband, so that the MDCT samples in the frequency subband conform to the encoding distortion standard. 
   STEP  210 : Pack all of the encoded frequency subbands with the corresponding side information so as to generate a corresponding audio bitstream of the PCM samples. 
   STEP  212 : End. 
   The bit allocation procedure performed by the quantization module  16  and the encoding module  18  in  FIG. 1  further include many complicated steps. Referring to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 3  shows a flow chart of a conventional bit allocation procedure. The conventional bit allocation procedure includes the following steps. 
   STEP  300 : Start. 
   STEP  302 : Perform quantization of all the frequency subbands nonlinearly (disproportionately) according to a stepsize factor corresponding to each audio frame. 
   STEP  304 : Look up the Huffman Table to calculate the number of bits needed by every MDCT sample of corresponding frequency subband. 
   STEP  306 : Determine if the number of needed bits is lower than the number of available bits. If YES, go to STEP  310 . If NO, go to STEP  308 . 
   STEP  308 : Increase the stepsize factor, and go back to STEP  302 . 
   STEP  310 : De-quantize the quantized frequency subbands. 
   STEP  312 : Calculate the distortion of the frequency subbands. 
   STEP  314 : Store the scalefactor of the frequency subbands and the stepsize factor of the audio frame. 
   STEP  316 : Determine if there is any frequency subband with distortion exceeds the corresponding masking threshold. If NO, go to STEP  322 . If YES, go to STEP  317 . 
   STEP  317 : Determine if there is any other termination condition met (such as the scalefactor has reached the upper limit); if YES, then go to STEP  318 , if NO, then go to STEP  320 . 
   STEP  318 : Increase the value of the scalefactor. 
   STEP  319 : Amplify all the MDCT samples of the frequency subband according to the scalefactor, and then go to STEP  302 . 
   STEP  320 : Determine if the scalefactor and the stepsize factor are better values or the most preferable values. If YES, then go to STEP  322 . If NO, then go to STEP  321 . 
   STEP  321 : Restore previous better scalefactor and stepsize factor; then go to STEP  322 . 
   STEP  322 : End. 
   From the discussion above, there are two loops in the bit allocation procedure for determining the quantization parameter. The first loop is from STEP  302  to STEP  308 ; it is usually called the inner loop or the bit rate control loop, used for determining the stepsize factor. The second loop is from STEP  302  to STEP  322 ; it is usually called the outer loop or the distortion control loop, used for determining the scalefactor. Thus, each run of the traditional bit allocation method usually requires many runs of the outer loop, and every outer loop includes many runs of the inner loop. Such replicated operation leads to poor efficiency of the prior art. To improve the encoding efficiency, reducing the number of the loops and operations becomes important. Besides, since the bit allocation loop of the prior art only increments one to the stepsize factor each time, it causes the increase of the repeated operation of the bit-rate control loop. 
   Some Related Information are Listed for Reference. 
   [1] Information technology—coding of moving pictures and associated audio for digital storage media at up to about 1.5 Mbit/s. part 3: Audio. Technical report, ISO/IEC, MPEG 11172-3, 1993. 
   [2] Information technology—generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information. Part 3: Audio. Technical report, ISO/IEC MPEG 13818-3, 1998. 
   [3] Information technology—generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information. Part 7: Advanced audio coding (AAC). Technical report, ISO/IEC MPEG 13818-7, 1997. 
   [4] Information technology—very low bitrate audio-visual coding. Part 3: Audio. Technical report, ISO/IEC MPEG 14496-3, 1998. 
   [5] US2001/0032086 A1, Fast convergence method for bit allocation stage of MPEG audio layer 3 encoders. 
   [6] EP 0967593 B1, Audio coding and quantization method. 
   [7] H. Oh, J. Kim, C. Song, Y. Park and D. Youn. “Low power MPEG/audio encoders using simplified psychoacoustic model and fast bit allocation. IEEE transactions on Vol. 47, pp. 613-621, 2001. 
   [8] C. Liu, C. Chen, W. Lee and S. Lee. “A fast bit allocation method for MPEG layer III”. Proc. of ICCE, pp.22-23, 1999. 
   [9] Alberto D. Duenas, Rafael Perez, Begona Rivas, Enrique Alexandre, Antonio S. Pena. “A robust and efficient implementation of MPEG-2/4 AAC Natural Audio Coders”. In AES 112th Convention, 2002. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   One aspect of the present invention is to provide a bit allocation process, which can reduce the number of loops for determining the quantization parameter and can reduce the number of loop operations to solve the problem of the prior art. Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a bit allocation process, which can efficiently use the predetermined number of available bits to further improve the quality of the encoded audio bitstream. One embodiment of the present invention provides a scalefactor projection method. The method is used for determining N scalefactors (SF(I), I=1˜N) required by an audio frame which is sampled from an audio signal and encoded according to a coding algorithm. The audio frame is divided into N frequency subbands; the Ith scalefactor of the N scalefactors corresponds to the Ith frequency subband of the N frequency subbands. Every frequency subband has a corresponding absolute threshold of hearing (ATH(I), I=1˜N) and a corresponding psychoacoustic masking value (PM(I), I=1˜N), where N and I are natural numbers thereof. Absolute threshold of hearing (ATH) means the minimum value of a stimulus that can be perceived by ordinary human ears. 
   The method of the embodiment includes the following steps: (a) Determine if the Ith Psychoacoustic Masking value (PM (I)) in the Ith frequency subband is smaller than the Ith Absolute Threshold of Hearing (ATH (I)), and if the result is YES, then sets the Ith scalefactor (SF (I)) to be zero. (b) Calculate N offsets (O (I), I=1˜N) of each N frequency subbands. (c) Input the N psychoacoustic masking values (PM (I)), I=1˜N) and the N offsets (O (I)), I=1˜N) into a first projection formula respectively to generate N first projection values (FPV (I), I=1˜N). (d) Determine if the Ith first projection value (FPV (I)) is smaller than a lower limit value (for instance, if it is smaller than zero.). (d−1) If YES in (d), then sets the Ith scalefactor(SF (I)) as the lower limit value (for instance, to be zero). (d−2) If NO in (d), then sets the Ith scalefactor (SF (I)) to be the Ith first projection value (FPV (I)). 
   The embodiment also provides a stepsize factor projection method. The method includes: (e) Input N offsets (O (I)), I=1˜N) respectively to a second projection formula to generate a second projection value (SPV). (f) Set the stepsize factor to be the second projection value (SPV). (g) Proceed a determination loop iteratively to modify the stepsize factor until the request of the encoding algorithm is satisfied. By these means, the embodiment predicts the scalefactor of every frequency subband, so the simplification of the distortion controlled loop of the prior art is obtained. Furthermore, the embodiment accelerates the computing speed of the bit rate control loop of the prior art by determining the stepsize factor in advance. Through these two methods, the embodiment greatly improves the efficiency of the bit allocation process. 
   These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of skilled in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is illustrated in various figures and drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a functional block diagram of an audio encoding system of the prior art. 
       FIG. 2  shows the flow chart diagram of encoding logics of the prior art. 
       FIG. 3  shows a flow chart diagram of bit allocation procedure of the prior art. 
       FIG. 4  shows the flow chart diagram of the bit allocation procedure according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5A  shows the flow chart diagram of the projection method according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5B  shows the flow chart diagram of the projection method according a second embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  shows the flow chart diagram of the stepsize factor projection method of one embodiment. 
       FIG. 7  shows the curve diagram of the frequency subband and the corresponding scalefactor. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 4  illustrates the flow chart of the bit allocation procedure according to one embodiment of the present invention. The flow chart illustrates a bit allocation procedure for allocating available bits of a predetermined number of a plurality of frequency subbands in an audio frame. This is in order to determine the number of bits needed by every frequency subband of the audio frame under the limited predetermined number of available bits. The audio frame is sampled from an audio signal and is encoded according to an audio coding algorithm. The number of the frequency subbands in an audio frame varies with the adopted audio coding method. For instance, after employing a long window size performing the modified discrete cosine transformation,_the MPEG-audio LAYER-3 coding audio frame has twenty-two frequency subbands. 
   As described in the background of the invention, every frequency subband has been pre-processed by a psychoacoustic model and therefore has a corresponding psychoacoustic masking threshold, as well as an absolute threshold of hearing (ATH). What should be noted is the frequency subband described in this embodiment is composed by a plurality of MDCT samples, using the same scalefactor. 
   As show in  FIG. 4 , the bit allocation procedure of the embodiment includes the following steps: 
   STEP  400 : Start. 
   STEP  402 : Execute a scalefactor projection method so that every frequency subband can generate a corresponding scalefactor. 
   STEP  404 : Execute a stepsize factor projection method so as to generate a predicted stepsize factor of an audio frame. 
   STEP  406 : Quantize every frequency subband according to the predicted stepsize factor. 
   STEP  408 : Encode every quantized frequency subband by means of an encoding method. The encoding method varies according to different audio encoding algorithms. For instance, the encoding method of MPEG-audio LAYER-3 encodes the quantized frequency subbands based on a predetermined Huffman table. 
   STEP  410 : Determine if the predetermined number of bits is most efficiently used according to a determining criterion. If YES, then go to STEP  414 . If NO, then go to STEP  412 . 
   STEP  412 : Adjust the value of the projection stepsize factor and go back to STEP  406 . 
   STEP  414 : End. 
   The determining criterion described in STEP  410  changes with different bit allocation procedure. The determining criterion of the prior art would be that the number of bits used each time is not allowed to exceed the predetermined number of available bits. The number of used bits is generally inversely proportional to the stepsize factor; therefore, it would gradually be closer to the predetermined number of available bits. If the number of used bits exceeds the predetermined amount, the stepsize factor used in the previous loop will be taken as the final stepsize factor. 
   In this embodiment, the restriction of the determining criterion is that the number of bits used by the frequency subband cannot be higher than the predetermined number of bits or lower than a lower limit value. And the adjusting method of the stepsize factor is that subtracting the effective number of bits from the number of bits used after the frequency subband has been quantized, then it is divided by a reference number, and thus obtains an adjusting value (the lower limit is +1 or −1) of the stepsize factor. In this embodiment, the reference number is 60. 
   In the second embodiment of the invention, the restriction of the determining criterion is that the quantized frequency subband should be able to undergo the Huffman encoding, meaning that the value after quantization is not allowed to exceed the upper limit recorded in the Huffman table. Under this restriction, the stepsize factor adjusting method is that subtracting the upper limit value recorded in the Huffman table from the maximum quantized value and dividing by a parameter to obtain the adjusting value (the lower limit is +1) of the stepsize factor. In this embodiment, the reference number is 240. 
   In the third embodiment of the present invention, the two restrictions described above and the corresponding methods of stepsize factor adjustment are combined to reach a better bit allocation result. It should be noted that the result after one loop calculation in the present invention is not only adding 1 to the stepsize factor but calculating and generating the adjusting value by the adjusting methods above. Moreover, the stepsize factor may not only be increased but can also be decreased. Therefore, comparing the prior arts with the present invention, the present invention can efficiently decrease the times of the loop calculation, steps in the loop calculation, and also make more efficient use of the predetermined number of available bits (the actual number of bits for encoding can be closest to the predetermined number of available bits). 
   To summarize the above illustrations, comparing with the prior art, the present invention avoids STEP  310  to STEP  322  in the bit allocation procedure of the prior art, meaning that it avoids the distortion control loop (or the outer loop). Therefore, the present invention simplifies the complicated bit allocation procedure of the prior art and provides a bit allocation procedure with fewer steps. 
   Referring to  FIG. 5A ,  FIG. 5A  shows the flow chart of the projection method according to one embodiment of the present invention. In order to explain the present scalefactor projection method, it is assumed that the audio frame described above is divided into N frequency subbands; therefore, an audio frame totally needs N scalefactors (SF(I), I=1˜N). The Ith scalefactor in these N scalefactors corresponds to the Ith frequency subbands of the N scale subbands. There are one corresponding absolute threshold of hearing (ATH(I), I=1˜N) and one psychoacoustic masking value (PM(I), I=1˜N) for each frequency subband, wherein N and I are natural numbers. 
   The scalefactor projection method of the present invention comprises the following steps: 
   STEP  500 : Start, I=1. 
   STEP  502 : Determine if the Ith psychoacoustic masking value (PM(I)) is smaller than or equal to the Ith absolute threshold of hearing (ATH(I)). If YES, then go to STEP  514 . If NO, then go to STEP  504 . 
   STEP  504 : Generate a corresponding offset (O(I), I=1˜N) for the Ith frequency subband. 
   The corresponding offset can be obtained in various ways. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention, the Ith offset (O(I)) is generated according to the following formula: 
             O   ⁡     (   I   )       =         ∑     I   =   1     N     ⁢       -     log   2       ⁢     PM   ⁡     (   I   )           N           
In another embodiment of the present invention, the Ith offset (O(I)) is the function of the stepsize factor Q(t−1) and the logarithm LPM. Q(t−1) is the stepsize factor of the previous audio frame. LPM is the logarithm of the psychoacoustic value of each frequency subband in the that audio frame with base number 2 (log 2 PM(I)). That is,
   O ( I )= f ( Q ( t− 1), LPM ), wherein  LPM =log 2   PM   
In the same sense, those skilled in the art may also use the parameters (e.g. Scalefactor) determined in the previous audio frame or other information in that audio frame (e.g. Predetermined number of bits, value of MDCT sample, etc.) to calculate the offset of the present invention.
 
   STEP  506 : Input the Ith psychoacoustic masking value (PM(I)) and the Ith offset (O(I), I=1˜N) individually to a scalefactor projection formula to calculate the Ith scalefactor projection value (FPV(I)). 
   In one embodiment of the present invention, the Ith scalefactor projection value (FPV(I)) is generated from the following scalefactor projection formula: 
             FPV   ⁡     (   I   )       =       1     2   ⁢           ⁢   K       ×     (         -     log   2       ⁢     PM   ⁡     (   I   )         -     O   ⁡     (   I   )         )             
Wherein K is a constant, which will be 0.5 or 1 in MPEG Audio Layer 3 or 0.25 in AAC.
 
   STEP  508 : Determine if the Ith first projection value (FPV(I)) is higher than an upper limit. If YES, then go to STEP  510 . If NO, then go to STEP  512 . 
   STEP  510 : Set the Ith scalefactor (SF(I)) to be that upper limit, and then go to STEP  518 . 
   STEP  512 : Determine if the Ith scalefactor (FPV(I)) is smaller than a lower limit (e.g. 0). If YES, then go to STEP  514 . If NO, then go to STEP  516 . 
   STEP  514 : Set the Ith scalefactor (SF(I)) to be that lower limit (e.g. a value of zero), then go to STEP  518 . 
   STEP  516 : Set the Ith scalefactor (SF(I)) to be the integer part of the Ith scalefactor projection value (FPV(I)). 
   The “int” showed in this step in  FIG. 5A  represents the action to take the integer part and to give up the decimal figure of FPV(I), to take the integer part plus 1 and to give up the decimal figure of FPV(I), or to choose the integer which is closest to FPV(I). The action to take the integer part is in order to conform to the scalefactor requirements set forth in MPEG Audio Layer 3 or AAC standard. It is noted that if this embodiment is applied to other encoding standards, the action and step to take “int” may be omitted if no such requirement is set forth. 
   STEP  518 : Determine if the variable “I” is equal to the constant “N”. If No, then go to STEP  520 . If YES, then go to STEP  522 . 
   STEP  520 : Process the next scalefactor projection, set I=I+1, then go to STEP  502 . 
   STEP  522 : End. 
   Referring to  FIG. 5B ,  FIG. 5B  shows the flow chart of another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, STEP  508  and STEP  510  in  FIG. 5A  are omitted, and STEP  521  is added. The other steps remain the same as described in  FIG. 5A , so no redundant description will be repeated here. The added STEP  521  in  FIG. 5B  is to adjust N scalefactors by means of the upper limit. In other words, when all of the N scalefactors&#39; operations in STEP  518  are finished, if there are scalefactors exceeding the upper limit, then all the N scalefactors are shifted downward to let the maximum scalefactor equal to the upper limit, and scalefactors which are smaller or equal to the lower limit after the shift are adjusted to be equal to the lower limit. To sum up the descriptions above, the scalefactor projection method directly calculates the most suitable scalefactor for the frequency subband in a prediction or projection way, thus avoiding the replicated steps of calculation, as compared with the prior arts. It greatly improves the efficiency of the bit allocation procedure. 
   Referring to  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 6  shows the flow chart of the stepsize factor projection method of the present invention: 
   STEP  600 : Start. 
   STEP  602 : Input the Ith offset (O(I)), I=1˜N) into a stepsize factor projection formula to generate a stepsize factor projection value. 
   In one embodiment of the present invention, the stepsize factor projection value (SPV) can be generated from the following stepsize factor projection formula:
 
 SPV=C− 2× E ( O ( I ))
 
Wherein C is a constant (for example: a constant value of 6), E(O(I)) generates an expectation value of the N offset O(I)).
 
   STEP  604 : Let the projected stepsize factor equal to the integer part of the stepsize factor projection value. The “int” showed in  FIG. 6  represents the operation to take the integer part and to give up the decimal figures, to take the integer part plus 1 and to give up the decimal figure of FPV(I), or to choose the integer which is closest to FPV(I). The action to take the integer part is in order to conform to the requirements of the stepsize factor in MPEG Audio Layer 3 or AAC standards. However, it should be noted that if this embodiment is applied to other encoding standards, the action and step to take “int” may be omitted if no such requirement is set forth. 
   STEP  606 : End. 
   By means of the stepsize factor projection method, the present invention avoids the replicated calculation in the prior arts by setting a preferred stepsize factor in advance, and therefore greatly improves the efficiency of the bit allocation procedure. 
   Though the present invention simplifies the steps of the bit allocation procedure in the prior art, it doesn&#39;t descend the output audio quality. In the following, an experiment and the associated diagram are provided as a proof. Referring to  FIG. 7 ,  FIG. 7  shows the curve diagram of the frequency subband and the corresponding scalefactor. The data and the associated diagram in  FIG. 7  are obtained by adopting the encoding algorithm of MPEG Audio Layer-3, wherein the sampling rate is 44.1 kHz, the bit rate is 128 kbps, and the offset is calculated according to the embodiment of the present invention 
             (       e   .   g   .           ⁢     O   ⁡     (   I   )         =       ∑       -     log   2       ⁢     PM   ⁡     (   I   )           N       )     .         
The curve formed by the square data points in  FIG. 7  represents the result of the bit allocation procedure of the prior art, and the curve formed by the diamond data points in  FIG. 7  shows the result of the bit allocation procedure of the present invention. The diagram shows there is no obvious difference between the two curves, but concerning the simplification of the procedural steps and the efficiency of the process, the present invention is apparently more advantageous than the prior art.
 
   To sum up the descriptions above, the present invention simplifies the distortion control loop of the prior art by predicting the scalefactors of each frequency subband in advance. Furthermore, the present invention accelerates the bit rate control loop calculation of the prior art by predetermining the stepsize factors. Through the two methods described above, the present invention, comparing to the audio encoding technique of the prior art, significantly improves the process efficiency of the bit allocation procedure. Besides, the present invention can properly adjust the stepsize factor value by an increment or decrement value. In comparison with the prior art, which can only increase the stepsize factor value, the present invention has a faster and better adjusting effect to further improve the efficiency of the bit allocation procedure. 
   With the example and explanations above, the features and spirits of the invention will be hopefully well described. Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teaching of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.