Phonetic multilingual word processor

• US 4,484,305 A
• Filed: 12/14/1981
• Issued: 11/20/1984
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1981
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Paul Ho
• Original Assignee: Paul Ho
• Inventors: Ho, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Atkinson, Charles E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Harkcom, Gary V.
• Application Number:
  US06/330,266
• Time in Patent Office: 1,072 Days
• Field of Search: 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File
• US Class Current: 715/210
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/53 Processing of non-Latin text kana-to-kanji conversion G06F40/129; vowelisation G06F40/232

Abstract

A word processor using a standard United States keyboard is provided which enables appropriate Chinese, Japanese, or other characters, to be selected phonetically and recorded for subsequent print-out. The letters on the standard keyboard are actuated to display characters corresponding to the Chinese words or syllables, each of which generally includes a consonant and a vowel. The keys of the keyboard are marked on top with letters corresponding phonetically with the consonant portions of the Japanese, Chinese or other words. The consonants are phonetically selected by the phonetic standard American letters on the keyboard, since the correspondence between the Chinese or Japanese consonants and the English letters are generally understood by Chinese and Japanese people. The keys on the keyboard are also marked, on the front sides, with characters and letters corresponding phonetically to the vowel portions of the Chinese or Japanese words. For each word, the first key operated constitutes a phonetic selection of the consonant of a desired word, and the second key operated constitutes a phonetic selection the vowel of the desired word. The result for most selected words, unless the exact vowel tone is selected, is that a number of different characters corresponding phonetically to the selected words, and variants, are displayed, and the operator then selects the proper character corresponding to the correct word, and causes only the proper character to be transferred to the text portion of the display screen. When the tone of the desired is known further keys may be operated which serve to reduce the number of variance displayed. The process is repeated until a complete page of selected correct characters appear on the text portion of the screen, and at that time the page is transferred to a floppy disc memory for subsequent print out. The word processor of the invention can also be adapted to other languages, such as Russian, Arabic, Korean, etc.

Claims

1. A phonetic multi-lingual word processor comprising:

a display means having a screen;

a keyboard connected to the display means for causing characters of a selected language each representing the consonant and vowel portions of corresponding words to be displayed on the screen of said display means, said keyboard having a plurality of keys respectively having first inscriptions inscribed thereon corresponding phonetically to the consonant portions of the words represented by said characters, and said keys having second inscriptions inscribed thereon corresponding phonetically to the vowel portions of the words represented by said characters;

a memory in which all of the characters to be displayed on said screen are stored as multi-bit digital signals, with each such character being stored at a different address location;

control circuitry interconnecting the keyboard, the display means and the memory and operating so that the actuation of a selected key corresponding phonetically to the consonant sound of a desired character and to the subsequent actuation of a second key corresponding to the vowel sound of the desired character causes a number of said memory locations in said memory to be addressed so that a plurality of characters including the desired character and variants of the desired character to appear on a first portion of said screen; and

manually operated control means connected to said display means for selecting the desired character from the displayed characters and for transferring the desired character to a second portion of said screen.

2. The word processor defined in claim 1, in which said first inscriptions are inscribed on the tops of the keys and said second inscriptions are inscribed on the front faces of the keys.

3. The word processor defined in claim 2, in which the inscriptions inscribed on the top of said keys correspond to the consonant letters of a standard typewriter keyboard.

4. The word processor defined in claim 1, and which includes at least one magnetic disc drive in which the characters to be stored in said memory are magnetically recorded.

5. The word processor defined in claim 1, in which certain of the keys of said keyboard are inscribed with inscriptions representing certain standard tones, a selected one of said last-named keys being operated after the operation of the aforesaid selected key and of said second key when the tone of the desired word is known so as to reduce the number of variants of a desired word to be displayed on said first portion of said screen.