Electronic word game machine

• US 4,891,775 A
• Filed: 05/27/1988
• Issued: 01/02/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated (Saunders Acquisition Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Franklin Computer Corporation (Saunders Acquisition Corp.)
• Inventors: McWherter, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Harkcom, Gary V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, LONG
• Application Number:
  US07/200,000
• Time in Patent Office: 585 Days
• Field of Search: 273/272, 273/85 G, 273/DIG. 28, 364/705.06, 364/410, 364/709.02, 364/200 MS File, 364/900 MS File, 434/169
• US Class Current: 463/22
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/00643 Electric board games; Electric features of board games electric word or number games A63F3/0421; computer chess G06F; electric raffle games A63F3/081
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/0421 Electric word or number games
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/0423 Word games, e.g. scrabble electric A63F3/0421; two-dimensional puzzles with rotating rings or discs A63F9/0811, A63F9/0819

Abstract

A hand held electronic spelling dictionary to facilitate the selection of a random word. A random word may be selected for purposes of playing games. An input word size is selected by the user through a keyboard. A random number generator generates a random number for each position in the word selected. The random number selects a letter from a predetermined letter table which table has a distribution of letters approximately equal to the frequency with which letters occur in the English language. The result is a selected letter sequence having a size equal to the input size from the keyboard. This is treated as an input word which is alphabetically traversed against the memory to find valid words of equal size. To minimize biasing the valid words selected, a second random number generator generates a second random number N to select as the output word, the Nth valid word found on an alphabetical traverse.

Claims

1. A word selection device for use in a word game machine having a memory containing a word list arranged in a tree format and a tree search control module to compare an input word against the tree memory to provide a valid output word, the word selection device comprising:

input means to provide a word size command;

a first random number generator responsive to said word size command to provide a random number for each letter position commanded by said word size command; and

a predetermined letter table having a set of letters in a predetermined relative frequency;

said letter table being responsive to the output of said first random number generator to provide a selected letter sequence having a size Q equal to the word size command;

said three search control module responsive to said selected letter sequence to continue the search through words in the tree adjacent to said selected letter sequence to provide, as a valid output word, an Nth valid word having the size Q.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said relative frequency of said set of letters in said letter table is a function of the frequency with which letters occur in the English language.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein N is a random positive number 19 or less.

4. The device of claim 2 wherein N is set equal to "one" when said selected letter sequence begins with any one of the letters J, K, Q, X, Y and Z.

5. The device of claim 2 wherein N is a random positive number 19 or less.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein N is set equal to "one" when said selected letter sequence begins with any one of the letters J, K, Q, X, Y and Z.

7. The device of claim 5 wherein N is generated by a second random number generator.

8. The device of claim 2 wherein N is generated by a second random number generator.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein N is generated by a second random number generator.