Electronic thesaurus with access history list

• US 5,007,019 A
• Filed: 01/05/1989
• Issued: 04/09/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated (Saunders Acquisition Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Franklin Electronic Publishers Incorporated (Saunders Acquisition Corp.)
• Inventors: Egyud, Julius, Squillante, Peter L., Karron, Abraham
• Primary Examiner(s): Jablon, Clark A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kibby, Steven G.
• Application Number:
  US07/294,058
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 364/419, 364/300, 364/225.6 MJ, 364/963, 364/975, 364/943.42
• US Class Current: 715/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/247 Thesauruses; Synonyms

Abstract

An electronic dictionary has a keyboard for entering words, which words are displayed along with a set of synonyms divided into subsets, each subset having a displayed common core meaning. The original word entered by the user for which synonyms and related words are sought is put into a history list. The user can select any of the synonyms or any of the words from the core meaning presented, or can independently enter any desired word and add those entered words to the history list. In this fashion, the user can build up a history list which can be reviewed by the user and any word in the history list re-accessed, so that the user can track through the history list and explore any desired complex arrangement of concepts, ideas, and relationships. As the history list becomes full, the earliest additional entry words are deleted in sequence.

Claims

1. An electronic word reference machine comprising:

a display screen,

a keyboard for entering characters to be displayed on said screen,

an entry key on said keyboard to enable the user to enter a word that appears on said screen, said word being an original entry word,

processing means responsive to said entry of said original entry word to provide on said screen a set of words having a predetermined relation to said original entry words,

edit means responsive to user selection of any word displayed on said screen by said processing means to provide the user selected word as an additional entry word,

said processing means being responsive to each of said additional entry words to provide a corresponding set of words having said predetermined relation to said additional entry word,

memory means for retaining each of said entry words in sequence as a history list,

means for re-accessing words on said history list, and

deletion means responsive to said history list in said memory means becoming full to delete the earliest additional entry words in sequence from said history list to provide room for the latest additional entry words;

said original entry word being retained in said history list.

2. A machine thesaurus comprising:

a display screen,

a keyboard for entering characters to be displayed on said screen,

an entry key on said keyboard to enable the user to enter a word that appears on said screen, said word being an original entry word,

first processing means responsive to said entry of said original entry word to provide on said screen a set of synonyms for said original entry word and to divide said set of synonyms into subsets, each of said subsets having the same meaning core,

second processing means to provide on said screen the meaning core definition for each of said subsets,

first edit means responsive to user selection of any word displayed on said screen by any one of said processing means to provide the user selected word as an additional entry word,

second edit means to permit user input on said keyboard of any word as an additional entry word,

said first and second processing means being responsive to each of said additional entry words provided by said first and second entry means to provide a corresponding set of synonyms, synonym subsets and meaning core definitions,

memory means for retaining each of said entry words in sequence as a history list,

means for re-accessing words on said history list, and

deletion means responsive to said history list in said memory means becoming full to delete the earliest additional entry words in sequence from said history list to provide room for the latest additional entry words;

said original entry word being retained in said history list,

whereby, the user can track through a user selected series of words to an expanded set of meanings as determined by the user.

3. A machine thesaurus comprising:

a display screen,

a keyboard for entering characters to be displayed on said screen,

an entry key on said keyboard to enable the user to enter a word that appears on said screen, said word being an original entry word,

first processing means responsive to said entry of said original entry word to provide on said screen a set of synonyms for said original entry word and to divide said set of synonyms into subsets, each of said subsets having the same meaning core,

second processing means to provide on said screen the meaning core definition for each of said subsets,

first edit means responsive to user selection of any word displayed on said screen by any one of said processing means to provide the user selected word as an additional entry word,

said first and second processing means being responsive to each of said additional entry words to provide a corresponding set of synonyms, synonym subsets and meaning core definitions,

memory means for retaining each of said entry words in sequence as a history list,

means for re-accessing words on said history list, and

deletion means responsive to said history list in said memory means becoming full to delete the earliest additional entry words in sequence from said history list to provide room for the latest additional entry words;

said original entry word being retained in said history list.

4. The machine thesaurus of claim 3 further comprising:

second edit means to permit user input on said keyboard of any word as an additional entry word.