Control data input apparatus

• US 5,115,390 A
• Filed: 11/13/1989
• Issued: 05/19/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Enomoto, Takaaki, Misawa, Seiichi, Fukuda, Joji
• Primary Examiner(s): Ruggiero, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): LO, ALLEN
• Application Number:
  US07/434,432
• Time in Patent Office: 918 Days
• Field of Search: 364/145, 364/146, 364/143, 364/140, 364/188, 358/335, 358/342, 368/10, 455/171, 455/181, 455/185, 455/186, 360/33.1
• US Class Current: 700/17
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/102 for input of programme steps, i.e. setting up sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23272 Natural language, use simple words like move, rotate

Abstract

A control data input apparatus for feeding control data to an electronic apparatus, wherein words of a natural language representing a plurality of control commands for a controlled system are received and, after analysis of the natural language expressed by a combination of the words, the control commands are fed to the controlled system so that control of such system is rendered executable by the input natural language. The apparatus comprises word input system with an input keyboard provided corresponding to words of a natural language which represent a plurality of control commands for a controlled system, and natural language processing system responsive to a word input from the input keyboard of the word input system and functioning to analyze the natural language expressed by a combination of the words from the word input system, thereby forming data of control commands represented by the natural language. The control commands represented by the natural language and analyzed by the natural language processing system are fed to a controlled system.

Claims

1. A control data input apparatus comprising;

word input means having an input keyboard for manual actuation by a user and including a plurality of keys corresponding to a plurality of words of a natural language and to a plurality of alphanumeric characters, combinations of said words and characters selected by the user representing control command sentences for a controlled system; and

natural language processing means responsive to said plurality of words and alphanumeric characters from said input keyboard of said word input means for analyzing said control command sentence formed by a selected combination of said words and characters from said word input means and determining that said selected combination forms a complete sentence that is a valid one of said control command sentences and forming data corresponding to said complete sentence represented by said selected combination of natural language words and alphanumeric characters,

wherein said data corresponding to said yield one of said control command sentences represented by said natural language words and alphanumeric characters and analyzed by said natural language processing means is fed to said controlled system.

2. A control data input apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for producing an audio signal audible to the user in said natural language corresponding to said complete sentence formed by said selected combination of said words and characters from said word input means.

3. A control data input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said natural language processing means further comprises means for determining words and characters missing from an otherwise complete sentence and requesting from the user the missing words and characters needed to form a complete sentence that is a valid one of said control command sentences for said controlled system.