Control signal processing method and apparatus having natural language interfacing capabilities
First Claim
1. A natural language interface to a computer which generates data structured in computer usable form and derived from input data in the form of word units in the natural language, said word units comprised of a plurality of different lexical categories, said interface comprising:
- (a) first defining means for defining the word units of said natural language which may be processed by the interface;
(b) data unit generating means for generating computer usable data units in response to input of said word units of said natural language, wherein different data units are generated for different word units of said natural language;
(c) second defining means for defining a plurality of different search codes;
(d) selecting means for selecting, in response to input of word units of at least some of said lexical categories, search codes from said plurality of different search codes, the selected search codes being selected based on the lexical category of the input word unit, the selected search codes being usable to generate links only between the data unit generated by said generating means in response to input of the current word unit and one or more subsequently generated data units;
(e) searching means for searching, in response to input of word units in at least some of said lexical categories, for predetermined search codes which have been previously selected, the predetermined search codes being dependent upon the lexical category of the word unit; and
(f) link generating means responsive to said predetermined search codes being found by said searching means for generating links between data units to provide said data structured in computer usable form.
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Abstract
A signal processing method and apparatus suitable for processing input signals representative, for example, of words or other elemental units of a natural language, which signals fall into a plurality of different categories, is provided in which the category of each input signal is determined, search data dependent upon the category is stored, the search data stored in response to previous signals is searched in response to each new signal, the search performed being dependent upon the category of the new signal, and an output signal dependent upon the input signals and upon the results of the searches is provided. When natural language is processed, the output signals may thus be dependent upon the meaning of groups of input words or other elemental units and is provided in a form in which it may conveniently be further processed. An application of the invention in a computer control switching system is described enabling the operator to input switching instructions in natural language.
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Citations
62 Claims
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1. A natural language interface to a computer which generates data structured in computer usable form and derived from input data in the form of word units in the natural language, said word units comprised of a plurality of different lexical categories, said interface comprising:
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(a) first defining means for defining the word units of said natural language which may be processed by the interface; (b) data unit generating means for generating computer usable data units in response to input of said word units of said natural language, wherein different data units are generated for different word units of said natural language; (c) second defining means for defining a plurality of different search codes; (d) selecting means for selecting, in response to input of word units of at least some of said lexical categories, search codes from said plurality of different search codes, the selected search codes being selected based on the lexical category of the input word unit, the selected search codes being usable to generate links only between the data unit generated by said generating means in response to input of the current word unit and one or more subsequently generated data units; (e) searching means for searching, in response to input of word units in at least some of said lexical categories, for predetermined search codes which have been previously selected, the predetermined search codes being dependent upon the lexical category of the word unit; and (f) link generating means responsive to said predetermined search codes being found by said searching means for generating links between data units to provide said data structured in computer usable form. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 61)
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30. A method for providing a natural language interface to a computer, the interface generating data structured in a computer usable form derived from input data in the form of word units in the natural language, said word units comprised of a plurality of different lexical categories, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) defining the word units of said natural language which may be processed by the interface; (b) generating computer usable data units in response to input of said word units of said natural language, wherein different data units are generated for different word units of said natural language; (c) defining a plurality of different search codes; (d) selecting, in response to input of word units of at least some of said lexical categories, search codes from said plurality of different search codes, the selected search codes being selected based on the lexical category of the input word unit, the selected search codes being usable to generate links only between the data unit generated in said generating step in response to input of the current word unit and one or more subsequently generated data units; (e) searching, in response to input of word units in at least some of said lexical categories, for predetermined search codes which have been previously selected, the predetermined search codes being dependent upon the lexical category of the word unit; and (f) in response to said predetermined search codes being found in said searching step, generating links between data units to provide said data structured in computer usable form. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 62)
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59. A record carrier storing program instructions to cause a computer to provide an interface which generates data structured in a computer usable form derived from input data in the form of word units in a natural language, said word units comprised of a plurality of lexical different categories, said stored program instructions comprising:
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(a) instructions to cause the computer to define the word units of said natural language which may be processed by the interface; (b) instructions to cause the computer to generate computer usable data units in response to input of said word units of said natural language, wherein different data units are generated for different word units of said natural language; (c) instructions to cause the computer to define a plurality of different search codes; (d) instructions to cause the computer to select, in response to input of word units of at least some of said lexical categories, search codes from said plurality of different search codes, the selected search codes being selected based on the lexical category of the input word unit, the selected search codes being usable to generate links only between the data unit generated in response to input of the current word unit and one or more subsequently generated data units; (e) instructions to cause the computer to search, in response to input of word units in at least some of said lexical categories, for predetermined search codes which have been previously selected, the predetermined search codes being dependent upon the lexical category of the word unit; and (f) instructions to cause the computer to respond to said predetermined search codes being found and to generate links between data units to provide said data structured in computer usable form.
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60. Computer-executable process steps, stored on a computer-readable medium, which provide a natural language interface to a computer by generating data structured in a computer usable form derived from input data in the form of word units in the natural language, said computer-executable process steps comprising:
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(a) a step to define the word units of said natural language which may be processed by the interface; (b) a step to generate computer usable data units in response to input of said word units of said natural language, wherein different data units are generated for different word units of said natural language; (c) a step to define a plurality of different search codes; (d) a step to select, in response to input of word units of at least some of said lexical categories, search codes from said plurality of different search codes, the selected search codes being selected based on the lexical category of the input word unit, the selected search codes being usable to generate links only between the data unit generated in said generating step in response to input of the current word unit and one or more subsequently generated data units; (e) a step to search, in response to input of word units in at least some of said lexical categories, for predetermined search codes which have been previously selected, the predetermined search codes being dependent upon the lexical category of the word unit; and (f) a step to generate links between data units to provide said data structured in computer usable form, in response to said predetermined search codes found.
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Specification