Language input architecture for converting one text form to another text form with tolerance to spelling, typographical, and conversion errors

• US 6,848,080 B1
• Filed: 06/28/2000
• Issued: 01/25/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Zheng, Han, Jian, Lee, Kai-Fu
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUTTON JR, WILLIAM D
• Application Number:
  US09/606,660
• Time in Patent Office: 1,672 Days
• Field of Search: 715/533, 715/535, 704/9, 341/22
• US Class Current: 715/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/129 Handling non-Latin characters, e.g. kana-to-kanji conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/216 using statistical methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/232 Orthographic correction, e.g. spell checking or vowelisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/44 Statistical methods, e.g. probability models
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/53 Processing of non-Latin text kana-to-kanji conversion G06F40/129; vowelisation G06F40/232

Abstract

A language input architecture converts input strings of phonetic text to an output string of language text. The language input architecture has a search engine, one or more typing models, a language model, and one or more lexicons for different languages. The typing model is configured to generate a list of probable typing candidates that may be substituted for the input string based on probabilities of how likely each of the candidate strings was incorrectly entered as the input string. The language model provides probable conversion strings for each of the typing candidates based on probabilities of how likely a probable conversion output string represents the candidate string. The search engine combines the probabilities of the typing and language models to find the most probable conversion string that represents a converted form of the input string.

Claims

1. A language input architecture comprising:

a user interface to receive an input string, the input string containing a spelling error; and

a typing model to generate a list of probable candidate strings that may be substituted for the input string based on typing error probabilities of how likely each of the candidate strings was incorrectly entered as the input string, the typing model being trained on actual data collected from multiple users entering at least one training text;

wherein the typing model is trained using a first language and further comprising a second typing model to generate a list of probable candidate strings that may be substituted for the input string based on typing error probabilities of how likely each of the candidate strings was incorrectly entered as the input string, the second typing model being trained in a second language.

2. A language input architecture as recited in claim 1, wherein each candidate string is associated with a first probability, the language input architecture further comprising:

a language model to determine conversion candidates associated with each of the candidate strings, each conversion candidate being associated with a second probability representing a likelihood of the conversion candidate being in context with preceding strings.

3. A language input architecture as recited in claim 2, wherein the language model comprises an N-gram statistical language model.

4. A language input architecture as recited in claim 2, wherein the input string is written in phonetic text and the conversion candidates are written in language text for each of the candidate strings.

5. A language input architecture as recited in claim 4, wherein the phonetic text is Pinyin and the language text is Hanzi.

6. A language input architecture as recited in claim 2, further comprising a search engine to selectively convert the input string to a conversion candidate based on the first probability and the second probability.

7. A language input architecture as recited in claim 2, wherein the input string comprises a combination of phonetic text and non-phonetic text and the conversion candidates each comprise a combination of language text and the non-phonetic text.

8. A language input architect as recited in claim 1, further comprising a database to store the candidate strings.

9. A word processor embodied on a computer-readable medium comprising the language input architecture as recited in claim 1.