Electronic translating device

• US 5,576,953 A
• Filed: 09/07/1994
• Issued: 11/19/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Peter S. Stutman
• Original Assignee: Max Hugentobler
• Inventors: Hugentobler, Max
• Primary Examiner(s): McElheny, Jr., Donald E.
• Application Number:
  US08/301,920
• Time in Patent Office: 804 Days
• Field of Search: 364/419.07, 364/419.02
• US Class Current: 704/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0283 for data storage and retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/45 Example-based machine translation; Alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/06 Foreign languages with audible presentation of material to be studied G09B5/04

Abstract

A portable electronic translating device having an input unit (2), a multi-line display (3) and at least one memory unit. The input unit (2) has a memory key (4), with which a user can store words, sentence fragments or sentences, and their translations, in at least one language. This device can be used as a learning aid for language students, who store their newly learned material in the device and, by entering a previously stored word in one language, obtain the corresponding translation in another language, which they can then memorize.

Claims

1. In an electronic translating device having an input unit (2), a multi-line display (3) and at least one memory unit, the input unit (2) comprising a memory key (4), said memory key (4) storing at least one of words, sentence fragments and sentences entered by said input unit (2) in said at least one memory unit and a plurality of identification keys (12, 13, 14) positioned in said input unit (2) assigning the entered words, sentence fragments and sentences to a memory space identifiable with a respective language, the improvement comprising:

said multi-line display (3) showing said entered words, sentence fragments and sentences simultaneously in three languages whereby an input of said at least one of said words, sentence fragments and sentences in one language causes a display of a corresponding translation in two other languages from said at least one memory unit.

2. In an electronic translating device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the input unit (2) comprises an allocated said identification key (12, 13, 14) for each language for which the translating device has been designed.

3. In an electronic translating device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the input unit (2) comprises a plurality of function keys (6, 7), said function keys (6, 7) enabling storage of said words, said sentence fragments, and said sentences in separate said memory units.

4. In an electronic translating device in accordance with claim 2, wherein said multi-line display (3) displays at least two display lines per language, phonetic information being displayed on the respective second lines.

5. In an electronic translating device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said at least one memory unit comprises a dictionary for two languages, said languages being retrievable through said input unit (2) by activation of a function key (5) associated with the dictionary and by entry of a word in one of the two languages.

6. In an electronic translating device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said input unit (2) comprises a plurality of function keys (8, 9, 10) whereby entered words, sentence fragments or sentences are compared with stored data in one language, and agreement with the stored translation into the other language selected by said function keys (8, 9, 10) appears on the multi-line display (3).

7. In an electronic translating device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said input unit (2) comprises at least one cancel key (11), whereby stored data can be deleted.

9. In an electronic translating device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said device is usable as a learning aid.

8. In an electronic translating device in accordance with claim 8, wherein said at least one cancel key (11) deletes only the words, sentence fragment or sentences shown on the multi-line display (3).