System for performing spell check functions on a printing device without operator intervention

• US 5,745,911 A
• Filed: 05/22/1995
• Issued: 04/28/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Sugiyama, Noriyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Weinhardt, Robert A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tkacs, Stephen R.
• Application Number:
  US08/445,791
• Time in Patent Office: 1,072 Days
• Field of Search: 364/419.1, 364/419.11, 364/419.12, 400/63, 400/74, 400/83, 400/696, 400/697, 395/761, 395/792, 395/793, 395/794, 395/803
• US Class Current: 715/236
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/36 for cancelling or correcting errors by overprinting
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 5/30 Character or syllable selection controlled by recorded information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/232 Orthographic correction, e.g. spell checking or vowelisation

Abstract

A printing device including a central processing unit, a first memory, a keyboard for inputting characters forming words, and symbols, which are stored in the first memory, a second memory, a printer, and an eraser. The printer prints the information stored in the first memory. The central processing unit determines whether a word printed by the printer means before the commencement of the printing of the next word is correctly spelled. The second memory contains a dictionary used by the central processing unit to determine whether the spelling of the word printed by the printer is correct. The eraser erases a part of or the entire printed word in response to the central processing means determining that the printed word is misspelled.

Claims

1. A printing device comprising:

input means for inputting information, comprising a plurality of characters comprising words and a plurality of symbols;

output means for printing or erasing characters or symbols;

determining means for determining whether the information indicating the end of a word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted by said input means;

dictionary means for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words;

checking means for checking the correctness of the spelling of a word which has been inputted each time a whole word is inputted by said input means in response to said determining means determining that the information indicating the end of the input word has been inputted by said input means;

recognizing means for recognizing a correctly spelled word corresponding to an input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of the checking by said checking means;

discriminating means for discriminating whether the number of characters in the misspelled word accords with the number of characters in the corresponding correctly spelled word; and

control means for controlling said output means to selectively erase correct characters in the misspelled word, depending on whether the number of characters of the misspelled word is discriminated to accord with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word by erasing only wrong characters in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word is discriminated to accord with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word, and erasing a first wrong character which is the first wrong character to appear in the misspelled word and to always erase all the characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled word even if some or all of the subsequent characters are correct and match the corresponding characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word is discriminated not to accord with the number of characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word.

2. A printing device according to claim 1, wherein said output means is arranged to perform an output operation each time a character or symbol is input by said input means, and said determining means comprises means for recognizing a symbol representing a space or the latest input punctuation as the information indicating the end of a word.

3. A printing device comprising:

input means for inputting information comprising characters and a symbol;

printing means for printing the characters and the symbol inputted by said input means;

determining means for determining whether the information indicating the end of a word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted by said input means;

dictionary means for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words;

checking means for checking the spelling of a word that has been printed by utilizing said dictionary means each time a whole word is printed by said printing means when said determining means determines that the information indicating the end of the input word is inputted;

recognizing means for recognizing a correct word corresponding to the input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of the checking by said checking means;

computing means for computing, when said checking means determines that the word that has been printed is misspelled, the difference in the number of characters between the misspelled printed word and the correct word corresponding to the misspelled printed word;

erasing means for erasing printed characters; and

erasing control means for controlling said erasing means to selectively erase correct characters in the misspelled word, depending on whether the number of characters in the misspelled printed word is computed to be equal to the number of characters in a correct word corresponding to misspelled printed word in response to said checking means determining that the word that has been printed is misspelled and said computing means computing the difference in the number of characters between the misspelled printed word and the correct word corresponding to the misspelled printed word so that, when the number of characters in the misspelled printed word is different from the number of characters in the corresponding correct word according to the result of the operation of said computing means, a first wrong character which is the first wrong character to appear in the misspelled printed word and all characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled printed word are always erased, even if some or all of the subsequent characters are correct and match the corresponding characters of the corresponding correct word and when the number of characters in the misspelled printed word is equal to the number of characters in the corresponding correct word, only the wrong characters within the misspelled printed word are erased.

4. A printing device according to claim 3 further comprising:

means for reading out the correctly spelled word, corresponding to the misspelled plurality of printed characters, from within said dictionary means after the erasure of a part of or the entire misspelled plurality of printed characters by said erasing means, and means for instructing the printing of a part of or the entire correctly spelled word at the erased portion by said printing means.

5. A printing device according to claim 3, further comprising means for performing space processing after said erasing control means erases the portion of the misspelled printed word after a wrong character within the misspelled printed word, and then prints the correct characters.

6. A method of correcting a misspelled printed word comprising the steps of:

inputting information, comprising a plurality of characters comprising words and a plurality of symbols;

printing input characters and symbols;

determining whether the information indicating the end of an input word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted;

checking the correctness of the spelling of a word which has been inputted by utilizing a dictionary for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words each time a whole word is inputted in response to said determining step determining that the information indicating the end of the input word has been inputted;

recognizing a correctly spelled word corresponding to an input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of said checking step;

discriminating whether the number of characters in the misspelled word accords with the number of characters in the corresponding correctly spelled word; and

selectively erasing correct characters in the misspelled word, depending on whether the number of characters in the misspelled word is discriminated to accord with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word by erasing only wrong characters in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word is discriminated to accord with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word, and always erasing a first wrong character which is the first wrong character to appear in the misspelled word and all characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled word even if some or all of the subsequent characters are correct and match the corresponding characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word is discriminated not to accord with the number of characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word.

7. A printing device comprising:

input means for inputting information, comprising a plurality of characters comprising words and a plurality of symbols;

output means for printing or erasing characters or symbols;

determining means for determining whether the information indicating the end of a word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted by said input means;

dictionary means for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words;

checking means for checking the correctness of the spelling of a word which has been inputted each time a whole word is inputted by said input means in response to said determining means determining that the information indicating the end of the input word has been inputted by said input means;

recognizing means for recognizing only one correctly spelled word corresponding to an input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of the checking by said checking means;

discriminating means for discriminating whether the number of characters in the misspelled word accords with the number of characters in the corresponding correctly spelled word; and

control means for controlling, when the user has input the input word and has not input any additional information after the input word with said input means, said output means to selectively erase correct characters in the misspelled word, depending upon whether the number of characters in the misspelled word accords with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word by erasing only wrong characters in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word accords with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word, and for controlling said output means to always erase a first wrong character and all characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word does not accord with the number of characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word.

8. A printing device comprising:

input means for inputting information comprising characters and a symbol;

printing means for printing the characters and the symbol inputted by said input means;

determining means for determining whether the information indicating the end of a word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted by said input means;

dictionary means for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words;

checking means for checking the spelling of a word that has been printed each time a whole word is printed by said printing means when said determining means determines that the information indicating the end of the input word is inputted;

recognizing means for recognizing only one correct word corresponding to the input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of the checking by said checking means;

computing means for computing, when said checking means determines that the word that has been printed is misspelled, the difference in the number of characters between the misspelled printed word and the correct word corresponding to the misspelled printed word;

erasing means for erasing printed characters; and

erasing control means for controlling said erasing means to selectively erase correct characters in the misspelled word, depending on whether the number of characters of the misspelled word is computed to be equal to the number of characters in a corresponding correct word, when the user has input the input word and has not input any additional information after the input word with said input means in response to said checking means determining that the word that has been printed is misspelled and said computing means computing the difference in the number of characters between the misspelled printed word and the correct word corresponding to the misspelled printed word so that, when the number of characters in the misspelled printed word is different from the number of characters in the corresponding correct word according to the result of the operation of said computing means, a first wrong character and all characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled printed word are always erased, and when the number of characters in the misspelled printed word is equal to the number of characters in the corresponding correct word, only the wrong characters within the misspelled printed word are erased.

9. A method of correcting a misspelled printed word comprising the steps of:

inputting information, comprising a plurality of characters comprising words and a plurality of symbols;

printing input characters and symbols;

determining whether the information indicating the end of an input word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted;

checking the correctness of the spelling of a word which has been inputted by utilizing a dictionary for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words each time a whole word is inputted in response to said determining step determining that the information indicating the end of the input word has been inputted;

recognizing only one correctly spelled word corresponding to an input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of said checking step;

discriminating whether the number of characters in the misspelled word accords with the number of characters in the corresponding correctly spelled word; and

selectively erasing, when the user has input the input word and has not input any additional information after the input word in said inputting step, correct characters in the misspelled word, depending on whether the number of characters of the misspelled word accords with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word by erasing only wrong characters in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word accords with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word, and always erasing a first wrong character and all characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word do not accord with the number of characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word.

10. A printing device having a spell checking and correcting function which is unable to display correctly spelled words corresponding to misspelled words, said printing device comprising:

input means for inputting information, comprising a plurality of characters comprising words and a plurality of symbols;

output means for printing or erasing characters or symbols;

determining means for determining whether the information indicating the end of a word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted by said input means;

dictionary means for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words which are unable to be displayed by said printing device;

checking means for checking the correctness of the spelling of a word which has been inputted each time a whole word is inputted by said input means in response to said determining means determining that the information indicating the end of the input word has been inputted by said input means;

recognizing means for recognizing a correctly spelled word corresponding to an input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of the checking by said checking means without displaying the correctly spelled word;

discriminating means for discriminating whether the number of characters in the misspelled word accords with the number of characters in the corresponding correctly spelled word; and

control means for controlling said output means to selectively erase correct characters in the misspelled word, depending on whether the number of characters of the misspelled word is discriminated to accord with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word by erasing only wrong characters in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word is discriminated to accord with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word, and erasing a first wrong character which is the first wrong character to appear in the misspelled word and to always erase all the characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled word even if some or all of the subsequent characters are correct and match the corresponding characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word is discriminated not to accord with the number of characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word.

11. A printing device having a spell checking and correcting function which is unable to display correctly spelled words corresponding to misspelled words, said printing device comprising:

input means for inputting information comprising characters and a symbol;

printing means for printing the characters and the symbol inputted by said input means;

determining means for determining whether the information indicating the end of a word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted by said input means;

dictionary means for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words which are unable to be displayed by said printing device;

checking means for checking the spelling of a word that has been printed by utilizing said dictionary means each time a whole word is printed by said printing means when said determining means determines that the information indicating the end of the input word is inputted;

recognizing means for recognizing a correct word corresponding to the input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of the checking by said checking means without displaying the correct word;

computing means for computing, when said checking means determines that the word that has been printed is misspelled, the difference in the number of characters between the misspelled printed word and the correct word corresponding to the misspelled printed word;

erasing means for erasing printed characters; and

erasing control means for controlling said erasing means to selectively erase correct characters in the misspelled word, depending on whether the number of characters in the misspelled printed word is computed to be equal to the number of characters in a correct word corresponding to misspelled printed word in response to said checking means determining that the word that has been printed is misspelled and said computing means computing the difference in the number of characters between the misspelled printed word and the correct word corresponding to the misspelled printed word so that, when the number of characters in the misspelled printed word is different from the number of characters in the corresponding correct word according to the result of the operation of said computing means, a first wrong character which is the first wrong character to appear in the misspelled printed word and all characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled printed word are always erased, even if some or all of the subsequent characters are correct and match the corresponding characters of the corresponding correct word and wherein when the number of characters in the misspelled printed word is equal to the number of characters in the corresponding correct word, only the wrong characters within the misspelled printed word are erased.

12. A method of correcting a misspelled printed word with a printing device which is unable to display correctly spelled words corresponding to misspelled words, said method comprising the steps of:

inputting information, comprising a plurality of characters comprising words and a plurality of symbols with the printing device;

printing input characters and symbols with the printing device;

determining whether the information indicating the end of an input word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted with the printing device;

checking the correctness of the spelling of a word which has been inputted by utilizing a dictionary for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words, which are unable to be displayed by the printing device, each time a whole word is inputted in response to said determining step determining that the information indicating the end of the input word has been inputted;

recognizing a correctly spelled word corresponding to an input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of said checking step without displaying the correctly spelled word with the printing device;

discriminating whether the number of characters in the misspelled word accords with the number of characters in the corresponding correctly spelled word with the printing device; and

selectively erasing correct characters in the misspelled word, depending on whether the number of characters in the misspelled word is discriminated to accord with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word by erasing only wrong characters in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word is discriminated to accord with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word, and always erasing a first wrong character which is the first wrong character to appear in the misspelled word and all characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled word even if some or all of the subsequent characters are correct and match the corresponding characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word is discriminated not to accord with the number of characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word with the printing device.

13. A printing device having a spell checking and correcting function which is unable to display correctly spelled words corresponding to misspelled words, said printing device comprising:

input means for inputting information, comprising a plurality of characters comprising words and a plurality of symbols;

output means for printing or erasing characters or symbols;

determining means for determining whether the information indicating the end of a word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted by said input means;

dictionary means for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words which are unable to be displayed by said printing device;

checking means for checking the correctness of the spelling of a word which has been inputted each time a whole word is inputted by said input means in response to said determining means determining that the information indicating the end of the input word has been inputted by said input means;

recognizing means for recognizing only one correctly spelled word corresponding to an input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of the checking by said checking means without displaying the correctly spelled word;

discriminating means for discriminating whether the number of characters in the misspelled word accords with the number of characters in the corresponding correctly spelled word; and

control means for controlling, when the user has input the input word and has not input any additional information after the input word with said input means, said output means to selectively erase correct characters in the misspelled word, depending upon whether the number of characters in the misspelled word accords with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word by erasing only wrong characters in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word accords with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word, and for controlling said output means to always erase a first wrong character and all characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word does not accord with the number of characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word.

14. A printing device having a spell checking and correcting function which is unable to display correctly spelled words corresponding to misspelled words, said printing device comprising:

input means for inputting information comprising characters and a symbol;

printing means for printing the characters and the symbol inputted by said input means;

determining means for determining whether the information indicating the end of a word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted by said input means;

dictionary means for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words which are unable to be displayed by said printing device;

checking means for checking the spelling of a word that has been printed each time a whole word is printed by said printing means when said determining means determines that the information indicating the end of the input word is inputted;

recognizing means for recognizing only one correct word corresponding to the input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of the checking by said checking means without displaying the correct word;

computing means for computing, when said checking means determines that the word that has been printed is misspelled, the difference in the number of characters between the misspelled printed word and the correct word corresponding to the misspelled printed word;

erasing means for erasing printed characters; and

erasing control means for controlling said erasing means to selectively erase correct characters in the misspelled word, depending on whether the number of characters of the misspelled word is computed to be equal to the number of characters in a corresponding correct word, when the user has input the input word and has not input any additional information after the input word with said input means in response to said checking means determining that the word that has been printed is misspelled and said computing means computing the difference in the number of characters between the misspelled printed word and the correct word corresponding to the misspelled printed word so that, when the number of characters in the misspelled printed word is different from the number of characters in the corresponding correct word according to the result of the operation of said computing means, a first wrong character and all characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled printed word are always erased, and wherein when the number of characters in the misspelled printed word is equal to the number of characters in the corresponding correct word, only the wrong characters within the misspelled printed word are erased.

15. A method of correcting a misspelled printed word with a printing device which is unable to display correctly spelled words corresponding to the misspelled printed word, said method comprising the steps of:

inputting information, comprising a plurality of characters comprising words and a plurality of symbols into the printing device;

printing input characters and symbols with the printing device;

determining whether the information indicating the end of an input word is inputted each time one character or one symbol is inputted with the printing device;

checking the correctness of the spelling of a word which has been inputted by utilizing a dictionary for storing a plurality of correctly-spelled words each time a whole word is inputted in response to said determining step determining that the information indicating the end of the input word has been inputted with the printing device which is unable to display the correctly spelled words;

recognizing only one correctly spelled word corresponding to an input word if the input word is determined to be a misspelled word as the result of said checking step without displaying the correctly spelled word with the printing device;

discriminating whether the number of characters in the misspelled word accords with the number of characters in the corresponding correctly spelled word with the printing device; and

selectively erasing, when the user has input the input word and has not input any additional information after the input word in said inputting step, correct characters in the misspelled word, depending on whether the number of characters of the misspelled word accords with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word by erasing only wrong characters in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word accords with that of the corresponding correctly spelled word, and always erasing a first wrong character and all characters subsequent to the first wrong character in the misspelled word if the number of characters of the misspelled word do not accord with the number of characters of the corresponding correctly spelled word with the printing device.