Electronically Operated Machine for Learning Foreign Language Vocabulary

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to an electronically operated machine for learning foreign language vocabulary, or a translating machine, having a memory to store therein both a foreign language vocabulary such as, for example, English words and a domestic language vocabulary such as, for example, Japanese words equivalent to the foregin language vocabulary. By calling out from the memory a desired or random foreign word or its domestic equivalent, anyone can learn a domestic word equivalent to the foreign word, or vice versa.

2. Description of Prior Art

Electronically operated foreign language vocabulary learning machines have heretofore been known, in which Japanese words are input in the machine to translate them to their English equivalents, or vice versa.

In this type of word learning machine, it is the usual practice to use both capital and small letters, and because of this, 6 data bits are required to represent a single alphabetical letter.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electronically operated foreign language vocabulary learning machine capable of representing words of foreign language in both capital and small letters with a small quantity of data bits.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronically operated, foreign language vocabulary learning machine, in which a capital-or-small letter discriminating flag bit is provided at the head of each foreign word, paying attention to the fact that the initial letter of a proper noun or a personal noun, for example, always starts with a capital letter, so as to enable it to determine whether the initial letter should be represented by a capital or small letter according to the flag bit indicating "1" or "0".

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an electronically operated foreign language vocabulary learning machine comprising: a plurality of bits for storing therein character or letter information constituting words; memory means consisting of a determining bit to store therein character or letter discriminating information indicating whether the words stored in the plurality of bits are to be represented by a capital letter; call-out means to call out the words stored in said memory means; and discriminating means to determine, by the capital letter determining information stored in said determining bit for the word called out by said call-out means, whether the initial letter of said word is the capital, or not.

FIG. 1 is a table for explaining the conventional technique;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows an external appearance of a keyboard for the word learning machine;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a dictionary memory;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are detailed diagrams for further explanation of the dictionary memory as shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a code table for explaining one embodiment according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 showing a block diagram of a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, a reference numeral 1 designates a keyboard having a plurality of character keys CK for inputting the alphabetical letters and a retrieving key RK to retrieve a desired foreign word from a memory, as shown in FIG. 3; a numeral 2 refers to a central processing unit (CPU) to perform determination, operational processing, etc.; and 3 refers to a dictionary memory consisting of ROM, in which foreign language vocabulary is stored in each of addresses O to N, as shown in FIG. 4. Although, in FIG. 4, English words are contained in the addresses, their equivalents in other language such as Japanese may be stored therein. FIG. 5A shows further details of the contents of the dictionary memory 3 (ROM). The drawing illustrates a case, wherein a proper noun represented by the code table in FIG. 6 is stored in a data section CD, wherein a flag bit SFG is provided to discriminate whether initial letter of the word is the capital, or not. In such case, the code "1" to denote the capital is stored. FIG. 5B shows a case, wherein an English verb "abandon", which is not a proper noun, is stored, and the flag bit SFG stores therein the code "0" to denote the small letter.

A reference numeral 4 designates an address counter, wherein address informations to read out words in the dictionary memory 3 (ROM) are stored; 5 refers to an input buffer, in which the alphabetical informations input through the keyboard 1 are stored; 6 refers to a control memory which stores therein the control procedures such as explanations of the machine operations to be described later; 7 denotes a display memory which stores therein a word to be displayed; 8 designates a display control circuit which patternizes the word to be stored in the display memory 7, and effects control to forward the patternized word to a display device 9 which enables the word forwarded from the display control circuit 8 to be visualized.

Explanation will now be given as to the operations of the word learning machine of the above-described construction according to the present invention.

Alphabetical letters input from the keyboard 1 are converted to their respective key codes, and stored in an input buffer 5 through the central processing unit 2. By the key code, the central processing unit 2 (CPU) determines a retrieval starting address on the dictionary memory 3, reads a bit train for one word out of the address to convert it into a character code train, and stores the same in the display memory 7. The display control circuit 8 converts the character code train stored in the display memory 7 into the character pattern for display, and then actuates the display device 9.

For example, when the keys in FIG. 3 are depressed in the sequence of A , B , and RETRIEVE , the central processing unit 2 (CPU) retrieves those words starting with letters "ab" in the dictionary memory 3 (ROM).

According to FIG. 4, since the word starting with "ab" is "abandon", the CPU obtains a bit train for the word to convert it to a character code train, and stores the same in the display memory 7. When the word "abandon" taken out of the dictionary memory 3 (ROM) is stored in the display memory 7, the central processing unit 2 (CPU) checks the content of the flag SFG.

In the case of the word "abandon", since the capital-or-small letter determining flag bit SFG indicates "0" as shown in FIG. 5B, the central processing unit 2 (CPU) takes out the subsequent five bits "00001" to convert it to a six-bit character code "000001" as a code for "a" shown in FIG. 1, i.e., a "0-bit" is added to the head of the code.

In the case of a word "American", since the capital/small determining flag bit indicates "1" as shown in FIG. 5A, the central processing unit 2 (CPU) takes out the subsequent five bits "00001", to which there are added bits "11010" to obtain a six-bit character code "011011", thereby converting it to a code different from that indicating the small letter "a".

Thus, a desired word can be taken out of the dictionary memory 3 (ROM). Since the letters after the second onward are all small, they are processed in the same manner as in the abovementioned processing of the small letter, and are forwarded to the display memory 7. Those letters which have been sent into the display memory 7 are converted into an appropriate display pattern by the display control circuit 8, and displayed on the display device 9.

It is to be noted that, in the foregoing explanations of the present invention, English vocabulary have been taken for example, but various other languages such as French, German, etc. may, of course, be used for the purpose of the present invention.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the word retrieval is done by depression of the alphabetical keys. It should, however, be noted that the same display can be effected by first incrementing the contents of the address counter 4, and then making access to the dictionary memory 3 (ROM) by the counter contents.