Machine translation method and apparatus
US5477450A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 22, 1994 |
| Grant date | Dec 19, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 22, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F40/268
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a machine translation method and apparatus, an input text analyzer analyzes an input text in a first language to form a graph structure of nodes and edges. An equivalent selector introduces variables to ambiguous components of the graph structure by a variable introducer. A constraint solver propagates constraints on the variables to other components. Solutions are then found for equivalent determination and locally consistent solutions are also found for the respective components. A variable realizer finds solutions to the respective locally consistent components according to the patterns of the variables. An output text generator then generates text in a second language from a set of these solutions. Thus, the method and apparatus enable avoidance of an explosion of combinations between source words and equivalents capable of occurring in the analysis phase and also enables the optimum use of information through deferring the determination of words or phrases in the second language of ambiguous components to the text generation phase.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.