Patent ID: 7035802

Claim:
An improvement in a dynamic programming system for speech recognition, comprising: a lexical tree data structure implemented in a computer-readable memory accessible by a processor, said lexical tree data structure having a plurality of nodes that topologically define a root node and a plurality of parent-child generations, including a deepest child generation that is topologically furthest from the root; a means for processing a traversal algorithm implemented by said processor, said algorithm traversing an active nodes envelope made up of a subset of said nodes based on a set of traversal rules whereby nodes of a given generation of said active nodes envelope are processed before any parent nodes of said given generation are processed, a deepest child generation of said active nodes envelope is processed first, and traversal among nodes of each generation of said active nodes envelope proceeds in the same topological direction, wherein said traversal algorithm includes a dynamic programming process that assigns probability scores to nodes based on knowledge of their respective child nodes in order to propagate the active nodes envelope in said lexical tree data structure; and a mechanism for designating selected ones of said nodes as active nodes of said active nodes envelope, wherein said active nodes have a probability score above a pre-determined search threshold.