Patent ID: 8290774

Claim:
A method of removing empty string terms from an automaton A having a plurality of states â€œpâ€, a plurality of states â€œqâ€, and a plurality of outgoing transitions from the plurality of states â€œpâ€, E[p], the method comprising: inputting a plurality of electrical signals representing the automaton A, the automaton A further representing a plurality of hypotheses with associated weights; computing an -closure for each of the plurality of states â€œpâ€ of the automaton A; producing a plurality of electrical signals representing an improved automaton A, the producing comprising modifying E[p] by: removing each of the plurality of transitions labeled with an empty string; and adding to the plurality of outgoing transitions, E[p], a non-empty-string transition, wherein each of the plurality of states â€œqâ€ is left with its weights pre-multiplied by an -distance from a corresponding one of the plurality of states â€œpâ€ to a respective one of the plurality of states â€œqâ€ in the automaton A.