Patent Document ID: 4069393
Application ID: 05531543

Base Claim:
1. Apparatus which receives spoken input training words and a subsequent spoken input command word and generates a correlation function that is indicative of the resemblance of the command word to each training word, comprising: a. feature extraction means for processing received input words and generating digital feature output signals on particular ones of a number of feature output lines, the particular ones being dependent upon the features present in an input word; b. means for storing, as a time dependent matrix, the presence or absence status of the feature signals which occur during each training word; c. means for storing, as a time dependent matrix, the presence or absence status of the feature signals which occur during the command word; and d. means for comparing, member by member, the command word matrix with each training word matrix and for generating a correlation figure which reflects each matrix comparison, the member comparisons taking account only of the presence of features in the matrices being compared.

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Claim 3:
3. Apparatus as defined by claim 1 wherein the correlation figure for each matrix comparison is a sum of positive and negative member comparisons, a positive comparison being indicated by the presence of a feature at a member position in both of two matrices being compared, and a negative comparison being indicated by the presence of a feature at a member position in only one of two matrices being compared.