Data retrieval system

Claim 1

A data retrieval system comprising: keyboard means including first keys for designating retrieval conditions under which data is retrieved and for producing retrieval condition signals representative of the retrieval conditions, and second keys for entering keywords, said first keys comprising an EQUAL KEY for causing retrieval to be made of data which is identical with an associated keyword entered, a MINIMUM key for causing retrieval to be made of data which is greater than an associated keyword entered, a MAXIMUM key for causing retrieval to be made of data which is less than an associated keyword entered, and a RANGE key for causing retrieval to be made of data which falls under a range specified by a pair of associated keywords entered; a retrieval condition memory for storing therein the retrieval condition signals; first and second keyword memories for storing therein keywords entered, said first keyword memory storing the keywords associated with operation of the EQUAL, MINIMUM and MAXIMUM keys and each of said first and second keyword memories storing the pair of keywords associated with the RANGE key; a retrieval data memory for storing therein data to be retrieved; and comparator means including first and second comparators responsive to the keywords stored in said first and second keyword memories, respectively, for comparing the data stored in said retrieval data memory with the keywords to produce output signals, a decoder for decoding the retrieval condition signals stored in said retrieval condition memory to produce a decoded signal, and gating means responsive to the output signals and the decoded signal for producing a logical output signal indicative of whether the data to be retrieved satisfies the retrieval conditions.