Apparatus for classifying and storing connection coefficients for a multi-layer neural network

Abstract

An apparatus for storing weight coefficients for a multi-layer neural network is disclosed, wherein information representing connection coefficients is stored which represent strengths of connections between neurons of a multi-layer neural network constituted of an input layer, an intermediate layer, and an output layer, each of the input layer, the intermediate layer, and the output layer being composed of at least a single neuron. The apparatus for storing weight coefficients for a multi-layer neural network is provided with a device for classifying connections, which classifies the connections as having a high degree of connection or having a low degree of connection by comparing the connection coefficients with a predetermined threshold value, and which classifies the connections on the input side of each of the neurons as having a low degree of connection in cases where all of the connections on the output side of each said neuron have been classified as having a low degree of connection, and a storage device for storing information representing the connection coefficients of the connections, which have been classified as having a high degree of connection, and information concerning the corresponding table, which indicates whether the connections between the neurons have been classified as having a high degree of connection or having a low degree of connection by the device for classifying connections.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.