JPH06119372A - Electronic translator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an electronic translator to make the declaration of intention by displaying the typical question sentences and answer sentences of the conversation of a specified purpose by using plural display devices and touch panels connected to a minicomputer, and touching the-required conversation sentence by a finger. CONSTITUTION:This electronic translator is constituted of a control storage part 131 to take charge of the progress of conversation, a conversation sentence storage part 132, a dictionary file 133, a touch information storage part 135, and an information storage part 138 to read out plural sentences and compose them into a long sentence and so on, and under the control of a CPU 11, the selection of favorite language, the selection of the name of a matter, and the selection of the conversation sentence for making the declaration of intention are executed successively, and printing and the storage and the transmission of a message are executed as occasion demands. Translation service can be presented selectively to the large number of customers as well by providing a function to switch and connect plural terminal machines for the customer to a host machine.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic translator which enables a conversation between different languages by a simple operation using a plurality of display devices connected to a small computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Although an electronic translator has been conventionally used to support a person who is not good at foreign languages, it requires a large-capacity, high-performance computer, and it also has different functions. Mainly text translation, not suitable for instant translation of simple conversations. In addition, a portable and low-priced electronic translator has been developed, but previously stored sentences are sequentially called by a key operation to select and display a translated sentence or a phrase desired to be translated, and a corresponding translated sentence or It is for displaying words.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention makes it easy to communicate with an unspecified number of parties whose languages are different from each other, such as a contact point of a service organization, by using a language in which they are good at each other. It is intended to provide an electronic translator that can be operated by various operations.

[0004]

In order to solve this problem, an electronic translator according to the present invention comprises a central processing unit, a conversation sentence and / or a phrase in a first language, and a second corresponding sentence.
A storage device storing conversation sentences and / or phrases in the same language with the same reference numbers, first and second display devices, a data selection input device using a keyboard, a mouse device or a light pen, and a display An input / output control device for selectively connecting the device and the selection input device to the central processing unit is provided, and the operation guidance sentences in the first and second languages read from the storage device according to a command of the central processing unit are respectively provided as the first And the second
Means for displaying on the screen of the display device and a set of languages selected by the operation of the selection input device in accordance with the instruction of the operation guidance sentence, and the first step conversation sentence and / or phrase in the first and second languages. Control means for displaying on the screens of the first and second display devices, and a second step according to data from a data selection input device operated by an operator on the other screen in response to a question on either screen Control unit for reading out the conversation sentence and / or phrase of the above from the storage device and displaying them on the screens of the first and second display devices, and at the stage where the purpose of the conversation is reached by repeating the same operation, Means is provided for detecting either the selection or the elapse of a predetermined time and shifting to the step of displaying the operation guidance sentence.

[0005]

In the present invention, the language, the time, and the time required to convey the intention by selecting a language that is good for the user, displaying the sentence in a form of inducing a conversation in accordance with various dialogue situations using the language, , Auxiliary items such as location, or select from a plurality of sentences, and proceed with the conversation so that the speakers can communicate with each other even if they do not speak each other at all.

Further, at least two display devices and input devices are installed for the interlocutor. These display devices and input devices are connected by a communication line or wireless communication means so that they can be connected between isolated places. A dialogue or a dialogue with three or more people can be realized.

[0007]

1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of an electronic translator according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a first device,
2 indicates a block of the second device. The first device and the second device may be installed close to each other, or may be installed in mutually distant places, and are connected by the connection cables 18 and 19. The connection cable may consist of only physical metallic or optical cables, but depending on the system configuration, when connecting via a public telephone line or private telephone line, and an exchange,
Alternatively, it may be connected through a wireless line.

In the block of the first device 1, 11 is a central processing unit, 12 is an input / output control unit, 13 is a storage control device, 14 is a first display device, 15 is a first input device, 151.
Is a touch panel, and a large number of storage units 131 to 138 are connected to the storage control device 13. The control storage unit 131 stores control commands for controlling the functions of the electronic translator of the present invention. The first device 1 is used as an electronic translator main body for a staff member to provide a service to a customer in a service organization or the like.

In the block of the second device 2, 16 is a second display device and 17 is a second input device. The second display device and the second input device are devices to be used by the customer. In the simplest device, only the display and input functions are provided, and the data input / output control function depends on the first device. Can be configured. However, if a high function is required even if the cost becomes high, the central processing unit unique to the second device, the input / output control unit and various storage units are provided to
A part of the function of the device can be shared. In the latter configuration, the connection cable connects the central processing units via the communication control unit.

In this embodiment, both the first device and the second device use a liquid crystal display device for downsizing, but other types of display devices can also be used. The input device may be a keyboard, a mouse, a light pen, or the like in the first device when it can be expected to be used by a staff member who is familiar with the system to some extent. However, since the second display device and the second input device are assumed to be used by the customer, complicated operations such as a keyboard are not required, and the second display device and the second input device are similar to the touch panel provided on the liquid crystal display screen. It is preferable that the information to be selected is displayed and a desired display portion of the display unit can be touched with a finger to input. Also in the first device, when a simple operation is required, a combination of the liquid crystal display device and the touch panel provided thereon is preferable.

In order to input data using the touch panel unit, a touch information storage unit 135 is provided so that a sentence or word selected by touching with a finger can be recognized from conversational sentences displayed on the screen of the display device. Then, this is stored and can be referred to as data for proceeding to the next stage of the conversation. When the information selection function of the touch panel unit is different from that of this embodiment, or when another information selection function such as a light pen is adopted, it is natural that the touch panel unit is configured according to the function.

The electronic translator of the present invention does not pursue versatility to translate any sentence, and prepares a standard conversational sentence suitable for the purpose of use of the user and displays it on the display screen. It is displayed sequentially using the selected language.
Assuming conversations in all situations, the amount of information in conversational texts for such conversations is enormous, and a simple system that is the object of the present invention cannot handle it at all. Therefore, the place of use,
Conversational sentences are created with a limited purpose of use, and standard writing styles are mainly stored and provided in a storage medium such as a flexible disk. This storage medium is prepared for each purpose of use and is stored in the conversational sentence storage unit 132 of the electronic translator of the present invention according to the needs of the user.

In the present invention, a relatively short conversational sentence or term can be used as a unit and used independently. In some cases, complicated long sentences may have to be prepared, but in order to improve memory usage efficiency, basic sentences or words registered as a unit should be combined and constructed. Is desirable. To give an example, "Do you have ...?"
By storing one sentence as a unit and selecting and combining words or idioms to be inserted in the dotted line portion, it is possible to synthesize a large number of conversation sentences to be used according to the situation of conversation.

Therefore, a reference number is given to such a sentence which is a commonly used unit, and the conversation sentence storage unit 1 is provided.
It is stored in 32. Further, the dictionary file 133 stores a large number of terms, character strings, and short sentences to be inserted in standard styles, and these terms and the like are also given reference numbers so that they can be quoted. When creating a question and an answer sentence, if a sentence as a unit can be quoted, not the sentence itself but the reference number can be described and stored.

When reading a sentence having such a structure, since the reference number is read out, the conversation sentence storage unit or the dictionary file is searched using this as a search key to acquire a unit sentence or term to obtain the target sentence. Assemble. By adopting this structure, it is possible to avoid the waste of storing duplicate sentences among many question and answer sentences corresponding to various conversation situations. In general, reference numbers are far fewer characters than sentence lengths, so using reference numbers instead of sentences can significantly reduce storage capacity.

These common sentences may require addition or correction during use. In case a sentence prepared in advance is insufficient, a so-called learning function may be added to specially provide a storage unit for temporarily storing a newly used sentence. As an example of the learning function, when a situation that cannot be dealt with by existing sentences occurs, combination of existing sentences, change of existing sentences, addition of new sentences, etc. are stored and used for later conversation. I can mention that. The sentences and terms collected by the learning function are mainly provided for temporary use in specific departments, but as a result of examination, those adopted as standard common sentences should be given reference numbers and stored in a dictionary file. You can

[Function of Touch Panel Unit] A touch panel unit is provided on the text display screen, and the address of the portion touched by the finger is detected and sent to the central processing unit. The touch information storage unit 135 is provided in order to store the address of the touched portion and the selected information on a specific screen in association with each other and to recognize the information. Since various information screens are selectively displayed on the display device as the conversation progresses,
A code for identifying the specific screen that is currently displayed is required, which can be obtained from the screen information data or may be set separately. The touch portion recognition function is not limited to the address detection in this embodiment, but can be realized by other known means such as detection of the position on the touch panel portion or scanning time.

In order for the computer to recognize and capture the display information selected by touching a specific portion on the screen with a finger, a frame surrounding each specific display information to be selected on the screen is displayed. Set. In principle, the selection operation is possible without a frame, but it is easier for the designer and the user to provide the frame. On the touch panel unit, for example, small matrix-shaped sections are set, and the address of each section position is stored as known data at the time of design. Therefore, the address corresponding to the specific frame can be obtained based on the design value. As a simple method, when designing the screen, a predetermined portion in the frame may be touched to generate address data, and this may be taken into the touch information storage unit 135.

When a specific frame on the screen is touched, it is necessary to store the display information in the specific frame displayed on the screen in the touch information storage unit 135 together with the address thereof.
Since the address on the touch panel unit and the address on the screen have a correspondence relationship, it is easy to recognize the display information in the specific frame corresponding to the address specified on the touch panel unit. In this way, the touch information storage unit 135 includes at least three types of data of the screen identification code, the address range of the specific frame, and the specific display information as one set.
Remember.

A plurality of sentences or words displayed on the screen are
The operation in which the customer touches the touch panel with his / her finger to make a selection is performed as follows. First, the identification code of the displayed screen is recognized and transferred to the register of the central processing unit. Next, when the address of the frame touched by the finger is detected and transferred to the register, the screen identification code and the address are transferred to the touch information storage unit 135, and the text or reference number as the corresponding specific display information is read out. Send to central processing unit. The central processing unit determines the information selected by the customer, retrieves the screen to be displayed next, and advances the operation to the next step of displaying.

[Initial screen and language selection] As an example of the initial screen of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a sentence prompting the customer to select a language is displayed in a plurality of languages 21.
Below that, a plurality of selectable languages are displayed in a tabular format 22. As described above, each language is surrounded by a frame, and for convenience of touching and selecting with a finger. When the customer sees this screen and understands the operation, and touches a specific language, for example, the part of English 23, the following conversational text is displayed in the first language, for example, Japanese, according to the above operation. The language is determined to be English, and the Japanese and English sentences are selected and displayed from among a plurality of dialogue sentences.

In some cases, it may be more convenient in the course of conversation to select a second language other than the selected second language (English in this example) during the conversation. To handle this case,
Either set a selection frame that means "change language" on the screen in advance, or send a sentence "Change language?" From the first device and display it. If you need to change it It can be configured to return to the language selection screen.

By using the "history" function, which will be described later, to store the conversational sentences up to that point, it is possible to provide a function for displaying the conversational sentences up to that point in the newly selected language. When the conversational sentence is read from the storage unit by the reference number, only the language recognition code having the same reference number needs to be changed. Using the same means, it is possible to provide a means for selecting two languages on the language selection screen and displaying them in parallel in the languages, or for the customer to arbitrarily switch and display. This means is not effective in preparing a language, so that it is effective when the conversation is advanced by using a language that is next best.

[Message selection function] When the customer selects the language to be used, the next step is to select the message that is the purpose of the dialogue. The question sentence and the plurality of subject names are read out, and as illustrated in FIG. 3, the question sentence 31 is displayed above and the plurality of subject names 32 are displayed below the question sentence 31 in a matrix, that is, in the form of a table. FIG. 3 is displayed in the second language (English in this example), and the customer selects and touches an appropriate subject line from among them.

If there are many subject names to be displayed and one screen cannot be displayed, the screen can be scrolled by touching a display portion for selecting the next screen, which is not shown. The scroll request signal is sent to the central processing unit to perform the operation of displaying the next screen, and the same screen is displayed on the first device in the first language. The same operation is performed in the case of scrolling in the reverse direction. The scroll function will be described later in detail.

When the portion of the selected subject is touched on the touch panel, the address is transmitted as a signal to the central processing unit, and the central processing unit receives the address and recognizes the corresponding subject. Also, the selected subject is the first
Displayed on the display device. FIG. 4 is a display of sentences and words having the same content in the first language (Japanese in this example) corresponding to FIG. In this first display device, a portion corresponding to the subject name selected by the customer is displayed by an identifying means such as blinking, reverse display, and hatching, so that the staff can recognize the customer's requirement.

When the central processing unit recognizes the subject name, the central processing unit performs the processing of the next step.
In response to a command from the device, it refers to the address table of the control storage unit that stores the message processing program corresponding to the selected message name, reads the processing procedure of the next rank, and a series of sentence group data, Display according to the procedure. First
The reason for issuing the command from the device is that, depending on the subject selected by the customer, an attendant must intervene to make a decision or jump to another question.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a screen in a selected language displayed on the screen of the second display device for the customer when the hotel reservation or check-in is selected. In this example, the customer has selected English and the displayed instruction sentence 5 in FIG. 5 is displayed.
In accordance with 1, a conversation sentence having a desired content is selected from the exemplified conversation sentence 52 and touched. The central processing unit recognizes the conversation sentence of the touched portion, retrieves the conversation sentence to be displayed next from the storage device, and displays it.

[Scroll function] In this example, only four sentences are displayed on one screen due to the limitation of the screen size.
With such a few sentences, it is difficult to have a smooth conversation. Therefore, in order to look for another prepared conversation sentence and to return to the previous conversation, by touching the downward arrow 53 or the upward arrow 54 on the screen, the screen is scrolled and prepared. I am able to call up a conversation sentence that is on the screen.
The scroll command by touching the touch panel unit is sent to the central processing unit, and in accordance with the forward or reverse direction instruction, the screen to be displayed next is searched, transferred to the display unit, and displayed.

FIG. 6 is a screen display on the side of the first display device corresponding to FIG. When the customer side performs the scroll operation, the central processing unit transfers the next screen to the customer side and also transfers the corresponding screen in the first language to the first display device side. Further, the text selected by the customer touching on the screen of the second device is displayed on the screen of the first display device by the same means as described in FIG.

[Numerical value and condition designation function] Reference numeral 55 in FIG.
The part where the customer specifies data such as the number of nights, the number of nights of stay, etc. is displayed with a symbol such as a blank or a dotted line in the displayed text. To enter data in this part,
It is possible to use a keyboard, but not all customers are accustomed to operating the keyboard. Therefore, if the customer selects a sentence that cannot be completed without specifying a numerical value, after displaying the screen,
A message prompting the user to specify a number is displayed in the blank area, and a numeric string from 0 to 9 is displayed separately for each character.

When there are a plurality of blanks in which numerical values and characters are to be inserted, it is possible to select and input data at a plurality of locations on the same screen. However, for an unfamiliar person, it is assumed that one blank data is selected on one screen, the next input prompt screen is displayed after the selection of one data is completed, and the same selection input operation is repeated successively. System is preferred.

It is also possible to display character data such as "morning, night, Japanese food, western food, Sunday" in addition to the numerical value, and select and input from among them. When the customer touches a desired number or character portion among them, the selected number or the like is displayed as a blank, and the number or character is transferred to the central processing unit. This operation inserts the selected number or character in the blank part. In addition, when inserting a numerical value or a character into this blank, the same data is transferred not only to the display device on the customer side but also to the display device of the first device shown in FIG. Is displayed.

A blank for inserting a numerical value or a character is the second
In addition to being input from the device, a person in charge of the first device may select and input. For example, when a customer asks if a hotel room is vacant, "...
・ If so, we can prepare. If the guest room specification is divided into “single”, “twin”, and “double”, it is necessary to insert the type into the blank indicated by the dotted line to show the customer. Therefore, the word "single", "twin", or "double" is selected on the screen of the first device, and the sentence is completed and displayed on the customer side.

[History key and message storage function] When the conversation is advanced using the electronic translator of the present invention, if the contents of the conversation are important and should be recorded, the language used is changed to the previous one. For example, when you want to reproduce the conversation, when you want to check the contents instructed by the person in charge in the process of medical treatment at the hospital, or when the same conversation is repeated, such as when making a reservation at a restaurant. There is a case where the function of storing the conversation content and reproducing it is required.

When this function is operated, each time a conversational sentence is selected and input from the input device, the selected and input conversational sentence or phrase is sequentially transferred to and stored in the message storage unit 138. These contents can be displayed by reading the stored contents up to now by operating the "history" key at any time. Furthermore, by storing and saving the history of selected conversational sentences or phrases in an external storage device such as a magnetic storage card or an IC card, an electronic translator installed later or using another place, It is possible to search and reproduce the conversation content at any time.

[Directory Function and Conversation Classification] Using the scroll function, for example, 1000 conversation sentences can be stored and a desired conversation sentence can be arbitrarily selected from them. However, even if you simply remember a huge amount of conversation,
Since the customer cannot predict what sentences will be prepared, it takes a long time to select.
In order to solve this point, the conversational sentence storage unit 132 is provided with a conversational sentence classification function and a directory according to a classification code assigned to the conversational sentence so that an appropriate conversational sentence can be efficiently selected.

The conversation handled by the electronic translator is set for each purpose such as a service window of a hotel, a hospital, a local government, etc. Taking the conversational sentences necessary at the hospital as an example, the tasks of the hospital include the first consultation reception, the re-examination reception, the preliminary consultation / interview,
It can be broadly classified into inspection, medical treatment, accounting, medication, appointment, inquiry, etc., and conversational sentences are also prepared according to these major tasks. Furthermore, depending on the case, further items of middle classification and small classification are provided under such a large classification,
By organizing conversational sentences, it is possible to efficiently search and use the conversational sentences.

For this reason, conversational sentences in a specific field are classified into, for example, a tree structure according to the purpose of conversation, and each conversational sentence is given a reference number and a classification code.
It is stored in 32. Further, a conversation sentence control table is provided in the control storage unit 131 to store the classification code of the tree structure, the reference number of the conversation sentence, and the sequence number indicating the order of conversation, and the conversation sentence storage unit 132 and the dictionary file 133 are used. Controls the conversation sentences and short sentences by the reference number of, the reading of terms, the synthesis of the conversation sentences, the display order of the conversation sentences, and the like.

By adopting this configuration, even in a complicated conversation that is selected from a large number of conversation sentences, the conversation purpose is limited from the guide message having a tree structure, and the sentences that match the purpose are efficiently provided. Allows you to select and display. In addition, displaying the tree-structured guide text to the customer who is the user is similar to referring to the table of contents of a book with a large number of pages, and it provides an overview of the entire contents of the question text prepared by the electronic translator. This has the effect of facilitating the subsequent selection operation by implication.

[Synthesis of Complex Sentence] A complex sentence is usually constructed by combining unit sentences. When a large number of complicated sentences are stored, there is a high probability that unit sentences will overlap. Such duplication is not preferable because it reduces the efficiency of memory usage. Therefore, only the text as a unit is attached with a reference number and stored. If two unit sentences are simply connected and displayed, they can be easily displayed, but in many cases it is not possible to reproduce a complicated sentence. Therefore, in addition to combining unit sentences, it is necessary to skillfully incorporate the connecting phrases in order to connect the unit sentences and synthesize a complicated sentence in a natural form.

In order to synthesize a unit sentence to form a long sentence, the connection information management unit 137 of FIG. 1 is provided in one embodiment of the present invention. This connection information management unit specifies a symbol that defines the conditions for connecting a specific conversational sentence and a conversational sentence, or a method of selecting and inserting a phrase when inserting a phrase, a short sentence, etc., into a conversational sentence. To do. If you simply connect the conversational sentences that are the units, the composed long sentences may be unnatural, so if there are sentences or phrases to be supplemented when connecting or inserting, these sentences or phrases should also be memorized. Need to be kept. Also, when connecting unit sentences of foreign languages or inserting phrases, if it is necessary to change the singular and plural nouns, tense of sentences, conjunctions, etc. according to the grammar of the foreign language, information for that is also stored. To do.

When a long sentence is not synthesized or when there are few synthesized sentences, the long sentence can be stored in the conversation sentence storage unit or the like without separately providing the connection information management unit. However, since long sentences are often synthesized as needed after the sentences as a unit are determined and the sentences stored in the conversation sentence storage unit are accumulated to some extent, the influence on the conversation sentence storage unit is reduced. In that sense, it is preferable to make the storage unit independent as another storage unit. Taking hospital treatment as an example,
Conversational sentences for reception and accounting can be stored in the standard conversational sentence storage section because relatively short sentences can be used, but medical results can be explained to patients who cannot speak, treatment, and rest. When conveying such cautionary notes, it is inevitable to use a term of a specialized medical care subject and to write a considerably long sentence. In such a case, it is suitable to utilize a standard conversational sentence as much as possible, add a specialized explanation sentence to this, and store it in an independent storage unit.

When synthesizing a long sentence, the sentence stored in the connection information management unit is registered in the directory table of the control storage unit, and the conversational sentence used in the sentence is referred using the address registered in the directory. The data such as the number is read out, the conversational sentence is read out from the required storage unit, the connection information for connecting the unit sentence or the conversational sentence is added, and the operation is performed to synthesize the target sentence. Transfer to.

FIG. 7 shows a flow of a simple dialogue in the electronic translator according to the present invention, which is an example of a dialogue between a patient who first came to the hospital and a receptionist, and a procedure for selecting a phrase or a sentence in the middle of the dialogue. It is a figure explaining. The left side 71 of the figure shows the operation of the receptionist, and the right side 72
Shows the operation on the patient side. As a result of attempting a normal conversation, if the reception staff determines that the patient cannot understand Japanese, he / she operates the first device of the electronic translator to start the operation indicated by the block 711 in FIG. 7. .

In the block 711, the language selection screen is displayed on the second display device and the second device is shown in the block 721 in the language understandable to the patient side, as described with reference to FIG. Prompt for choice. On the patient side, select a language that can be understood, such as block 722, and touch the touch panel with a finger. Accordingly, the attendant asks the requirement in the patient's language, and in block 725, asks about symptoms and medical conditions, and then in block 717.
The department to receive medical treatment in is displayed and notified to the patient.

In block 727, the patient side obtains information about the medical treatment place, procedure, medical treatment place, etc. by displaying on the display device, printing out by the printing device, or recording on a medium such as an IC card. , You can head to the designated department. As in this example, by proceeding with the conversation using the electronic translator as an intermediary, it becomes possible to communicate with each other about a certain range of matters even if the other parties cannot understand the language spoken by each other.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the structure of an electronic translator according to one embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 81 denotes a central processing unit, an input / output control unit, a storage unit such as a dictionary file, a power supply unit,
It is a case of a first device main body of an electronic translator accommodating the above, and a first display device 82 and a touch panel are provided above the case. Adjacent to the first device is a second device 86, on which a second display device 87 is placed.

At the time of use, the upper surface of the case of the main body is inclined like a roof so that the interlocutor can mount the display at an angle so that the display can be easily seen. First device 8
The first and second devices 86 can adopt a structure in which the cases of the main body are connected and fixed at the same time by the connector. When the second device is separated from the main body and used at a remote position, both can be connected using a connection cable (not shown).

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, it is possible to carry out conversations in different languages between a plurality of customers staying in the hotel guest room and the reception staff at a remote location. Therefore, in FIG. 9, the first display device 9
1 is connected to the selection device 92 via the communication control device, and on the other hand, the selection device 92 is connected to a plurality of second devices 93, 94, 9N.

The selection device 92 comprises a plurality of second devices 93, 9
The line is connected to the first device 91 in response to a calling signal from one of the four or the like, and the called line number and the calling signal are transmitted to the first device 91. On the other hand, the first device is the second device 93 which called the initial screen.
Etc., and thereafter, in the same procedure as in the first embodiment with a one-to-one connection, the dialogue is advanced while selecting the language to be used, selecting the conversational sentence, and inputting the necessary data.

By registering the customer's line number and customer name before use, it is possible to identify the customer name and its language by identifying the called circuit number. Further, by storing the conversation history, it is possible to omit a procedure such as language selection, and automatically display the name of the customer at the address of the response sentence.

When the first device is operating for a specific second device, a busy display is displayed for a call from another second device, but the line number of the second device called later is stored. ,
As soon as the previous conversation is over, the line number can be read from the storage device to automatically respond to the subsequent customer. In addition, as shown in the figure, the control device, the storage device, the display control device, and the like are set so that the first device is multi-user compatible, and in response to a call from another second device, the second window is displayed. Can be set on the display device and the input device can be switched between the first customer and the second customer to proceed with the conversation in a time division manner.

Since facilities such as large-scale hotels and hospitals have a large number of guest rooms and sick rooms, it is easy in terms of cost to install an electronic translator and a data communication line therefor in all guest rooms. Not. However, an existing private telephone line can be used by incorporating or connecting a connection interface with a private telephone exchange and a device such as a modem necessary for transmitting digital signals in the electronic translator. In addition, when there is a customer who needs an electronic translator, an attendant brings the electronic translator into the room of the requesting customer and connects the second device of the electronic translator to the connector provided in the guest room. , It is possible to meet the customer's request only by preparing a limited number of electronic translators.

On the contrary to the case where the first device receives a call from the specific second device, the function of selecting and calling the specific second device from the first device is provided, so that the attendant to the customer who cannot speak a language can receive the call. It is also possible to start a dialogue. The calling function is also effective when the dialog is interrupted once and called again when it takes time to solve the problem. In this case, the means for storing the above line number can be used. .

When the function of selecting and calling a specific second device from the first device is provided, it is assumed that the customer who uses the second device is out of the seat or out.
In this case, a notification is given to the second device by lighting a display lamp or a display on the display device. Further, since the message to be transmitted is stored in the message storage unit of the first device for a predetermined time and the message is called when the customer who uses the second device returns,
When the first device is called, a function of automatically transferring and storing the stored message can be provided regardless of the operating state of the first device. In order to facilitate the management, it is possible to provide a function of automatically deleting the message after the message is read by the second device side or after a lapse of a predetermined time.

For a language that is not frequently used in a storage device such as a language that is used very infrequently, image data such as pictograms is stored in the storage device of the conversation database. By displaying it, you can communicate. There is not much information that can be expressed by pictograms, and not much standardized information, but among the image display means such as daily services and facilities used at airports, roads, railways, hotels, etc. around the world. Select one with high commonality. Different pictograms having the same meaning can be displayed in parallel.

A printing device is provided so that each time a conversational sentence or a phrase is selected, or all or part of the contents of the conversational sentence stored in the history storage means can be printed in a desired language. Thus, for example, in a hospital, it is possible to accurately instruct the patient how to take the medicine, how to use the therapeutic medicine, or display a map showing directions.

At the same time as outputting the translated sentence as character information to the display device, or independently, the translated sentence can be supplied to the voice synthesizing device and output by voice. As the speech synthesizer, a translation sentence obtained by a method such as rule synthesis can be used. However, as a feature of the present invention, since a reference number is attached to a conversation sentence, a phrase, or a combination thereof and stored in the storage device, the reference number is transferred to the voice synthesizer, and The device can be simplified by synthesizing voice information based on a sentence and outputting it.

As described above, the conversation in different languages is proceeded while watching the conversation sentence or phrase displayed on the display device, and if necessary, a plurality of sentences are selected or data such as numbers are input. By displaying the sentence selected and input in the above and displaying the translated sentence on the display device of the other party of the conversation, even if the words cannot be understood by each other, the dialogue can be proceeded in a language that each can understand.

[0061]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY In the electronic translator of the present invention, since it is possible to have a simple dialogue with people in different countries who do not understand the language, hotels, restaurants, theaters, various shops, hospitals, public service counters, etc. In the above, it is very effective as a support device for smoothly promoting conversation in a place where an unspecified number of people frequently visit.

In addition, at least two display devices and input devices are installed for the interlocutor, and these display devices and input devices are connected by a communication line or wireless communication means to allow dialogue between isolated places. Or, it is possible to have a dialogue with three or more people.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of an electronic translator of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a language selection screen of the electronic translator of the present invention.

[FIG. 3] Second selection of a subject when the second language is English
It is a figure of a display screen.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a first display screen for selecting a subject when the first language is Japanese.

FIG. 5 is a text example of a screen in a selected language displayed on the second display device screen for the customer.

FIG. 6 is a text example of screen display in a first language on the first display device side.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a conversation procedure in the electronic translator of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the structure of an electronic translator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the electronic translator of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 1st apparatus 2 2nd apparatus 18, 19 Connection cable 11 Central processing unit, 12 Input / output control part, 13 Storage control device, 14 1st display device, 15 1st input device, 151, 1
52 touch panel 131 to 138 storage unit 16 second display device, 17 second input device 31 question text, subject 32 81 case of first device body of electronic translator 86 second device 91 first display device 92 selection device 93, 94, 9N second device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A central processing unit, a conversational sentence and / or phrase in a first language, and a corresponding conversational sentence and / or phrase in a second language are stored with the same reference numbers. Input / output control for selectively connecting a storage device, first and second display devices, a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse device or a data selection input device by a light pen, and a display device and a selection input device to a central processing unit And a first and a second operation guide sentence in the first and second languages read from the storage device according to a command from the central processing unit, respectively.
Means for displaying on the screen of the display device and a set of languages selected by the operation of the selection input device in accordance with the instruction of the operation guidance sentence, and the first step conversation sentence and / or phrase in the first and second languages. Control means for displaying on the screens of the first and second display devices, and a second step according to data from a data selection input device operated by an operator on the other screen in response to a question on either screen Control unit for reading out the conversation sentence and / or phrase of the above from the storage device and displaying them on the screens of the first and second display devices, and at the stage where the purpose of the conversation is reached by repeating the same operation, An electronic translator characterized by detecting either selection or elapse of a predetermined time and shifting to a step of displaying an operation guidance sentence. 2. A storage device for storing reference numbers attached to conversational sentences and / or phrases during the translation operation, and a language set different from the first and second language sets currently selected and being executed When the change is made, the reference number stored in the storage device is read and the conversation sentence and / or the phrase of the halfway-selected language set corresponding to the conversation sentence and / or the phrase of the step that has been selected and executed before is first displayed. The electronic translator according to claim 1, wherein the electronic translator is displayed on the screens of the first and second display devices. 3. A connection system in which a plurality of second display devices are connected to the first display device through a selection device, and a specific second display device is called from the first display device, and from the second display device. The electronic translator according to claim 1, further comprising a connection system for calling the first display device of the above.