JPH11328166A - Character input device and computer-readable recording medium where character input processing program is recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a character input device which edits and inputted document in an easy-to-read state without imposing any load on a user by automatically detecting and extracting a long word or phrase appearing frequency at the time of document input and automatically abbreviating it. SOLUTION: A character string is inputted (S100) from an input device for inputting character strings and is divided into words while KANA(Japanese syllabary)-KANJI(Chinese character) conversion is performed (S120) by taking a morpheme analysis (S110) through retrieval from a basic dictionary containing index words and grammatic information. A word string wherein a specified number of words of specified part of speech such as nouns continue is extracted as an original character string from the divided character strings. The extracted original character string has some of its characters abbreviated according to a certain rule to automatically generate an abbreviated word (S130). After editing (S150: NO), this character string is displayed (S160).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character input device and a recording medium on which a character input processing program is recorded, and more particularly to a technology for automatically abbreviation of a character string satisfying a predetermined condition from an input character string. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when performing a text input operation, if a compound word or a character string of a certain length or more that appears many times in a document being input is input correctly. Then, on the contrary, the sentences sometimes became difficult to see. For example, in the case of a phrase such as "machine translation system development" or "machine translation system development group", the former is a phrase that indicates the type of development, and the latter is a phrase that indicates the type of group. When reading, it is difficult to judge which word is used until the last word "development" or "group" is read, so if it becomes difficult to read, shorten these words and make them easy to understand the meaning. Omissions could make the text easier to read.

In such a case, a long compound word is abbreviated as an abbreviation, registered in a user dictionary, converted at the time of input,
Alternatively, it has been performed to omit the batch conversion of the editing function after the input. To subscribe to the user dictionary, it could not be registered only in cases such as that found what phrase is located in advance. Similarly, when batch conversion of the editing function is used, batch conversion can be performed only after inputting.

[0004]

However, when inputting a new sentence, it is not known what words or phrases appear. If the user registers in the user dictionary every time a long phrase appears, the phrase that appears only once or twice is bothersomely omitted and registered in the user dictionary.
There is a problem in that it is not very easy to read, although it is extremely troublesome and time-consuming to input.

On the other hand, for a long word that frequently appears in a sentence, the sentence becomes very easy to read by abbreviating it shortly.
In order for the user to judge these and input appropriate abbreviations and register them in the user dictionary, there is a problem in that the text must be reread many times, which is troublesome.

Also, when performing batch conversion of editing functions, it is time-consuming to read back a sentence, determine which words appear at what frequency, and consider appropriate abbreviations to perform batch conversion. There was a problem.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem, and automatically detects and extracts a long phrase frequently appearing when inputting a document, even if a user who tries to input characters does not read back the text. It is another object of the present invention to provide a character input device in which an input sentence can be easily read and edited without burdening the user by automatically converting the abbreviation into an abbreviation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording medium storing a character input processing program for causing a computer to execute such a character input processing.

[0009]

In order to achieve this object, a character input device according to the first aspect of the present invention provides a character string input means for inputting a character string, a dictionary including a headword and grammatical information. A morphological analysis unit that performs morphological analysis by searching the dictionary for the character string input by the character string input unit to divide the words into words, and adds grammatical information of the dictionary to the divided words. Original character string extracting means for extracting, as an original character string, a word string in which words satisfying a predetermined condition are repeated a predetermined number of times from the character string divided by the morphological analysis means, and original character strings extracted by the original character string extracting means An abbreviation means for forming an abbreviation by omitting a part of characters of the column under a certain rule, and an abbreviation display means for displaying the abbreviation formed by the abbreviation means.

[0010] In the character input device according to this configuration, the user simply inputs characters normally, and automatically detects and extracts long phrases frequently appearing in the input of a document, and automatically abbrevates them. The abbreviation can be generated without the user trying to enter characters without having to read back the text,
The input text is edited in a legible manner without burdening the user.

In the character input device according to the second aspect of the present invention,
In addition to the configuration of the character input device according to claim 1, further comprising replacement display means for replacing and displaying the original character string extracted by the original character string extraction means with the abbreviation formed by the abbreviation means. It is characterized by.

[0012] In the character input device according to this configuration, long words frequently appearing when inputting a document are replaced with automatically generated abbreviations, so that it is not necessary for the user to replace them with abbreviations generated one by one.

In the character input device according to the third aspect of the present invention,
In addition to the configuration of the character input device according to claim 1 or 2, an original character string before being abbreviated is displayed in association with an abbreviation formed by abbreviating the character string. It is characterized by comprising a character string display means.

In the character input device according to this configuration, it is possible to visually confirm what the original abbreviation character string was, to confirm when the original character string has been forgotten,
It is easier to determine whether abbreviations are appropriate.

In the character input device according to the invention according to claim 4,
An abbreviation editing means for editing the abbreviation is provided, in addition to the configuration of the character input device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

In the character input device according to this configuration, when the automatically generated abbreviation is considered inappropriate, the abbreviation can be easily corrected.

In the character input device of the invention according to claim 5,
In addition to the configuration of the character input device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, an original character string restoring means for returning the abbreviation in the character string to an original character string is provided.

In the character input device according to this configuration, the abbreviation character string can be easily returned to the original character string and can be restored to the first sentence. This is convenient when you want to edit only with an abbreviated character string.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the character input device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the original character string extracting means includes a predetermined condition of the word. Is a specific part of speech including a noun.

In the character input device according to this configuration, the object of the character to be abbreviated can be appropriately selected by making a determination based on the part of speech. In the character input device of the invention according to claim 7, in addition to the configuration of the character input device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the rule for forming the abbreviation in the abbreviation unit is the same as that of the original character. It is characterized in that the first character of each word constituting the column is extracted.

In the character input device according to this configuration, since one character of all the words forming the compound word is used, it is easy to understand what the word constituting the original character string before the abbreviation was, and the short abbreviation was used. Can be

In the character input device of the invention according to claim 8,
In addition to the configuration of the character input device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in the abbreviation means, a rule for forming the abbreviation is such that the last word constituting the original character string is all characters thereof. Is extracted, and the other words constituting the original character string are to extract the first character.

In the character input device according to this configuration, in the case of a compound noun or the like, the word that forms the center of the meaning is not omitted. Therefore, even if the word is abbreviated, the meaning of the original compound noun is easily understood.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program, a character string input procedure for inputting a character string and a character string input procedure are input to the computer. A morphological analysis procedure of performing a morphological analysis by searching a dictionary including a headword and grammatical information to divide the character string into words, and adding grammatical information of the dictionary to the divided words; An original character string extraction procedure of extracting, as an original character string, a word string in which a predetermined number of words satisfying a predetermined condition are consecutive from the character string divided by the analysis procedure, and an original character string extracted by the original character string extraction procedure. An abbreviation procedure for forming an abbreviation by abbreviating a part of the character string under certain rules, and an abbreviation display method for displaying the abbreviation formed by the abbreviation procedure. To execute the door.

In a computer-readable recording medium on which the character input processing program according to this configuration is recorded, a user simply inputs characters normally and automatically detects and extracts long words frequently appearing when inputting a document. Then, in order to execute the procedure for automatically converting the abbreviation into an abbreviation, the user who wants to input characters can generate the abbreviation without having to read back the text, and can input the abbreviation without burdening the user. The sentence is edited for readability.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable recording medium recording the character input processing program, in addition to the configuration of the computer readable recording medium recording the character input processing program according to the ninth aspect,
A program for causing the computer to execute a replacement display procedure of replacing the original character string extracted in the original character string extraction procedure with the abbreviation formed in the abbreviation procedure and displaying the same. .

In the computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program according to this configuration, the computer is caused to execute a procedure for replacing a long phrase frequently appearing in inputting a document with an automatically generated abbreviation. It is not necessary for the user to replace the generated abbreviation.

A computer-readable recording medium on which the character input processing program according to the invention of claim 11 is recorded has a structure of a computer-readable recording medium on which the character input processing program according to claim 9 or 10 is recorded. In addition to the above, a program for causing the computer to execute an original character string display procedure of displaying the original character string before being abbreviated in association with an abbreviation formed by abbreviating the character string is provided. It is characterized by the following.

In the computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program according to this configuration, the computer automatically displays the original abbreviation character string so that it can be visually confirmed. This makes it easier to confirm when the original character string has been forgotten and to determine whether abbreviations are appropriate.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon the character input processing program according to any one of the ninth to eleventh aspects. In addition to the configuration of the medium, a program for causing the computer to execute an abbreviation editing procedure for editing the abbreviation is provided.

In the computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program according to this configuration, the computer is provided with a procedure which can easily correct the abbreviation when the automatically generated abbreviation is considered inappropriate. Let it run.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon the character input processing program according to any one of the ninth to twelfth aspects. In addition to the configuration of the medium, a program for causing the computer to execute a procedure for restoring the abbreviation in the character string to an original character string is provided.

In a computer-readable recording medium on which the character input processing program according to the present invention is recorded, the computer can easily return the abbreviation character string to the original character string and return to the first sentence. Is convenient when it is considered that abbreviation is not appropriate, or when it is desired to perform only editing with a character string obtained by abbreviation.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon the character input processing program according to any one of the ninth to thirteenth aspects. In addition to the configuration of the medium, in the original character string extraction procedure, the predetermined condition of the word is a specific part of speech including a noun.

In the computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program according to this configuration, the computer is caused to execute a procedure capable of appropriately selecting the target of the character to be abbreviated by determining based on the part of speech.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon the character input processing program according to any one of the ninth to fourteenth aspects. In addition to the configuration of the medium, the abbreviation conversion procedure may cause the computer to execute a procedure in which the rule for forming the abbreviation is to extract the first character of each word constituting the original character string. And

In a computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program according to this configuration, since one character of all the words forming a compound word is used in the computer, the original character string before abbreviation is used. A procedure is executed to make it easy to understand what the constituent words were and to make the abbreviation short.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a character input processing program according to any one of the ninth to fourteenth aspects. In addition to the structure of the medium, in the abbreviation procedure, the abbreviation forming rule is such that the last word constituting the original character string extracts all of its characters, and the other original character strings are extracted. The constituent words are characterized by executing a procedure of extracting a leading character.

In a computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program according to this configuration, in the case of a compound noun or the like, the computer is caused to execute a procedure that does not omit the word that forms the center of meaning.
The abbreviation forms an abbreviation in which the meaning of the original compound noun is easy to understand.

[0040]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the outlines of the configuration of the character input device and the character input processing program of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a character input device and a character input processing program according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 10 includes a CPU
20, a RAM 30, a ROM 40, and an input / output port 24 are connected to each other via a bus line 26 so that they can exchange data with each other.
A display unit 6, a display control unit 7 for controlling the display unit 6, an external storage device 4, and a printing unit 8 are connected.

The input device 2 has keys for character input and operation including a keyboard and a mouse.
Character keys for entering characters, input sentence edit keys for starting various processes, user dictionary edit keys, abbreviation keys, abbreviation edit keys, registration keys, delete keys, cancel keys, output sentence edit keys, end keys , And various function keys such as a print execution key, a cursor key used for editing an input sentence or an output sentence, operating a screen displayed on the display unit 6, an insert key, a delete key, a confirm key, a conversion key, and a next candidate selection. A key and the like are provided.

The external storage device 4 stores a basic dictionary 12 and a user dictionary 14 used for morphological analysis of the input character string.
Are stored on a hard disk, CD-ROM, or the like.

The basic dictionary stores grammatical information such as headwords, parts of speech, and connection information. Here, as the dictionary used by the character input device, in addition to the basic dictionary 12 which is a system dictionary which the character input device has in advance as a part of the system, for example, a specialized dictionary edited for each specialized field such as medical terms is used. Dictionaries and user dictionaries 1 that the user independently builds
There are four. The specialized dictionary and the user dictionary 14 are arbitrarily used, and the system can operate with only the basic dictionary. When the user dictionary 14 and the specialized dictionary are used, they are stored in the external storage device 4 and used. Further, the specialized dictionary may be configured so that a plurality of dictionaries can exist simultaneously for each of various specialized fields, and the user dictionary can be, for example, for each user or each of the fields of use at the same time. In this embodiment, a description will be given in a situation where only one type of basic dictionary and user dictionary is used for convenience.

The user dictionary 14 has basically the same configuration as the data configuration of the basic dictionary 12. However,
While the contents of the basic dictionary 12 cannot be changed by the user without permission, the contents of the user dictionary 14 can be edited by the user dictionary editing program 56 by operating the user dictionary editing key. Can be registered in advance. When the morphological analysis is performed, if the user registers in the user dictionary 14, the basic dictionary 1
2, the contents of the user dictionary 14 are read out.

The display unit 6 comprises a display comprising a CRT and a display control unit 7 for controlling the display, and displays input character strings, document edited character strings, etc., and screens necessary for operations. In the present embodiment, a mouse is provided so that operations such as selection with a pointer on the screen can be performed.

The printing unit 8 is composed of a laser printer, and a printer that prints edited text and the like as a hard copy.

Although not shown, an input / output port is an interface for connecting to the Internet via a telephone line, inputting from a voice recognition device, and outputting a document edited text by wire. It allows input and output by connecting various devices regardless of wired or wireless.

The control unit 10 connects an external device connected via the input / output port 24 via the bus line 26 to the PCU 20.
Is controlled by

The control unit 10 includes a ROM 40 storing various programs, and a RAM temporarily storing data.
30 and the CPU 20 that executes the program,
It also implements the function of the character input device of the present invention.

The ROM 40 stores a control program 41 for controlling the entire apparatus, a morphological analysis program 51 for performing morphological analysis of an input character string, a user dictionary editing program 56 for editing a user dictionary, and the like.

The control program 41 controls various input / output devices connected to the input / output ports, starts up the programs, and adjusts the programs.

The abbreviation processing program 42 includes the following programs.

The details of the original character string extraction program 43 will be described later with reference to a flowchart, but the CPU generally executes the following procedure. After the morphological analysis, the character string is cut into words. Based on the part-of-speech information obtained by morphological analysis, unknown words such as nouns, prefixes, suffixes, katakana, etc. A flag is set so that it can be distinguished from other words as constituting the original character string to be abbreviated. Then, the part where the specific words with these flags are continuously arranged is checked. For example, in the present embodiment, if four consecutive words are arranged, it is extracted as the necessity of the abbreviation. Then, the same character string is searched for in another sentence part by pattern matching, and the number is counted. For example, if the number is five or more, the original character string as the target of the character string to be abbreviated is extracted and described later. It is abbreviated by the abbreviation program 44.

As will be described later, the original character string extracted here is displayed to the user as a candidate for automatic generation of abbreviations as shown in FIG. FIG. 3B shows an example of screen output after abbreviation is automatically generated and replaced with the original character string according to the instruction of FIG.
Is displayed as follows.

The abbreviation program 44 is a program for executing a procedure for generating an abbreviation from the original character string extracted by the original character string extraction program 43, which will also be described in detail in a flowchart described later.

The outline of how to create abbreviations is as follows. In the case of compound nouns in which nouns and the like are continuous, the most significant word in terms of meaning, such as Japanese, is often the last word. Therefore, in abbreviation, only the last word is displayed as it is without omitting it, and other words that modify these are picked up and picked up by the first letter, and attached in front of the last word. For example,
In the case of the character string "machine / translation / system / development / group", the word "group" at the end remains unchanged, "machine" from "machine", "translation" from "translation",
Extract "S" from "System" and "Open" from "Development", and arrange them together to form a "Shift Group". Similarly, "machine translation system development" would be "machine translation system development".

According to such an omission method, it can be easily inferred whether the name is "group" or "development". When such long compound nouns are continuous, the sentence becomes very readable by abbreviation.

In the case of English, "word / proc
For example, an abbreviation such as "wp" may be generated using only the initials.
These methods have problems with the language of the input text, the content of the input document, and the user's preference, so that they may be selectable.

The abbreviation display program 45 is a program for executing a procedure for displaying the abbreviation generated by the abbreviation program 44, and various methods are conceivable.
In the present embodiment, first, the original character string in the input sentence is erased by the replacement display program 46, and the abbreviated character string is replaced as it is in the place where the original character string was present. It is displayed as shown in FIG.

The original character string display program 47 does not display the original character string X before the abbreviation for the character string that has been abbreviated and replaced with the abbreviation, so that the user may want to check what the original phrase was. However, in this case, the program executes a procedure for displaying the original character string X corresponding to the abbreviation Z. In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3B showing an example of screen output after abbreviation, an abbreviation edit window 61 is displayed, and an input character string corresponding to the abbreviation Z is displayed on the screen. Thus, the corresponding original character string can be easily confirmed.

If the abbreviation editing program 48 has an abbreviation Z automatic generation function as in this embodiment,
When abbreviations different from the user's idea are made, or when the meaning is difficult to understand or difficult to pronounce, it is necessary to delete characters from the automatically generated abbreviation Z character string or add characters to the abbreviation character string. In some cases, the program corrects the abbreviation Z. In the present embodiment, the abbreviation Z and the original character string X are displayed as an input character string in the abbreviation editing window 61 as shown in FIG. By rewriting the data in the abbreviation storage area 35 having a table function,
The display based on this can be changed.

When the original character string return program 49 wants to stop abbreviation of the original character string displayed by being abbreviated and replaced and return to the original character string expression, the abbreviation is replaced with the original original character string. This is a program that executes a procedure for returning to a column. In this case, the abbreviation Z is converted into the corresponding original character string X in the abbreviation storage area 35 which is also a conversion table, using the flag Z set in the text as a clue, and replaced with the abbreviation Z in the input sentence. It is. Therefore, in combination with the above-described replacement display program 46, the abbreviation Z and the original character string X can be bidirectionally converted in the sentence.

The abbreviation input program 50 once abbreviates the original character string and saves it in the abbreviation storage area 35. In the subsequent character string input, the abbreviation Z is input as in the user dictionary. This is a program that executes the function of displaying as an original character string. Therefore, if the input is made in the abbreviation input mode, the above-mentioned "quick open group" is input, and if the abbreviation is displayed, the character string which is not originally an abbreviation but is the same as the saved abbreviation Z is The character string "translation group" is regarded as an abbreviation, converted to "machine translation system development group", and displayed in the input sentence. Therefore, once the abbreviation is made, if the same notation as the original character string is desired to be applied thereafter, if the same character string as the abbreviation is input, it can be converted to the same notation as the original character string.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of the processing flow of the character input device of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, an outline of a processing flow of the character input device will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, first, a character string is input from the input device 2 (S10).
0). Input is a key input of a character string with a keyboard,
By command input using screen instructions using a mouse. Arbitrary phrases, continuous phrases, one sentence, etc. can be arbitrarily input, and the next morphological analysis is performed in the input unit.

Next, morphological analysis is performed on the input character string (S110). Morphological analysis converts the input character string into
By a method called the longest match method, a dictionary is searched to find the same heading as the dictionary in the input character string. Here, when the input character string matches the dictionary heading, the connection relationship between the preceding and following words is checked, the word of the character string is determined, and reading information, part of speech, utilization of the word from the dictionary are determined. Grammar information such as shape, meaning, and connection information is called up and stored in association with the word. Therefore, the continuous phrase generally has higher analysis accuracy than the single phrase because the continuous phrase has more information such as connection information.

Then, based on the result of the morphological analysis, an appropriate kanji is assigned, and a kana-kanji conversion is performed to generate a kanji-kana mixed sentence from the reading input (S120). Up to this stage, the present invention can be implemented by well-known means, and thus will not be described in detail.

Next, abbreviation processing is performed on the character string for which the morphological analysis has been completed (S130). Here, “abbreviation” means that when there is a compound noun or the like in a sentence, a part of these character strings is extracted to form an abbreviation. As a procedure for this, first, an original character string extraction procedure for searching for a compound noun, which is an original character string to be abbreviated from a sentence, is executed, and then the extracted original character string is abbreviated according to a predetermined rule. An abbreviation Z is generated by executing an abbreviation conversion procedure. Then, an abbreviation display procedure for replacing the generated abbreviation Z with the original original character string is performed, and if necessary, executing the original character string display procedure for displaying the original character string, Perform the abbreviation editing procedure to edit the abbreviation that was entered.

Here, the procedure of the abbreviation processing will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the abbreviation processing starts, first, the input sentence is divided into words in response to the result of the morphological analysis (FIG. 2: S110). Next, among the divided words, the results of morphological analysis, nouns, prefixes, suffixes,
Words determined as unknown words, such as katakana, are extracted, and flags Y are set for these words (S2). And the flag Y
Is reset to 0 in the counter memory for counting (S3). If a word without a flag is detected from the beginning of the input character string, y is set to 0, and if a flag Y is detected, y in the counter memory is incremented by 1 (S4). When y becomes N or more in this way (S5: YE
S) Assuming that N flags Y are consecutive, the original character string is stored as a character string X in the character string storage unit 36 of the RAM 30 as an abbreviation target candidate (S6). In the case of the present embodiment, N is set to 4, so that a character string in which four of the predetermined word types are continuously arranged is extracted and stored.

Next, k of the counter memory 38 for counting the number of appearances of the character string X is reset to 0 (S
7) Prepare for counting the character string X (S7). Then, the number of applications of the character string X is counted (S8), but the number of times that the character string X is first found is also counted.
It is 1. And if it is not the end of the input sentence (S
9: NO), pattern matching is performed to search the input sentence for a character string that matches the pattern with the character string X stored in the character string storage unit 36 (S10). If a character string identical to the character string X is found from the rest of the input sentence (S
11: YES), the counter k of the number of appearances of the character string X is incremented by +
1 to update the storage of the k counter memory 38.

When the same character string as the character string X is searched until the end of the sentence is reached (S9: YES), the character string X
End the search for. As a result of the search for the same character string as the character string X in the input sentence, the same character string is not found (S1).
1: NO), even if the end of the sentence is reached (S9: YES), the search is similarly terminated.

If the number of k stored in the k counter memory 38 is M or more, and in the case of this embodiment it is 5 or more (S12: YES), the character string X is subjected to abbreviation. And On the other hand, if k is less than 5, the character string X is excluded from the abbreviation and is not included in the input sentence.
The flag Y is deleted to exclude it from the next search target (S18). Also, the storage of the character string X in the character string storage unit 36 is deleted so as not to perform the next search (S1).
9).

If the number of appearances of the character string X is M or more, here 5 or more (S12: YES), the user is made to recognize that this character string is an abbreviation target in FIG. (A), the character string X is displayed, for example, by underlining (S13). If the user desires to abbreviate the displayed character string X, the character string X is abbreviated by operating the abbreviation key on the keyboard (S14: YES).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for abbreviation of the character string X.
The procedure of character string X abbreviation processed in S15 will be described in further detail.

When the abbreviation key is operated to select the abbreviation of the character string X (S14: YES), detection of the flag Y for the character string X starts from the first word (S151). Since the number of appearances k is set to 5 or more, the first word is not the last word of the character string X (S152: NO), and only the first character of the word is extracted. It is stored in the abbreviation storage area 35 of the RAM 30 (S1
53).

The search for the flag Y of the character string X is continued again, and the second word is detected (S151). Since the second word is not the last word yet (S152: N).
O) The abbreviation storage area 35 in which the first character of the second word is extracted and the first character of the first word is already stored.
The first character of the second character detected just after the first character of the first word is stored. Subsequently, the first word is similarly extracted from the third word and the fourth word and stored in the abbreviation storage area 35. In this way, four characters are stored in the abbreviation storage area 35.

When the last word of the character string X is detected (S152: YES) by detecting a word by detecting the flag Y (S151), this word forms the center of meaning in a compound noun. Since it is presumed to be the main noun, all the characters of the word are successively stored at the end of the characters stored in the abbreviation storage unit 35, which are extracted one by one and arranged in order (S154). Thus, the abbreviation Z of the character string X is generated and stored in the abbreviation storage unit 35. In order to know that the abbreviation Z is generated from the character string X, a pointer indicating a location where the same character string as the character string X is detected is given to the abbreviation storage unit 35 (S155). This pointer indicates which character string in the input sentence the generated abbreviation Z was generated from, and has the same number of occurrences of the character string X in the input sentence. Having this pointer makes it possible to replace the original character string with the abbreviation Z, update the edited abbreviation, and restore the abbreviation Z to the original original character string. Thus, the abbreviation of the character string X is completed.

Here, the abbreviation storage area 35 will be described. The abbreviation storage area 35 has the same configuration as the abbreviation editing window 61, and includes a field of the input character string in which the character string X is stored, and a field related to this field. Attached
The character string X is composed of an abbreviation field in which an abbreviation Z, which is an abbreviation character string, is stored. In addition, a pointer indicating the location of the input character string in the input sentence is stored in association with these. The abbreviation storage area is
It also has a function as a conversion table between an original character string, which is an input character string before being abbreviated, and an abbreviation Z, which is an abbreviation of the original character string, and can be used for mutual conversion.

When the abbreviation process (S130) is completed, an abbreviation editing process for editing the abbreviation Z is performed, if necessary (S140). The abbreviation editing process (S140) is a procedure in which the user arbitrarily corrects the abbreviation Z automatically generated in the abbreviation conversion process (S130). Here, if the abbreviation Z is modified, the abbreviation Z in the already abbreviated input sentence is modified.
When editing the abbreviation Z, an abbreviation editing window 61 shown in FIG. 3B is displayed, and the abbreviation Z is displayed on this window.
Is updated, the data in the abbreviation storage area 35 linked with this screen is updated. That is, by displaying the contents of the abbreviation storage area 35 having the function of the original character string-abbreviation conversion table on the abbreviation editing window 61, the data of the abbreviation storage area 35 having the function of the direct conversion table is rewritten. By doing so, the abbreviation Z in the input sentence can be rewritten using the pointer stored in the abbreviation storage area 35.

Here, the abbreviation editing process (S14) is performed according to the flowchart showing the procedure of the abbreviation editing process shown in FIG.
The outline of the process 0) will be described. First, when the abbreviation edit key is operated (S141: YES), an abbreviation edit window 61 as shown in FIG. 3B is displayed (S14).
3). Then, in the displayed screen, the abbreviation Z in the abbreviation column is added, deleted, or changed in the same manner as in normal document editing, and edited to a desired abbreviation. When the editing is completed, the enter key is operated (S145: YES), and the editing ends. Then, the abbreviation edited in the abbreviation editing window 61 is overwritten on the corresponding abbreviation Z in the abbreviation storage area 35, and the content of the abbreviation Z in the abbreviation storage area 35 is updated (S14).
6). Then, according to the pointer indicating the location of the corresponding original character string in the abbreviation storage area 35, the abbreviation Z of the corresponding location before editing is rewritten to the edited abbreviation (S147). In this way, by simply editing the abbreviation Z in the abbreviation editing window 61, all the abbreviations Z in the input sentence can be edited. When the end key is pressed without pressing the abbreviation edit key (S142: YES) or when the end key is pressed without pressing the finalize key after editing (S145: NO) (S14)
2: YES), the process ends (abbreviation editing process end). If the abbreviation edit key is pressed without pressing the enter key after editing (S145: NO, S142: NO, S14
1: YES) Editing can be performed again.

When the abbreviation editing process (S140) is completed and a new input sentence is subsequently input (S150: YE)
S), the procedure returns to the first character string input procedure (S100), and the above procedure is repeated (S100. S110, S12).
0).

In this case, when a character string similar to the original character string already stored in the abbreviation storage area 35 is input, by inputting the corresponding abbreviation, the function of the abbreviation storage area 35 as a conversion table can be performed. An abbreviation input program 50 may be provided so that the original character string is automatically input using the input, or conversely, the abbreviation is automatically input when the original character string is input. In this case, by generating a pointer indicating the location where the original character string or abbreviation was input when the abbreviation was input and storing it in the abbreviation storage area 35, post-editing becomes easy.

When the input is completed, the edited input sentence is displayed on the screen as an output sentence (S160), and the character input processing of the present embodiment ends (end).

Here, a case in which a character string “Machine Translation System Development Group...” Is input along the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to a diagram showing the output screen of FIG. . First, the operator inputs "Kikaihonshisuteimukaiguru ...." from the keyboard (S100). Here, if the conversion key and the next candidate selection key are pressed, the character string of the input sentence is subjected to morphological analysis (S11).
0), display the corresponding kanji and perform kana-kanji conversion (S
110). Similarly, a character string is input and Kana-Kanji conversion is performed. Here, the “machine translation system development group” has five consecutive nouns “machine / translation / system / development / group” and the number of appearances exceeds five.

When the input of the input sentence is completed, the abbreviation key is operated to start the abbreviation processing. When the first candidate for the character string to be converted into an abbreviation is found, an underline is displayed in the candidate “Machine Translation System Development Group” as shown in FIG. 3A (FIG. 4: S13). When the column is to be abbreviated, the enter key is operated (FIG. 4: S1).
4: YES). Then, abbreviation processing is performed (FIG. 4: S15), and the character string “Machine Translation System Development Group” in the sentence is all characters in the last word, such as “Machine Translation System Development Group”. The first character of the word is extracted to form an abbreviation Z, and is displayed in place of the original character string (FIG. 4: S17). The screen at this time is shown in FIG. In this case, if the user wants to know the original character string, the abbreviation edit window 61 can be displayed by operating the abbreviation edit key as shown in FIG. 3B (FIG. 4: S21: YES). , S2
2).

In this embodiment, the control program 41 causes the CPU 20 together with the input device 2 to function as the character string input means of the present invention, and to execute the procedure of character string input of the present invention. Further, the basic dictionary 12 and the user dictionary 14 correspond to the dictionary of the present invention. Similarly, the morphological analysis program 51 causes the CPU 20 to function as the morphological analysis means of the present invention, and to execute the morphological analysis procedure of the present invention. The original character string extraction program 43 causes the CPU 20 to function as an original character string extraction unit and to execute the original character string extraction procedure of the present invention. The abbreviation program 44
U20 is made to function as an abbreviation means, and the original abbreviation procedure of the present invention is executed. The abbreviation display program 45 uses the CP
U20 is made to function as abbreviation display means to execute the abbreviation display procedure of the present invention. The replacement display program 46
The CPU 20 together with the display unit 6 functions as replacement display means to execute the replacement display procedure of the present invention. The original character string display program 47 is executed by the CPU 2 together with the display unit 6.
0 is made to function as an original character string display means to execute the original character string display procedure of the present invention. Abbreviation editing program 48
Causes the CPU 20 to function as abbreviation editing means, and to execute the abbreviation editing procedure of the present invention. Then, the original character string restoring program 49 causes the CPU 20 to function as an original character string restoring means, and to execute the original character string restoring procedure of the present invention.

Although the embodiment has been described above, the present embodiment can be modified as follows.

For example, the type of language has been described using Japanese as an example, but the present invention can be similarly applied to other languages including English.

In this embodiment, each program is stored in the ROM 40.
May be installed and executed on a hard disk. In this case, the hard disk in which each program is installed corresponds to a computer-readable recording medium that records the character input processing program of the present invention. The recording medium is not limited to a hard disk, but may be any other computer-readable recording medium.

Further, the input of the sentence may be not only a key input from a keyboard but also an input method of reading a text file. In this case, however, the input word morphological analysis is performed.

The present apparatus and the present recording medium are not limited to those having a single function of character input, but exert their effects even when they are used as a part of a machine translator or an OCR, for example.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it does not depart from the spirit of the claims of the present invention. It is easily inferred that various improvements and modifications are possible.

[0093]

As is apparent from the above description, claim 1
In the character input device of the invention according to the present invention, the user simply inputs characters normally, automatically detects and extracts long phrases frequently appearing during document input, and automatically abbreviates them.
The abbreviation can be generated without the user trying to input characters reading the sentence again, and the input sentence can be edited in a legible manner without burdening the user.

In the character input device according to the second aspect of the present invention,
Since long phrases frequently appearing when inputting a document are replaced with automatically generated abbreviations, it is not necessary for the user to replace them with the abbreviations generated one by one.

In the character input device according to the third aspect of the present invention,
It is possible to visually confirm what the original abbreviation character string was, making it easier to confirm when the original character string has been forgotten and to determine whether abbreviation generation is appropriate or not.

In the character input device of the invention according to claim 4,
When you think that the automatically generated abbreviations are not appropriate,
Abbreviations can be easily modified.

In the character input device of the invention according to claim 5,
Abbreviated strings can be easily restored to their original strings,
Because it is possible to return to the first sentence, it is convenient when it is considered that abbreviation is not appropriate, or when it is desired to edit only with an abbreviated character string.

In the character input device of the invention according to claim 6,
By making a determination based on the part of speech, the target of the character to be abbreviated can be appropriately selected.

In the character input device of the invention according to claim 7,
Since one character of all the words forming the compound word is used, it is easy to understand what the word constituting the original character string before abbreviation was, and the abbreviation can be shortened.

In the character input device of the invention according to claim 8,
In the case of a compound noun or the like, the word that forms the center of the meaning is not omitted. Therefore, even if the word is abbreviated, the meaning of the original compound noun is easily understood.

In a computer-readable recording medium on which the character input processing program according to the ninth aspect of the present invention is recorded, long words frequently appearing when a document is input can be automatically input to a computer simply by a user inputting characters normally. The procedure for detecting, extracting, and automatically abbreviation of the abbreviation is performed, so that the user who attempts to input characters can generate the abbreviation without having to read back the sentence, which puts a burden on the user. Sentences entered without being edited are easy to read.

In a computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a character input processing program according to the present invention, a computer is provided with a procedure for replacing long phrases frequently appearing in inputting a document with automatically generated abbreviations. It is not necessary for the user to replace the generated abbreviation with the abbreviation generated.

In the computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program according to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the computer can visually confirm the original character string automatically abbreviated. This makes it easy to confirm when the original character string has been forgotten and to determine whether or not abbreviation generation is appropriate.

In the computer-readable recording medium on which the character input processing program according to the twelfth aspect of the present invention is recorded, when the computer automatically determines that the automatically generated abbreviation is not appropriate, the computer can easily correct the abbreviation. Perform the steps that can be performed.

In the computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program according to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the abbreviation character string can be easily returned to the original character string by the computer, and the first sentence This is convenient when the abbreviation is not considered appropriate, or when only the editing is desired to be performed with the abbreviated character string, so that the procedure for restoring is executed.

In the computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program according to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the computer determines a procedure based on the part of speech so that the target of the character to be abbreviated can be appropriately selected. Let it run.

In the computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program according to the present invention, since one character of all the words forming the compound word is used in the computer, the original before abbreviation is used. A procedure is executed that makes it easy to understand what the words that make up the character string were and that can abbreviate them into short abbreviations.

In the computer-readable recording medium storing the character input processing program according to the present invention, in the case of a compound noun or the like, in the case of a compound noun or the like, the computer executes a procedure which does not omit words forming the center of meaning. The abbreviation forms an abbreviation in which the meaning of the original compound noun is easy to understand.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a character input device and a character input processing program according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an outline of a processing flow of the character input device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of screen output before abbreviation. (B) is a diagram showing an example of screen output after abbreviation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of an abbreviation processing S130 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of character string X abbreviation S15 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of an abbreviation editing process S140 in FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 input device 4 external storage device 6 display unit 7 display control unit 8 printing unit 10 control unit 12 basic dictionary 14 user dictionary 20 CPU 24 input / output port 26 bus line 30 RAM 31 input sentence storage area 32 output sentence storage area 34 work area 35 abbreviation storage area 36 character string storage 37 y counter memory 38 k counter memory 40 ROM 41 control program 42 abbreviation processing program 43 original character string extraction program 44 abbreviation program 45 abbreviation display program 46 replacement display program 47 original character string representation program 48 Abbreviation editing program 49 Original character string restoration program 50 Abbreviation input program 51 Morphological analysis program 56 User dictionary editing program 61 Abbreviation editing window

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A character string input means for inputting a character string; a dictionary including a headword and grammatical information; and a morphological analysis by searching the dictionary for a character string input by the character string input means. Morphological analysis means for dividing the words into words, and adding the grammatical information of the dictionary to the divided words, and a predetermined number of consecutive words satisfying a predetermined condition are obtained from a character string divided into words by the morphological analysis means. An original character string extracting means for extracting the extracted word string as an original character string; and forming an abbreviation by omitting some of the characters of the original character string extracted by the original character string extracting means under a certain rule. A character input device comprising: abbreviation means; and abbreviation display means for displaying an abbreviation formed by the abbreviation means. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising replacement display means for replacing the original character string extracted by the original character string extraction means with an abbreviation formed by the abbreviation means and displaying the original character string. Character input device. 3. An original character string display means for displaying the original character string before being abbreviated in relation to an abbreviation formed by abbreviating the character string. The character input device according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The character input device according to claim 1, further comprising an abbreviation editing means for editing the abbreviation. 5. The character input device according to claim 1, further comprising an original character string restoring means for restoring the abbreviation in the character string to an original character string. 6. The character according to claim 1, wherein in the original character string extracting unit, the predetermined condition of the word is a specific part of speech including a noun. Input device. 7. The abbreviation conversion unit according to claim 1, wherein a rule for forming the abbreviation is to extract a leading character of each word constituting the original character string. The character input device according to any one of the above. 8. The abbreviation converting means, wherein the rule forming the abbreviation is such that a last word constituting the original character string extracts all of its characters, and other words constituting the original character string include a leading word. The character input device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the character is extracted. 9. A morphological analysis by searching a computer for a character string inputting procedure for inputting a character string, and searching a dictionary including a headword and grammatical information for the character string input in the character string inputting procedure. To divide the words into words, and apply the grammatical information of the dictionary to the divided words.From the character string divided into words by the morphological analysis procedure, An original character string extraction procedure for extracting a predetermined number of consecutive word strings as an original character string, and a part of the original character string extracted by the original character string extraction procedure is omitted under a certain rule. Computer-readable recording medium storing a character input processing program for executing an abbreviation procedure for forming an abbreviation by performing an abbreviation, and an abbreviation display procedure for displaying an abbreviation formed by the abbreviation procedure. 10. An original character string extracted by the original character string extraction procedure,
10. A computer-readable recording medium recording a character input processing program according to claim 9, further comprising a program for executing a replacement display procedure of replacing and displaying the abbreviation formed by the abbreviation procedure. 11. A program for causing the computer to execute an original character string display procedure of displaying the original character string before being abbreviated in relation to an abbreviation formed by abbreviating the character string. A computer-readable recording medium recording the character input processing program according to claim 9 or claim 10. 12. A program for causing the computer to execute an abbreviation editing procedure for editing the abbreviation.
A computer-readable recording medium recording the character input processing program according to any one of the above. 13. The program according to claim 9, further comprising a program for causing the computer to execute an original character string restoring procedure for restoring the abbreviation in the character string to an original character string. A computer-readable recording medium that records the character input processing program according to any of the above. 14. The method according to claim 9, wherein in the original character string extraction procedure, the predetermined condition of the word is a specific part of speech including a noun. A computer-readable recording medium recording a character input processing program. 15. The abbreviation conversion procedure according to claim 9, wherein a rule for forming the abbreviation is to extract a leading character of each word constituting the original character string. 14. A computer-readable recording medium recording the character input processing program according to any one of 14. 16. In the abbreviation conversion procedure, the rule for forming the abbreviation is such that all the characters of the last word constituting the original character string are extracted, and the other words constituting the original character string are: 15. A computer-readable recording medium storing a character input processing program according to claim 9, wherein a leading character is extracted.