JP2001117924A - Electronic dictionary - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic dictionary, with which complexity in operation is canceled by a little memories and simple processing procedures. SOLUTION: Concerning the electronic dictionary for retrieving desired information from a dictionary data storage part and displaying it on a display part by inputting an index word, this electronic dictionary is provided with a preservation control means for preserving dictionary class data expressing the class of dictionary data, which are defined as a retrieval object when the electronic dictionary is operated, in a data preserving means while using the data preserving means capable of preserving data in spite of the state of operating the electronic dictionary by utilizing plural kinds of mutually different dictionary data, a judging means for judging whether the dictionary class data are preserved in the data preserving means or not when the electronic dictionary is operated again, and a selecting means for selecting the dictionary data of the kind corresponding to the dictionary class data preserved in the data preserving means when it is judged by the judging means the dictionary class data are preserved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic dictionary which retrieves desired information from a dictionary data storage section by inputting a headword and displays it on a display section, and more particularly to an electronic dictionary having a plurality of types of dictionary data. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of electronic dictionary, after the power is turned off by pressing a power-off key or operating an auto power-off function while the searched information is displayed on a display unit, When the power is turned on again by the power-on key, the processing operation is executed by the initial processing, and the display unit is in the screen display state for requesting entry of a headword from the keyboard.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional electronic dictionary, for example, when one of a plurality of types of dictionaries is selected and the electronic dictionary is used in a translation operation of a document or the like, an automatic power dictionary is used. If the power is turned off by the off function etc., the information about the selected dictionary will be lost, and to reproduce this information, the user must turn on the power again and perform the dictionary selection operation There was the above complication. Also, there is a resume function to eliminate such complications,
To realize this, a VRAM for storing a state in which information is displayed on the display unit even when the power is turned off is used.
In addition, the state of various work areas and the state of the stack must be saved, so that a large-capacity memory and complicated processing procedures are required.

[0004] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic dictionary in which operation complexity is reduced by using a small memory and a simple processing procedure.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, desired information is retrieved from a dictionary data storage unit by inputting a headword and displayed on a display unit. In the electronic dictionary, using a plurality of different types of dictionary data, using a data storage means capable of storing data regardless of the operation state of the electronic dictionary, when the electronic dictionary was operated as a search target Storage control means for storing the dictionary type data representing the type of the dictionary data in the data storage means, and whether the dictionary type data is stored in the data storage means when the electronic dictionary is restarted. Determining means for determining whether or not the dictionary type data is stored in the data storage means when the determination means determines that the dictionary type data is stored; Selecting means for selecting dictionary data of a type corresponding to the dictionary type data.

In order to achieve the same object, a second aspect of the present invention is to provide an electronic dictionary which retrieves desired information from a dictionary data storage section by inputting a headword and displays it on a display section. Storing dictionary data having a headword composed of a character string, dictionary data having a headword composed of a kana character string, and character string data indicating a headword regardless of an operation state of the electronic dictionary. Data storage means, and whether the type of the character string data of the character string data indicating the headword stored in the data storage means when the electronic dictionary is restarted is an alphabet character string or a kana character string And a selection unit that selects the dictionary data having a headword corresponding to the type of the character string determined by the determination unit. To have.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the electronic dictionary is restarted, it is determined whether or not the dictionary type data is stored in the data storage means, and the dictionary type data is stored. If it is determined that the dictionary data is present, the dictionary data of the type corresponding to the dictionary type data stored in the data storage unit is selected, so that it is not necessary to select the dictionary data again.

In the second invention, when the electronic dictionary is restarted, the type of character string data of the character string data indicating the headword stored in the data storage means is an alphabet character string or a kana character string. Since it is determined which one is used and the dictionary data having a headword corresponding to the determined type of the character string is selected, there is no need to select dictionary data again.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic structure of an electronic dictionary according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an electronic dictionary, and a keyboard 3 and a display unit 4 are provided on an upper surface of a case 2. Keyboard 3
Are A to A for inputting a headword by Roman alphabet input.
Z alphabet keys 5 group and "O"
"N" key 6, "OFF" key 7 for turning off the power, and "clear" key 8 for clearing the input headword or returning to the headword input screen from the search result display screen again. And a "conversion" key 9 for starting a search operation for dictionary data corresponding to the input headword after the headword is input. The display unit 4 displays the input headword and a search result of dictionary data corresponding to the headword.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the electronic dictionary 1 of FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a central processing unit (hereinafter, referred to as "CPU") for controlling the entire electronic dictionary 1. The CPU 10 includes a keyboard 3, a read only memory (hereinafter, referred to as "ROM") 11, A random access memory (hereinafter, referred to as “RAM”) 12 and a display drive unit 13 are connected.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a first ROM for storing a control program for processing the entire electronic dictionary and English-Japanese dictionary data. The first ROM 15 has a control program memory 15a storing a control program and an English-Japanese dictionary data memory 15b storing English-Japanese dictionary data. Reference numeral 16 denotes a second ROM for storing Japanese language dictionary data. The second ROM 16 has a Japanese language dictionary data memory 16a that stores Japanese language dictionary data. 17 is RA
M, a dictionary type data storage area 17a for storing the type data of the selected dictionary, a character string data storage area 17b for storing the character string data of the headword displayed on the display unit 4, various programs Work area 1
7c and a temporary save area 17d.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a screen display state of the display unit for each key operation in the electronic dictionary of this embodiment. FIG. 5A shows a screen immediately after the power is turned on by pressing the “ON” key 6, and is a menu screen for selecting a Japanese language dictionary or an English-Japanese dictionary.

In this state, for example, when "1. Japanese dictionary" is selected by pressing the "1" key 5a of the numeric keypad, a cursor for character input is displayed as shown in FIG. 14 is displayed on the character input screen.

Next, on this screen, for example, "goetu
doushuu ”is entered in alphabet key 5
Then, the kana character is converted by the Roman character kana conversion process, and a kana character string “Goetsutsu” is displayed on the screen as shown in FIG.

Further, when the conversion key 9 is depressed from this state, the inspection result of the dictionary data corresponding to the headword "Goetsutsu" is displayed as shown in (d).
In the screen of (d), the first line is the kana character string of the headword, the second line is the kanji information of the headword, and the third and fourth lines are the semantic information for the headword.

Next, the first R in the electronic dictionary of this embodiment is
A control procedure executed by the CPU 10 based on a control program stored in the control program memory 15a in the OM 15 will be described with reference to flowcharts in FIGS.

In FIG. 4, first, when the "ON" key 6 is depressed, in step 701, power-on processing (wake-up processing) such as oscillation of a system clock and initial processing of each hardware is performed. Will be
Next, in step 702, initial processing of each work area is executed. Here, initial processing is not performed on data in the dictionary type data storage area 17a and the character string data storage area 17b in the RAM 17, and the current state is maintained. It remains.

Thereafter, in the next step 703, RA
It is determined whether or not the dictionary type data exists in the dictionary type data storage area 17a of M17, that is, whether or not there is the dictionary type data selected when the power was turned off immediately before the power was turned on. If it is determined that the dictionary type data exists, it is determined in step 704 whether the dictionary type data is a Japanese language dictionary or an English-Japanese dictionary.
The function processing of the Japanese language dictionary after 11 is executed, and in the case of the English-Japanese dictionary, the function processing of the English-Japanese dictionary in step 710 is executed.

If it is determined in step 703 that the dictionary type data does not exist, step 7
At 05, a menu screen for selecting a dictionary type is displayed (the screen shown in FIG. 3A), and then a key input waiting process is performed at the next step 706. Next, in step 707, if the Japanese language dictionary selection key is pressed and a Japanese language dictionary is selected, the process proceeds to step 711.

On the other hand, if the Japanese language dictionary is not selected in step 707 and the English-Japanese dictionary is selected by pressing the English dictionary selection key in step 708, the process proceeds to step 710.
Performs the English-Japanese dictionary function processing. Step 70
If no English dictionary is selected in step 8 and the “OFF” key 7 is pressed in step 709,
Step 730 (off processing: hold processing).

In step 711, whether or not character string data exists in the character string data storage area 17b of the RAM 17, that is, a search result of dictionary data when the power is turned off immediately before the power is turned on is displayed on the display unit. It is determined whether or not the character string data is displayed in step S4. If it is determined that character string data is present, the process proceeds to dictionary data search processing in step 720 of FIG. If it is determined in step 711 that the character string data does not exist, in step 712, the display screen clearing process and the entry word input screen display process “the screen of FIG. 3B” are executed. Then, the process proceeds to step 713 of step 5 to wait for input from the alphabet key 5 of the keyboard 3.

Then, when a key is pressed, it is determined whether the key is a "convert" key 9 (step 714), and "OFF".
It is determined whether the key is key 7 (step 715), whether the key is the "clear" key 8 (step 716), and whether the key is the alphabet key 5 (step 717). If any key other than these keys is pressed, Returns to the key input waiting state of step 713 again.

However, if it is determined in step 715 that the "OFF" key 7 has been pressed, the flow advances to the OFF processing (step 730) described later, and step 716.
If the "clear" key 8 is pressed,
At 27, it is determined whether or not character string data exists in the character input buffer. If it is determined that it exists, the process proceeds to a clear process (step 729) described later. If it is determined that it does not exist, a clear process of the dictionary type data storage area 17a is performed in step 728, and then the process of FIG. Return to the dictionary selection menu screen of step 705.

If the alphabet key 5 is depressed in step 717, the character code of the alphabet key 5 depressed in step 725 is added to the character input buffer by one character, and the kana is converted by the Roman kana conversion process. When converting to a character, the character code of the alphabet in the buffer is converted to a kana character code. Further, in step 726, only one letter of the alphabet or kana corresponding to the added character code is displayed on the display unit 4 on the screen.
Return to the state of waiting for key input.

If the conversion key 9 is pressed in step 714, it is determined in step 718 whether or not character string data to be searched exists in the character input buffer. If it is determined that it does not exist, the process returns to the key input waiting state in step 713. If it is determined that it does exist, in step 719, the contents of the character input buffer are block-copied to the character string data storage area 17b. Thereafter, in step 720, a search process of dictionary data is performed based on the character string data in the character string data storage area 17b, and the kana character string of the headword is
After reading the kanji information and the meaning information, etc., step 72
1 displays each information such as a headword and a search result.
After the display processing, the screen of FIG. 3D waits for a key input in step 722.

Next, at step 723, it is determined whether or not the "clear" key 8 has been pressed. If it is determined that the "clear" key 8 has been pressed, step 729 is determined.
After clearing the character input buffer and clearing the character string data storage area 17b, the processing returns to the screen clearing and entry word input screen display processing of step 712 in FIG.

In step 723, "clear" is selected.
If it is determined that the key 8 has not been pressed, the next step 72
At 4, it is determined whether the "OFF" key 7 has been pressed.
If it is determined that the "OFF" key 7 has not been pressed, the process returns to step 722 to wait for a key input.

In step 724, "OFF" is set.
If it is determined that the key 7 has been pressed, step 73
The process proceeds to 0, a predetermined off process, a system clock stop process, etc. are performed, the power is turned off, and the present control operation is completed.

However, in the off process of step 730 based on the determination result of step 709 in FIG. 4, that is, the off process from the dictionary selection menu screen display state, the dictionary type data and the character string data in the dictionary type data storage area 17a are stored. The character string data in the storage area 17b has been cleared. Therefore, when the power is turned on again, FIG.
In step 703, it is determined that there is no stored data in the dictionary type data storage area 17a.
Displays the dictionary selection menu screen.

However, if the power is turned on again after the turning-off processing in step 730 based on the result of the judgment in step 715 in FIG. 5, that is, the turning-off processing from the display of the headword input screen, in step 703 in FIG. It is determined that data exists in the dictionary type data storage area 17a. Therefore, the process flow of steps 704, 711, and 712 is performed, and the dictionary type data immediately before the power is turned off is automatically selected, and the process proceeds to step 71 of FIG.
In 2, the display screen is cleared and the post-heading input screen is displayed.

In the off process of step 730 based on the determination result of step 724 in FIG. 5, that is, the off process from the state where the search result of the headword and the dictionary data corresponding to the headword is displayed, the dictionary type data and The power is turned off in a state where the headword character string data is stored in the dictionary type data storage area 17a and the character string data storage area 17b. Accordingly, the processing is started from step 701 in FIG. 4 by pressing the “ON” key 6 again, and steps 701 to 704 and step 711 are executed. In this step 711, since it is determined that there is character string data in the character string data storage area 17b, the dictionary data search processing in step 720 in FIG. 5 and the display processing in step 721 are automatically executed. This returns to the screen display state immediately before the power was turned off.

In step 709 of FIG.
If it is determined that the "F" key 7 has not been pressed, the flow returns to step 706 to wait for key input.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in an electronic dictionary having a plurality of dictionaries at the same time, the dictionary type data storage area 17a for storing the type of the dictionary selected immediately before power-off, A character string data storage area 17b for storing the character string of the headword displayed immediately before the power-off is provided on the RAM 17, and when the power is turned on, the dictionary type data and the character string data of the headword are simultaneously checked. By automatically searching the dictionary corresponding to the dictionary type data related to storage based on the headword related to storage, even if the power is turned off by the auto power off function during the search operation, Just by turning on the power, the search result of the dictionary data immediately before turning off the power is automatically displayed on the display unit 4. Therefore, there is no need to re-enter the headword, and a very smooth search operation without interruption can be performed.

Also, unlike a general resume function,
There is no need for an area in the VRAM for storing the display state of the display unit 4 and an area for storing the state of various work areas.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the first embodiment described above, when a plurality of dictionaries exist in the electronic dictionary main body, a dictionary type data storage area 17a for storing dictionary type data representing the type of the dictionary is provided, and a power supply is provided. Although the case has been described where the dictionary type data immediately before turning off is automatically selected, the present invention is not limited to this. That is,
In the second embodiment, when the dictionaries respectively corresponding to the Japanese headword and the English headword, that is, the Japanese language dictionary and the English-Japanese dictionary exist in the electronic dictionary main body, the first embodiment described above Instead of storing the dictionary type data of each dictionary as described above, the type of the character string data stored in the character string data storage area 17b is determined to automatically select the dictionary type corresponding to the character type data. It is intended to be.

Hereinafter, the details of this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the electronic dictionary according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, steps 801, 802, and steps 806 to 812 correspond to FIGS. 4 and 5 in the first embodiment described above.
Step 701, Step 702, Step 705
Steps 710 and 730 are the same as those described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

First, when the power is turned on by depressing the "ON" key 6, steps 801 and 802 are executed, respectively, and in step 803, whether the character string data is stored in the character string data storage area 17b. If it is determined that the dictionary type has not been stored, a process of displaying a menu screen for selecting a dictionary type is performed in step 806.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 803 that character string data exists, it is determined in step 804 whether the character type of the data stored in the character string data storage area 17b is kana character data. It is determined whether the data is alphabetical character data. If the character data is alphabetic character data, the English-Japanese dictionary function process of step 811 is executed. On the other hand, in the case of kana character data, a national language dictionary function process is executed in step 805. It should be noted that the processing of this step 805 is the same as that of steps 711 to 730 in FIGS.
Is the same as the processing of

In the present embodiment, when a plurality of dictionaries are English character headings and Japanese headings, a dedicated dictionary type data storage area is not provided, but is stored in the headword character string data storage area. Since the selected dictionary can be determined by checking whether the character type in the character string data is alphabetic or kana, there is an effect that a more memory-efficient system can be realized.

(Third Embodiment) Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the above-described first and second embodiments, the automatic search processing is executed to return to the screen display state immediately before the power is turned off when the power is turned on, regardless of whether the user likes or not. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, in the third embodiment, the mode switching means for selectively selecting the mode for executing the automatic search process when the power is turned on and the mode for executing the normal power-on process is provided, and the user can freely select the mode. This mode switching setting can be performed.

Specifically, an area for storing a flag for determining which mode is currently set in the RAM is provided, and the state of the flag is determined so that each mode can be selected and executed. I have to.

Hereinafter, the details of this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an electronic dictionary according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In the same figure, FIG.
The same reference numerals are given to the common elements. In FIG.
Reference numeral 19 denotes a mode switching key as mode switching setting means, which is a key for selecting whether to use the automatic search processing mode when the power is turned on or to use the normal power-on processing mode.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram showing a control circuit of the electronic dictionary 1 of FIG. 7, and the same reference numerals are given to the same elements as those of FIG. 2 of the first embodiment. In FIG. 8, 2
Reference numeral 0 denotes a RAM, a character string data storage area 20a for storing character string data being displayed on the display unit 4, a mode flag area 20b for storing whether or not to use the automatic search processing mode when the power is turned on, and various programs. Has a work area 20c and a temporary shelter area 20d.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a screen display state of the display unit 4 when the mode switching key 19 of the electronic dictionary 1 of FIG. 7 is pressed. FIG. 5A shows a screen display state when the power is turned on by pressing the “ON” key 6, and this screen shows a current normal power-on processing mode (hereinafter, “normal mode”). "") Is displayed in the lower part of the figure, which is a mode display indicating that the mode is set to "Normal mode". Next, when the mode switching key 19 is pressed, the mode display at the bottom of the screen is switched to a mode for performing an automatic search mode process (hereinafter, referred to as "automatic search mode") as shown in FIG. , The lower mode display switches to the “automatic search mode”. further,
When the mode switching key 19 is depressed, the mode is switched again to the normal mode as shown in (c), and the mode display is also switched to the "normal mode".

Next, the ROM of the electronic dictionary 1 according to the present embodiment
A control procedure executed by the CPU 10 based on a control program stored in the eleventh control program memory 11a will be described with reference to flowcharts in FIGS.

First, when the "ON" key 6 is depressed in FIG. 10, in step 1401, a power-on process (wake-up process) such as oscillation of a system clock and initial processing of each hardware is performed. . Next, in step 1402, initial processing of each work area is executed.
No initial processing is performed on the data in the character string data storage area 20a, and the current state is maintained. In the next step 1403, the flag state of the mode flag area 20b in the RAM 20 is checked. When the flag is set to the automatic search mode, the process proceeds to the next step 1404. When the flag is set to the normal mode, the process at the step 1404 is skipped and the step 1405 is executed. Thereafter, the process waits for a key input in step 1406.

In step S1404, whether or not character string data exists in the character string data storage area 20a of the RAM 20, that is, the search result of the dictionary data is displayed on the screen when the power is turned off immediately before the power is turned on. A determination is made as to whether or not the state has been reached. If it is determined that character string data exists, the process proceeds to step 1422 (a dictionary data search process) described later. If it is determined in step 1404 that the character string data does not exist, the process proceeds to step 1405, where the display screen is cleared and the entry word input screen is displayed.

Next, the processing shifts to a key input waiting process at step 1406, where the alphabet key 5
Waiting for the entry of a headword character string. Then, when a key is pressed, it is determined whether or not the key is a "convert" key 9 (step 1407) or an "OFF" key 7 (step 1).
408), whether or not it is alphabet key 5 (step 14)
09), "Clear" key 8 (step 1410)
Is determined, and if a key other than these keys is pressed, the process proceeds to step 1411 described below.

Here, for example, when the "OFF" key 7 is pressed, the process proceeds to step 1427 (off processing: hold processing) in FIG. 11 described later, and when the "clear" key 8 is pressed, Then, the process proceeds to step 1419 (clearing process). If the alphabet key 5 is pressed in step 1409, the character code of the pressed alphabet key 5 is added to the character input buffer by one character in step 1417, and the character code is added to the character code in the next step 1418. Display part 1 of the corresponding alphabet
After performing the display processing for displaying in step 1406,
And returns to the key input waiting state.

On the other hand, in step 1407,
If the "convert" key 9 has been pressed, step 1420
Is determined whether character string data to be searched exists in the character input buffer. If it is determined that it does not exist, the process returns to step 1406 to wait for key input. If it is determined that it does exist, in step 1421, the contents of the character input buffer are stored in the character string data storage area 20a of the RAM 20. Is copied to the block.

Thereafter, at step 1422, RA
A dictionary data search process is performed based on the character string data in the character string data storage area 20a of M20, and phonetic symbols,
After the information such as the Japanese translation is read, the process proceeds to step 1423 to perform a display process on the display unit 4 for each information such as a headword and a search result. Then, the process proceeds to step 1424 in FIG.
In, it is determined whether or not the “clear” key 8 has been pressed. If it is determined that the "clear" key 8 has been pressed, in step 1419 the character input buffer is cleared and the character string data storage area 20a of the RAM 20 is cleared.
After performing the clearing process of
The process returns to the display screen clearing process of 5 and the display process of the entry word input screen. Note that when it is determined in step 1410 of FIG. 10 that the “clear” key 8 has been pressed,
Proceeding to step 14419 in FIG. 11, similar processing is performed. If it is determined in step 1425 in FIG. 11 that the “clear” key 8 has not been pressed, the process proceeds to the next step 1426, and the “OFF” key 7
It is determined whether or not the key has been pressed. And "OFF"
If it is determined that the key 7 has been pressed, predetermined off processing (hold processing), system clock stop processing, and the like are performed in step 1427 in FIG. 11, the power is turned off, and the present control operation ends. .

Also, if it is determined in step 1408 in FIG. 10 that the "OFF" key has been pressed,
Proceeding to step 1427 of step 1, the same processing is performed. However, in the off process of step 1427 based on the determination result of step 1426 in FIG. 11, that is, the off process from the state in which the search result of the headword and the dictionary data corresponding to the headword is displayed, the character string of the RAM 20 The power is turned off in a state where the character string data of the headword currently displayed on the display unit 4 exists in the data storage area 20a. Therefore, when the process is started from step 1401 in FIG. 10 by pressing the “ON” key 6 again, it is determined in step 403 that the character string data exists in the character string storage area 20a. In order to branch to the above processing, the search and display processing are automatically performed on the character string data in the character string data storage area 20a. That is, the display returns to the screen display state immediately before the power is turned off.

On the other hand, in the OFF processing in step 1427 in FIG. 11 based on the result of the determination in step 1408 in FIG. 10, the character string data does not exist in the character string data storage area 20a of the RAM 20 or after the character string data is cleared. It is a state of. Therefore, when the process is started from step 1401 in FIG. 10 by pressing the “ON” key 6 again, it is determined in step 1404 that the character string data does not exist in the character string data storage area 20a. Therefore, a normal headword input screen display process and the like (step 1405 in FIG. 10) are performed.

In step 1426 of FIG.
If it is determined that the "OFF" key 7 has not been pressed, the process returns to step 1424 to wait for key input.

If the "clear" key 8 has not been pressed in step 1410 of FIG. 10, the flow advances to step 1411 of FIG. 11 to determine whether or not the mode switching key 19 has been pressed. If the button is pressed, the flag state of the mode flag area 20b in the RAM 20 is checked in the next step 1412, and it is determined whether or not the automatic search mode is currently set. As a result, if the normal mode is set instead of the automatic search mode, the flag is set to the automatic search mode in step 1415, and the mode display on the screen of the display unit 4 is changed to the automatic search mode display in step 1416. , And then returns to the key input waiting state in step 1406 in FIG.

If it is determined in step 1412 that the automatic search mode is currently set,
After setting the flag to the normal mode in step 13, the mode display is switched to the normal mode display in step 1414, and thereafter, the process returns to the key input waiting state in step 1406 in FIG. Step 141 shown in FIG.
1, if the mode switching key 19 is not pressed,
The process returns to the key input waiting state of step 1406 of 0.

In this embodiment, as described above, the RAM
A mode flag area 20b for storing a flag for determining whether the mode is the normal mode or the automatic search mode is provided in the power supply 20. When the power is turned on, the flag state is checked (step 1403 in FIG. 10), whereby the normal mode is set. In this case, step 1404 in FIG. 10, that is, the process of determining whether or not there is character string data in the character string data storage area 20a is skipped, and the display screen is always displayed in step 1405 regardless of whether or not there is data stored in the character string data storage area 20a. , And the display processing of the headword entry screen is executed.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a screen display state of the display unit 4 corresponding to each key operation when the above-described mode switching is performed on the menu screen.

FIG. 9A shows a screen display state when the power is turned on by pressing the "ON" key 6. FIG. A menu is displayed on this screen. In this menu, numbers 1 and 2 are selection numbers of the respective dictionaries. When a numeric keypad (not shown) in the keyboard 3 is pressed, the respective dictionaries corresponding to the numbers are selected. The number 3 is a number for selecting the mode change function, and when the numeric keypad 5b corresponding to the number 3 is pressed,
As shown in (b), a message indicating the currently set mode and a message inquiring whether or not to switch to another mode and set are displayed.

Here, when the Y key 5c of the alphabet key group 5 is depressed, a message indicating that the mode has been changed to another mode, that is, the automatic search mode is displayed as shown in FIG. As shown in d),
It returns to the menu screen similar to (a). At this point, RA
The flag in the mode flag area 20b in M20 has been rewritten from the normal mode to the automatic search mode. When the "ON" key 6 or the "clear" key 8 is pressed from the screen state shown in (b), the screen returns to the menu screen shown in (d).

In the present embodiment, since the initial processing is always executed, a complicated check work is not required when the power is turned on, so that there is an effect that the processing can be performed by a simple processing that does not easily cause a bug.

Further, since the user can set the environment for executing the automatic search processing or the normal processing according to the present invention, a more user-friendly system can be realized.

[0070]

As described above, according to the electronic dictionary according to the first aspect of the present invention, even if the power is turned off by the auto power-off function or the like during the search operation, the electronic dictionary is restored again. Even in the case of using the dictionary data, the dictionary data of the selected type is automatically selected, so that the operation complexity of displaying the dictionary selection screen again and selecting the dictionary data again is eliminated.

Further, according to the electronic dictionary according to the second aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of dictionaries are English character headings and Japanese headings, there is no need to provide a dedicated dictionary type data storage area. Since the selected dictionary can be determined by checking whether the character type in the character string data stored in the word character string data storage area is an alphabetic character or a kana character, in addition to the effects of the first invention described above, As a result, it is possible to configure a system with a further reduced memory capacity that can realize a system with higher memory efficiency, so that the configuration can be simplified and the cost can be further reduced, and the search speed can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an electronic dictionary according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a control circuit of the electronic dictionary of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a screen display state of a display unit corresponding to each key operation in the electronic dictionary of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the electronic dictionary of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of an electronic dictionary according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an electronic dictionary according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a schematic block diagram showing a control circuit of the electronic dictionary of FIG.

9 is a diagram showing a screen display state of a display unit corresponding to each key operation in the electronic dictionary of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the electronic dictionary of FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 10;

12 is a diagram illustrating a screen display state of a display unit corresponding to each key operation when switching the mode of the electronic dictionary in FIG. 7 on a menu screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electronic dictionary 3 ... Keyboard 4 ... Display part 6 ... ON key 7 ... OFF key 10 ... CPU 11, 15, 16 ... ROM 11a, 15a ... Control program memory 11b ... Dictionary data memory 13 ... Display drive part 15b ... English-Japanese dictionary Data memory 16a: Japanese language dictionary data memory 17, 20: RAM 17a: Dictionary type data storage area 17b, 20a: Character string data storage area 19: Mode switching key 20b: Mode flag area

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electronic dictionary that searches for desired information from a dictionary data storage unit by inputting a headword and displays it on a display unit, using a plurality of different types of dictionary data, and operating the electronic dictionary. Using a data storage unit capable of storing data regardless of the type, storing dictionary type data representing the type of the dictionary data that has been searched when the electronic dictionary was activated in the data storage unit Storage control means, determination means for determining whether or not the dictionary type data is stored in the data storage means when the electronic dictionary is restarted, and wherein the dictionary type data is stored by the determination means. Selecting means for selecting dictionary data of a type corresponding to the dictionary type data stored in the data storage means, Electronic dictionaries, characterized in that it comprises a. 2. An electronic dictionary which retrieves desired information from a dictionary data storage unit by inputting a headword and displays the same on a display unit, wherein dictionary data having a headword composed of alphabetical character strings and kana characters Dictionary data having a headword composed of columns, data storage means capable of storing character string data indicating the headword regardless of the operation state of the electronic dictionary, and when the electronic dictionary is reactivated, Determining means for determining whether the type of the character string of the character string data indicating the headword stored in the data storing means is an alphabet character string or a kana character string; and the character determined by the determining means Selecting means for selecting the dictionary data having a headword corresponding to a type of a column, and an electronic dictionary. 3. A switching means for switching the setting of whether or not to execute the selection by said selecting means, and a switching setting storing means for storing a state switched and set by said switching means irrespective of an operation state of said electronic dictionary. Wherein the selection unit stores a state in which the selection unit executes a selection as a state switched and set by the switching unit when the electronic dictionary is restarted in the switching setting storage unit. 3. The electronic dictionary according to claim 1, wherein the selection is performed on the condition that the selection is made.