JP2001134569A - Electronic dictionary - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic dictionary which improves operation efficiency. SOLUTION: The electronic dictionary 10 has dictionary data 30 having information corresponding to index words and displays information corresponding to an inputted character string; and the dictionary data 10 include sub- information relating the index words and when the information corresponding to the index words is displayed, an all-information display mode wherein the contents of the sub-information are displayed together and an abbreviated display mode wherein only the mark of the sub-information is displayed and the contents of the sub-information are displayed by specific operation can be switched.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to English-Japanese
It relates to electronic dictionaries represented by Japanese, English, Japanese, English and English.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electronic dictionary for displaying dictionary data such as a translation of a word, for example, when a word is input, a list of headwords corresponding to the word is displayed on a screen, and a desired word is selected from the list. By selecting a headword, the screen is switched and a translation of the selected headword is displayed.

When displaying sub-information such as synonyms, phrases, example sentences, etc. of an input word, a specific operation is performed while a list of headwords and its translation are displayed on the screen. Similarly, the screen is switched to display predetermined sub information.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional electronic dictionary, the method of displaying information is limited, and information suitable for the purpose of each user cannot be displayed, resulting in poor operation efficiency. There is a problem. In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic dictionary with improved operation efficiency.

[0005]

A first aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems comprises dictionary data having information corresponding to a headword and displaying information corresponding to an input character string. In the electronic dictionary, the dictionary data includes sub-information related to the headword, and when displaying information corresponding to the headword, an all-information display mode that additionally displays the contents of the sub-information. The electronic dictionary is characterized in that it is possible to switch to an abbreviated display mode in which only the sub information sign is displayed and the content of the sub information is displayed by a predetermined operation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, switching between the all information display mode and the abbreviated display mode can be set for each dictionary included in the dictionary data. In the electronic dictionary. A third aspect of the present invention is the electronic dictionary according to the first or second aspect, wherein switching between the all information display mode and the abbreviated display mode can be set for each type of the sub information. It is in.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the sub-information is a predetermined character string group or an example sentence or phrase using the headword. It is in the electronic dictionary. In the present invention, by switching between the full-screen information display mode and the abbreviated display mode, information and sub-information suitable for the purpose can be displayed, and operability is improved.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail based on embodiments. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic dictionary according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external view of the electronic dictionary. As shown, the electronic dictionary 10
Includes a control unit 20 for controlling each unit, dictionary data 30 stored in a memory such as a ROM, an input device 40 for inputting characters and operating an electronic dictionary, and a display device 50 for displaying various information. Have.

The control unit 20 controls the electronic dictionary 10 in general by operating a control program or the like stored in a memory such as a ROM by a CPU. The control unit 20 mainly includes a search unit 21, a display unit 22, and a switching unit. Means 23 are provided. In the present embodiment, the dictionary data 30 includes an English-Japanese, Japanese-English, English-English, and synonym dictionary. For example, each of the English-Japanese, Japanese-English, and English-English dictionary data 30 includes a headword and its translation, and the translation includes, as sub-information, a phrase and an example sentence using the headword, a description of the headword, and the like. Have been.

The data structure of the dictionary data 30 is not particularly limited, and the sub-information may be stored as it is in the translation, or only the sub-information may be extracted from the dictionary body and the data may be separately stored. It may be a structure.
The input device 40 is a character key 41 for inputting characters.
And a selection key 42 for selecting or confirming selection of a dictionary type, selection of a headword or phrase, display of a translation or example sentence, and a power switch 4 for turning on / off the power.
9. The selection keys 42 include, for example, a dictionary selection key 43 for selecting a dictionary, a cursor key 44 for moving a cursor, a translation key 45 for displaying and fixing a translation, and selecting a character string such as a word being translated. It has a mark key 46 and the like.

The display device 50 is a liquid crystal display device, and can display various information. The search means 21 searches for a headword corresponding to the character input by the character key 41 or the like. Specifically, “English-Japanese” of the dictionary selection key 43,
In the translation mode in which one of “Japanese English”, “English English”, and “synonyms” is pressed, a headword including the input character string is searched from the selected dictionary data 30, and the “spelling” of the dictionary selection key 43 is selected. In the spell check mode in which the user presses "", dictionary data in which a headword similar to the input character string is selected (this may be selected in advance, or may be, for example, both English and Japanese and English) Search from.

The display means 22 outputs to the display device 50 information necessary for guiding various operations, information indicating the result of the search by the search means 21, and the like. The switching means 23 switches the display mode of the screen. That is, when displaying information such as a translation of a headword, for example, an all-information display mode in which the contents of example sentences and the like are also displayed, and only a sub-information sign is displayed, and the sub-information is displayed by a predetermined operation. Switches to the abbreviated display mode.

In such an electronic dictionary 10, character keys 4
When a character is input by the user 1, the input character is temporarily stored by the control unit 20 as a character string in a storage unit such as a RAM. Then, the search means 21 of the control unit 20
Character string stored in RAM and stored dictionary data 3
A candidate headword and a translation are detected from comparison with the headword 0, and the searched headword and the translation are temporarily stored in the RAM. The headword and the translation stored in the RAM are displayed on the display device 50 by the display unit 22.

In the displayed translation, sub-information such as example sentences is displayed. In the electronic dictionary 10 of the present invention, as described above, a full-screen display for displaying the sub-information together with the translation is provided. A mode and an abbreviated display mode in which only the sign is displayed and the content of the sub information is displayed by a predetermined operation, and these display modes can be switched by the switching means 23 by performing a predetermined setting operation. It has become.

By switching between the all-information display mode and the abbreviated display mode, desired information and sub-information can be displayed efficiently. For example,
If you simply want to look up the translation of a word, you can set it to abbreviated display mode, which allows you to display the translation of each word in a wide range and find the target translation in a shorter time. be able to. If the user wants to check the translation and refer to an example sentence or the like, it is not necessary to switch between the translation screen and the example sentence screen each time by setting the display mode to the full screen display mode. As described above, operability is improved by switching between the all information display mode and the abbreviated display mode according to the purpose.

Here, the method of setting the display mode switching is not particularly limited, but in the present embodiment, it can be set for each dictionary included in the dictionary data 30, and further, for example, for example sentences and phrases. It can be set for each type of sub-information. Here, the display operation of the electronic dictionary according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a use state of the electronic dictionary of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed in each step. First, in step S1, the power of the electronic dictionary 10 is turned on by the power switch 49, and in step S2, a target dictionary is selected by the dictionary selection key 43 (in this case, English and Japanese are selected).
The display unit 22 displays a character input screen corresponding to the selected dictionary on the display device 50. While looking at the character input screen, a predetermined character is input by the character keys 41 in step S3. Input characters are stored in RAM as character strings.
Is stored temporarily. The screen at this time is shown in FIG. FIG. 4A shows a case where the English-Japanese dictionary is selected and “g” is selected.
This is an example in which “e” and “t” are input.

Next, in step S4, it is determined whether or not the translation key 45 has been pressed.
Then, the search means 21 searches the dictionary data 30 to search for a headword including the input character string, and temporarily stores it in a predetermined area of the RAM. Then, a display unit 22 displays a candidate list of headwords including the input character string. A cursor is displayed at the headword of the displayed candidate list, and it is determined in step S6 whether or not the cursor has been moved by the cursor key 44. If the cursor has been moved, the cursor is moved in step S7. indicate.
Next, when the translation key 45 is pressed in step S8, the display means 22 displays the translation of the target headword on the entire screen as shown in FIG. 4B in step S9. In addition,
If there is only one candidate entry in step S5, the translation of the entry is displayed on the entire screen without displaying the candidate list.

Here, when the headword has sub-information such as a word form, an example sentence, a synonym, and the like, and the display mode is set to the all information display mode, the contents of these sub-information are also added during translation. Is displayed. On the other hand, when the abbreviated display mode is set, only the sub information indicator is displayed in the translated sentence. For example, in the case of "get" shown in FIG. 4 (b), a "phrase" which is a sign of a phrase is displayed at the upper right of the screen, and a "word form" which is a marker for explanation of a word form and an example sentence during translation. The "sentence" which is a sign of is respectively displayed.

The switching between the all information display mode and the abbreviated display mode can be performed at any timing. As the setting procedure, for example, the setting key 47
When (Shift + Help) is pressed, a “setting menu” composed of environment setting items is displayed. By selecting a predetermined item from this setting menu, a display mode setting screen is displayed. Here, by selecting either the full screen display mode or the abbreviated display mode and selecting the desired dictionary and the type of sub-information, the switching unit 23 can switch the setting to the desired display mode.

In the abbreviated display mode, the contents of each sub-information can be displayed by selecting a marker displayed during translation with a cursor. Specifically, the translation of the headword is displayed in step S9, and then,
When the mark key 46 is pressed in step S10, the cursor is displayed on a sign such as a part of speech displayed on the upper right of the screen in step S11. Further, step S
In step 12, the cursor is moved to a desired marker, for example, a marker ("sentence") of the example sentence displayed at the beginning of each translation number, by the cursor key 44. Next, when the translation key 45 is pressed in step S13, the search means 21 searches the dictionary data 30 for sub-information corresponding to the sign and temporarily stores it in the RAM in step S14. As shown in FIG. 4C, a list of example sentences using the headword is displayed on the screen. The example sentence list is displayed on the screen with the example sentence relating to the translation of the translation number of the selected sign at the top. Of course, all the example sentences can be referred to by scrolling the screen up and down.

After that, if the return key 48 is pressed in step S15, the process returns to step S9. If another word is checked in step S16, the process returns to step S2, and if no other word is checked. In step S17, the power is turned off by the power switch 49 in step S17, and a series of operations is completed.

[0023]

As described above, in the electronic dictionary of the present invention, all information display means for displaying the contents of sub-information together with information such as the translation of a headword, and abbreviated display for displaying only signs of sub-information Since the mode can be switched, the target information and sub-information can be easily and efficiently displayed by switching these display modes according to the purpose.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic dictionary according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of an electronic dictionary according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a use state of the electronic dictionary according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the electronic dictionary according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electronic dictionary 20 Control means 21 Search means 22 Display means 23 Switching means 30 Dictionary data 40 Input device 50 Display device

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An electronic dictionary comprising dictionary data having information corresponding to a headword and displaying information corresponding to an input character string, wherein the dictionary data includes sub-information related to the headword. Is included, when displaying information corresponding to the headword, an all-information display mode for displaying the contents of the sub-information together, and displaying only a sign of the sub-information and performing a predetermined operation on the sub-information. An electronic dictionary, which can be switched to an abbreviated display mode for displaying the contents of the electronic dictionary. 2. The electronic dictionary according to claim 1, wherein switching between the all information display mode and the abbreviated display mode can be set for each dictionary included in the dictionary data. 3. The electronic dictionary according to claim 1, wherein the switching between the all information display mode and the abbreviated display mode can be set for each type of the sub information. 4. The electronic dictionary according to claim 1, wherein the sub-information is a predetermined character string group or an example sentence or phrase using the headword.