JP2005055953A - Electronic dictionary, display control method and program for it, and storage medium storing display control program for electronic dictionary - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic dictionary allowing easy search for a target word by assembling a plurality of similar candidates together to display them and compressing the range of a display area necessary for collective display of search results if there are the similar candidates expressed similarly mutually in the same dictionary or different dictionaries when the respective search results of search by a plurality of dictionary modes are displayed together, and also to provide a display control method and a display control program for the electronic dictionary, and a storage medium storing the display control program for the electronic dictionary. <P>SOLUTION: In this electronic dictionary which is provided with a plurality of dictionary modes and displays a group of candidates, which are included in the search results by a plurality of dictionary modes, in a display means, when at least a part of the group of the candidates includes the similar candidates expressed similarly to each other, a plurality of the similar expression candidates are allocated to be displayed within the range of the display area allocated for display of one candidate in the display means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has a search function for a plurality of dictionary databases, an electronic dictionary for displaying the search results, a display control method for the electronic dictionary, a display control program for the electronic dictionary, and a recording medium on which a display control program for the electronic dictionary is recorded About.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Many electronic dictionaries have a plurality of dictionary functions, and a plurality of dictionary functions can be used properly by switching the dictionary mode. For example, the function as a wide dictionary can be used if it is in the “wide dictionary mode”, and the function as a Japanese-English dictionary can be used in the case of “Japanese-English mode”.
[0003]
Conventionally, in such an electronic dictionary having a plurality of dictionary modes, search results are displayed only for one of the dictionary modes selected at that time. Therefore, in order to display the search results in different dictionary modes, it is necessary to switch the dictionary mode by a user operation.
[0004]
In view of this, an electronic dictionary capable of displaying a plurality of search results in a plurality of dictionary modes at once and a display control method thereof have been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0005]
In this electronic dictionary and its display control method, in a multiple dictionary mode for searching a plurality of dictionary information for search target information, a plurality of search results in the multiple dictionary mode are arranged and displayed in a predetermined order. This is characterized in that it is displayed and output in a batch.
[0006]
In addition, a multi-dictionary dictionary lookup system that simultaneously displays search results of a plurality of dictionaries on a display screen has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
[0007]
This multi-dictionary dictionary lookup system, when a word of a predetermined language and its meaning are stored, and when a headword is inputted, simultaneously dictionary the plurality of dictionaries by the headword, and obtains the result. And a control means for displaying on the display screen.
[0008]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-243226 A
[Patent Document 2]
JP 2000-99522 A
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional technique as shown in Patent Document 1 described above, the search results in a plurality of dictionary modes are sequentially displayed for each dictionary mode. Further, since one candidate is displayed for each line in the display screen, the number of display lines necessary for displaying all candidates is increased, and the efficiency of searching for a target word is deteriorated. In particular, when a small number of lines can be displayed at one time because the size of the display screen is limited, such as a portable electronic dictionary, the efficiency of searching for a target word is extremely poor.
[0010]
Moreover, in the prior art as shown in Patent Document 2 described above, although a plurality of dictionary-drawn results are simultaneously displayed on the display screen, necessary information is appropriately arranged on a limited-size display screen, It is not intended to improve the efficiency of finding the target word.
[0011]
In view of such a problem of the prior art, the object of the present invention is to display candidates that are similar to each other in the same dictionary or other dictionaries when displaying the search results searched in a plurality of dictionary modes at once. If there are multiple URLs, the candidates can be displayed together to reduce the size of the display area required for batch display of search results and to make it easier to find the target word. The present invention provides a control method, a display control program for an electronic dictionary, and a recording medium on which the display control program for an electronic dictionary is recorded. Furthermore, an electronic dictionary that can collectively display translations of a plurality of notation similar candidates that are displayed together, an electronic dictionary display control method, an electronic dictionary display control program, and a recording medium that records the electronic dictionary display control program are provided. It is to be.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an electronic dictionary of the present invention has a plurality of dictionary modes, and the electronic dictionary capable of collectively displaying a candidate group included in each search result in the plurality of dictionary modes on a display unit, When there are a plurality of notation similar candidates whose notations are similar to each other in at least a part of the candidate group, a plurality of the notation similar candidates are assigned within the range of the display area assigned to one candidate display in the display means. The display is performed.
[0013]
Here, the similarity of the notation is determined based on, for example, whether or not a predetermined number of characters at the beginning of each candidate are in common. In this case, it is preferable that the predetermined number of characters be two or more. This is for avoiding the case where it is determined that similar to a common word from the beginning of the word is similar even if it is an irrelevant candidate. Further, if the display area assigned to one candidate display in the display means is, for example, an area corresponding to one line of the display means, a plurality of the notation similar candidates are displayed together in one line of the display means. Will be.
[0014]
According to the electronic dictionary of the present invention, when a plurality of notation similar candidates exist when the search results searched in a plurality of dictionary modes are collectively displayed, these candidates are displayed together. As a result, the size of the display area necessary for collective display of search results is compressed, and it becomes easy to search for the target word.
[0015]
In the electronic dictionary of the present invention, when there are a plurality of similar notation candidates whose notations are similar to each other in the part corresponding to the same dictionary of the candidate group, the common part of the notation similar candidates and the notation similar candidates The notation similarity candidate may be displayed based on each difference obtained by removing the common part from each other.
[0016]
Here, the common part and the difference may be identified on the display. For example, the difference may be displayed with some symbols (for example, parentheses). Further, when a candidate is the common part itself, an indication that there is no difference for the candidate may be omitted.
[0017]
According to the electronic dictionary of the present invention, when there are a plurality of notation similar candidates in the same dictionary, these candidates are displayed together. Further, since the display is performed using the common portion and the difference, even if the display area of the display unit is limited, more candidates can be displayed. This makes it easier to search for the target word.
[0018]
Further, in the electronic dictionary of the present invention, when there are one or more notation similar candidates whose notations are similar to each other in portions corresponding to two or more different dictionaries in the candidate group, the notation similarity candidates are assigned to each corresponding dictionary. The display may be arranged in a predetermined order.
[0019]
According to the electronic dictionary of the present invention, even if there are not a plurality of notation similar candidates in the same dictionary, if there are a plurality of notation similar candidates together with other dictionaries, those notation similar candidates are displayed together. This reduces the size of the display area necessary for batch display of search results at more opportunities, and makes it easier to search for the target word.
[0020]
The electronic dictionary of the present invention may be characterized in that the translation word display for each of the notation similarity candidates is performed collectively by an operation of selecting the notation similarity candidate and instructing display of the translation word.
[0021]
According to the electronic dictionary of the present invention, the translated words for each of the notation similarity candidates can be browsed together. This eliminates the troublesome operation of returning to candidate selection and reselecting another candidate in order to view the translations of other candidates, as in the method of displaying only one candidate translation. Thus, convenience and operability are improved when it is desired to see translations of words with similar notation or related words.
[0022]
Alternatively, in order to achieve the above object, the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention has a plurality of dictionary modes and can collectively display candidate groups included in the respective search results in the plurality of dictionary modes on the display means. In the electronic dictionary display control method, a notation similarity candidate existence determination step for determining whether or not there are a plurality of notation similar candidates whose expressions are similar to each other in at least a part of the candidate group, and the notation similarity candidate existence determination A notation that performs display by assigning a plurality of notation similar candidates within the range of a display area assigned to display of one candidate in the display means when it is determined in the step that there are a plurality of notation similar candidates. A similar candidate display step.
[0023]
According to the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention, when a plurality of notation similar candidates exist when the search results searched in a plurality of dictionary modes are collectively displayed, these candidates are displayed together. As a result, the size of the display area necessary for collective display of search results is compressed, and it becomes easy to search for the target word.
[0024]
Also, in the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention, the notation similarity candidate existence determination step determines whether or not there are a plurality of notation similarity candidates whose expressions are similar to each other in a portion corresponding to the same dictionary in the candidate group. The notation similarity candidate display step displays the notation similarity candidate by the common part of the notation similarity candidate and each difference obtained by removing the common part from each of the notation similarity candidates. In the case where it is determined in the notation similarity candidate existence determination step that there are a plurality of notation similarity candidates, display may be performed in the notation similarity candidate display step.
[0025]
According to the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention, when there are a plurality of notation similar candidates in the same dictionary, these candidates are displayed together. Further, since the display is performed using the common portion and the difference, even if the display area of the display unit is limited, more candidates can be displayed. This makes it easier to search for the target word.
[0026]
In the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention, the notation similarity candidate existence determining step includes a plurality of notation similarity candidates whose notation is similar to each other in a portion corresponding to two or more different dictionaries in the candidate group. In the notation similarity candidate display step, the notation similarity candidate display step arranges and displays the notation similarity candidates for each corresponding dictionary in a predetermined order. When it is determined that there are a plurality of notation similar candidates, display may be performed by the notation similarity candidate display step.
[0027]
According to the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention, even when there are not a plurality of notation similar candidates in the same dictionary, if there are a plurality of notation similar candidates together with other dictionaries, those notation similar candidates are displayed together. . This reduces the size of the display area necessary for batch display of search results at more opportunities, and makes it easier to search for the target word.
[0028]
The electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention further includes a translated word collective display step of performing a collective display of translated words for each of the written similar candidates by an operation of selecting the written similar candidates and instructing the translation display. May be a feature.
[0029]
According to the display control method of the electronic dictionary of the present invention, the translated words for each of the notation similar candidates can be browsed together. This eliminates the troublesome operation of returning to candidate selection and reselecting another candidate in order to view the translations of other candidates, as in the method of displaying only one candidate translation. Thus, convenience and operability are improved when it is desired to see translations of words with similar notation or related words.
[0030]
Alternatively, in order to achieve the above object, the electronic dictionary display control program of the present invention causes a computer to execute the electronic dictionary display control method.
[0031]
According to the electronic dictionary display control program of the present invention, the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention can be realized anywhere as long as there is a computer environment capable of executing the program. Furthermore, if the electronic dictionary display control program can be executed by a general-purpose computer, it is not necessary to prepare a dedicated computer environment in order to realize the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention. The utility of the electronic dictionary display control program of the invention is enhanced.
[0032]
Alternatively, in order to achieve the above object, a recording medium on which the electronic dictionary display control program of the present invention is recorded is a computer-readable recording medium, and records the electronic dictionary display control program. And
[0033]
According to the recording medium recording the electronic dictionary display control program of the present invention, the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention can be easily realized in various places and environments, and can be provided at a low cost. The versatility of the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention can be enhanced.
[0034]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0035]
<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is an external view of an electronic dictionary 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0036]
As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic dictionary 1 includes a horizontally long thin box-shaped display unit 2 and a keyboard unit 3 that is substantially the same shape as the display unit 2 and is foldably connected to the display unit 2. Has been.
[0037]
On the front surface of the display unit 2 (the surface that becomes the inner side when folded), a horizontally long rectangular display panel 20 that is slightly smaller than the display unit 2 is arranged, and the search results of the electronic dictionary 1 and other information are displayed. Examples of the display panel 20 include a liquid crystal display panel, but are not limited thereto. The display may be a monochrome display or a color display.
[0038]
On the upper surface of the keyboard unit 3 (the surface that becomes the inner side when folded), the character keys 30 are arranged in a horizontally-long rectangular range slightly to the left of the center. On the back side of the character key 30 (the side closer to the display unit 2), all dictionary search mode keys 31a and a plurality of dictionary mode keys 31b1, 31b2, and 31b3 are arranged in a horizontal row in order from the left. ing. A search / decision key 32 is arranged at a position on the nearer right side of the character key 30. Further, the previous page key 34a and the next page key 34b are arranged vertically in the back side near the right end of the upper surface of the keyboard unit 3, and the cursor key 33 is arranged on the near side near the right end of the upper surface of the keyboard unit 3. Yes.
[0039]
Although the character key 30 is illustrated in a simplified manner in FIG. 1, the character key 30 is actually composed of a large number of small keys, and alphanumeric characters and hiragana marked on the upper surface of the key by the operation of each key. It is possible to input such as kana and katakana.
[0040]
The all-dictionary search mode key 31a is for designating an all-dictionary search mode for performing a search using all dictionary functions of the electronic dictionary 1 simultaneously. The dictionary mode keys 31b1, 31b2, and 31b3 are used for switching the electronic dictionary 1 to be used as an individual dictionary. For example, by operating the dictionary mode key 31b1 that is displayed as "Kojitsuji", the function as the wide dictionary of the electronic dictionary 1 can be used, and by operating the dictionary mode key 31b2 that is displayed as "English-Japanese", The function as an English-Japanese dictionary can be used, and the function as a Japanese-English dictionary can be used by operating the dictionary mode key 31b3 displayed as "Japanese-English".
[0041]
The search / decision key 32 is used to instruct execution of a search or to specify selection or determination from among a plurality of displayed candidates. The previous page key 34a and the next page key 34b are used when there is a large amount of display content and not all can be displayed on the display panel 20 at the same time. By operating the previous page key 34a, the content of the previous page displayed before that can be displayed again. By operating the next page key 34b, the content of the next page of the page displayed at that time is displayed. Can be displayed. The cursor key 33 is formed by integrating operation members corresponding to the four directions of up, down, left and right, and by operating any one of the up, down, left and right portions of the cursor key 33, the cursor can be moved or displayed in the corresponding direction. You can scroll the screen.
[0042]
Note that the number, shape, and arrangement of the various keys shown in FIG. 1 are not limited to this.
[0043]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a circuit configuration of the electronic dictionary 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0044]
As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic dictionary 1 includes a display unit 2 that displays the contents of the dictionary and search results, a keyboard unit 3 on which a user performs various operations, a CPU 11 that controls the entire electronic dictionary 1, The ROM 12 is a read-only storage device, the RAM 14 is a readable / writable storage device, and an external storage device 13. The display unit 2, the keyboard unit 3, the ROM 12, the RAM 14, and the external storage device 13 are connected to the CPU 11 by a data bus / control bus 10.
[0045]
The CPU 11 performs various key input reading, screen display control, dictionary search, and the like. The ROM 12 stores a basic control program for the CPU 11 and a program for accessing the external storage device 13. The external storage device 13 is a memory card, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM or the like, and stores a program and dictionary data for realizing the present invention.
[0046]
The RAM 14 has storage areas such as a display buffer 14a and a search result buffer 14b. The data written in the display buffer 14a is displayed on the display panel 20 (see FIG. 1) of the display unit 2. When the amount of data written in the display buffer 14a is large and not all of the data can be displayed on the display panel 20 at the same time, only the first portion that can be displayed on the display panel 20 is displayed first. Of the data written in the display buffer 14a, the portion displayed on the display panel 20 can be moved by operating the previous page key 34a (see FIG. 1) or the next page key 34b (see FIG. 1). The search result buffer 14b temporarily stores search result data for all dictionary search modes or other dictionary modes.
[0047]
3A and 3B are conventional examples of search result display in the all dictionary search mode, in which FIG. 3A shows a state when characters are input, and FIG. 3B shows a state when search results are output.
[0048]
First, a conventional example of search result display in the all dictionary search mode will be described. As shown in FIG. 3A, in the all dictionary search mode, a character string “all dictionary search” indicating that the current dictionary mode is the all dictionary search mode is displayed at the left end of the uppermost line of the display panel 20. ing. Further, below the character string, a prompt “Read?” Prompting character input from the character key 30 (see FIG. 1) is displayed.
[0049]
Characters input from the character key 30 are displayed in order to the right side of the prompt. For example, if three characters are inputted in order of “A”, “I”, “A” from the character key 30, “AIA_” is displayed on the right side of the prompt. Here, “_” indicates a position where a character to be input next is displayed.
[0050]
Next, when the search / decision key 32 (see FIG. 1) is pressed, all the contents displayed so far on the display panel 20 are erased, and the search result is displayed. Search results are displayed together for each dictionary. That is, first, all corresponding candidates in one dictionary are displayed in order on the display panel 20, and then the same display is performed for another dictionary. Such display processing is performed in a predetermined order for all dictionaries, whereby the entire search result is displayed.
[0051]
One candidate is assigned to one row of the display panel 20 for displaying candidates. For example, if the input character is “Aia” and there are 7 candidates in the Kanji word and 3 candidates in the Japanese-English dictionary as the search result, a total of 10 candidates are displayed on the display panel. One per 20 lines is displayed along with the dictionary name.
[0052]
That is, as shown in FIG. 3B, seven candidates found in the Kanji word are displayed on the seventh line from the top of the display panel 20, one dictionary per line, along with the dictionary name “Koji Kanji”. In the lower three lines of the display panel 20, three candidates found in the Japanese-English dictionary are displayed, one per line, along with the dictionary name “Japanese-English”. Thus, 10 lines of the display panel 20 are required to display the entire search result.
[0053]
Further, when the search result is displayed on the display panel 20, any one line is underlined. This underline indicates that the candidate displayed in the line is selected. ing. This underline can be moved up and down by operating the cursor key 33 (see FIG. 1). When the upper part of the cursor key 33 is pressed once, the line on which the underline is displayed moves up by one line. When the lower part of the key 33 is pressed once, the line on which the underline is displayed moves down one line. When the search / decision key 32 is pressed here, the candidate for the line underlined at that time is selected, and the translated word contents of the candidate are displayed on the display panel 20.
[0054]
4A and 4B are display examples of search results in the electronic dictionary 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A shows a state when characters are input, and FIG. 4B shows the notation of the same dictionary when the search results are output. A state is shown in which similar candidates are displayed together in one line.
[0055]
It should be noted that the contents of the dictionary used for the search are completely the same as those shown in FIG. 3, and the same candidate can be found by searching by inputting the same character.
[0056]
As shown in FIG. 4A, in the all dictionary search mode, a character string “all dictionary search” indicating that the current dictionary mode is the all dictionary search mode is displayed at the left end of the top line of the display panel 20. ing. Further, below the character string, a prompt “Read?” Prompting character input from the character key 30 (see FIG. 1) is displayed.
[0057]
Characters input from the character key 30 are displayed in order to the right side of the prompt. For example, if three characters are inputted in order of “A”, “I”, “A” from the character key 30, “AIA_” is displayed on the right side of the prompt. Here, “_” indicates a position where a character to be input next is displayed.
[0058]
Next, when the search / decision key 32 (see FIG. 1) is pressed, all the contents displayed so far on the display panel 20 are erased, and the search result is displayed. The search results are displayed sequentially for each dictionary. However, one candidate is not simply assigned to one line of the display panel 20, but if there are a plurality of candidates with similar notations, they are assigned to one line at a time. Displayed. For example, if there are multiple words in the candidate that have the same beginning part, the common part of those candidates and the other parts (differences) are listed in one line, and the dictionary Displayed with name.
[0059]
As shown in FIG. 3B, there are seven candidates in the Kanji word for the character input “Aia”. Of these three candidates, namely, “combination”, “combination well”, and “combination umbrella”, the prefix “combination” is common. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the word part "match" and the difference "(no difference), well, umbrella" are one line with the dictionary name "Kojien", Umbrella] ”is displayed. In addition, the part which enumerated the difference is displayed enclosed by [] so that the common word part and the part which enumerated the difference can be identified. Also, the indication that there is no difference is omitted.
[0060]
Similarly, there are three candidates in the Japanese-English dictionary for the character input “Aia”. Of these two candidates, namely, “Matching Umbrella” and “Walking with a Knotting Umbrella”, the word heading “Matching Umbrella” is common. Therefore, the word head part “Mai Umbrella” and the difference “Walk with (no difference)” are displayed in one line along with the dictionary name “Wa English” as “Japanese English: Ms. Umbrella [Walk with]”.
[0061]
In this way, since the three candidates in the Kanji word are displayed together on one line of the display panel 20, the number of lines required for display is reduced by two lines, and the two candidates in the Japanese-English dictionary are combined into one line. Since it is displayed, the number of lines required for display is reduced by one line. That is, the display of the entire search result, which required 10 lines in the conventional example described with reference to FIG. 3, is 7 lines less than 3 lines in the first embodiment of the present invention. It will be over. This improves the efficiency when searching for the target word from the displayed candidates.
[0062]
Note that when the search result is displayed on the display panel 20, any one line is underlined, and this underline indicates that a candidate displayed in that line is selected. Is shown. By operating the cursor key 33 (see FIG. 1), it is possible to move the line underlined in the vertical direction. When the search / decision key 32 is pressed, the line displayed at that time is displayed. The contents of the candidate translations are displayed on the display panel 20.
[0063]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a display control process for collecting similar candidates of the same dictionary into one line in the search result display of the electronic dictionary 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0064]
As shown in FIG. 5, first, a search is performed in the all dictionary search mode, and each candidate of the search result is temporarily written in the search result buffer 14b (see FIG. 2) (step S501).
[0065]
Next, the number of candidates written in the search result buffer 14b is substituted for the variable K (step S502).
[0066]
Subsequently, 1 is substituted into the index variable n as an initial value (step S503). Here, the index variable n is a variable indicating what number of candidates are focused on at that time in the repetitive processing from step S510 to step S531 described below.
[0067]
At the beginning of the iterative process, the nth candidate in the search result buffer 14b specified by the index variable n is compared with each candidate in the same dictionary written after the (n + 1) th, and the initial part Search for candidates that have two or more common characters (step S510). Here, the reason why the number of characters is two or more from the beginning of the word is to avoid the case where irrelevant words may be grouped together with one character.
[0068]
If there is a candidate corresponding to a candidate having two or more characters at the beginning of the word, the process proceeds to step S521, and if there is no corresponding one, the process proceeds to step S530 (step S511).
[0069]
If there is a candidate that has two or more initial characters in common, the nth candidate in the search result buffer 14b and another candidate that has two or more initial characters in common Are combined into one (step S521). Specifically, each candidate is separated into a common part and other parts (differences), and the common part and a list of differences between the candidates are arranged in order. In addition, the part which enumerated the difference is enclosed in [] so that the common part and the part which enumerated the difference can be identified. The plurality of candidates collected in this way are overwritten at the nth position in the search result buffer 14b. As a result of combining a plurality of candidates into one, the position where they are written in the search result buffer 14b changes to an empty area except for the nth position where overwriting is performed.
[0070]
If a part of the search result buffer 14b is left as an empty area, the subsequent processing becomes complicated. Therefore, rearrangement is performed for the remaining candidates written in the search result buffer 14b after the (n + 1) th to advance the writing position so as to fill the empty area (step S525).
[0071]
Further, as a result of combining a plurality of candidates into one, the total number of candidates is reduced, so that the value of K is reduced so that it is reflected in the value of the variable K (step S526). For example, if three candidates are combined into one, the number of candidates is reduced by 2, so the value of K is also reduced by 2.
[0072]
As described above, since the processing focusing on the nth candidate in the search result buffer 14b is completed, the value of n is prepared as a preparation for performing the repeated processing from step S510 on the nth next candidate. Is increased by 1 (step S530).
[0073]
Whether or not it is actually necessary to repeat the process is determined by comparing the value of the index variable n with the value of the number of candidates K. If n and K are equal, no more can be collected, so the process ends. If not, the process returns to step S510 to repeat the process (step S531).
[0074]
Finally, the contents of the search result buffer 14b are written into the display buffer 14a (see FIG. 2) (step S540). As a result, candidates with similar notation in the same dictionary are grouped into one line and displayed on the display panel 20 (see FIG. 1).
[0075]
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the internal state of the search result buffer 14b of the electronic dictionary 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a state immediately after the search results in the all dictionary mode are written. (B) shows a state immediately after collecting a plurality of candidates similar in notation to the third candidate, and (c) shows a state after rearrangement of candidates in the search result buffer 14b. Yes. The example shown in FIG. 6 corresponds to a search result obtained by inputting three characters “Aia”, which is the same character as described with reference to FIG. 3 or FIG.
[0076]
A search is performed in the all-dictionary search mode, and immediately after each candidate of the search result is written in the search result buffer 14b (step S501 in FIG. 5), the internal state of the search result buffer 14b is shown in FIG. It becomes like this. The number of candidates is 10, and each candidate is written together with the dictionary name in the first to tenth positions in the search result buffer 14b, and the eleventh and subsequent positions are not used.
[0077]
Next, as an example of collecting a plurality of candidates, attention is focused on the third candidate “Kojien: Ai”. When searching for a candidate that has two or more characters at the beginning of the word in the search result buffer 14b after the third, the fifth candidate “Kojitsu: Ai well” and the sixth candidate are the same. “Kojien: A Umbrella” applies. Therefore, when these three candidates are collected (step S520 in FIG. 5), the internal state of the search result buffer 14b immediately after that is as shown in FIG. 6B. The third, fifth, and sixth candidates in the search result buffer 14b are collected and overwritten in the third position as “Kojien: Match [Well, Umbrella]”. The fifth and sixth positions Changes to free space.
[0078]
Subsequently, when the write position is rearranged for the remaining fourth and seventh to tenth candidates in the search result buffer 14b (step S521 in FIG. 5), the search result buffer after the rearrangement is performed. The state inside 14b is as shown in FIG. The fourth candidate shown in FIG. 6B is the position as it is, but the seventh to tenth candidates are written in positions that are moved up by two, and the ninth and subsequent positions are not used. The number of candidates decreases by 2 to 8.
[0079]
Second Embodiment
Since the block diagram of the external appearance and circuit configuration of the electronic dictionary 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the first embodiment, only differences from the first embodiment will be described below.
[0080]
FIGS. 7A and 7B are display examples of search results in the electronic dictionary 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7A shows a state when characters are input, and FIG. 7B shows candidates similar in notation when outputting search results. Are grouped for each dictionary and are displayed in one line.
[0081]
As shown in FIG. 7A, the state at the time of character input is the same as that of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. Further, the contents of the dictionary used for the search are completely the same as those shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, and the same candidate can be found by performing the search by inputting the same characters.
[0082]
When three characters are input in order of “A”, “I”, “A” from the character key 30 (see FIG. 1) and the search / decision key 32 (see FIG. 1) is pressed, the display panel 20 displays the characters so far. All the contents that have been deleted are deleted, and the search results are displayed. If there are a plurality of candidates having similar notations, the candidates are collectively assigned to one line and displayed, but only the candidates in the same dictionary are not collectively displayed on one line as in the first embodiment. When there are a plurality of candidates having similar notations across a plurality of dictionaries, the candidates are grouped for each dictionary and further displayed in a line.
[0083]
As shown in FIG. 3B, for the character input “Aia”, there are seven candidates in the Kanji word and three candidates in the Japanese-English dictionary. Of these, “Iron” in Kojien and “Iron” in the Japanese-English dictionary have the same notation. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7B, these are displayed in one line such as “Kojien: Iron Japanese-English: Iron” together with the respective dictionary names.
[0084]
Similarly, Kojien's "Ai", "Ai well", and "Ai Umbrella" and the Japanese-English dictionary "Ai Umbrella" and "Walk with a Umbrella" share the same prefix "Ai" or "Ai Umbrella". . Therefore, these are displayed in one line such as “Kojien: Ai [well, umbrella] Japanese-English: Ai umbrella [walking]” together with the respective dictionary names.
[0085]
In this way, since one candidate in the Kanji word and one candidate in the Japanese-English dictionary having the same “iron” are displayed together in one line on the display panel 20, the number of lines required for display is one line. Decrease by minute. Furthermore, since three candidates in Kojitsuji with the same “Ai” and two candidates in the Japanese-English dictionary with the same “Ai Umbrella” are displayed together on one line of the display panel 20, the lines required for display are displayed. The number decreases by 4 lines. That is, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the display of the entire search result that required 10 lines in the conventional example described with reference to FIG. This is two lines less than the seven lines required in the first embodiment of the present invention described with reference to FIG. Thereby, the efficiency at the time of searching for the target word from the displayed candidates is further improved.
[0086]
Note that when the search result is displayed on the display panel 20, any one line is underlined, and this underline indicates that a candidate displayed in that line is selected. Is shown. By operating the cursor key 33 (see FIG. 1), it is possible to move the line underlined in the vertical direction. When the search / decision key 32 is pressed, the line displayed at that time is displayed. The contents of the candidate translations are displayed on the display panel 20.
[0087]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the display control process for collecting similar candidates for each dictionary and displaying them in one line in the search result display of the electronic dictionary 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. is there.
[0088]
As shown in FIG. 8, first, a search is performed in the all dictionary search mode, and each candidate of the search result is temporarily written in the search result buffer 14b (see FIG. 2) (step S801).
[0089]
Next, the number of candidates written in the search result buffer 14b is substituted for the variable K (step S802).
[0090]
Subsequently, 1 is substituted into the index variable n as an initial value (step S803). Here, the index variable n is a variable indicating what number of candidates are focused on at that time in the repetitive processing from step S810 to step S831 described below.
[0091]
At the beginning of the iterative process, the nth candidate in the search result buffer 14b specified by the index variable n is compared with each candidate written after the next (n + 1) th, and the first two characters are compared. A candidate with the above common is searched (step S810). Here, the reason why the number of characters is two or more from the beginning of the word is to avoid the case where irrelevant words may be grouped together with one character.
[0092]
If there is a candidate corresponding to a candidate having two or more initial characters in common, the process proceeds to step S820, and if there is no corresponding one, the process proceeds to step S830 (step S811).
[0093]
If there is a candidate that has two or more initial letters in common, it is further determined whether or not it is the same dictionary. If there is a candidate for the same dictionary, the process proceeds to step S821, otherwise The process proceeds to step S822 (step S820).
[0094]
If there is a candidate in the same dictionary that has two or more initial part characters in common, the nth candidate in the search result buffer 14b is shared with two or more initial part characters. The other candidates are combined into one (step S821). Specifically, each candidate is separated into a common part and other parts (differences), and the common part and a list of differences between the candidates are arranged in order. In addition, the part which enumerated the difference is enclosed in [] so that the common part and the part which enumerated the difference can be identified. The plurality of candidates collected in this way are overwritten at the nth position in the search result buffer 14b. As a result of combining a plurality of candidates into one, the position where they are written in the search result buffer 14b changes to an empty area except for the nth position where overwriting is performed.
[0095]
Subsequently, it is determined whether or not another dictionary has a candidate corresponding to a common two or more characters at the beginning of the word. If it is also in another dictionary, the process proceeds to step S823. If not, step S825 is performed. (Step S822).
[0096]
If there is a dictionary corresponding to a candidate that has two or more characters at the beginning of the word in the other dictionary, the candidates of the corresponding other dictionary are combined into one (step S823). Specifically, each candidate is separated into a common part and other parts (differences), and the common part and a list of differences between the candidates are arranged in order. In addition, the part which enumerated the difference is enclosed in [] so that the common part and the part which enumerated the difference can be identified. The plurality of candidates collected in this way are additionally written at a predetermined interval at the end of the contents written at that time in the nth position in the search result buffer 14b. As a result of collecting a plurality of candidates into one, the position where they are written in the search result buffer 14b is changed to an empty area.
[0097]
If a part of the search result buffer 14b is left as an empty area, the subsequent processing becomes complicated. Therefore, rearrangement is performed in which the write position is advanced so as to fill the empty area with respect to the remaining candidates written in the search result buffer 14b after the (n + 1) th (step S825).
[0098]
Further, as a result of combining a plurality of candidates into one, the total number of candidates is reduced, so that the value of K is reduced so that it is reflected in the value of variable K (step S826). For example, if five candidates are combined into one, the number of candidates is reduced by 4, so the value of K is also reduced by 4.
[0099]
With the above, since the processing focusing on the nth candidate in the search result buffer 14b is completed, the value of n is prepared as a preparation for performing the repeated processing from step S810 on the nth next candidate. Is increased by 1 (step S830).
[0100]
Whether or not it is actually necessary to repeat the process is determined by comparing the value of the index variable n with the value of the number of candidates K. If n and K are equal, further processing cannot be performed and the process is terminated. Otherwise, the process returns to step S810 to repeat the process (step S831).
[0101]
Finally, the contents of the search result buffer 14b are written into the display buffer 14a (see FIG. 2) (step S840). Thereby, candidates with similar notation are grouped for each dictionary, and are displayed on one line of the display panel 20 (see FIG. 1).
[0102]
FIG. 9 is an example of batch display of candidate translated words grouped in one line in the electronic dictionary 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9A shows candidates for displaying translated words. (B) shows the first screen display when the candidate translation displayed on the selected line is executed, and (c) shows the first screen of the translation display. Shows the next page. Such display is not limited to the second embodiment, and can be applied to the first embodiment, for example.
[0103]
In order to display the translations of the search results displayed on the display panel 20 at a time, the line on which the underline is displayed is moved up and down by the operation of the cursor key 33 (see FIG. 1), and the candidate whose translation is to be displayed is displayed. Select.
[0104]
For example, in the search result display (see FIG. 7B) when a search is performed by entering “Aia” as characters, the “match” displayed on the third line from the top of the display panel 20 is shared. When a plurality of candidate translations are to be displayed at once, the lower part of the cursor key 33 is pressed twice, and an underline is displayed on the third line from the top of the display panel 20, as shown in FIG. Like that.
[0105]
Here, when the search / decision key 32 (see FIG. 1) is pressed, first, all the contents displayed so far on the display panel 20 are erased. Next, as shown in FIG. 9 (b), the translations of the words “Ai”, “Ai well”, and “Ai Umbrella”, which are candidates displayed in the third line of the display panel 20, and the Japanese-English dictionary The translated words “walking with the umbrella” and “walking with the umbrella” are collectively displayed on the display panel 20. In the display of the translated words, first, the translated words of the candidates in the Kanji word are displayed in order, and then the candidates in the Japanese-English dictionary are displayed. However, all of these translated words cannot be displayed on the display panel 20 at the same time. Therefore, only the first portion that can be displayed on the display panel 20 is displayed.
[0106]
In such a case, a mark “↓” indicating that the next page exists is displayed in the upper right corner of the display panel 20. When “↓” is displayed in the upper right corner of the display panel 20, when the next page key 34b (see FIG. 1) is pressed, the contents of the next page are displayed as shown in FIG. 9C. Can do. Further, when there is a page before the page displayed at that time, a mark “↑” indicating that is displayed in the upper right corner of the display panel 20 (next to the left of the position where “↓” is displayed). Is displayed. When “↑” is displayed in the upper right corner of the display panel 20, the content of the previous page can be displayed by pressing the previous page key 34a (see FIG. 1).
[0107]
In this way, even when a plurality of candidates are displayed together on one line of the display panel 20, the translated words for each candidate can be browsed together. This eliminates the troublesome operation of returning to candidate selection and reselecting another candidate in order to view the translations of other candidates, as in the method of displaying only one candidate translation. Thus, convenience and operability are improved when it is desired to see translations of words with similar notation or related words.
[0108]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a display control process for collectively displaying candidate translated words grouped in one line in the electronic dictionary 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The display control process is not limited to the second embodiment, and can be applied to the first embodiment, for example.
[0109]
First, the contents of the search result buffer 14b (see FIG. 2) corresponding to the selected line on which the underline is displayed on the display panel 20 when the search / decision key 32 (see FIG. 1) is pressed are acquired (steps). S1001).
[0110]
Next, the number of candidates displayed in the selected row is counted from the acquired contents of the search result buffer 14b, and is substituted into the variable K (step S1002).
[0111]
Subsequently, 1 is substituted into the index variable n as an initial value (step S1003). Here, the index variable n is a variable indicating what number candidate is referred to at that time in the repetitive processing from step S1010 to step S1021 described below.
[0112]
Further, the display buffer 14a (see FIG. 2) is cleared so that nothing is written (step S1004).
[0113]
At the beginning of the iterative process, the translation of the nth candidate designated by the index variable n in the selected row is acquired (step S1010).
[0114]
Next, the contents of the acquired translation are additionally written at the end of the display buffer 14a (step S1011). As a result, the contents of the nth translated word are further added to the contents of the display buffer 14a at that time.
[0115]
Thus, since the additional writing process of the translated word to the display buffer 14a has been completed, the value of the index variable n is compared with the value of the number of candidates K in order to determine whether or not it is necessary to perform further repeated processes. If n and K are equal, the contents of all the translated words in the selected line have already been written in the display buffer 14a, so the process ends. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step S1021 (step S1020).
[0116]
When n is not equal to K, as a preparation for performing the repetition process from step S1010 again, after increasing the value of n by 1, the process returns to step S1010 to repeat the process (step S1021).
[0117]
<Program and recording medium>
The electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention described above is realized by an electronic dictionary display control program that causes a computer to execute the electronic dictionary display control method. The computer is not limited to the one installed in the electronic dictionary of the type shown in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, and may be a general-purpose computer such as a personal computer or a workstation. Good.
[0118]
Thus, the electronic dictionary of the present invention can be realized anywhere as long as there is a computer environment capable of executing the electronic dictionary display control program.
[0119]
If the display control program for the electronic dictionary can be executed by a general-purpose computer, it is not necessary to prepare a dedicated computer environment in order to realize the electronic dictionary of the present invention. An existing computer or the like can be used effectively, and when the computer is not used as the electronic dictionary of the present invention, it can be used for other purposes. If the computer is a system capable of multi-task operation, the utility of the present invention is high, such as being able to be used as an electronic dictionary of the present invention and simultaneously used for other purposes. If the computer is a system capable of multi-window display, the present invention can effectively use a narrow display area, so a small window corresponding to the display control program of the electronic dictionary is always displayed on a part of the monitor screen of the computer. It is also useful when you want to leave it.
[0120]
Such an electronic dictionary display control program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The recording medium itself may be a program medium such as a memory such as a ROM, or a computer reading device is provided as an external storage device, and a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD- It may be a program medium that can be read by inserting a ROM or the like.
[0121]
In either case, the recorded program may be configured to be accessed and executed by the microprocessor. Alternatively, a method may be used in which a program is first read out, the read program is loaded into a computer program storage area, and the program is executed. This loading program is assumed to be built in beforehand.
[0122]
Here, the program medium is a recording medium configured to be separable from the main body, and is a tape system such as a magnetic tape or a cassette tape, a magnetic disk system such as an FD (flexible disk) or HD (hard disk), or a CD-ROM. Supports fixed programs including optical disks such as / MO / MD / DVD, card systems such as IC card / memory card / optical card, or semiconductor memory such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM It may be a medium.
[0123]
Thereby, it becomes easy to implement the electronic dictionary of the present invention in various places and environments, and the versatility of the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention can be enhanced.
[0124]
In the present invention, in the case of a system configuration that can be connected to a communication network including the Internet, a medium that fluidly carries the program so as to download the program from the communication network may be used. When the program is downloaded from the communication network as described above, the download program may be installed in advance or may be installed from another recording medium. The content recorded on the recording medium is not limited to a program, and may be data.
[0125]
This makes it easy to implement the electronic dictionary of the present invention in various places and environments without the need for a physical recording medium, and further enhances the versatility of the display control method of the electronic dictionary of the present invention. it can.
[0126]
As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated by embodiment mentioned above, a various deformation | transformation is possible within the range of the main point of this invention, and these are not excluded from the scope of this invention.
[0127]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the electronic dictionary and the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention, when each search result searched in a plurality of dictionary modes is displayed collectively, it is displayed in the same dictionary or another dictionary. If there are a plurality of candidates similar to each other, these candidates are displayed together. As a result, the size of the display area necessary for collective display of search results is compressed, and it becomes easy to search for the target word.
[0128]
If a plurality of notation similar candidates that are displayed together are selected and a translation display instruction is given to display the translated words for each of the notation similar candidates, the translated words for each of the notation similar candidates can be displayed. Can be viewed together. This eliminates the troublesome operation of returning to candidate selection and reselecting another candidate in order to view the translations of other candidates, as in the method of displaying only one candidate translation. Thus, convenience and operability are improved when it is desired to see translations of words with similar notation or related words.
[0129]
Further, according to the electronic dictionary display control program of the present invention, the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention can be realized anywhere as long as there is a computer environment capable of executing the program. Furthermore, if the electronic dictionary display control program can be executed by a general-purpose computer, it is not necessary to prepare a dedicated computer environment in order to realize the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention. The utility of the electronic dictionary display control program of the invention is enhanced.
[0130]
Further, according to the recording medium storing the electronic dictionary display control program of the present invention, the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention can be easily realized in various places and environments, and can be provided at low cost. Thus, the versatility of the electronic dictionary display control method of the present invention can be enhanced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view of an electronic dictionary according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a circuit configuration of the electronic dictionary according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are conventional examples of search result display in all dictionary search mode, where FIG. 3A shows a state when a character is input, and FIG.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are display examples of search results in the electronic dictionary according to the first embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 4A shows a state when characters are input, and FIG. The candidate is displayed in a single line.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a display control process for collecting similar candidates of the same dictionary into one line in the search result display of the electronic dictionary according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an internal state of a search result buffer of the electronic dictionary according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and (a) shows a state immediately after a search result in all dictionary modes is written. (B) shows a state immediately after a plurality of candidates similar in notation to the third candidate are grouped, and (c) shows a state after rearrangement of candidates in the search result buffer.
FIGS. 7A and 7B are display examples of search results in the electronic dictionary according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 7A shows a state when characters are input, and FIG. A state is shown in which each dictionary is displayed together in one line.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a display control process for collecting candidates similar in notation for each dictionary and displaying them in one line in the search result display of the electronic dictionary according to the second embodiment of the present invention. .
FIG. 9 is an example of batch display of candidate translated words grouped in one line in the electronic dictionary according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 (a) is a line in which candidates for displaying translated words are displayed. (B) shows the first screen display when the candidate translation displayed on the selected line is executed, and (c) shows the next screen after the first translation display. Shows the page.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of display control processing for collectively displaying candidate translated words grouped in one line in the electronic dictionary according to the second embodiment of the present invention;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Electronic dictionary
2 display section
20 Display panel
3 Keyboard part
30 character keys
31a All dictionary search mode key
31b1, 31b2, 31b3 Dictionary mode key
32 Search / Enter key
33 Cursor keys
34a Previous page key
34b Next page key
10 Data bus / Control bus
11 CPU
12 ROM
13 External storage device
14 RAM
14a Display buffer
14b Search result buffer

Claims (10)

In an electronic dictionary having a plurality of dictionary modes and capable of collectively displaying a candidate group included in each search result by the plurality of dictionary modes on a display means,
When there are a plurality of notation similar candidates whose notations are similar to each other in at least a part of the candidate group,
An electronic dictionary, wherein a plurality of the notation similar candidates are assigned and displayed within a display area assigned to one candidate display in the display means. When there are a plurality of notation similar candidates whose notations are similar to each other in the part corresponding to the same dictionary of the candidate group,
The electronic dictionary according to claim 1, wherein the notation similarity candidate is displayed by a common part of the notation similarity candidate and a difference obtained by removing the common part from each of the notation similarity candidates. When there are at least one notation similarity candidate whose notation is similar to each other in a portion corresponding to two or more different dictionaries in the candidate group,
The electronic dictionary according to claim 1, wherein the notation similarity candidates are displayed in a predetermined order for each corresponding dictionary. 4. The electronic dictionary according to claim 1, wherein translated words are collectively displayed for each of the written similarity candidates by an operation of selecting the written similarity candidates and instructing display of translated words. 5. In the display control method of an electronic dictionary that has a plurality of dictionary modes and can collectively display candidate groups included in each search result by the plurality of dictionary modes on a display unit,
A notation similar candidate existence determining step for determining whether or not there are a plurality of notation similar candidates whose notations are similar to each other in at least a part of the candidate group;
When it is determined in the notation similarity candidate existence determination step that there are a plurality of notation similarity candidates,
A display control method for an electronic dictionary, comprising: a notation similarity candidate display step for performing display by assigning a plurality of the notation similarity candidates within a display area allocated to display of one candidate in the display means. The notation similarity candidate existence determining step is to determine whether or not there are a plurality of notation similar candidates whose notations are similar to each other in a portion corresponding to the same dictionary of the candidate group,
The notation similarity candidate display step displays the notation similarity candidate by a common part of the notation similarity candidate and a difference obtained by removing the common part from each of the notation similarity candidates,
6. The display of an electronic dictionary according to claim 5, wherein when the notation similarity candidate existence determining step determines that a plurality of the notation similarity candidates exist, the notation similarity candidate display step performs display. Control method. The notation similarity candidate existence determining step is to determine whether or not there are a plurality of notation similarity candidates whose notations are similar to each other in a portion corresponding to two or more different dictionaries of the candidate group,
The notation similarity candidate display step arranges and displays the notation similarity candidates in a predetermined order for each corresponding dictionary,
7. The electronic dictionary according to claim 5, wherein when the plurality of notation similarity candidates are determined to exist by the notation similarity candidate existence determination step, display is performed by the notation similarity candidate display step. Display control method. 8. The translated word batch display step of performing batch display of translated words for each of the written similar candidates by an operation of selecting the written similar candidates and instructing display of translated words. The display control method of the electronic dictionary as described in the item. An electronic dictionary display control program that causes a computer to execute the electronic dictionary display control method according to claim 5. A computer-readable recording medium on which the electronic dictionary display control program according to claim 9 is recorded.

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