JP5213174B2 - Electronic dictionary - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic dictionary that can be used in connection with an electronic device.

At present, there are increasing cases of using an electronic dictionary, which is a device separate from the electronic device, when an unknown word exists in a sentence being read and written on an electronic device such as a personal computer.
In such a case, it is necessary to place an electronic dictionary in the vicinity of the electronic device for which a sentence is being created and separately input a reading of a word to be examined using the electronic dictionary keyboard.
Therefore, when an electronic dictionary and an electronic device are connected by infrared communication and a character string is selected on the electronic device, the character string is transmitted to the electronic dictionary and the translation is displayed on the screen of the electronic dictionary ( For example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-188895 A

In the electronic dictionary described in Patent Document 1, since a character string is searched by a CPU (central processing unit) in the electronic dictionary, a user is working on an electronic device such as a personal computer having a higher processing capability than the electronic dictionary. Regardless, there is a problem that the processing capacity cannot be fully utilized.
In addition, when the translation is displayed on the screen of the electronic dictionary, when using the result searched in the electronic dictionary on the electronic device, it is necessary for the user to look at the screen of the electronic dictionary and retype it again. It was troublesome.

  On the other hand, if an electronic dictionary is connected to an electronic device and the dictionary data stored in the electronic dictionary is copied to a storage device on the electronic device, the dictionary data in the electronic dictionary can be searched by the CPU on the electronic device side. From the viewpoint of protecting the copyright of dictionary data, it is necessary to take copy prevention measures so that dictionary data is not copied unnecessarily.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and in an electronic device connected to an electronic dictionary, enables searching using dictionary data provided in the electronic dictionary and effectively prevents copying of dictionary data. For the purpose.

(1) In the first aspect of the invention, an input unit for inputting a character string, a connection unit to which an external electronic device is connected, dictionary data, a search index, and a first search program executable by an electronic dictionary A control unit that executes the first search program and searches for dictionary data corresponding to the character string input from the input unit using the search index, and the control unit A display unit for displaying a search result searched by the first and second search units, and the dictionary data and the search index stored in the first storage unit are read from a predetermined second search program executed by the external electronic device. The second search program is stored in the first storage unit from a character string input by the external electronic device, and is recorded in a format that cannot be read by other programs. It was using the search index, searching the dictionary data, to provide an electronic dictionary, characterized in that.
(2) In the invention described in claim 2, a second storage unit storing the second search program is provided, and the second search program stored in the second storage unit is readable from the external electronic device. The electronic dictionary according to claim 1, wherein the electronic dictionary is recorded.
(3) In the invention described in claim 3, an operation mode control unit that controls an operation mode when the external electronic device is connected is provided, and the operation mode control unit is executed by the external electronic device. Switching between an external electronic device search mode in which the first storage unit can be read from a second search program and a storage device mode in which the second storage unit can be read as a storage device of the external electronic device An electronic dictionary according to claim 2 is provided.
(4) In the invention described in claim 4, a third storage unit that can be read from and written to by the external electronic device is provided, and the operation mode control unit is configured to store the storage device mode when the external electronic device is connected. 4. The electronic dictionary according to claim 3, wherein the third storage unit is readable and writable as a storage device of the external electronic device.
(5) In the invention according to claim 5, when the external electronic device is connected, the operation mode control unit displays a mode selection screen on the display unit, and if the user does not select a mode for a certain period of time, 5. The electronic dictionary according to claim 3, wherein the connection is started in a predetermined mode set in advance.
(6) In the invention described in claim 6, when the external electronic device is connected, the operation mode control unit stops operations of the input unit, the control unit, and the display unit. An electronic dictionary according to any one of claims 3 to 5 is provided.
(7) In the invention according to claim 7, when the second search program is executed by the external electronic device, the second search program being executed and the second search program stored in the second storage unit are stored. If the version of the second search program stored in the second storage unit is newer than the version of the search program, the second search program being executed is stored in the second storage unit stored in the second storage unit. The electronic dictionary according to claim 2, further comprising a version update function for updating to a search program.
(8) In the invention according to claim 8, the second search program searches the dictionary data with respect to a character string input by the external electronic device, and the dictionary data based on the search result is stored in the external electronic device. 8. The invention according to claim 1, further comprising a restriction function that restricts the number of characters that can be copied at one time when copying with another application that is being executed above. Provide the electronic dictionary described.

According to the present invention, the dictionary data and the search index stored in the first storage unit can be read from the predetermined second search program executed by the external electronic device and cannot be read from other programs. Therefore, dictionary data can be prevented from being copied unnecessarily.
Further, the second search program searches the dictionary data from the character string input by the external electronic device using the search index stored in the first storage unit, so the electronic dictionary using the external electronic device is used. The dictionary data can be searched.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the information display device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
In this embodiment, a case where a personal computer is used as an external electronic device connected to the electronic dictionary will be described as an example.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the electronic dictionary 10 in the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration when the electronic dictionary 10 in this embodiment is connected to the personal computer 20. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an external configuration when the electronic dictionary 10 is connected to the personal computer 20.
The electronic dictionary 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 12, an input unit 13, a display unit 14, a connection unit 15, an operation mode control unit 16, a first storage unit 17 (first storage unit). ), A second storage unit 18 (second storage unit), and a third storage unit 19 (third storage unit).

  The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that performs information processing according to the electronic dictionary search program 17 a (first search program) stored in the first storage unit 17. In the present embodiment, the CPU 11 performs various types of information processing such as a headword search process and a display process for displaying the search result of the electronic dictionary search program 17 a on the display unit 14.

The RAM 12 is used as temporary storage means when the CPU 11 performs various processes.
The input unit 13 includes an input device that provides information to the electronic dictionary 10 as data.
In the present embodiment, the input unit 13 is configured by a keyboard as shown in FIG. 3, but may be configured by a voice input device using a microphone, a mouse, or the like.

In the present embodiment, the display unit 14 is configured by a liquid crystal display as shown in FIG.
The connection unit 15 is used when connecting to the external electronic device 20 and is, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus). As long as data communication is possible, it is not limited to USB, but may be infrared, Bluetooth (registered trademark), wireless LAN, or the like.

  When the operation mode control unit 16 is connected to the personal computer 20 via the connection unit 15, each storage of the first storage unit 17, the second storage unit 18, and the third storage unit 19, which will be described later, depending on the operation mode of the electronic dictionary. It is a means for performing access control to the unit, and in this embodiment, it is an independent configuration, but it may be performed by the CPU 11. The operation mode of the electronic dictionary will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The storage unit of the electronic dictionary 10 is a read-only or readable / writable storage device, and stores a basic program for driving the CPU 11 and various parameters. The first storage unit 17, the second storage unit 18, and the third storage unit are divided into three parts. The first storage unit 17 includes a program for controlling the operation of the electronic dictionary 10, an electronic A dictionary search program 17a and dictionary data 17b are stored. This first storage unit 17 is read-only.

The second storage unit 18 stores a personal computer search program 18a (second search program) compiled so as to be executable by the CPU 21 of the personal computer. Since the CPU 11 of the electronic dictionary 10 and the CPU 21 of the personal computer 20 are usually different, the electronic dictionary search program 17 a stored in the first storage unit 17 cannot be executed by the CPU 21 of the personal computer 20.
Although only one program for the CPU 21 of the personal computer 20 corresponding to the same type of instruction is stored here, a plurality of different types of search programs for the CPU may be used even when the personal computer is compatible with different operating systems. A configuration may be adopted in which a search program suitable for the connected personal computer 20 can be selected.

The third storage unit 19 is a storage area that can be used as a user area 19a that can be freely read and written by the user, and stores separately purchased dictionary data, dictionary data created by the user, voice data, and the like. deep.
In this embodiment, the first storage unit 17, the second storage unit 18, and the third storage unit 19 are divided into three parts. The storage area may be divided into one area and managed, and the storage area need not be physically divided into three areas. Moreover, the structure which does not have a 3rd memory | storage part may be sufficient, and if necessary, a storage area may be divided | segmented into four or more.

The personal computer 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 22, an input unit 23, a display unit 24, a connection unit 25, and a storage unit 26, and the electronic dictionary 10 is connected via the connection unit 25. It is connected to the connection unit 15.
In general, the electronic dictionary 10 of the present embodiment is less expensive than an external electronic device such as a personal computer that has high versatility and is relatively expensive, which will be described later. For this reason, an external device such as a personal computer includes a CPU capable of high-performance and high-speed processing than the CPU 11 included in the electronic dictionary 10.

  When the electronic dictionary 10 is connected to the personal computer 20, the functional configuration indicated by the broken line in FIG. 2, the CPU 11, the RAM 12, the input unit 13, and the display unit 14 do not function, and the personal computer search executed by the CPU 21 of the personal computer 20. From the program, power saving is achieved by a configuration in which only the first storage unit 17, the second storage unit 18, and the third storage unit 19 operate via the connection unit 15.

4 shows that when the personal computer 20 is connected to the electronic dictionary 10, the first storage unit 17, the second storage unit 18, and the third storage in the respective connection modes from the personal computer search program and other programs of the personal computer. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing whether or not a part 19 can be accessed.
The electronic dictionary 10 has two types of connection modes, a PC link mode and a mass storage mode, as connection modes.
Conventionally, when the electronic dictionary 10 is connected to a personal computer via USB, as a mass storage mode, dictionary data purchased separately, dictionary data created by the user himself, voice data, etc. can be written to the storage area of the electronic dictionary. However, in this embodiment, there is a possibility that a problem may occur in the search if data is written or erased during the search from the search software. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the problem by controlling the access to the storage area by dividing the connection mode. ing.
The operation mode control unit 16 performs access control to the first storage unit 17 to the third storage unit 19 according to each connection mode.

As shown in FIG. 4, when connected in the PC link mode, all storage areas can be accessed from the personal computer 20 only from the personal computer search program 26a, and the first storage unit 17 reads out. Dedicated. In addition, all storage areas cannot be accessed from other programs.
On the other hand, when connected in the mass storage mode, the personal computer search program 26a does not operate, so that all storage areas cannot be accessed. The second storage unit 18 and the third storage unit 19 can be accessed as USB mass storage from other programs of the personal computer. At this time, the first storage unit 17 is not recognized as a USB mass storage and cannot be accessed.

FIG. 5 is a connection mode selection screen displayed on the display unit 14 of the electronic dictionary 10 when the electronic dictionary 10 is connected to the personal computer 20.
If there is no input for a certain period of time on this screen, the connection is made in a default connection mode that is set in advance in the system.
Note that the default connection mode may be set by the user. In this case, the connection is established in the connection mode set by the user in preference to the connection mode preset in the system.

  First, the electronic dictionary 10 and the personal computer 20 are connected in the mass storage mode, the personal computer search program 18a stored in the second storage unit 18 is installed in the storage unit 26 of the personal computer 20, and the electronic dictionary 10 is connected. It is not erased even if is released. Thereafter, the electronic dictionary 10 is changed to the PC link mode, and the personal computer search program 18 a installed in the storage unit 26 of the personal computer 20 is executed by the CPU 21.

  At this time, the personal computer search program 18a is not installed in the storage unit 26 of the personal computer 20, and the electronic dictionary 10 is automatically expanded from the second storage unit 18 of the electronic dictionary to the RAM 22 of the personal computer 20 at the time of execution. It may be possible to shift to. In this case, the personal computer search program 18a is deleted from the RAM 22 when the personal computer 20 terminates the personal computer search program 18a or when the connection with the electronic dictionary 10 is released.

Next, the configuration of the dictionary data 17b will be described with reference to FIG.
The dictionary data 17b is composed of index data and a dictionary data body. The index data functions as an index word search index (search index), and compares the input character string with the input character string at the time of the search. A reference memory address in which the main body is stored is associated. The example shown in FIG. 6 indicates that the dictionary body data corresponding to the headword “a” is stored at the address “0x01”.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the search process performed by the CPU 21 of the personal computer 20 using the personal computer search program 26 a installed in the storage unit 26.
When the personal computer search program 26a is activated (S1), the CPU 21 confirms the operation mode of the electronic dictionary 10 (S2). As described above, when the electronic dictionary 10 is operating in the PC link mode, the dictionary data 17b can be searched by executing the personal computer search program 18a. Therefore, the CPU 21 determines whether the electronic dictionary 10 is in the PC link mode. Confirm (S3).
When not in the PC link mode, the CPU 11 of the electronic dictionary 10 displays a message prompting the user to select the mode of the electronic dictionary 10 on the display unit 14 of the electronic dictionary 10 as shown in FIG. 5 (S5), S2 Return to.

Since the personal computer 20 is connected to the electronic dictionary 10 and the personal computer search program 26a is being executed by the personal computer 20, a message recommending the PC link mode may be displayed. Further, in accordance with the program being executed on the personal computer 20, a display corresponding to the upper part (in the case of a computer search program) or the lower part (in the case of another program of the personal computer) in FIG. 4 may be performed.
Further, the message for prompting the selection of the mode may be displayed on the display unit 21 of the personal computer 20 instead of or in addition to the display on the display unit 14 of the electronic dictionary 10.

  The mode change on the electronic dictionary side is basically performed by the user from the connection mode selection screen (see FIG. 4) displayed on the display unit 14 of the electronic dictionary 10, and the personal computer search program 26a automatically performs the electronic dictionary. The operation mode may be changed. In that case, the user is notified by displaying on the display units 14 and 24 of the electronic dictionary 10 and / or the personal computer 20 that the operation mode of the electronic dictionary has been changed in S5. The notification about the automatic change of the operation mode may be made by voice.

If it can be confirmed that the electronic dictionary 10 is in the PC link mode (S3: YES), the CPU 21 next searches the personal computer search program 26a installed in the storage unit 26 of the personal computer 20 and the second of the electronic dictionary 10. The version of the personal computer search program 18a stored in the storage unit 18 is confirmed (S4), and it is determined whether the versions are the same (S6).
When the personal computer search program 18 a stored in the second storage unit 18 of the electronic dictionary 10 is a newer version, the CPU 21 updates the personal computer search program 26 a installed in the storage unit 26 of the personal computer 20. (S7).

  Although not shown, the personal computer search program 26a (18a) is modularized, and the CPU 21 performs the processing of steps 3 and 4 with the version confirmation module and the program update module with the rest. The module part (module part for electronic dictionary search) is updated (S7).

  Next, the CPU 21 reads only the index from the dictionary data 17b stored in the first storage unit 17 of the electronic dictionary 10, and expands it on the RAM 22 (S8).

When the user inputs a character string from the input unit 23 of the personal computer 21 (S9), the CPU 21 searches for the corresponding character string from the index on the RAM 22 (S10).
The search method is usually forward match search, but may be backward match search or partial match search depending on circumstances. This is the same as the electronic dictionary search program.

Then, the CPU 21 uses the reference memory address of the index as a search result, and the dictionary data stored in the first storage unit 17 of the electronic dictionary 10 using the corresponding headline or the headline that is partially matched by the forward matching search. The corresponding entry word data is read from the dictionary main body 17b (S11) and displayed on the display unit 24 of the personal computer 20 (S12).
At this time, when copying or printing out the dictionary data displayed on the display unit 24 to another application running on the personal computer 20 (external electronic device), the CPU 21 searches for the personal computer being executed. The number of characters that can be copied or printed is limited to, for example, 100 characters by the limit function of the program 18a. This prevents the data of the dictionary data 17b from being copied unnecessarily. The number of characters to be restricted can be set arbitrarily.

  The CPU 21 determines whether or not the user has additionally input characters (S13). If there is no additional input, the CPU 21 ends. If there is an additional input, the process returns to step S10 and searches again.

As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the above, and various design changes and the like can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is possible to
In the present embodiment, a personal computer is used as an example of the external electronic device, but an electronic device such as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a game device may be used. At this time, the personal computer search program 18a may be recorded in a format that can be executed by the CPU of the electronic device.

It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the electronic dictionary in this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure at the time of connecting the electronic dictionary in this embodiment to the personal computer. It is the schematic which shows the external structure of the electronic dictionary in this embodiment, and a personal computer. It is a table | surface which shows the connection mode of the electronic dictionary in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the connection mode selection screen of the electronic dictionary in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the dictionary data structure of the electronic dictionary in this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the dictionary data search process in the personal computer of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Electronic Dictionary 11 CPU
12 RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Input part 14 Display part 15 Connection part 16 Operation mode control part 17 1st memory | storage part 17a Electronic dictionary search program 17b Dictionary data 18 2nd memory | storage part 18a Personal computer search program 19 3rd memory | storage part 19a User area 20 PC 21 CPU
22 RAM
23 Input unit 24 Display unit 25 Connection unit 26 Storage unit 26a PC search program

Claims (8)

An input part for inputting a character string;
A connection to which an external electronic device is connected;
A first storage unit storing dictionary data, a search index, and a first search program executable by an electronic dictionary;
A control unit that executes the first search program and searches the dictionary data corresponding to the character string input from the input unit using the search index;
A display unit for displaying a search result searched by the control unit;
Have
The dictionary data and the search index stored in the first storage unit are recorded in a format that can be read from a predetermined second search program executed by the external electronic device and cannot be read from other programs. And
The second search program searches the dictionary data from a character string input by the external electronic device using a search index stored in the first storage unit.
An electronic dictionary characterized by that. A second storage unit storing the second search program;
The second search program stored in the second storage unit is recorded in a format readable from the external electronic device.
The electronic dictionary according to claim 1. An operation mode control unit for controlling an operation mode when the external electronic device is connected;
The operation mode control unit includes an external electronic device search mode in which the first storage unit can be read from a second search program executed by the external electronic device, and the second storage unit is a storage device of the external electronic device. The electronic dictionary according to claim 2, wherein the electronic device is switched to a storage device mode that can be read as the electronic dictionary. A third storage unit readable and writable from the external electronic device;
4. The operation mode control unit, when the external electronic device is connected, makes the third storage unit readable / writable as a storage device of the external electronic device in the storage device mode. The electronic dictionary described.   The operation mode control unit displays a mode selection screen on the display unit when the external electronic device is connected. If the user does not select a mode for a certain period of time, the operation mode control unit starts connection in a predetermined mode set in advance. The electronic dictionary according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that   The operation mode control unit stops operations of the input unit, the control unit, and the display unit when the external electronic device is connected. The electronic dictionary according to claim 1. When the second search program is executed by the external electronic device, the second search program compares the version of the second search program being executed with the version of the second search program stored in the second storage unit, and the second storage program A version update function for updating the second search program being executed to the second search program stored in the second storage unit when the version of the second search program stored in the unit is newer;
The electronic dictionary according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: The second search program includes
Search the dictionary data for a character string input by the external electronic device,
When the dictionary data based on the result is copied by another application running on the external electronic device, the dictionary data is provided with a limiting function for limiting the number of characters that can be copied at one time.
The electronic dictionary according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the electronic dictionary is characterized in that:

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