JPH06325072A - Electronic translator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently retrieve an illustrate sentence or sentence information which is directly related to a key word when a replaceable word/phrase exists within the illustrative sentence or a group of sentence information. CONSTITUTION:This electronic translator can display a desired phrase (sentence information) on a liquid display 32 by retrieving the phrase by pressing scene buttons 161 to 1610 or a key word button 23. In the case of retrieving the key word, even when there is the replaceable word/phrase which is coincident with the key word in the phrase displayed on the liquid crystal display 32 as the result of retrieving, particular display for replacing it with the key word is not executed so as to secure efficient retrieving which meets the intention of a user.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic translator for translating a set of sentence information such as a sentence into sentence information in another language, and particularly changing the sentence information into other sentence information related thereto. And an electronic translator suitable for translating the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there are many opportunities to go abroad for business and sightseeing, and various small electronic translators have been developed that translate various conversation expressions in foreign countries so as not to bother with conversation.

FIG. 20 shows, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-127392.
2 shows the essential parts of the electronic translator described in the specification of No. This electronic translator 111 has a front panel 112.
And a keyboard 113 and a display 114 on the panel surface. Numerical keys and alphabetic keys are arranged on the keyboard 113, and the bottommost keys are arranged with scene buttons 115 ₁ , 115 ₂ , ... Representing each possible scene. For example, the first scene button 115 ₁ is a “basic” scene that collects the basics of conversation, the second scene button 115 ₂ is an “airway” scene that is a collection of conversations when using an airplane, and the third scene button. Is a key for handling a “hotel” scene in which conversations regarding accommodation are collected, and the fourth scene button is a key for handling a “meal” scene in which scenes regarding meals are collected.

By selecting such a scene button, a desired category is roughly searched from many sentence examples, and a desired sentence is called by a predetermined key operation and displayed on the display 114. be able to. English translation key 116 for this displayed text
Alternatively, the translation can be executed by pressing the Japanese translation key 117.

Further, in the conventional electronic translator, a first memory for storing a plurality of example sentences in the first language including replaceable words, and a second memory corresponding to the words in the first language.
A second memory storing a combination of a word of a language and an identification code of the word of the second language, a plurality of example sentences of the second language corresponding to the example sentences of the first language, and in each example sentence of the second language. Three memories, that is, a third memory for storing a combination of a phrase that changes depending on a replaceable second language word and a phrase identification code that identifies each phrase for each example sentence of the second language ing. Then, by reading the word of the second language corresponding to the input word of the first language from the second memory and inserting it into the example sentence of the second language,
I try to replace part of the example sentence with another word.

Based on such a conventional technique, a sentence example can be searched from a keyword in an electronic translator that searches for a desired sentence example from a scene, and a part of the sentence example obtained by this can be converted into another word. An electronic translator that can be replaced can be configured.

FIG. 21 specifically shows an example of the translation operation by the proposed electronic translator. The figure (a) shows the state where the Japanese sentence "My luggage is a big suitcase" is selected as a result of selecting the scenes by operating the scene buttons and selecting the example sentences in order. is there. It is possible to translate this into an English sentence as it is, but it is also possible to further replace a part of this sentence with another word and translate the replaced sentence into an English sentence or the like. In the sentence shown in FIG. 10A, the two underlined words "big" and "suitcase" can both be replaced with other words. In order to indicate which word or phrase can be replaced in this way, a method of underlining the word or displaying the word in blinking is performed.

FIGS. 2B and 2C show a state in which the underlined substitutable word “large” is sequentially replaced with another substitutable word. In other words, in the figure (b), as a result of replacing the replaceable phrase "large" with the phrase "medium", "My luggage is a medium suitcase."
Has been changed to the sentence. In the same figure (c), as a result of replacing the replaceable phrase with the phrase "small", the sentence is changed to "My luggage is a small suitcase".

On the other hand, in FIGS. 6 (e) and 6 (f), the replaceable phrase "suitcase" underlined in FIG. 3 (a) is sequentially replaced by another replaceable phrase. It is a representation. That is, in FIG. 8E, the sentence "My baggage is a big Boston bag" is obtained as a translation target as a result of the replacement with the replaceable phrase "Boston bag". In the same figure (f), as a result of this being replaced with the replaceable phrase "rucksack", the sentence "My luggage is a large rucksack" is obtained as a translation target. In the example shown in FIG. 21, each replaceable phrase has two replaceable phrases, but some replaceable phrases may include three replaceable phrases or one replaceable phrase. It may not be available.

[0010]

As described above, the proposed electronic translator can also retrieve sentence examples from keywords. Therefore, for example, the operator can input the word “big” as a keyword and search for an example sentence including the word. Figure 21 again
Will be described as an example. As a result of searching for an example sentence using the phrase “big” as a keyword, it is assumed that the Japanese sentence “My luggage is a big suitcase” as shown in FIG. In this example sentence, as shown above, the two words "large" and "suitcase" are replaceable words. Therefore, based on this, the operator can perform the translation by performing the replacement such that the replaceable phrase “large” is replaced with another replaceable phrase as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10D, the translation can be performed by performing the replacement such that the replaceable phrase “suitcase” is replaced with another replaceable phrase.

That is, when one example sentence includes a replaceable phrase other than the replaceable phrase "large", the operator must specify which replaceable phrase is replaced with another replaceable phrase. This is a hassle. Moreover, when the replaceable word "large" is selected by mistake in this specification, there is an intention to display various example sentences including the search word "large" and perform the desired translation. Instead, as shown in (b) and (c) of the figure, an example sentence including completely misplaceable replaceable phrases such as "medium" or "small" is selected as a translation target, In some cases, it may not be possible to subsequently find another example sentence to be translated that relates to the same keyword. As a result, there is a problem that it takes a long time to obtain a desired translation.

[0012] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to efficiently retrieve an example sentence or sentence information directly related to a keyword when there is a possibility that a replaceable phrase exists in the sentence information of an example sentence or a set of sentences. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic translator capable of obtaining a quick translation result based on this.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, (a) a set of sentence information that includes a predetermined replaceable word that can be replaced with another word is included as necessary. A plurality of sentence information storage means, and (b) a replaceable word storage means for storing the replaceable words,
(C) keyword input means for inputting a keyword as a search target; and (d) sentence information search means for searching sentence information containing the input keyword from the sentence information storage means,
(E) When the replaceable phrase is included in the sentence information retrieved by this sentence information retrieval means, it is determined whether or not this replaceable phrase matches the keyword input by the keyword input means. Discriminating means,
(F) Sentence information display means for displaying the sentence information retrieved by the sentence information retrieval means in a predetermined display form in which the portion of the replaceable phrase which is determined not to match the keyword by the keyword coincidence determination means can be distinguished from other portions. And (g) replacement instruction means for instructing to replace this replaceable word with another replaceable word displayed in the sentence information display means when it is displayed separately from other parts, and (h) this replacement When replacement is instructed by the instructing means, the replaceable word portion is replaced with the replaceable word stored in the replaceable word storage means and displayed, and the sentence information display changing means and the (li) sentence information display means are displayed. The electronic translator is provided with a translation instructing means for instructing translation of the sentence information into another language and (nu) a translation means for translating in response to the instruction of the translation instructing means.

That is, according to the first aspect of the invention, the sentence information such as a phrase and the replaceable words that can be replaced with respect to the replaceable words contained in the sentence information are stored respectively, and the keywords are stored. When searching the sentence information with, it is determined whether this keyword matches the replaceable phrase in the sentence information, and if it matches, the replaceable phrase can be mistakenly replaced with another replaceable phrase. In order not to display it, the replaceable word portion is not displayed in a predetermined display form that can be distinguished from others. As a result, the keywords can be stored, and other replaceable words can be replaced one after another for translation or the like.

[0015]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples.

FIG. 2 shows the appearance of an electronic translator according to an embodiment of the present invention. This electronic translator 31 is convenient to carry around for traveling abroad, and stores a large number of Japanese and English phrases (sentences) in pairs. It can be displayed on the display 32. When the English phrase is displayed on the liquid crystal display 32, the speaker 33 can output its pronunciation as needed.

In order to achieve such a function, the present embodiment
The example electronic translator 31 has various keys or buttons.
ing. A power switch 35 is placed in front of the speaker 33.
The device 31 is turned on each time you press it.
It is designed to be cut and cut. Also, the LCD
A total of 10 scene buttons 16 in front of the spray 32
₁~ 16_TenAnd word bank button 17 and dictionary button
18 are arranged. Also, the liquid crystal display 12
4 scroll keys 19 on the right_U, 19_D,
19_L, 19_RAre arranged. In addition, these
Roll key 19 _U, 19_D, 19_L, 19_RIn front of
, Clear button 21, set button 22, keyword
Button 23, replace button 24 and audio output button 25
Are arranged respectively.

The first to the left of the word bank button 17
Third language selection keys 26 _{1 to} 26 ₃ are arranged.
Here, the first language selection key 26 ₁ is a key used when translating between Japanese and Chinese, and the second language selection key 26 ₂ is used when translating between Japanese and English. This is the key used for. The third language selection key 26 ₃ is adapted to be used when translating between Chinese and English.

The scene buttons 16 _{1 to} 16 ₁₀ are buttons for selecting each scene. Examples of such scenes include communication, transportation, lodging, eating out,
There are transportation and sightseeing.

The word bank button 17 is a button used for listing words related to the content of the topic displayed on the liquid crystal display 32. Here, the topic has the same meaning as the headline, and means a layer below the scene. The dictionary button 18 is a button used when referring to the English-Japanese dictionary or the Japanese-English dictionary. Four scroll keys 19 _U , 19 _D , 1
9 _L and 19 _R are keys for moving the screen up, down, left or right respectively. The clear button 21 is used when clearing the input contents. Set button 22
Is a button for confirming the desired display content. For example, to find the scene, the scene button 16 ₁ to 16
Select one of the ₁₀ buttons to display the desired scene on the liquid crystal display 32.
Press 2. As a result, the scene display is switched to the phrase display.

The keyword button 23 is a button used when searching for a keyword. Replace button 24
Is a button used to replace a part of replaceable words in a phrase with another replaceable word. When some phrases are displayed on the liquid crystal display 32, some of them are underlined. The underlined portion can be replaced with another replaceable word prepared in advance. When the replacement button 24 is pressed while the phrase with an underline attached to a part of the phrase is displayed on the liquid crystal display 32, the underline blinks.
At this time, by pressing one of the up and down scroll keys 19 _U and 19 _D , the replaceable word underlined is sequentially replaced with another replaceable word.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic circuit configuration of such an electronic translator. The electronic translator 31 is provided with a CPU (central processing unit) 41 for performing central functions of various controls. The CPU 41 is connected to each of the ROM 43, the work memory 44, the character generator 45, the speech IC 46, the display driver 47, and the button input circuit 48 via a bus 42 such as a data bus.

Here, the ROM 43 is the electronic translator 31.
It is a large-capacity read-only memory that stores programs for performing various controls of the above, and many phrases and the like.
This embodiment has a capacity of 16 Mbits. The work memory 44 is a random access memory for temporarily storing data required for executing the program. The character generator 45 is a generator for generating a Japanese or English pattern to be displayed on the liquid crystal display 32. The button input circuit 48 is a circuit for fetching input data from the keyboard unit 51 in which various buttons such as the scene buttons 16 _{1 to} 16 ₁₃ and the word bank button 17 are arranged.

The speech IC 46 is an IC (integrated circuit) for outputting a voice signal based on voice data stored in a part of the ROM 43 in association with a phrase. The audio signal output from the speech IC 46 is the amplifier 53.
Is amplified and output from the speaker 33 to the outside. Of course, an earphone (not shown) can be used instead of the speaker 33, and the pronunciation of each phrase can be confirmed without disturbing others in the train or the like.

Overview of the operation of the device

FIG. 3 shows an outline of the operation of this electronic translator. When the power switch 35 of the electronic translator 31 shown in FIG. 1 is pressed, the CPU 41 shown in FIG. 1 reads out the code information corresponding to the Japanese language "Please select a scene" from the ROM 43, and displays it for display. It is written in a display memory (not shown) in the driver 47 to display the Japanese word "Please select a scene" on the liquid crystal display 32 (step S101).
In this state, the CPU 41 causes the scene button 16, the keyword button 23, or the dictionary button 18 of the keyboard section 51.
It is monitored whether any of the buttons is pressed (steps S102, S103, S104).

When the operator presses the scene button 16 in this state (step S102; Y), the name of the pressed scene and the first topic are overwritten in the display memory, and the liquid crystal display is displayed. The name of the scene and the first topic are displayed on 32 (step S10).
5). In this state, the operator presses the set button 2 shown in FIG.
When 2 is pressed (step S106; Y), the phrase display in this topic is started by the same display control operation (step S107).

On the other hand, in step S106, the set button 2
When the up or down scroll keys 19 _U and 19 _D are pressed without pressing 2, (step S108;
Y), the topics are scrolled one by one on the liquid crystal display 32 (step S109). When the desired topic is displayed, the operator presses the set button 22 (step S110; Y) to start the display of phrases in that topic (step S107). If the up or down scroll keys 19 _U and 19 _D are not pressed (N), the keyword button 23 or the dictionary button 18 is pressed (steps S111, S).
112), retrieval of keywords corresponding to them (step S113) or reference of dictionary (step S114).
Will be done. Further, when the keyword button 23 is pressed in step S103 or the dictionary button 18 is pressed in step S104, the keyword search is similarly started (step S115), or the dictionary is referred (step S116). It will be.

Phrase search based on scene

Hereinafter, a more specific example of scene retrieval will be described in more detail. First, a desired scene is selected by pressing _{one of the} scene buttons 16 _{1 to} 16 ₁₀ (step S102), and the up and down scroll keys 19 _U and 19 _{D are selected.}
By pressing any of the buttons (step S108), the liquid crystal display 32 displays the topic “Ask for sightseeing and entertainment” (FIG. 4). When the set button 22 is pressed in this state (step S110; Y), a phrase related to this topic is displayed (step S107). Operate either the up or down scroll keys 19 _U or 19 _D to
As shown in FIG. 5, the phrase "how long does it take to get from here to the station ?" Is displayed. In this phrase, the word "station" is underlined. This means that the word "station" is a replaceable word that can be replaced with another word.

When the replace button 24 is pressed in this state,
This underline changes to a blinking state. When one of the up and down scroll keys 19 _U and 19 _D is pressed in this state, replacement is sequentially performed with a replaceable word prepared in advance. In this example, "bank", "tourist information center", and "post office" are scrolled in order from "station", and then "return to" station "is performed again, and replaceable words are sequentially replaced in the same order. FIG. 6 shows a display state of the liquid crystal display when “station” as a replaceable word is replaced with “bank”.

The replaced phrase can be translated into another language by pressing the desired one of the _first to _third language selection keys 26 _{1 to} 26 ₃ . FIG. 7 shows an example in which the Japanese shown in FIG. 6 is translated into English by pressing the second language selection key 26 ₂ . When the second language selection key 26 ₂ is pressed again, FIG.
The English display shown in is converted to Japanese display.

FIG. 8 specifically shows the control operation of this electronic translator in the phrase search based on the scenes described above. When the phrase display is instructed in step S107 of FIG. 3, the corresponding phrase is stored in the ROM.
It is read from 43 (step S201). CPU4
1 determines whether or not the read phrase includes a control symbol for underline display (step S202). If this does not exist (N), the phrase is displayed as it is on the liquid crystal display 32 (step S203).

In this display state, the CPU 41 gives an instruction to cancel the phrase display control (step S204).
Whether any of the _first to _third language selection keys 26 _{1 to} 26 ₃ is pressed to instruct translation (step S205) or the voice button 25 is pressed to instruct voice output of the phrase (step S205). S206) is monitored. When the phrase display control cancellation is instructed (step S2
04; Y), the control shown in FIG. 8 ends (end).

First to third language selection keys 26 _{1 to} 26 ₃
If the desired one is pressed (step S205;
Y), if it corresponds to the instruction of the translated sentence for the currently displayed phrase, the phrase of the translated word is read from the ROM 43 (step S207). Then, this is displayed on the liquid crystal display 32 (step S20).
3). When the voice button 25 is pressed (step S
206; Y), the voice of the displayed phrase is output (step S208).

On the other hand, when the phrase read out in step S202 includes a control symbol for underline display (Y), the portion where the underline is to be displayed is a replaceable word. Therefore, an underline is displayed on the replaceable phrase of this phrase and the liquid crystal display 3
2 is displayed (step S209). The CPU 41 does not press the replace button 24 in this state (step S2).
10) and steps S204 to S206 (A) described above.
Perform the same monitoring as. If neither button operation is performed, the current phrase display is continued. When the control in steps S204 to S206 is performed, the control is performed to replace the phrase of the corresponding translated sentence or output the corresponding voice.

On the other hand, when the replace button 24 is pressed (step S210; Y), the underlined portion displayed on the liquid crystal display 32 is blinked (step S211). This is to prompt replacement of the part of the replaceable word with another replaceable word. In this state, the operator presses the up / down scroll keys 1
Press either 9 _U or 19 _D (step S212;
Y), the replaceable word portion is replaced with the first prepared replaceable word (step S213). After this, steps S204 to S206 or step S
It is monitored whether the operation of 212 is performed, and when any of these operations is performed, the control for it is performed.

That is, the up and down scroll keys 19 _U ,
If any of 19 _D is pressed again (step S
212; Y), if it is one scroll key 19 _U , the replaceable word to be replaced next is read out, and the phrase replaced by this is displayed (step S).
213). If it is the other scroll key 19 _D , the replaceable word displayed immediately before is read, and the phrase replaced by this is displayed (step S213).
Other button operations have already been described.

Phrase search by keyword

Although the phrase search based on the scene has been described above, the phrase search can be performed by using a keyword. Here, the keyword search means to search for a phrase by using the set keyword by using the keyword button 23. However, there are some phrases in which no keyword is set, and some phrases in which a keyword is set include one keyword and multiple keywords.

When the keyword button 23 shown in FIG. 1 is pressed (steps S103, S111; Y in FIG. 3), the keyword search is started (steps S113, S115).
In this initial state, as shown in FIG. 9, two rows of indexes are displayed in the order of the Japanese syllabary. In this example, "a" line and "ka" line are displayed. Scroll key 19 _U ,
When 19 _D , 19 _L , and 19 _R are operated, the cursor 61 moves accordingly, so that this is aligned with the first character of the selected keyword. Set button 2 in this state
When 2 is pressed, a keyword list having the first character as the beginning of the keyword is displayed on the liquid crystal display 32.
FIG. 10 shows a state in which two keywords “air conditioner” and “English” are displayed as an example of the keyword list starting with “e”.

Similarly, the cursor 61 is added to the keyword list.
Is displayed, and it is possible to scroll to a desired keyboard position by operating the up and down scroll keys 19 _U and 19 _D.
In Figure 11, "Station" in the keyword list starting with "E"
Is a state in which the cursor 61 is set to the desired keyword. Set button 22 in this state
When is pressed, the phrase containing the word is searched.

In this embodiment, since a related phrase is registered for each keyword in advance, it is possible to search for a phrase that does not match the keyword but includes a related phrase.

FIG. 12 shows an example of search results for phrases including the keyword "station". The phrase "How long does it take from here to the station?" Is displayed here, similar to the liquid crystal display shown in FIG. In this phrase, “station” happened to be a replaceable phrase, but the keyword “station” in the phrase shown in FIG. 12 is not underlined. This is because the operator is searching for a phrase related to “station”, but the fact that “station” can be replaced does not suit the operator.

As described above, the replaceable words of the phrase displayed by the keyword search may be replaced with other replaceable words and may not be replaced. If the keyword at the time of search matches the replaceable phrase of the phrase displayed in the scene search, it cannot be replaced. Conversely, if the phrase is searched from other keywords, it can be replaced. The words can be replaced. Now, Fig. 5
The phrase "how much" in the phrase is a keyword and is not a replaceable phrase. In this case, the word "station" and the word "how much" do not match, so even if a keyword search is performed, an underline is displayed in the replaceable word "station" as shown in FIG. .

FIG. 13 shows the flow of control when performing a keyword search. Keyword button 23
Is pressed (step S301; Y (FIG. 3 step S
103, S111)), and a keyword is input by performing a predetermined operation (step S302).

FIG. 14 specifically shows this keyword input operation. First, the liquid crystal display 3
The index is displayed in step 2 (step S40).
1). At this time, the liquid crystal display 32 initially displays the characters “A” and “KA” as shown in FIG. 9, and the cursor 61 indicates the character “A”. The operator has four scroll keys 19 _U , 19 _D , 19 _L , 19 _R
By appropriately operating (step S402), the cursor 61 is moved (step S403), and the set button 22 is pressed in a state where it coincides with the first character of the target keyword (step S404; Y). This allows
A list of keywords of the first character is displayed on the liquid crystal display 32 (step S405). At this time, although not shown, the cursor indicates the first keyword.

The operator operates the up and down scroll keys 19 _U , 1
Operating the 9 _D (step S406; Y), together with the display contents scrolls, keywords indicated by the cursor will be changed (step S407). When the set button 22 is pressed when the desired keyword is indicated by the cursor (step S408; Y), the keyword is registered in the work memory 44 (FIG. 1) as a confirmed keyword (step S409).

Returning to FIG. 13, the description will be continued. When the keyword input is completed in this way, the working memory 44
The count value C of the phrase counter stored therein is initialized to "0" (step S303). And
The Cth phrase is read from the ROM 43 (FIG. 1) (step S304). The CPU 41 checks whether this phrase includes the keyword registered in step S409 (step S305). If not included, the count value C is incremented by "1" (step S306), and the phrase is read (step S304).

In the same manner, a phrase including a word matching the keyword is searched for. When the count value reaches the maximum value of the phrase stored in the ROM 43, the count value is reset to the initial value "0" so that the search can be performed again. Further, in the electronic translator of the present embodiment, the keyword is set from among those prepared in advance, so that the keyword is not present in the phrase.

If there is a phrase including the keyword (step S305; Y), it is checked whether or not the character information of the phrase includes control information for underlining (step S307).
If there is no control information for underlining, the phrase is displayed as it is on the liquid crystal display 32 (step S308). If the control information for underlining is included (step S30
7; Y), it is determined whether the underlined word matches the keyword (step S3).
09).

If they match (Y), the phrase is displayed without underlining the matching portion (step S310). If the underlined part does not match the keyword (step S309;
N), an underline is drawn to display the phrase (step S311).

When the phrase is displayed on the liquid crystal display 32 in this way (steps S308 and S31).
0, S311), the CPU 41 monitors the button operation. When the keyword button 23 is pressed (step S301; Y), the above-mentioned operation is repeated again (steps S302 to S311).

On the other hand, while the phrase is displayed on the liquid crystal display 32, the up / down scroll key 1
When 9 _U and 19 _D are operated (step S312;
Y), it is checked whether the phrase displayed on the liquid crystal display 32 has an underline and is blinking (step S313). If the underline is not blinking (step S31
3; N), the process proceeds to step S306, and the count value C is incremented by "1". And the liquid crystal display 32
Will display the next phrase as a search result.

On the other hand, if the underline is blinking (step S313; Y), it means that the replacement of the replaceable word with respect to the phrase searched by the keyword is urged. Will be displayed on the liquid crystal display 32 after changing to the replaceable phrase (step S314).

If the replacement button 24 is pressed while neither the keyword button 23 nor the upper and lower scroll keys 19 _U and 19 _D are operated (step S31)
5; Y), if the phrase displayed on the liquid crystal display 32 is underlined (step S3)
11), the underline is displayed blinking (step S316). This is to give an instruction to change the replaceable word into another replaceable word, as described above.

Modification

In the embodiments described above, the case where one replaceable word with an underline exists in one phrase has been described. Two or more such replaceable phrases may be included in one phrase. The case where two replaceable words are present in one phrase will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 15, "My luggage is large
It is a suitcase ”. When this is searched by the scene search, the "big" and "suitcase" parts are underlined as shown in this figure, indicating that both are replaceable words. There is.

FIG. 16 shows the display contents when the replaceable phrase "large" is searched as a keyword. The liquid crystal display 32 is underlined only in the “suitcase” portion. Therefore, the operator can replace this with the phrase "My luggage is a big Boston bag ", as shown in FIG. 17, for example.

FIG. 18 shows a case in which the other replaceable phrase “suitcase” is selected as a keyword and a search is performed. Only the "big" replaceable phrase is underlined to indicate that this sentence is replaced by another replaceable phrase.
Therefore, this replaceable phrase is for example "medium"
Or, it can be replaced with the replaceable word “small”.

FIG. 19 shows a display mode of a liquid crystal display in another modification of the present invention. Figure 1
In the modified examples shown in FIGS. 6 to 18, the underline is not displayed for the two replaceable words that match the keyword. However, in this case, it may happen that you forget about what word was set as the keyword. Therefore, in the modification shown in FIG. 19, a portion that can be replaced with another replaceable phrase is underlined, and a portion where the keyword and the replaceable phrase match is surrounded by a frame.

In the embodiment described above, the keyword is selected from the words prepared in advance, but an arbitrary term may be set as the keyword and a search may be performed for this. However, in this case, for example, the phrase "My luggage is a large suitcase " shown in FIG. 15 and the replaceable words "big" and "suitcase" are used as keywords. Sometimes the words "large", "large" or "big" are entered. Therefore, even if such substantially the same words are input, it is necessary to perform processing that prohibits the underline display of the replaceable word “large”. Such processing can be relatively easily performed by a method such as grammatical processing for ending change or preparing a dictionary for related words.

Further, although the replaceable words are displayed with an underline in the embodiments and the modifications described above, other display forms are also possible. Obviously, the blinking display of the underline can be changed to another display form.

In the keyword search, the keyword is selected from those registered in advance and the phrase registered in advance corresponding to each keyword is selected. However, by inputting an arbitrary phrase by the character input means, You may make it search the phrase containing this phrase.

Further, in the replacement, the word selected from the words registered for each replaceable word in advance is replaced. However, an arbitrary word is input by the character input means and the word is directly input. You may

[0067]

As described above, according to the invention described in claim 1, when a sentence information such as a phrase is searched for by a keyword, it is determined whether or not the keyword matches the replaceable phrase in the sentence information. It is determined that the replaceable words are not replaced with other replaceable words when they match. Therefore, for example, it is possible to prevent an operator from accidentally replacing the keyword with another replaceable phrase such that the keyword is underlined and displayed, which enables efficient search work. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a circuit configuration of an electronic translator according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the appearance of the electronic translator according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the outline of the operation of the electronic translator of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing an example of topic display when a scene search is performed in the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing an example of phrase display when a scene search is performed in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing another example of phrase display when a scene search is performed in this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing a state in which the phrase shown in FIG. 6 is translated into English in the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart specifically showing a control operation of this electronic translator in scene retrieval in the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing an example of index display in a keyword search in the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing a display example of a keyword list in the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing another display example of the keyword list in the present embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing an example of search results of phrases including the keyword “station” in the present embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a control flow when a keyword search is performed in this embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart specifically showing a keyword input operation in the present embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing an example of a scene search for a phrase including two replaceable words in a modified example of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing display contents when a replaceable word “large” is searched as a keyword in this modification.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing a state in which the display state shown in FIG. 16 is replaced with another replaceable word in this modification.

FIG. 18 is a plan view of a liquid crystal display showing display contents when a replaceable word “suitcase” is selected as a keyword and a search is performed in this modification.

FIG. 19 is a plan view showing a display mode of a liquid crystal display according to another modification of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing an example of a conventionally proposed electronic translator.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram specifically showing an example of a translation operation by a conventional electronic translator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 16₁~ 16_Ten… Scene button, 17… Word Bank
Tan, 18 ... dictionary button, 19_U, 19_D, 19_L1
9_R... scroll key, 22 ... set button, 23 ... key
-Word button, 24 ... Replace button, 25 ... Voice output
Power button, 26 ₁~ 26₃… First to third language selection keys
-, 31 ... Electronic translator, 32 ... Liquid crystal display, 33
… Speaker, 41… CPU, 43… ROM, 44… Work
Memory, 61 ... Cursor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sentence information storage unit for storing a plurality of pieces of sentence information each containing a predetermined replaceable phrase that can be replaced with another phrase, as necessary, and the replaceable phrases are stored together. Replaceable word storage means, keyword input means for inputting a keyword as a search target, sentence information search means for searching sentence information containing the input keyword from the sentence information storage means, and this sentence information search means When the replaceable phrase is included in the sentence information retrieved by, the keyword match determining unit that determines whether or not the replaceable phrase matches the keyword input by the keyword input unit, and the sentence The replaceable phrase part in which the sentence information retrieved by the information retrieval means is determined not to match the keyword by the keyword matching determination means Sentence information display means for displaying in a predetermined display form that can be distinguished from other parts, and when there is a replaceable phrase displayed separately from other parts in this sentence information display means, replaces it with another replaceable phrase And a sentence information display changing unit that, when the replacement is instructed by the replacement instruction unit, replaces the replaceable word portion with the replaceable word stored in the replaceable word storage unit and displays the replacement information. And a translation instruction means for instructing translation of the sentence information displayed on the sentence information display means into another language, and a translation means for translating according to the instruction of the translation instruction means. And an electronic translator.