JPS61211762A - Character string processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance an operability in a selection of a candidate character string by displaying the newest selected candidate on a first character string to which a selecting learning means is inputted on a candidate display means. CONSTITUTION:A learning control section 32 designates a retrieval of a learned candidate, subtracts from a discrete value of an adding point 104 to search a learning area 42, reads a corresponding candidate Chinese character from a memory position of a reading data obtained at that time from a reading editing section 16, takes out the candidate to feed to an editing section 22. As shown by an arrow 108, when subtracting to an initial memory position of the learning area 42, the subtraction is returned to a final memory position of the learning area 42, the subtraction is returned to a final memory position to do a circulating operation. Accordingly, even if the same reading is registered in plural memory positions, a newly learned candidate Chinese character is retirieved and displayed on a display device 12. Thereby, a learning function of a candidate selection can be effectively employed without deteriorating the operability of an operator and the operability in selecting the candidate character string is enhanced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to character string processing devices, particularly Japanese word processors, typewriters with memory, office computers, translation machines, etc., which derive a corresponding string from an input string. This relates to a character string processing device that outputs character strings.

In the prior art, for example, the "kana-kanji conversion" method widely adopted in Japanese language processors, there is a method of generating a converted character string from an input character string in units of words or units of segments. If there are multiple types of character strings containing kanji and kana that correspond to the input character string, those candidate character strings are CR
Display on a display device such as T. Any desired character string among the displayed character strings is selected by operating an input device such as a keyboard.

The display area for candidate character strings on a display device is generally limited in display capacity, and the number of candidates can be specified by using a numeric keypad, for example. They are displayed in order, for example, their frequency of use, internal code, and dictionary entries stored in internal or external memory.

Such conventional candidate display methods have the following drawbacks. For example, due to constraints on the display capacity of the display screen, when there are a large number of candidates, they must be displayed multiple times. For example, in the case of a display method in which candidates are displayed in order of frequency, candidates that are generally used less frequently are displayed later in the display order, so there is a drawback that the number of key operations required to switch the display until that display is obtained is increased.

For example, in the case of Japanese sentences, the same kanji characters are generally used frequently in the same document. Therefore, for candidates that are generally used infrequently, the operation of displaying candidates must be repeated many times each time the kanji appears.

To solve this problem, there is a system that has a learning function that learns the previous selections of candidates and reflects them in the next selection. According to this, the candidate selected first is preferentially displayed. In other words, in this method, the learned candidates and other candidates are displayed interchangeably, so if the operator remembers the order of the displayed candidates, the operation is likely to be confused. This is especially true when you happen to select a candidate that is used relatively infrequently and immediately want to select a candidate with the same sound but a different spelling. Such operational confusion also occurs in a system in which the order of displaying candidates is changed based on, for example, frequency of use information or ranking information of the candidates, making the operation difficult.

OBJECTS It is an object of the present invention to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art and provide a character string processing device with improved operability in selecting candidate character strings.

Structure In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a first character string,
and input means for inputting first and second instructions;
A second character string candidate corresponding to the first character string is stored, and a second character string candidate corresponding to the first character string input from the input means is stored.
candidate search means for searching for candidates for the character string; candidate display means for displaying at least a part of the candidates searched by the candidate search means in response to a first instruction; and display on the candidate display means. selection learning means for selecting one of the selected candidates in response to a second instruction and storing the selected candidate together with a first character string corresponding thereto; The present invention is characterized by a character string processing device that causes candidate display means to display recently selected candidates for a first character string that has been selected. Hereinafter, a detailed explanation will be given based on one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a Japanese word processor is shown in a conceptual functional block diagram. As shown in the figure, this embodiment includes an input device IO such as a keyboard. In this embodiment, the input device IO includes a character key for inputting reading (phonetic) characters such as kana or alphabet, a conversion key for instructing the display of candidate kanji written as a result of kana-kanji conversion, and a displayed candidate kanji. It has a candidate selection key for selecting a desired one among them, and other function keys for controlling the device. As described later, in this embodiment, the conversion key is
It also has a function of shifting the display of one set (group) of eight candidate kanji displayed in 2 one after another for each operation.

The candidate selection key may be a normal numeric keypad independent of the character keys, of which nine numeric keys from 0 to 8 are used in this embodiment. Alternatively, it may be a numeric key included in the character keys. In the latter case, as described later, when a candidate kanji is displayed, it functions as a candidate selection key, and at other times, it functions as a normal numeric key. In addition,
In this specification, the term "r character" includes not only kanji, kana, or alphabets, but also punctuation marks and other symbols. Furthermore, the term "character string" includes not only an arrangement of a plurality of characters but also a single character.

The device also has a display device 12, which is for example C
An RT character display device may be used to visually display the reading character string input to this system, the character string resulting from the conversion of kana/kanji, candidate kanji, etc.

The device also has a kanji dictionary 14, which is a file storage device, such as a RAM, in which conversion dictionary data to be indexed during kana-kanji conversion is stored.

Internal memory such as ROM or external storage such as a fixed disk or floppy disk may be used.

Elements other than those shown in FIG. 1 are advantageously constructed by a processing system such as a microprocessor, and are shown in blocks according to their functions in the figure. For example, as shown by connection i1B, reading input generated in response to the operation of the reading character key is inputted to the reading editing unit 16 from the input device IO, and kana-kanji conversion is inputted as shown by the connecting line 20. An instruction is input using the specified conversion key. The latter is also supplied to the candidate extraction and editing section 22.

The reading editing unit 18 edits the readings input from the input device IO to create reading data. This is data line 24
The data is sent to the display control unit 26 through the display controller 26, and displayed one by one on the display screen of the display device 12. The operator inputs the reading by operating the input device IO while looking at the reading character string displayed on the display device 12. At appropriate intervals in the reading input, the operator operates the conversion key on the input device 10 and inputs a conversion instruction. This conversion instruction is read by the connecting line 20 and is read by the editing section 1.
6, and the reading editing section 16 passes the generated reading data to the dictionary access section 30 and the learning control section 32 through the connection line 28.

In the single kanji selection mode, the dictionary access unit 30 generates an internal address, that is, a physical address, of the dictionary 14 from this reading data, and requests the dictionary 14 to search for the kanji corresponding to the reading data.

This address is given to the dictionary 14 through the address line 34, and the search request is transferred to the dictionary 14 and the learning control section 32 through the connection line 38.

The dictionary 14 stores kanji candidates corresponding to the readings at the storage location of each address. Usually, multiple candidates are prepared for one reading. In response to a candidate request from the dictionary access unit 30, the dictionary 14 searches for kanji candidates corresponding to the pronunciation from the specified address, and sends the search results to the candidate data temporary storage unit 40 via the data line 38.
Transfer to. The candidate data temporary storage section 40 is formed in an area of the internal memory of this device.

In response to the operation of the conversion key of the input device 10, the candidate retrieval/editing section 22 extracts one set of eight candidate kanji (in this embodiment) from among the candidate data stored in the candidate data temporary storage section 40.
The candidates of the group) are taken out in order, and this is combined with the learning candidate data obtained from the learning control unit 32 as described later, and the result is output to the display control unit 26. This is output by the display control unit 2B to the display device 12 together with the previous input data, and displayed on the display area 60 (FIG. 7).

The display area 60 of the display screen of the display device 12 is subdivided into three areas 62, 64 and 66, as shown in FIG. The area 62 is a part that displays readings, and displays the readings that are currently being converted. The area 64 is
This is the part that displays learned candidate kanji, and the candidate kanji that was previously selected based on its pronunciation is displayed at the number "0" position. Further, in this embodiment, the area 66 is an area for displaying one set of eight candidate kanji characters, and the candidate kanji characters are displayed at positions numbered 1 to 8. Examples of the display are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

By the way, the learning area 42 is included in the internal memory of this device, and as shown in FIG. It consists of a part 102 for storing candidate kanji, that is, learned kanji, and an addition pointer 104 for adding new learning data to an unregistered part of the learning area 42.

The selected character extraction section 44 responds to a selection instruction supplied to the connection line 46 by operating the selection key of the input device 10, and selects the selected character among the candidates currently output and displayed from the candidate extraction editing section 22 to the display device 12. It has a function of receiving a candidate corresponding to a selection key operation through a connecting line 48 and instructing the learning control unit 32 to learn the candidate through a connecting line 50.

The learning control section 32 has a search function of searching for candidates corresponding to the input reading data using the learning area 42 and outputting them to the candidate extraction and editing section 22 through the data line 52 for display. It also has a function of combining the reading data obtained from the reading editing section 1B and the selected candidate kanji indicated by the selected character extraction section 44 and registering the combination in the learning area 42.

When learning is instructed by the learning control section 32, the reading data obtained at that time from the reading editing section 16 and the reading data instructed at that time from the selected character extraction section 44 are stored in the storage location of the learning area 42 indicated by the addition pointer 104. The selected candidate kanji is recorded and the pointer 104 is incremented. pointer 10
The increment of '4' performs a circular operation, as shown by arrow 106 in FIG. 9A, when the learning area 42 advances to the final storage position and then returns to the initial storage position.

When the learning control unit 32 instructs to search for learned candidates, the learning area 42 is searched by subtracting the count value of the addition pointer 104, and the reading editing unit 16 stores the reading data obtained at that time. The candidate kanji corresponding to the position is read out and sent to the candidate extraction and editing section 22. Which subtraction is determined by learning area 4, as shown by arrow 108 in FIG. 9B.
When the number is decremented to the initial storage position of 2, a circular operation is performed to return to the final storage position.

Therefore, even if the same reading is registered in multiple storage locations, the most recently learned candidate kanji is retrieved. In addition,
As for the storage capacity of the learning area 42, an area of 1 minute is practically prepared for registering the number of words to be learned.

Explain the operation. When the key is manually operated by the human-powered device 10 (
200), if it is a reading input (202), the reading editing section 16 edits the reading data (20
B). If it is a conversion key (204), the reading data is taken into the dictionary access unit 30 (208) and a dictionary address is generated (210), and the corresponding candidate kanji is read from the dictionary 14 (212). This is candidate data temporary storage section 4
Accumulated to 0 (214).

At this time, the learning control unit 32 subtracts the count value of the addition pointer 104 of the learning area 42 (214).

Search for the corresponding pronunciation in the learning area 42 (218° 218, 252-250). If there is a matching reading, it is set in the candidate extraction and editing section 22.

The candidate retrieval editing unit 22 sets the address of the candidate data temporary storage unit 40 at the beginning position of the storage area 222).
, in this example, 8 characters of candidate kanji are read out (224)
. If there is a learning candidate among the 8 character candidates (22 [
1) Display these eight candidates on the display device 12.

For example, if you want to find the kanji ``jo'' that corresponds to the reading ``shou'', ``jo'' is included in the eight candidate kanji characters read from the first address set in the candidate data temporary storage section 40. If so, those eight characters are displayed, for example, as shown in FIG. 5(C). This illustrated example is
It happens that the kanji character ``sho'' is located in the first position, but if it is in the other positions 2 to 8, the kanji character ``shen'' is similarly included and displayed in the same position.

If there is no learning candidate among these eight character candidates, the learning candidate kanji set by the learning control unit 22, for example, "Jo" in the above example, is added to the first position of those candidates (228 ), to be displayed. That is, if there is no character corresponding to a learning candidate among the candidates displayed in the candidate display area 66 with the highest priority among the candidate kanji characters stored in the candidate data temporary storage section 40, the learning candidate is displayed in the learning candidate display area 86. will be displayed. Examples are shown in FIGS. 5(A), 5(B) and 5(D).

The operator looks at the candidate kanji displayed on the display device 12 and operates the keys (232). If there is no desired kanji, operate the conversion key to shift the display of candidate kanji groups to the next group, and if there is a desired kanji, use the candidate selection key (in this example, the numeric keypad) to select it. Operate (23
4).

When the conversion key is operated, the candidate extraction/editing section 22 increments the address of the candidate data temporary storage section 40 by 8 storage positions (2EiO) and performs the same operation. When a candidate selection key is operated, an address specifying one of eight characters is generated using the corresponding number (2
3B), the character is extracted by the selected character extraction unit 44 (23B). Therefore, the learning control unit 32 adds the reading data from the reading editing unit 16 to this (240),
It is written in the storage location of the learning area 42 indicated by the addition counter 104 (242), and the pointer 104 is advanced (244). If it is the final position of the learning area 42, return the pointer 104 to the beginning position 246° 262),
Clear the screen display (248). In this way, learning registration was carried out.

As shown in FIG. 5, the kanji character learned in this way, in this example ``sheng'', is always displayed together with the number ``0'' in the learned candidate display area 64. This learning candidate “Ji” is
As shown in (A), (B) and (D) of the same figure, area 6B
It is always displayed even if other candidate kanji groups are changed by operating the conversion key. As shown in FIG. 3C, when the same kanji as a learning candidate, for example "Shen", is included in another candidate group, the display of the learning candidate is deleted. therefore,
This avoids display situations where the same kanji is displayed in two places, which can easily lead to erroneous operations for the operator. Furthermore, if no learning has been performed for that pronunciation, nothing is displayed in the learning candidate area 64, as shown in FIG.
Only the candidate group of readings is displayed in the area 66.

As will be explained, in this embodiment, the order of the candidate groups displayed in the area 66 is not changed by learning the kanji characters. Since the learning results are displayed in a specific display area 84 prepared for that purpose, there is no shift in the display position of the candidate kanji displayed in the area 86 as in the conventional system.

The learning candidates displayed in the area 64 in this way are
It is selected by operating the 0 number key "0". This key is the number key 1-8 for selecting other candidates 1-8.
It is easy to clearly distinguish. Therefore, the operator memorizes the learning result and selects it using the numeric key "0", which is different from other candidate selections.
”, making it easy to use.

By the way, in conventional character string processing devices, when you input the reading ``shimetsu'' and operate the conversion key, the result shown in Figure 3 (A) is
As shown in , a predetermined number of candidate kanji, nine in this example, whose reading is "shou" are displayed. When one of the number keys attached to these candidate kanji characters is operated, that kanji character is selected. If the desired kanji is not found among these, the operator operates, for example, a conversion key to obtain the next candidate group. As a result, the display changes sequentially in accordance with the operation of the conversion key, as shown in (B) or (C) of the same figure. The number of displayed candidates is limited by the size of the display screen.

When selecting the kanji ``sheng'', from Figure 4 (A) to (B)
As shown in , the user operates the conversion key until the desired kanji character "Shen" is displayed, and when it is displayed, in this example, the user operates the numeric keypad "8" to select it. On a device with a learning function, if you select the kanji ``jo'' in this way and then input the same reading ``shou'' again, the kanji ``jo'' will be displayed in the first position as shown in Figure 4 (G). Ru. Therefore, this example is very useful if you use the kanji ``sheng'' frequently.

However, when creating a document that rarely uses the kanji ``shō'' and frequently uses other kanji with the same reading ``sho'', such as ``shu'', operations often become confusing. Due to the learning function, as shown in Figure 4 (G), the display is shifted to select ``sheng'', and the kanji ``ku'' is moved into the next group of candidates displayed (Figure 4 (D)). There is. In such a case,
Many experienced operators remember that the kanji ``ku'' appears as the ninth candidate kanji, so there is a risk of accidentally selecting ``shao'' instead of ``ku''. becomes higher.

Note that the embodiments described here are for explaining the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, and modifications and variations that can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Modifications are within the scope of this invention. For example, although the illustrated embodiment shows an example of single-kanji selection, the present invention is equally effectively applied to automatic kana-kanji conversion that converts an input character string to a character string containing kanji and kana.

Effects The character string processing device according to the present invention thus learns the selected candidate character, and the learning result is displayed at a predetermined position separate from other candidate characters. Therefore, the learning function for candidate selection can be effectively used without reducing the operability of the operator, and the operability in selecting candidate character strings is improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram conceptually showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a Japanese word processor, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are flow diagrams showing an example of the operational processing flow of the device shown in FIG. 1. , FIGS. 3 and 4 are explanatory diagrams showing examples of displaying candidate kanji according to the conventional method, FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams showing examples of displaying candidate kanji according to the method of the present invention, and FIG. 1. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the storage area of the learning area in the embodiment of FIG. 1. FIG. 9A and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a learning candidate addition operation and a search operation for each of the illustrated learning areas. Explanation of symbols of main parts 12, Display device 14, Dictionary 1B, Reading editing section 22, Candidate extraction editing section 32, Learning control section 40, Candidate data temporary storage section 42 , Learning area 44 , Selected character extraction unit 48 , Display memory 84 , Learning candidate display area

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Input means for inputting a first character string and first and second instructions; a second character string candidate corresponding to the first character string is stored; candidate searching means for searching for candidates for a second character string corresponding to the first character string inputted from the means; and at least a portion of the candidates searched by the candidate searching means. a candidate display means for displaying one of the candidates displayed on the candidate display means in response to a second candidate display means;
selection learning means for selecting the selected candidate in response to an instruction from the user and storing the selected candidate along with the corresponding first character string; A character string processing device characterized in that the candidate selected by the character string is displayed on the candidate display means. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the candidate display means includes a first display area for visually displaying at least a part of the candidates searched by the candidate search means; A character string processing device comprising: a second display area that visually displays selected candidates. 3. In the device according to claim 2, the candidate display means selects the learning means from among the candidates searched by the search means and displayed with the highest priority in the first display area. A character string processing device characterized in that when the candidate selected by is not included, the selected candidate is displayed in a second display area.