JPH03211664A - Electronic unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain translation among various languages with limited dictionary constitution by executing a translation processing between a first language and a second language as an intermediate medium language through the use of a third language. CONSTITUTION:An English-English dictionary 11b exists in a mainbody memory 11, and two bidirectional dictionaries of German-English/English-German and French-English/English-French are constituted as IC cards incorporating ROM 12 and ROM 13, whereby they are installed on a mainbody. Thus, not only translation between German-English/English-German and French-English/English- French by the single dictionary but also translation between German-French/ French-German is attained by the combination of dictionary data. Then, the translation processing among various languages is attained without complicating hardware, software and an operation system with limited dictionary constitution.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application J] The present invention relates to electronic equipment, and particularly to electronic equipment that performs translation between multiple languages based on dictionary data stored in a memory.

[Prior Art 1] Electronic devices having functions of electronic dictionaries or electronic translations have been known. In this type of device, for example, English words or sentences are input, and the words or sentences translated into another language, such as German, are displayed.

The process of converting the first language information into the second language information is performed by searching a memory in which the first language and the second language are stored in correspondence in a microprocessor for the first language information. Although the main format is display output using a liquid crystal display or the like, output formats such as audio output or print output using a printing device are also possible.

Furthermore, in recent years, many devices have been proposed in which a removable external storage device, a so-called IC card, can be attached for the purpose of expanding the functions of the device itself.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] For example, an electronic device configured as an English-English dictionary (electronic dictionary)
If you think about it, the simplest one is one that inputs an English word and outputs multiple corresponding English translations, but when converting to another language, you need to use an IC card, which is an external storage device, to correspond to each language. The function is realized by preparing a plurality of sheets in advance and selectively attaching one to the main body.

When an operator obtains desired information in another language, it is complicated to exchange IC cards corresponding to each language6.Furthermore, when translating between other languages, information in other languages is stored in the main unit in advance. It is necessary to store multiple pieces of language information for each combination on the IC card, which requires a large amount of ROM as a means of storing information, which increases the cost of the main unit, and there are many IC cards. Therefore, there were problems such as confusion for the operator.

In addition, if there are multiple IC cards, each with different functions, and the operator selectively installs them, the main body and
If it is not possible to determine what is executable as a C card system, or if you input various languages from the main body keyboard, the keyboard will become extremely complicated if the human characters and symbols used in each country's language are preset on the main body keyboard. Not only does it take a lot of time to perform input operations, but the keyboard is also large, which increases the size of the main body itself, which significantly impairs portability.

In addition, if the main unit is an English-English dictionary, for example, if a German person installs a German IC card and operates the main unit, multiple error messages will be displayed when operating the main unit, but the messages are usually set in the main language in advance. The only language used is English, which is difficult for Germans to understand and the operating procedures may be difficult to understand. Therefore, a method has been proposed in which messages in multiple languages are prepared in advance on the main body and the operator can select one, but this has the disadvantage of increasing the memory capacity of the main body, leading to an increase in cost.

Furthermore, in conventional devices, only one type of dictionary can be installed as an IC card at the same time, but multiple
A structure in which a C card is installed and translation is performed by combining these dictionary data is also conceivable. However, in such a structure, the various problems described above are expected to become more complicated and difficult to solve.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to effectively solve one or more problems, particularly in an electronic device to which a dictionary configured as a plurality of IC cards can be attached.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, the first
In an electronic device that translates and outputs linguistic information between a language and a second language, for mutually translating linguistic information between the first language and another language other than the second language. a first dictionary means storing information necessary for translating linguistic information between the second language and another language other than the first language; The first and second dictionary means are provided with two dictionary means, and the first and second dictionary means are detachably configured.
translation from the first language to the second language and from the second language to the first language by attaching a dictionary means to the device.
We adopted a configuration that performs translation into the following languages.

[Function 1] According to the above configuration, not only translation between the first or second language and another language using the first and second dictionary means, but also translation between the first or second language and the second language. It becomes possible to translate

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the example shown in the drawings. Here, it can be used as an English-English dictionary using the dictionary data in the main body, and by attaching multiple dictionary cards configured as IC cards, it can be used as a dictionary for German-French, French-German, inherited, and personal interests. An example of an electronic dictionary that can perform translation between multiple languages is given below.

<Hardware Configuration> FIG. 1 shows the external appearance of an electronic dictionary employing the present invention. The main body 1 of the device includes a case la having an alphabet key 2 and a function key 3a for inputting headwords on the top surface, and a case 1b having a display 4 and a function key 3b on the top surface, which can be opened and closed via a hinge portion 5. The configuration is connected to the

Various IC cards 6 can be attached to two sets of card insertion lowers a and 7b provided on the side surface of the case la.

A transparent keyboard 8, which will be described later, is provided on the surface of the display 4. Reference numeral 9 is an enter key, which instructs the process of converting manually written words into a foreign language.

<Configuration of control unit> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the device shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. This is a ROM (0) that stores a human processing program, a display processing program, a dictionary search program (described later), an English-English dictionary, and various message data. In this ROM 1l, reference numeral 11a is a control program area in which the various control programs described above are stored.

Reference numeral 11b is a dictionary data area that stores dictionary data. This dictionary data area stores English words to be used in an English-English dictionary and corresponding data of their meanings.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, in addition to this dictionary data area 11b, a dictionary card configured as an IC card is installed,
In addition to the English-English dictionary, German-French, French-German 1.・It is possible to perform translation between multiple languages.

That is, numerals 12 and 13 are ROM (1) and ROM (2) provided in two IC cards as external storage devices, respectively.

The ROM 12 and ROM 13 contain a card control program area 12 for controlling the card application.
a, 13a, and dictionary data areas 12b, 13b for storing dictionary data, respectively.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a RAM, and within the RAM 14 there is a memory area 14a used as a work area for various control programs, a temporary save area 14b used as a stack, and words (described later) used as memory when converting a different language via an intermediate language. A plurality of blocks are allocated to the store area 14c.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a keyboard section equipped with the alphabet keys 2, function keys 3a, 3b, etc. shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 6 denotes a display drive section that controls the display screen of the display 17 based on the display control of the CPU 10.

In the main body control system configured as above.

The information (English words) entered manually from the keyboard section 15 is CP
The dictionary data area llb stored in ROMII is searched via Ul0.

Then, along with the character information output to the display 17,
Control of this device is based on the control program area 11a in ROMI 1, which transfers the search content to the work area 14a in ROMI 1, arranges the display format, and then displays and outputs the search content on the display 17 via the display driver 16. This is performed by CPU10.

When searching the data in the card, the process is almost the same as above, only the dictionary search process is performed in ROM12, ROM1.
The control program area 12a and the control program area 13a in the ROMI
CPUl0 by the control program area lla in I
This is done through

<Basic configuration of dictionary search> Next, the basic procedure of dictionary search will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This procedure involves searching the dictionary data area llb in the main body, and searching the R
Used for all OM12.13 searches. These procedures are appropriately arranged on the program areas 11a, 12a, 13a of the ROM11, ROM12.13. However, in Figure 3, English-to-English translation is taken as an example.

When outputting an English translation from an English word, first, in step S1 of FIG. 3, the desired English word is input using the alphabet keys 2.

Next, in step S2, it is determined whether the enter key 9 has been operated. If steps S1 and S2 are negative, steps 5 or more are repeated.

When the English word m is input and the enter key 9 is further pressed, words are sequentially output from the dictionary head address A in the dictionary data area llb of the ROMII in a loop of steps S3 to S5, and a match is determined in step S4. , are compared for matches with the input word. If they do not match, the read address A of the dictionary data area llb is advanced to the next position in step 85, and the process returns to S3.

If the same entry word as the input word is found, step S
6. In step S6, the dictionary data area l
English translation information consisting of a plurality of words in question is read from lb, this information is rearranged according to the display format, and displayed on the display 4 in S7. Step 5l-
57 is commonly used in various conversion operations described later.

Next, various functions in the present invention will be explained in detail.

<Basic structure of translation between different languages> First, the basic structure of the translation system between the first language and the second language (different languages such as German-English and English-German) in the present invention will be explained.

FIG. 4 shows an example of key operations and displays when a translation operation is performed. Here, we will consider German as the first language and French as the second language.

In FIG. 4(A), reference numeral 41 is a cursor, which is waiting for input of a German heading.

In Figure 4 (B), the German words to be translated are found.
Enter enJ). In this input waiting state, the code 42
As shown in , the types of the first language and second language are always displayed. When the enter key 9 is pressed after entering the heading, a plurality of French translation results are displayed at the position 44 at the same time as the input German heading 43, as shown in FIG. 4(C).

<Details of translation between different languages> In addition, in this embodiment, in order to perform the translation process between the first language and the second language with the most memory efficiency, several methods of using the third language as an intermediate medium language are introduced. This will be explained by giving an example.

This method is used, for example, when an English-English dictionary is stored in the main body memory, and it is possible not only to perform translations using these dictionaries alone, but also to perform translations between German-French and French-German languages by combining dictionary data.

Here, German is the first language, French is the second language, English is the third intermediate language, and there is a bidirectional dictionary between the first, second, and third languages. , equipped with bidirectional dictionaries between second and third languages, namely German-English/English-German dictionaries and French-English/English-French dictionaries. These two bidirectional dictionaries are configured as IC cards containing ROMI2 and ROM13, and are installed in the main body.
Mention it in the form of

Further, it is assumed that the processing procedures shown below are appropriately arranged in the control program area of ROMII and each control program area of ROM12.13.

Furthermore, in the following translation process, ST1[], ST2[
1, Eng [] = - RAM1J in other notation methods
Shows various work areas set within.

Note that here, X [nl corresponds to a program notation such as the C language, and indicates the nth component (the character string itself) of the character string array having the start address X. X[
] may be a pointer array to a character string, but in the notation in the flowchart, X[nl means the character string itself.

(First Example of Translation Processing) A first example of translation processing will be described according to the flowchart of FIG. 5.

In FIG. 5, step 5101 is a key reading process, and is in a state of waiting for the user to input a German heading. If a key is pressed here, it is determined in step 5102 whether or not it is an alphabet key valid for German headings, and if it is valid, in 5103 the character code corresponding to the input key is stored in the heading buffer and the key is pressed again. It enters a key wait state.

If the key pressed in step 5104 is the enter key 9, then in 5105 the German-English dictionary is searched for a German heading corresponding to the character code group in the heading buffer stored, and in 5106 the translation result for the German heading is searched. Multiple English words Eng [1] ~E
ng (nl from the first buffer ST[l] to ST[n
6 Next, in step 5107, a counter t for sequentially processing the words Eng[1] to Eng[nl stored in 8106 is set to [l]. Then, in step 5ios, the content E of STl[]
ng [For tl, search the English-French dictionary this time,
Multiple French words Fre [1] which are translation results in 9
~Fre [m] is stored in the second buffer ST2[]. Thus, by steps 5ilo and 5ill, the contents of all STIs Eng [tl ~ Eng [nl
The loop processing continues until the processing of 5108 and 5109 is performed. And in step Sl 10 t=
When the processing for n, that is, the last Eng [tJ, is finished, in 5112, the contents of ST2, that is, all the German-English translation results Eng [1] to Eng [nl, all the English-French translation results ST2 [1] to St[nl Display 1
Display on 7.

FIG. 6 shows a summary of the translation results of the second and third translations, taking r findenJ as an example of input German.

In the figure, the left column 61 is the German heading searched based on the input data, and the middle column 62 is the German-English translation result stored in the STI in step 5106 of FIG. Further, the right column 63 shows the respective English-French translation results for the German-English translation results stored in ST2 in 5109, and all the words in the right column 63 are displayed on the display 17.

It is possible to obtain a wider range of translated words (of or in a broader sense) than with the translation method.

However, while it is possible to obtain more translated words, this method also outputs too many words and may force the user to select and judge a large number of words. Therefore, in the second to third embodiments, a configuration for accurately narrowing down the words obtained in the first embodiment to appropriate translation words will be shown.

(Second Example of Translation Processing) In FIG. 6 for explaining the second example of translation processing according to the flowchart of FIG.
The OS is a process common to the first embodiment.

In step 5209, the French-English dictionary is further searched for the French word that is the translation result retrieved in 5108, and the result is stored in ST3[1.

Next, in step 5210, the English word stored in ST3 is compared with the word of Eng[tJ stored in ST[tl, and if there is a match in step 5211, the process proceeds to 5212 to compare the English word stored in ST3 with the word of Eng[tJ, which is the translation result of Eng[tJ]. Store the French words in the buffer ST2 [], and if there is no match, count up the counter t until t=n at 5213 (S214), and store all E n g [l
] -E n g [5108-521 for nl
Process 0.

Finally, in step 5215, all the contents of ST2 stored in step 3212 are displayed on the display 17.

FIG. 8 shows finde as input German as in the first embodiment.
Taking n as an example, the processed translation results are displayed.

In FIG. 8, numerals 81 to 83 correspond to numerals 61 to 83 in FIG.
It is similar to 63. In this example, the French word in column 83 is further translated from French to English as shown in column 84, and if the same word is found in English, which is an intermediate language, among the results, the original The French words in column 83 are the translation results.

That is, r troover J in column 83 contains the English word r findJ, and column 82 contains the English word r findJ.
Since it matches ndJ, add "tr" to Ba Nfa ST2 [].
over J is stored. Also, in column 83, [es
timer J jIf you get stuck, add fin in column 82 during the English translation.
Since d is not included, it is not stored in Sr1[1. Similarly, r de'couvrir J in column 83 is stored, and rre've'ler J is not stored.

As a result, in step 5215 of FIG. 7, only the underlined part in the eighth figure is displayed on the display 17.

With this configuration, in the first embodiment of translation processing, when there are too many words to be output, only words with appropriate meanings can be output.

(Third Example of Translation Processing) A third example of translation processing will be described according to the flowchart of FIG. 9. Here, as in the second embodiment of the translation process, appropriate words are selected from all the words in the second language, French, obtained from the first language, German, through the intermediate language, English. An example of control is shown.

In FIG. 9, step 5lot-3108 is common to the first and second embodiments.

In step 5309, the French Fre [1]-Fre [m], which is the translation result retrieved in 310B, is stored in the buffer yST3 [1]=ST3 EmJ.

Next, in step 5310, a counter S for sequentially processing the words Fre [IJ-Fre [m] stored in 5309 is set to "l".

Then, in step 5311, the contents of Sr3
[I searched the French-English dictionary for sl and found 531 more
In step 2, the translation result, German aphasia, is buffered in ST4.
Store in.

Next, in step 5313, the German word group stored in Sr1 is compared with the first key-generated German heading, and if there is a match in step 5314, the process proceeds to 5315, where Fre, which is one of the translation results of Eng [tl, is found. [s
Store J in buffer ST2 [].

If there is no match in step 5314, the counter S is incremented in steps 5316 and 5317 until the same process is performed for all French translation results of Eng[1].

When all the processing is completed for one t, the counter t is counted up in steps 5318 and 5319 until the processing is completed for all the German translation results stored in 5I06. When all processing is completed, that is, when t=n, all contents of Sr1[] stored in step 5320 are displayed on the display 17.

FIG. 1O takes rfindenJ as an example of German input and displays the translation results processed in the third embodiment. In the figure, numerals 101-104 are the same as numerals 81-84 in FIG.

In this case, it is determined whether to adopt the translation result in column 103 by further translating column 104 obtained in FIG. 8 into German in column 105 and comparing the result with the original word in column lot. Ru.

For example, r troover J at 103 in Figure 10.
When r findJ, which is one of the English translations, is further translated into English and German, column 105 contains rfindenJ, which matches the input German heading rfindenJ, so r trouver J is stored in buffer ST2. Also 1 row 103 r de 'couv
rir J ni te is the English word r unco in column 104
The German translation result in column 105 for ver J and the German translation result in column 105 for the English word r discover J in column 104 do not include the German input heading rfindenJ, so r de
'couvrirJ is not stored.

As a result, in step 5320 of FIG.
Only the underlined words in the diagram column 103 will be displayed on the display 17.

(Fourth Example of Translation Processing) A fourth example of translation processing will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG. Here, as in the second embodiment of the translation process, appropriate words are selected from all the words in the second language, French, obtained from the first language, German, through the intermediate language, English. An example of control is shown.

In FIG. 11, steps 5101 to S105 are the first
This is common to the embodiment.

In step 8406, the English words Eng [1] to Eng [kl
is stored in buffer ST4 [1l-5T4 [kl.

Next, in step 5407, a counter U for sequentially processing the words Eng[1] to Eng[kl stored in 5406 is set to "l",
Further, a counter n for sequentially storing English words selected by the process is set to "1".

Then, in step 5409, the English word Eng [ul stored in 3406 is searched in the English-German dictionary, and in 5410, the translation result German aphasia is compared with the German word input as the heading, and in 5411 a matching word is found. If so, proceed to 5412 and enter the En at that point.
g [ul is stored in the buffer STI [n], and the counter n is incremented in step 5413.

If there is no match in step 5411, then in steps 5414 and 5415, the counter U is incremented and looped until U=k, that is, the same translation/comparison process is performed for all Eng[ul.

The subsequent processing is performed at the node [ in FIG. 5 in the first embodiment.
AI or the node [B in FIG. 7 in the second embodiment
], or the node [C
].

The processing up to moving to the nodes [AI, [B], [C] in the first to third embodiments is shown in columns 121, 122, 1 in FIG.
As shown in 23, this is a process in which an English word is obtained from the original German word, and then translated into German to determine the English word from which the original German word was obtained. In other words, the procedure in Figure 11 is from the first language to the third language.
A second language used as an intermediate language when translating into other languages
It is nothing but the process of determining language.

By processing the second language obtained in this way at the nodes [AI, [B], [C] and later in the first to third embodiments, a more appropriate translation can be easily and quickly selected. . In the first to third embodiments, the number of words obtained as a result of translation becomes enormous in two or more stages of translation processing in an intermediate language or later. By narrowing down the candidates in stages, more efficient searches become possible.

Here, FIG. 12 illustrates a combination result of the fourth example and the first example.

FIG. 12 takes rfindenJ as an example of German input and displays the translation results for the combination of this embodiment and the first embodiment. In the figure, numerals 121 to 123 are the same as numerals 61 to 63 in FIG.

In FIG. 12, reference numeral 6 is the result of manually translating the German into English and then again into the English-German.

Since the input German heading r findenJ is already included in the German translation for r findJ in column 122, further processing is performed to store r in buffer ST1[].
findJ is stored.

Also, r discoverJ, r thi in column 122
As for nk J and rconsiderJ, rfindenJ is not included in their German translations, so these are not stored in the STI. Therefore, the French in the column 123, which is the translation result for the English r findJ in the column 122, is finally displayed as the German-French translation result.6 (Another Example of Translation Processing) As explained above, the second, By executing the processes shown in the third and fourth embodiments, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the translation process via the intermediate language shown in the first embodiment. Therefore, by combining a plurality of the second to fourth embodiments, it is possible to further improve translation accuracy.

Examples 5 to 1 in the left column of Figure 0 show examples of combinations in Figure 13.
1 is an example in which each of the above-mentioned Examples 1 to 4 is combined. Here, the seventh embodiment is a combination of the fourth and first embodiments described at the end of the fourth embodiment above.

Also, for each combination, the AND condition of each element,
By using the OR condition, the number of combinations increases further, and by changing the combinations according to various translation conditions, it is possible to obtain a translation result that is most suitable for the conditions.

Furthermore, in the first to eleventh embodiments, the first language is German, the second language is French, and the third language is English, but any language such as Spanish or Italian can be applied. Needless to say, containers 1 and 3
It is sufficient to have a bidirectional dictionary between languages and between second and third languages.Also, in the first to fourth embodiments, translation from German to French was illustrated, but translation in the opposite direction is the same. Needless to say, it can be done by following these steps.

Of course, the two-way dictionaries stored in the ROM 12 and 13 of the IC card can also be used independently. In each of the embodiments described above, it goes without saying that the German-English, English-German bidirectional dictionaries, and the English-French and French-English bidirectional dictionaries can be used independently.

It is preferable that the various translation modes in each of Examples 1 to 11 in FIG. to display it on the i indicator 17, or display it on the indicator I7. ) It is also conceivable to spatially divide the display area into a plurality of areas and display each one.

<User interface configuration: Part 1> Next, when an IC card storing multiple different language information is installed in the main body, useful input/output control of the entire system that can be considered in such a configuration, namely 5. The user interface method will be described in detail.

(Twelfth Embodiment) Here, in a state where the main body of the device shown in FIG. - An example of the configuration when an English-French dictionary is attached is shown.

In the above system, in addition to the English-English dictionary configured by ROMI 1 in the main body, there are three dictionaries configured as IC cards: English, German, and French, and each can be combined, so 3P2 = 6 ways. There are possible combinations (German-French and French-German translations are performed according to the first to eleventh embodiments described above), and if the English-English function of the main body is added to this, there are a total of seven combinations.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the display of the display 17 in this embodiment, for example, displaying the alphabet as a menu item, displaying a translation method from one language to another such as [ENG-FREJ] along with rEJ. are doing.

Here, the operator can select any dictionary function. 1. For example, if you want to use it as a French-German dictionary, when you turn on the power switch of the main unit, the display as shown in Figure 14 will be automatically displayed, and then the alphabet key When the rGJ button is pressed, selects the corresponding item in the menu. Thereafter, a French language input waiting screen (not shown) as a French-German dictionary is displayed on the display 17, and the process then proceeds to conversion control processing via the above-mentioned intermediate language.

If an Italian-English/English-Italian dictionary is installed instead of a French-English/English-French dictionary as the second IC card, rFREJ in the display example in Fig. 14 will be changed to rITAJ, and the seven different dictionaries will also be available. All you have to do is display a menu so that you can use it.

Next, referring to the flowchart in FIG. 15, the control procedure shown in FIG. 6, which describes the control when performing the above-mentioned interface, is stored in the control program area lla in the ROM I.

First, in step S501 of FIG. 15, it is confirmed whether or not the on key among the function keys 3a that commands power-on of the main body is pressed, and if the on key is pressed, 550
In step 2, the presence or absence of an IC card in the first IC card mounting section is confirmed. One way to confirm this is, for example, by wiring the device so that a closed loop circuit is formed when an IC or card is inserted, and then sending a predetermined signal to the circuit, and if there is a return, it is determined that the IC card is present. Conceivable.

Next, in step 5503, the ICC card type code sound pre-stored in the first IC card is read, and in 5504, it is determined whether the type code A is a bidirectional translation function for English, which is an intermediate language. If it is determined that the code is of a different type, a separate process is performed, for example, a control system that operates solely on the IC card.

If it is determined in step 5504 that the device has a bidirectional translation function, the type code A is stored in the work area 14a of the main body RAM 14 in 5505.

Next, in step 5506, it is confirmed whether or not there is an IC card in the second IC card mounting section. If step 5506 is affirmed, the card type code B is read in 5507, and it is determined in 5508 whether it is a translation function.If this step is negative, the process moves to a separate process as in 5504.

If it is determined that the translation function is present, the above-mentioned type code A and this type code B are merged in step 5509,
The pattern M is stored again in the work area 14a.

Next, in step 5510, the combination information for the above-mentioned pattern M is searched and compared with the table stored in the ROMII in advance, and if there is, the combination information is read out together with the display character information in 5511, and in 5512 the combination information is stored in the RAM 14i.
5 and after the information is synthesized in the display drive unit 16 5513
At step 5514, seven combination patterns are displayed on the display 17 as shown in FIG. 14, and at step 5514, selection input of each combination using the alphabet keys is awaited.

Here, if it is not confirmed in step 5506 that the IC card is installed in the second IC card installation section,
At step 515, the aforementioned type code A is restored as pattern M, and from step 5510 onward, the same processing is executed to display a combination pattern of "AJ,""B", and rCJ on the display 17 as shown in FIG.

Further, if it is not confirmed in step 5502 that the IC card is installed in the first IC card installation section, 55
At step 16, it is confirmed whether or not an IC card is installed in the second IC card installation section. If step 5516 is negative, it means that there is only the English-English dictionary function stored in the main body, and the process moves to another process, such as waiting for input of an English word as an English-English dictionary.

If you confirm that the IC card is installed in step 5516, it will be 55.
At step 17, the type code B stored in advance in the IC card is read, and at step 5518, the presence or absence of the translation function is confirmed. If the translation function is provided, step 5519
5 at the same time as storing type code B in RAM14.
At 520, the combination pattern M is restored, and the process proceeds to 5510 and subsequent steps. Finally, as shown in Figure 14, "A", "
The combinations of "E" and "F" are arbitrarily rearranged and displayed on the display 17, and in step 5514, the display waits for selection.

In this way, the first
Possible translation modes are displayed as shown in Figure 4, and the user can select the desired translation mode.

(Thirteenth Embodiment) In the twelfth embodiment, the on key only had a power-on function, but this on key has a menu display function that displays possible states of the entire system when pressed after power-on. By adding , if the first and second IC cards are replaced with cards in other languages due to certain settings, the on key can be pressed even when one of the combinations is being executed to execute the control shown in Figure 15. By doing so, you can always check and execute functions based on the latest system status. Of course, it goes without saying that keys other than the on key may be assigned as keys for executing commands for these functions.

(Fourteenth Embodiment) In the twelfth embodiment, a case has been described in which the first and second IC cards each have a translation function, but the first IC card has a built-in translation function (dictionary and search program). It is also conceivable that the second IC card stores an application that functions independently, and executes the functions of the second card along with translation.

In such a structure, the following display control may be performed by adding the procedure shown in FIG. 16 to the procedure shown in FIG. 15.

That is, if the translation function of the type code B of the second IC card is denied in step 8508 in FIG.
Shift to the control shown in Figure 6.

In step 5521, type codes A and B are restored to combination pattern Mj5 and function pattern N,
In steps 5522 and 5523, each pattern M, N
is compared and searched, the menu screen display character function stored in the ROMII is read out in step 5524, display information is synthesized based on the screen layout in step 5525, and displayed on the display 17 in step 5526.

Figure 17 shows an example of this display;
In this case, as shown in figure 0, which shows the case where an IC card containing a travel phrasebook is installed in the IC card installation part of the
Menu items rAJ to "C" include the combination of translation functions for the first IC card, and "rTRAVEL C0NVE the title of the phrase collection as an application to DJ."
R5ATIONJ is displayed.

Moreover, if the application card is installed in both the first and second IC card installation parts, that is, the 15th
In the figure, if steps 5504 and 8508 are negative, the menu item "AJ" and two application titles in FIG. 17 are displayed, and three functions can be selected.

<User interface configuration: Part 2> and above,
Although the configuration related to menu display and its selection has been shown, below, we will explain the structure of an IC that stores a plurality of different language information.
The configuration for controlling the various message languages output on the main body display in accordance with the selected language when each card is installed in the main body will be described in detail below.

(15th Embodiment) Figure 18 (A> shows the input waiting state when menu item "A" (English-English dictionary mode) is selected while the menu screen in Figure 14 is being displayed, and the operator is not required to input. The prompting message is written in English because the heading input language is English.

However, when the item rFJ is selected in FIG. 14, that is, the process moves to the French dictionary search process, it is preferable to automatically switch the notation of the message to French as shown in FIG. 18(B).

In this case, all other messages such as errors are written in French, and this mode continues until the menu screen is returned and another language dictionary is selected.

In many cases, it is considered that many users who have set a dictionary language have that language as their native language, so displaying all messages in their native language when selecting a dictionary significantly improves operability.

Next, means for realizing the above operation will be explained.

FIG. 19 shows in more detail the internal structure of the ROM 13 stored in the IC card in FIG. 2, and is configured in the order described below.

First, the first area stores a program that executes system control specific to the card itself, and is located in the ROM13.
When control is transferred from ROMII by chip select controlled by CPU IO, various pre-assigned processes are executed.

What is stored in the next area is card type code B, which is a control code for determining the type of card mentioned above.

Next, a plurality of sets of message data 13f configured in the language handled by the card (French in this case) and a message display control program 13 that controls the message data 13f are displayed.
g is stored. The type of message data is ROMI
The message data (English) stored in 1.

Next, codes for characters unique to French (for example, rL, ``5'', etc.) other than the normal 26 letters of the alphabet, and corresponding display font data and control programs are stored. This will be detailed later.

Finally, French-English, English->French bidirectional data and a table for searching the data are stored as dictionary data areas to form one ROM.

While the English-to-English conversion shown in FIG. 18(A) is being executed, various messages are outputted by the control program in which the message data stored in ROMII is also stored, but here, as shown in FIG. 18(B) When the French dictionary mode is selected as shown in
At the same time, check the card type code B stored in the work area 14a of No. 4, and at the same time turn the message display control
Transfer to M13.

At this time, by setting a flag in the work area 14a indicating that the language has been switched to French, the contents stored in the RAM 14 can be always backed up even after the power is turned off or when the menu screen is returned. By setting the message in French, even when the power is turned on again and the menu screen is displayed, the flag in the work area 14a is checked and the message display processing is transferred to the IC card, so the French notation is always maintained. be able to.

Furthermore, by selecting the other language dictionary and switching the flag in the work area ε 14a to a new flag indicating another language, it is possible to switch the notation of the message to another language. Here, of course, the RO in the other language IC card is used.
It is also necessary to keep the M configuration similar to that of the French dictionary card shown in FIG.

By adopting the same memory structure for any language, by inserting an IC card for each language and selecting the language dictionary, messages can be sent in that language, and there is no need to select another language. For example, a certain message is always displayed even when the main unit is turned off and on, which is very convenient for operators who use the relevant language as their native language.

(Sixteenth Embodiment) In the fifteenth embodiment described above, the message language is switched by selecting and switching the dictionary language, but a configuration is also available in which the desired message language can always be set no matter which dictionary language is being executed. Conceivable.

In other words, a switching key (not shown) is provided in the keyboard in advance during operation of the main unit, and by pressing this key, the display screen changes to a message language other than the one currently in use, as shown in Figure 18 (C). Possible languages are identified by the type code stored in the work area, and a menu is displayed so that the operator can freely select the language.

In the fifteenth embodiment, the message language identification flag is switched by the dictionary that has been switched to the dictionary language, but in this embodiment, this can be easily realized by switching when selecting the language after pressing the switch.

This display message switching control will be explained based on the flowchart of FIG. 20. During execution of a search routine as an electronic dictionary function, it is determined in step S601 in interrupt processing whether or not the switching key is constantly pressed. When the depression of the switching key is detected, the current flag indicating the current message language is checked in step 5602. Here, it is assumed that English is specified. So step 5
At step 603, the type code stored in the work area 14a is recognized by F11, an unused language is recognized, and at step 5604 a selection screen for a language other than English (German, French) is displayed (
18(C)) and waits for input of a selection key in step 5605. When one of them is selected,
At step 5606, a flag corresponding to the new language is set in the RAM 14, and at the same time, message display control is transferred to the ROM in which the language set at step 5607 is stored. In step 5608, the message is displayed in the new language and the process moves to the next step of the search routine.

Assuming that the RAM 14 is backed up even when the power is turned off, messages can always be displayed in the same language, and the display will not change unless the operator performs a switching operation. Therefore, no matter which language is selected, the message will always be displayed. Since messages are displayed in the same language, it is more convenient for operators whose native language is that language.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the fifteenth and sixteenth embodiments may be combined. That is, when changing the dictionary language, it is not only possible to switch to the language concerned, but also to perform arbitrary switching at any time while using the language after switching.

Furthermore, by allowing the operator to set the display message control for either one of the fifteenth and sixteenth embodiments, it is possible to provide a very convenient message display function for a plurality of operators.

<Configuration of User Interface: Part 3> Next, input sentence 7 to use the heading entry key function in the language of the installed IC card or any language selected from multiple languages. This section describes automatic switching control.

(Seventeenth Embodiment) For example, in German, characters such as "β" and "ノ" are used, and below, a technique for adding input means for these characters as necessary will be described.

FIG. 21 shows a display example employing this embodiment, and FIG. 21(A) shows the state of the headline input screen when a German language card is inserted as an IC card.

As shown in the figure, "me", "vL", "6", and "β" are displayed as human characters unique to German in the lower row of the display surface of the display 17, and "me", "vL", "6", and "β" are displayed on the upper surface of the display I7, which will be described later. By pressing the vicinity of the displayed characters on the transparent keyboard 8, the displayed characters are taken in as key manual information.

According to such a configuration, when inputting German, it is possible to use a combination of 26 alphabet keys provided in advance on one main body and 4 special keys set in the display.

FIG. 21(B) similarly shows a French input screen, in which a plurality of French-specific input characters are displayed at the bottom of the display 17, and the transparent keyboard 8 above each can be pressed. ing.

Next, the structure of the transparent keyboard 8 on the display 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23.

Fig. 23 is an exploded perspective view of the same structure, and Fig. 22 is an exploded perspective view of the same structure.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the assembled state shown in the figure.

22 and 23, the display 17 of FIG.
A lower flexible printed circuit board 20 on which a plurality of transparent electrodes 19 formed by vapor deposition on a transparent sheet such as a polyester film is provided on the liquid crystal display 18 constituting the lower flexible printed circuit board 20. A lower flexible printed circuit board 2 is attached to the printed circuit board 20 via a spacer member 21 for forming a predetermined gap.
Similarly to No. 0, an upper flexible printed circuit board 23 on which a plurality of transparent electrodes 22 are formed is laminated by adhesive or the like on the lower surface of a transparent sheet.

The transparent electrode 22 on the upper flexible printed circuit board 23 (
4) and the transparent electrodes 19 (8) on the lower flexible printed circuit board 20 are wired perpendicularly to each other, and at the same time, a predetermined gap is formed by the spacer member 21, so that the upper flexible printed circuit board 23 By pressing a predetermined part with a finger or the like, the transparent electrode 22 of the upper flexible printed circuit board 23 and the transparent electrode 19 of the lower flexible printed circuit board 20 come into contact, a predetermined key signal is generated, and the key is manually operated inside the main body. It is done.

Next, control in this embodiment will be explained using the flowchart of FIG. 24. Step 570 in FIG.
1, the card is selected while the main unit is operating, or step 57
If the main unit is powered on in step 02 and there is a card, control is transferred to the card in step 57.
In step 03, it is checked whether the card is installed or not. If the card installation is not confirmed, the main body function is continued or an error is detected and the process moves to other processing.

When the card attachment is confirmed, the card type code A is incorporated in step 5704, and step 5705
The data is stored in the work area 14a of the RAM 14.

Next, in step 3706, the key character display font data K stored in the card's internal ROMI l shown in FIG. 19 is read out, and at the same time, in step 5707, the input screen display information In step 5708, the font and display information I are synthesized as display information, and in step 5709, the display information is output to be displayed on the display.

In this state, when the alphabet key or the transparent keyboard 8 on the special character displayed on the display 17 is pressed in step 5710, entry processing for entry words (special characters) is sequentially executed.

In this way, key manual means can be added to input special characters required for specific language processing depending on the function of the IC card installed, so the user does not have to perform cumbersome operations such as shift key sequences. Also, there is no need to add any unnecessary key manual hardware.

(18th Embodiment) In the 17th embodiment, the case where only one type of IC card is installed in the main body has been described, but if two types of IC cards storing different languages are installed, the 14th After the display illustrated in the figure is executed by the above-mentioned control, the special characters used in each language are displayed on the input screen corresponding to the input language of each option and can be pressed. A compatible keyboard can be created.

That is, when the selection key is pressed in step 5514 of FIG. 15, step 570 is performed based on the type code of the card storing the language selected in FIG.
Character font data K stored in the card in 6
, and thereafter execute the above-mentioned flow to proceed to step 57.
At step 10, a heading entry waiting state is entered.

According to the 17th and 18th embodiments described above, it is possible to prevent the main body from having keys dedicated to special characters on the main body keyboard or adding multiple functions to one key, resulting in an increase in the size of the main body and complication of key manpower. By switching and displaying only the characters used in each language, speedy and accurate character input can be realized.

<Effects of each embodiment> As explained above, first linguistic information is input and second linguistic information corresponding to the first linguistic information is output, and
The main effects obtained by adopting the configurations of the various embodiments described above in an electronic device configured to be able to attach and detach a plurality of IC cards as external storage devices are as follows.
It is summarized below.

(1) The translation method described in the sections ``Basic structure of translation between different languages'' and ``Details of translation between different languages'' has the following effects.

In other words, when storing multiple different languages in memory, a common language corresponding to each of the languages is combined, and when converting between different languages, an intermediate language is used as the common language to interpose the multiple languages. It is possible to prevent the increase in memory size and cost caused by configuring data for each combination of conversions between different languages, and to simplify design work by providing various dictionaries for each combination. This eliminates the complexity and confusion of increasing the number of dictionaries and replacing the necessary dictionaries.

In addition, even when adding a new language, it is possible to convert all existing languages by simply making them compatible with a common intermediate language, which has the advantage of increasing functionality extensibility and system flexibility. There are also some advantages.

Further, when translating between different languages, there is an advantage in that highly accurate translation is possible by performing further conversion matching processing in each conversion process.

Of course, according to the above configuration, the translation results between the predetermined language and the intermediate language can also be used, so translation between various languages is possible with a limited dictionary configuration.

(2) The interface method described in the section <User interface configuration: Part 1> has the following effects.

In other words, by attaching any combination of IC cards containing multiple languages to the main body of the device,
Combinations that can be converted between a plurality of languages in the above state can be automatically selected on the display of the main body of the device, and each language conversion function with the latest combination can be easily selected and confirmed.

(3) The interface method described in the section <User interface configuration: Part 2> has the following effects.

In other words, by attaching any combination of IC cards storing multiple languages to the main body of the device and selecting any language from among the multiple languages, various messages such as errors in that language can be displayed automatically or By enabling manual selection by the operator, it becomes easier for operators whose native language is to understand various messages during operation, and it is possible to significantly improve operational efficiency and prevent operational errors.

(4) The interface method described in the section <User Interface Configuration: Part 3> has the following effects.

That is, when an arbitrary combination of IC cards each containing a plurality of languages is installed in the main body of the device, and an arbitrary language is selected from the plurality of languages, the keyboard provided in Table 11 is used to select the above-mentioned language. By configuring the system so that special characters can be selectively input as character information,
Only the characters necessary for the language are always displayed on the keyboard, which allows for manual keystrokes to be performed accurately and quickly.
There is no need to provide unnecessary keys on the keyboard in advance, and the device body can be made smaller and lower in cost, making it possible to provide a very advantageous device.

[Effect of the invention] As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the first
In an electronic device that translates and outputs linguistic information between a language and a second language, for mutually translating linguistic information between the first language and another language other than the second language. a first dictionary means storing information necessary for translating linguistic information between the second language and another language other than the first language; Translation from the first language into a second language and translation from the second language by attaching the first and second dictionary means, which are detachably configured, to the device. Since the configuration is adopted to perform translation from the first J5 to the first language, not only translation between the first or second language and another language using the first J5 and second dictionary means, but also translation between the first J5 and the second language and another language is performed. and second
It has the excellent effect of making it possible to translate between many different languages without complicating the hardware, software, or operation system with a limited dictionary configuration. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of an electronic device adopting the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the device shown in FIG. Figure 3 is a flowchart diagram showing the basic flow of translation processing, Figures 4 (A) to (C) are explanatory diagrams showing basic display changes in translation processing, and Figure 5 is a flowchart diagram showing the basic flow of translation processing. A flowchart diagram showing details of the first embodiment; FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the search results of the translation process in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a flowchart diagram showing details of the second embodiment of the translation process; Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the search results by the translation process in Figure 7, Figure 9 is a flowchart diagram showing details of the third embodiment of the translation process, and Figure 1O is the search result by the translation process in Figure 9. An explanatory diagram showing the results. Figure 11 is a flowchart diagram showing details of the fourth embodiment of the translation process. Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the search results of the translation process in Figure 11. Figure 13 is a translation diagram. An explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the fifth to eleventh embodiments based on the respective combinations of the first to fourth processing embodiments; FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example in the first user interface method according to the present invention. , FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing control in the first user interface method. FIG. 16 is a flowchart diagram showing different controls in the first user interface method, FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing different display examples in the first user interface method according to the present invention, and FIGS. C) is an explanatory diagram showing a display example in the second user interface method, FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the ROM required in the configuration of FIG. 18, and FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example in the second user interface method. Flowchart diagrams showing control in FIGS. 21(A) and 21(B)
) is an explanatory diagram showing a display example in the third user interface method, FIG. 22 is a sectional view showing the structure of the transparent keyboard in the third user interface method, and FIG. 23 is an exploded view showing the structure of the transparent keyboard. Perspective view. FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing control in the third user interface method. ■...Device body 2...Alphabet keys 4.17...-Display unit 5-...Hinge section 6...-I
C card 8--Transparent keyboard 9--Enter key 10...-CPU11-13...ROM 11a-13a...-Control program area 11b-1
3b--Dictionary data area 14--RAM 15--Keyboard section 16--Display drive section 18--
・One liquid crystal display 19...Transparent electrode 20.23...
・Flexible printed circuit board 21--Spacer member
22...Transparent electrode side 7 to high 70 degrees (Fig. 3, Fig. 5, Fig. 11) :#4Kh←Ikul's Ashi-Shun-hashi Shipoku Awa 6 Rishu 4θha
6. Knee pull of 1i1〉Wa7t-suno style. De-i?
jε, if f<siflll index 11! 14 figure KRMWrg, φl! c E s, shi*gh@XselfW
I'2 ml

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) An electronic device that translates and outputs linguistic information between a first language and a second language, comprising: a first dictionary means storing information necessary for mutually translating linguistic information between the second language and another language other than the first language; a second dictionary means storing information necessary for changing the language from the first language to the second language by attaching the first and second dictionary means, which are configured to be detachable, to the device; An electronic device characterized in that it performs translation from the second language to the first language.