JP7631714B2 - Electronic device, electronic dictionary system, information processing system, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

An embodiment of the present invention relates to an electronic device , an electronic dictionary system, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program capable of searching for words and the like.

When you look up a word in an electronic dictionary, the meaning of that word is displayed on the display. Many words have multiple meanings, so for example, when you look up "paper" in an electronic dictionary, multiple meanings are displayed from top to bottom, with "paper" as the first, "newspaper" as the second, "research paper" as the third, and so on.

JP 2015-219583 A

As mentioned above, when you look up a word in an electronic dictionary, multiple meanings for that word may be displayed, but the meaning the user is looking for may not be listed at the top, and the user may not be able to immediately find the meaning they want. In such cases, the user may find the dictionary difficult to use.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and aims to provide an electronic device , an electronic dictionary system, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program that make it possible to improve the comfort of searching for words, etc.

The electronic device of the present invention is an electronic device equipped with a processor, and the processor executes a field of interest information acquisition process for acquiring field of interest information including information indicating topics in which the user has a relatively high level of interest among the topics identified based on search history information including individual words or sentences that a user has previously searched for on the electronic device and representative words corresponding to each topic , and a field of interest priority display process for determining which meaning to be displayed preferentially among the multiple meanings based on the level of interest in the topic to which each of the multiple meanings indicated in the field of interest information belongs, when multiple meanings of the word or phrase are acquired from dictionary content data and displayed on a display unit in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for the word or phrase.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the electronic dictionary of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of an electronic dictionary 10. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic circuit of the electronic dictionary 10. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic circuit of the server 30. FIG. 2 shows examples of representative words set in advance for each topic in the electronic dictionary 10 (or the electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3). FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a plurality of words accumulated as a search history for each document. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a plurality of topics extracted by analyzing search history information included in each document with a topic model using the information shown in FIG. 5 and the information shown in FIG. 6 . 1A and 1B are diagrams showing examples of the proportions of various topics analyzed for a plurality of documents, and diagrams showing examples of the proportions of various topics displayed in a form that is easy to visually understand. FIG. 13 shows an example in which, when searching for "paper" in an electronic dictionary, meanings that belong to the field "academic," which is of relatively high interest to the user, are displayed more prominently than other meanings that are of relatively low interest to the user. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example in which, when searching for "turnip" in an electronic dictionary, meanings that belong to the field "economy," which is of relatively high interest to users, are displayed more prominently than other meanings that are of relatively low interest to users. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an initial setting operation performed in electronic dictionary 10 (or electronic dictionary 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3). 12 is a diagram showing an example of an operation in which electronic dictionary 10 (or electronic dictionary 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3) transmits the setting information set by the operation in FIG. 11 to server 30. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an operation for transmitting a document including a history of the electronic dictionary 10 (or the electronic dictionary 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3) to the server 30. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the portable information device 11; 4 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the electronic dictionary 10 operating as a master unit. 4A to 4C are diagrams showing an example of the operation of electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 operating as child devices. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the server 30. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing details of step S73 in FIG. 17; 6 is a diagram showing an example of an operation of the electronic dictionary 10 acquiring field of interest information from the server 30 and reflecting the information in a search function of the dictionary. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the electronic dictionary 10 when the electronic dictionary 10 has the ability to generate field of interest information by itself. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing an example of the operation of the electronic dictionary 10 to display search results according to field of interest information during word search. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data format of information for managing the meanings of various words. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an operation in which the server 30 uses the generated interest field information to generate content introduction information and transmits it to the electronic dictionary 10. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data format of dictionary content information for managing various dictionary contents. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an operation of the electronic dictionary 10 to perform display using content introduction information transmitted from the server 30. FIG.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

<System Configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of an electronic dictionary of the present invention.

This system includes electronic dictionaries 10, 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 as information devices, a portable information device (smartphone, tablet terminal, etc.) 11, a router 20, and a server 30.

However, not all elements in FIG. 1 are necessarily required to implement the present invention. For example, there may be a configuration in which the electronic dictionary 10 is used but the portable information device 11 is not used, or further, the electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 are not used, or further, the router 20 and the server 30 are not used.

Communication between the electronic dictionary 10 and the server 30 is performed, for example, by wireless communication Na using a wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) that connects the electronic dictionary 10 and the router 20, and communication Nw over an Internet line that connects the router 20 and the server 30.

For communication between the electronic dictionary 10 and the portable information device 11, short-range wireless communication Nb using, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) is used. For communication between the electronic dictionary 10 and the electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3, short-range wireless communication Nc using, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) or wireless communication using a wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) is used.

Figure 1 shows at least the following three types of usage patterns for information devices:

The electronic dictionary 10 is used alone (1)
The usage pattern (1) is a pattern in which electronic dictionary 10 is used independently. In this case, electronic dictionary 10 is used separately from portable information device 11 and electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 without communicating with them.

In this usage mode (1), the electronic dictionary 10 communicates with the server 30 via the router 20. Document Da in FIG. 1 represents a search history that includes words (however, it may be phrases other than words, such as idioms, collocations, and compound words; the same applies below) or sentences that the user has searched for in the electronic dictionary 10. The circled area Aa in FIG. 1 represents that the only information device that shares the search history information sent to the server 30 and the various information sent from the server 30 is the electronic dictionary 10, and does not include the portable information device 11 or the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3.

In this usage mode (1), the electronic dictionary 10 periodically transmits the document Da to the server 30 via the router 20.

Meanwhile, the server 30 receives the document Da sent from the electronic dictionary 10, and by analyzing the search history information contained in the document using a topic model, generates information (field of interest information) indicating topics (i.e., fields) in which the user is presumed to be highly interested, and generates information (content introduction information) introducing separately sold content to the user based on this field of interest information, and transmits the generated field of interest information and content introduction information to the electronic dictionary 10.

This makes it possible to provide field of interest information and content introduction information to electronic dictionaries 10 that are unable to generate field of interest information and content introduction information.

The electronic dictionary 10 receives the field of interest information and content introduction information sent from the server 30, and displays parts of the word search results of the electronic dictionary 10 that are estimated to be of relatively high interest to the user according to the received field of interest information, highlighting those parts, or displays a recommendation to introduce separately sold content that is not installed according to the received content introduction information.

If the electronic dictionary 10 has the capability of generating the above-mentioned field of interest information and content introduction information by itself, the process of sending document Da to the server 30 and the process of receiving field of interest information and content introduction information from the server 30 can be omitted.

This usage pattern (1) makes it possible to improve the convenience of searching for words, etc. in the electronic dictionary 10.

- Form (2) in which electronic dictionary 10 and portable information device 11 are used
This usage pattern (2) is a pattern in which the electronic dictionary 10 and the portable information device 11 are used. This usage pattern (2) is applied, for example, to the case where the user further uses the portable information device 11 in conjunction with the electronic dictionary 10 in the above usage pattern (1).

In this usage pattern (2), the portable information device 11 used by the user of the electronic dictionary 10 communicates with the electronic dictionary 10 as well as with the server 30. Document Db in FIG. 1 represents a page that contains a word or sentence selected by the user on a web page via a browser on the portable information device 11. The area Ab enclosed by an oval in FIG. 1 represents the electronic dictionary 10 and the portable information device 11 as information devices that share the search history information to be sent to the server 30.

In this usage pattern (2), in response to a user's operation of selecting a word or sentence on a web page, the portable information device 11 transmits information about the selected word or sentence to the server 30 as information that forms part of the search history of the electronic dictionary 10, and also transmits the information to the electronic dictionary 10.

This allows the server 30 to use more search history for analysis, making it possible to generate more accurate field of interest information and provide more accurate field of interest information to the electronic dictionary 10.

In addition, when the mobile information device 11 transmits information about the selected word or sentence to the server, it also transmits information about the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the page on which the selected word or sentence is written.

As a result, the server 30 can also use the page indicated by the URL for analysis, making it possible to generate more accurate information about areas of interest that better reflect the user's level of interest, and to provide the electronic dictionary 10 with more accurate information about areas of interest.

Meanwhile, the server 30 receives the document Da sent from the electronic dictionary 10, and uses a topic model to analyze not only the search history information contained in the document, but also the information sent from the portable information device 11 and the page information indicated by the URL, to generate information (field of interest information) indicating topics (i.e., fields) in which the user is presumed to be highly interested, and generates information (content introduction information) introducing separately sold content to the user based on this field of interest information, and transmits the generated field of interest information and content introduction information to the electronic dictionary 10.

The electronic dictionary 10 receives the field of interest information and content introduction information sent from the server 30, and displays parts of the word search results of the electronic dictionary 10 that are estimated to be of relatively high interest to the user according to the received field of interest information, highlighting those parts, or displays a recommendation to introduce separately sold content that is not installed according to the received content introduction information.

This usage pattern (2) enables the portable information device 11 and the electronic dictionary 10 to cooperate with each other, thereby making it possible to further improve the convenience of searching for words, etc. in the electronic dictionary 10.

・Form (3) in which electronic dictionary 10 and electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 are used
This usage pattern (3) is a pattern in which the electronic dictionary 10 and multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 are used. This usage pattern (3) is applied in cases where multiple users with a common interest search for words in the same field in their respective electronic dictionaries, such as in a class in a school.

In this usage pattern (3), the electronic dictionary 10 is the parent device, and the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 are child devices. The electronic dictionary 10 communicates with the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3, and also communicates with the server 30 via the router 20.

Document Dc in FIG. 1 represents a search history including words or sentences searched for by each user of multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3. A circled area Ac in FIG. 1 represents the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 as information devices that share search history information sent to server 30 and share various information sent from server 30. Electronic dictionary 10 may or may not be included among the information devices that share information.

In this usage pattern (3), the electronic dictionary 10 periodically obtains the document Dc from each of the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 and transmits it to the server 30 via the router 20.

Meanwhile, the server 30 uses a topic model to analyze the search history information contained in each document Dc sent from the electronic dictionary 10, thereby generating information (field of interest information) indicating topics (i.e., fields) in which the user is presumed to have a high interest, and generates information (content introduction information) introducing separately sold content to the user based on this field of interest information, and transmits the generated field of interest information and content introduction information to the electronic dictionary 10.

The electronic dictionary 10 receives the field of interest information and content introduction information sent from the server 30 and transfers them to the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 (or the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 receive the field of interest information and content introduction information sent from the server 30 without going through the electronic dictionary 10). The multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 display parts of the word search results of the electronic dictionary that are estimated to be of relatively high interest to the user in accordance with the received field of interest information, such as highlighting the parts, or displaying a recommendation to introduce separately sold content that is not yet installed in accordance with the received content introduction information.

If the electronic dictionary 10 has the capability of generating the above-mentioned field of interest information and content introduction information by itself, the process of sending the document Dc to the server 30 and the process of receiving the field of interest information and content introduction information from the server 30 can be omitted.

This usage pattern (3) provides information on areas of common interest and content introduction information to multiple users who share common interests, making it possible to improve the comfort of searching for words, etc. in the electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 for those users.

<Configuration of Electronic Dictionary 10>
Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of electronic dictionary 10. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic circuit of electronic dictionary 10. Note that the configurations shown in Figs. 2 and 3 are also applied to each of the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3.

The electronic dictionary 10 may be configured as a dedicated electronic dictionary, as described below, or as a tablet-type PDA (personal digital assistant), PC (personal computer), mobile phone, e-book, portable game machine, etc., equipped with a dictionary search function.

The electronic dictionary 10 is configured with a foldable case in which the main body case 10a and the cover case 12 can be opened/closed via a hinge section 13. When the foldable case is opened, the main body case 10a is provided with a key input section (keyboard) 14 including a [Home] key 14a, a function designation key 14b, a character input key 14c, a [Decision] key 14d, a [Back] key 14e, a cursor key 14f, a [Shift] key 14g, a [History] key 14h, and a [Review support] key 14i, an audio output section (including a speaker) 15, and an audio input section (including a microphone) 16.

The lid case 12 is also provided with a touch panel display unit (display) 17. The touch panel display unit 17 is an integrated structure of a touch position detection device that detects the position touched by the user with a pen or finger, and a display device, and is configured by overlaying a transparent touch panel on a backlit color LCD display screen.

The display area of the touch panel display unit 17 is divided into a large main display area 17M in the center, a touch key area 17A along the right edge, and a sub-display area 17S along the bottom edge.

The touch key area 17A is provided with touch keys (such as the Home key BH and the Back key BR) that allow the user to perform touch operations such as pressing certain keys in the key input section 14 and specifying certain functions of the electronic dictionary 10.

In the main display area 17M, information about the function being executed is displayed in response to the execution of a function arbitrarily selected based on user operation.

In the sub-display area 17S, information about words that were the subject of study by functions previously executed by the user is displayed based on the execution history of functions related to learning words executed based on user operations.

The [Home] key 14a of the key input unit 14 is a key that causes the menu screen GM, which is the home screen of the electronic dictionary 10, to be displayed in the main display area 17M of the touch panel display unit 17.

The function specification keys 14b of the key input section 14 are used to directly specify the dictionary content (e.g., [X Dictionary]), dictionary content category (e.g., [Japanese], [Classical Japanese], [Chinese-Japanese], [English-Japanese]), learning content [Content List], and one of the tool categories [Study Notebook], which are displayed along with each key.

In addition, when a key on the key input section 14 is operated after the [Shift] key 14g is operated, it can function as a key surrounded by a box, rather than the key function shown without a box next to that key. For example, when the [Enter] key 14d is operated after the [Shift] key 14g is operated (hereinafter, referred to as [Shift] + [Enter] keys), it becomes the [Register] key for starting the function of registering data designated as the object of registration. The [Shift] + [Delete] keys become the [Set] key.

The [History] key 14h of the key input unit 14 is a key that causes a search history screen showing a list of previously searched words stored in the search history storage area 22e to be displayed in the main display area 17M of the touch panel display unit 17.

The [Review Support] key 14i on the key input section 14 is a setting key for the review support mode that sets the selection criteria for displaying information about words that have been studied in the past.

As shown in FIG. 3, the electronic circuitry of the electronic dictionary 10 includes a CPU (processor) 21, which is a basic component of a computer.

The CPU 21 controls the operation of each part of the circuit according to programs (including a search processing program 22a, a learning processing program 22b, and an interest field information management program 22f) previously stored in a memory unit (storage) 22 such as a flash ROM, or programs read by a recording medium reading unit 24 from an external recording medium 23 such as a memory card and stored in the memory unit 22, or programs downloaded via a communication unit 25 from a server 30 or another server on the communication network N and stored in the memory unit 22.

The CPU 21 is connected to a memory unit 22, a recording medium reading unit 24, and a communication unit 25 via a data and control bus, as well as to a key input unit 14, an audio output unit 15, an audio input unit 16, and a touch panel display unit 17.

The audio output unit 15 includes a main speaker that outputs audio based on audio data stored in the memory unit 22 or recorded.

The voice input unit 16 includes a built-in microphone that inputs voice from the user, etc.

The memory unit 22 includes a program memory area for storing programs (including a search processing program 22a, a learning processing program 22b, and a field of interest information management program 22f), as well as a learning content memory area 22c, a dictionary data memory area 22d, a search history memory area 22e, and a field of interest information management data memory area 22g.

The search processing program 22a includes a system program that controls the overall operation of the electronic dictionary 10, a program for connecting to external electronic devices via the communication unit 25, and a program for searching for words, etc. based on various dictionary content data (English-Japanese dictionary/Japanese-English dictionary/Japanese dictionary/...) stored in the dictionary data storage area 22d.

The learning processing program 22b includes a program for executing a learning process based on each learning content stored in the learning content storage area 22c.

The learning content storage area 22c stores learning content data for various types of learning, such as word learning content 22c1 for learning the meaning of words, grammar learning content 22c2 for learning grammar corresponding to words, pronunciation learning content 22c3 for learning the pronunciation of words, and mock test content 22c4 for conducting mock tests for various language proficiency tests.

The dictionary data storage area 22d stores various dictionary content data, such as an English-Japanese dictionary, a Japanese-English dictionary, an English-English dictionary, and a Japanese dictionary. The dictionary content data has a function of, for example, searching a dictionary for explanatory information of a word that corresponds to a character or character string that is the subject of a dictionary search, which is entered by keyboard or specified on the display screen, and outputting the information by display or voice.

For each of the various dictionaries, the dictionary content data includes text data such as words that are head words, explanatory information including the meaning and content of the words, examples/phrases/compound words that include the words, and audio data that corresponds to the text data.

The search history storage area 22e stores, as search history, words searched for using functions such as headword search and headword jump from the dictionary content stored in the dictionary data storage area 22d.

The field of interest information management program 22f performs processes such as acquiring field of interest information and content introduction information, and displaying in the main display area 17M of the electronic dictionary parts of the word search results that are estimated to be of relatively high interest to the user according to the acquired field of interest information, highlighting those parts, and displaying a recommendation to introduce separately sold content that is not yet installed according to the acquired content introduction information.

In particular, the field of interest information management program 22f has a function to perform a field of interest information acquisition process to acquire field of interest information including information indicating the topic that occupies the largest proportion of various topics obtained by analyzing search history information including individual words or sentences previously searched by the user in the electronic dictionary 10 using a topic model as a field of relatively high interest for the user, and also has a function to perform a field of interest priority display process to acquire multiple meanings of a word from dictionary content data in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for the word and to display them in the main display area 17M, and to display, among the multiple meanings, meanings that belong to a field of relatively high interest indicated in the field of interest information in the main display area 17M more prominently than other meanings with relatively low interest.

This kind of functionality allows users to quickly find the meaning they are looking for and makes it easy to use, improving the comfort of searching for words, etc.

In addition, the field of interest information management program 22f has a function of further executing a process to display content introduction information in the main display area 17M that introduces dictionary content that is recommended for introduction to the electronic dictionary 10 based on the field of interest information.

This functionality allows users to easily find the dictionary content they are looking for, and by purchasing that dictionary content and installing it in their electronic dictionary, they can further improve usability and make searching for words, etc., more comfortable.

The specific processing executed by the field of interest information management program 22f differs depending on which of the above-mentioned usage patterns (1) to (3) is applied, as follows:

When Usage Pattern (1) is Applied When Usage Pattern (1) is applied, the field of interest information management program 22f periodically transmits document Da of the electronic dictionary 10 to the server 30 via the router 20 through the communication unit 25, receives field of interest information and content introduction information transmitted from the server 30, and, according to the received field of interest information, displays parts of the word search results of the electronic dictionary 10 that are estimated to be of relatively high interest to the user in a way that highlights them, or displays a recommendation to introduce separately sold content that is not installed in the electronic dictionary 10 in accordance with the received content introduction information. However, if the electronic dictionary 10 has the ability to generate field of interest information and content introduction information by itself, the process of transmitting document Da to the server 30 and the process of receiving field of interest information and content introduction information from the server 30 can be omitted.

When the usage mode (2) is applied, when the information of a word or sentence selected by the user on a web page is transmitted from the portable information device 11, the field of interest information management program 22f stores it separately as part of the search history of the electronic dictionary. The processes of transmitting a document including the search history to the server 30, receiving the field of interest information and content introduction information transmitted from the server 30, and displaying parts of the word search results of the electronic dictionary 10 that are estimated to be of relatively high interest to the user according to the received field of interest information to highlight them, and displaying a recommendation to introduce separately sold content that is not installed according to the received content introduction information are the same as those in the usage mode (1).

When the usage pattern (3) is applied, the content of the process differs depending on whether the electronic dictionary 10 is a parent unit or a child unit.

When the electronic dictionary 10 is the parent device, the field of interest information management program 22f periodically acquires document Dc from each of the multiple child electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 and transmits it to the server 30 via the router 20 via the communication unit 25, and also receives field of interest information and content introduction information transmitted from the server 30 and transfers it to the multiple child electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3. However, if the electronic dictionary 10 has the ability to generate field of interest information and content introduction information by itself, the process of transmitting document Da to the server 30 and the process of receiving field of interest information and content introduction information from the server 30 can be omitted.

When the electronic dictionary 10 is a slave (i.e., when it is one of multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, 10-3), the slave periodically transmits document Dc to the master electronic dictionary 10, receives field of interest information and content introduction information transmitted from the master electronic dictionary 10, and displays parts of the word search results of the electronic dictionary 10 that are estimated to be of relatively high interest to the user according to the received field of interest information, highlighting those parts, or displays a recommendation to introduce separately sold content that is not yet installed according to the received content introduction information. However, if the slave has the ability to generate field of interest information and content introduction information by itself, the process of transmitting document Da to the server 30 and the process of receiving field of interest information and content introduction information from the server 30 can be omitted.

The field of interest information management data storage area 22g is an area for storing various information related to the processing of the field of interest information management program 22f, such as information such as search history to be sent to the server 30, field of interest information and content introduction information received from the server 30, and information to be displayed in the main display area 17M of the corresponding electronic dictionary according to the field of interest information and content introduction information.

<Configuration of Server 30>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic circuit of the server 30. As shown in FIG.

The server 30 has the function of managing each piece of content in the electronic dictionary 10 purchased by the user, for example, and its electronic circuitry includes a CPU (processor) 31, which is a basic element of a computer.

The CPU 31 controls the operation of each part of the circuit according to a management server program 32a prestored in a memory unit (storage) 32 such as a flash ROM, or a program 32a read by a recording medium reading unit 34 from an external recording medium 33 such as a CD-ROM and stored in the memory unit 32, or a program 32a downloaded from another server on the communication network N via a communication unit 35 and stored in the memory unit 32.

The management server program 32a includes a field of interest information generation program. This field of interest information generation program has the function of receiving a document transmitted from the electronic dictionary 10, and analyzing search history information contained in the document using a topic model to generate information (field of interest information) indicating topics (i.e., fields) in which the user is estimated to be highly interested, and generating information (content introduction information) introducing separately sold content to the user based on the field of interest information, and transmitting the generated field of interest information and content introduction information to the electronic dictionary 10.

This function makes it possible to provide the electronic dictionary 10 with information on areas of interest and content introduction information that cannot be generated by the electronic dictionary 10.

The CPU 31 is connected to a memory unit 32, a recording medium reading unit 34, and a communication unit 35 via a data and control bus, as well as to a key input unit 36 and a display unit 37.

The memory unit 32 includes a program memory area that stores the management server program 32a, as well as an electronic dictionary management data memory area 32b, a dictionary content data memory area 32c, and a learning content data memory area 32d.

The electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b includes a storage area for storing various information related to the processing of the above-mentioned field of interest information generation program, such as information on documents sent from the electronic dictionary 10, information on the analysis results using the topic model, field of interest information and content introduction information generated based on the analysis results, etc.

The dictionary content data storage area 32c stores data on various dictionary contents [A] (language 1) 32c1, [B] (language 2) 32c2, ... that are available for purchase by the user of the electronic dictionary 10.

The learning content data storage area 32d stores data on various learning contents [a] (Japanese language drills) 32d1, [b] (English language drills) 32d2, ... that can be purchased by the user of the electronic dictionary 10.

In addition to various dictionary contents 32c1, 32c2, ... and various learning contents 32d1, 32d2, ..., the storage unit 32 stores a wide variety of content that is available for purchase by users, such as picture books, literature books, and law books (not shown).

The functions of the field of interest information generation program provided in the management server program 32a and the various information related to the processing of the field of interest information generation program stored in the electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b may be configured to be installed in the electronic dictionary 10 if the electronic dictionary 10 has the capability to do so. In that case, the electronic dictionary 10 is configured such that the field of interest information management program 22f has the functions of the field of interest information generation program, and the field of interest information management data storage area 22g stores various information related to the processing of the field of interest information generation program.

In this case, the electronic dictionary 10 will no longer need to send documents to the server 30 or receive field of interest information or content introduction information from the server 30, and will be able to generate field of interest information and content introduction information independently.

<Generating area of interest information using topic models>
Next, a method for generating field of interest information using a topic model will be described.

Figure 5 shows examples of representative words that are set in advance for each topic in electronic dictionary 10 (or electronic dictionary 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3).

In the electronic dictionary 10, as a preliminary step, multiple representative words are set in advance for each topic. The topics referred to here correspond to categories (fields) into which the meanings of words are classified in the electronic dictionary, such as "academics," "economics," "politics," "business," "archaic words," and "medicine." Representative words refer to representative terms that are commonly used in that field.

The settings here are basically realized by the user performing input operations. However, this is not limiting, and for example, multiple representative words for each topic may be preset when the electronic dictionary 10 is shipped, and furthermore, the electronic dictionary 10 may be configured so that the user can change, add, or delete representative words for each topic. The information set here is transmitted to the server 30, and is stored and kept in the electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b of the server 30.

Figure 6 shows an example of multiple words that are stored as search history for each document.

Documents Da, Db, and Dc are documents generated in the use modes (1), (2), and (3) of information devices, respectively, and contain a search history of multiple words searched for in the past for each use mode. Documents Da, Db, and Dc containing such search history are each periodically transmitted to server 30, and are stored and kept in electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b of server 30.

Figure 7 shows an example of multiple topics extracted by analyzing the search history information contained in each document with a topic model using the information shown in Figure 5 and the information shown in Figure 6.

In general, topic models break down documents into Bag of Words (a set of words that does not take order into account) before carrying out further processing. In this process, common words known as stop words (such as articles such as the and a, and Japanese particles) are usually excluded as they become noise, but in electronic dictionaries, articles and particles may need to be looked up, so they cannot be excluded. In order to process these as well, it is desirable to use morphological analysis and other techniques to carry out special processing such as distinguishing stop words by parts of speech.

To extract topics from a target document, first the information contained in the target document is subjected to preprocessing such as morphological analysis (dividing it into the smallest units called morphemes, assigning parts of speech, etc.), and then converted into feature vectors (high-level information that is quantified or symbolized so that it can be handled by a computer). Topic modeling, for example using LDA (Latent Dirichlet allocation), is then performed on the converted information, and various word sets classified based on the topic model are extracted. If any of the word sets contains a word set that matches the representative word, the topic corresponding to that word set is assigned (i.e. topics are extracted from the target document). This type of processing is performed for each document.

Figure 8(a) shows an example of the proportions of various topics analyzed for multiple documents. Figure 8(b) shows an example of the proportions of the various topics shown in Figure 8(a) displayed in a form that is easy to visually grasp.

For example, a predetermined list (topic list) is created in the electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b of the server 30, in which the ratio of various topics is expressed, for example, by a count value, as shown in FIG. 8(a). If there is a topic assigned to a word set having a word matching the representative word as described above, a predetermined amount of count value (for example, "1") is added to the corresponding topic among the various topics on the topic list. This process is performed for each document. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the ratio of various topics is determined, and the order of interest levels that are estimated to be of high interest to the user is determined. In the example of FIG. 8(b), the order of interest levels is "academic" first, "economy" second, and "politics" third. In this way, information indicating the ratio and order of interest levels of various topics (including information indicating topics with relatively high interest levels) is transmitted from the server 30 to the electronic dictionary 10 as interest field information.

Note that Figures 5 to 8 are simplified examples for ease of understanding, and are not limited to these examples. For example, more types of topics and representative words may be included.

<Display of word search results according to area of interest information>
As described above, the field of interest information management program 22f of the electronic dictionary 10 (or electronic dictionary 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3) performs a field of interest priority display process in which, in response to a user's operation to instruct a word search, multiple meanings of the word are obtained from the dictionary content data and displayed in the main display area 17M, so that, among the multiple meanings, meanings belonging to fields of relatively high interest as indicated in the field of interest information are displayed in the main display area 17M more prominently than other meanings with relatively low interest.

For example, when performing this field of interest priority display process, the meaning that belongs to a field of relatively high interest as indicated in the field of interest information among the multiple meanings may be displayed at the top.

Figure 9 shows an example in which, when searching for "paper" in an electronic dictionary, meanings belonging to the field "academics," which is of relatively high interest to users, are displayed more prominently than other meanings of relatively low interest. Also, Figure 10 shows an example in which, when searching for "turnip" in an electronic dictionary, meanings belonging to the field "economics," which is of relatively high interest to users, are displayed more prominently than other meanings of relatively low interest.

Generally, when searching for "paper," its meanings are displayed in the order "1. Paper," "2. Newspaper," and "3. Research paper..." from the top, as shown in screen G11 of FIG. 9. In this embodiment, however, as shown in screen G12, the meaning "3. Research paper...," which belongs to the field "academic," in which the user is relatively interested, is displayed at the top.

The same is true for the example in FIG. 10. Generally, when searching for "turnip," the meaning "3. Research paper...," which belongs to the field "academic," in which the user has a relatively high level of interest, is not displayed at the top, as shown in screen G21. However, in this embodiment, it is displayed at the top, as shown in screen G22.

Since users generally tend to start reading from the top meaning, by displaying the words as in Figures 9 and 10, users can quickly find the meaning they are looking for without having to think about it, achieving stress-free and comfortable word searching.

In order to highlight meanings that belong to fields that interest the user relatively highly, instead of changing the order of the various meanings as in the above example, it is also possible to leave the order of the various meanings unchanged as in the original display, as in screen G11 of FIG. 9 and screen G21 of FIG. 10, and perform display processing such as highlighting the part that stands out as the meaning "3. Research paper..." that belongs to the field "academics," which interests the user relatively highly (for example, by highlighting it with a specific color, coloring the text, or making the text bold).

When changing the order of the various meanings, they may be rearranged so that the various meanings are arranged in descending order of interest from the top.

<Example of operation of each part>
11 is a diagram showing an example of an initial setting operation performed in electronic dictionary 10 (or electronic dictionary 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3). This operation can be applied to any of the above-mentioned modes of use (1) to (3).

For example, the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 displays a screen in the main display area 17M of the electronic dictionary 10 asking whether or not to enable priority display based on the user's interest level (step S11). If it is specified that priority display is not to be enabled (NO in step S11), the process ends without doing anything in particular. If it is specified that priority display is enabled (YES in step S11), a screen is displayed asking whether or not to perform priority display by group (step S12).

If it is specified that priority display should be performed locally rather than by group (NO in step S12), setting information indicating that priority display should be performed locally (only in that electronic dictionary) is stored (step S13), a screen for setting representative words for each topic is displayed, and when the user performs the necessary operations, the representative words for each topic are set (step S14), and the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is specified that the priority display should be performed by a group (YES in step S12), setting information indicating that the priority display should be performed by a group (priority display is shared with other electronic dictionaries that make up the group) is stored (step S15), a screen for setting representative words for each topic is displayed, and when the user performs the necessary operations, the representative words for each topic are set (step S16), and the process ends. However, the setting of representative words for each topic in step S16 may be configured to be performed only by authorized users in the group.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of the operation in which electronic dictionary 10 (or electronic dictionary 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3) transmits the setting information set by the operation in Figure 11 to server 30.

In the case of usage mode (1) and usage mode (2), the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 does not receive setting information from other electronic dictionaries, but in the case of usage mode (3), it receives setting information from each of the other electronic dictionaries (e.g., electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3) (step S21).

The CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 stores its own setting information and the setting information of the other electronic dictionaries (step S22), transmits the setting information to the server 30 (step S23), and ends the series of processes.

Figure 13 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of transmitting a document including the history of electronic dictionary 10 (or electronic dictionary 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3) to server 30. This operation can be applied to any of usage patterns (1) to (3), but Figure 13 shows an example in which it is applied to usage pattern (1).

The CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 starts a process (off process) of sending the search history of the electronic dictionary 10 to the server 30, for example, at a certain time during the night when the electronic dictionary is stopped (step S31).

The CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 then determines whether, for example, 24 hours have passed since the last transmission (step S32).

If 24 hours have passed (YES in step S32), a URL for transmission is constructed (step S33). However, if a URL for transmission has already been constructed, this process is not necessary. The CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 then transmits the search history of the electronic dictionary 10 to the server 30 (step S34), sets and stores a flag indicating completion of transmission (step S35), and ends the off process (step S36).

If 24 hours have not elapsed in step S32 (NO in step S32), the off process ends without doing anything (step S36).

Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the mobile information device 11. This operation is applied to usage pattern (2).

When the processor of the portable information device 11 detects that the user has selected a character string (word or sentence) on a web page (step S41), it transfers information about the selected character string to the electronic dictionary 10 (step S42), and sends the information about the selected character string together with the URL of the page from which the selection was made to the server 30 (step S43).

Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of electronic dictionary 10 operating as a parent unit. Also, Figure 16 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 operating as child units. These operations are applied to usage pattern (3).

In FIG. 15, the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 periodically scans for nearby terminals (other electronic dictionaries). If other terminals are present, it sends a connection request, obtains a unique ID from the terminal, and performs the processes of steps S52 to S57 for each terminal.

First, the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 checks the total number of terminals to be processed, and makes it possible to distinguish between the number of terminals before processing and the number of terminals for which processing has been completed (step S52).

Once the unique ID of the target device is obtained (step S53), it is sent to the server 30, and an inquiry is made as to whether the search history of the corresponding device is stored in a valid state on the server 30 side (step S54).

If it is not valid (NO in step S55), a history transmission request is sent to the target terminal and search history is collected from the target terminal (step S56); on the other hand, if it is valid (YES in step S55), nothing in particular is done.

When the number of terminals that have completed the process reaches the total number of terminals (step S57), all search histories are sent to the server 30 via the router 20 (step S58), and the process ends.

In FIG. 16, when the CPU 21 of a terminal in the vicinity of the electronic dictionary 10 (e.g., electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, 10-3) receives a connection request from the electronic dictionary 10 (step S61), it obtains its own terminal-specific ID and transmits it to the electronic dictionary 10 (step S62).

The CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 then determines whether or not there is a history transmission request from the electronic dictionary 10 (step S63). If there is no history transmission request (NO in step S63), the process ends without doing anything. On the other hand, if there is a history transmission request (YES in step S63), the CPU 21 determines whether or not the transmission of search history is permitted from the setting information (step S64). If the transmission of search history is not permitted (NO in step S64), the process ends without doing anything. On the other hand, if the transmission of search history is permitted (YES in step S64), the search history is transmitted to the parent electronic dictionary 10 (step S65), and the process ends.

Figure 17 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of server 30. Also, Figure 18 is a diagram showing details of step S73 in Figure 17. The operation here can be applied to any of the above-mentioned usage patterns (1) to (3).

In FIG. 17, when the CPU 31 of the server 30 receives data of multiple documents sent from the electronic dictionary 10 (step S71), it performs the processes of steps S72 to S74 for each document. First, it checks the total number of documents to be processed so that it can distinguish between the number of documents before processing and the number of documents that have been processed (step S72), and then it performs the process of extracting topics from the target documents (step S73). Details of step S73 are shown in FIG. 18.

In FIG. 18, when the CPU 31 of the server 30 receives a document from which topics are to be extracted (step S81), it performs preprocessing such as morphological analysis on the information contained in the target document (dividing it into the smallest units called morphemes, assigning parts of speech, etc.) (step S82), and then converts it into a feature vector (higher-level information that has been quantified or symbolized so that it can be handled by a computer) (step S83).

Then, the CPU 31 of the server 30 performs topic modeling, for example, using LDA, on the converted information (step S84), extracts various word sets classified based on the topic model (step S85), and, if there is a word set among the word sets that has a word that matches a representative word set in advance, assigns a topic corresponding to that word set (step S86). In other words, topics are extracted from the target document. This process is performed for each document.

Returning to FIG. 17, when the number of documents for which processing has been completed reaches the total number of documents (step S74), steps S75 to S78 are then carried out for each document. The total number of documents to be processed is confirmed so that the number of documents before processing and the number of documents for which processing has been completed can be distinguished (step S75).

The CPU 31 of the server 30 creates a topic list in the electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b, for example, that expresses the proportions of various topics as, for example, count values, and determines whether there are any topics assigned to a word set that has a word that matches the representative word (step S76). If there are no assigned topics (NO in step S76), nothing in particular is done. On the other hand, if there are assigned topics (YES in step S76), a predetermined amount of count value is added to the corresponding topic on the topic list (step S77). This type of processing is performed for each document.

When the number of processed documents reaches the total number of documents (step S78), the CPU 31 of the server 30 determines the interest rate and ranking of various topics (including information indicating topics with relatively high interest rates) based on the count values of each topic on the topic list, and stores this as interest field information in the electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b (step S79), and transmits the interest field information to the electronic dictionary 10 (step S80), completing the series of processes.

Figure 19 shows an example of the operation of the electronic dictionary 10 to obtain field of interest information from the server 30 and reflect it in the dictionary search function. This operation can be applied to any of the above-mentioned usage patterns (1) to (3).

In the case of usage mode (1) or usage mode (2), when the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 receives the field of interest information transmitted from the server 30 (step S91), the CPU 21 stores the field of interest information in the field of interest information management data storage area 22g of the electronic dictionary 10 (step S92).

In the case of usage mode (3), when the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 receives the field of interest information transmitted from the server 30 (step S91), it transfers the field of interest information to the child electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3. As a result, the child electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 store the transferred field of interest information in their respective field of interest information management data storage areas 22g (step S92).

Figure 20 shows an example of the operation of the electronic dictionary 10 when the electronic dictionary 10 has the capability to generate field of interest information by itself.

The CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 performs a process of extracting topics from each document (step S101). The details of step S101 are the same as those of steps S81 to S86 in FIG. 18 described above, and therefore will not be described here.

Next, the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 performs the processes of steps S102 and S103 for each document. For example, in the field of interest information management data storage area 22g, a topic list is created that expresses the proportions of various topics, for example, as count values, and it is determined whether there are any topics assigned to a word set that has a word that matches the representative word (step S102). If there are no assigned topics (NO in step S102), nothing in particular is done. On the other hand, if there are assigned topics (YES in step S102), a predetermined amount of count value is added to the corresponding topic on the topic list (step S103). This process is performed for each document.

Next, the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 determines the interest rate and ranking of various topics (including information indicating topics with relatively high interest rates) based on the count value of each topic on the topic list, and stores this as interest field information in the interest field information management data storage area 22g (step S79), ending the series of processes.

Figure 21 shows an example of the operation of the electronic dictionary 10 to display search results according to the field of interest information during a word search. This operation can be applied to any of the above-mentioned usage patterns (1) to (3).

The CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 (or electronic dictionary 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3) waits until a user operation is performed to instruct a word search (step S111).

If there is no user operation to instruct a word search (NO in step S111), the search screen remains displayed in the main display area 17M (step S115). On the other hand, if there is a user operation to instruct a word search (YES in step S111), the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 obtains information that manages the meaning of the word from the dictionary content data, and determines from the obtained data whether the word has multiple meanings (step S112).

Here, an example of the data format of information that manages the meanings of words is shown in Figure 22. Figure 22 is a diagram showing an example of the data format of information that manages the meanings of various English words. In this data format example, in addition to managing the "headword" and "number of meanings" for each word, the "field to which meaning 1 belongs," "meaning 1 phonetic symbol," "meaning 1 part of speech," and "sense 1 meaning description" are managed as the first piece of information related to meaning, and if the word has multiple meanings, then the second piece of information related to meaning, and in some cases the third piece of information related to meaning, etc. are managed in the same format as the first piece of information related to meaning.

For example, whether a word has a single meaning or multiple meanings can be determined from the "number of meanings." Also, the field to which the first meaning belongs can be determined from the "field to which meaning 1 belongs." The field to which the second meaning belongs can be determined from the "field to which meaning 2 belongs." The fields of the third and subsequent meanings can be determined in the same way.

In step S112, if the word does not have multiple meanings but has a single meaning (NO in step S112), the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 displays the meaning of the word in the main display area 17M as usual (step S115). On the other hand, if the word has multiple meanings (YES in step S112), it determines whether or not one of the multiple meanings belongs to a field of relatively high interest as indicated in the field of interest information (field of interest information stored in the field of interest information management data storage area 22g) (step S113).

If none of the multiple meanings belongs to a field of relatively high interest (NO in step S113), the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 displays the multiple meanings of the word in the main display area 17M as usual (step S115). On the other hand, if one of the multiple meanings belongs to a field of relatively high interest (YES in step S113), the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 displays the multiple meanings of the word that belong to a field of relatively high interest in the main display area 17M so that they stand out more than the other meanings (step S114).

In FIG. 21, the process of S112 can be omitted. In other words, even if a word has only a single meaning, if the word has a meaning that belongs to a field of relatively high interest in step S113, it can be displayed prominently, and if not, it can be displayed normally. If the process displays words that belong to a field of relatively high interest at the top, the result will be the same as the normal display, since there is only one meaning to display.

Figure 21 describes a case where one dictionary content is searched, but there are cases where the same type of dictionary content is included in multiple electronic dictionaries 10 (for example, English-Japanese dictionaries published by multiple different publishers). In this case, all of the multiple meanings included in the multiple dictionaries can be searched, and the meaning of the dictionary content that belongs to a field of relatively high interest can be highlighted. In this case, it is conceivable that the meanings of two or more of the multiple dictionary contents simultaneously belong to a field of relatively high interest, and in such a case, all of the meanings of the two or more relevant dictionary contents can be displayed prominently.

Furthermore, while FIG. 21 describes the case of searching for a word, the phrase to be searched is not limited to a word, and may be an idiom, a collocation, a compound word, or any other phrase searched for in a dictionary. If the searched phrase has multiple meanings, the process described in FIG. 21 is applied.

Figure 23 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of generating content introduction information using the field of interest information generated by the server 30 and transmitting the information to the electronic dictionary 10. Also, Figure 24 is a diagram showing an example of the data format of the dictionary content information referenced in the operation of Figure 23. Figure 25 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the electronic dictionary 10 performing display using the content introduction information transmitted from the server 30.

In FIG. 23, the CPU 31 of the server 30 derives the name of the dictionary content recommended for introduction into the electronic dictionary 10 (for example, the name of the dictionary content with the first highest interest level, or the names of the dictionary content with the first to third highest interest levels) from the dictionary content information that manages various dictionary contents, based on information indicating the interest rate and ranking of various topics indicated in the already generated field of interest information (step S121).

Figure 24 shows an example of a data format for dictionary content information that manages various dictionary contents. In this data format example, information such as "dictionary content name," "field to which the content belongs," and "content details" is managed for each dictionary content.

For example, the field to which the content belongs can be determined from the "field to which the content belongs." If the "field to which the content belongs" is a field (topic) in which the user is relatively interested, the CPU 31 of the server 30 derives the name of the content in order to introduce the corresponding content to the user.

When deriving the dictionary content name from the dictionary content information, the CPU 31 of the server 30 checks information such as the dictionary content names already installed in the corresponding electronic dictionary, which is pre-stored in the electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b, and derives the names of dictionary content not yet installed in the electronic dictionary.

The CPU 31 of the server 30 sends content introduction information including the derived dictionary content name to the electronic dictionary 10 (step S122).

In FIG. 25, when the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 receives content introduction information transmitted from the server 30 (step S131), it displays information introducing recommended separately sold dictionary content and the like in the main display area 17M based on the content introduction information (step S132).

Summary of the embodiment
In the embodiment, the information devices can be freely used in any of the modes (1), (2), and (3) according to the purpose.

In the usage form (1), the electronic dictionary 10 periodically transmits the document Da to the server 30 via the router 20. Meanwhile, the server 30 receives the document Da transmitted from the electronic dictionary 10, and analyzes the information of the search history contained in the document using a topic model to generate information (field of interest information) indicating a topic (i.e., a field) that is estimated to be of high interest to the user, or generates information (content introduction information) that introduces separately sold content to the user based on the field of interest information, and transmits the generated field of interest information and content introduction information to the electronic dictionary 10. This makes it possible to provide field of interest information and content introduction information to an electronic dictionary 10 that cannot generate field of interest information and content introduction information. Thus, the electronic dictionary 10 can receive the field of interest information and content introduction information transmitted from the server 30, and display parts of the word search results of the electronic dictionary 10 that are estimated to be of relatively high interest to the user according to the received field of interest information in a way that highlights them, or display a display that recommends the introduction of separately sold content that is not yet installed according to the received content introduction information.

This usage pattern (1) makes it possible to improve the convenience of searching for words, etc. in the electronic dictionary 10.

In the usage form (2), the portable information device 11 performs a process of transmitting information on the selected word or sentence to the server 30 as information forming part of the search history of the electronic dictionary 10 and transmitting the information to the electronic dictionary 10 in response to the user's operation of selecting a word or sentence on a web page. This allows the server 30 to use more search history for analysis, so that more accurate field of interest information can be generated and more accurate field of interest information can be provided to the electronic dictionary 10. In addition, when transmitting information on the selected word or sentence to the server, the portable information device 11 also performs a process of transmitting information on the URL of the page on which the selected word or sentence is written. This allows the server 30 to use the page indicated by the URL for analysis, so that more accurate field of interest information that reflects the user's level of interest can be generated and more accurate field of interest information can be provided to the electronic dictionary 10.

This usage pattern (2) enables the portable information device 11 and the electronic dictionary 10 to cooperate with each other, thereby making it possible to further improve the convenience of searching for words, etc. in the electronic dictionary 10.

In addition, in the usage form (3), the electronic dictionary 10 periodically acquires documents Dc from each of the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 and transmits them to the server 30 via the router 20. Meanwhile, the server 30 generates information (field of interest information) indicating topics (i.e., fields) that are estimated to be of high interest to the user by analyzing the search history information contained in each document Dc transmitted from the electronic dictionary 10 using a topic model, generates information (content introduction information) introducing separately sold content to the user based on the field of interest information, and transmits the generated field of interest information and content introduction information to the electronic dictionary 10. As a result, the electronic dictionary 10 receives the field of interest information and content introduction information transmitted from the server 30 and transfers them to the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 (or the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 receive the field of interest information and content introduction information transmitted from the server 30 without passing through the electronic dictionary 10). Therefore, the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 can display parts of the word search results of the electronic dictionary that are estimated to be of relatively high interest to the user in accordance with the received field of interest information, and can display a recommendation to introduce separately sold content that is not yet installed in accordance with the received content introduction information.

This usage pattern (3) provides information on areas of common interest and content introduction information to multiple users who share common interests, making it possible to improve the comfort of searching for words, etc. in the electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 for those users.

As described above in detail, the embodiment makes it possible to improve the comfort of searching for words, etc. in an electronic dictionary.

The processing methods described in the above embodiments, such as the processing methods shown in the flowcharts of Figures 11 to 21, 23, and 25, can all be distributed as programs that can be executed by a computer and stored on a medium of an external recording device such as a memory card (ROM card, RAM card, etc.), a magnetic disk (floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, etc.), an optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), or a semiconductor memory. The computer (CPU) of each information device then loads the program recorded on the medium of this external recording device into the storage device, and the operation is controlled by this loaded program, thereby realizing the various functions described in each embodiment and executing similar processing using the above-mentioned methods.

In addition, the program data for implementing each method can be transmitted over a communication network (N) in the form of program code, and the program data can be imported into an electronic device from a computer device (program server) connected to this communication network (N) and stored in a storage device to realize the same functions.

The present invention is not limited to each embodiment, and various modifications can be made in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, each embodiment includes inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriate combinations of the multiple constituent elements disclosed. For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in each embodiment, or some constituent elements are combined in a different form, if the problem stated in the "Problem to be Solved by the Invention" column can be solved and the effect stated in the "Effect of the Invention" column can be obtained, the configuration in which the constituent elements are deleted or combined can be extracted as an invention.

The inventions described in the original claims of this application are set forth below.

[Appendix 1]
An electronic dictionary having a processor,
The processor,
an interest field information acquisition process for acquiring interest field information including information indicating that a topic that occupies a large proportion of various topics obtained by analyzing information on a search history including individual words or sentences previously searched by a user in the electronic dictionary using a topic model is a field of interest that is relatively of high interest to the user;
a field of interest priority display process for displaying on a display unit, when a plurality of meanings of a word or phrase are obtained from dictionary content data in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for the word or phrase, the field of interest priority display process being performed such that, among the plurality of meanings, a meaning that belongs to a field of relatively high interest shown in the field of interest information is displayed on the display unit in a more prominent manner than other meanings that have a relatively low degree of interest;
An electronic dictionary that runs.

[Appendix 2]
The processor,
When the field of interest priority display process is executed, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest level indicated in the field of interest information is displayed at the top among the plurality of meanings.
2. An electronic dictionary according to claim 1.

[Appendix 3]
The processor,
and further executing a process of displaying, on a display unit, content introduction information that introduces dictionary content that is recommended for introduction into the electronic dictionary based on the field of interest information.
3. An electronic dictionary according to claim 1 or 2.

[Appendix 4]
An information processing system in which an electronic dictionary and a server device communicate with each other,
The electronic dictionary comprises:
a processor for executing a transmission process for transmitting search history information including individual words or sentences previously searched for by a user in the electronic dictionary to the server device;
The server device includes:
a processor that executes a receiving process for receiving the search history information transmitted from the electronic dictionary, a field of interest information generating process for generating field of interest information including information indicating a topic that occupies a largest proportion of various topics obtained by analyzing the search history information using a topic model as a field that is of relatively high interest to the user, and a transmitting process for transmitting the generated field of interest information to the electronic dictionary,
The processor of the electronic dictionary
a receiving process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the server device; and a field of interest priority display process for displaying, on a display unit, a plurality of meanings of a word or phrase obtained from dictionary content data in response to a user's operation for instructing a search for the word or phrase, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest indicated in the field of interest information among the plurality of meanings, more prominently than other meanings having a relatively low degree of interest, on the display unit, in accordance with the user's operation for instructing a search for the word or phrase.
Information processing system.

[Appendix 5]
The processor of the electronic dictionary
When the field of interest priority display process is executed, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest level indicated in the field of interest information is displayed at the top among the plurality of meanings.
5. The information processing system according to claim 4.

[Appendix 6]
The processor of the server device
A process of deriving information on dictionary contents to be recommended for introduction into the electronic dictionary based on the field of interest information and transmitting the information to the electronic dictionary;
The processor of the electronic dictionary further executes a process of displaying, on a display unit, content introduction information that introduces dictionary content recommended for introduction into the electronic dictionary based on the information transmitted from the server device.
6. The information processing system according to claim 4 or 5.

[Appendix 7]
The electronic dictionary further includes a portable information device used by a user of the electronic dictionary.
The portable information device includes:
In response to an operation of the user of the portable information device to select a word or a sentence on a web page, information on the selected word or sentence is transmitted to the server as information forming a part of the search history of the electronic dictionary, and also to the electronic dictionary.
5. The information processing system according to claim 4.

[Appendix 8]
When transmitting information on the selected phrase or sentence to the server, the portable information device also transmits information on a uniform resource locator (URL) of a page on which the selected phrase or sentence is written.
8. The information processing system according to claim 7.

[Appendix 9]
1. An information processing method applied to an information processing system in which an electronic dictionary and a server device communicate with each other, comprising:
The electronic dictionary:
performing a transmission process for transmitting the search history information to the server device;
The server device:
a receiving process for receiving the search history information transmitted from the electronic dictionary; a field of interest information generating process for generating field of interest information including information indicating a topic that occupies the largest proportion of various topics obtained by analyzing the search history information using a topic model as a field that is of relatively high interest to the user; and a transmitting process for transmitting the generated field of interest information to the electronic dictionary.
From the electronic dictionary:
a receiving process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the server device; and a field of interest priority display process for displaying, on a display unit, a plurality of meanings of a word or phrase obtained from dictionary content data in response to a user's operation for instructing a search for the word or phrase, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest indicated in the field of interest information among the plurality of meanings, more prominently than other meanings having a relatively low degree of interest, on the display unit, in accordance with the user's operation for instructing a search for the word or phrase.
Information processing methods.

[Appendix 10]
A portable information device used by the user of the electronic dictionary
in response to an operation of the user of the portable information device to select a word or a sentence on a web page, a process is performed in which information on the selected word or sentence is transmitted to the server as information forming a part of the search history of the electronic dictionary, and also transmitted to the electronic dictionary;
10. The information processing method according to claim 9.

[Appendix 11]
When transmitting the information on the selected phrase or sentence to the server, a process is performed in which information on a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a page on which the selected phrase or sentence is written is also transmitted.
11. The information processing method according to claim 10.

[Appendix 12]
The processor of the electronic dictionary
an interest field information acquisition process for acquiring interest field information including information indicating that a topic that occupies the largest proportion of various topics obtained by analyzing information on a search history including individual words or sentences previously searched by a user in the electronic dictionary is a field that is of relatively high interest to the user;
a field of interest priority display process for displaying on a display unit, when a plurality of meanings of a word or phrase are obtained from dictionary content data in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for the word or phrase, the field of interest priority display process being performed such that, among the plurality of meanings, a meaning that belongs to a field of relatively high interest shown in the field of interest information is displayed on the display unit in a more prominent manner than other meanings that have a relatively low degree of interest;
A program for executing.

[Appendix 13]
An electronic dictionary system in which a parent electronic dictionary and a plurality of child electronic dictionaries communicate with each other,
The electronic dictionary of the parent unit is
a processor that executes a process of acquiring field of interest information including information indicating a topic that occupies a large proportion of various topics obtained by analyzing information on a search history including individual words or sentences previously searched by a user in the electronic dictionaries of the multiple child devices using a topic model as a field of relatively high interest to the user, and a process of transmitting the acquired field of interest information to the electronic dictionaries of the multiple child devices;
The electronic dictionary of the plurality of child devices includes:
a processor for executing a reception process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the electronic dictionary of the parent device, and a field of interest priority display process for displaying, on a display unit, a plurality of meanings of a word or phrase obtained from dictionary content data in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for the word or phrase, among the plurality of meanings, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest indicated in the field of interest information, more prominently than other meanings having a relatively low degree of interest, on the display unit;
Electronic dictionary system.

[Appendix 14]
The processors of the electronic dictionaries of the plurality of slave units
When the field of interest priority display process is executed, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest level indicated in the field of interest information is displayed at the top among the plurality of meanings.
14. An electronic dictionary system as described in appendix 13.

[Appendix 15]
The processor of the electronic dictionary of the parent unit
and further executing a process of displaying, on a display unit, content introduction information that introduces dictionary content that is recommended for introduction into the electronic dictionary of the parent device or the child device based on the field of interest information.
15. The electronic dictionary system according to claim 13 or 14.

[Appendix 16]
An information processing system in which a parent electronic dictionary that communicates with a plurality of child electronic dictionaries communicates with a server device, comprising:
The electronic dictionary of the parent unit is
a processor for executing a transmission process for transmitting to the server device information on a search history including each word or sentence previously searched by a user in the electronic dictionaries of the plurality of child devices;
The server device includes:
a processor that executes a receiving process for receiving the search history information transmitted from the electronic dictionary of the parent device, a field of interest information generating process for generating field of interest information including information indicating a topic that occupies a largest proportion of various topics obtained by analyzing search history information including individual words or sentences previously searched for by a user in the electronic dictionaries of the multiple child devices using a topic model as a field that is of relatively high interest to the user, and a transmitting process for transmitting the generated field of interest information to the electronic dictionary of the parent device,
The processor of the electronic dictionary of the parent unit
a receiving process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the server device, and a transmitting process for transmitting the received field of interest information to the electronic dictionaries of the plurality of child devices;
The electronic dictionary of the plurality of child devices includes:
a processor for executing a reception process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the electronic dictionary of the parent device, and a field of interest priority display process for displaying, on a display unit, a plurality of meanings of a word or phrase obtained from dictionary content data in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for the word or phrase, among the plurality of meanings, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest indicated in the field of interest information, more prominently than other meanings having a relatively low degree of interest, on the display unit;
Information processing system.

[Appendix 17]
The processors of the electronic dictionaries of the plurality of slave units
When the field of interest priority display process is executed, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest level indicated in the field of interest information is displayed at the top among the plurality of meanings.
17. The information processing system of claim 16.

[Appendix 18]
The processor of the server device
a process of deriving information on dictionary content to be recommended for introduction into the electronic dictionary of the parent device or the electronic dictionary of the child device based on the field of interest information and transmitting the information to the electronic dictionary of the parent device;
The processor of the parent electronic dictionary further executes a process of displaying, on a display unit, information introducing dictionary content recommended for introduction into the parent electronic dictionary or the child electronic dictionary, based on the information transmitted from the server device.
18. The information processing system according to claim 16 or 17.

[Appendix 19]
1. An information processing method applied to an information processing system in which a master electronic dictionary, which communicates with a plurality of slave electronic dictionaries, communicates with a server device, comprising:
The electronic dictionary of the parent unit:
performing a transmission process for transmitting to the server device search history information including each word or sentence previously searched by a user in the electronic dictionaries of the plurality of child devices;
The server device:
a receiving process for receiving the search history information transmitted from the electronic dictionary of the parent device; a field of interest information generating process for generating field of interest information including information indicating a topic that occupies the largest proportion of various topics obtained by analyzing the search history information including individual words or sentences previously searched for by the user in the electronic dictionaries of the multiple child devices using a topic model as a field of relatively high interest to the user; and a transmitting process for transmitting the generated field of interest information to the electronic dictionary of the parent device.
The electronic dictionary of the parent unit:
performing a receiving process of receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the server device, and a transmitting process of transmitting the received field of interest information to the electronic dictionaries of the plurality of child devices;
The electronic dictionary of the plurality of slave units
a reception process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the electronic dictionary of the parent device; and a field of interest priority display process for displaying, on the display unit, a plurality of meanings of a word or phrase obtained from dictionary content data in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for the word or phrase, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest indicated in the field of interest information among the plurality of meanings, more prominently than other meanings having a relatively low degree of interest.
Information processing methods.

10: Electronic dictionary 11: Portable information device 14: Key input section (keyboard)
14a... [Home] key 14b... Function designation key 14c... Character input key 14d... [Decision] key 14e... [Back] key 14f... Cursor key 14g... [Shift] key 14h... [History] key 14i... [Review support] key 15... Audio output unit (speaker)
16...Audio input unit (microphone)
17...Touch panel display unit (display)
17A: Touch key area 17M: Main display area 17S: Sub display area 20: Router 21: CPU (processor)
22...Memory unit (storage)
22a...Search processing program 22b...Learning processing program 22c...Learning content storage area 22c1...Vocabulary learning content 22c2...Grammar learning content 22c3...Pronunciation learning content 22c4...Mock test content 22d...Dictionary data storage area 22e...Search history storage area 22f...Interest field information management program 22g...Interest field information management data storage area 23...External recording medium (storage)
24: Recording medium reading unit 25: Communication unit 30: Server 31: CPU (processor) of management server
32: Management server storage unit
32a: Management server program 32b: Electronic dictionary management data storage area 32c: Dictionary content data storage area 32d: Learning content data storage area 35: Communication unit of management server N: Communication network (Internet)

Claims (18)

An electronic device including a processor,
The processor,
a process of acquiring field of interest information including information indicating topics of relatively high interest to the user among the topics identified based on search history information including individual words or sentences previously searched for by the user on the electronic device and representative words corresponding to each topic;
a field of interest priority display process for retrieving multiple meanings of a word from dictionary content data and displaying them on a display unit in response to a user's operation to search for the word, the field of interest priority display process determining which of the multiple meanings is to be preferentially displayed based on the degree of interest in a topic to which each of the multiple meanings belongs, the field of interest priority display process being performed;
Electronic equipment that runs the process of acquiring field of interest information is a process of acquiring field of interest information by, when information obtained by analyzing information of the search history using a topic model includes a word or phrase that matches a representative word corresponding to each of the topics, assigning the degree of interest to the topic corresponding to the representative word, and treating a topic that has the largest proportion of the assigned degree of interest among the topics as information indicating a topic in which the user has a relatively high degree of interest;
The field of interest priority display process is a process of displaying, on a display unit, a meaning that belongs to a topic having a relatively high level of interest, which is indicated in the field of interest information, among the plurality of meanings, more prominently than other meanings that belong to topics having a relatively low level of interest.
2. The electronic device according to claim 1. The processor,
When the interest field priority display process is executed, a meaning belonging to a topic having a relatively high degree of interest, which is indicated in the interest field information, is displayed at the top among the plurality of meanings.
3. The electronic device according to claim 2. The processor,
and further executing a process of displaying, on a display unit, content introduction information that introduces dictionary content that is recommended for introduction to the electronic device based on the field of interest information.
The electronic device according to claim 1 . An information processing system in which an electronic device and a server device communicate with each other,
The electronic device includes:
a processor that executes a transmission process to transmit search history information including individual words or sentences that a user has previously searched for on the electronic device to the server device;
The server device includes:
a processor that executes a receiving process for receiving the search history information transmitted from the electronic device , a field of interest information acquiring process for acquiring field of interest information including information indicating a topic that is relatively highly interesting to the user among the topics identified based on the search history information and representative words corresponding to each topic , and a transmitting process for transmitting the acquired field of interest information to the electronic device ;
The processor of the electronic device further comprises:
a receiving process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the server device; and a field of interest priority display process for determining which of the multiple meanings to be preferentially displayed is to be selected from the multiple meanings based on the degree of interest in a topic to which each of the multiple meanings shown in the field of interest information belongs when, in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for a word or phrase, multiple meanings of the word or phrase are obtained from dictionary content data and displayed on a display unit.
Information processing system. the process of acquiring field of interest information is a process of acquiring the field of interest information by, when information obtained by analyzing the information of the search history using a topic model includes a word or phrase that matches a representative word corresponding to each of the topics, assigning the degree of interest to the topic corresponding to the representative word, and treating the topic that has the largest proportion of the assigned degree of interest among the topics as information indicating a topic in which the user has a relatively high degree of interest;
The field of interest priority display process is a process of displaying, on a display unit, a meaning that belongs to a topic having a relatively high level of interest, which is indicated in the field of interest information, among the plurality of meanings, more prominently than meanings that belong to other topics having a relatively low level of interest.
6. The information processing system according to claim 5. The processor of the electronic device is
When the interest field priority display process is executed, a meaning belonging to a topic having a relatively high degree of interest, which is indicated in the interest field information, is displayed at the top among the plurality of meanings.
7. The information processing system according to claim 6. The processor of the server device
The method further includes the steps of: deriving information on dictionary content recommended for introduction into the electronic device based on the field of interest information; and transmitting the information to the electronic device .
The processor of the electronic device further executes a process of displaying, on a display unit, content introduction information that introduces dictionary content that is recommended for introduction to the electronic device based on the information transmitted from the server device.
The information processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 7. Further comprising a portable information device used by a user of the electronic device ;
The portable information device includes:
In response to an operation of the user on the portable information device to select a word or a sentence on a web page, information on the selected word or sentence is transmitted to the server device as information forming a part of the search history of the electronic device , and is also transmitted to the electronic device .
The information processing system according to any one of claims 5 to 7. the portable information device performs a process of transmitting information on the selected phrase or sentence to the server device together with information on a uniform resource locator (URL) of a page on which the selected phrase or sentence is written;
The information processing system according to claim 9. An information processing method applied to an information processing system in which an electronic device and a server device communicate with each other, comprising:
The electronic device
performing a transmission process for transmitting search history information including individual words or sentences previously searched for by the user in the electronic device to the server device;
The server device:
a receiving process for receiving the search history information transmitted from the electronic device , a field of interest information acquiring process for acquiring field of interest information including information indicating a topic that is relatively highly interesting to the user among the topics identified based on the search history information and representative words corresponding to each topic , and a transmitting process for transmitting the acquired field of interest information to the electronic device ;
The electronic device
a receiving process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the server device; and a field of interest priority display process for determining which of the multiple meanings to be preferentially displayed is to be selected from the multiple meanings based on the degree of interest in a topic to which each of the multiple meanings shown in the field of interest information belongs when retrieving multiple meanings of the word from dictionary content data and displaying them on a display unit in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for the word.
Information processing methods. the process of acquiring field of interest information is a process of acquiring field of interest information by, when information obtained by analyzing information of the search history using a topic model includes a word or phrase that matches a representative word corresponding to each of the topics, assigning the degree of interest to the topic corresponding to the representative word, and treating a topic that has the largest proportion of the assigned degree of interest among the topics as information indicating a topic in which the user has a relatively high degree of interest;
The field of interest priority display process is a process of displaying, on a display unit, a meaning that belongs to a topic having a relatively high level of interest, which is indicated in the field of interest information, among the plurality of meanings, more prominently than other meanings that belong to topics having a relatively low level of interest.
The information processing method according to claim 11. For processors in electronic devices ,
a process of acquiring field of interest information including information on a search history including individual words or sentences previously searched for by the user on the electronic device , information indicating topics of which the user is relatively interested among the topics identified based on the search history information and representative words corresponding to each topic ; and
a topic of interest priority display process for retrieving multiple meanings of a word from dictionary content data and displaying them on a display unit in response to a user's operation to search for the word, the topic of interest priority display process determining which of the multiple meanings is to be preferentially displayed based on the degree of interest in a topic to which each of the multiple meanings belongs, the topic of interest priority display process being performed;
A program for executing. the process of acquiring field of interest information is a process of acquiring field of interest information by, when information obtained by analyzing information of the search history using a topic model includes a word or phrase that matches a representative word corresponding to each of the topics, assigning the degree of interest to the topic corresponding to the representative word, and treating a topic that has the largest proportion of the assigned degree of interest among the topics as information indicating a topic in which the user has a relatively high degree of interest;
The field of interest priority display process is a process of displaying, on a display unit, a meaning that belongs to a topic having a relatively high level of interest, which is indicated in the field of interest information, among the plurality of meanings, more prominently than other meanings that belong to topics having a relatively low level of interest.
The program according to claim 13. An electronic dictionary system in which a parent electronic dictionary and a plurality of child electronic dictionaries communicate with each other,
The electronic dictionary of the parent unit is
a processor that executes a process of acquiring field of interest information including information indicating a topic that occupies a large proportion of various topics obtained by analyzing information on a search history including individual words or sentences previously searched by a user in the electronic dictionaries of the multiple child devices using a topic model as a field of relatively high interest to the user, and a process of transmitting the acquired field of interest information to the electronic dictionaries of the multiple child devices;
The electronic dictionary of the plurality of child devices includes:
a processor for executing a reception process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the electronic dictionary of the parent device, and a field of interest priority display process for displaying, on a display unit, a plurality of meanings of a word or phrase obtained from dictionary content data in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for the word or phrase, among the plurality of meanings, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest indicated in the field of interest information, more prominently than other meanings having a relatively low degree of interest, on the display unit;
Electronic dictionary system. An information processing system in which a parent electronic dictionary that communicates with a plurality of child electronic dictionaries communicates with a server device, comprising:
The electronic dictionary of the parent unit is
a processor for executing a transmission process for transmitting to the server device information on a search history including each word or sentence previously searched by a user in the electronic dictionaries of the plurality of child devices;
The server device includes:
a processor that executes a receiving process for receiving the search history information transmitted from the electronic dictionary of the parent device, a field of interest information generating process for generating field of interest information including information indicating a topic that occupies a largest proportion of various topics obtained by analyzing search history information including individual words or sentences previously searched for by a user in the electronic dictionaries of the multiple child devices using a topic model as a field that is of relatively high interest to the user, and a transmitting process for transmitting the generated field of interest information to the electronic dictionary of the parent device,
The processor of the electronic dictionary of the parent unit
a receiving process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the server device, and a transmitting process for transmitting the received field of interest information to the electronic dictionaries of the plurality of child devices;
The electronic dictionary of the plurality of child devices includes:
a processor for executing a reception process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the electronic dictionary of the parent device, and a field of interest priority display process for displaying, on a display unit, a plurality of meanings of a word or phrase obtained from dictionary content data in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for the word or phrase, among the plurality of meanings, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest indicated in the field of interest information, more prominently than other meanings having a relatively low degree of interest, on the display unit;
Information processing system. The processor of the server device
a process of deriving information on dictionary content to be recommended for introduction into the electronic dictionary of the parent device or the electronic dictionary of the child device based on the field of interest information and transmitting the information to the electronic dictionary of the parent device;
The processor of the parent electronic dictionary further executes a process of displaying, on a display unit, information introducing dictionary content recommended for introduction into the parent electronic dictionary or the child electronic dictionary, based on the information transmitted from the server device.
17. The information processing system according to claim 16. 1. An information processing method applied to an information processing system in which a master electronic dictionary, which communicates with a plurality of slave electronic dictionaries, communicates with a server device, comprising:
The electronic dictionary of the parent unit:
performing a transmission process for transmitting to the server device search history information including each word or sentence previously searched by a user in the electronic dictionaries of the plurality of child devices;
The server device:
a receiving process for receiving the search history information transmitted from the electronic dictionary of the parent device; a field of interest information generating process for generating field of interest information including information indicating a topic that occupies the largest proportion of various topics obtained by analyzing the search history information including individual words or sentences previously searched for by the user in the electronic dictionaries of the multiple child devices using a topic model as a field of relatively high interest to the user; and a transmitting process for transmitting the generated field of interest information to the electronic dictionary of the parent device.
The electronic dictionary of the parent unit:
performing a receiving process of receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the server device, and a transmitting process of transmitting the received field of interest information to the electronic dictionaries of the plurality of child devices;
The electronic dictionary of the plurality of slave units
a reception process for receiving the field of interest information transmitted from the electronic dictionary of the parent device; and a field of interest priority display process for displaying, on the display unit, a plurality of meanings of a word or phrase obtained from dictionary content data in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for the word or phrase, a meaning belonging to a field of relatively high interest indicated in the field of interest information among the plurality of meanings, more prominently than other meanings having a relatively low degree of interest.
Information processing methods.