Electronic device, electronic dictionary system, information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an electronic dictionary, an information processing system, an information processing method and a program that can improve comfort of searching a word or the like.SOLUTION: A CPU 21 of an electronic dictionary 10 executes a field-of-interest information management program 22f performing: field-of-interest information acquisition processing that acquires a topic occupying a biggest ratio among a variety of topics in which information of search history including each phrase or sentence searched by a user in the past in the electronic dictionary 10 is obtained by analyzing a topic model, as field-of-interest information including information indicating as a field having a relatively high degree of interest for the user; and field-of-interest preferential display processing that displays on a display unit such that meaning belonging to a field having a relatively high degree of interest which is shown in the field-of-interest information of a plurality of meanings is more prominent than meaning having other relatively low degree of interest, when a plurality of meanings for the phrase are acquired from dictionary content data to display on the display unit according to an operation of the user instructing search of the phrase.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The embodiment of the present invention is a search engine that can search for words, etc. electronic equipment The present invention relates to an electronic dictionary system, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] 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, the multiple meanings are displayed from top to bottom, in this order: first "paper," second "newspaper," third "research paper," and so on. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-219583 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As mentioned above, when you look up a word in an electronic dictionary, multiple meanings of the word may be displayed, but the meaning you are looking for may not be listed at the top, and you may not be able to find the meaning you want right away. In such cases, you may find the dictionary difficult to use.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and makes it possible to improve the comfort of searching for words, etc. electronic equipment It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic dictionary system, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention electronic equipment is equipped with a processor electronic equipment The processor electronic equipment search history information, including individual words or phrases that the user has previously searched for on the Representative words for each topic, Identified based on Of the above topics, The above user The Interest level Contains information that indicates topics with relatively high A field of interest information acquisition process for acquiring field of interest information, and in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for a word or phrase, when a plurality of meanings for the word or phrase are acquired from dictionary content data and displayed on a display unit, each of the plurality of meanings shown in the field of interest information belongs to topic and an interest field priority display process for determining which of the plurality of meanings is to be preferentially displayed based on the degree of interest in the field. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 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. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 shows an example of the external configuration of an electronic dictionary 10. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic circuit of the electronic dictionary 10. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic circuit of the server 30. [Diagram 5] 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). [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a plurality of words accumulated as a search history for each document. [Figure 7] 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. [Figure 8] 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. [Figure 9]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. [Figure 10] 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. [Figure 11] 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). [Figure 12] 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. [Figure 13] 11 is a diagram showing an example of an operation for transmitting a document including the history of the electronic dictionary 10 (or the electronic dictionary 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3) to the server 30. FIG. [Figure 14] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the portable information device 11. [Figure 15] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the electronic dictionary 10 operating as a master unit. [Figure 16] 4A to 4C are diagrams showing an example of the operation of electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 operating as child units. [Figure 17] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the server 30. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing details of step S73 in FIG. 17. [Figure 19] 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation in which the electronic dictionary 10 acquires field of interest information from the server 30 and reflects the information in a search function of the dictionary. [Figure 20] 10 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. [Figure 21] 11 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the electronic dictionary 10 to display search results according to field of interest information during word search. [Figure 22] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data format of information for managing the meanings of various words. [Figure 23] 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. [Figure 24] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data format of dictionary content information for managing various dictionary contents. [Diagram 25] 11 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the electronic dictionary 10 to perform display using content introduction information transmitted from the server 30. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] <System configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of an electronic dictionary of the present invention.

[0010] 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.

[0011] 1 are not necessarily required to implement the present invention. For example, there may be a configuration in which electronic dictionary 10 is used but portable information device 11 is not used, or further, electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 are not used, or router 20 and server 30 are not used.

[0012] The electronic dictionary 10 and the server 30 communicate with each other through wireless communication Na using a wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) that connects the electronic dictionary 10 and the router 20, and through communication Nw over an Internet line that connects the router 20 and the server 30, for example.

[0013] For example, short-distance wireless communication Nb based on Bluetooth (registered trademark) is used for communication between the electronic dictionary 10 and the portable information device 11. For example, short-distance wireless communication Nc based on Bluetooth (registered trademark) or wireless communication based on wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) is used for communication between the electronic dictionary 10 and the electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3.

[0014] FIG. 1 shows at least the following three types of usage patterns for information devices.

[0015] · Electronic dictionary 10 used alone (1) This 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.

[0016] 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 including a word (however, it may be an idiom, a collocation, a compound word, or other phrase other than a single word; the same applies below) or a sentence 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 pieces of 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, 10-3.

[0017] In this usage pattern (1), the electronic dictionary 10 periodically transmits the document Da to the server 30 via the router 20.

[0018] On the other hand, the server 30 receives the document Da sent from the electronic dictionary 10, and analyzes the 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 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.

[0019] This makes it possible to provide the field of interest information and content introduction information to the electronic dictionary 10 that is not capable of generating field of interest information and content introduction information.

[0020] The electronic dictionary 10 receives information on the field of interest and content introduction information transmitted 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 yet installed according to the received content introduction information.

[0021] In addition, if the electronic dictionary 10 has the ability to generate 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 the field of interest information and content introduction information from the server 30 can be omitted.

[0022] This usage pattern (1) makes it possible to improve the convenience of searching for words and the like in the electronic dictionary 10.

[0023] · Form of using electronic dictionary 10 and portable information device 11 (2) 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 above-mentioned usage pattern (1) when the user further uses the portable information device 11 in conjunction with the electronic dictionary 10.

[0024] 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 and also with the server 30. Document Db in Fig. 1 represents a page including a word or sentence selected by the user on a web page via a browser on the portable information device 11. 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.

[0025] 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 on the selected word or sentence to the server 30 as information forming part of the search history of the electronic dictionary 10, and also transmits the information to the electronic dictionary 10.

[0026] This allows the server 30 to use more search history for analysis, thereby generating more accurate field of interest information and providing more accurate field of interest information to the electronic dictionary 10.

[0027] Furthermore, when transmitting information on the selected word or sentence to the server, portable information device 11 also performs processing to transmit information on the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the page on which the selected word or sentence is written.

[0028] This allows the server 30 to use the page indicated by the URL for analysis, thereby generating more accurate information about areas of interest that better reflects the user's level of interest, and providing more accurate information about areas of interest to the electronic dictionary 10.

[0029] 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 estimated 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.

[0030] The electronic dictionary 10 receives information on the field of interest and content introduction information transmitted 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 yet installed according to the received content introduction information.

[0031] This usage pattern (2) makes it possible to further improve the convenience of searching for words and the like in the electronic dictionary 10 by linking the portable information device 11 with the electronic dictionary 10.

[0032] A form in which electronic dictionary 10 and electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 are used (3) 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.

[0033] In this usage pattern (3), electronic dictionary 10 is the parent device and multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 are child devices. Electronic dictionary 10 communicates with multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 and also with server 30 via router 20.

[0034] A document Dc in Fig. 1 represents a search history including words or sentences searched for by each user of the 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 the search history information to be transmitted to the server 30 and share various information transmitted from the server 30. The electronic dictionary 10 may or may not be included in the information devices that share the information.

[0035] In this usage pattern (3), the electronic dictionary 10 periodically obtains the document Dc from each of the plurality of electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 and transmits the document Dc to the server 30 via the router 20.

[0036] On the other hand, the server 30 analyzes the search history information contained in each document Dc sent from the electronic dictionary 10 using a topic model to generate information (field of interest information) indicating topics (i.e., fields) in which the user is estimated to be of great 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.

[0037] 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). The multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3 perform display that highlights parts of the word search results of the electronic dictionary that are estimated to be of relatively high interest to the user according to the received field of interest information, or perform display that recommends the introduction of separately sold content that is not yet installed according to the received content introduction information.

[0038] In addition, if the electronic dictionary 10 has the ability to generate 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.

[0039] This usage pattern (3) provides common interest information and content introduction information to multiple users with 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.

[0040] <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.

[0041] The electronic dictionary 10 may be configured as a dedicated electronic dictionary described below, or may be configured as a tablet-type PDA (personal digital assistant), PC (personal computer), mobile phone, electronic book, portable game machine, or the like equipped with a dictionary search function.

[0042] 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.

[0043] In addition, a touch panel type display unit (display) 17 is provided in the lid case 12. The touch panel type display unit 17 has a structure in which a touch position detection device for detecting the position touched by the user with a pen, a finger, etc. and a display device are integrated, and is configured by overlaying a transparent touch panel on a color liquid crystal display screen with a backlight.

[0044] In the display area of the touch panel type display unit 17, an area divided into a wide main display area 17M at the center, a touch key area 17A along the right end, and a sub display area 17S along the lower end is set.

[0045] In the touch key area 17A, touch keys ([Home] key BH, [Back] key BR, etc.) for performing a pressing operation of some keys in the key input unit 14 and a designation operation of some functions of the electronic dictionary 10 by a touch operation are provided and marked.

[0046] In the main display area 17M, information regarding the function being executed is displayed according to the execution of a function arbitrarily selected based on a user operation.

[0047] In the sub display area 17S, information regarding words that were learning targets in functions executed by the user in the past is displayed based on the execution history of functions related to the learning of words executed based on a user operation.

[0048] The [Home] key 14a of the key input unit 14 is a key for displaying the menu screen GM, which is the home screen of the electronic dictionary 10, in the main display area 17M of the touch panel type display unit 17.

[0049] The function designation key 14b of the key input unit 14 is a key for directly designating each dictionary content (such as [〇 Dictionary]), the category of the dictionary content ([Japanese], [Classical Japanese], [Japanese-Chinese], [English-Japanese], etc.), the learning content [Content List], and one category of tools [Learning Notebook] respectively.

[0050] Furthermore, when a key of the key input unit 14 is operated after the [Shift] key 14g is operated, the key functions as the key enclosed in a box, not as the key functions shown without a box around the key. For example, when the [Enter] key 14d is operated (hereinafter, referred to as [Shift]+[Enter] key) after the [Shift] key 14g is operated, the key functions as the [Register] key for starting the function of registering data designated as the registration target. The [Shift]+[Delete] key functions as the [Set] key.

[0051] The [History] key 14h of the key input section 14 is a key for displaying in the main display area 17M of the touch panel display section 17 a search history screen showing a list of previously searched words stored in the search history storage area 22e.

[0052] The [review support] key 14i of the key input section 14 is a setting key for a review support mode for setting selection criteria for displaying information about words that have been the subject of study in the past.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 3, the electronic circuit of the electronic dictionary 10 includes a CPU (processor) 21, which is a basic component of a computer.

[0054] 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) prestored in a memory unit (storage) 22 such as a flash ROM, or a program 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 a program downloaded from a server 30 or another server on the communication network N via the communication unit 25 and stored in the memory unit 22.

[0055] The CPU 21 is connected to a memory unit 22, a recording medium reading unit 24, and a communication unit 25 via data and control buses, as well as to a key input unit 14, a voice output unit 15, a voice input unit 16, and a touch panel display unit 17.

[0056] The audio output unit 15 includes a main body speaker that outputs audio based on audio data stored in the storage unit 22 or recorded.

[0057] The voice input unit 16 includes a built-in microphone for inputting the voice of the user or the like.

[0058] The memory unit 22 has 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.

[0059] The search processing program 22a includes a system program that controls the overall operation of the electronic dictionary 10, a program for communicating with 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.

[0060] The learning process program 22b includes a program for executing a learning process based on each learning content stored in the learning content storage area 22c.

[0061] The learning content memory 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 examinations.

[0062] The dictionary data memory 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 corresponding to a character or character string that is the subject of a dictionary search, which is entered by keying or specified on the display screen, and outputting the information by display or voice.

[0063] In addition, for each of the various dictionaries, the dictionary content data includes text data such as head words, explanatory information including the meaning and content of the words, examples / phrases / compound words including the words, and audio data corresponding to the text data.

[0064] The search history storage area 22e stores, as a search history, words searched for by functions such as headword search and headword jump from the dictionary contents stored in the dictionary data storage area 22d.

[0065] 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 in accordance with the acquired field of interest information, in a manner that highlights those parts, and displaying a recommendation for the introduction of separately sold content that is not yet installed in accordance with the acquired content introduction information.

[0066] 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 that the user has previously searched for in the electronic dictionary 10 using a topic model as a field that is of relatively high interest to the user, and has a function to perform a field of interest priority display process to acquire multiple meanings of a word from dictionary content data and display them in the main display area 17M in response to a user's operation to instruct a search for a word, and to display, among the multiple meanings, meanings that belong to a field of relatively high interest as indicated in the field of interest information in the main display area 17M so as to stand out more than other meanings with relatively low interest.

[0067] Such a function allows the user to quickly find the meaning he or she is looking for, and since it is easy to use, it can improve the comfort of searching for words, etc.

[0068] The field of interest information management program 22f also has a function of executing a process of displaying, in the main display area 17M, content introduction information that introduces dictionary content that is recommended for introduction into the electronic dictionary 10 based on the field of interest information.

[0069] With such a function, a user can easily find the dictionary content he or she desires, and by purchasing the dictionary content and installing it in an electronic dictionary, the user can further improve usability and comfort in searching for words, etc.

[0070] The specific process executed by the field of interest information management program 22f differs as follows depending on which of the above-mentioned usage patterns (1) to (3) is applied.

[0071] When usage pattern (1) applies When the usage pattern (1) is applied, the field of interest information management program 22f periodically transmits the document Da of the electronic dictionary 10 to the server 30 via the router 20 through the communication unit 25, receives the field of interest information and content introduction information transmitted 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, in a way that highlights those parts, or displays a recommendation to install separately sold content that is not yet installed according to the received content introduction information. However, if the electronic dictionary 10 has the ability to generate the field of interest information and content introduction information by itself, the process of transmitting the document Da 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.

[0072] When usage pattern (2) applies When the usage mode (2) is applied, when information on a word or sentence selected by a 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 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 yet installed according to the received content introduction information are the same as those in the usage mode (1).

[0073] When the use pattern (3) applies When the usage mode (3) is applied, the contents of the process differ depending on whether the electronic dictionary 10 is a parent unit or a child unit.

[0074] 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 communication unit 25 and the router 20, 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, when 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.

[0075] When the electronic dictionary 10 is a slave unit (i.e., when it is one of the multiple electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, 10-3), the slave unit 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, in a way that highlights 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 unit 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.

[0076] The field of interest information management data memory area 22g is an area for storing various information related to the processing of the field of interest information management program 22f, and stores 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 depending on the field of interest information and content introduction information.

[0077] <Server 30 Configuration> FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic circuit of the server 30. As shown in FIG.

[0078] The server 30 has a function of managing each piece of content in the electronic dictionary 10 purchased by a user, for example, and its electronic circuitry includes a CPU (processor) 31, which is a basic element of a computer.

[0079] The CPU 31 controls the operation of each part of the circuit according to a management server program 32a pre-stored in a memory unit (storage) 32 such as a flash ROM, or a program 32a read from an external recording medium 33 such as a CD-ROM by a recording medium reading unit 34 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.

[0080] The management server program 32a includes a field of interest information generation program, which has the functions of receiving a document transmitted from the electronic dictionary 10, and analyzing search history information included in the document using a topic model to generate information (field of interest information) indicating topics (i.e., fields) that are estimated to be of high interest to the user, 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.

[0081] Such a function makes it possible to provide the electronic dictionary 10 with information on areas of interest and content introduction information that cannot be generated in the electronic dictionary 10 .

[0082] To the CPU 31, a storage unit 32, a recording medium reading unit 34, and a communication unit 35 are connected via data and control buses, and further, a key input unit 36 ​​and a display unit 37 are also connected.

[0083] The storage unit 32 includes a program storage area for storing a management server program 32a, as well as an electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b, a dictionary content data storage area 32c, and a learning content data storage area 32d.

[0084] The electronic dictionary management data memory area 32b includes a memory 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 a topic model, field of interest information and content introduction information generated based on the analysis results, etc.

[0085] 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.

[0086] The study content data storage area 32d stores data on various study contents [a] (Japanese language drills) 32d1, [b] (English language drills) 32d2, . . . that can be purchased by the user of the electronic dictionary 10.

[0087] 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), in addition to the various dictionary contents 32c1, 32c2, . . . and various study contents 32d1, 32d2, .

[0088] The functions of the field of interest information generating program provided in the management server program 32a and the various information related to the processing of the field of interest information generating 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 of being equipped with them. In this 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 generating 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 generating program.

[0089] In this case, the electronic dictionary 10 will no longer need to send documents to the server 30 or receive interest field information or content introduction information from the server 30, and will be able to generate interest field information and content introduction information independently.

[0090] <Generating area of ​​interest information using topic models> Next, a method for generating field of interest information using a topic model will be described.

[0091] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing examples of representative words that are set in advance for each topic in the electronic dictionary 10 (or the electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3).

[0092] In the electronic dictionary 10, as a preliminary step, a plurality of 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 "academic", "economics", "politics", "business", "archaic language", "medicine", etc. Representative words refer to representative terms that are commonly used in that field.

[0093] The settings here are basically realized by the user performing an input operation. However, this is not limiting, and for example, a plurality of representative words for each topic may be preset when the electronic dictionary 10 is shipped, and in addition to this, 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.

[0094] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a plurality of words stored as a search history for each document.

[0095] Documents Da, Db, and Dc are documents generated in the use modes (1), (2), and (3) of information devices, respectively, and contain search histories of multiple words searched for in the past for each use mode. Documents Da, Db, and Dc containing such search histories are periodically transmitted to server 30, and are stored and archived in electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b of server 30.

[0096] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a plurality of topics extracted by analyzing the search history information included in each document with a topic model using the information shown in FIG. 5 and the information shown in FIG.

[0097] In addition, topic models generally 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 (articles such as the and a, Japanese particles, etc.) are usually excluded because 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.

[0098] To extract topics from a target document, first, the information contained in the target document is preprocessed, such as by 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). Then, topic modeling, for example by LDA (Latent Dirichlet allocation), is performed on the converted information, and various word sets classified based on the topic model are extracted. If there is a word set among the word sets that has a word that matches the representative word, the topic corresponding to that word set is assigned (i.e., topics are extracted from the target document). This process is performed for each document.

[0099] Fig. 8(a) is a diagram showing an example of the ratios of various topics analyzed for multiple documents, and Fig. 8(b) is a diagram showing an example in which the ratios of various topics shown in Fig. 8(a) are displayed in a form that is easy to visually understand.

[0100] For example, a predetermined list (topic list) expressing the ratio of various topics by, for example, count values ​​is created in the electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b of the server 30 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 information on the field of interest.

[0101] Note that Figs. 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.

[0102] <Display of word search results according to interest area 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.

[0103] For example, when performing this field of interest priority display process, among the multiple meanings, a meaning that belongs to a field with a relatively high level of interest indicated in the field of interest information may be displayed at the top.

[0104] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example in which, when "paper" is searched for 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 with relatively low interest. Also, Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which, when "turnip" is searched for in an electronic dictionary, meanings belonging to the field "economy", which is of relatively high interest to users, are displayed more prominently than other meanings with relatively low interest.

[0105] Generally, when searching for "paper," its meanings are displayed in the order of "1. Paper," "2. Newspaper," and "3. Research paper..." from top to bottom, as shown in screen G11 of FIG. 9. However, in this embodiment, as shown in screen G12, the meaning "3. Research paper...," which belongs to the field of "academics," in which the user is relatively interested, is displayed at the top.

[0106] The same is true for the example in Figure 10. Generally, when searching for "turnip," the meaning "3. Research paper...," which belongs to the field "academic," in which the user is relatively interested, 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.

[0107] Generally, users tend to start reading from the top-level meaning onwards, so by displaying the meanings 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.

[0108] In order to highlight meanings that belong to fields that are of relatively high interest to users, 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 in Figure 9 and screen G21 in Figure 10, and highlight the meaning "3. Research paper..." that belongs to the field "academic", which is of relatively high interest to users (for example, by highlighting it with a specific color, coloring the text, or making the text bold).

[0109] In addition, when changing the order of arrangement of the various meanings, the various meanings may be rearranged so that they are arranged in descending order of interest from the top.

[0110] <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 usage patterns (1) to (3).

[0111] 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 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).

[0112] 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, representative words for each topic are set (step S14), and the process ends.

[0113] On the other hand, if it is specified that the priority display should be performed by the group (YES in step S12), setting information indicating that the priority display should be performed by the group (priority display is shared with other electronic dictionaries that make up the group) is stored (step S15), a screen for setting a representative word for each topic is displayed, and when the user performs the necessary operation, the representative word for each topic is set (step S16), and the series of processes ends. However, the setting of the representative word for each topic in step S16 may be configured to be performed only by authorized users in the group.

[0114] FIG. 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 of FIG.

[0115] In the case of usage mode (1) or usage mode (2), the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 does not receive setting information from the other electronic dictionaries, but in the case of usage mode (3), it receives each setting information from the other electronic dictionaries (e.g., electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3) (step S21).

[0116] CPU 21 of electronic dictionary 10 stores its own setting information and the setting information of the other electronic dictionaries (step S22), transmits the setting information to server 30 (step S23), and ends the series of processes.

[0117] Fig. 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 Fig. 13 shows an example in which it is applied to usage pattern (1).

[0118] The CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 starts a process (off process) of transmitting 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).

[0119] Here, the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 determines whether or not, for example, 24 hours have passed since the previous transmission (step S32).

[0120] 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. Then, CPU 21 of electronic dictionary 10 transmits the search history of electronic dictionary 10 to server 30 (step S34), sets and stores a flag indicating completion of transmission (step S35), and ends the off process (step S36).

[0121] In step S32, if 24 hours have not elapsed (NO in step S32), the power-off process ends without doing anything (step S36).

[0122] 14 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the portable information device 11. This operation is applied to the usage pattern (2).

[0123] When the processor of the portable information device 11 detects that a user has selected a character string (word or sentence) on a web page (step S41), the processor transfers information about the selected character string to the electronic dictionary 10 (step S42), and transmits 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).

[0124] Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of electronic dictionary 10 operating as a parent unit. Fig. 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).

[0125] 15, CPU 21 of electronic dictionary 10 periodically scans for nearby terminals (other electronic dictionaries). If other terminals are present, a connection request is sent, a unique ID is obtained from the terminal, and the processes of steps S52 to S57 are carried out for each terminal.

[0126] First, CPU 21 of electronic dictionary 10 checks the total number of terminals to be processed, so that it is possible to distinguish between the number of terminals before processing and the number of terminals for which processing has been completed (step S52).

[0127] When the unique ID of the target terminal is obtained (step S53), it is transmitted to the server 30, and an inquiry is made as to whether or not the search history of the corresponding terminal is stored in a valid state on the server 30 side (step S54).

[0128] 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 is done.

[0129] When the number of terminals that have completed the process reaches the total number of terminals (step S57), all search histories are transmitted to the server 30 via the router 20 (step S58), and the series of processes is terminated.

[0130] 16, when the CPU 21 of a terminal (eg, electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, 10-3) in the vicinity of the electronic dictionary 10 receives a connection request from the electronic dictionary 10 (step S61), the CPU 21 obtains its own terminal-specific ID and transmits it to the electronic dictionary 10 (step S62).

[0131] Here, the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 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 the search history is permitted based on the setting information (step S64). If the transmission of the search history is not permitted (NO in step S64), the process ends without doing anything. On the other hand, if the transmission of the 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.

[0132] Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the server 30. Fig. 18 is a diagram showing details of step S73 in Fig. 17. The operation here can be applied to any of the above-mentioned usage patterns (1) to (3).

[0133] 17, when the CPU 31 of the server 30 receives data of a plurality of documents transmitted 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 the number of documents before processing from the number of documents that have been processed (step S72), and performs the process of extracting topics from the target documents (step S73). Details of step S73 are shown in FIG. 18.

[0134] 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 (division into the smallest units called morphemes, assignment of 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).

[0135] Then, the CPU 31 of the server 30 performs topic modeling, for example, by LDA on the converted information (step S84), extracts various word sets classified based on the topic model (step S85), and assigns a topic corresponding to the word set if there is a word set that has a word that matches a representative word set in advance (step S86). That is, topics are extracted from the target document. This process is performed for each document.

[0136] 17, when the number of processed documents reaches the total number of documents (step S74), steps S75 to S78 are then performed 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 processed documents can be distinguished (step S75).

[0137] 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 ratio of various topics by, for example, count values, and determines whether there is a topic assigned to a word set that has a word that matches the representative word (step S76). If there is no assigned topic (NO in step S76), nothing in particular is done. On the other hand, if there is an assigned topic (YES in step S76), a predetermined amount of count value is added to the corresponding topic on the topic list (step S77). This process is performed for each document.

[0138] 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 field of interest information in the electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b (step S79), and transmits the field of interest information to the electronic dictionary 10 (step S80), thereby completing the series of processes.

[0139] 19 is a diagram showing an example of an operation of the electronic dictionary 10 acquiring the field of interest information from the server 30 and reflecting it in the search function of the dictionary. This operation can be applied to any of the above-mentioned usage patterns (1) to (3).

[0140] In the case of usage pattern (1) or usage pattern (2), when the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 receives the field of interest information transmitted from the server 30 (step S91), it stores the field of interest information in the field of interest information management data memory area 22g of the electronic dictionary 10 (step S92).

[0141] In the case of the usage pattern (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 slave electronic dictionaries 10-1, 10-2, and 10-3. As a result, the slave 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).

[0142] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the electronic dictionary 10 when the electronic dictionary 10 has the capability of generating field of interest information by itself.

[0143] The CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 executes a process of extracting topics from each document (step S101). The details of step S101 are the same as the processes of steps S81 to S86 in FIG. 18 described above, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

[0144] 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 ratio of various topics, for example, by count values, and it is determined whether or not there is a topic assigned to a word set having a word that matches the representative word (step S102). If there is no assigned topic (NO in step S102), nothing in particular is done. On the other hand, if there is an assigned topic (YES in step S102), a predetermined amount of count value is added to the corresponding topic on the topic list (step S103). Such processes are performed for each document.

[0145] 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 values ​​of each topic on the topic list, and stores this as field of interest information in the field of interest information management data storage area 22g (step S79), thereby completing the series of processes.

[0146] 21 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of displaying search results according to the field of interest information during a word search by the electronic dictionary 10. This operation can be applied to any of the above-mentioned usage patterns (1) to (3).

[0147] The CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 (or the electronic dictionary 10-1, 10-2, or 10-3) waits until a user operation instructs a word search (step S111).

[0148] 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).

[0149] An example of a data format for information that manages the meanings of words is shown in Fig. 22. Fig. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a data format for 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 "meaning 1 detailed meaning description" are managed as information related to the first meaning, and if the word has multiple meanings, information related to the second meaning, and in some cases information related to the third meaning, etc. are managed in the same format as the information related to the first meaning.

[0150] 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.

[0151] 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 is determined whether or not the multiple meanings include a meaning that belongs to a field of relatively high interest 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).

[0152] If there is no meaning that belongs to a field with a relatively high level of interest among the multiple meanings (NO in step S113), CPU 21 of electronic dictionary 10 displays the multiple meanings of the word in main display area 17M as usual (step S115). On the other hand, if there is a meaning that belongs to a field with a relatively high level of interest among the multiple meanings of the word (YES in step S113), the meaning that belongs to a field with a relatively high level of interest among the multiple meanings of the word is displayed in main display area 17M so as to stand out more than the other meanings (step S114).

[0153] In Fig. 21, the process of S112 can be omitted. In other words, even if a word has only one meaning, if the word has a meaning that belongs to a field with a relatively high level of interest in step S113, it can be displayed prominently, and if not, it can be displayed normally. If the process is to display words that belong to a field with a relatively high level of interest at the top, the result will be the same as the normal display, since there is only one meaning to display.

[0154] 21 has been described as 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.

[0155] Furthermore, although the case of searching for a word has been described in Fig. 21, the phrase to be searched is not limited to a single word, but may be an idiom, a collocation, a compound word, or a phrase to be searched for in a dictionary. When the searched phrase has multiple meanings, the process described in Fig. 21 is applied.

[0156] Fig. 23 is a diagram showing an example of an operation in which the server 30 generates content introduction information using the interest field information generated by the server 30 and transmits the content introduction information to the electronic dictionary 10. Fig. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a data format of dictionary content information referred to in the operation of Fig. 23. Fig. 25 is a diagram showing an example of an operation in which the electronic dictionary 10 performs display using the content introduction information transmitted from the server 30.

[0157] In FIG. 23, the CPU 31 of the server 30 derives the name of 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 dictionary content with the first to third highest interest levels) from the dictionary content information managing various dictionary contents, based on information indicating the proportion and ranking of the interest levels of various topics indicated in the already generated field of interest information (step S121).

[0158] An example of a data format of dictionary content information for managing various dictionary contents is shown in Fig. 24. 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.

[0159] 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 to introduce the corresponding content to the user.

[0160] 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, for example, in the electronic dictionary management data storage area 32b, and derives the names of dictionary content not yet installed in the electronic dictionary.

[0161] The CPU 31 of the server 30 transmits the content introduction information including the derived dictionary content name to the electronic dictionary 10 (step S122).

[0162] In FIG. 25, when the CPU 21 of the electronic dictionary 10 receives content introduction information transmitted from the server 30 (step S131), based on this content introduction information, it displays information introducing separately sold dictionary content and the like that is recommended for introduction in the main display area 17M (step S132).

[0163] <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.

[0164] 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 included 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, and 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. This makes it possible to provide the field of interest information and content introduction information to the 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 the part of the word search result of the electronic dictionary 10 that is estimated to be of relatively high interest to the user in accordance with the received field of interest information in a way that highlights it, or display the part that is recommended to introduce separately sold content that is not installed in accordance with the received content introduction information.

[0165] This usage pattern (1) makes it possible to improve the convenience of searching for words and the like in the electronic dictionary 10.

[0166] 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 an operation of the user 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 the 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.

[0167] This usage pattern (2) makes it possible to further improve the convenience of searching for words and the like in the electronic dictionary 10 by linking the portable information device 11 with the electronic dictionary 10.

[0168] In the usage form (3), the electronic dictionary 10 periodically acquires documents Dc from each of the 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 information on search history included 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, 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, in a way that highlights those parts, or can display a recommendation for the introduction of separately sold content that is not yet installed in accordance with the received content introduction information.

[0169] This usage pattern (3) provides common interest information and content introduction information to multiple users with 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.

[0170] As described above in detail, according to the embodiment, it is possible to improve the comfort of searching for words and the like in an electronic dictionary.

[0171] Each of 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 be distributed as a program that can be executed by a computer, stored in 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. Then, the computer (CPU) of each information device loads the program recorded in the medium of the external recording device into the storage device, and the operation is controlled by the loaded program, thereby realizing the various functions described in each embodiment and executing similar processing by the above-mentioned method.

[0172] In addition, the program data for realizing each technique 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 function.

[0173] 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 disclosed constituent elements. 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 described in the "Problem to be Solved by the Invention" column can be solved and the effect described 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 the invention.

[0174] The invention as originally claimed in this application is set forth below.

[0175] [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.

[0176] [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. Attachment 1: An electronic dictionary.

[0177] [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. 1. An electronic dictionary according to claim 1 or 2.

[0178] [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.

[0179] [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. An information processing system according to claim 4.

[0180] [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. An information processing system according to claim 4 or 5.

[0181] [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 transmitted to the electronic dictionary. 5. An information processing system according to claim 4.

[0182] [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. An information processing system according to claim 7.

[0183] [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.

[0184] [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. An information processing method as described in Supplementary Note 9.

[0185] [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.

[0186] [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 the above.

[0187] [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.

[0188] [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 according to claim 13.

[0189] [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. An electronic dictionary system according to claim 13 or 14.

[0190] [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.

[0191] [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.

[0192] [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.

[0193] [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. [Explanation of symbols]

[0194] 10. Electronic dictionary 11. Portable information devices 14...Keyboard 14a…[Home] key 14b...Function designation key 14c...Character input keys 14d…[Enter] key 14e…[Back] key 14f...cursor keys 14g…[Shift] key 14h…[History] key 14i…[Review Support] key 15...Audio output section (speaker) 16...Audio input section (microphone) 17...Touch panel 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… Area of ​​interest information management program 22g...Interest area information management data storage area 23...External recording medium (storage) 24...Recording medium reading unit 25…Communications Department 30…Server 31...Administration server CPU (processor) 32…Management server memory (storage) 32a…Management server program 32b...Electronic dictionary management data storage area 32c...Dictionary content data storage area 32d…Learning content data storage area 35…Administration server communication section N…Communication network (Internet)

Claims

1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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 .

5. 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.

6. 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.

6. The information processing system according to claim 5.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. A processor of an electronic device, 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 above.

14. 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.

15. 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.

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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

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