Conversion device, communication apparatus, conversion method, and program

Abstract

This conversion device (20) comprises: an acquisition unit (221) that acquires a sentence in a first language, the sentence being displayed on an apparatus (30) used by a user (100); a first determination unit (225) that determines the level of ability of the user (100) to understand the first language; a conversion unit (222) that executes conversion of the sentence acquired by the acquisition unit (221) into a display mode that is determined in accordance with the level determined by the first determination unit (225); and an output unit (224) that outputs the sentence, the display mode of which has been converted by the conversion unit (222), to the apparatus (30).

Description

Conversion device, communication device, conversion method, and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a conversion device, a communication device, a conversion method, and a program.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for displaying a translated sentence in a position where an untranslated sentence is displayed when a sentence displayed on a device needs to be translated.

[0003] US Patent Application Publication No. 2011 / 0320938 Specification

[0004] As in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to display a translated sentence in a desired area, it is desirable that the number of characters of the untranslated sentence is close to the number of characters of the translated sentence.

[0005] Here, in general, Japanese or Chinese tends to have an increased number of characters when translated into Western languages. Further, on web pages and the like, the size of the area where a sentence is displayed can be freely changed, but in UI (User Interface) of home appliances and the like, the frame where a sentence is displayed is often fixed. Therefore, for example, when a Japanese sentence is translated into an English sentence and displayed in the frame where the Japanese sentence was originally displayed, it is necessary to reduce the character size for display, which causes a problem that the sentence becomes difficult for a user to read.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a conversion device and the like that can convert a sentence into an easy-to-read sentence for a user when displaying the sentence.

[0007] One aspect of the conversion device according to the present disclosure includes: an acquisition unit that acquires a sentence in a first language displayed on a device used by a user; a first determination unit that determines a level of the user's ability to understand the first language; a conversion unit that converts the sentence acquired by the acquisition unit into a display mode determined according to the level determined by the first determination unit; and an output unit that outputs the sentence whose display mode has been converted by the conversion unit to the device.

[0008] Furthermore, one embodiment of the conversion device according to this disclosure includes: an acquisition unit that acquires a sentence in a first language to be displayed on a device used by a user; a second determination unit that determines whether or not the sentence acquired by the acquisition unit is an important sentence; a conversion unit that, if the second determination unit determines that the sentence is not an important sentence, converts the display manner of the sentence acquired by the acquisition unit; and an output unit that outputs the sentence whose display manner has been converted by the conversion unit to the device.

[0009] Furthermore, one embodiment of the communication device relating to this disclosure is a communication device that communicates with the above-mentioned conversion device, comprising: a device acquisition unit that acquires a text whose display format has been converted and output by the conversion device; and a display unit that displays the text whose display format has been converted and acquired by the device acquisition unit and presents it to the user.

[0010] Furthermore, one embodiment of the conversion method relating to this disclosure is a computer-based conversion method comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring a sentence in a first language to be displayed on a device used by a user; a determination step of determining the level of the user's ability to understand the first language; a decision step of determining the display manner according to the level determined in the determination step; a conversion step of performing a conversion of the sentence acquired in the acquisition step to the display manner determined in the decision step; and an output step of outputting the sentence whose display manner has been converted in the conversion step to the device.

[0011] Furthermore, this disclosure can be implemented not only as the above-mentioned conversion method, but also as a program that causes a computer to execute the above-mentioned conversion method. Moreover, it can also be implemented as a computer-readable recording medium that stores the program.

[0012] The conversion device, communication device, conversion method, and program described herein make it possible to provide a conversion device, etc., that can convert text into text that is easy for the user to read when displaying it.

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a conversion system according to an embodiment. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the conversion system according to an embodiment. Figure 3 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the conversion device according to an embodiment. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of an importance management database according to an embodiment. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of a Japanese comprehension estimating database according to an embodiment. Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of a Japanese conversion database according to an embodiment. Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a Chinese comprehension estimating database according to a modification 1 of the embodiment. Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of a Chinese conversion database according to a modification 1 of the embodiment. Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen according to a modification 2 of the embodiment.

[0014] (Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the conversion device, communication device, conversion method, and program relating to this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below are all preferred specific examples of this disclosure. The numerical values, components, arrangement positions and connection configurations of components, steps, and the order of steps shown in the following embodiments are examples and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components not described in an independent claim will be described as any component constituting a preferred configuration.

[0015] Please note that each figure is a schematic diagram and not necessarily a strictly accurate representation. Furthermore, in each figure, substantially identical components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations may be omitted or simplified.

[0016] Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, ordinal numbers such as "first," "second," etc., in this disclosure do not refer to the number or order of components, etc., but are used for the purpose of avoiding confusion and distinguishing similar components, etc.

[0017] [Knowledge on which this disclosure is based] Generally, when Japanese or Chinese is translated into Western languages, the number of characters tends to increase. For example, when the Japanese sentence "Sentaku ni yomi" (laundry only) is translated into English, it becomes "Laundry only." In other words, while the original Japanese sentence had 4 characters, the number of characters increases to 12 after translation.

[0018] Let's consider the case where the original Japanese text is displayed within the frame of a button image on the washing machine's display. In such cases, due to UI constraints, the size of the button image frame cannot be changed. Therefore, the English text, which has increased in length due to translation, will be displayed with a smaller font size to fit within the original frame. In other words, it is difficult to display the translation result directly in the UI of home appliances.

[0019] Thus, when the font size is reduced, it becomes difficult for users to read the text, leading to a decrease in usability.

[0020] In some cases, translation is not necessary. For example, if a user cannot read kanji but has enough understanding of Japanese to read hiragana, it may be easier to understand if the text is converted to hiragana rather than translating the kanji, which would reduce the font size.

[0021] Furthermore, there is a level of information that needs to be conveyed regarding the functions of home appliances. In other words, home appliances have important main functions that must be reliably communicated and sub-functions that do not require such precise communication. Main functions require accurate translation, while sub-functions do not require relatively accurate translation. For such sub-functions, the decrease in user convenience can be minimized by converting them to a display format that does not reduce the font size.

[0022] Therefore, the inventors conceived of a conversion device that converts Japanese sentences into a display format determined according to the user's ability to understand Japanese, thereby converting sentences into text that is easy for the user to read.

[0023] [Overview] First, an overview of the conversion system according to the embodiment will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the conversion system 10 according to the embodiment.

[0024] As shown in Figure 1, the conversion system 10 comprises a conversion device 20 and one or more devices 30.

[0025] The conversion device 20 and one or more devices 30 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate via a wide-area communication network 40 such as the Internet. For example, device 30a used by user 100 communicates with the conversion device 20 via the wide-area communication network 40.

[0026] One or more devices 30 include, for example, household electrical appliances (hereinafter also referred to as home appliances, etc.) installed in a house 200. In Figure 1, a washing machine is shown as device 30a, a microwave oven as device 30b, and a tablet terminal as device 30c. Device 30 may be a vacuum cleaner such as a cleaning robot, or an air conditioning unit. As long as it can communicate with the conversion device 20 via the wide-area communication network 40, device 30 is not limited to home appliances, and its specific form is not particularly limited.

[0027] User 100 is a user of device 30. User 100 is a foreigner whose first language is not their native language. User 100 does not fully understand the first language.

[0028] The conversion device 20 communicates with the device 30 and converts sentences in the first language to be displayed on the device 30 used by the user 100 into a display format determined according to the user 100's level of ability to understand the first language, and displays it on the device 30.

[0029] As a result, the conversion system 10 converts the text displayed on each of the one or more devices 30 into a format that is easy for the user 100 using the one or more devices 30 to understand, and then displays it.

[0030] [Configuration] Next, the configuration of the conversion system 10 according to the embodiment will be described. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the conversion system 10 according to the embodiment.

[0031] The conversion system 10 is a system that converts sentences in the first language displayed on one or more devices 30 into a display format that is easy for a user 100 using one or more devices 30 to understand, and then displays them. Specifically, the conversion system 10 comprises a conversion device 20 and devices 30.

[0032] The conversion device 20 is a device that converts sentences in the first language into a display format that is easy for the user 100 to understand and outputs it to the device 30. The conversion device 20 is implemented, for example, by a cloud server. Specifically, the conversion device 20 comprises a communication unit 21, an information processing unit 22, and a storage unit 23.

[0033] The communication unit 21 is a communication circuit for the conversion device 20 to communicate with the equipment 30 via the wide-area communication network 40. The communication unit 21 is, for example, a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication, but it may also be a wired communication circuit for wired communication. The communication standard for the communication performed by the communication unit 21 is not particularly limited.

[0034] The information processing unit 22 performs information processing to convert sentences in the first language into a display format that is easy for the user 100 to understand and output them to the device 30. The information processing unit 22 is implemented by, for example, a microcomputer, but may also be implemented by a processor or dedicated circuit. The functions of the information processing unit 22 are realized, for example, by the hardware such as a microcomputer or processor constituting the information processing unit 22 executing a computer program (software) stored in the storage unit 23. Specifically, the information processing unit 22 includes an acquisition unit 221, a conversion unit 222, a translation unit 223, an output unit 224, a first determination unit 225, a second determination unit 226, and a third determination unit 227.

[0035] The acquisition unit 221 acquires a sentence in a first language that is displayed on the device 30 used by the user 100. The first language is, for example, Japanese. The sentence in the first language is a string of characters in the first language. The sentence in the first language may be a string of multiple words or a string of only one word.

[0036] Furthermore, the acquisition unit 221 may acquire information indicating a second language that the user 100 can understand. The second language may be, for example, the user 100's native language, but it may also be a predetermined language such as English.

[0037] The conversion unit 222 performs a conversion of the display mode of the text acquired by the acquisition unit 221. The conversion unit 222 performs a conversion to the display mode determined according to the level determined by the first determination unit 225.

[0038] The translation unit 223 translates the sentence in the first language obtained by the acquisition unit 221 into a sentence in the second language.

[0039] The output unit 224 outputs the text whose display format has been converted by the conversion unit 222 to the device 30.

[0040] The first determination unit 225 determines the level of the user 100's ability to understand the first language.

[0041] The second determination unit 226 determines whether the sentence obtained by the acquisition unit 221 is an important sentence.

[0042] The third determination unit 227 determines which is greater: the number of characters in the first language sentence acquired by the acquisition unit 221, or the number of characters in the second language sentence translated by the translation unit 223.

[0043] The memory unit 23 is a storage device that stores various information necessary for the operation of the conversion device 20. The information stored in the memory unit 23 includes an importance management database and a Japanese language comprehension proficiency estimation database. The memory unit 23 is implemented, for example, by semiconductor memory.

[0044] Furthermore, user information is stored in the storage unit 23. The user information is information relating to the user 100. The user information includes, for example, information used for estimating the user 100's ability to understand a first language, such as the length of stay of the user 100 in the country or the level of the Japanese language proficiency test of the user 100. The user information also includes information such as the family composition of the user 100 or a list of home appliances owned by the user 100. The user information further includes information indicating the native language of the user 100. The user information is set, for example, based on a questionnaire conducted in advance for the user 100.

[0045] The user information also includes information indicating a history of operations performed by the user 100 on the device 30. For example, the information indicating the operation history is acquired, as operation log information indicating an operation history of the device 30, from the device 30 used by the user 100. The user information further includes information indicating a history of operations performed by the user 100 on a plurality of devices 30 owned by the user 100. For example, in the user information, information indicating an operation history of a plurality of devices 30 associated with the same residence 200 is managed in association with the user 100.

[0046] The device 30 is a device used by the user 100. The device 30 is implemented by, for example, a home electric appliance. Specifically, the device 30 includes a communication unit 31, an information processing unit 32, a storage unit 33, and a display unit 34.

[0047] The communication unit 31 is a communication circuit for allowing the device 30 to communicate with the conversion device 20 via the wide area communication network 40. The communication unit 31 is, for example, a wireless communication circuit that performs wireless communication, but may also be a wired communication circuit that performs wired communication. The communication standard for communication performed by the communication unit 31 is not particularly limited.

[0048] The information processing unit 32 executes information processing and the like for the operation of the device 30. The information processing executed by the information processing unit 32 includes processing for causing the display unit 34 to display the converted sentence received from the conversion device 20, processing for transmitting information indicating a history of operations performed on the device 30 to the conversion device 20, and the like. The information processing unit 32 is implemented by, for example, a microcomputer, but may be implemented by a processor or a dedicated circuit. The function of the information processing unit 32 is implemented, for example, by hardware such as a microcomputer or a processor constituting the information processing unit 32 executing a computer program (software) stored in the storage unit 33.

[0049] The storage unit 33 is a storage device that stores a computer program executed by the information processing unit 32 and various types of information necessary for the information processing. The information stored in the storage unit 33 includes sentences in a first language displayed on the display unit 34 of the device 30. The storage unit 33 is implemented by, for example, a semiconductor memory.

[0050] The display unit 34 displays various screens. For example, when a user 100 uses the device 30, visually recognizable sentences are displayed on the display unit 34. The display unit 34 is implemented by, for example, a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) panel.

[0051] [Operation] Japanese is a language that has ideographic characters in addition to phonetic characters. Therefore, since each character in a Japanese sentence can have its own meaning, the number of characters tends to increase when the sentence is translated into a European or American language.

[0052] When the first language is Japanese, the conversion device 20 according to the embodiment can convert a Japanese sentence into a display mode that is easy for the user 100 to understand while suppressing an increase in the number of characters. Hereinafter, the operation of such a conversion device 20 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the conversion device according to the embodiment.

[0053] First, the acquisition unit 221 acquires a Japanese sentence to be displayed on the display unit 34 of the device 30 (S101).

[0054] For example, the information processing unit 32 of the device 30 transmits information indicating a sentence to be displayed in Japanese, stored in the storage unit 33, to the conversion device 20 using the communication unit 31. The acquisition unit 221 acquires the Japanese sentence to be displayed by acquiring the information transmitted by the device 30.

[0055] For example, the information processing unit 32 of the device 30 transmits information indicating the model number of the device 30 to the conversion device 20. The acquisition unit 221 of the conversion device 20 obtains the Japanese text to be displayed on the device 30 by referring to the list of displayed texts stored in the storage unit 23 based on the received information indicating the model number of the device 30.

[0056] When a Japanese sentence is acquired, the translation unit 223 translates it into the user 100's native language (S102). The acquisition unit 221 acquires information indicating the user 100's native language, and the translation unit 223 translates the acquired Japanese sentence into the user 100's native language acquired by the acquisition unit 221. The acquisition unit 221 acquires the user 100's native language, for example, by referring to user information stored in the storage unit 23. The translation unit 223 translates the Japanese sentence into the user 100's native language, for example, by using a translation algorithm. The translation unit 223 also translates the Japanese sentence into the user 100's native language, for example, by referring to a database stored in the storage unit 23 that associates the original sentence with the translated sentence.

[0057] The translation unit 223 may, instead of translating into the user 100's native language, perform translation into a predetermined language such as English or Spanish.

[0058] Next, the third determination unit 227 determines whether the number of characters has increased (S103). The third determination unit 227 compares the number of characters in the Japanese sentence obtained in step S101 with the number of characters in the user 100's native language sentence translated in step S102, and determines that the number of characters has increased if the number of characters in the translated sentence is greater.

[0059] If the third determination unit 227 determines that the number of characters has not increased (No in S103), the process proceeds to step S109, and the output unit 224 outputs the text to the device 30. At this time, the output unit 224 outputs the text translated into the user 100's native language to the device 30. The information processing unit 32 of the device 30 displays the text translated into the user 100's native language on the display unit 34.

[0060] Thus, if the number of characters does not increase due to translation, the conversion device 20 can display the translated text without reducing the font size.

[0061] If the third determination unit 227 determines that the number of characters has increased (Yes in S103), the process proceeds to step S104, where the second determination unit 226 determines whether the sentence acquired by the acquisition unit 221 is a sentence of high importance (S104). For example, the second determination unit 226 determines whether the sentence is of high importance by referring to the importance management database stored in the storage unit 23. The importance management database is a database in which Japanese sentences are associated with the importance level of the sentence. Figure 4 shows an example of the importance management database 50 according to the embodiment.

[0062] In the importance management database 50 shown in Figure 4, "Japanese sentences / words," "functions," and "importance levels" are associated. "Japanese sentences / words" are information indicating Japanese sentences displayed on the display unit 34, or keywords contained in those sentences. "Functions" are information indicating attributes assigned to the sentences. For example, "safety" is an attribute assigned to sentences that contain information for the safe use of the equipment 30. "Importance levels" are information indicating the importance of the associated sentences. For example, in the importance management database 50 shown in Figure 4, the sentence "automatic," which is a "basic" function, is associated with an importance level of "high."

[0063] The importance management database 50 is pre-configured. For example, the developer of the device 30 determines the importance level for each sentence displayed on the device 30 in advance and creates the importance management database 50. The importance level may be determined for each sentence, or it may be determined based on the "function" of the sentence, such as basic function or safety / hazard information.

[0064] Furthermore, the importance management database 50 may be updated as needed. In addition, the importance management database 50 may be configured for each user 100.

[0065] Specifically, the conversion device 20 may acquire information indicating the history of operations performed by user 100 on the device 30, and update the importance management database 50 stored in the storage unit 23 based on the acquired information indicating the history of operations. For example, in the importance management database 50 for user 100 who does laundry more frequently than usual, the conversion device 20 sets the importance associated with the sentence "eco" to "high". Also, for example, the conversion device 20 sets the importance associated with sentences corresponding to operations performed by many users, including other users, to "high".

[0066] Specifically, the conversion device 20 may update the importance management database 50 based on user information. For example, if user 100 has children, the importance level associated with the phrase "child lock" may be set to "high," and if user 100 does not have children, the importance level associated with the phrase "child lock" may be set to "low." In other words, the conversion device 20 can personalize the importance management database 50 for user 100.

[0067] The method for setting up the importance management database 50 is not limited to the above.

[0068] The second determination unit 226 determines that a sentence to which "high" is associated with "importance" is a sentence of high importance, and determines that a sentence to which "low" is associated with "importance" is a sentence of low importance.

[0069] If the second determination unit 226 determines that the sentence is of high importance (Yes in S104), the process proceeds to step S109, and the output unit 224 outputs the sentence to the device 30. At this time, the output unit 224 outputs the sentence translated into the user 100's native language to the device 30. The information processing unit 32 of the device 30 displays the translated sentence in the user 100's native language on the display unit 34.

[0070] In this way, if the sentence is of high importance, the conversion device 20 can more accurately convey the meaning of the sentence to the user 100 by displaying the translated sentence in the user 100's native language.

[0071] If the second determination unit 226 determines that the sentence is of low importance (No in S104), the process proceeds to step S105, where the first determination unit 225 determines the level of user 100's Japanese comprehension (S105). More specifically, the first determination unit 225 determines which of the four levels of Japanese comprehension user 100 falls into, in descending order of Japanese comprehension: "high level," "medium level," "low level," and "lowest level."

[0072] Specifically, "high level" is the level where one can read and understand simple kanji. "Medium level" is the level where one cannot read simple kanji but can read hiragana. "Low level" is the level where one cannot read Japanese sentences but can understand them by listening to them. "Lowest level" is the level where one cannot understand Japanese even by listening to it.

[0073] Specifically, the first determination unit 225 determines the level of user 100's Japanese language comprehension by referring to user information stored in the memory unit 23. The first determination unit 225 determines the level of user 100's Japanese language comprehension based on information used to estimate user 100's ability to understand Japanese, which is included in the user information. The information used to estimate user 100's ability to understand Japanese includes at least one of the following: information indicating the results of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test that user 100 has taken in the past; information indicating the results of a kanji quiz given to user 100 by the conversion device 20; information regarding user 100's country of origin (for example, if the country of origin is China, it can be estimated that the user can read kanji); and information indicating the length of time user 100 has lived in Japan.

[0074] Specifically, the first determination unit 225 determines the user 100's level of Japanese comprehension by referring to the Japanese comprehension estimation database stored in the storage unit 23, based on information indicating the history of operations performed by the user 100 on the device 30. The Japanese comprehension estimation database is a database in which the content of operations is associated with the level of Japanese comprehension. Figure 5 shows an example of the Japanese comprehension estimation database 60 according to the embodiment.

[0075] In the Japanese language comprehension estimation database 60 shown in Figure 5, "frequently used courses, settings, and appliance usage" are associated with "levels of Japanese language comprehension." For example, regarding washing machine operation, the "bath water" mode is associated with a "high" level of Japanese language comprehension. This indicates that user 100, who frequently uses the "bath water" mode, is presumed to be deeply familiar with Japanese culture and have a high level of Japanese language comprehension ability. Similarly, regarding microwave oven operation, the "sake warming" mode is associated with a "low" level of Japanese language comprehension. This indicates that user 100, who frequently uses the "sake warming" mode, is somewhat familiar with Japanese culture and has a low level of Japanese language comprehension ability. Thus, the Japanese language comprehension estimation database 60 indicates that frequent use of functions (operating modes) specific to Japanese culture can be presumed to indicate a high level of Japanese language comprehension.

[0076] In this way, the Japanese language comprehension estimation database 60 associates the content of an operation with a level of Japanese language comprehension. For example, the first determination unit 225 determines that the user 100's level of Japanese language comprehension is "high" if the "bath water" mode is used frequently in the information showing the history of acquired operations.

[0077] Here, the first determination unit 225 may determine the user 100's level of Japanese comprehension based on the user 100's operation history with other devices 30 owned by the user 100 when displaying a sentence on the device 30.

[0078] The first determination unit 225 may also determine the user 100's level of Japanese comprehension based on other information. For example, if the conversion device 20 communicates with a terminal device such as a smartphone used by the user 100, and the keyboard settings of the terminal device are set to Japanese input keyboard settings, the first determination unit 225 may determine that the user 100 has a high level of Japanese comprehension. Also, for example, if the information showing the operation history of the device 30 indicates that the user has used many basic functions, the first determination unit 225 may estimate that the user 100 is not proficient in operating the device 30 and determine that the user 100 has a low level of Japanese comprehension.

[0079] Next, the conversion unit 222 performs the conversion of the Japanese sentence into a display mode determined according to the level determined by the first determination unit 225.

[0080] If the first determination unit 225 determines that user 100's Japanese comprehension level is "high," the conversion unit 222 translates only the difficult kanji characters in the Japanese sentence (S106). In other words, the conversion unit 222 translates only the difficult kanji characters in the Japanese sentence acquired by the acquisition unit 221 in step S101. To put it another way, if it is determined that user 100 can read and understand simple kanji characters, only the difficult kanji characters in the Japanese sentence are translated.

[0081] If the first determination unit 225 determines that the user 100's Japanese comprehension level is "intermediate," the conversion unit 222 converts the kanji in the Japanese sentence to hiragana (S107). In other words, the conversion unit 222 converts the kanji in the Japanese sentence obtained by the acquisition unit 221 in step S101 to hiragana. To put it another way, if it is determined that the user 100 cannot read simple kanji but can read hiragana, the conversion unit converts the kanji in the Japanese sentence to hiragana.

[0082] If the first determination unit 225 determines that the user 100's Japanese comprehension level is "low," the conversion unit 222 converts the Japanese sentence into Roman letters (S108). In other words, the conversion unit 222 converts the Japanese sentence acquired by the acquisition unit 221 in step S101 into Roman letters. To put it another way, if it is determined that the user 100 cannot read the Japanese sentence but can understand it by listening to the sound, the Japanese sentence is converted into Roman letters.

[0083] If the first determination unit 225 determines that the user 100's Japanese comprehension ability is at the "lowest level", the process proceeds to step S109, and the output unit 224 outputs a sentence to the device 30. At this time, the output unit 224 outputs, to the device 30, the sentence translated into the user 100's native language. The information processing unit 32 of the device 30 causes the display unit 34 to display the sentence translated into the user 100's native language. As described above, when it is determined that the user 100 cannot understand Japanese even when hearing it aurally, the conversion device 20 can cause a sentence that the user 100 can understand to be displayed.

[0084] The conversion of the display mode of a Japanese sentence in the processes of steps S106 to S108 will be specifically described below. The conversion unit 222 converts the display mode of a Japanese sentence, for example, by referring to a Japanese conversion database. The Japanese conversion database is a database in which, for each Japanese sentence, a sentence after conversion of display mode is associated with each level of Japanese comprehension ability. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the Japanese conversion database 70 according to the embodiment. The Japanese conversion database 70 shown in FIG. 6 is a database for a case where the native language of the user 100 is English.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 6, for example, for the Japanese sentence "槽洗浄 (tank cleaning)", "Tank洗浄" is associated with the "high" level of Japanese comprehension ability. In other words, a display mode obtained by translating only "槽", which is a difficult kanji character, in "槽洗浄" is associated. Further, for the Japanese sentence "槽洗浄", "そうせんじょう" is associated with the "medium" level of Japanese comprehension ability. In other words, a display mode obtained by converting the kanji characters of "槽洗浄" into hiragana is associated. Further, for the Japanese sentence "槽洗浄", "So‐Senjo" is associated with the "low" level of Japanese comprehension ability. In other words, a display mode obtained by converting "槽洗浄" into roman letters is associated. Further, for the Japanese sentence "槽洗浄", "Tank cleaning" is associated with the "lowest" level of Japanese comprehension ability. In other words, a display mode obtained by translating "槽洗浄" into the user 100's native language is associated.

[0086] In this way, the conversion unit 222 converts the Japanese sentence containing kanji obtained by the acquisition unit 221 into a display mode that corresponds to the user 100's level of ability to understand Japanese. Specifically, the conversion unit 222 converts the Japanese sentence into one of several display modes, including a display mode in which only difficult kanji are translated, a display mode in which kanji are converted to hiragana, and a display mode in which kanji are converted to Roman letters.

[0087] Furthermore, the higher the user's level of Japanese comprehension, the more likely it is that the text will be displayed in shorter sentences, thus preventing the font size from being reduced.

[0088] As shown in steps S106 to S108, when the conversion unit 222 converts the Japanese sentence into a display format determined according to the user 100's level of Japanese comprehension ability, the output unit 224 outputs the sentence whose display format has been converted by the conversion unit 222 to the device 30. The information processing unit 32 of the device 30 acquires the sentence whose display format has been converted output by the conversion device 20, and displays the acquired sentence whose display format has been converted on the display unit 34, presenting it to the user 100.

[0089] In this way, the conversion device 20 can convert Japanese sentences into a display format determined according to the user 100's Japanese language comprehension level and display them on the device 30.

[0090] Therefore, the conversion device 20 can convert text into a format that is easy for the user to read when displaying it.

[0091] It is not mandatory for the processing in step S102 or step S103 to be performed. Also, it is sufficient if at least one of the processing in step S104 or step S105 is executed. If the processing in step S105 is not executed, it is determined whether or not to perform the conversion to a predetermined display mode based on the result of the processing in step S104.

[0092] [Modification 1] In the above embodiment, the conversion device 20 performed the conversion of Japanese sentences, but the conversion device 20 may also perform the conversion of Chinese sentences.

[0093] Like Japanese, Chinese is a language that uses ideograms. Therefore, when Chinese sentences are translated into Western languages, the number of characters tends to increase.

[0094] In other words, even when the first language is Chinese, the conversion device 20 can convert the text into a display format that is easy for the user 100 to understand, while suppressing an increase in the number of characters, by replacing "Japan" with "China" in the operation described above.

[0095] At this time, the conversion device 20 uses the Chinese comprehension estimating database instead of the Japanese comprehension estimating database 60. The Chinese comprehension estimating database is a database in which the content of the operation is associated with the level of Chinese comprehension. Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the Chinese comprehension estimating database 61 according to the first modified embodiment.

[0096] In the Chinese language comprehension estimation database 61 shown in Figure 7, "frequently used courses, settings, and appliance usage" are associated with "level of Chinese language comprehension." For example, regarding the operation of an automatic cooking appliance, "high frequency of spicy recipes" is associated with a "high" level of Chinese language comprehension. This indicates that user 100, who frequently uses spicy recipes, enjoys eating spicy food, is deeply familiar with Chinese culture, and can be estimated to have a high level of Chinese language comprehension. Similarly, regarding the operation of an automatic cooking appliance, "high frequency of sour recipes" is associated with a "medium" level of Chinese language comprehension. This indicates that user 100, who frequently uses sour recipes, enjoys eating sour food, is somewhat familiar with Chinese culture, and can be estimated to have a medium level of Chinese language comprehension. Thus, the Chinese language comprehension estimation database 61 indicates that frequent use of functions (operating modes) specific to Chinese culture can be estimated to indicate a high level of Chinese language comprehension.

[0097] As described above, in the Chinese comprehension estimation database 61, the content of an operation is associated with a Chinese comprehension level. For example, if the acquired information indicating the operation history shows "high frequency of spicy flavor recipes", the first determination unit 225 determines that the Chinese comprehension level of the user 100 is "high level".

[0098] Furthermore, the conversion device 20 uses a Chinese conversion database instead of the Japanese conversion database 70. The Chinese conversion database is a database in which, for each Chinese sentence, the sentence after its display mode has been converted is associated with each Chinese comprehension level. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the Chinese conversion database 71 according to the first modification of the embodiment.

[0099] As shown in FIG. 8, for example, for the Chinese sentence "清洗槽清洗", "Tank cleaning" is associated with the "high" Chinese comprehension level. That is, a display mode obtained by translating only "清洗槽", which is a difficult Chinese character, in "清洗槽清洗" is associated with the level. Further, for the Chinese sentence "清洗槽清洗", the "medium" Chinese comprehension level is associated as follows.

[0100]

[0101] That is, a display mode obtained by converting the Chinese characters of "清洗槽清洗" into pinyin is associated with the level. Further, for the Chinese sentence "清洗槽清洗", "qing xi cao qing xi" is associated with the "low" Chinese comprehension level. That is, a display mode obtained by converting "清洗槽清洗" into Roman letters is associated with the level. Further, for the Chinese sentence "清洗槽清洗", "Tank cleaning" is associated with the "lowest" Chinese comprehension level. That is, a display mode obtained by translating "清洗槽清洗" into the native language of the user 100 is associated with the level.

[0102] In this way, the conversion unit 222 converts the Chinese sentence containing Chinese characters acquired by the acquisition unit 221 into one of several display modes, including a display mode in which only difficult Chinese characters are translated, a display mode in which the Chinese characters are converted to pinyin, and a display mode in which they are converted to romaji, in a display mode that corresponds to the user 100's level of ability to understand Chinese.

[0103] Furthermore, the higher the user's level of Chinese comprehension, the more likely it is that the text will be displayed in shorter sentences, thus preventing the font size from being reduced.

[0104] Such a conversion device 20 can convert and display Chinese text in a display format that corresponds to the user 100's level of understanding of Chinese.

[0105] Therefore, the conversion device 20 can convert text into a format that is easy for the user to read when displaying it.

[0106] [Modification 2] In the above embodiment, the conversion unit 222 converted the Japanese text displayed on the device 30 into text in a display format determined according to the user 100's level of Japanese comprehension ability. However, the conversion unit 222 may perform conversion to an image instead of text.

[0107] For example, if the first determination unit 225 determines that the user 100's level of Japanese comprehension is at the "lowest level," the conversion unit 222 may convert the Japanese text into an image that represents the content of the Japanese text. At this time, the display unit 34 displays the image that represents the content of the Japanese text. Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen 80 according to a modified example 2 of the embodiment.

[0108] Figure 9 shows the display screen 80 shown on the display unit 34 of the washing machine 30. As shown in Figure 9, the function of each operation button is represented by an image. For example, the "night" mode, used when doing laundry at night, is represented by a picture of a "moon," and the "powerful" mode, used when clothes are heavily soiled, is represented by a picture of "clothes with mud stains."

[0109] In this way, by converting the content of the text into an image, the user 100 can be visually presented with the content of the operation corresponding to the operation button, regardless of the user's level of Japanese comprehension.

[0110] Such a conversion device 20 can convert text into an image that the user can understand when displaying it.

[0111] [Effects, etc.] The technologies derived from the disclosures in this specification include, for example, the following technologies. The technologies derived from the disclosures in this specification will be described below, along with the effects, etc., that can be obtained by such technologies.

[0112] Technology 1 is a conversion device 20 comprising: an acquisition unit 221 that acquires sentences in a first language to be displayed on a device 30 used by a user 100; a first determination unit 225 that determines the level of the user 100's ability to understand the first language; a conversion unit 222 that performs a conversion of the sentences acquired by the acquisition unit 221 to a display mode determined according to the level determined by the first determination unit 225; and an output unit 224 that outputs the sentences whose display mode has been converted by the conversion unit 222 to the device 30.

[0113] Such a conversion device 20 can convert a sentence in the first language into a display format determined according to the user's (user's) understanding of the first language, and display it on the device 30. Therefore, when displaying a sentence, the conversion device 20 can convert it into a sentence that is easy for the user to read.

[0114] Technology 2 further includes a second determination unit 226 that determines whether the sentence acquired by the acquisition unit 221 is an important sentence, and the conversion unit 222 is the conversion device 20 of Technology 1 that performs a conversion when the second determination unit 226 determines that the sentence is not an important sentence.

[0115] Such a conversion device 20 can convert sentences in the first language to a display mode determined according to the user 100's ability to understand the first language, and then display them on the device 30, for sentences that are not important to the device 30. Since such a conversion device 20 can suppress the reduction in font size, it can contribute to improving the convenience of the user 100 when using the device 30.

[0116] Technology 3 is a conversion device 20 according to Technology 1 or 2, further comprising: an acquisition unit 221 that acquires information indicating a second language which is a language that the user 100 can understand; a translation unit 223 that translates the sentence in the first language acquired by the acquisition unit 221 into a sentence in the second language; and a third determination unit 227 that determines whether the number of characters in the sentence in the first language acquired by the acquisition unit 221 or the number of characters in the sentence in the second language translated by the translation unit 223 is greater; and a conversion unit 222 that performs the conversion when the third determination unit 227 determines that the number of characters in the sentence in the second language is greater than the number of characters in the sentence in the first language.

[0117] Such a conversion device 20 can prevent the font size from being reduced by converting the display mode when the number of characters increases due to translation.

[0118] Technology 4 is a conversion device 20 according to any of technologies 1 to 3, in which the first determination unit 225 determines the level based on information about the user 100 obtained in advance from the user 100.

[0119] Such a conversion device 20 can determine the level of the user's ability to understand the first language, reflecting the user's situation, based on information about the user 100 acquired in advance.

[0120] Technology 5 is a conversion device 20 according to any of technologies 1 to 4, wherein the acquisition unit 221 acquires operation log information showing the operation history of the device 30 from the device 30, and the first determination unit 225 determines the level based on the operation log information.

[0121] Based on the operation log information of the device 30, such a conversion device 20 can determine the level of the user 100's ability to understand the first language, reflecting the user's lifestyle.

[0122] Technology 6 is a conversion device 20 according to any of Technologies 1 to 5, wherein the first language has ideographic characters and phonetic characters, and the conversion unit 222 performs conversion of a sentence in the first language, including ideographic characters acquired by the acquisition unit 221, into one of a plurality of display modes, including a first display mode in which only a part of the sentence is translated, a second display mode in which the sentence is converted into phonetic characters, and a third display mode in which the sentence is converted into Roman letters.

[0123] Such a conversion device 20 can convert sentences in the first language into a display format that takes into account the tendencies of the first language and display them on the device 30.

[0124] Technology 7 is a conversion device 20 of Technology 6, in which the levels include a first level, a second level lower than the first level, and a third level lower than the second level, and the conversion unit 222 performs a conversion to a first display mode when the first determination unit 225 determines it to be the first level, performs a conversion to a second display mode when the first determination unit 225 determines it to be the second level, and performs a conversion to a third display mode when the first determination unit 225 determines it to be the third level.

[0125] Such a conversion device 20 can convert sentences in the first language into a display format determined according to the user 100's understanding of the first language, and display them on the device 30.

[0126] Technology 8 is a conversion device 20 comprising: an acquisition unit 221 that acquires a sentence in a first language to be displayed on a device 30 used by a user 100; a second determination unit 226 that determines whether the sentence acquired by the acquisition unit 221 is an important sentence; a conversion unit 222 that converts the display mode of the sentence acquired by the acquisition unit 221 if the second determination unit 226 determines that the sentence is not an important sentence; and an output unit 224 that outputs the sentence whose display mode has been converted by the conversion unit 222 to the device 30.

[0127] Such a conversion device 20 can convert the display format of non-essential first language sentences displayed on the device 30 and display them on the device 30.

[0128] Technology 9 is a communication device 30 that communicates with any of the conversion devices 20 of technologies 1 to 8, and comprises a device acquisition unit that acquires a converted text whose display format is output by the conversion device 20, and a display unit 34 that displays the converted text acquired by the device acquisition unit and presents it to the user 100. The information processing unit 32 in the above embodiment is an example of a device acquisition unit.

[0129] Such a communication device 30 can present to the user 100 a text whose display format has been converted by the conversion device 20.

[0130] Technology 10 is a computer-based conversion method comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring a sentence in a first language to be displayed on a device 30 used by a user 100; a determination step of determining the level of the user 100's ability to understand the first language; a determination step of determining the display mode according to the level determined in the determination step; a conversion step of performing a conversion of the sentence acquired in the acquisition step to the display mode determined in the determination step; and an output step of outputting the sentence whose display mode has been converted in the conversion step to the device 30.

[0131] This conversion method allows a sentence in the first language to be converted into a display format determined according to the user's (100) first language comprehension level and displayed on the device (30). Therefore, this conversion method can convert the sentence into a format that is easy for the user to read when displaying it.

[0132] Technology 11 is a program that causes a computer to execute the conversion method of Technology 10.

[0133] Such programs can help convert text into user-friendly language when displaying it.

[0134] (Other Embodiments) Although embodiments have been described above, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above.

[0135] For example, in the above embodiment, the first language was a language with ideographic characters, but the first language is not limited to a language with ideographic characters and may be any language.

[0136] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, for example, the conversion system was implemented by multiple devices. When the conversion system is implemented by multiple devices in this way, the components of the conversion system (especially the functional components) may be distributed among the multiple devices in any manner.

[0137] Furthermore, the communication method between devices in the above embodiment is not particularly limited. In addition, relay devices (such as gateway devices), which are not shown, may be involved in the communication between devices.

[0138] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the processing performed by a specific processing unit may be performed by another processing unit. Also, the order of multiple processing units may be changed, or multiple processing units may be executed in parallel.

[0139] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each component may be realized by executing a software program suitable for that component. Each component may also be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

[0140] Furthermore, each component may be implemented by hardware. For example, each component may be a circuit (or integrated circuit). These circuits may form a single circuit as a whole, or they may be separate circuits. Also, each of these circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit.

[0141] Furthermore, the general or specific embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented as a system, apparatus, method, integrated circuit, computer program, or recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM. They may also be implemented in any combination of systems, apparatus, methods, integrated circuits, computer programs, and recording media.

[0142] Furthermore, this disclosure may be implemented as a conversion method executed by a computer, such as the conversion system (conversion device) of the above embodiment, or as a program (in other words, a computer program product) for causing a computer to execute the conversion method. Alternatively, this disclosure may be implemented as a computer-readable non-temporary recording medium on which such a program is recorded.

[0143] Furthermore, this disclosure also includes forms obtained by applying various modifications to each embodiment that a person skilled in the art could conceive, or forms realized by arbitrarily combining the components and functions of each embodiment without departing from the spirit of this disclosure.

[0144] This disclosure is applicable to a display device that translates or converts text to be displayed on the device.

[0145] 10 Conversion system 20 Conversion device 21 Communication unit 22 Information processing unit 221 Acquisition unit 222 Conversion unit 223 Translation unit 224 Output unit 225 First determination unit 226 Second determination unit 227 Third determination unit 23 Storage unit 30, 30a, 30b, 30c Equipment (communication equipment) 31 Communication unit 32 Information processing unit (equipment acquisition unit) 33 Storage unit 34 Display unit 40 Wide-area communication network 50 Importance management database 60 Japanese comprehension estimation database 61 Chinese comprehension estimation database 70 Japanese conversion database 71 Chinese conversion database 80 Display screen 100 User 200 Housing

Claims

1. A conversion device comprising: an acquisition unit for acquiring a sentence in a first language to be displayed on a device used by a user; a first determination unit for determining the user's level of ability to understand the first language; a conversion unit for performing a conversion of the sentence acquired by the acquisition unit into a display mode determined according to the level determined by the first determination unit; and an output unit for outputting the sentence, whose display mode has been converted by the conversion unit, to the device.

2. The conversion device according to claim 1, further comprising a second determination unit that determines whether the sentence obtained by the acquisition unit is an important sentence, wherein the conversion unit performs the conversion when the second determination unit determines that the sentence is not an important sentence.

3. The conversion device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a second language which is a language that the user can understand; a translation unit that translates a sentence in the first language acquired by the acquisition unit into a sentence in the second language; and a third determination unit that determines whether the number of characters in the sentence in the first language acquired by the acquisition unit or the number of characters in the sentence in the second language translated by the translation unit is greater; and the conversion unit performs the conversion when the third determination unit determines that the number of characters in the sentence in the second language is greater than the number of characters in the sentence in the first language.

4. The conversion device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first determination unit determines the level based on information about the user obtained in advance from the user.

5. The conversion device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the acquisition unit acquires operation log information indicating the operation history of the device from the device, and the first determination unit determines the level based on the operation log information.

6. The conversion device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first language comprises ideographic characters and phonetic characters, and the conversion unit performs a conversion of a sentence in the first language obtained by the acquisition unit using ideographic characters to one of a plurality of display modes, including a first display mode in which only a part of the sentence is translated, a second display mode in which the sentence is converted into phonetic characters, and a third display mode in which the sentence is converted into Roman letters.

7. The conversion device according to claim 6, wherein the levels include a first level, a second level lower than the first level, and a third level lower than the second level, and the conversion unit performs a conversion to the first display mode when the first determination unit determines it to be the first level, performs a conversion to the second display mode when the first determination unit determines it to be the second level, and performs a conversion to the third display mode when the first determination unit determines it to be the third level.

8. A conversion device comprising: an acquisition unit for acquiring a sentence in a first language to be displayed on a device used by a user; a second determination unit for determining whether the sentence acquired by the acquisition unit is an important sentence; a conversion unit for converting the display manner of the sentence acquired by the acquisition unit when the second determination unit determines that the sentence is not an important sentence; and an output unit for outputting the sentence whose display manner has been converted by the conversion unit to the device.

9. A communication device that communicates with a conversion device according to claim 1 or 8, comprising: a device acquisition unit that acquires a text whose display form has been converted and output by the conversion device; and a display unit that displays the text whose display form has been converted and acquired by the device acquisition unit and presents it to the user.

10. A computer-based conversion method comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring a sentence in a first language to be displayed on a device used by a user; a determination step of determining the level of the user's ability to understand the first language; a decision step of determining the display mode according to the level determined in the determination step; a conversion step of performing a conversion of the sentence acquired in the acquisition step to the display mode determined in the decision step; and an output step of outputting the sentence whose display mode has been converted in the conversion step to the device.

11. A program for causing a computer to execute the conversion method described in claim 10.

Images