Patent ID: 7313516
Filing Date: 2007-12-25
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. An electronic dictionary terminal that is connectable to a dictionary server via a communication network, the electronic dictionary terminal comprising: a dictionary storage unit which stores dictionary data in which headwords and description content corresponding respectively to the headwords are associated with each other; a headword input unit via which a retrieval object word is input; a headword description display control unit which, when the retrieval object word corresponds to a headword in the dictionary data stored in the dictionary storage unit, performs control to read out and display the description content stored in the dictionary storage unit in association with the headword corresponding to the retrieval object word; a receiving unit which, when the retrieval object word does not correspond to a headword in the dictionary data stored in the dictionary storage unit, sends the retrieval object word to the dictionary server, and receives from the dictionary server: (i) names of dictionaries stored by the dictionary server which contain a headword corresponding to the retrieval object word and (ii) for each of the dictionaries which contain the headword corresponding to the retrieval object word, a quantity of information corresponding to the headword in the dictionary; a display control unit which displays, on a display, the received names of the dictionaries in order of the quantity of information corresponding to the headword in each of the dictionaries; a selector which selects one of the dictionaries whose names are displayed by the display control unit in accordance with an operation by a user, and which sends an instruction to the dictionary server; a network dictionary receiving unit which receives from the dictionary server, in response to the instruction sent by the selector, dictionary data containing the headword corresponding to the retrieval object word from the selected dictionary; and a dictionary display unit which displays, on the display, the dictionary data received by the network dictionary receiving unit.