Information Providing Device, Information Providing Method, and Computer Program

• US 20140195218A1
• Filed: 04/02/2012
• Published: 07/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pijin Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Pijin Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Maeda, Kenichi, Takaoka, Kenji, Yano, Takao, Iwashima, Masayasu, Geng, Zhichen
• Granted Patent: US 9,424,252 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/93 Document management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9554 by using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/47 Machine-assisted translation, e.g. using translation memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

An information providing device: saves a posted document and respective electronic files of a translation thereof in one or more other languages, in association with one another; issues a code image including a two-dimensional code created by encoding a two-dimensional code character string for identifying the electronic file associated with the same identification information; receives, from a user terminal device that accesses the electronic file by decoding the two-dimensional code from the document on which the code image is printed, character code data indicating the language set in the user terminal device, and transmits the electronic file of the translation translated into the language indicated by the character code data to the user terminal device together with information that indicates the posting place of the document, thereby providing the translation and the information that indicates the posting place of the document.

Claims

1. An information providing device, comprising:

document saving means for saving a document that is posted in a given posting place and respective electronic files of a translation of the document in one or more other languages, in association with the same identification information;

recording means for recording a character string for identifying each of the electronic files and location information for allowing visual recognition of the given posting place of the document;

code image issuing means for issuing a code image including a character string image obtained by encoding the character string; and

control means for receiving character code data indicating a particular language from a terminal device, which accesses the relevant electronic file by decoding the character string from the document where the code image is printed or attached and which comprises a display device, for extracting from the document saving means the electronic file of the translation in the particular language that is indicated by the character code data, for extracting from the recording means the location information that indicates the given posting place of an original document of the translation, and for transmitting the extracted electronic file and the extracted location information to the terminal device so that the extracted electronic file and the extracted location information are displayed on the display device.

2. The information providing device according to claim 1, further comprising translation document generating means for detecting a layout of the original document prior to translation, and for editing the translation in the particular language indicated by the character code data to give the electronic file of the translation the same layout,

wherein a content of the electronic file is transmitted to the terminal device.

3. The information providing device according to claim 1,

wherein the code image issuing means generates the code image by combining the character string image with encoded language images, which indicate languages into which the document associated with the electronic file that is identified by the character string is translated, and

wherein one of the encoded language images is selected so that the electronic file of the translation in the language of the selected one of the encoded language images is selectable.

4. The information providing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an interface for connecting to crowdsourcing human translation; and

quotation processing means for executing processing of quoting cost of translating the posted document in a list of translation languages by the crowdsourcing human translation.

5. The information providing device according to claim 4, further comprising machine translation means for translating the document into another language by machine translation and generating an electronic file of the resultant translation,

wherein one of the crowdsourcing human translation and the machine translation is selectable, and

wherein the code image issuing means includes, in the code image, an image indicating whether the translation has been performed by the crowdsourcing human translation or by the machine translation.

6. The information providing device according to claim 1, further comprising audio file saving means for saving the electronic file of the translation in association with an audio file that represents audio of the translation,

wherein the control means displays the electronic file on the display device of the terminal device along with a reproduction code image for playing the audio file that is associated with the electronic file.

7. An upload device for uploading, to the information providing device according to claim 1, the document and the location information, the upload device comprising:

communication control means for holding communication to/from the information providing device;

document creating means for creating the document to be posted; and

upload processing means, which is incorporated in the document creating means, for uploading the created document to be posted and the location information to the information providing device via the communication control means.

8. A terminal device for obtaining, from the information providing device according to claim 1, one of the electronic files and the location information and displaying the obtained electronic file and location information on a display device comprised in the terminal device, the terminal device comprising location identifying means for identifying a current location of the terminal device,

wherein, when the location information is displayed, the current location of the terminal device identified by the location identifying means is displayed in a superimposed manner.

9. An information providing method, which is to be executed by an information providing device accessed by a terminal device that comprises a display device, the information providing method comprising:

saving a document that is posted in a given posting place and respective electronic files of a translation of the document in one or more other languages in a document saving area, in association with the same identification information, and recording, in a given memory area, a character string for identifying each of the electronic files and location information for allowing visual recognition of the given posting place of the document; and

transmitting, to an issuer of the document, a code image including a character string image obtained by encoding the character string, receiving character code data indicating a particular language from the terminal device, which accesses the relevant electronic file by decoding the character string from the document where the code image is printed or attached by the issuer, extracting from the document saving area the electronic file of the translation in the particular language that is indicated by the character code data, extracting from the given memory area the location information that indicates the given posting place of an original document of the translation, and transmitting the extracted electronic file and the extracted location information to the terminal device so that the extracted electronic file and the extracted location information are displayed on the display device.

10. A non-transitory, computer readable recording medium containing a computer program for causing a computer to function as an information providing device, wherein:

the computer comprising;

(i) document saving means for saving a document that is posted in a given posting place and respective electronic files of a translation of the document in one or more other languages, in association with the same identification information; and

(ii)recording means for recording a character string for identifying each of the electronic files and location information for allowing visual recognition of the given posting place of the document, and

the computer program causing the computer to function as;

code image issuing means for issuing a code image including a character string image obtained by encoding the character string; and

control means for receiving character code data indicating a particular language from a terminal device, which accesses the relevant electronic file by decoding the character string from the document where the code image is printed or attached and which comprises a display device, for extracting from the document saving means the electronic file of the translation in the particular language that is indicated by the character code data, for extracting from the recording means the location information that indicates the given posting place of an original document of the translation, and for transmitting the extracted electronic file and the extracted location information to the terminal device so that the extracted electronic file and the extracted location information are displayed on the display device.