Translating system and translating apparatus in which translatable documents are associated with permission to translate

• US 7,174,289 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2001
• Issued: 02/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Sukehiro, Tatsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Dorvil; Richemond
• Assistant Examiner(s): Spooner; Lamont
• Application Number:
  US09/797,709
• Publication Number:
  US 20020002451A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,164 Days
• Field of Search: 704 2- 8, 704/9, 707/9, 707/4, 709/229
• US Class Current: 704/7
• 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: Y10S 707/99934 Query formulation, input preparation, or translation

Abstract

A Web browser obtains a document in which a pointer indicative of an address in a translating unit has been defined among documents from an HTTP server unit. When translation is instructed by the user, the Web browser transmits a translation request message together with a URL of the document to the translating unit. The translating unit obtains the document corresponding to the supplied URL and transmits a translation result to the Web browser. A document whose translation is not permitted is prevented from being translated.

Claims

1. A language translating system comprising:

a first server which holds a plurality of documents including one or more translatable documents for which translation is permitted;

a terminal connected to said first server through a network which sends a connecting request including a pointer indicative of an address of a designated one of said plurality of documents, and receives said designated document from said first server in response to said connecting request; and

a second server which obtains said designated document from said first server through said network and outputs a translated document to said terminal through said network if said designated document is determined to be one of said translatable documents,

wherein translation permission information indicative of permission to translate has been added to each of said translatable documents held in said first server, and when said pointer indicative of an address of said designated document and a translation request message corresponding to said designated document and including the translation permission information corresponding to said designated document are received by said second server from said terminal through said network, said second server determines whether said designated document is one of said translatable documents, and if so, obtains said translatable document from said first server corresponding to said pointer and translates said translatable document.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said translation permission information added to each of said translatable documents includes a description of an operation for transmission of the corresponding translation request message by said terminal to said second server.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein a button image is linked to said transmission operation description for each of said translatable documents and displayed on said terminal with a corresponding one of said translatable documents when said corresponding one of said translatable documents is designated in said connecting request.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein said pointer and said translation request message corresponding to said translatable document are sent by said terminal to said second server in accordance with said operation description when said displayed button image is selected.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein said second server includes a database in which a pointer indicative of an address of each of said translatable documents for which translation is permitted has been registered, and said second server determines whether said designated document is one of said translatable documents based on comparison of said pointer indicative of the address of said designated document with said pointers registered in said database.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein said second server includes a link management unit which receives a registration request for requesting registration of the translation permission information corresponding to a given one of said translatable documents and said pointer indicative of the address of said given one of said translatable documents into said database, and said link management unit comprises:

a transmitter detecting unit which detects a transmitter of said registration request when said pointer indicative of the address of said given one of said translatable documents and said registration request are received;

an authorized person detecting unit which detects an authorized person having an authorization to grant translation permission for said given one of said translatable documents as a target of said registration request;

a declaration intention confirming unit which confirms a declaration of intent to grant the translation permission by the authorized person when the transmitter detected by said transmitter detecting unit does not coincide with the authorized person detected by said authorized person detecting unit; and

a registering unit which registers the pointer indicative of the address of said given one of said translatable documents and said registration request as said translation permission information when the declaration of intent to grant the translation permission is confirmed by said declaration intention confirming unit.

7. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a third server connected to the network, said third server including a database for registering a pointer indicative of an address of each of said translatable documents for which translation is permitted, and a registration control unit for controlling the address registration of said translatable documents into said database.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein said second server includes an access management unit for determining whether said designated document is one of said translatable documents based on comparison of said pointer indicative of the address of said designated document with said pointers registered in said database of said third server.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein said network is the Internet.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein said pointer indicative of an address of a designated one of said plurality of documents is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).