Data processing: presentation processing of document – operator i – Presentation processing of document – Layout
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-01
2004-05-18
Shah, Sanjiv (Department: 2176)
Data processing: presentation processing of document, operator i
Presentation processing of document
Layout
C715S252000, C715S252000, C701S201000, C701S202000, C701S212000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06738952
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of Japanese Patent Applications No. H.9-237074 and No. H.9-237075 both filed on Sep. 2, 1997, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data retrieving and displaying system and more particularly to a system for ambiguously retrieving and displaying a destination or a name of an objective in a navigation system.
2. Description of Related Art
A navigation system mounted in a car or the like for providing a guidance by displaying on a map a present position detected by the GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like, a destination or a position of an objective (building, facility, park and the like) set by a user and a route from the present position to the destination or the objective is widely used.
In such a navigation system, there is a case when the user is unable to specify the destination or the position of the objective on the map in setting the destination or the objective because the user is unfamiliar with the locality around the destination or the objective even though the user knows the name of the destination or the objective. Then, in order to enable the user to set the destination or the objective even in such a case, a data retrieving system which can retrieve positional data of the destination or the objective on the map using the name of the destination or the objective inputted by the user has been put into practical use.
The name of the destination or the objective is often called not by its official name but by its brief name in general. For instance, when an official name of a building is “◯X◯◯-◯X Building”, there is a case when it is abbreviated and called as “◯X Building”. Therefore, in order to enable the user to set the destination or the objective even when the user does not know the official name thereof, there is the data retrieving system provided with a function of specifying the destination or the objective by retrieving not only the official name but also its brief name by utilizing ambiguous retrieval and by listing those names on a display to let the user select a desired name among them.
In the conventional data retrieving system being not provided with the function of the ambiguous retrieval, for instance, a name of a destination or an objective “ABCDE ABCMN” cannot be retrieved unless input is made sequentially from the head character of the head word (“ABCDE”) like “A-B-C-D-E- -A-B- . . . ”.
In contrary to that, in the data retrieving system provided with the function of the ambiguous retrieval, the name of “ABCDE ABCMN” can be retrieved even when input is made sequentially from the head character of the second word (“ABCMN”) like “A-B-C-M- . . . ”.
In the data retrieving system utilizing the ambiguous retrieval, not only the name “ABCDE ABCMN” is registered as a body word set but also the second word (“ABCMN”) of the name is also registered as a duplicate word set. The duplicate word set is registered in association with the body word set.
According to the data retrieving system utilizing the ambiguous retrieval, even when the character string indicating the official name is not inputted, body word sets and duplicate word sets including the inputted character string are retrieved and displayed abreast on a display. For instance, when the official name “ABCDE ABCMN” is to be retrieved and when three characters of “ABC” are inputted as a retrieving character string, both of the body word sets and the duplicate word sets including the retrieving character string are retrieved. Accordingly, not only the body word sets retrieved but also the body word sets associated with the duplicate word sets retrieved are displayed abreast on the display. That is, although the duplicate word sets including the retrieving character string are retrieved, the duplicate word sets themselves are not displayed and the body word sets associated with the duplicate word sets are displayed.
At this time, in the prior art data retrieving system utilizing the ambiguous retrieval, there is a case when the same names are displayed in duplication on the display depending on the retrieving character string. As a result, since a number of names displayed on the display increases due to the duplicate display, it is hard for the user to discriminate a desired name and it takes time to select the desired name among the plurality of names.
Further, the prior art data retrieving system utilizing the ambiguous retrieval has another problem that when there exist many objectives having the same name, it is very difficult for the user to select a desired objective because the system merely lists all of them on the display. For instance, when five-hundred chain stores having a name of “◯◯&Dgr;” are registered in the data retrieving system and when the user inputs the name of “◯◯&Dgr;”, the five hundreds of same names “◯◯&Dgr;” are just displayed on the display. As a result, the user is unable to distinguish the desired objective.
Further, when the user inputs the name “◯◯&Dgr;” to retrieve a name “◯◯&Dgr;X” which is similar to the name “◯◯&Dgr;”, the name “◯◯&Dgr;X” is displayed together with the five-hundred names of “◯◯&Dgr;”. Therefore, it is very difficult for the user to find and select the name “◯◯&Dgr;X” among such a large number of names displayed on the display.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a data retrieving and displaying system in which no same name is displayed in duplication in ambiguous retrieval.
A secondary object of the present invention is to provide a data retrieving and displaying system which allows desired data to be simply and readily retrieved among data having the same name.
In order to achieve the first object of the present invention, a data retrieving and displaying system according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a storage device, a specifying device, a retrieving device, a display device, a selecting device and a display inhibiting device. The storage device stores a plurality of names as body word sets and stores, as duplicate word sets, parts of the body word sets. Ambiguous retrieval data are composed of body word sets and duplicate word sets for the plurality of names. A retrieving character string is specified through the specifying device. The retrieving device retrieves both body word sets and duplicate word sets including a character string that coincides with the retrieving character string from the ambiguous retrieval data. The display device displays the body word sets retrieved by the retrieving device and the body word sets in association with the duplicate word sets retrieved by the retrieving device. When there are the body word set and the duplicate word sets corresponding to an identical name among the body word sets and the duplicate word sets retrieved by the retrieving device, the selecting device selects only one among the body word set and the duplicate word sets corresponding to the identical name. Further, when there are the body word set and the duplicate word sets corresponding to the identical name, the display device inhibits the remaining of the body word set and duplicate word sets except the one selected by the selecting device from being displayed on the display device.
Therefore, according to the present invention, when the body word set and the duplicate word sets duplicated therefrom, which correspond to the identical name, are stored in the storage device, even though the ambiguous retrieval is performed by any retrieving character string, the identical name is not displayed in duplication. Accordingly, a user can readily distinguish and select a desired name without taking time when selecting the desired name among names (body word sets) tabularly displayed on the display device.
The d
Bashore William L.
Denso Corporation
Harness Dickey & Pierce PLC
Shah Sanjiv
LandOfFree
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