Abstract: A translation device has an input unit that inputs image data from a document; a detecting unit that detects a security information image, which indicates that the inputted image is a confidential image, from the inputted image data; a translating unit that translates the security information image detected by the detecting unit; and an outputting unit that outputs the translated image of the security information image.

Abstract: A question answering system includes a question dividing unit, a question answering unit, and an answer determination unit. The question dividing unit applies a predetermined question dividing rule to an input question, to divide the input question into sub-questions. The question answering unit acquires answer candidates corresponding to the sub-questions generated by the question dividing unit, together with certainty values serving as reliability indexes. The answer determination unit selects an answer to the input question from among the answer candidates acquired by the question answering unit.

Abstract: A question answering system includes a question input unit, a search unit, an answer candidate extraction unit, an answer candidate inspection unit and an answer output unit. The search unit executes search processing based on an input question. The answer candidate extraction unit extracts an initial answer candidate based on a result of the search processing. The answer candidate inspection unit inspects the initial answer candidate. The answer candidate inspection unit executes search processing with using a query including the initial answer candidate. The answer candidate inspection unit determines whether each word of a sentence obtained as a result of the search processing has a similar lexical meaning to that of each word of the input question. The answer candidate inspection unit selects an initial answer candidate contained in a query determined to have the similar lexical meaning, as a secondary answer candidate.

Abstract: A translation requesting device has a first replacing unit, a translating unit and a second replacing unit. The first replacing unit replaces an original phrase to a substitute phrase. The translating unit translates the substitute phrase. The second replacing unit replaces the original phrase to a translation phrase based on the translated substitute phrase. The substitute phrase is decided to maintain semantic properties of the original phrase.

Abstract: A translation system comprises an image reading unit that optically reads an image of a manuscript and generates image data; an inputting unit that inputs a translation target language; a character recognizing unit that generates an original text by performing a character recognition process on the image data generated by the image reading unit; a translation text database in which are associated and stored translation texts, language identifiers which specify the languages in which the translation texts are written, and document identifiers which specify the contents of the translation texts; an extracting unit that extracts the document identifier which specifies the content of the original text from the original text; a searching unit that searches the translation text database for a translation text associated with a document identifier identical to the document identifier extracted from the original text by the extracting unit and a language identifier identical to the language identifier which specifies

Abstract: An image reading apparatus has a scan quality parameter extraction part, a scan quality evaluation part and a notification part. The scan quality parameter extraction part extracts scan quality parameters representing the quality of a scanned image from image data based on a scan error detection algorithm. The scan quality evaluation part determines whether a scan error occurs, based on the scan error detection algorithm and the scan quality parameters. Also, the notification part notifies a result determined by the scan quality evaluation part to a user.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus sequentially reduces a document, while changing the reduction factor step-by-step. Next, the image processing apparatus refers to the characters that constitute the document that has been reduced with the respective reduction factors, and specifies a reduction factor at which blank regions surrounded by line portions that express each character do not disappear. When an appropriate reduction factor is specified, the image processing apparatus specifies a resolution of the characters for that reduction factor, and converts the resolution of the document data to that specified resolution. Then, the image processing apparatus performs various processing for the document data whose resolution has been converted. Thus the resolution of document data is converted such that the document is reduced with a reduction factor suitable for computer processing.

Abstract: A conceptual network generating system that generates a conceptual network showing conceptual relations between words, the conceptual network generating system including: a first searching unit that searches a knowledge source storing search sentences; a first generating unit that analyzes the retrieved first search result sentence; a holding unit that stores the generated first structure information in a memory unit; a second searching unit that searches the knowledge source; a second generating unit that analyzes the retrieved second search result sentence; a calculating unit that calculates similarity between the generated second structure information and the stored first structure information; and a setting unit that generates conceptual network information.

Abstract: A document management apparatus and a document management system that selects the document which are best to digitize from among document being used in an office, and set the priority for digitization of each document are provided. The document management apparatus comprising: an accumulator apparatus that stores, the document ID, used place and used time for a document that is used; a computing part that analyzes information stored in accumulator apparatus, and for each document, computes the usability of the document data to be digitized; a specifying part that specifies document that correspond to document data for which the usability is relatively high by comparing it to the usability already computed for the data for each document; and output part that outputs the specified result to client.

Abstract: According to an aspect of the present invention, a language processing device has a text input section and an anaphora analysis section. The text input section acquires text data. The anaphora analysis section analyzes whether a correct anaphora relation is included in the text data acquired by the text input section. The correct anaphora relation has an anaphor and an antecedent corresponding to the anaphor.

Abstract: A translation device analyses image data that includes characters, to separate and extract a character region, and another region whose structural elements differ from those of the character region; recognizes characters in the region determined to be the character region; extracts a character string related to the other region, from a result of the character recognition, to associate the character string with the character region from which the character string is extracted and the other region; translates the resulting recognized characters; and, based on the association between the character string and the other character region, pastes the resulting translation that includes the character string onto the same page as the other region that is associated with the character string.

Abstract: An alternator for a vehicle is disclosed as having front and rear frames supporting a stator having a stator winding, a rotor fixedly carried on a rotary shaft and rotatably disposed inside the stator while having a field winding, a bush unit accommodating brushes held in sliding contact with slip rings formed on the rotary shaft, and a brush-wear particle collecting section for collecting brush-wear particles resulting from sliding contact between the brushes and the slip rings. In one embodiment, the bush unit includes a bush holder holding the bushes and a sealing plate member having the brush-wear particle collecting section. In another embodiment, the rear frame carries a protective cover formed with the brush-wear particle collecting section. In a further embodiment, the rotary shaft carries thereon brush-cooling means formed adjacent to the slip rings for creating an air stream to cool the brushes.

Abstract: A question answering system includes a question input unit input to a question, a search unit, an anaphoric analysis unit, an information extraction unit and an answer candidate extraction unit. The search unit executes search processing based on the input question. The anaphoric analysis unit executes anaphoric analysis processing on a search result. The information extraction unit extracts sentences, which include expressions having a reference relation therebetween, as reference relation sentences, the reference relation determined by finding relation in an expressions of at least one of a noun phrase, a pronoun, and a zero pronoun between sentences in the search result on a basis of a result of the anaphoric analysis; selects a first candidate sentence from a passage obtained as the search result; and selects a second candidate sentence, which is the reference relation sentence of the first candidate sentence. The answer candidate extraction unit extracts an answer candidate.

Abstract: A question answering system includes a question-sentence analysis unit, a search unit, an answer-candidate extraction unit, a check-expression generation unit, a check-expression search unit and an answer-candidate correction unit. The question-sentence analysis unit extracts a keyword applied to a search process from an input question sentence. The search unit executes the search process with using the extracted keyword. The answer-candidate extraction unit extracts answer candidates for the input question sentence based on a search result. The check-expression generation unit analyzes the input question sentence to generate a check expression concatenating an analysis result and the extracted answer candidates. The check-expression search unit executes a search process based on the generated check expression. The answer-candidate correction unit selects an output answer to the input question from among answer the candidates based on a search result.

Abstract: A question answering system includes a similar-question generation unit, a first search unit, a second search unit, and an answer selection unit. The similar-question generation unit selects a feature word from an input question to generate a transformational question in which the feature word is replaced with another word. The first search unit executes a first search process based on the transformational question. The second search unit selects a word included in a first search result acquired as an extension word and executes a second search process with using the selected extension word. The answer selection unit analyzes a correspondence relation among extension words included in a second search result, determines the feature word and a constructive part of an answer equivalent word in the second search result based on an analysis result, and selects a word determined to be an answer.

Abstract: A question answering system includes a question answering unit, an analysis unit, a tree structure generation unit, a feature extraction unit, an evaluation unit and a re-ranking unit. The question answering unit executes search processing based on an input question and acquires answer candidates to the question. The analysis unit executes syntactic analysis processing or syntactic and semantic analysis processing on a passage obtained as a result of the search processing. The tree structure generation unit generates a tree structure based on an analysis result. The feature extraction unit extracts a relation between a search word applied in the search processing and each acquired answer candidate as a feature corresponding to each answer candidate from the tree structure. The evaluation unit determines an evaluation value of each answer candidate based on the feature extracted. The re-ranking unit re-ranks the answer candidates based on the evaluation values.

Abstract: A conceptual network generating system that generates a conceptual network showing conceptual relations between words, the conceptual network generating system including: a first searching unit that searches a knowledge source storing search sentences; a first generating unit that analyzes the retrieved first search result sentence; a holding unit that stores the generated first structure information in a memory unit; a second searching unit that searches the knowledge source; a second generating unit that analyzes the retrieved second search result sentence; a calculating unit that calculates similarity between the generated second structure information and the stored first structure information; and a setting unit that generates conceptual network information.

Abstract: An alternator for a vehicle is disclosed as having front and rear frames supporting a stator having a stator winding, a rotor fixedly carried on a rotary shaft and rotatably disposed inside the stator while having a field winding, a bush unit accommodating brushes held in sliding contact with slip rings formed on the rotary shaft, and a brush-wear particle collecting section for collecting brush-wear particles resulting from sliding contact between the brushes and the slip rings. In one embodiment, the bush unit includes a bush holder holding the bushes and a sealing plate member having the brush-wear particle collecting section. In another embodiment, the rear frame carries a protective cover formed with the brush-wear particle collecting section. In a further embodiment, the rotary shaft carries thereon brush-cooling means formed adjacent to the slip rings for creating an air stream to cool the brushes.

Abstract: A question-answering system that is formed with an information processing apparatus for processing information in accordance with a program, and obtains an answer to an input search question sentence by searching a knowledge source, includes: a background information set; a first answer candidate extracting unit; a first background information generating unit; an accuracy determining unit; and a first background information adding unit.

Abstract: A brush apparatus for a rotary electric machine has a brush body contacting with a slip ring of a rotor, a spring pressing the brush body on the slip ring, a brush wire connected with the brush body, and a brush terminal having a connecting hole. A ratio of an inner diameter of the hole to an outer diameter of the wire is set to be equal to or higher than 1.3 and to be lower than 1.5. The brush wire is inserted into the hole of the brush terminal, and the brush wire and the terminal are soldered together so as to electrically connect a field winding of the rotor with a rectifier through the brush apparatus.