Information processing device, information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

This provides a method for representing the positional relationships between multiple rectangular prisms. [Solution] The information processing device (1) of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition unit (11) that acquires rectangular parallelepiped information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; a conversion unit (12) that converts predetermined points on the 3D coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds into points on the 4D coordinates; a generation unit (13) that refers to the points on the 4D coordinates and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; and an output unit (14) that outputs arrangement information when the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds satisfies the constraints.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, techniques related to three-dimensional problems have been known (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0003]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition unit that acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints regarding the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a conversion unit that converts a predetermined point on a three-dimensional coordinate of each of the arranged plurality of cuboids into a point on a four-dimensional coordinate represented by four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation unit that refers to the points on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids and generates arrangement information regarding the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and an output unit that outputs the arrangement information when the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information.

[0005] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition unit that acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, which is generated by converting a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point, and by referring to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; an identification unit that refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; and an output unit that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit.

[0006] An information processing system comprising a first information processing device and a second information processing device, wherein the first information processing device comprises: a first acquisition unit that acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a conversion unit that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the arranged plurality of cuboids into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation unit that refers to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and a first output unit that outputs the arrangement information to the second information processing device if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, wherein the second information processing device comprises: a second acquisition unit that acquires the arrangement information output from the first information processing device; a specification unit that refers to the arrangement information and specifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of cuboids; and a second output unit that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of cuboids specified by the specification unit.

[0007] An information processing method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition process in which at least one processor acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a conversion process in which the at least one processor converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the arranged plurality of cuboids into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation process in which the at least one processor refers to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and an output process in which, if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, the at least one processor outputs the arrangement information.

[0008] An information processing method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition process in which at least one processor converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point, and acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, which is generated by referring to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; an identification process in which the at least one processor refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; and an output process in which the at least one processor outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds identified in the identification process.

[0009] An information processing method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition process in which at least one processor acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a conversion process in which the at least one processor converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the arranged plurality of cuboids into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation process in which the at least one processor refers to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; a identification process in which, if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, the at least one processor refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of cuboids; and an output process in which the at least one processor outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of cuboids identified in the identification process.

[0010] A program according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device, the program comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a conversion unit that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the arranged plurality of cuboids into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented by four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation unit that references the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and an output unit that outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information.

[0011] A program according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device, and causes the computer to function as: an acquisition unit that acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of a plurality of rectangular prisms, which is generated by converting a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point, and by referring to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms; an identification unit that refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms; and an output unit that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms identified by the identification unit.

[0012] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition unit that acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms; a generation unit that generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information; and an output unit that outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the rectangular prisms indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and satisfies the search termination condition, wherein the generation unit generates arrangement information with at least one of the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular prisms and the orientation of the rectangular prisms changed if the arrangement of the rectangular prisms indicated by the arrangement information does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information or does not satisfy the search termination condition.

[0013] An information processing method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition process in which at least one processor acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a generation process in which the at least one processor generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and an output process in which, if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and satisfies the search termination condition, the at least one processor outputs the arrangement information, wherein in the generation process, if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information, or does not satisfy the search termination condition, the at least one processor generates arrangement information with at least one of the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids and the orientation of the cuboids changed.

[0014] A program according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device, wherein the computer functions as: an acquisition unit that acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a generation unit that generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and an output unit that outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and satisfies the search termination condition, wherein the generation unit generates arrangement information that modifies at least one of the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids and the orientation of the cuboids if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information or does not satisfy the search termination condition. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device related to this disclosure. [Figure 2] This figure shows the arrangement of multiple rectangular parallelepipeds related to this disclosure. [Figure 3] This figure shows a predetermined point in a rectangular parallelepiped relating to this disclosure. [Figure 4] This is a constraint graph showing an example of a method for specifying the positional relationship of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds by a specific part according to the present disclosure. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by an information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure. [Figure 6] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing system according to the present disclosure. [Figure 7] This is a flowchart showing the flow of processing executed in an information processing system according to the present disclosure. [Figure 8] This is a diagram showing an example of the division of a rectangular parallelepiped into a plurality of small rectangular parallelepipeds according to the present disclosure. [Figure 9] This is a diagram showing the arrangement of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds according to the present disclosure. [Figure 10] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure. [Figure 11] This is a constraint graph showing another example of a method for specifying the positional relationship of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds by a specific part according to the present disclosure. [Figure 12] This is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by an information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure. [Figure 13] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing system according to the present disclosure. [Figure 14] This is a flowchart showing the flow of processing executed in an information processing system according to the present disclosure.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. For ease of understanding, first, the background and problems of the present disclosure will be described, and then the details of the present disclosure will be described. <3D Arrangement Problem> The three-dimensional placement problem is a general term for problems of placing a plurality of objects of various sizes in a container without overlapping each other. As an example of the three-dimensional placement problem, there is the three-dimensional container packing problem of placing a given plurality of objects in a given container without overlapping. The three-dimensional placement problem can be used to determine the optimal placement of luggage in trucks, warehouses, etc.

[0017] Conventionally, in the three-dimensional placement problem, methods for obtaining an optimal placement when the objects and the container are rectangular parallelepipeds have been studied. For small-scale problems, exact solutions have been studied, but basically the problem is NP-hard, so various approximate solutions have been proposed for problem examples of practical scale. In particular, for problems with a large number of given rectangular parallelepipeds, it is known that a method of using the placement representation of rectangular parallelepipeds and searching using a metaheuristic such as Simulatted Annealing is effective.

[0018] By the way, when actually considering the placement of rectangular parallelepiped luggage in a truck or warehouse, it is often necessary to consider the positional relationship of each of the placed rectangular parallelepipeds. For example, if the loading and unloading order is already determined, it will be difficult to take out the luggage if the first luggage to be loaded and unloaded is placed at the very back of the truck. Also, depending on the type of luggage, it may be considered that another luggage should not be placed on top.

[0019] In order to obtain the placement of rectangular parallelepipeds while considering such requirements, a placement representation method for representing the relative positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds is necessary. However, among the representation methods proposed so far, a placement representation method for representing the positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds has not been proposed. Therefore, a placement representation method for representing the positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds is required.

[0020] <Finding 1 obtained by the inventor> The inventors have found that they can provide a method for representing the positional relationships of multiple rectangular prisms by the following method. The inventors' findings will be explained with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms. Figure 3 is a diagram showing a predetermined point on a rectangular prism.

[0021] In the following, as an example, we will describe a method for representing the arrangement of four rectangular prisms, a to d, as shown in the upper part of Figure 2, but the number of rectangular prisms is not limited in the present invention. Furthermore, the objects to be arranged are not limited to perfect rectangular prisms, but can be approximately rectangular prisms. In the case of approximately rectangular prism objects, the present invention can be applied to approximately rectangular prism objects by replacing the approximately rectangular prism object in the following description with a rectangular prism containing the approximately rectangular prism object.

[0022] For example, if rectangular prisms a to d are arranged as shown in the center of Figure 2, the relative positions of rectangular prisms a to d are as shown in the table at the bottom of Figure 2.

[0023] For example, cuboid a is in front of cuboid b, cuboid a is above cuboid c, and cuboid a is to the left, in front of, and above cuboid d. In the arrangement shown in the center of Figure 2, the positional relationship between cuboid a and cuboid d can also be expressed as cuboid a being to the left, in front of, or above cuboid d.

[0024] In the following, as shown in the center of Figure 2, the axis extending horizontally (left-right relative to the paper) is defined as the x-axis, the axis extending forward-backward (front-back relative to the paper) is defined as the y-axis, and the axis extending vertically (up-down relative to the paper) is defined as the z-axis. Furthermore, the direction to the right relative to the paper is defined as the positive x-axis direction, the direction towards the back relative to the paper is defined as the positive y-axis direction, and the direction upward relative to the paper is defined as the positive z-axis direction.

[0025] Here, in order to determine the positions of rectangular prisms a to d, we set the coordinates of a predetermined point on rectangular prisms a to d. The predetermined point is not particularly limited and could be, for example, the point on the rectangular prism where the values ​​of each coordinate are smallest in the xyz coordinate system, the point on the rectangular prism where the values ​​of each coordinate are largest in the xyz coordinate system, or the centroid of the rectangular prism. As an example, we set the coordinates k(xk,yk,zk) of the predetermined point to the point on the rectangular prism k where the values ​​of each coordinate are smallest in the xyz coordinate system (i.e., the coordinates of the lower left front vertex of the placed rectangular prism k, as shown in Figure 3).

[0026] Next, consider the following four planes that pass through the coordinates k(xk,yk,zk) of a given point. z = x + y + Pe(k) z = x - y + Pn(k) z = -x - y + Pw(k) z = -x + y + Ps(k) Furthermore, Pe(k) + Pw(k) = Ps(k) + Pn(k).

[0027] Here, for a given point with coordinates k(xk,yk,zk), points on the 4-dimensional coordinate system represented using the four planes described above are denoted as (Pe(k),Pn(k),Pw(k),Ps(k)). For example, a point (1,2,4) on the 3-dimensional coordinate system is represented as (1,5,7,3) on the 4-dimensional coordinate system, and a point (0,2,4) on the 3-dimensional coordinate system is represented as (2,6,6,2) on the 4-dimensional coordinate system.

[0028] Next, when arranging n rectangular parallelepipeds r1, r2, ···, rn, arrange Pe(r1), Pe(r2), ···, Pe(rn) on the 4D coordinates of each rectangular parallelepiped in ascending order (in the case of the same value, consider a virtual arrangement where one rectangular parallelepiped is slightly shifted and arrange them). Here, when arranging in ascending order, the permutation arranged in the order of the corresponding rectangular parallelepipeds is called permutation Γe. Also, when an arbitrary rectangular parallelepiped ri is the k-th one in permutation Γe, it is expressed as Pe-1(ri)=k. Similarly to permutation Γe and Pe-1(ri)=k, permutation Γn, permutation Γw, permutation Γs and Pn-1(ri), Pw-1(ri), Ps-1(ri) are also defined in the same way.

[0029] For example, in the arrangement of the four rectangular parallelepipeds a to d shown in the center of FIG. 2, the permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs are as follows (assuming that rectangular parallelepiped a is in front of rectangular parallelepiped d). ·Γe={dbca} ·Γn={cadb} ·Γw={cabd} ·Γs={bdca} Next, referring to the permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs of two rectangular parallelepipeds i and j, the following relationships hold. · When Pe-1(i)>Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i)>Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i)>Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i)>Ps-((j), rectangular parallelepiped i is arranged above rectangular parallelepiped j (the z coordinate of a predetermined point of rectangular parallelepiped i is greater than the z coordinate zj of a predetermined point of rectangular parallelepiped j) · When Pe-1(i)<Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i)<Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i)>Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i)>Ps-1(j), rectangular parallelepiped i is arranged to the right of rectangular parallelepiped j (the x coordinate of a predetermined point of rectangular parallelepiped i is greater than the x coordinate of a predetermined point of rectangular parallelepiped j) · When Pe-1(i)<Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i)>Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i)>Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i)<Ps-1(j), rectangular parallelepiped i is arranged behind rectangular parallelepiped j (the y coordinate of a predetermined point of rectangular parallelepiped i is greater than the y coordinate of a predetermined point of rectangular parallelepiped j) Furthermore, for permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs, no other combinations of inequalities exist besides those mentioned above, according to the theorem Pe(k)+Pw(k)=Ps(k)+Pn(k).

[0030] For example, consider rectangular prisms a and b in the following permutations shown in the example above. ·Γe={dbca} ·Γn={cadb} ·Γw={cabd} ·Γs={bdca} In this case, Pe-1(a), Pn-1(a), Pw-1(a), and Ps-1(a) are as follows: ·Pe-1(a)=4 ·Pn-1(a)=2 ·Pw-1(a)=2 Ps-1(a)=4 Furthermore, Pe-1(b), Pn-1(b), Pw-1(b), and Ps-1(b) are as follows: ·Pe-1(b)=2 ·Pn-1(b)=4 Pw-1(b)=3 · Ps-1(b)=1 Based on the above, rectangular prisms a and b satisfy the following conditions. · Pe-1(b)<Pe-1(a)かつPn-1(b)> Pn-1(a) and Pw-1(b) > Pw-1(a) and Ps-1(b) <Ps-1(a) Therefore, it can be seen that rectangular prism b is located behind rectangular prism a.

[0031] Thus, the inventors have found that permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs are arrangement representations that describe the positional relationships of multiple rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0032] The processing performed by information processing devices 1, 3, and 4, as described below, is based on the aforementioned knowledge and represents the inventor's unique perspective.

[0033] <Overview of Information Processing Device 1> The information processing device 1 in this disclosure is a device that outputs arrangement information representing an arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms that satisfies constraints, and which includes the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms. The constraints are conditions that must be satisfied in the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms, and include, for example, that when multiple rectangular prisms are arranged, the size of the rectangular prism containing all of the multiple rectangular prisms (hereinafter also referred to as the "overall rectangular prism") is less than or equal to a predetermined size, the size of the bottom surface of the overall rectangular prism is less than or equal to a predetermined size, one rectangular prism is in front of another rectangular prism, and no other rectangular prism is placed on top of one rectangular prism.

[0034] More specifically, the information processing device 1 includes: an acquisition unit that acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of the plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a conversion unit that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the arranged plurality of cuboids into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation unit that references the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and an output unit that outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information.

[0035] According to the above configuration, the information processing device 1 generates arrangement information regarding the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms using the arrangement representation method described above, and outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms satisfies the constraints. In other words, the information processing device 1 can provide an arrangement representation method that represents the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms as information.

[0036] The information processing device 1 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0037] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device 1. As shown in Figure 1, the information processing device 1 includes a control unit 10, a storage unit 20, an input / output unit 21, and a communication unit 22.

[0038] The control unit 10 controls each component of the information processing device 1. For example, the control unit 10 controls each component of the information processing device 1 by executing instructions written in a program. The control unit 10 is composed of, for example, a processor, an arithmetic unit, registers, and / or peripheral circuits. Details of the control unit 10 will be described later.

[0039] The memory unit 20 temporarily stores programs and data processed by programs, etc. The memory unit 20 also stores data and programs. The memory unit 20 is, for example, a combination of volatile memory such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and flash memory, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or magneto-optical disk.

[0040] The input / output unit 21 is an interface to input devices that receive data (e.g., user input) and output devices that output data. Examples of input devices include microphones, cameras, eye-tracking devices, keyboards, and touchpads. Examples of output devices include speakers and liquid crystal displays. The input / output unit 21 may also function as either an input device or an output device.

[0041] The communication unit 22 is an interface for inputting and outputting signals for communication with other devices via a network using wired or wireless communication standards. Examples of the communication unit 22 include communication chips for various communication standards such as Ethernet®, Wi-Fi®, and wireless communication standards for mobile data communication networks, as well as USB-compliant connectors.

[0042] <Functions of the control unit 10> As shown in Figure 1, the control unit 10 includes an acquisition unit 11, a conversion unit 12, a generation unit 13, an output unit 14, and a specification unit 15.

[0043] The acquisition unit 11 acquires data supplied from the input / output unit 21 or the communication unit 22. The acquisition unit 11 stores the acquired data in the storage unit 20. As an example, the acquisition unit 11 acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms. The constraints are as described above. An example of rectangular prism information is information indicating the length in the x-axis direction (horizontal length), the length in the y-axis direction (vertical length), and the length in the z-axis direction (height) in the xyz coordinate system shown in the center of Figure 2.

[0044] The conversion unit 12 converts a point in 3D coordinates to a point in 4D coordinates. The conversion unit 12 stores the converted 4D coordinate point in the storage unit 20.

[0045] As an example, the transformation unit 12 transforms a predetermined point in the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds into a point in the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through that predetermined point. The predetermined point is as described above.

[0046] As described above, a point in four dimensions is a point in four dimensions (Pe(k), Pn(k), Pw(k), Ps(k)) that can be represented using the following four planes, where the coordinates of a given point in the three-dimensional coordinate system of the rectangular prism k are k(xk, yk, zk). z = x + y + Pe(k) z = x - y + Pn(k) z = -x - y + Pw(k) z = -x + y + Ps(k) Also, Pe(k) + Pw(k) = Ps(k) + Pn(k).

[0047] For example, consider a scenario where multiple rectangular prisms a to d are arranged in the center of Figure 2, and the coordinates of a predetermined point in the 3D coordinate system, which is the lower left front, are as follows, and the constraint information indicates that the size of the entire rectangular prism is smaller than a predetermined value. The coordinates of a given point on a rectangular prism a are a(0,0,2). The coordinates of a given point b on the rectangular prism b are b(0,5,0). The coordinates of a given point c on a rectangular prism c are c(0,0,0). The coordinates of a given point d(2,5,0) on a rectangular prism d. In this case, if the size of the overall rectangular parallelepiped WC shown in the center of Figure 2 is smaller than a predetermined value, the transformation unit 12 transforms each predetermined point of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds a to d in the three-dimensional coordinate system shown in the center of Figure 2 into points on the following four-dimensional coordinate system. • Point (Pe(a), Pn(a), Pw(a), Ps(a)) = (2,2,2,2) in 4D coordinate system of coordinate a. • Point (Pe(b), Pn(b), Pw(b), Ps(b)) = (-5, 5, 5, -5) in 4D coordinate system of coordinate b • Point (Pe(c), Pn(c), Pw(c), Ps(c)) = (0,0,0,0) in 4D coordinate system c • Point (Pe(d), Pn(d), Pw(d), Ps(d)) = (-7, 3, 7, -3) in 4D coordinate system at coordinate d Furthermore, the conversion unit 12 may arrange multiple rectangular prisms by referring to the rectangular prism information acquired by the acquisition unit 11. In this case, the acquisition unit 11 may acquire information indicating the changed arrangement, and the conversion unit 12 may arrange the multiple rectangular prisms by referring to this information, or it may arrange the multiple rectangular prisms by a predetermined process. Also, if the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information, the conversion unit 12 may change the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms.

[0048] The generation unit 13 generates arrangement information regarding the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms. The generation unit 13 stores the generated arrangement information in the storage unit 20. As an example, the generation unit 13 references a point on the 4D coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular prisms and generates arrangement information regarding the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information.

[0049] More specifically, the generation unit 13 generates arrangement information by replacing the points in each dimension on the 4-dimensional coordinates of multiple rectangular prisms in ascending order, and then arranging the corresponding rectangular prisms in that order.

[0050] For example, in the diagram shown in the center of Figure 2, the permutations obtained by rearranging the points in each dimension on the 4-dimensional coordinates of multiple rectangular prisms a to d in ascending order, are as follows: permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs arranged in the order of the corresponding rectangular prisms. ·Γe={dbca} ·Γn={cadb} ·Γw={cabd} ·Γs={bdca} Furthermore, the generation unit 13 may generate arrangement information regarding the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information, without referring to the points on the 4-dimensional coordinates of each of the multiple rectangular prisms. In this case, the generation unit 13 may generate appropriate permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs that satisfy the above-mentioned Pe(k)+Pw(k)=Ps(k)+Pn(k).

[0051] The output unit 14 outputs data by supplying data to the input / output unit 21 or the communication unit 22. For example, the output unit 14 determines whether the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 11, and if the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, it outputs the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13. As another example, the output unit 14 outputs the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 if the arrangement of rectangular prisms indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information AND satisfies the search termination conditions (details to be described later). As yet another example, the output unit 14 outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms identified by the identification unit 15, which will be described later.

[0052] The identification unit 15 identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms. The identification unit 15 stores the identified orientation and positional relationship in the storage unit 20. As an example, the identification unit 15 refers to the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 to identify the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms.

[0053] For example, as described above, represent the permutation of Pe as Γe, the permutation of Pn as Γn, the permutation of Pw as Γw, and the permutation of Ps as Γs. In each permutation, when it is represented that the rectangular parallelepiped ri is the k-th as Pe-1(ri)=k, Pn-1(ri)=k, Pw-1(ri)=k, Ps-1(ri)=k, the specific part 15 specifies the positional relationship between the two rectangular parallelepipeds i and j as follows. · When Pe-1(i)>Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i)>Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i)>Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i)>Ps-1(j), the specific part 15 specifies that the z coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped i on the three-dimensional coordinates is greater than the z coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped j (for example, in the three-dimensional coordinate system shown in the center of FIG. 2, the specific part 15 specifies that the rectangular parallelepiped i is arranged above the rectangular parallelepiped j). · When Pe-1(i)<Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i)<Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i)>Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i)>Ps-1(j), the specific part 15 specifies that the x coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped i on the three-dimensional coordinates is greater than the x coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped j (for example, in the three-dimensional coordinate system shown in the center of FIG. 2, the specific part 15 specifies that the rectangular parallelepiped i is arranged to the right of the rectangular parallelepiped j). · When Pe-1(i)<Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i)>Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i)>Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i)<Ps-1(j), the specific part 15 specifies that the y coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped i on the three-dimensional coordinates is greater than the y coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped j (for example, in the three-dimensional coordinate system shown in the center of FIG. 2, the specific part 15 specifies that the rectangular parallelepiped i is arranged behind the rectangular parallelepiped j). Furthermore, the specific part 15 may specify the positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds by the following method. An example of the method by which the specific part 15 specifies the positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a constraint graph showing an example of the method by which the specific part 15 specifies the positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0054] The identification unit 15 creates constraint graphs for each axis direction in a 3D coordinate system (x, y, and z coordinates). Next, it finds the longest path from the Source point to each vertex of each constraint graph. Then, the identification unit 15 identifies the longest path length from the Source to the Node in each direction as the 3D coordinate of the front left corner point of the corresponding rectangular prism.

[0055] For example, the left side of Figure 4 is the constraint graph in the x-direction for the arrangement shown in the center of Figure 2. The specific unit 15 creates the constraint graph in the x-direction shown on the left side of Figure 4 by the following method. 1. Set the Node, Source point, and Sink point corresponding to each rectangular prism. 2. From the Source point, create directed edges with weight 0 for each Node. 3. From each Node, extend an edge toward the Sink, with the weight being the x-width (length in the x-direction) of the corresponding rectangular prism. 4. For any pair of nodes (two nodes) among all nodes, if there is a positional relationship in the x-direction between the cuboids corresponding to the two nodes, a directed edge is drawn according to the size and positional relationship of the cuboids (for example, as shown in Figure 2, if cuboid d is positioned to the right of cuboid b, a directed edge is drawn from b to d, as shown on the left side of Figure 4, with the width of cuboid b as the weight). The positional relationship between node pairs in 4 is derived from the placement information, as described above.

[0056] The specific unit 15 creates a constraint graph in the y-direction shown in the center of Figure 4 and a constraint graph in the z-direction shown on the right side of Figure 4 using the same method.

[0057] By this method, the specific unit 15 identifies the relative positions of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0058] <Processing flow executed by information processing device 1> An example of the processing flow executed by the information processing device 1 will be explained with reference to Figure 5. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow executed by the information processing device 1.

[0059] (Step S11) In step S11, the acquisition unit 11 acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms. The acquisition unit 11 stores the acquired rectangular prism information and constraint information in the storage unit 20.

[0060] (Step S12) In step S12, the conversion unit 12 uses the method described above to convert a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through that predetermined point. The conversion unit 12 stores the converted point on the four-dimensional coordinate system in the storage unit 20.

[0061] (Step S13) In step S13, the generation unit 13 refers to the points on the 4D coordinates of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds transformed by the transformation unit 12 and generates arrangement information regarding the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds using the method described above. The generation unit 13 stores the generated arrangement information in the storage unit 20.

[0062] As described above, the generation unit 13 may generate arrangement information regarding the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information, without referring to the points on the 4D coordinates of each of the multiple rectangular prisms. In this case, after step S11 is executed, the processing in step S12 is not executed, and in step S13, arrangement information regarding the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information is generated.

[0063] (Step S14) In step S14, the output unit 14 determines whether the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 11.

[0064] (Step S15) In step S14, if it is determined that the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 (step S14: NO), in step S15, the generation unit 13 changes at least one of the arrangement and orientation of the multiple rectangular prisms and generates the changed arrangement information.

[0065] For example, if the arrangement information is the permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs described above, the generation unit 13 performs at least one of the following: modifying at least a portion of the permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs, and changing the orientation of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds, thereby generating the modified arrangement information. Here, when the generation unit 13 modifies at least a portion of the permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs, it is necessary to satisfy Pe(k)+Pw(k)=Ps(k)+Pn(k), as described above.

[0066] Furthermore, the generation unit 13 may change at least one of the arrangement and orientation of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds and update the rectangular parallelepiped information stored in the storage unit 20. In this case, the information processing device 1 may execute step S12 with the updated rectangular parallelepiped information.

[0067] (Step S16) In step S14, if it is determined that the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 (step S14: YES), in step S16, the output unit 14 outputs the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13.

[0068] (Step S17) In step S17, the identification unit 15 refers to the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds using the method described above. The identification unit 15 stores the identified orientation and positional relationship in the storage unit 20.

[0069] (Step S18) In step S18, the output unit 14 outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit 15.

[0070] Thus, the information processing device 1 includes: an acquisition unit 11 that acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size and orientation of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms; a conversion unit 12 that, when the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular prisms satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation unit 13 that references the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information; and an output unit 14 that outputs the arrangement information.

[0071] In other words, the information processing device 1 can provide arrangement information regarding the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds. Therefore, the information processing device 1 can provide an arrangement representation method that represents the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds as information.

[0072] Furthermore, in step S14, the output unit 14 may be configured to determine whether the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and whether the search termination conditions are met. Examples of search termination conditions include whether the generation of arrangement information has been repeated a predetermined number of times, whether a sufficiently good solution for the objective function has been obtained, and whether an arrangement that sufficiently satisfies the constraints has been obtained.

[0073] In this case, if it is determined in step S14 that the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and satisfies the search termination condition, the output unit 14 outputs the arrangement information in step S16.

[0074] On the other hand, if in step S14 it is determined that the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information, or that the search termination condition is not met, then in step S15 the generation unit 13 changes at least one of the arrangement and orientation of the multiple cuboids and generates the changed arrangement information.

[0075] Thus, the information processing device 1 includes an acquisition unit 11 that acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms; a generation unit 13 that generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information; and an output unit 14 that outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the rectangular prisms indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and satisfies the search termination condition. The generation unit 13 generates arrangement information that changes at least one of the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms and the orientation of the rectangular prisms if the arrangement of the rectangular prisms indicated by the arrangement information does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information or does not satisfy the search termination condition.

[0076] In other words, the information processing device 1 repeatedly modifies the arrangement information until the arrangement satisfies the constraints and the termination condition is met. Therefore, the information processing device 1 can search for the optimal rectangular prism arrangement (one that fully satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information). Other methods by which the information processing device 1 searches for the optimal rectangular prism arrangement include using Simulatted Annealing or Tabu Search. Furthermore, by referring to the arrangement information (four permutations), the information processing device 1 can partially check whether the constraints regarding the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms are satisfied and efficiently eliminate non-acceptable solutions.

[0077] Furthermore, even when the information processing device 1 deletes, modifies, or adds some rectangular parallelepipeds to a determined arrangement, it can provide arrangement information through a similar process.

[0078] Specifically, the information processing device 1 performs the following processes. 1. Remove, modify, or add some cuboids to the already determined layout (this may result in overlapping cuboids or wasted space). 2. After deleting, modifying, or adding some rectangular prisms, the arrangement information is generated by converting a predetermined point in the 3D coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular prisms into a point in the 4D coordinate system represented by four planes passing through that predetermined point. 3. Identify the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms from the arrangement information. Thus, even when the information processing device 1 deletes, modifies, or adds some rectangular parallelepipeds to a determined arrangement, it can provide arrangement information through the same process.

[0079] <Overview of Information Processing System 100> The information processing system 100 in this disclosure is similar to the information processing device 1 described above, and is a system that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds in an arrangement that satisfies the constraints.

[0080] More specifically, the information processing system 100 is an information processing system comprising a first information processing device and a second information processing device, wherein the first information processing device comprises: a first acquisition unit that acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a conversion unit that, when the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation unit that refers to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and a first output unit that outputs the arrangement information to the second information processing device, wherein the second information processing device comprises: a second acquisition unit that acquires the arrangement information output from the first information processing device; a specification unit that refers to the arrangement information and specifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of cuboids; and a second output unit that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of cuboids specified by the specification unit.

[0081] According to the above configuration, when the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds satisfies the constraints, the information processing system 100 generates and outputs arrangement information regarding the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds using the arrangement representation method described above. In other words, the information processing device 1 can provide an arrangement representation method that represents the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds as information.

[0082] Furthermore, the information processing system 100 outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms identified from the arrangement information. In other words, the information processing device 1 can notify the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple arranged rectangular prisms.

[0083] The information processing system 100 will be described below with reference to the diagrams.

[0084] Figure 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing system 100. As shown in Figure 6, the information processing system 100 includes an information processing device 3 (first information processing device) and an information processing device 4 (second information processing device).

[0085] In the information processing system 100, information processing devices 3 and 4 are capable of communication. The communication between information processing devices 3 and 4 is not particularly limited and may be conducted via a network (for example, a network using various communication standards such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and mobile data communication networks) or through a direct communication configuration.

[0086] The information processing device 3 comprises a control unit 30, a storage unit 20, an input / output unit 21, and a communication unit 22. The storage unit 20, the input / output unit 21, and the communication unit 22 are as described above.

[0087] The control unit 30 controls each component of the information processing device 3. For example, the control unit 30 controls each component of the information processing device 3 by executing instructions written in a program. The control unit 30 is composed of, for example, a processor, an arithmetic unit, registers, and / or peripheral circuits. Details of the control unit 30 will be described later. In addition, as shown in Figure 6, the control unit 30 includes an acquisition unit 11 (first acquisition unit), a conversion unit 12, a generation unit 13, and an output unit 31 (first output unit).

[0088] The acquisition unit 11 acquires data supplied from the input / output unit 21 or the communication unit 22, similar to the acquisition unit 11 described above. The acquisition unit 11 stores the acquired data in the storage unit 20. As an example, the acquisition unit 11 acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms.

[0089] The conversion unit 12, similar to the conversion unit 12 described above, converts a point in 3D coordinates to a point in 4D coordinates. The conversion unit 12 stores the converted 4D coordinate point in the storage unit 20.

[0090] As an example, the transformation unit 12 transforms a predetermined point in the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds into a point in the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through that predetermined point.

[0091] The generation unit 13 generates arrangement information regarding the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms, similar to the generation unit 13 described above. The generation unit 13 stores the generated arrangement information in the storage unit 20. As an example, the generation unit 13 references a point on the 4D coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular prisms and generates arrangement information regarding the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information. Alternatively, the generation unit 13 may generate arrangement information regarding the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information without referencing a point on the 4D coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular prisms.

[0092] The output unit 31 outputs data by supplying data to the input / output unit 21 or the communication unit 22. For example, the output unit 31 determines whether the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 11. If the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, the output unit 31 outputs the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13. As another example, if the arrangement of rectangular prisms indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information AND the search termination condition is met, the output unit 31 outputs the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13.

[0093] The information processing device 4 comprises a control unit 40, a storage unit 50, an input / output unit 51, and a communication unit 52. The storage unit 50, the input / output unit 51, and the communication unit 52 have the same functions as the storage unit 20, the input / output unit 21, and the communication unit 22 described above, so their explanation is omitted.

[0094] The control unit 40 controls each component of the information processing device 4. As shown in Figure 6, the control unit 40 also includes an acquisition unit 41 (second acquisition unit), a specification unit 15, and an output unit 42 (second output unit).

[0095] The acquisition unit 41 acquires data supplied from the input / output unit 51 or the communication unit 52. The acquisition unit 41 stores the acquired data in the storage unit 50. As an example, the acquisition unit 41 acquires placement information output from the information processing device 3.

[0096] The identification unit 15, similar to the identification unit 15 described above, identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds. The identification unit 15 stores the identified orientation and positional relationship in the storage unit 50. As an example, the identification unit 15 refers to the arrangement information acquired by the acquisition unit 41 and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0097] The output unit 42 outputs data by supplying data to the input / output unit 51 or the communication unit 52. For example, the output unit 42 outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit 15.

[0098] <Processing flow executed in information processing system 100> The processing flow executed in the information processing system 100 will be explained with reference to Figure 7. Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the processing flow executed in the information processing system 100.

[0099] (Steps S11 to S15) In steps S11 to S15, the information processing device 3 performs the same processing as the information processing device 1 performed in steps S11 to S15 described above.

[0100] (Step S16) In step S14, if it is determined that the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepipeds satisfies the constraints (step S14: YES), in step S16, the output unit 42 outputs the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 to the information processing device 4.

[0101] (Step S21) In step S21, the acquisition unit 41 of the information processing device 4 acquires the arrangement information output from the information processing device 3. The acquisition unit 41 stores the acquired arrangement information in the storage unit 50.

[0102] (Step S17) In step S17, the identification unit 15, similar to step S17 described above, refers to the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 (arrangement information acquired by the acquisition unit 41) and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds using the method described above. The identification unit 15 stores the identified orientation and positional relationship in the storage unit 50.

[0103] (Step S18) In step S18, the output unit 42 outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit 15.

[0104] Thus, the information processing system 100 is an information processing system comprising an information processing device 3 and an information processing device 4, wherein the information processing device 3 comprises an acquisition unit 11 that acquires rectangular parallelepiped information indicating the size and orientation of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, a conversion unit 12 that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the arranged plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point, a generation unit 13 that refers to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information, and an output unit 31 that outputs the arrangement information to the information processing device 4 if the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepipeds indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, and the information processing device 4 comprises an acquisition unit 41 that acquires the arrangement information output from the information processing device 3, a specification unit 15 that refers to the arrangement information and specifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, and an output unit 42 that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds specified by the specification unit 15.

[0105] In other words, the information processing system 100 can provide the information processing device 4 with arrangement information regarding the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms. Therefore, the information processing system 100 can provide an arrangement representation method that represents the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms as information.

[0106] Furthermore, in the information processing system 100, the information processing device 3 generates arrangement information, and the information processing device 4 refers to the arrangement information to determine the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms. Therefore, the information processing system 100 can, for example, have the server execute the processing performed by the information processing device 3, and have the terminal execute the processing performed by the information processing device 4, so that the terminal can determine the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms with a light processing load.

[0107] Furthermore, it can be said that the information processing device 4 in the information processing system 100 has the following configuration.

[0108] The information processing device 4 includes an acquisition unit 41 that acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular prisms, which is generated by converting a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point, and referencing the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms; an identification unit 15 that refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms; and an output unit 42 that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms identified by the identification unit 15.

[0109] In other words, the information processing device 4 can refer to the arrangement information generated by the method described above and provide the orientation and positional relationship of each of the identified rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0110] <Inventor's findings 2> The inventors have further discovered that they can provide a method for representing the positional relationships of multiple rectangular prisms in a search range different from the search range described above, by the following method. The inventors' findings will be explained with reference to Figures 8 and 9. Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of dividing a rectangular prism into multiple smaller rectangular prisms. Figure 9 is a diagram showing the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms.

[0111] The inventors have further discovered that by dividing at least one of the multiple rectangular prisms into multiple rectangular prisms (hereinafter referred to as "small rectangular prisms") and applying the above-described arrangement representation method to the multiple small rectangular prisms, it is possible to provide an arrangement representation method for a search range different from the above-described search range.

[0112] An example of a small rectangular parallelepiped will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a small rectangular parallelepiped. As shown in FIG. 8, m (where m > 1) small rectangular parallelepipeds r1, r2, ···, rm are obtained by dividing the rectangular parallelepiped r. In FIG. 8, the small rectangular parallelepipeds r1, r2, ···, rm are obtained by dividing the rectangular parallelepiped r by planes parallel to the y-axis and the z-axis. The method of division is not particularly limited, and as long as it is a method of dividing a rectangular parallelepiped into a plurality of small rectangular parallelepipeds, the dividing plane and the number m of divisions are not limited. Also, the number of rectangular parallelepipeds to be divided is not limited, and one rectangular parallelepiped may be divided, or a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds may be divided.

[0113] Regarding the m small rectangular parallelepipeds r1, r2, ···, rm obtained by division, in the same manner as the above-described arrangement expression method, the predetermined coordinates are converted into points on the four-dimensional coordinates. Then, the points on the converted four-dimensional coordinates are arranged in ascending order, and Pe-1(ri), Pn-1(ri), Pw-1(ri), and Ps-1(ri) are derived.

[0114] As an example, as shown in FIG. 8, in the case of the m small rectangular parallelepipeds r1, r2, ···, rm obtained by dividing the rectangular parallelepiped r by planes parallel to the y-axis and the z-axis, the following conditions are satisfied. However, i > j, that is, the small rectangular parallelepiped ri is arranged to the right of the small rectangular parallelepiped rj (the x-coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped i is greater than the x-coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped j). ·Pe-1(ri) < Pe-1(rj) and Pn-1(ri) < Pn-1(rj) and Pw-1(ri) > Pw-1(rj) and Ps-1(ri) > Ps-1(rj) Similarly, in the case of the m small rectangular parallelepipeds r1, r2, ···, rm obtained by dividing the rectangular parallelepiped r by planes parallel to the x-axis and the z-axis, the following conditions are satisfied. However, i < j, that is, the small rectangular parallelepiped ri is arranged behind the small rectangular parallelepiped rj (the y-coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped i is greater than the y-coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped j). ·Pe-1(ri) < Pe-1(rj) and Pn-1(ri) > Pn-1(rj) and Pw-1(ri) > Pw-1(rj) and Ps-1(ri) < Ps-1(rj) Similarly, for the m small rectangular parallelepipeds r1, r2, ···, rm obtained by dividing the rectangular parallelepiped r by planes parallel to the x-axis and y-axis, the following conditions are satisfied. However, i < j, that is, the small rectangular parallelepiped ri is placed above the small rectangular parallelepiped rj (the z-coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped i is greater than the z-coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped j).

[0115] Also, for the permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs including the sets of small rectangular parallelepipeds {r1, r2, ···, rm} and {q1, q2, ···, ql} obtained from any two rectangular parallelepipeds r and q respectively, the following theorem holds. ·In the permutation Γe, for all the small rectangular parallelepipeds ri, small rectangular parallelepiped qj, and small rectangular parallelepiped ri+1 arranged in the order of ···ri, ···qj, ···ri+1, ··· or ···ri+1, ···qj, ···, ri, ··· ·There exists a qj such that any two of Γn, Γw, and Γs are not arranged in the order of ···ri, ···qj, ···ri+1, ··· or ···ri+1, ···qj, ···, ri, ···

[0116] An example of applying this arrangement representation method will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the arrangement and positional relationship of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds. Hereinafter, for the rectangular parallelepipeds a, b, and c arranged as shown above FIG. 9, the case where the rectangular parallelepiped c is divided (vertically divided) by a plane parallel to the x-axis and y-axis as shown in the center of FIG. 9 to obtain the small rectangular parallelepiped c1 and the rectangular parallelepiped c2 will be described.

[0117] In the case of the arrangement shown in the center of FIG. 9, the above-described permutations Γe, permutation Γn, permutation Γw, and permutation Γs are as follows. ·Γe = {c1ac2b} ·Γn = {ac1c2b} ·Γw = {ac1bc2} ·Γs = {c1abc2} When permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs are as described, the positional relationship between the above permutations and each rectangular prism or each small rectangular prism is as shown in the table in the lower part of Figure 9. Based on the table in the lower part of Figure 9, small rectangular prism c1 is behind rectangular prism a and below rectangular prism b, and small rectangular prism c2 is above rectangular prism a and to the right of rectangular prism b. Here, since small rectangular prisms c1 and c2 divide rectangular prism c vertically, rectangular prism c is behind rectangular prism a and to the right of rectangular prism b. In other words, permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs accurately represent the arrangement of rectangular prisms a to c shown in the upper part of Figure 9.

[0118] Each process performed by the information processing device 5 described below is based on the aforementioned knowledge and represents the inventor's unique perspective.

[0119] <Overview of Information Processing Device 5> The information processing device 5 in this disclosure, like the information processing device 1 described above, is a device that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds in an arrangement that satisfies the constraints. The information processing device 5 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0120] Figure 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device 5. As shown in Figure 10, the information processing device 5 comprises a control unit 60, a storage unit 20, an input / output unit 21, and a communication unit 22. The storage unit 20, the input / output unit 21, and the communication unit 22 are as described above.

[0121] The control unit 60 controls each component of the information processing device 5. For example, the control unit 60 controls each component of the information processing device 5 by executing instructions written in a program. The control unit 60 is composed of, for example, a processor, an arithmetic unit, registers, and / or peripheral circuits. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 10, the control unit 60 includes an acquisition unit 11, a conversion unit 12, a generation unit 13, an output unit 14, a specification unit 15, and a division unit 61. The acquisition unit 11 is as described above.

[0122] The division unit 61 refers to the cuboid information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 and divides at least one of the multiple cuboids into multiple smaller cuboids. The method of division is not particularly limited; as long as it divides the cuboid into multiple smaller cuboids, the faces to be divided and the number of divisions are not limited. Also, the cuboids that the division unit 61 divides are not limited; one cuboid may be divided, or multiple cuboids may be divided. As an example, in permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs, the division unit 61 divides at least one of the multiple cuboids into multiple smaller cuboids.

[0123] In addition to the processing described above, the transformation unit 12 transforms a predetermined point on the 3D coordinate system in each of the multiple small rectangular prisms divided by the division unit 61 into a point on the 4D coordinate system represented by four planes passing through that predetermined point. The method by which the transformation unit 12 transforms a predetermined point on the 3D coordinate system in each of the small rectangular prisms into a point on the 4D coordinate system represented by four planes passing through that predetermined point is the same as the method by which the transformation unit 12 transforms a point on the 3D coordinate system of the rectangular prism into a point on the 4D coordinate system described above.

[0124] In addition to the processing described above, the generation unit 13 references points on the 4D coordinates of each of the multiple small rectangular prisms and generates arrangement information regarding the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms and the multiple small rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information. The method by which the generation unit 13 generates the arrangement information is the same as the method by which the generation unit 13 generates the arrangement information described above. That is, the generation unit 13 may generate the arrangement information by referencing points on the 4D coordinates of the multiple rectangular prisms and the small rectangular prisms, or it may generate arrangement information by modifying at least a part of permutations Γe, Γn, Γw, and Γs without referencing points on the 4D coordinates of the multiple rectangular prisms and the small rectangular prisms.

[0125] In other words, in addition to the processing described above, the generation unit 13 generates arrangement information with a modified division method. Arrangement information with a modified division method refers to at least one of the following: arrangement information in which the rectangular prisms to be divided have been changed, arrangement information in which the number of divisions has been changed, and arrangement information in which the faces to be divided have been changed.

[0126] In addition to the processing described above, the output unit 14 outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms and multiple small rectangular prisms indicated by the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information. As another example, the output unit 14 outputs the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 if the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms and multiple small rectangular prisms indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, AND satisfies the search termination conditions described above. As yet another example, the output unit 14 outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms identified by the identification unit 15, which will be described later.

[0127] The identification unit 15 refers to the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0128] An example of how the identification unit 15 determines the orientation and positional relationship of multiple rectangular prisms will be explained with reference to Figure 11. Figure 11 is a constraint graph showing another example of how the identification unit 15 determines the positional relationship of multiple rectangular prisms.

[0129] For example, the left side of Figure 11 is the constraint graph in the x-direction for the arrangement shown in the center of Figure 9. The specific unit 15 creates the constraint graph in the x-direction shown on the left side of Figure 11 by the following method. Steps 1 to 4 below are the same as the method described above. 1. Set the Node, Source point, and Sink point corresponding to each rectangular prism. 2. From the Source point, create directed edges with weight 0 for each Node. 3. From each Node, branches are extended toward the Sink, with weights equal to the x-width (length in the x-direction) of the corresponding cuboid. (For Nodes corresponding to small cuboids, the branches extending from that Node are branches with weights equal to the x-width of the original cuboid.) 4. For any pair of nodes (two nodes) among all nodes, if there is a positional relationship in the x-direction between the cuboids corresponding to the two nodes, a directed edge is drawn according to the size and positional relationship of the cuboids. 5. Merge the Nodes corresponding to the divided small cuboids. Here, if there is a branch between the two Nodes to be merged, and that branch is a directed branch from one Node to the other Node, delete all directed branches from one Node to the other Node and all directed branches from other Nodes to the other Node. For example, as shown in the center of Figure 11, when merging small cuboids c1 and c2, delete the directed branch from cuboid a to small cuboid c2 (directed branch from other Nodes to the other Node). Since small cuboids c1 and c2 are merged, the directed branch between small cuboids c1 and c2 is naturally deleted. Also, although not shown in Figure 11, if there was a directed branch from small cuboid c1 to cuboid b (directed branch from one Node to another Node), delete that directed branch. 6. The identification unit 15 finds the longest path from the Source point to each vertex of the constraint graph after merging in step 5. The identification unit 15 then identifies the longest path length from the Source to the Node in each direction as the 3D coordinates of the front left corner point of the corresponding rectangular prism.

[0130] The specific unit 15 creates a constraint graph in the y direction and a constraint graph in the z direction using a similar method.

[0131] By this method, the specific unit 15 identifies the relative positions of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0132] <Processing flow executed by the information processing device 5> An example of the processing flow executed by the information processing device 5 will be explained with reference to Figure 12. Figure 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow executed by the information processing device 5.

[0133] (Step S11) In step S11, the acquisition unit 11 acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, similar to step S11 described above. The acquisition unit 11 stores the acquired rectangular prism information and constraint information in the storage unit 20.

[0134] (Step S31) In step S31, the division unit 61 refers to the rectangular parallelepiped information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 and divides at least one of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds into multiple smaller rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0135] (Step S12) In step S12, the transformation unit 12 transforms a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through that predetermined point. Furthermore, the transformation unit 12 transforms a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the multiple small rectangular parallelepipeds divided by the division unit 61 into a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through that predetermined point. The transformation unit 12 stores the transformed points on the four-dimensional coordinate system in the storage unit 20.

[0136] (Step S13) In step S13, the generation unit 13 refers to the points on the 4D coordinates of each of the multiple rectangular prisms transformed by the transformation unit 12 and generates arrangement information regarding the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms and the arrangement of the multiple smaller rectangular prisms. The generation unit 13 stores the generated arrangement information in the storage unit 20.

[0137] (Step S14) In step S14, the output unit 14 determines whether the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 11.

[0138] (Step S32) In step S14, if it is determined that the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 (step S14: NO), in step S32, the generation unit 13 generates arrangement information with at least one of the arrangement and orientation of the rectangular parallelepipeds changed, or arrangement information with a changed division method. After executing step S32, the information processing device 5 executes step S14 again.

[0139] (Step S16) In step S14, if it is determined that the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 (step S14: YES), then in step S16, similar to step S16 described above, the output unit 14 outputs the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13.

[0140] (Step S17) In step S17, the identification unit 15 refers to the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds using the method described above. The identification unit 15 stores the identified orientation and positional relationship in the storage unit 20.

[0141] (Step S18) In step S18, the output unit 14 outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit 15.

[0142] The information processing device 5 may execute the processing flow shown in Figure 12 in combination with the flow shown in Figure 5. For example, the information processing device 5 may execute the flow shown in Figure 5, and if it is determined in step S14 that the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 11, it may execute the flow shown in Figure 12. Alternatively, in the flow of Figure 5, step S32 in Figure 12 may be executed instead of step S15.

[0143] Thus, the information processing device 5 further includes a division unit 61 that refers to the rectangular parallelepiped information and divides at least one of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds into multiple smaller rectangular parallelepipeds; the conversion unit 12 further converts a predetermined point on the 3D coordinates of each of the multiple smaller rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the 4D coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; the generation unit 13 further refers to the point on the 4D coordinates of each of the multiple smaller rectangular parallelepipeds and generates arrangement information regarding the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds and the multiple smaller rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information; and the output unit 14 outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds and the multiple smaller rectangular parallelepipeds indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information.

[0144] In other words, the information processing device 5 can provide a method for representing the positional relationships of multiple rectangular parallelepipeds in a search range different from that of the information processing device 1 or information processing system 100 described above.

[0145] <Overview of Information Processing System 200> The information processing system 200 in this disclosure, like the information processing device 5 described above, is a system that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds in an arrangement that satisfies the constraints. The information processing system 200 will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0146] Figure 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing system 200. As shown in Figure 13, the information processing system 100 includes an information processing device 7 (first information processing device) and an information processing device 8 (second information processing device).

[0147] In the information processing system 200, information processing devices 7 and 8 are capable of communication. The communication between information processing devices 7 and 8 is not particularly limited and may be conducted via a network (for example, a network using various communication standards such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and mobile data communication networks) or through a direct communication configuration.

[0148] The information processing device 7 comprises a control unit 70, a storage unit 20, an input / output unit 21, and a communication unit 22. The storage unit 20, the input / output unit 21, and the communication unit 22 are as described above.

[0149] The control unit 70 controls each component of the information processing device 7. For example, the control unit 70 controls each component of the information processing device 7 by executing instructions written in a program. The control unit 70 is composed of, for example, a processor, an arithmetic unit, registers, and / or peripheral circuits. As shown in Figure 13, the control unit 70 also includes an acquisition unit 11 (first acquisition unit), a conversion unit 12, a generation unit 13, an output unit 31 (first output unit), and a splitting unit 61.

[0150] The division unit 61, similar to the division unit 61 described above, refers to the rectangular parallelepiped information acquired by the acquisition unit 11 and divides at least one of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds into multiple smaller rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0151] The acquisition unit 11 acquires data supplied from the input / output unit 21 or the communication unit 22, similar to the acquisition unit 11 described above. The acquisition unit 11 stores the acquired data in the storage unit 20. As an example, the acquisition unit 11 acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms.

[0152] The transformation unit 12, similar to the transformation unit 12 described above, transforms a predetermined point in the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the multiple small rectangular parallelepipeds divided by the division unit 61 into a point in the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through that predetermined point.

[0153] The generation unit 13, similar to the generation unit 13 described above, references points on the 4D coordinates of each of the multiple small rectangular prisms and generates arrangement information regarding the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms and the multiple small rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information.

[0154] The output unit 31 outputs data by supplying data to the input / output unit 21 or the communication unit 22, similar to the output unit 31 described above. For example, the output unit 31 determines whether the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 11, and if the arrangement of multiple rectangular prisms satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, it outputs the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13. As another example, the output unit 14 outputs the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 if the arrangement of rectangular prisms indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information AND the search termination condition is met.

[0155] The information processing device 8 comprises a control unit 80, a storage unit 50, an input / output unit 51, and a communication unit 52. The storage unit 50, the input / output unit 51, and the communication unit 52 have the same functions as the storage unit 20, the input / output unit 21, and the communication unit 22 described above, so their explanation is omitted.

[0156] The control unit 80 controls each component of the information processing device 8. As shown in Figure 13, the control unit 80 also includes an acquisition unit 41 (second acquisition unit), a specification unit 15, and an output unit 42 (second output unit).

[0157] The acquisition unit 41 acquires the arrangement information output from the information processing device 3, similar to the acquisition unit 41 described above. Specifically, the acquisition unit 41 acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms and the multiple small rectangular prisms, which is generated by referencing the points on the four-dimensional coordinates of the multiple rectangular prisms and the multiple small rectangular prisms, where a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the multiple rectangular prisms and the multiple small rectangular prisms obtained by dividing at least one of the multiple rectangular prisms is converted into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point.

[0158] The identification unit 15, similar to the identification unit 15 described above, identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds. The identification unit 15 stores the identified orientation and positional relationship in the storage unit 50. As an example, the identification unit 15 refers to the arrangement information acquired by the acquisition unit 41 and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0159] The output unit 42 outputs data by supplying data to the input / output unit 51 or the communication unit 52, similar to the output unit 42 described above. As an example, the output unit 42 outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit 15.

[0160] <Processing flow executed in information processing system 200> The processing flow executed in the information processing system 200 will be explained with reference to Figure 7. Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the processing flow executed in the information processing system 100.

[0161] (Steps S11 to S32) In steps S11 to S32, the information processing device 7 performs the same processing as the information processing device 5 performed in steps S11 to S32 described above.

[0162] (Step S16) In step S14, if it is determined that the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepipeds satisfies the constraints (step S14: YES), in step S16, the output unit 42 outputs the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 to the information processing device 8.

[0163] (Step S21) In step S21, the acquisition unit 41 of the information processing device 8 acquires the arrangement information output from the information processing device 7. The acquisition unit 41 stores the acquired arrangement information in the storage unit 50.

[0164] (Step S17) In step S17, the identification unit 15, similar to step S17 described above, refers to the arrangement information generated by the generation unit 13 (arrangement information acquired by the acquisition unit 41) and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds using the method described above. The identification unit 15 stores the identified orientation and positional relationship in the storage unit 50.

[0165] (Step S18) In step S18, the output unit 42 outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit 15.

[0166] The information processing system 200 may execute the processing flow shown in Figure 14 in combination with the flow shown in Figure 7. For example, the information processing system 200 may execute the flow shown in Figure 7, and if it is determined in step S14 that the arrangement of the multiple rectangular parallelepipeds satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information acquired by the acquisition unit 11, it may execute the flow shown in Figure 14. Alternatively, in the flow of Figure 7, step S32 in Figure 14 may be executed instead of step S15.

[0167] Thus, in the information processing system 200, the information processing device 8 acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms and the multiple small rectangular prisms, where a predetermined point on the 3D coordinates of each of the multiple rectangular prisms and the multiple small rectangular prisms obtained by dividing at least one of the multiple rectangular prisms is converted into a point on the 4D coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point, and the arrangement information generated by referring to the points on the 4D coordinates of each of the multiple rectangular prisms and the multiple small rectangular prisms, and the identification unit 15 refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and the output unit 42 outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the multiple rectangular prisms identified by the identification unit 15.

[0168] In other words, in the information processing system 200, the information processing device 8 can decode the arrangement representation method that represents the positional relationships of multiple rectangular parallelepipeds within a search range different from that of the information processing device 1 or the information processing system 100 described above.

[0169] <Examples of implementation using software> The functions of information processing devices 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 (hereinafter referred to as "devices") are programs that cause the devices to function as computers, and these programs can be realized by programs that cause each control block of the devices (particularly the parts included in control unit 10, control unit 30, control unit 40, control unit 60, control unit 70, and control unit 80) to function as computers.

[0170] In this case, the device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., memory) as hardware for executing the program. By executing the program using this control device and storage device, the functions described in each of the embodiments are realized.

[0171] The above program may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media, not temporary ones. These recording media may or may not be provided by the above device. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the above device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0172] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of each of the above control blocks can also be realized by logic circuits. For example, an integrated circuit in which logic circuits functioning as each of the above control blocks are formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, it is also possible to realize the functions of each of the above control blocks by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0173] Furthermore, each process described in the above embodiments may be performed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI ​​may operate on the control device described above, or it may operate on other devices (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server).

[0174] <Summary> This disclosure includes at least the following aspects:

[0175] An information processing device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition unit that acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a conversion unit that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the arranged plurality of cuboids into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation unit that references the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and an output unit that outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information.

[0176] According to the above configuration, the information processing device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure can provide a method for representing the positional relationships of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0177] In the information processing device according to aspect 2 of the present disclosure, in aspect 1, if the coordinates of a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system of the rectangular parallelepiped k are (xk, yk, zk), then the four planes are represented using z=x+y+Pe(k), z=x-y+Pn(k), z=-x-y+Pw(k), and z=-x+y+Ps(k), where Pe(k)+Pw(k)=Ps(k)+Pn(k), and the point on the four-dimensional coordinate system is (Pe(k),Pn(k),Pw(k),Ps(k)).

[0178] According to the above configuration, the information processing device according to aspect 2 of the present disclosure can suitably convert a point on a three-dimensional coordinate system into a point on a four-dimensional coordinate system for providing a method of representing the positional relationships of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0179] In the information processing apparatus according to aspect 3 of the present disclosure, the generation unit in aspect 1 or 2 generates a permutation in which the points in each dimension of the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds are replaced in ascending order, and the corresponding rectangular parallelepipeds are arranged in that order, as the arrangement information.

[0180] According to the above configuration, the information processing device according to aspect 3 of the present disclosure can suitably generate arrangement information for providing an arrangement representation method that represents the positional relationships of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0181] In the information processing device according to aspect 4 of the present disclosure, in any of aspects 1 to 3, if the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and the search termination condition is met, the output unit outputs the arrangement information; if the search termination condition is not met, the generation unit generates arrangement information in which the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and at least one of the orientations of at least one of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds have been changed.

[0182] According to the above configuration, the information processing device according to aspect 4 of this disclosure can change the placement information until the search termination condition is met, and output the placement information that satisfies the search termination condition.

[0183] The information processing device according to aspect 5 of the present disclosure further comprises, in any of aspects 1 to 4, a specification unit that refers to the arrangement information and specifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0184] According to the above configuration, the information processing device according to aspect 5 of the present disclosure can identify orientations and positional relationships from arrangement representation methods that represent the orientations and positional relationships of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0185] In the information processing apparatus according to Aspect 6 of the present disclosure, in the above Aspect 5, the permutation of Pe is represented as Γe, the permutation of Pn is represented as Γn, the permutation of Pw is represented as Γw, and the permutation of Ps is represented as Γs. In each permutation, when the rectangular parallelepiped ri is the k-th, it is represented as Pe-1(ri)=k, Pn-1(ri)=k, Pw-1(ri)=k, Ps-1(ri)=k. For the rectangular parallelepipeds i and j, when Pe-1(i)>Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i)>Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i)>Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i)>Ps-1(j), the specifying unit specifies that the z coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped i on the three-dimensional coordinates is greater than the z coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped j. When Pe-1(i)<Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i)<Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i)>Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i)>Ps-1(j), the specifying unit specifies that the x coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped i on the three-dimensional coordinates is greater than the x coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped j. When Pe-1(i)<Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i)>Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i)>Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i)<Ps-1(j), the specifying unit specifies that the y coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped i on the three-dimensional coordinates is greater than the y coordinate of a predetermined point of the rectangular parallelepiped j.

[0186] According to the above configuration, the information processing apparatus according to Aspect 6 of the present disclosure can preferably specify the positional relationship from the arrangement expression method representing the positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0187] In the information processing apparatus according to Aspect 7 of the present disclosure, the output unit in the above Aspect 5 or 6 outputs the positional relationship specified by the specifying unit.

[0188] According to the above configuration, the information processing apparatus according to Aspect 6 of the present disclosure can provide the positional relationship specified from the arrangement expression method representing the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0189] An information processing device according to aspect 8 of the present disclosure further comprises, in any of aspects 1 to 7, a division unit that refers to the rectangular parallelepiped information and divides at least one of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds into a plurality of smaller rectangular parallelepipeds; a conversion unit further converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of smaller rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation unit further refers to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of smaller rectangular parallelepipeds and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and the plurality of smaller rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information; and an output unit outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and the plurality of smaller rectangular parallelepipeds indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information.

[0190] According to the above configuration, the information processing device according to aspect 8 of the present disclosure can provide a method for representing the positional relationships of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in a search range different from that of the information processing devices according to aspects 1 to 7.

[0191] An information processing device according to aspect 9 of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition unit that acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, which is generated by converting a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point, and by referring to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; an identification unit that refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; and an output unit that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit.

[0192] According to the above configuration, the information processing device according to aspect 9 of the present disclosure can provide a positional relationship identified from an arrangement representation method that represents the positional relationship of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0193] In the information processing apparatus according to aspect 10 of the present disclosure, the acquisition unit in aspect 9 acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular prisms and the plurality of small rectangular prisms obtained by dividing each of the plurality of rectangular prisms into a plurality of small rectangular prisms, which is generated by referring to the points on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms and the plurality of small rectangular prisms, and the identification unit refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms, and the output unit outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms identified by the identification unit.

[0194] According to the above configuration, the information processing device according to aspect 10 of the present disclosure can provide a positional relationship identified from a configuration representation method searched in a different search range than the information processing device according to aspect 9.

[0195] An information processing system according to aspect 11 of the present disclosure is an information processing system comprising a first information processing device and a second information processing device, wherein the first information processing device includes: a first acquisition unit that acquires rectangular parallelepiped information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; a conversion unit that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the arranged plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; and a unit that references the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, and the rectangular parallelepiped The device comprises: a generation unit that generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the information; a first output unit that outputs the arrangement information to the second information processing device if the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepipeds indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information; the second information processing device comprises: a second acquisition unit that acquires the arrangement information output from the first information processing device; an identification unit that refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; and a second output unit that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit.

[0196] According to the above configuration, the information processing system according to aspect 11 of the present disclosure can provide a method for representing the orientation and positional relationship of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the information processing system according to aspect 11 of the present disclosure can provide a positional relationship identified from the method for representing the positional relationship of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0197] An information processing method according to aspect 12 of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition process in which at least one processor acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a conversion process in which at least one processor converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the arranged plurality of cuboids into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation process in which at least one processor refers to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and an output process in which, if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, at least one processor outputs the arrangement information.

[0198] According to the above configuration, the information processing method according to aspect 12 of this disclosure can provide a method for representing the positional relationships of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0199] An information processing method according to aspect 13 of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition process in which at least one processor converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point, and acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, which is generated by referring to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; an identification process in which the at least one processor refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; and an output process in which the at least one processor outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds identified in the identification process.

[0200] According to the above configuration, the information processing method according to aspect 13 of this disclosure can provide a positional relationship identified from an arrangement representation method that represents the positional relationship of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0201] An information processing method according to aspect 14 of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition process in which at least one processor acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a conversion process in which the at least one processor converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the arranged plurality of cuboids into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation process in which the at least one processor refers to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; a identification process in which, if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, the at least one processor refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of cuboids; and an output process in which the at least one processor outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of cuboids identified in the identification process.

[0202] According to the above configuration, the information processing method according to aspect 14 of the present disclosure can provide a configuration representation method that shows the positional relationships of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the information processing method according to aspect 14 of the present disclosure can provide a positional relationship identified from the configuration representation method that shows the positional relationships of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0203] A program according to aspect 15 of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device, the program comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a conversion unit that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the arranged plurality of cuboids into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point; a generation unit that references the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of cuboids and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and an output unit that outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information.

[0204] According to the above configuration, the program according to aspect 15 of this disclosure can provide a method for representing the positional relationships of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0205] A program according to aspect 16 of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device, wherein the computer is configured to function as: an acquisition unit that acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of a plurality of rectangular prisms, which is generated by converting a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented using four planes passing through the predetermined point, and by referring to the point on the four-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms; an identification unit that refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms; and an output unit that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms identified by the identification unit.

[0206] According to the above configuration, the program according to aspect 16 of this disclosure can provide a positional relationship identified from an arrangement representation method that represents the positional relationship of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds.

[0207] An information processing device according to aspect 17 of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition unit that acquires rectangular parallelepiped information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds; a generation unit that generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information; and an output unit that outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepipeds indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and satisfies the search termination condition, wherein the generation unit generates arrangement information with at least one of the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and the orientation of the rectangular parallelepipeds changed if the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepipeds indicated by the arrangement information does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information or does not satisfy the search termination condition.

[0208] According to the above configuration, the information processing device according to aspect 17 of the present disclosure can provide a method for representing the positional relationships of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds that satisfy the constraints and the termination conditions.

[0209] An information processing method according to aspect 18 of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition process in which at least one processor acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a generation process in which the at least one processor generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and an output process that outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and satisfies the search termination condition, wherein in the generation process, if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information or does not satisfy the search termination condition, the at least one processor generates arrangement information that changes at least one of the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids and the orientation of the cuboids.

[0210] According to the above configuration, the information processing method according to aspect 18 of the present disclosure can provide a method for representing the positional relationships of a plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds that satisfy the constraints and the termination conditions.

[0211] A program according to aspect 19 of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to function as an information processing device, wherein the computer functions as: an acquisition unit that acquires cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of a plurality of cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the plurality of cuboids; a generation unit that generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids in the orientation indicated by the cuboid information; and an output unit that outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and satisfies the search termination condition, wherein the generation unit generates arrangement information that modifies at least one of the arrangement of the plurality of cuboids and the orientation of the cuboids if the arrangement of the cuboids indicated by the arrangement information does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information or does not satisfy the search termination condition.

[0212] According to the above configuration, the program according to aspect 19 of the present disclosure can provide a method for representing the positional relationships of multiple rectangular parallelepipeds that satisfy the constraints and the termination conditions.

[0213] (Additional notes) This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of this disclosure.

[0214] This invention can efficiently generate arrangement information regarding the placement of multiple rectangular parallelepipeds. Furthermore, this invention can efficiently identify positional relationships from this arrangement information. As a result, energy efficiency can be improved through power saving. Such effects contribute to achieving goals such as Goal 7 of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), "Affordable and Clean Energy." [Explanation of symbols]

[0215] 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 Information Processing Devices 11, 41 Acquisition Department 12 Conversion section 13 Generation part 14, 31, 42 Output section 15 Specific section 61 Split part 100, 200 Information Processing Systems

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, A transformation unit that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the arranged rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through the predetermined point, A generation unit that references a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information, If the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, an output unit outputs the arrangement information, An information processing device equipped with the following features.

2. If the coordinates of a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system of the rectangular parallelepiped k are (xk, yk, zk), then the four planes are z=x+y+Pe(k), z=xy+Pn(k), z = -x - y + Pw(k), and It is a plane that can be represented using z = -x + y + Ps(k), Pe(k) + Pw(k) = Ps(k) + Pn(k), The point on the aforementioned four-dimensional coordinate system is (Pe(k), Pn(k), Pw(k), Ps(k)). The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The generation unit generates permutations of the corresponding rectangular prisms in ascending order, obtained by replacing the points in each dimension of the four-dimensional coordinate system of the plurality of rectangular prisms, as the arrangement information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The output unit outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, and the search termination condition is also met. If the termination condition for the search is not met, the generation unit generates arrangement information in which the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and at least one of the orientations of at least one of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds have been changed. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The system further includes a specification unit that refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

6. Let Γe be the permutation of Pe, Γn be the permutation of Pn, Γw be the permutation of Pw, and Γs be the permutation of Ps. If we express that the kth position of the rectangular prism ri in each permutation as Pe-1(ri)=k, Pn-1(ri)=k, Pw-1(ri)=k, and Ps-1(ri)=k, Regarding rectangular prisms i and j, If Pe-1(i) > Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i) > Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i) > Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i) > Ps-1(j), then the identifying unit identifies that the z-coordinate of a predetermined point on the rectangular parallelepiped i in the three-dimensional coordinate system is greater than the z-coordinate of a predetermined point on the rectangular parallelepiped j. If Pe-1(i) < Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i) < Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i) > Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i) > Ps-1(j), then the identifying unit identifies that the x-coordinate of a predetermined point on the rectangular parallelepiped i on the three-dimensional coordinate system is greater than the x-coordinate of a predetermined point on the rectangular parallelepiped j. If Pe-1(i) < Pe-1(j) and Pn-1(i) > Pn-1(j) and Pw-1(i) > Pw-1(j) and Ps-1(i) < Ps-1(j), then the identifying unit identifies that the y-coordinate of a predetermined point on the rectangular parallelepiped i on the three-dimensional coordinate system is greater than the y-coordinate of a predetermined point on the rectangular parallelepiped j. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5.

7. The output unit outputs the orientation and positional relationship identified by the identification unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5 or 6.

8. The system further includes a division section that, by referring to the aforementioned rectangular parallelepiped information, divides at least one of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds into a plurality of smaller rectangular parallelepipeds. The conversion unit further converts a predetermined point in the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the plurality of small rectangular parallelepipeds into a point in the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through that predetermined point. The generation unit further references a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system of each of the plurality of small rectangular prisms and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular prisms and the plurality of small rectangular prisms in the orientation indicated by the rectangular prism information. The output unit outputs the arrangement information if the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and the plurality of smaller rectangular parallelepipeds indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

9. A unit that acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms, wherein a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular prisms is converted into a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through the predetermined point, and arrangement information is generated by referencing the point on the four-dimensional coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, A unit that identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds by referring to the arrangement information, An output unit that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit, An information processing device equipped with the following features.

10. The acquisition unit acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular prisms and the plurality of small rectangular prisms, which is generated by referencing the points on the four-dimensional coordinates of the plurality of rectangular prisms and the plurality of small rectangular prisms, where a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms and at least one of the plurality of rectangular prisms is divided into a plurality of small rectangular prisms, and converts that predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinates into a point on the four-dimensional coordinates represented by four planes passing through the predetermined point, and The specified unit refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, The output unit outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9.

11. An information processing system comprising a first information processing device and a second information processing device, The first information processing device is A first acquisition unit acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms. A transformation unit that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the arranged rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through the predetermined point, A generation unit that references a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information, If the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, the first output unit outputs the arrangement information to the second information processing device, Equipped with, The aforementioned second information processing device is A second acquisition unit that acquires the arrangement information output from the first information processing device, A unit that identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds by referring to the arrangement information, A second output unit outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit, Equipped with, Information processing system.

12. At least one processor performs an acquisition process to acquire cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple cuboids. The at least one processor performs a transformation process that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system in each of the arranged rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through the predetermined point, The at least one processor performs a generation process that references a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information, If the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, then at least one processor performs an output process to output the arrangement information, Information processing methods including

13. At least one processor converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms into a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through the predetermined point, and obtains arrangement information generated by referencing the point on the four-dimensional coordinate system of each of the plurality of rectangular prisms, and an acquisition process for obtaining arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular prisms, The at least one processor performs a specific process that refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, The at least one processor performs an output process that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds identified in the specific process, Information processing methods including

14. At least one processor performs an acquisition process to acquire cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple cuboids. The at least one processor performs a transformation process that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system in each of the arranged rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through the predetermined point, The at least one processor performs a generation process that references a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information, If the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepipeds indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, at least one processor performs a specific process that refers to the arrangement information and identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds, The at least one processor performs an output process that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds identified in the specific process, Information processing methods including

15. A program that enables a computer to function as an information processing device. The aforementioned computer, An acquisition unit that acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, A transformation unit that converts a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the arranged rectangular parallelepipeds into a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through the predetermined point, A generation unit that references a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information, If the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information, an output unit outputs the arrangement information, A program that makes it function as such.

16. A program that enables a computer to function as an information processing device. The aforementioned computer, An acquisition unit that acquires arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the multiple rectangular prisms, which is generated by converting a predetermined point on the three-dimensional coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular prisms into a point on the four-dimensional coordinate system represented by four planes passing through the predetermined point, and by referring to the point on the four-dimensional coordinate system of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, A unit that identifies the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds by referring to the arrangement information, An output unit that outputs the orientation and positional relationship of each of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds identified by the identification unit, A program that makes it function as such.

17. An acquisition unit that acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, A generation unit that generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information, If the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and satisfies the search termination condition, an output unit outputs the arrangement information. Equipped with, If the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information, or does not satisfy the search termination condition, the generation unit generates arrangement information that changes at least one of the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and the orientation of the rectangular parallelepipeds. Information processing device.

18. At least one processor performs an acquisition process to acquire cuboid information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple cuboids, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple cuboids. The at least one processor performs a generation process to generate arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information, If the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and satisfies the search termination condition, an output process is performed to output the arrangement information. Includes, In the generation process, if the arrangement of the rectangular prisms indicated by the arrangement information does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information, or does not satisfy the search termination condition, the at least one processor generates arrangement information that changes at least one of the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular prisms and the orientation of the rectangular prisms. Information processing methods.

19. A program that enables a computer to function as an information processing device. The aforementioned computer, An acquisition unit that acquires rectangular prism information indicating the size and orientation of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, and constraint information indicating constraints on the arrangement of each of the multiple rectangular prisms, A generation unit that generates arrangement information relating to the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds in the orientation indicated by the rectangular parallelepiped information, If the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information satisfies the constraints indicated by the constraint information and satisfies the search termination condition, an output unit outputs the arrangement information. To make it function as, If the arrangement of the rectangular parallelepiped indicated by the arrangement information does not satisfy the constraints indicated by the constraint information, or does not satisfy the search termination condition, the generation unit generates arrangement information that changes at least one of the arrangement of the plurality of rectangular parallelepipeds and the orientation of the rectangular parallelepipeds. program.

Images