Information processing device, layout support method, and layout support program

Abstract

In order to enable automatic execution from the determination of an article arrangement area through to the determination of an arrangement of article constituent elements in the arrangement area, an information processing device (1) comprises: an area determination unit (11) that determines an arrangement area for each article in an area of interest in which a plurality of articles are to be arranged; and an element arrangement determination unit (12) that determines an arrangement of the article constituent elements in the arrangement area.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device that supports the creation of article layouts for pages such as newspapers and magazines, and for web pages. [Background technology]

[0002] The layout of articles in newspapers, magazines, and other publications has traditionally been done manually, and there is a demand for technology that can reduce the labor required and make this work more efficient. One such technology is the typesetting device described in Patent Document 1 below. This typesetting device displays a rough layout that shows the placement of each news segment in a newspaper page and accepts placement specifications from an operator, making it easy to create and change the rough layout. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-154239 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the typesetting device described in Patent Document 1 only allows tasks that were previously performed on layout sheets to be performed on a display screen, and the determination of the placement areas for news articles and the placement of headlines, photographs, etc. in each placement area had to be done manually.

[0005] One aspect of the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and one example of its purpose is to provide technology that makes it possible to automatically perform everything from determining the placement area of an article to determining the placement of the article's components in the placement area. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention includes an area determination means for determining an area for placing each article in a target area in which multiple articles are to be placed, and an element placement determination means for determining the placement of components of the article in the placement area.

[0007] A layout support method according to one aspect of the present invention includes at least one processor determining a placement area for each article in a target area in which multiple articles are to be placed, and determining the placement of components of the article in the placement area.

[0008] A layout support program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as an area determination means for determining the placement area of each article in a target area in which multiple articles are to be placed, and an element placement determination means for determining the placement of components of the article in the placement area. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to automatically perform all steps from determining the article placement area to determining the placement of the article components in the placement area. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing device according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of a layout support method according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing device according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen showing a layout result by the information processing device shown in FIG. 3. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of adjustment of a placement area. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a layout support method according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a computer that executes instructions of a program, which is software that realizes the functions of each device according to each exemplary embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Exemplary Embodiment 1 A first exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. This exemplary embodiment is a basic form of the exemplary embodiments described below.

[0012] (Configuration of information processing device) The configuration of an information processing device 1 according to this exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the information processing device 1 includes an area determination unit 11 (area determination means) and an element placement determination unit 12 (element placement determination means).

[0013] The area determination unit 11 determines an area for arranging each article in a target area in which a plurality of articles are to be arranged. The element arrangement determination unit 12 determines the arrangement of the constituent elements of the article in the arrangement area.

[0014] As described above, the information processing device 1 according to this exemplary embodiment is configured to include an area determination unit 11 that determines the placement area of each article in a target area in which multiple articles are to be placed, and an element placement determination unit 12 that determines the placement of components of the article in the placement area.

[0015] According to the above configuration, it is possible to automatically perform all steps from determining the article placement area to determining the placement of the article components in the placement area.

[0016] (Layout support program) The functions of the information processing device 1 described above can also be realized by a program. The assistance program according to this exemplary embodiment causes a computer to function as an area determination means for determining an article placement area in a target area where multiple articles are to be placed, and as an element placement determination means for determining the placement of the article's components in the placement area. This assistance program makes it possible to automatically perform processes from determining the article placement area to determining the placement of the article's components in the placement area.

[0017] (Layout support method flow) The flow of the layout support method according to this exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a flow diagram showing the flow of the layout support method. Note that the execution entity of each step in this support method may be a processor provided in the information processing device 1, or a processor provided in another device, or each step may be executed by a processor provided in a different device.

[0018] In S11, at least one processor determines a placement area for each article in a target area in which the articles are placed.

[0019] In S12, at least one processor determines the placement of the article components in the placement region.

[0020] As described above, the layout support method according to this exemplary embodiment includes at least one processor determining a placement area for each article in a target area where multiple articles are to be placed (S11), and determining the placement of components of the article in the placement area (S12). This support method makes it possible to automatically perform all processes from determining the placement area for the article to determining the placement of the components of the article in the placement area.

[0021] Exemplary Embodiment 2 A second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0022] (Configuration of information processing device) The configuration of an information processing device 2 according to this exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing device 2. As shown in the figure, the information processing device 2 includes a control unit 20 that controls each unit of the information processing device 2, and a storage unit 21 that is a storage device that stores various data used by the information processing device 2. The information processing device 2 also includes a communication unit 22 that enables the information processing device 2 to communicate with other devices, an input unit 23 that accepts user input operations to the information processing device 2, and a display unit 24 that is a display device that displays images.

[0023] The control unit 20 includes a reception unit 201, an article determination unit 202, an area determination unit (area determination means) 203, an adjustment unit (adjustment means) 204, an element placement determination unit (element placement determination means) 205, and a display control unit 206. The storage unit 21 stores article data 211, an area prediction model 212, and a placement prediction model 213. The adjustment unit 204 will be described later in "Adjusting the placement area."

[0024] The receiving unit 201 receives input of information indicating an article to be placed in a target area (for example, the pages of a newspaper or magazine or a web page) and various information related to the article, and stores the information in the storage unit 21 as article data 211. The input of the various information may be performed, for example, via the input unit 23, or may be performed from another device via the communication unit 22.

[0025] The article data 211 includes information indicating each target article, as well as various information related to each article. More specifically, the article data 211 includes information indicating the components of each article, such as the text of each article, photos included in each article, and headlines of each article. The article data 211 may also include information related to these components, such as the content, theme, size, or volume of each component (for example, in the case of text, the number of characters, the number of characters per line, the number of lines, etc.).

[0026] The article determination unit 202 determines which articles to place in the target area from among the articles indicated in the article data 211. For example, if the article data 211 includes information indicating the importance of each article, the article determination unit 202 may determine which articles to place based on the importance. Also, for example, the article determination unit 202 may determine an article selected by the user as the article to be placed in the target area. Note that the setting of importance will be described later in "Setting Importance and Groups."

[0027] The area determination unit 203 determines the placement area of each article in the target area where the article is to be placed. This process corresponds to creating a layout in a newspaper or the like. Various methods can be applied to determine the placement area of each article. For example, the area determination unit 203 may use the area prediction model 212 to determine the placement area of each article.

[0028] The area prediction model 212 is a model for determining an area for article placement, generated by machine learning the relationship between various information related to article placement as explanatory variables and information indicating the area for article placement as a target variable. The area prediction model 212 may be prepared for each type of target page on which an article is to be placed. For example, if the target page is a newspaper, an area prediction model based on machine learning of the placement of articles on the general page may be used to determine the area for article placement on the general page, and an area prediction model based on machine learning of the placement of articles on the general page may be used to determine the area for article placement on the social page. In this way, by preparing an area prediction model for each type of target page and using an area prediction model according to the type of target page, a placement area suitable for the type of target page can be determined.

[0029] The explanatory variables may be information about the components of each article. For example, the explanatory variables may be information indicating the size (coordinate values of the four corners, or width and height) of the target area in which the article is to be placed, and information indicating the content, size, and volume of the article text, photos included in the article, headlines, etc. The explanatory variables may also include information indicating the genre and importance of the article. This information about the articles to be placed may be included in the article data 211. The objective variables may also be information indicating the position and range of each article in the target area in which the article is to be placed. For example, the objective variables may be position coordinates indicating the positions of the four corners of each article in the target area, or the objective variables may be information indicating the representative coordinates of each article in the target area and the width and height of the article.

[0030] The area determination unit 203 may also determine the article placement area using other methods. For example, the area determination unit 203 may determine the article placement area according to a predetermined rule, such as arranging the articles in order of importance, or may determine the placement area according to a user operation. The area determination unit 203 may also determine the article placement area using multiple methods. In this case, the user may be allowed to select an area to be adopted from among the placement areas determined by each method.

[0031] The element placement determination unit 205 determines the placement of each component of the article for each placement area determined by the area determination unit 203. This process corresponds to creating a layout for a newspaper or the like. As with the method for determining the placement area of the article, various methods can be applied to determine the placement of each component. For example, the element placement determination unit 205 may determine the placement of each component using a placement prediction model 213.

[0032] The placement prediction model 213 is a model for determining the placement of each component of an article, generated by machine learning the relationship between various information regarding the placement of each component of an article as explanatory variables and information indicating the placement of each component of an article as a target variable.

[0033] The explanatory variables preferably include at least the shape and size of the placement area in which each component is placed. For example, the coordinates of the four corners of the article or the width and height may be used as explanatory variables. The explanatory variables may also include information indicating the content, size, and volume of each component (e.g., text, photo, headline, etc.) included in the article. In addition, the explanatory variables may include information indicating, for example, the genre and importance of the article. This information may be included in the article data 211. The objective variable may also be information indicating the position and range of each component in the placement area. For example, the objective variable may be information indicating the position coordinates or the like indicating the positions of the four corners of each component of the article.

[0034] As described above, the element placement determination unit 205 may determine the placement of the components using the placement prediction model 213 constructed by machine learning the relationship between the shape and size of the placement area and the placement of each component of the article placed in the placement area of that shape and size. This provides the effect of being able to determine an appropriate placement of the components according to the shape and size of the placement area, in addition to the effect provided by the information processing device 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment. For example, The display control unit 206 controls the display device to display an image. This display device may be the display unit 24 included in the information processing device 2, or may be another display device connected to the information processing device 2 by wire or wirelessly. For example, the display control unit 206 causes the display unit 24 to display a preview image showing the result of the determination of article placement areas by the area determination unit 203 and the result of the determination of the placement of article components in each placement area by the element placement determination unit 205 (hereinafter also referred to as layout result). The preview image will be described later in "Display Screen Example."

[0035] (Importance and group settings) As described above, an importance level may be assigned to each article to be placed. The importance level is information indicating the importance of an article. The importance level may be any level that allows for determining the relative importance of articles. For example, the importance level may be expressed numerically, such as on a scale of 0 to 100, or may be expressed in multiple levels, such as A for important, B for medium importance, and C for low importance. Since more important articles are preferably placed in a more prominent position, the importance level serves as a reference when determining the placement area of an article. The importance level of an article can also be rephrased as the priority for placing that article in a more prominent position. For example, in a newspaper, the importance level of each article is determined by an editorial meeting, and the user simply sets the importance level determined by the editorial meeting. This allows even those who are not participating in the editorial meeting to determine the placement area according to the importance level determined by the editorial meeting.

[0036] It is preferable that the user be able to freely set and change the importance of each article. There are no particular limitations on the method for setting and changing the importance. For example, the display control unit 206 may cause the display unit 24 to display a setting screen for setting the importance of each article to be arranged. In this case, the receiving unit 201 receives an importance setting operation on this setting screen and records the importance of each article in the article data 211 according to the setting operation.

[0037] Furthermore, multiple articles to be placed may be grouped. In this case, the area determination unit 203 treats the grouped articles as a single article. This allows multiple related articles to be grouped and displayed in a single, cohesive placement area. As with the importance level, it is preferable that the user be free to set and change the group. For example, the display control unit 206 may display a list of articles on the display unit 24, and the receiving unit 201 may receive group settings for those articles and record them in the article data 211.

[0038] (Display screen example) 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen showing a layout result by the information processing device 2 (more specifically, the area determination unit 203 and the element placement determination unit 205). The display screen 4 shown in FIG. 4 includes a preview area 41, an article list display area 42, and a target area information display area 43.

[0039] The preview area 41 is an area where the layout results are displayed. The preview area 41 displays a preview image in which each article is arranged in each arrangement area determined by the area determination unit 203, and the components of the article are arranged in each arrangement determined by the element arrangement determination unit 205. The user of the information processing device 2 simply inputs various information about each target article and its components, as well as the importance of each article, to the information processing device 2, and the information processing device 2 automatically performs layout, and the result is displayed as a preview image like this.

[0040] Rectangles 411 to 414 are displayed in the preview area 41 shown in Fig. 4. Each of the rectangles 411 to 414 has identification information <001> ~ <004> These placement areas are determined by the area determination unit 203. The dashed dotted lines in the preview area 41 indicate the columns of text in the article.

[0041] Also, inside the rectangles 411 to 414, the respective components of the articles corresponding to the rectangles are arranged. For example, inside the rectangle 411, identification information <001> The elements of an article are the "headline," "text," "photo," and "photo caption" (description of the photo). Note that the "headline" area in Figure 4 may display the actual text of the headline. Similarly, the "text" and "photo caption" areas may display those sentences, and the "photo" area may display the photo.

[0042] The article list display area 42 is an area for displaying a list of articles to be arranged. In the article list display area 42 in FIG. 4, identification information <001> from <004> These four articles are listed in the preview area 41. In addition, the article list display area 42 displays information about each article, indicating each component that makes up the article. For example, the identification information is <001> For each article, the components of the article are listed, including the headline, text, photo, and photo caption. For each text, the volume (more specifically, the number of characters per line and the number of lines) is also listed.

[0043] Note that the article list display area 42 only needs to display information that allows the user to recognize what each article is, and the information to be displayed is not limited to that shown in Fig. 4. Furthermore, the article list display area 42 may list identification information of articles (e.g., article IDs, headlines, etc.), and the user may select the identification information to view the details of the article. For example, when one of the identification information of the articles displayed in the article list display area 42 is specified, the display control unit 206 may display a pop-up display of detailed information of the article corresponding to the identification information (e.g., the components of the article, etc.).

[0044] The target area information display area 43 is an area that displays target area information, which is information about the target area in which an article is to be placed. The target area information display area 43 in Figure 4 displays target area information indicating that the target area in which an article is to be placed is the general page (first page) of a newspaper. In this way, the target area information may indicate the type of target area. Note that the target area information is not limited to the example of Figure 4 as long as it is information about the target area in which an article is to be placed.

[0045] (Adjustment of placement area) The size of the placement area determined by the area determination unit 203 may be adjustable by the user. However, if the user adjusts the size of the placement area, it is possible that the components of the article corresponding to that placement area will no longer fit within the placement area, or that empty space will be created within the placement area. In such cases, the adjustment unit 204 adjusts the size of or deletes some of the components of the article so that the article to be placed in the placement area will fit the size of the placement area. This will be explained with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of adjustment of the placement area.

[0046] FIG. 5 shows preview images 51 and 52 displayed in the preview area described above. Of these, preview image 51 includes four rectangles 511 to 514. The user performs an operation to adjust the size of the placement area on preview image 51. Specifically, the user performs an operation to drag the boundary between rectangles 511 and 513 downward. Of course, the operation to adjust the size of the placement area can be any operation and is not limited to this example.

[0047] The above operation is an operation to stretch and expand the placement area corresponding to rectangle 511 downward. When the receiving unit 201 receives this operation, the adjustment unit 204 expands or reduces the size of each placement area that is the target of the above operation according to the amount of operation, i.e., the drag distance. In the example of Fig. 5, since the boundary between rectangles 511 and 513 is pulled down by one level, the adjustment unit 204 expands the placement area of the article corresponding to rectangle 511 downward by one level and reduces the placement area of the article corresponding to rectangle 513 downward by one level.

[0048] Next, the adjustment unit 204 allocates the expanded area of the expanded layout area to either the headline or the photo, or both. This makes it possible to enlarge at least one of the photo and the headline without changing the total area of the display area for text such as the article text and photo captions. Whether the headline or the photo is to be enlarged first may be determined in advance, or the user may be allowed to select. Of course, components other than the photo or headline (for example, illustrations, diagrams, etc.) may also be enlarged. The same applies to the reduction described below.

[0049] The adjustment unit 204 also compares the reduced area of the reduced placement area with the minimum allowable area for the caption and photo (hereinafter referred to as the minimum allowable area). The minimum allowable area may be set in advance. If the reduced area is equal to or less than the minimum allowable area, the adjustment unit 204 reduces either the photo or the caption, or both, to a range in which both are equal to or greater than the minimum allowable area. Which of the caption and the photo is to be reduced first may be determined in advance, or the user may select it. On the other hand, if the reduced area exceeds the minimum allowable area, the adjustment unit 204 determines to delete the photo. If deleting the photo does not make up for the reduced area, the shortage is made up by reducing the caption. Note that when deleting a photo, the adjustment unit 204 also deletes components associated with the photo, such as captions. If the total area of these components to be deleted exceeds the reduced area, the adjustment unit 204 may make up the difference by expanding the area of components such as the caption.

[0050] In preview image 52 of FIG. 5, adjustment unit 204 has made rectangle 521 corresponding to rectangle 511 larger by one step downward than rectangle 511. The components inside rectangle 521 have enlarged in size, including the photo and caption. Furthermore, rectangle 523 corresponding to rectangle 513 has been reduced in size by one step downward than rectangle 513. The components inside rectangle 523 have had the photo deleted and the caption reduced in size.

[0051] The receiving unit 201 may also receive an operation to adjust the size of an article's components, such as a photo or a headline. In this case, the adjustment unit 204 may adjust the size of the other components of the article so that each component fits within the placement area without changing the size of the placement area. The adjustment unit 204 may also adjust the size of the placement area of the article so that the adjusted components fit within the placement area, and may also adjust the size of other placement areas adjacent to the placement area. In this case, the adjustment unit 204 adjusts the size of or deletes each component in the adjacent placement areas in the same manner as described above.

[0052] As described above, the adjustment unit 204 adjusts or deletes the size of some of the components of an article so that the article to be placed in a placement area conforms to the size of the placement area. This configuration, in addition to the effects achieved by the information processing device 1 according to the exemplary embodiment 1, also provides the effect that, when the size of the article placement area is adjusted by the user, each component of the article can be automatically adapted to the size of the adjusted placement area. It is preferable that the components to be subject to scaling are components other than text, such as the headlines and photographs described above. However, text may also be subject to scaling if it is acceptable for the line spacing and character size to change for each placement area.

[0053] (Layout support method flow) The flow of the layout support method according to this exemplary embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a flow diagram showing the flow of the layout support method. Fig. 6 also shows the processing that is performed after each article that is a candidate for placement has been recorded as article data 211 and the importance and group settings have been completed as necessary.

[0054] In S21, the article determination unit 202 determines a plurality of articles to be placed in the target area from among the articles indicated in the article data 211. For example, the article determination unit 202 may determine, as the articles to be placed in the target area, a plurality of articles that are highly important among the articles indicated in the article data 211 and whose sum of the areas required for placing these articles is equal to or less than the area of the target area. Furthermore, for example, the article determination unit 202 may determine, as the article to be placed in the target area, an article specified by the user via the input unit 23 or the like.

[0055] In S22, the area determination unit 203 determines an arrangement area in the target area for each article determined to be arranged in S21. For example, the area determination unit 203 may input various information related to the arrangement of each article determined to be arranged in S21 (e.g., the size of the target area, the components and importance of each article, etc.) into the area prediction model 212 and determine the arrangement area of each article from the output value obtained.

[0056] In S23, the element placement determination unit 205 determines the placement of each component of the article for each candidate area determined to be placed in S22. For example, the element placement determination unit 205 may input various information about the placement area determined in S22 (e.g., the size and shape of the placement area, and the size of each component of the article to be placed) into the placement prediction model 213 and determine the placement of each component in that placement area from the output value obtained. Note that this process is performed for each placement area determined to be placed in S22.

[0057] In S24, the display control unit 206 displays a preview image showing the determination results of S22 and S23 on the display unit 24. The preview image is an image in which each article is arranged in the arrangement area determined in S22, and the arrangement of each component in each arrangement area is the arrangement determined in S23.

[0058] In S25, the reception unit 201 determines whether or not to adjust the placement area shown in the preview image. If it is determined that the adjustment is to be made (YES in S25), the process proceeds to S26. On the other hand, if it is determined that the adjustment is not to be made (NO in S25), the reception unit 201 records the determination results of S22 and S23 in the storage unit 21 and ends the process. Note that the method for determining whether or not adjustment is necessary is not particularly limited. For example, the reception unit 201 may determine that adjustment is to be made when an operation to change the placement area as described with reference to FIG. 5 is detected, and may determine that adjustment is not to be made when an operation to confirm the layout using the contents of the preview image is detected.

[0059] In S26, the adjustment unit 204 adjusts the placement area in accordance with the user's change operation. Note that, although it is assumed here that the adjustment involves expanding or shrinking the placement area, adjustments may also be made to change the height and width of the placement area without changing the area. In this case, the processing of S27 is unnecessary. Instead, the element placement determination unit 205 may redetermine the placement of each component element according to the placement area after the height and width have been changed.

[0060] In S27, the adjustment unit 204 adjusts the components of the article to be placed in the placement area adjusted by the processing in S26 so that the article fits into the placement area. More specifically, the adjustment unit 204 adjusts the size of or deletes some of the components of the article so that the article to be placed in each placement area fits the size of the placement area. After S27 is completed, the adjustment unit 204 records each placement area after adjustment and the arrangement of each component in those placement areas in the storage unit 21, and then ends the processing.

[0061] (Generating multiple candidates) Note that, when determining the placement area for each article in S22 of FIG. 6, the area determination unit 203 may first generate multiple candidates for the placement area. For example, the area determination unit 203 may generate candidates using the area prediction model 212, and may also generate other candidates using other methods, or may generate multiple candidates using multiple area prediction models 212. Note that the multiple area prediction models 212 may be models that differ in either the explanatory variables or the training data used to build the models. The method for determining one of the multiple candidates to be adopted is arbitrary, and for example, the area determination unit 203 may determine the candidate based on an input operation by the user of the information processing device 2. This makes it possible to determine the placement area in line with the user's intentions.

[0062] Similarly, when determining the placement of each constituent element of an article in S23 of FIG. 6, the element placement determination unit 205 may generate multiple candidate placements for each placement area. For example, the element placement determination unit 205 may generate candidates using the placement prediction model 213 and also generate other candidates using other methods, or may generate multiple candidates using multiple placement prediction models 213. Note that the multiple placement prediction models 213 may be different in either the explanatory variables or the training data used to construct the models. Any method may be used to determine one of the multiple candidates; for example, the element placement determination unit 205 may determine the candidate based on an input operation by the user of the information processing device 2. This configuration provides the effect of determining the placement of constituent elements in line with the user's intentions, in addition to the effects achieved by the information processing device 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment.

[0063] (Placement of components taking into account the position of the placement area) Furthermore, the element placement determination unit 205 may determine the placement of the components according to the position of the placement area in the target area. This configuration provides the effect of being able to determine an appropriate placement of the components according to the position of the placement area in the target area, in addition to the effect provided by the information processing device 1 according to the exemplary embodiment 1.

[0064] For example, a rule may be determined in advance that prioritizes candidates with headings located on the outer periphery of the target area. In this case, the element placement determination unit 205 can use this rule to select, from among the multiple candidates generated as described above, the candidate with headings located on the outer periphery of the target area.

[0065] Furthermore, for example, the element placement determination unit 205 may determine the placement of each component element by correcting, in accordance with the position of the placement area in the target area, the placement generated using the placement prediction model 213. For example, if a rule that headings should be placed on the outer periphery of the target area is determined in advance, the element placement determination unit 205 can correct the placement generated using the placement prediction model 213 in accordance with this rule, and place all headings in each candidate area on the outer periphery of the target area.

[0066] The method for determining the layout according to the position of the layout area in the target area is not limited to the above-described method. For example, the element layout determination unit 205 may determine the layout of the components using a layout prediction model constructed by machine learning the relationship between the position, shape, and size of the layout area in the target area and the layout of each component of the article placed in the layout area of the position, shape, and size.

[0067] According to this configuration, the position of the placement area in the target area is taken into account in the prediction by the placement prediction model. Therefore, in addition to the effects achieved by the information processing device 1 according to the exemplary embodiment 1, it is possible to obtain an effect of determining an appropriate placement of components according to not only the shape and size of the placement area but also the position of the placement area in the target area. For example, it is possible to determine a placement that reflects a tendency that a heading is often placed in the upper right corner of a placement area at the upper right corner of a page, or that a heading is often placed in the upper edge of a placement area located at the top edge of a page.

[0068] [Modification] The execution entity of each process described in each of the exemplary embodiments above is arbitrary and is not limited to the above examples. In other words, a layout support system having the same functions as the information processing devices 1 and 2 can be constructed using multiple devices that can communicate with each other. For example, by distributing the blocks shown in FIG. 3 among multiple devices, a support system having the same functions as the information processing device 2 can be constructed.

[0069] For example, all of the processing blocks included in the control unit 20 shown in FIG. 3 except for the reception unit 201 and the display control unit 206 may be provided in the cloud server. In this case, the information processing device 2 simply transmits the article data 211 or various data that are the basis of the article data 211 to the cloud server and lays out the articles. The information processing device 2 then obtains the layout results from the cloud server and displays a preview image or records the results. Even with this configuration, it is possible to automatically perform all processes from determining the article placement area to determining the placement of the article components in the placement area.

[0070] [Software implementation example] Some or all of the functions of the information processing device 2 may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit (IC chip), or may be realized by software.

[0071] In the latter case, the information processing device 2 is realized by, for example, a computer that executes instructions of a program (assistance program), which is software that realizes each function. An example of such a computer (hereinafter referred to as computer C) is shown in FIG. 7. The computer C includes at least one processor C1 and at least one memory C2. The memory C2 stores a program P for operating the computer C as the information processing device 2. In the computer C, the processor C1 reads and executes the program P from the memory C2, thereby realizing each function of the information processing device 2.

[0072] The processor C1 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a micro processing unit (MPU), a floating point number processing unit (FPU), a physics processing unit (PPU), a microcontroller, or a combination thereof. The memory C2 may be, for example, a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a combination thereof.

[0073] The computer C may further include a RAM (Random Access Memory) for expanding the program P during execution and for temporarily storing various data. The computer C may also include a communication interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from other devices. The computer C may also include an input / output interface for connecting input / output devices such as a keyboard, mouse, display, and printer.

[0074] Furthermore, the program P can be recorded on a non-transitory tangible recording medium M that can be read by the computer C. Such a recording medium M can be, for example, a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, or a programmable logic circuit. The computer C can acquire the program P via such a recording medium M. The program P can also be transmitted via a transmission medium. Such a transmission medium can be, for example, a communication network or broadcast waves. The computer C can also acquire the program P via such a transmission medium.

[0075] [Appendix 1] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. For example, embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the above-described embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0076] [Appendix 2] Some or all of the above-described embodiments can also be described as follows: However, the present invention is not limited to the following described aspects.

[0077] (Appendix 1) An information processing device comprising: an area determination means for determining an area for arranging each article in a target area for arranging a plurality of articles; and an element arrangement determination means for determining an arrangement of components of the article in the arrangement area.

[0078] (Appendix 2) The information processing device described in Appendix 1, wherein the element placement determination means determines the placement of the components using a placement prediction model constructed by machine learning the relationship between the shape and size of the placement area and the placement of each component of the article placed in the placement area of that shape and size.

[0079] (Appendix 3) The information processing device described in Appendix 1, wherein the element placement determination means determines the placement of the components using a placement prediction model constructed by machine learning the relationship between the position, shape, and size of the placement area in the target area and the placement of each component of the article placed in the placement area of that position, shape, and size.

[0080] (Appendix 4) The information processing device according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein the element placement determination means generates a plurality of candidate placements for the components for each of the placement areas, and determines one of the plurality of candidates as the placement of the components in the placement area based on an input operation by a user of the information processing device.

[0081] (Appendix 5) 3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the element placement determination means determines the placement of the components according to a position of the placement area in the target area.

[0082] (Appendix 6) An information processing device described in any one of appendices 1 to 5, comprising an adjustment means for adjusting or deleting the size of some components of the article so that the article to be placed in the placement area conforms to the size of the placement area.

[0083] (Appendix 7) A layout support method, comprising: at least one processor determining a placement area for each article in a target area in which multiple articles are to be placed; and determining a placement of components of the article in the placement area.

[0084] (Appendix 8) A layout support program that causes a computer to function as an area determination means that determines the placement area of each article in a target area in which multiple articles are to be placed, and an element placement determination means that determines the placement of components of the article in the placement area.

[0085] [Appendix 3] Some or all of the above-described embodiments can also be expressed as follows: An information processing device including at least one processor, the processor executing an area determination process for determining an area for placing each article in a target area in which multiple articles are to be placed, and an element placement determination process for determining the placement of components of the article in the placement area.

[0086] The information processing device may further include a memory that stores a program for causing the processor to execute the area determination process and the element placement determination process. The program may also be recorded on a computer-readable, non-transitory, tangible recording medium. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 1, 2 Information processing device 11, 203 Area determining unit (area determining means) 12, 205 Element placement determination unit (element placement determination means) 20 Control Unit 21 Memory section 22 Communications Department 23 Input section 24 Display 201 Reception 202 Article Decision Department 206 Display control unit 204 Adjustment section (adjustment means) 212 Area Prediction Model 213 Placement Prediction Model

Claims

1. an area determination means for determining an area for arranging each article in a target area for arranging a plurality of articles; an element placement determination means for determining the placement of the elements of the article in the placement area; The element placement determination means a placement prediction model constructed by machine learning the relationship between the shape and size of the placement area and the placement of each component of the article placed in the placement area of the shape and size; Or, a placement prediction model constructed by machine learning the relationship between the position, shape, and size of the placement area in the target area and the placement of each component of the article placed in the placement area of the position, shape, and size; determining the placement of the components using Information processing device.

2. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the element placement determination means generates a plurality of candidate placements for the components for each of the placement areas, and determines one of the plurality of candidates as the placement of the components in the placement area based on an input operation by a user of the information processing device.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said element placement determining means determines the placement of said components in accordance with the position of said placement area in said target area.

4. 3. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising an adjustment unit that adjusts or deletes the size of some components of the article so that the article to be placed in the placement area fits the size of the placement area.

5. At least one processor determining a placement area for each article in a target area in which a plurality of articles are to be placed; determining a placement of the article components in the placement area; a placement prediction model constructed by machine learning the relationship between the shape and size of the placement area and the placement of each component of the article placed in the placement area of the shape and size; Or, a placement prediction model constructed by machine learning the relationship between the position, shape, and size of the placement area in the target area and the placement of each component of the article placed in the placement area of the position, shape, and size; determining the placement of the components using How to assist with layout.

6. Computer, an area determination means for determining an area in which each article is to be placed within a target area in which a plurality of articles are to be placed; functioning as an element placement determination means for determining the placement of the elements of the article in the placement area; a placement prediction model constructed by machine learning the relationship between the shape and size of the placement area and the placement of each component of the article placed in the placement area of the shape and size; Or, a placement prediction model constructed by machine learning the relationship between the position, shape, and size of the placement area in the target area and the placement of each component of the article placed in the placement area of the position, shape, and size; determining the placement of the components using Layout support program.

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