A smart food cabinet and its anti-pinch control method and storage medium

Abstract

This invention discloses an intelligent food cabinet and its anti-pinch control method and storage medium. The intelligent food cabinet includes: a food retrieval cart comprising a cantilever arm and a food retrieval platform connected to each other, the cantilever arm enabling movement of the food retrieval platform; a food dispensing platform for receiving food containers pushed out by the food retrieval platform; a food dispensing opening disposed on the food dispensing platform; and a photoelectric switch disposed at the food dispensing opening for detecting obstructions. By incorporating a photoelectric switch at the food dispensing opening of the intelligent food cabinet, the invention can detect whether there is an obstruction, i.e., whether a user has reached their hand into the food dispensing opening. This ensures that the movement trajectory of the food retrieval cart is adjusted when a user is detected to pose a risk of pinching their hand, thus preventing pinching. This improves the reliability of the intelligent food cabinet, enhances the user experience and safety, and to some extent saves on after-sales labor costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of intelligent food cabinet technology, and more specifically, to an intelligent food cabinet and its anti-pinch control method and storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, in smart meal lockers, when a user completes their purchase, a cart automatically retrieves and dispenses the meal from the designated channel. When the meal box reaches the dispenser's opening, the cart pushes it from the retrieval platform to the dispensing platform, where the user retrieves the meal box, thus completing the purchase process. However, during this process, the user might reach into the dispensing opening and forcibly take the meal, potentially resulting in fingers being pinched. Furthermore, the dispensing opening of the smart meal locker lacks an electronic door, making it impossible to prevent users from pinching their fingers through an electronic door.

[0003] There is currently no effective solution to the problem that users' hands are easily pinched at the food dispensing opening of existing smart food cabinets. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides an intelligent food cabinet and its anti-pinch control method and storage medium to solve the problem that users' hands are easily pinched at the food dispensing port of the existing intelligent food cabinet.

[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, the present invention provides an intelligent food cabinet, comprising: a food retrieval cart, including a cantilever and a food retrieval platform connected together, the cantilever being used to move the food retrieval platform; a food dispensing platform for receiving food containers pushed out by the food retrieval platform; a food dispensing port disposed on the food dispensing platform; and a photoelectric switch disposed at the food dispensing port for detecting obstructions to the food dispensing port.

[0006] Furthermore, the intelligent food cabinet also includes:

[0007] The controller is used to detect the state of the photoelectric switch after receiving a user's purchase instruction; if the photoelectric switch is detected to be in an open state, the controller controls the cantilever to move the food pick-up platform away from the food dispensing platform; the photoelectric switch is used to switch from an on state to an off state when an obstruction is detected at the food dispensing opening.

[0008] Furthermore, the photoelectric switch is a photoelectric sensor.

[0009] The present invention also provides an anti-pinch control method for a smart food cabinet, wherein the method includes: after receiving a user's purchase instruction, detecting the state of a photoelectric switch at the food dispensing port; if the photoelectric switch is detected to be in an off state, controlling the cantilever to move the food retrieval platform away from the food dispensing platform; wherein the smart food cabinet is provided with a photoelectric switch at the food dispensing port, and when the photoelectric switch detects an obstruction at the food dispensing port, the photoelectric switch switches from an on state to an off state.

[0010] Furthermore, upon receiving a purchase instruction from the user, the status of the photoelectric switch at the food outlet is detected, including:

[0011] After receiving a user's purchase instruction, the system determines whether the food pickup platform has reached the food outlet. If the food pickup platform has reached the food outlet, it checks whether there is a food box on the food outlet within a preset time. If there is a food box, it stops checking the status of the photoelectric switch at the food outlet. If there is no food box, it checks the status of the photoelectric switch at the food outlet. If the food pickup platform has not reached the food outlet, it checks the status of the photoelectric switch at the food outlet.

[0012] Furthermore, if there is no lunchbox, after detecting the state of the photoelectric switch at the lunchbox opening, the method further includes:

[0013] If the photoelectric switch is detected to be in an off state, it is confirmed that the lunchbox has been removed and the purchase process is complete.

[0014] Furthermore, controlling the cantilever to move the food pickup platform away from the food dispensing platform includes:

[0015] The cantilever is controlled to move the food collection platform to a preset point; wherein the preset point is at a preset distance from the food dispensing platform; or, the cantilever is controlled to move the food collection platform back to its original position.

[0016] Furthermore, after controlling the cantilever to move the food pickup platform away from the food dispensing platform, the method further includes:

[0017] Continue to monitor the status of the photoelectric switch at the food dispensing port; if the photoelectric switch remains in the on state for a preset time period, control the cantilever to push the food retrieval platform to the food dispensing platform.

[0018] Furthermore, after controlling the cantilever to move the food pickup platform away from the food dispensing platform, the method further includes:

[0019] A prompt message is sent to the user to prompt the user to send a re-order instruction; upon receiving the re-order instruction, the control arm pushes the food pickup platform to the food dispensing platform.

[0020] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that the program, when executed by a processor, implements the method described above.

[0021] The present invention also provides an electronic device, characterized in that it comprises:

[0022] One or more processors;

[0023] A storage device for storing one or more programs, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the methods described above.

[0024] By applying the technical solution of this invention, a photoelectric switch is installed at the food dispensing port of the intelligent food cabinet. This switch can detect whether there is an obstruction at the dispensing port, i.e., whether a user has reached their hand into the dispensing port. This ensures that the movement trajectory of the food cart is adjusted when a user is detected to pose a risk of hand pinching, thus preventing such incidents. This improves the reliability of the intelligent food cabinet, enhances the user experience and safety, and to some extent saves on after-sales labor costs. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an intelligent food cabinet according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the control principle of the intelligent food cabinet according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of an anti-pinch control method for an intelligent food cabinet according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the anti-pinch food dispensing control scheme for an intelligent food cabinet according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0029] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this invention, and not all of them. Based on the embodiments of this invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0030] The terminology used in the embodiments of this invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” as used in the embodiments of this invention and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms, and “multiple” generally includes at least two unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0031] It should be understood that the term "and / or" used in this article is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0032] Depending on the context, the words “if” or “suppose” as used here can be interpreted as “when” or “in response to determination” or “in response to detection.” Similarly, depending on the context, the phrases “if determination” or “if detection (of the stated condition or event)” can be interpreted as “when determination” or “in response to determination” or “when detection (of the stated condition or event)” or “in response to detection (of the stated condition or event).”

[0033] It should also be noted that the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that an article or device that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such an article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the article or device that includes said element.

[0034] The optional embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0035] Example 1

[0036] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of an intelligent food cabinet according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown below. Figure 1 As shown, the smart meal cabinet includes: a meal trolley, comprising a cantilever and a meal retrieval platform connected together, the cantilever being used to move the meal retrieval platform, on which meal boxes are placed; a meal dispensing platform, used to receive meal boxes pushed out by the meal retrieval platform; a meal dispensing port, located on the meal dispensing platform, through which meal boxes on the meal retrieval platform are pushed to the meal dispensing platform, where users retrieve the meal boxes; and a photoelectric switch, located at the meal dispensing port, used to detect obstructions to the meal dispensing port.

[0037] This embodiment uses a photoelectric switch installed at the food dispensing port of the smart food cabinet to detect in a timely and accurate manner whether there is an obstruction at the food dispensing port, i.e. whether the user has reached their hand into the food dispensing port, thus promptly identifying the risk of the user's hand being pinched.

[0038] In practical implementation, a photoelectric switch can be installed horizontally at the food dispensing port of the smart food cabinet. The photoelectric switch works in conjunction with the cantilever of the food trolley. The photoelectric switch can be set as a photoelectric sensor. Under normal conditions, the photoelectric switch is in the conducting state. When the photoelectric switch detects an obstruction at the food dispensing port, it switches from the conducting state to the disconnected state.

[0039] Considering the risk of users' hands being pinched after detection, and how to mitigate this risk to prevent users from actually getting their hands pinched, this embodiment proposes a preferred implementation method, such as... Figure 2 The diagram shown illustrates the control principle of the intelligent food cabinet. Figure 2 As shown, the aforementioned smart food cabinet also includes a controller (controller processing and storage unit), used to detect the status of the photoelectric switch after receiving a user's purchase instruction; if the photoelectric switch is detected to be in an open state, the controller moves the cantilever away from the food dispensing platform. Based on this, the movement trajectory of the food cart can be adjusted promptly when a user is detected to be at risk of pinching their hand, thus preventing such incidents. This improves the reliability of the smart food cabinet, enhances the user experience and safety, and to some extent saves on after-sales labor costs.

[0040] Example 2

[0041] According to an embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment of an anti-pinch control method for an intelligent food cabinet is provided. It should be noted that the steps shown in the flowchart in the accompanying drawings can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer-executable instructions. Furthermore, although a logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases, the steps shown or described may be executed in a different order than that shown here.

[0042] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of an anti-pinch control method for an intelligent food cabinet according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown below. Figure 3 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0043] Step S301: After receiving the user's purchase instruction, detect the status of the photoelectric switch at the food outlet;

[0044] Step S302: If the photoelectric switch is detected to be in the off state, control the cantilever to move the food picking platform away from the food dispensing platform;

[0045] The smart food cabinet is equipped with a photoelectric switch at the food dispensing port. When the photoelectric switch detects an obstruction at the food dispensing port, it switches from the on state to the off state.

[0046] This embodiment incorporates a photoelectric switch at the food dispensing opening of the smart food cabinet. This switch detects whether there are any obstructions at the opening, specifically whether a user has reached their hand into it. This ensures that the trajectory of the food cart is adjusted when a user is detected as having a risk of hand pinching, preventing such incidents. This improves the reliability of the smart food cabinet, enhances the user experience and safety, and also reduces after-sales labor costs to some extent.

[0047] After receiving a purchase instruction from a user, the smart food locker checks the status of the photoelectric switch at the food dispensing slot. Specifically, upon receiving the instruction, it determines whether the food pickup platform has reached the dispensing slot. If the platform hasn't, it means the food container hasn't been delivered and the user hasn't retrieved it, so the photoelectric switch at the slot is checked again. If the platform has reached the slot, it's necessary to further confirm whether the container has been delivered and the user has retrieved it. Therefore, it checks if a food container is on the platform within a preset time. If so, it means the container has reached the dispensing slot, virtually eliminating the risk of the user getting their hand caught. Therefore, checking the photoelectric switch at the slot can be stopped. Based on this, the detection process can be stopped when the risk of the user getting their hand caught is virtually nonexistent, reducing resource waste.

[0048] If the food dispensing platform does not have a food container, it means the container may have already been taken by the user. For example, the user may have directly taken the container from the platform by walking past the dispensing slot. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the status of the photoelectric switch at the dispensing slot. If the photoelectric switch is detected as off, it means there was an obstruction at the dispensing slot, further confirming that the user reached out at the dispensing slot. In this case, it is confirmed that the food container has been taken, and the purchase process is complete. Based on this, it is possible to confirm in real time whether the food container has been taken, and that the user's purchase process has ended. This avoids the erroneous operation of a user directly taking a food container from the platform through the dispensing slot, but the platform not detecting the container and therefore determining that the purchase process is not yet complete.

[0049] In this embodiment, after detecting that the photoelectric switch is in the off state, the control arm moves the food retrieval platform away from the food dispensing platform, thereby avoiding the risk of users' hands being pinched. In specific implementation, one or more preset points can be set in advance, maintaining a preset distance between these points and the food dispensing platform. This preset distance ensures that even if a user reaches in through the food dispensing opening (or another foreign object), they will not be pinched or stuck. After detecting that the photoelectric switch is in the off state, the control arm moves the food retrieval platform to the preset point. Alternatively, the control arm moves the food retrieval platform back to its original position, essentially restoring the food retrieval platform to its original location. Both of these preferred embodiments avoid the risk of users' hands being pinched, ensuring user safety when using the smart food cabinet.

[0050] After a user completes their purchase order at the smart food locker, if the user's reaching at the food dispensing slot causes the cantilever to move the food retrieval platform away from the dispensing platform during delivery, the user may not be able to retrieve their purchased meal. To address this, this embodiment provides a preferred solution: after the cantilever moves the food retrieval platform away from the dispensing platform, it continues to monitor the status of the photoelectric switch at the dispensing slot. If the photoelectric switch remains on for a preset time, indicating no further obstruction at the dispensing slot, the cantilever pushes the food retrieval platform back to the dispensing platform, successfully delivering the meal box to the dispensing platform for the user to safely retrieve, thus ending the purchase process. This avoids situations where users are unable to retrieve their meals due to accidental user actions at the dispensing slot, preventing disruption to the normal use of the smart food locker and reducing the workload for manual after-sales service.

[0051] In addition to the preferred embodiments described above, after the control arm moves the food pickup platform away from the food dispensing platform, a prompt message can be sent to the user to remind them to send a re-dispensing instruction. Upon receiving the re-dispensing instruction, the control arm pushes the food pickup platform back to the food dispensing platform. This ensures that the user ultimately receives their food, preventing situations where the user is unable to retrieve their food due to misoperation at the dispensing point.

[0052] Example 3

[0053] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the anti-pinch food dispensing control scheme for an intelligent food cabinet according to an embodiment of the present invention, as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the process includes:

[0054] During normal meal pickup, when the pickup platform reaches the food dispensing area, the conveyor wheels on the platform push the food container onto the dispensing platform. However, since some users may reach into the dispensing area to grab the food before it's ready, this could result in fingers being pinched or the system failing to detect the pickup. Therefore, a new control method has been developed. This algorithm, in conjunction with a photoelectric switch, automatically adjusts the positions of the pickup arm and the pickup platform to ensure that the food is pushed onto the platform every time, avoiding finger pinching or system failure detection. After the user completes their purchase, the arm moves the pickup platform to the pickup aisle. When the food container reaches the pickup platform, the arm then moves the platform to the dispensing area, where the conveyor wheels push the food container onto the dispensing platform. This solution addresses two scenarios of unexpected food pickup during the above process:

[0055] If the food pickup platform has not yet reached the food dispensing slot, the conditions for picking up food are not met. If a user reaches into the food dispensing slot, their arm will block the photoelectric switch at the dispensing slot. At this time, the photoelectric switch will be turned off, and the cantilever will return the food pickup platform with the food container to the machine's original position. This avoids the situation where the user's hand is caught between the platform and the food dispensing slot.

[0056] If the food pickup platform has reached the food dispensing area, and the food container is pushed to the dispensing platform in a time T (e.g., T = 5 seconds) as set, if the dispensing platform does not detect a food container within 5 seconds and the photoelectric switch is off, it is determined that a user forcibly took the food during the process of transporting it from the pickup platform to the delivery platform, thus ending the pickup process. The cantilever then returns the pickup platform to its original position. If the dispensing platform detects a food container within 5 seconds, it is determined that the pickup is complete, and the cantilever returns the pickup platform to its original position.

[0057] This algorithm can specifically address on-site anomalies, resolving them simultaneously without requiring additional human intervention. This significantly reduces manpower, lowers the accident rate, and improves product reliability. This embodiment resolves issues such as users potentially getting their hands pinched while retrieving food early, the smart food cabinet failing to recognize that the food container has been removed, and the system failing to process payments after the purchase process has ended.

[0058] The anti-pinch control scheme for the intelligent food cabinet in this embodiment can prevent pinching by adding a photoelectric sensor at the food pick-up port. Combined with the controller signal from the food cart to the food pick-up platform and a newly added control algorithm, this ensures that if a user reaches for the food before it reaches the platform, the cart's trajectory is adjusted to prevent pinching. This solution improves the product's reliability, enhances the user's food purchasing experience and safety, and also saves on after-sales labor costs to some extent.

[0059] Example 4

[0060] This embodiment provides an electronic device for an anti-pinch control method of a smart food cabinet. The electronic device includes: at least one processor; and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein...

[0061] The memory stores instructions executable by the processor, which are then executed by the at least one processor to enable the at least one processor to: detect the state of the photoelectric switch at the food dispensing port after receiving a user's purchase instruction; if the photoelectric switch is detected to be in an off state, control the cantilever to move the food retrieval platform away from the food dispensing platform; wherein, the smart food cabinet is equipped with a photoelectric switch at the food dispensing port, and when the photoelectric switch detects an obstruction at the food dispensing port, the photoelectric switch switches from an on state to an off state.

[0062] Example 5

[0063] This invention provides software for executing the technical solutions described in the above embodiments and preferred embodiments.

[0064] This invention provides a non-volatile computer storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that can execute the anti-pinch control method for the intelligent food cabinet in any of the above method embodiments.

[0065] The aforementioned storage medium stores the aforementioned software, and the storage medium includes, but is not limited to, optical discs, floppy disks, hard disks, and rewritable memory.

[0066] The sequence numbers of the above embodiments of the present invention are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments.

[0067] In the above embodiments of the present invention, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments.

[0068] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed technical content can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for example, the division of units can be a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For instance, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the displayed or discussed mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between units or modules may be electrical or other forms.

[0069] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0070] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present invention can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0071] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), portable hard drives, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0072] The above-described product can execute the method provided in the embodiments of the present invention, and has the corresponding functional modules and beneficial effects for executing the method. Technical details not described in detail in this embodiment can be found in the method provided in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0073] The electronic devices of this invention exist in various forms, including but not limited to:

[0074] (1) Mobile communication devices: These devices are characterized by their mobile communication capabilities and primarily aim to provide voice and data communication. These terminals include: smartphones (e.g., iPhones), multimedia phones, feature phones, and low-end phones, etc.

[0075] (2) Ultra-mobile personal computer devices: These devices fall under the category of personal computers, possessing computing and processing capabilities, and generally also have mobile internet access features. These terminals include PDAs, MIDs, and UMPCs, such as the iPad.

[0076] (3) Portable entertainment devices: These devices can display and play multimedia content. This category includes audio and video players (such as iPods), handheld game consoles, e-book readers, as well as smart toys and portable car navigation devices.

[0077] (4) Server: A device that provides computing services. The components of a server include a processor, hard disk, memory, device bus, etc. Servers are similar to general computer architectures, but because they need to provide highly reliable services, they have higher requirements in terms of processing power, stability, reliability, security, scalability, and manageability.

[0078] (5) Other electronic devices with data interaction functions, such as televisions and in-vehicle screens.

[0079] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0080] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A smart food cabinet, characterized in that, The intelligent food cabinet includes: A food pickup cart includes a cantilever and a food pickup platform connected together, wherein the cantilever is used to move the food pickup platform; A food dispensing platform is used to receive the food boxes dispensed by the food collection platform; The food serving outlet is located on the food serving platform; A photoelectric switch is installed at the food outlet to detect obstructions at the food outlet and to switch from a conducting state to a disconnected state when an obstruction is detected at the food outlet. The controller is used to detect the state of the photoelectric switch after receiving a user's purchase instruction; if the photoelectric switch is detected to be in the off state, the controller controls the cantilever to move the food pick-up platform away from the food dispensing platform; then, it continues to detect the state of the photoelectric switch at the food dispensing port; if the photoelectric switch is always in the on state within a preset time period, the controller controls the cantilever to push the food pick-up platform to the food dispensing platform. The controller is specifically used to determine whether the food pickup platform has reached the food outlet after receiving a user's purchase instruction; if the food pickup platform has reached the food outlet, it detects whether there is a food box on the food outlet within a preset time; if there is a food box, it stops detecting the status of the photoelectric switch at the food outlet; if there is no food box, it detects the status of the photoelectric switch at the food outlet; if the food pickup platform has not reached the food outlet, it detects the status of the photoelectric switch at the food outlet.

2. The intelligent food cabinet according to claim 1, characterized in that, The photoelectric switch is a photoelectric sensor.

3. A method for preventing finger pinching in an intelligent food cabinet, characterized in that, The method includes: Upon receiving a user's purchase instruction, the status of the photoelectric switch at the food dispensing outlet is detected. This includes: upon receiving the user's purchase instruction, determining whether the food pickup platform has arrived at the food dispensing outlet; if the food pickup platform has arrived at the food dispensing outlet, detecting whether there is a food container on the food dispensing platform within a preset time; if there is a food container, stopping the detection of the status of the photoelectric switch at the food dispensing outlet; if there is no food container, detecting the status of the photoelectric switch at the food dispensing outlet; if the food pickup platform has not arrived at the food dispensing outlet, detecting the status of the photoelectric switch at the food dispensing outlet. If the photoelectric switch is detected to be in an open state, the control arm moves the food-taking platform away from the food-dispensing platform; then, the status of the photoelectric switch at the food-dispensing port is continuously detected; if the photoelectric switch remains in an open state for a preset time period, the control arm pushes the food-taking platform to the food-dispensing platform. The smart food cabinet is equipped with a photoelectric switch at the food dispensing port. When the photoelectric switch detects an obstruction at the food dispensing port, the photoelectric switch switches from an on state to an off state.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, If there is no lunchbox, after detecting the state of the photoelectric switch at the food opening, the method further includes: If the photoelectric switch is detected to be in an off state, it is confirmed that the lunchbox has been removed and the purchase process is complete.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Controlling the cantilever to move the food pickup platform away from the food dispensing platform includes: The cantilever is controlled to move the food collection platform to a preset location; wherein the preset location maintains a preset distance from the food dispensing platform; or, Control the cantilever to move the food collection platform back to its original position.

6. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, After controlling the cantilever to move the food pickup platform away from the food dispensing platform, the method further includes: Send a notification message to the user, prompting them to send a reorder instruction; Upon receiving the re-dispensing instruction, the control arm pushes the food collection platform to the food dispensing platform.

7. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the program is executed by the processor, it implements the method as described in any one of claims 3 to 6.

8. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: One or more processors; A storage device for storing one or more programs, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to implement the method as described in any one of claims 3 to 6.

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