An unmanned retail monitoring method, device and equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application provides a kind of unmanned retail monitoring method, device and equipment, its method is applied to the unmanned retail equipment including at least one storage bin and multiple recycling bins, and each specific recycling bin is used to detect the integrity of different packaging type goods.The method thereof, in the case where the target goods of user are returned, the original selling shelf of target goods is prohibited to receive target goods, and the storage bin is set to open state, to receive target goods by storage bin.Subsequently, the outer packaging of target goods is analyzed to determine the outer packaging type of target goods, and the target recycling bin is determined from multiple recycling bins according to the outer packaging type, to transport target goods from storage bin to target recycling bin.Finally, the integrity of target goods is detected by target recycling bin to determine the integrity detection result for target goods, so as to achieve the effect of accurately controlling the quality of goods.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of unmanned retail equipment technology, and in particular to an unmanned retail monitoring method, device and equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, unmanned retail devices lack comprehensive and detailed control over the goods stored within them. This is because, aside from damage during the original transportation process, product damage can also stem from human-caused damage when users return items. Current product inspection solutions can only detect the basic appearance of goods using cameras within the device. Minor human-caused damage, such as air leaks due to tiny holes in packaging, partial breaks in seals, or bottle caps being unscrewed, cannot be accurately detected, resulting in ineffective quality control of goods within unmanned retail devices. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the above problems, in order to improve the quality of goods in unmanned retail equipment, this application provides an unmanned retail monitoring method, device and equipment.

[0004] The embodiments of this application disclose the following technical solutions: In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide an unmanned retail monitoring method applied to unmanned retail equipment, the unmanned retail equipment comprising: at least one storage compartment and multiple recycling compartments; each recycling compartment is used to detect the integrity of goods of different packaging types; the method includes: Upon detecting that a user has returned a target product, a "no return" operation is performed on the original sales shelf, and the storage compartment is set to the open state to receive the target product through the storage compartment; the "no return" operation is used to prevent the original sales shelf of the target product from receiving the target product that has been taken by the user, and the target product is the product that the user has taken and returned; The outer packaging of the target product is analyzed to determine the type of outer packaging of the target product. A target recycling warehouse is determined from a plurality of recycling warehouses based on the type of outer packaging, so as to transport the target goods from the storage warehouse to the target recycling warehouse; The target product is subjected to a product integrity test at the target recycling bin to determine the integrity test result for the target product. In one possible implementation, the recycling bins include the following types: high-pressure product recycling bins, low-pressure product recycling bins, beverage product recycling bins, vacuum-sealed product recycling bins, and boxed product recycling bins. The step of determining the target recycling bin from the plurality of recycling bins based on the outer packaging type includes: When the outer packaging type is beverage packaging, the beverage product recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; In the case where the outer packaging type is saturated inflatable packaging, the high-pressure goods recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; In the case where the outer packaging type is unsaturated inflatable packaging, the low-pressure goods recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; When the outer packaging type is vacuum packaging, the vacuum-sealed product recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; When the outer packaging type is boxed, the boxed goods recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin.

[0005] In one possible implementation, the step of performing a commodity integrity check on the target commodity through the target recycling bin to determine the integrity check result for the target commodity includes: If the outer packaging type of the target product belongs to the beverage packaging, the saturated inflatable packaging, or the unsaturated inflatable packaging, the packaging appearance of the target product shall be inspected to determine the packaging appearance inspection result; If the packaging appearance inspection result is abnormal, the integrity inspection result is determined to be abnormal. If the packaging appearance inspection result is normal, the packaging characteristics of the target product are inspected based on the type of the target recycling bin. If the packaging characteristic test result is abnormal, the integrity test result is determined to be abnormal. If the packaging characteristic test result is normal, the integrity test result is determined to be normal. When the outer packaging type of the target product is the box type, the integrity test result of the target product is determined solely by the packaging appearance inspection.

[0006] In one possible implementation, the beverage recycling bin includes: a first air pressure regulating device; The step of performing packaging characteristic detection on the target product based on the type of the target recycling warehouse to determine the integrity detection result includes: When the recycling bin is a beverage product recycling bin, the air pressure inside the bin is reduced by the first air pressure regulating device, and multiple product monitoring images of the target product are acquired in real time as the air pressure decreases. Based on multiple product detection images, determine whether the target product has at least one of the following: leakage outside the packaging and abnormal liquid reaction inside the packaging. If the target product exhibits at least one of the following: leakage outside the packaging and abnormal reaction of the liquid inside the packaging, then the integrity test result is determined to be abnormal. If the target product does not exhibit any leakage outside the packaging or any abnormal reaction of the liquid inside the packaging, then the integrity test result is determined to be without abnormality.

[0007] In one possible implementation, the high-pressure commodity recycling chamber includes: a first pressure plate, the first pressure plate including a plurality of first pressure sensing areas, and the plurality of first pressure sensing areas are arranged in an array; The step of performing packaging characteristic detection on the target product based on the type of the target recycling warehouse to determine the integrity detection result includes: When the recycling bin type is the high-pressure commodity recycling bin, the first pressure plate is controlled to press the target commodity to obtain a first pressure feedback value from the first pressure sensing area; If at least one of the first pressure feedback values ​​is obtained, the target product is pressed more deeply based on a preset pressing depth distance, and a second pressure feedback value is continuously obtained after the pressing is completed based on a preset duration. Perform pressure feedback fluctuation analysis on the second pressure feedback value to determine the pressure feedback decrease value; If the pressure feedback decrease is less than a preset first threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be without abnormality. If the pressure feedback decrease is not less than the preset first threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be abnormal.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the low-pressure commodity recycling bin includes: a second pressure plate, the second pressure plate including a plurality of second pressure sensing areas, and the plurality of second pressure sensing areas are arranged in an array; The step of performing packaging characteristic detection on the target product based on the type of the target recycling warehouse to determine the integrity detection result includes: When the recycling bin type is the low-pressure commodity recycling bin, the second pressure plate is controlled to press the target commodity to obtain a third pressure feedback value from the second pressure sensing area; If at least one third pressure feedback value is obtained, the target product is continuously pressed based on a preset pressing rate, and multiple fourth pressure feedback values ​​are obtained in real time during the continuous pressing process. If at least one of the fourth pressure feedback values ​​is greater than a preset second threshold, the pressing on the target product is stopped, and the number of second pressure sensing areas that can currently generate pressure feedback values ​​is obtained. If the number of second pressure sensing zones that can currently generate pressure feedback values ​​is greater than a preset third threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be without abnormality. If the number of second pressure sensing zones that can currently generate pressure feedback values ​​is not greater than the preset third threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be abnormal.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the vacuum-type goods recycling bin includes: a second air pressure regulating device; The step of performing packaging characteristic detection on the target product based on the type of the target recycling warehouse to determine the integrity detection result includes: When the recycling bin type is the vacuum-type product recycling bin, the air pressure inside the bin is pressurized by the second air pressure regulating device, and the air pressure inside the bin is restored after a preset pressurization time, so as to obtain the air pocket area of ​​the target product; If the area of ​​the airbag is greater than a preset fourth threshold, the integrity detection result is determined to be abnormal. If the area of ​​the airbag is not greater than the preset fourth threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be without abnormality.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the unmanned retail device includes: multiple storage compartments, each item in the unmanned retail device having a separate corresponding storage compartment; the storage compartment is used to replenish the original sales shelf when the target item leaves the original sales shelf; After determining the integrity detection result for the target product, the method further includes: If the integrity test result is normal, the target product is subjected to storage classification analysis in order to transport the target product from the target recycling warehouse to its corresponding storage warehouse.

[0011] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide an unmanned retail monitoring device applied to unmanned retail equipment, the unmanned retail equipment including: at least one storage compartment and multiple recycling compartments; each recycling compartment is used to detect the integrity of goods with different packaging types; the device includes: The shelf control module is used to perform a no-return operation on the original sales shelf when it detects that a user has returned the target product, and to set the storage compartment to an open state so as to receive the target product through the storage compartment; the no-return operation is used to prevent the original sales shelf of the target product from receiving the target product that has been taken by the user, and the target product is the product that the user has taken and returned; The packaging type analysis module is used to analyze the outer packaging of the target product to determine the outer packaging type of the target product. A transportation module is used to determine a target recycling warehouse from a plurality of recycling warehouses based on the type of outer packaging, so as to transport the target goods from the storage warehouse to the target recycling warehouse; The integrity detection module is used to perform integrity detection on the target product through the target recycling bin to determine the integrity detection result for the target product.

[0012] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide an unmanned retail device, which is used to implement any possible unmanned retail monitoring method in the first aspect.

[0013] Compared to existing technologies, this application offers the following advantages: This application provides a method, apparatus, and device for monitoring unmanned retail. The method is applied to an unmanned retail device including at least one storage compartment and multiple recycling compartments, where each specific recycling compartment is used to detect the integrity of goods with different packaging types. In this method, upon detecting a user returning a target product, a "no return" operation is performed on the original sales shelf, and the storage compartment is set to an open state, allowing the user to return the target product to the storage compartment. This prevents products with quality risks from being directly returned to their original sales shelves, ensuring quality control of goods within the retail device. Subsequently, the outer packaging of the target product is analyzed to determine its packaging type, and a target recycling compartment is determined from among the multiple recycling compartments based on the packaging type, allowing the target product to be transported from the storage compartment to the target recycling compartment. Finally, based on the characteristic that different recycling compartments can detect the integrity of goods with different packaging types, the integrity of the target product with a specific outer packaging type is detected through the target recycling compartment to determine the integrity detection result of the product. By inspecting the outer packaging type of the target product and setting up independent recycling bins based on different outer packaging types, it is possible to effectively detect the integrity of various types of products, thereby identifying products with quality problems when returned by users, and thus achieving the effect of precise control over product quality. Attached Figure Description

[0014] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0015] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating an unmanned retail monitoring method provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an unmanned retail device provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating the process of performing packaging characteristic testing on a beverage product recycling bin, as provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating the process of performing packaging characteristic testing on a high-pressure commodity recycling bin, as provided in this application embodiment; Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating the process of performing packaging characteristic testing on a low-pressure commodity recycling bin, as provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating the process of performing packaging characteristic testing on a vacuum-sealed goods recycling bin, as provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an unmanned retail monitoring device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0016] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with specific embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be particularly noted that the embodiments described in this application are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0017] It should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in the embodiments of this application should have the ordinary meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains. The terms "first," "second," and similar terms used in the embodiments of this application do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Terms such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Terms such as "connected" or "linked" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. Terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" are only used to indicate relative positional relationships; when the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0018] As described earlier, current unmanned retail devices lack comprehensive and detailed control over the goods stored within them. This is because, aside from damage during the original transportation process, product damage can also stem from human-caused damage when users return items. Current product inspection solutions can only detect the basic appearance of goods using cameras within the device. Minor human-caused damage, such as leaks due to tiny holes in packaging, partial breaks in seals, or bottle caps being unscrewed, cannot be accurately detected, resulting in ineffective quality control of goods within unmanned retail devices.

[0019] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides an unmanned retail monitoring method, apparatus, and device. The method is applied to an unmanned retail device comprising at least one storage compartment and multiple recycling compartments, with each recycling compartment specifically used to detect the integrity of goods with different packaging types. In this method, upon detecting a user returning a target item, a "no return" operation is performed on the original sales shelf, and the storage compartment is set to an open state, allowing the user to return the target item to the storage compartment. This prevents goods with quality risks from being directly returned to their original sales shelf, ensuring quality control of goods within the retail device. Subsequently, the outer packaging of the target item is analyzed to determine its packaging type, and a target recycling compartment is determined from among the multiple recycling compartments based on the packaging type, allowing the target item to be transported from the storage compartment to the target recycling compartment. Finally, based on the characteristic that different recycling compartments can detect the integrity of goods with different packaging types, the integrity of the target item with a specific outer packaging type is detected through the target recycling compartment to determine the integrity detection result of the item. By inspecting the outer packaging type of the target product and setting up independent recycling bins based on different outer packaging types, it is possible to effectively detect the integrity of various types of products, thereby identifying products with quality problems when returned by users, and thus achieving the effect of precise control over product quality.

[0020] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0021] See Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating an unmanned retail monitoring method provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an unmanned retail device provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 As can be seen, the unmanned retail equipment provided in this application embodiment includes a storage bin, a recycling bin, and a storage bin. The storage bin receives items that users want to return after selecting goods. The storage bin has multiple storage compartments and supports the simultaneous return of multiple different types of goods, such as beverages and boxed goods, to ensure a continuous shopping experience for users. One end of the storage bin is connected to various types of recycling bins. These recycling bins are used to check the integrity of goods with different packaging types, thereby improving the quality of goods management within the retail equipment.

[0022] The recycling bins are categorized based on the type of product packaging: high-pressure products, low-pressure products, beverages, vacuum-packed products, and boxed products. Each type of bin is used to inspect the integrity of the corresponding packaging. Furthermore, each recycling bin is connected to at least one storage bin, and each storage bin has its own dedicated sales shelf. After inspecting the integrity of products of a specific packaging type, if the product is found to be intact, the recycling bin determines the appropriate storage bin based on the product's information (such as barcodes), ensuring that returned, undamaged products are returned to their original sales shelf.

[0023] Next, based on Figure 1 The unmanned retail monitoring method provided in this application embodiment is described in detail, including the following steps: S101: Upon detecting that a user has returned a target product, a no-return operation is performed on the original sales shelf, and the storage compartment is set to the open state so as to receive the target product through the storage compartment; the no-return operation is used to prevent the original sales shelf of the target product from receiving the target product taken by the user, and the target product is the product that the user took and returned.

[0024] Inside the unmanned retail device in this application embodiment, multiple cameras are installed. When the cabinet door of the unmanned retail device is opened, the cameras acquire real-time images of the user's behavior when selecting goods, and perform real-time return action recognition based on the images to detect whether the user has performed an action or behavior of returning the target goods.

[0025] Correspondingly, when a user is detected returning a target product, in order to prevent the returned product from having quality risks, it is necessary to immediately implement a no-return operation on the original sales shelf of the target product and pop up an open storage compartment to receive the returned target product through the storage compartment, instead of the user directly returning the target product to its original sales shelf, thereby achieving control over product quality.

[0026] In one possible implementation, preventing the return of items from the original sales shelves can be achieved through the immediate replenishment of goods on the shelves by a storage warehouse. Weight sensors are installed on the sales shelves. When a weight sensor detects that a product has left the shelf, it transmits the data of the product being taken to the corresponding control terminal in the storage warehouse, which then immediately controls the storage warehouse to replenish the original sales shelves. In the unmanned retail equipment of this application embodiment, each product shelf is only allowed to hold one product. The immediate replenishment of the target product's original sales shelf by the storage warehouse effectively prevents users from leaving the target product, which needs to be returned, on its original sales shelf.

[0027] In addition, when there is a temporary shortage of goods in the storage warehouse that can be replenished, the original sales shelves can be locked to prevent the corresponding sales shelves from receiving the target goods. This embodiment does not limit the specific method of performing the anti-return operation on the original sales shelves.

[0028] S102: Perform outer packaging analysis on the target product to determine the outer packaging type of the target product.

[0029] After the storage compartment receives the target product, when the user manually closes the compartment door or returns the product to its original location when there are no extra items, the compartment activates its internal camera to capture an image of the product's appearance. This image is used to analyze the product's packaging type. In actual retail scenarios, the types of packaging and the human-caused quality issues can vary. For example, with beverages, users might repeatedly unscrew and reseal the cap, or shake the product vigorously before putting it back. These issues are difficult to identify from images of beverages alone, making it difficult to effectively control product quality. Furthermore, with products like potato chips in fully inflated packaging, even if a user creates a tiny hole in the packaging, the chip packaging will retain its original fully inflated appearance, making this quality issue difficult to detect.

[0030] Therefore, this application embodiment has made specific classifications of the outer packaging types of the target products, and allocated corresponding recycling bins based on each specific classification of packaging types, so as to achieve targeted and differentiated product integrity detection and effectively improve the quality of product control.

[0031] S103: Determine a target recycling warehouse from among the multiple recycling warehouses according to the outer packaging type, so as to transport the target product from the storage warehouse to the target recycling warehouse.

[0032] In this embodiment, the outer packaging types of goods are categorized into beverage packaging, saturated inflatable packaging, unsaturated inflatable packaging, vacuum packaging, and box packaging. Saturated inflatable packaging is used to characterize goods that are filled with a relatively large amount of safe gas, giving them a saturated gas-filled appearance, such as potato chips, French fries, and puffed snacks. Unsaturated inflatable packaging is used to characterize goods that are filled with a relatively small amount of safe gas, and their appearance does not exhibit a saturated gas-filled appearance, such as instant noodles.

[0033] Correspondingly, different types of outer packaging correspond to different types of recycling bins, which can be found in [reference needed]. Figure 2 The recycling bins are categorized into: high-pressure product recycling bins, low-pressure product recycling bins, beverage product recycling bins, vacuum-packed product recycling bins, and boxed product recycling bins. When determining the target recycling bin for a specific product, the bin is determined based on the product's outer packaging type. For beverage packaging, the beverage product recycling bin is designated as the target bin; for saturated inflatable packaging, the high-pressure product recycling bin is designated; for unsaturated inflatable packaging, the low-pressure product recycling bin is designated; for vacuum-packed packaging, the vacuum-packed product recycling bin is designated; and for boxed packaging, the boxed product recycling bin is designated.

[0034] S104: Perform a product integrity test on the target product through the target recycling bin to determine the integrity test result for the target product.

[0035] After determining the corresponding target recycling warehouse based on the outer packaging type of the target product, the receiving warehouse transports the target product to its corresponding recycling warehouse. A specific product integrity detection device within the recycling warehouse then performs a product integrity check on the target product, thus achieving differentiated integrity testing for products with different packaging types. If the integrity check result is normal, the target product is analyzed for storage classification to determine its corresponding storage warehouse, and the target product is promptly transported to the corresponding storage warehouse to ensure timely shelving of returned goods. Conversely, if the integrity check result is abnormal, the product is re-evaluated by the receiving warehouse, and settlement is based on the product's sales information.

[0036] Specifically, the integrity testing process for goods within the recycling warehouse requires the following six steps: Step 1: If the outer packaging type of the target product belongs to the beverage packaging, the saturated inflatable packaging, or the unsaturated inflatable packaging, perform packaging appearance inspection on the target product to determine the packaging appearance inspection result; Step 2: If the packaging appearance inspection result is abnormal, determine that the integrity inspection result is abnormal; Step 3: If the packaging appearance inspection result is normal, perform packaging characteristic inspection on the target product based on the type of the target recycling bin to determine the integrity inspection result; Step 4: If the packaging characteristic test result is abnormal, determine that the integrity test result is abnormal; Step 5: If the packaging characteristic test result is normal, then the integrity test result is determined to be normal. Step Six: If the outer packaging type of the target product is the box type, the integrity test result of the target product is determined solely by the packaging appearance inspection.

[0037] Regardless of the type of outer packaging, a basic appearance inspection is required before conducting characteristic testing on the unique packaging of the target product. Multiple cameras are uniformly installed in various types of recycling bins. These cameras capture multi-angle images of the target product's appearance to inspect the packaging. The images are used to identify any obvious damage, stains, or abnormal deformation on the product's surface, thereby determining the corresponding packaging appearance inspection results.

[0038] Specifically, when the target product's outer packaging is for beverages, the appearance inspection mainly focuses on checking for obvious deformation of the bottle or can, the presence and correct positioning of the wraparound label, the connection between the cap and the plastic ring, and the integrity of the pull tab on the can. When the target product's outer packaging is either saturated or unsaturated inflatable packaging, the appearance inspection mainly focuses on determining the integrity of the packaging, the normality of its saturated or unsaturated state, and the presence of obvious dirt. When the target product's outer packaging is vacuum-sealed, the appearance inspection mainly involves comparing it with a pre-stored standard product to determine if the packaging and its design have been damaged or modified.

[0039] If the packaging appearance inspection result of the target product is abnormal, then the integrity inspection result of the target product can be directly determined to be abnormal, without needing to conduct different packaging characteristic inspection procedures for its specific outer packaging type. However, if the packaging appearance inspection result is normal, it indicates that a simple packaging appearance inspection cannot identify potential negative impacts on the target product's packaging characteristics (such as bottle caps being repeatedly opened and closed). If the initial packaging appearance inspection result is normal, then packaging characteristic inspections should be conducted based on the specific recycling bin type of the target product to determine the integrity inspection result.

[0040] It should be noted that in this embodiment, when the target product's outer packaging is a box, since box packaging lacks both the characteristics of safety gas filling and vacuum, and is typically made of rigid cardboard, it is extremely difficult to affect the food or product inside without causing obvious damage to the outer surface of the box packaging (to a degree that visual inspection cannot detect). Therefore, for the integrity inspection of the target product in box packaging, only the integrity of the packaging appearance needs to be determined, without the need for packaging characteristic inspection. In one possible implementation, to ensure that the target product in box packaging has not been refurbished, the integrity of the box packaging seal needs to be checked during the packaging appearance inspection. The integrity of the product is determined by judging whether the seal has been re-attached or damaged, thereby ensuring comprehensive product integrity inspection.

[0041] Next, based on the accompanying drawings of the process implementation examples, we will introduce the packaging characteristic detection methods for beverage recycling bins, high-pressure recycling bins, low-pressure recycling bins, vacuum-sealed recycling bins, and boxed recycling bins.

[0042] See Figure 3 The figure is a schematic diagram of a process for testing the packaging characteristics of a beverage product recycling bin according to an embodiment of this application, specifically including the following steps: S201: When the recycling bin type is the beverage product recycling bin, the air pressure inside the bin is reduced by the first air pressure regulating device, and multiple product monitoring images of the target product as the air pressure decreases are acquired in real time. S202: Based on multiple product detection images, determine whether the target product has at least one of the following: leakage outside the packaging and abnormal liquid reaction inside the packaging; S203: If the target product has at least one of the following: leakage outside the packaging and abnormal reaction of the liquid inside the packaging, then the integrity test result is determined to be abnormal. S204: If the target product does not exhibit any leakage outside the packaging or any abnormal reaction of the liquid inside the packaging, then the integrity test result is determined to be without abnormality.

[0043] For beverages, if a user shakes the drink vigorously or repeatedly unscrews the cap before returning it, the original airtight pressure of the beverage will be disrupted. Therefore, based on this characteristic, the beverage return bin uses an internal pressure regulating device to determine whether the beverage is abnormally intact.

[0044] Specifically, the beverage recycling bin uses a first pressure regulating device to gradually extract gas from the bin, causing the internal pressure to slowly decrease. Simultaneously, a camera captures real-time images of the target product during this pressure reduction process. The integrity test result is determined by assessing for any abnormalities in the internal liquid. If at least one of the following is detected: obvious leakage on the outer packaging (liquid seeping onto the packaging surface) or abnormal reactions in the liquid inside the packaging, the original sealed pressure state of the target product has been compromised, and the integrity test result is deemed abnormal. Conversely, if the gradual decrease in internal pressure does not cause any abnormalities in the liquid inside the target product, it indicates that the target product maintains its original sealed pressure state, and the integrity test result is deemed normal.

[0045] It is understandable that if beverage products maintain their original sealed state, a decrease in air pressure will not cause any abnormalities in the liquid inside. Conversely, taking carbonated beverages as an example, if the seal of a carbonated beverage is broken (e.g., a tiny hole is punctured in the bottle or can), the decrease in external air pressure due to the breach in the airtightness will cause a significant increase in bubbles within the carbonated liquid. This situation can be identified as an abnormal reaction of the liquid inside the packaging. Similarly, this embodiment does not limit the actual form of the abnormal reaction of the liquid inside the packaging. Of course, under conditions of decreased external air pressure, regardless of whether the beverage is carbonated or not, if the airtightness of the product is compromised, the product will leak due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the packaging, since the pressure inside the packaging is greater than the external pressure. Therefore, the technical solution of this application can accurately identify this by reducing the external air pressure of beverage products.

[0046] See Figure 4 The figure is a schematic diagram of a process for testing packaging characteristics in a high-pressure commodity recycling bin according to an embodiment of this application, specifically including the following steps: S301: When the recycling bin type is the high-pressure commodity recycling bin, control the first pressure plate to press the target commodity to obtain a first pressure feedback value from the first pressure sensing area; S302: When at least one first pressure feedback value is obtained, the target product is pressed more deeply based on a preset pressing deepening distance, and a second pressure feedback value is continuously obtained after the pressing is completed based on a preset duration. S303: Perform pressure feedback fluctuation analysis on the second pressure feedback value to determine the pressure feedback decrease value and determine whether it is less than the preset first threshold. S304: If the pressure feedback decrease value is less than a preset first threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be abnormal; S305: If the pressure feedback decrease value is not less than the preset first threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be without abnormality.

[0047] The high-pressure product recovery chamber is used for product integrity testing of goods with saturated inflatable packaging. As mentioned earlier regarding saturated inflatable packaging, such as potato chips which require a large amount of safety gas, these products contain a significant amount of safety gas. Therefore, even if there is minor damage to the outer packaging, the gas inside will not be immediately released but will remain in a saturated inflatable state for an extended period. This makes it impossible for conventional product appearance inspections to accurately detect the integrity of such products.

[0048] Therefore, to address this issue, the high-pressure product recycling chamber provided in this embodiment includes a first pressure plate. On the side of the first pressure plate used to apply pressure, multiple first pressure sensing zones arranged in an array are provided, each generating a corresponding set of pressure feedback values. The purpose is to determine whether there is minor damage to the packaging by applying pressure to the target product and analyzing the resulting reaction force. If damage leading to air leakage exists, the corresponding reaction force will gradually decrease or even drastically decrease, thus determining the integrity of saturated inflatable products.

[0049] Specifically, when the first pressure plate is driven to press the target product, a certain pressure is generated when the first pressure plate contacts the product surface. This pressure value is sensed by the first pressure sensing area on the pressure plate, thereby generating a first pressure feedback value. When at least one first pressure feedback value is obtained, it indicates that the first pressure plate has adhered to the target product. At this time, the target product is continuously pressed deeper based on a preset pressing deepening distance, and the pressure is maintained for a preset duration after reaching the set deepening distance, thereby obtaining a second pressure feedback value generated during the process of maintaining the deepening pressure.

[0050] Taking potato chip packaged food as an example in this embodiment, when the first pressure plate is driven to press the packaged food, the generation of a first pressure feedback value indicates that the first pressure plate has made contact with the surface of the potato chip package. A preset pressing depth distance is set to 0.3 mm, and the first pressure plate is controlled to continuously press deeper by 0.3 mm and maintain this pressure for 5 seconds (a preset duration). The first pressure feedback value from the first pressure sensing area is obtained within these 5 seconds. It is understood that because the product is filled with safety gas, as the pressing is maintained, if the product's packaging surface is not damaged, the resulting reaction force (first pressure feedback value) will also remain unchanged; that is, the pressure feedback decrease should be 0. Therefore, if the pressure feedback decrease value of the first pressure feedback value is less than a preset first threshold within these 5 seconds, it indicates that the product's reaction force is gradually decreasing due to a slight gas leak, thus confirming that the integrity detection result is abnormal. Conversely, if the pressure feedback decrease is not less than the preset first threshold, it indicates that the reaction force generated by the product remains normal and unchanged, and its packaging surface is undamaged. Therefore, the integrity test result can be determined to be normal. In this embodiment, the preset first threshold should be a value slightly greater than 0.

[0051] See Figure 5 The figure is a schematic diagram of a process for testing packaging characteristics in a low-pressure commodity recycling bin according to an embodiment of this application, specifically including the following steps: S401: When the recycling bin type is the low-pressure commodity recycling bin, control the second pressure plate to press the target commodity to obtain a third pressure feedback value from the second pressure sensing area; S402: When at least one third pressure feedback value is obtained, the target product is continuously pressed based on a preset pressing rate, and multiple fourth pressure feedback values ​​are obtained in real time during the continuous pressing process. S403: If at least one of the fourth pressure feedback values ​​is greater than a preset second threshold, stop pressing on the target product and obtain the number of second pressure sensing areas that can currently generate pressure feedback values. S404: Determine whether the number of second pressure sensing zones is greater than a preset third threshold; S405: If the number of second pressure sensing zones that can currently generate pressure feedback values ​​is greater than a preset third threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be without abnormality; S406: If the number of second pressure sensing zones that can currently generate pressure feedback values ​​is not greater than the preset third threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be abnormal.

[0052] The low-pressure product recycling compartment has the same internal components as the high-pressure product recycling compartment. Inside the low-pressure compartment, there is a second pressure plate and multiple second pressure sensing zones arranged in an array. The low-pressure product recycling compartment is designed for unsaturated inflatable packaging products that contain a small amount of safety gas. Crispy noodles can be considered an example of this type of product. Because of the small amount of safety gas, if a user deliberately presses on crispy noodles, it can still cause extensive cracking, resulting in product damage. In practice, it is common to see cases where the outer packaging of such products remains intact, but the contents are crushed.

[0053] Therefore, in order to accurately identify the damage to such goods, when testing the packaging characteristics of unsaturated inflatable packaging, it is necessary to drive the second pressure plate to press the target goods, and continuously detect the presence of a third pressure feedback value fed back by the second pressure sensing area while the second pressure plate is in contact with the surface of the goods. When at least one third pressure feedback value is obtained, it indicates that the second pressure plate has come into contact with the packaging surface of the goods. Since the gas filling of such goods is relatively small, the inside of the packaging surface may also be in close contact with the goods inside the packaging.

[0054] Taking instant noodles as an example of the target product, when it is determined that the second pressure plate is in contact with the packaging surface of the instant noodles, if the actual instant noodles inside the product do not break in a large area, then as the pressing distance increases, the number of second pressure sensing areas parallel to the instant noodles will gradually increase. Therefore, this application sets a fourth pressure feedback value, which uses the critical value of not damaging the actual product inside the packaging (i.e., not damaging the instant noodles themselves) as a threshold (i.e., a preset second threshold). During the continuous pressing of the target product based on a preset pressing rate, the fourth pressure feedback value generated by the continuous pressing will gradually increase. If at least one fourth pressure feedback value is greater than the preset second threshold, it indicates that the second pressure plate has approached the critical pressing depth that will cause the instant noodles to break. If some of the instant noodles are not broken, the second pressure plate should then be completely adhered to the instant noodles inside the packaging through unsaturated inflatable packaging.

[0055] Conversely, if the crispy noodles are partially broken, the sharp surfaces of the broken pieces will cause the reaction force (fourth pressure feedback value) to reach a state greater than the preset second threshold more quickly. In this case, since the fourth pressure feedback value is caused by the partially broken noodles rather than the intact noodles, the number of second pressure sensing areas generating the fourth pressure feedback will be less. Therefore, if the number of second pressure sensing areas generating the pressure feedback value is not greater than the preset third threshold, it indicates that the crispy noodles have a large area of ​​breakage, and the integrity test result of the product can be determined to be abnormal. Conversely, if the number of second pressure sensing areas is greater than the preset third threshold, it indicates that the crispy noodles have not had a large area of ​​breakage, and the corresponding integrity test result is determined to be normal.

[0056] See Figure 6 The figure is a schematic diagram of a process for testing the packaging characteristics of a vacuum-sealed commodity recycling bin according to an embodiment of this application, specifically including the following steps: S501: When the recycling bin type is the vacuum-type commodity recycling bin, the air pressure inside the bin is pressurized by the second air pressure regulating device, and the air pressure inside the bin is restored after a preset pressurization time, so as to obtain the air pocket area of ​​the target commodity. S502: Determine whether the area of ​​the airbag is greater than the preset fourth threshold; S503: If the area of ​​the airbag is greater than a preset fourth threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be abnormal; S504: If the area of ​​the airbag is not greater than the preset fourth threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be without abnormality.

[0057] Vacuum-sealed product recycling bins are used to test the packaging characteristics of vacuum-sealed products. Unlike inflatable packaging, vacuum-sealed products do not contain gas, so the aforementioned method of testing packaging characteristics by applying pressure is not applicable. However, if there are minor damages to the exterior of the vacuum-sealed product packaging, an air pocket of a certain area will appear inside when the air pressure increases, leading to food spoilage.

[0058] Based on this approach, this embodiment of the application includes a second air pressure regulating device in the vacuum-sealed product recycling chamber. This device continuously fills the chamber with gas to pressurize it. Simultaneously, after maintaining the pressurization for a preset duration, the original air pressure is restored to obtain the air pocket area inside the vacuum-sealed product after the pressure change. If the air pocket area is greater than a preset fourth threshold, it indicates that the product's packaging surface has some damage, leading to gas ingress, and the corresponding integrity detection result can be determined as abnormal. Conversely, if the air pocket area is not greater than the preset fourth threshold, it can be determined that there is no air ingress in the vacuum-sealed product, and the corresponding integrity detection result can be determined as normal.

[0059] In the application scenario of this embodiment, since some vacuum-sealed products may have some tiny air pockets, the preset fourth threshold is set to 0 or a value slightly greater than 0 (such as 0.1, 0.2, etc.) to ensure the accuracy of integrity detection for vacuum-sealed products.

[0060] This application provides a method for monitoring unmanned retail, applied to an unmanned retail device including at least one storage compartment and multiple recycling compartments. Each recycling compartment is used to detect the integrity of goods with different packaging types. In this method, upon detecting a user returning a target product, a "no return" operation is performed on the original sales shelf, and the storage compartment is set to an open state, allowing the user to return the target product to the storage compartment. This prevents products with quality risks from being directly returned to their original sales shelves, ensuring quality control of goods within the retail device. Subsequently, the outer packaging of the target product is analyzed to determine its packaging type. Based on the packaging type, a target recycling compartment is selected from the multiple recycling compartments to transport the target product from the storage compartment to the target recycling compartment. Finally, based on the characteristic that different recycling compartments can detect the integrity of goods with different packaging types, the integrity of the target product with a specific outer packaging type is detected through the target recycling compartment to determine the integrity detection result of the product. By inspecting the outer packaging type of the target product and setting up independent recycling bins based on different outer packaging types, it is possible to effectively detect the integrity of various types of products, thereby identifying products with quality problems when returned by users, and thus achieving the effect of precise control over product quality.

[0061] The following describes an unmanned retail monitoring device provided in an embodiment of this application. The unmanned retail monitoring device described below can be referred to in correspondence with the unmanned retail monitoring method described above.

[0062] See Figure 7 The figure is a schematic diagram of the structure of an unmanned retail monitoring device provided in an embodiment of this application, which specifically includes the following modules: The shelf control module 100 is used to perform a no-return operation on the original sales shelf when it detects that a user has returned the target product, and to set the storage compartment to an open state so as to receive the target product through the storage compartment; the no-return operation is used to prevent the original sales shelf of the target product from receiving the target product taken by the user, the target product being the product that the user took and returned; The packaging type analysis module 200 is used to analyze the outer packaging of the target product to determine the outer packaging type of the target product. The transportation module 300 is used to determine a target recycling warehouse from a plurality of recycling warehouses according to the outer packaging type, so as to transport the target goods from the storage warehouse to the target recycling warehouse; The integrity detection module 400 is used to perform integrity detection on the target product through the target recycling bin to determine the integrity detection result for the target product.

[0063] Based on the same inventive concept, corresponding to any of the above embodiments, this application also provides an unmanned retail device, which is used to implement any possible unmanned retail monitoring method in the above embodiments.

[0064] It should be noted that the various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, and the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for methods, apparatuses, and unmanned retail devices, since they are basically similar to the method embodiments, the descriptions are relatively simple, and relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions of the method embodiments. The methods, apparatuses, and unmanned retail devices described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components indicated 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 the solution in this embodiment according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without creative effort.

[0065] The above description is merely one specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring unmanned retail, characterized in that, The method is applied to unmanned retail equipment, which includes: at least one storage compartment and multiple recycling compartments; each recycling compartment is used to detect the integrity of goods with different packaging types; the method includes: Upon detecting that a user has returned a target product, a "no return" operation is performed on the original sales shelf, and the storage compartment is set to the open state to receive the target product through the storage compartment. The "no return" operation is used to prevent the original sales shelf of the target product from receiving the target product that has been taken by the user. The target product is the product that the user has taken and returned. The outer packaging of the target product is analyzed to determine the type of outer packaging of the target product. A target recycling warehouse is determined from a plurality of recycling warehouses based on the type of outer packaging, so as to transport the target goods from the storage warehouse to the target recycling warehouse; The target product is inspected for integrity in the target recycling bin to determine the integrity inspection result for the target product. The recycling bins include the following types: high-pressure product recycling bins, low-pressure product recycling bins, beverage product recycling bins, vacuum-sealed product recycling bins, and boxed product recycling bins. The step of determining the target recycling bin from the plurality of recycling bins based on the outer packaging type includes: When the outer packaging type is beverage packaging, the beverage product recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; In the case where the outer packaging type is saturated inflatable packaging, the high-pressure goods recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; In the case where the outer packaging type is unsaturated inflatable packaging, the low-pressure goods recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; When the outer packaging type is vacuum packaging, the vacuum-sealed product recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; When the outer packaging type is boxed packaging, the boxed goods recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; The step of performing a product integrity check on the target product through the target recycling bin to determine the integrity check result for the target product includes: If the outer packaging type of the target product belongs to the beverage packaging, the saturated inflatable packaging, or the unsaturated inflatable packaging, the packaging appearance of the target product shall be inspected to determine the packaging appearance inspection result; If the packaging appearance inspection result is abnormal, the integrity inspection result is determined to be abnormal. If the packaging appearance inspection result is normal, the packaging characteristics of the target product are inspected based on the type of the target recycling bin. If the packaging characteristic test result is abnormal, the integrity test result is determined to be abnormal. If the packaging characteristic test result is normal, the integrity test result is determined to be normal. When the outer packaging type of the target product is the box type, the integrity test result of the target product is determined solely by the packaging appearance inspection.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The beverage product recycling bin includes: a first air pressure regulating device; The step of performing packaging characteristic detection on the target product based on the type of the target recycling warehouse to determine the integrity detection result includes: When the recycling bin is a beverage product recycling bin, the air pressure inside the bin is reduced by the first air pressure regulating device, and multiple product monitoring images of the target product are acquired in real time as the air pressure decreases. Based on multiple monitoring images of the product, determine whether the target product has at least one of the following: leakage outside the packaging and abnormal reaction of the liquid inside the packaging. If the target product exhibits at least one of the following: leakage outside the packaging and abnormal reaction of the liquid inside the packaging, then the integrity test result is determined to be abnormal. If the target product does not exhibit any leakage outside the packaging or any abnormal reaction of the liquid inside the packaging, then the integrity test result is determined to be without abnormality.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The high-pressure commodity recycling chamber includes: a first pressure plate, the first pressure plate including a plurality of first pressure sensing areas, and the plurality of first pressure sensing areas are arranged in an array; The step of performing packaging characteristic detection on the target product based on the type of the target recycling warehouse to determine the integrity detection result includes: When the recycling bin type is the high-pressure commodity recycling bin, the first pressure plate is controlled to press the target commodity to obtain a first pressure feedback value from the first pressure sensing area; If at least one of the first pressure feedback values ​​is obtained, the target product is pressed more deeply based on a preset pressing depth distance, and a second pressure feedback value is continuously obtained after the pressing is completed based on a preset duration. Perform pressure feedback fluctuation analysis on the second pressure feedback value to determine the pressure feedback decrease value; If the pressure feedback decrease is less than a preset first threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be without abnormality. If the pressure feedback decrease is not less than the preset first threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be abnormal.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The low-pressure commodity recycling bin includes: a second pressure plate, the second pressure plate including a plurality of second pressure sensing areas, and the plurality of second pressure sensing areas are arranged in an array; The step of performing packaging characteristic detection on the target product based on the type of the target recycling warehouse to determine the integrity detection result includes: When the recycling bin type is the low-pressure commodity recycling bin, the second pressure plate is controlled to press the target commodity to obtain a third pressure feedback value from the second pressure sensing area; If at least one third pressure feedback value is obtained, the target product is continuously pressed based on a preset pressing rate, and multiple fourth pressure feedback values ​​are obtained in real time during the continuous pressing process. If at least one of the fourth pressure feedback values ​​is greater than a preset second threshold, the pressing on the target product is stopped, and the number of second pressure sensing areas that can currently generate pressure feedback values ​​is obtained. If the number of second pressure sensing zones that can currently generate pressure feedback values ​​is greater than a preset third threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be without abnormality. If the number of second pressure sensing zones that can currently generate pressure feedback values ​​is not greater than the preset third threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be abnormal.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vacuum-type goods recycling bin includes: a second air pressure regulating device; The step of performing packaging characteristic detection on the target product based on the type of the target recycling warehouse to determine the integrity detection result includes: When the recycling bin type is the vacuum-type product recycling bin, the air pressure inside the bin is pressurized by the second air pressure regulating device, and the air pressure inside the bin is restored after a preset pressurization time, so as to obtain the air pocket area of ​​the target product; If the area of ​​the airbag is greater than a preset fourth threshold, the integrity detection result is determined to be abnormal. If the area of ​​the airbag is not greater than the preset fourth threshold, then the integrity detection result is determined to be without abnormality.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The unmanned retail equipment includes: multiple storage compartments, each product in the unmanned retail equipment having its own corresponding storage compartment; the storage compartment is used to replenish the original sales shelf when the target product leaves the original sales shelf; After determining the integrity detection result for the target product, the method further includes: If the integrity test result is normal, the target product is subjected to storage classification analysis in order to transport the target product from the target recycling warehouse to its corresponding storage warehouse.

7. A monitoring device for unmanned retail, characterized in that, An application to unmanned retail equipment, the unmanned retail equipment comprising: at least one storage bin and multiple recycling bins; each of the recycling bins being used to detect the integrity of goods of different packaging types; the device comprising: The shelf control module is used to perform a no-return operation on the original sales shelf when it detects that a user has returned the target product, and to set the storage compartment to an open state so as to receive the target product through the storage compartment; the no-return operation is used to prevent the original sales shelf of the target product from receiving the target product that has been taken by the user, and the target product is the product that the user has taken and returned; The packaging type analysis module is used to analyze the outer packaging of the target product to determine the outer packaging type of the target product. A transportation module is used to determine a target recycling warehouse from a plurality of recycling warehouses based on the type of outer packaging, so as to transport the target goods from the storage warehouse to the target recycling warehouse; The integrity detection module is used to perform integrity detection on the target product through the target recycling bin to determine the integrity detection result for the target product; The recycling bins include the following types: high-pressure product recycling bins, low-pressure product recycling bins, beverage product recycling bins, vacuum-sealed product recycling bins, and boxed product recycling bins. The transportation module is specifically used for: When the outer packaging type is beverage packaging, the beverage product recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; In the case where the outer packaging type is saturated inflatable packaging, the high-pressure goods recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; In the case where the outer packaging type is unsaturated inflatable packaging, the low-pressure goods recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; When the outer packaging type is vacuum packaging, the vacuum-sealed product recycling bin is identified as the target recycling bin; When the outer packaging type is boxed packaging, the boxed goods recycling bin is designated as the target recycling bin; the integrity detection module is specifically used for: If the outer packaging type of the target product belongs to the beverage packaging, the saturated inflatable packaging, or the unsaturated inflatable packaging, the packaging appearance of the target product shall be inspected to determine the packaging appearance inspection result; If the packaging appearance inspection result is abnormal, the integrity inspection result is determined to be abnormal. If the packaging appearance inspection result is normal, the packaging characteristics of the target product are inspected based on the type of the target recycling bin. If the packaging characteristic test result is abnormal, the integrity test result is determined to be abnormal. If the packaging characteristic test result is normal, the integrity test result is determined to be normal. When the outer packaging type of the target product is the box type, the integrity test result of the target product is determined solely by the packaging appearance inspection.

8. An unmanned retail device, characterized in that, The unmanned retail equipment is used to implement the unmanned retail monitoring method according to any one of claims 1-6.

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