System for inventory management of on-board refreshments for a vehicle

0001The present invention relates to a system for inventory management of an on-board catering of a vehicle.

0002Although it can be used in a wide variety of applications, the present invention and the problem underlying it in relation to passenger aircraft are explained in more detail. However, the described methods and devices can also be used in different vehicles and in all areas of the transport industry, for example for road vehicles, for rail vehicles, for aircraft or for watercraft.

0003Currently on board modern passenger aircraft planned galleys usually include parking spaces or compartments, in which containers and / or roll containers (English: "trolley" or "galley cart") can be inserted with the supplies or service products such. B. Food and / or drinks are loaded to supply the passengers on board the aircraft. To identify the contents of the trolleys or Containers are traditionally provided with stickers that the catering company applies during loading. In addition, lists are drawn up, to which the cabin crew can read a list of available service products as well as their storage position in the aircraft galley. Since these lists of the cabin crew only convey the initial loading status of the aircraft galley, it is difficult for the cabin crew to keep track of the inventory of the galley during the flight.

0004The publication <patcit id="pcit0001" dnum="DE102009058327A1"><text>DE 10 2009 058 327 A1</text></patcit> discloses a system for storage in an aircraft galley, in which recording devices such as boxes, bays or trolleys or the like are provided with transponders that emit characteristic identification signals for their content, which in turn are read by a transmitting / receiving unit of the galley, so as to inventory to determine the galley. This should improve the overview of the inventory of the galley.

0005Against this background, the present invention has the object to find improved solutions for the inventory management of an on-board catering, in which at any time during the distribution of the products, the overview of the inventory is maintained.

0006According to the invention, this object is achieved by a system having the features of patent claim 1 and by an aircraft having the features of patent claim 19.

0007Accordingly, a system for inventory management of an on-board catering of a vehicle is provided. The system comprises an on-board kitchen, which is provided with a control unit for controlling the on-board kitchen, wherein the control unit is adapted to provide inventory control data of the on-board kitchen; a service unit for transporting supplies within the vehicle, the inventory control data including an inventory of the supplies transported with the service unit; and at least one control element which is communicatively connected via a wireless data link to the control unit of the on-board kitchen and adapted to detect a removal of a supply of the service unit and / or a recording of a supply of the service unit and building on this an update of the inventory of transported To arrange supplies.

0008Furthermore, an aircraft with the system according to the invention is provided.

0009An idea underlying the present invention is to maintain an inventory of existing supplies or service products centrally in the galley and to keep it up to date at all times, even if in the meantime individual supplies have been distributed to the passengers or personnel or otherwise spent become. For this purpose, the present invention provides a wireless data link connecting the onboard kitchen to at least one control element. The one or more controls serve to determine the output of a supply from or from the service unit and forward this information to the galley via the wireless connection. Based on this, the inventory is then updated accordingly. Accordingly, the inclusion of a supply in, on or from the service unit can also be updated and the inventory updated accordingly. In the on-board kitchen, therefore, the current stock of supplies can be called up at any time. Finally, the invention opens the possibility to track existing service products in an automated manner, in particular in real time, in a cabin of a vehicle or to monitor its availability. For example, the at least one operating element can transmit a current position, ie for example in which row of passengers and / or in which cabin section the operating person, ie the operating element, and / or the service unit are located. The invention thus provides an automated merchandise management system for catering goods for a vehicle, in particular for a vehicle cabin, which informs a cabin crew at any time in a dynamic manner about the current inventory of goods and their order situation.

0010For example, the staff of a vehicle cabin can carry such an operating element with it, for example in the form of a portable computer, a mobile terminal or in general an "intelligent mobile device" (English: "smart mobile device"). In another example, the operating element can be arranged, attached and / or otherwise integrated in a roll container serving as a service unit. Once the cabin crew, eg Cabin crew, remove a product from the roll container or other service unit and spend on a passenger, the removal of the product can be determined using the control and the product may be automatically identified, for example, using a barcode scanner or the like. The control element is then caused to update the inventory list or the inventory, which this Rollcontainer or is associated with this service unit and comprises a listing of the products contained in or transported therein.

0011A service unit in the sense of the invention on the one hand denotes service vehicles such as roll containers, ie trolleys, dining car or the like. In addition, however, service units within the meaning of the invention also include general receiving devices or transport devices for supplies and / or service products such as containers, boxes (English: "standard units") or the like. Furthermore, a tray or a corresponding transport device may represent a service unit in the sense of the invention. In this case, it is detected whether a supply is taken from the tray or placed on this. Then the tablet's inventory is updated accordingly. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention basically enables the wireless communication of the galley with a plurality of such service units. Likewise, a plurality of operating elements can be provided.

0012The wireless connection according to the invention can be realized for example via a wireless local area network, eg a WLAN or similar. For this purpose, different designs are conceivable. For example, a wireless network already present for other purposes in a passenger cabin can be used. On the other hand, the provision of a separate wireless network is conceivable especially for this purpose. This may in particular be a secure network to which only persons or devices with appropriate security authentication access, such as the on-board personnel of the vehicle and / or corresponding electronic devices that are to be operated only by the on-board staff / can.

0013Advantageous embodiments and further developments will become apparent from the other dependent claims and from the description with reference to the figures.

0014According to a development, the at least one operating element can have an identification unit. The identification unit may be designed to identify a supply by means of a tag attached thereto. For example, opto-electronically readable fonts such as bar codes, bar codes, bar codes or bar codes or the like may be attached to the outside of the supplies, which may be recognized by the identification unit. Accordingly, the identification unit may be formed, for example, as a bar code scanner or the like. Barcodes according to the invention in this case include both one-dimensional or linear barcodes, ie in particular barcodes, as well as two-dimensional designs or matrix codes, eg QR codes, etc. Alternatively or additionally, the identification unit can be designed for general object recognition. By way of example, the identification unit may comprise a camera by means of which shapes, colors, etc. of objects and / or surfaces are detected and, based on this, a supply is identified.

0015According to a development, the identification unit can be designed as a barcode reader. The identification unit can thus be designed as a data acquisition device which can read and pass various barcodes or the like. The bar code reader can be configured, for example, as a CCD scanner, laser scanner or the like. In addition, however, barcode readers in accordance with the invention also include camera scanners or imagers, ie Devices which capture a barcode with the aid of a, in particular optical, camera and then process the recorded image by means of digital image processing in order to acquire the barcode digitally.

0016According to a development, the at least one operating element can be designed to display the inventory management data. For example, the operating element can have a display, such as a screen or another electronic visual display, on which the inventory management data can be displayed. In a concrete example, the control may be a smart mobile device, eg smart glasses that can project information on one or both lenses. The data glasses may also be equipped with a camera scanner, which is designed to detect barcodes. In addition, the data glasses can be connected to a (secure) wireless network. The flight crew may wear such data glasses, for example, during the meal and / or beverage dispensing. The data glasses can capture and identify any service product that is being dispensed, so that the inventory of service products can be kept up to date through data transmission over the wireless network at all times, without interfering with the usual catering operation in any way.

0017According to a development, the inventory management data may include catering data, passenger data and / or cabin data or the like. The inventory management data in this development thus not only include an inventory or an inventory of one or more service units or the galley. In addition, various additional information or data may be included. For example, the inventory management data may include catering data provided by a catering service provider, including, among other things, information about the supplied on-board catering, that is, which products are provided to what extent and in what form. Furthermore, the inventory management data may include passenger data, which may include, for example, data about which passengers have booked certain catering requests or options. Furthermore, the inventory guide data may include cabin data. Cabin data may include, for example, a passenger seating plan.

0018According to a development, the at least one operating element may comprise a first operating element. The first operating element can be designed as a portable computer.

0019According to a development, the first operating element may be a tablet computer, a smartphone, a smartwatch or a smart phone.

0020According to a development, the at least one operating element may comprise a second operating element. The second operating element can be integrated in the service unit. For example, the second operating element can be attached to the outside of the service unit or attached (detachable or non-detachable), for example in the form of a touchpad or a tablet computer. In another example, the second operating element may be a touch screen or electronic control panel, which is firmly embedded in a housing of the service unit. The second operating element can furthermore have an identification unit, for example a barcode reader, via which supply products can be detected. For example, the control element can be integrated in a service trolley or roll container. Alternatively or additionally, for example, the operating element can also be integrated in a tray, which can thus understand the support or removal of supplies as a "smart tablet".

0021According to a development, the second operating element may be a touchscreen and / or an electronic control panel.

0022According to a development, the at least one operating element can be designed to identify the service unit and, based on this, to associate the service unit with the inventory. For example, in one embodiment, ordinary roll containers may be used without electronic connection to the wireless network. For example, the rolling containers may be identified by a bar code or other identifier. By means of the indicator, the rolling container can in turn be unambiguously assigned an inventory in the existing inventory management data, wherein the information may, for example, have been provided as catering data by a catering service provider. The operating element can have, for example, an identification unit, for example a bar code reader, with the aid of which the roll container is identified. Based on this, the assigned inventory can be updated centrally via the control element during a subsequent meal and / or beverage dispensing without the roll container itself having to be connected to the wireless network in any form. Alternatively or additionally, other identification means can be used in addition to barcodes. For example, the service unit can have an RFID tag or the like which can be read out by a reading device or identification device provided in the operating element.

0023According to a development, the at least one operating element is configured to authenticate itself to the service unit, wherein access to the inventory of the service unit and / or the supplies of the service unit is released after successful authentication. In particular, the operating element can be designed to manage the access to the supplies and / or the inventory of the service unit, ie for example, to release or block this. In this development, among other things, a digital locking system can be implemented, in which the on-board personnel must first authenticate with the aid of the operating element before it gains access to the content and / or the data of the service unit. The operating element, eg a smart phone or a tablet computer, may include a software application by means of which the service unit can be locked and unlocked to block or release access to the transport items and / or the service unit data. The lock may be, for example, an electronic lock that may be operated via a wireless data link. For example, the service unit can be identified via an RFID tag attached thereto. Certified controls can now authenticate themselves by means of appropriate software applications and, after successful authentication, access the data and / or the supplies of the service unit. It will be clear to the person skilled in the art that a closure system can also be implemented purely on the software level, ie Thus, therefore, only the access to the data of the service unit can be managed. Similarly, combinations of hardware and software solutions are possible.

0024According to a development, the service unit may comprise a data memory. The data memory can be designed to store the inventory. In principle, different versions are conceivable here. For example, the service unit may contain a one-time writable or rewritable data store that can only be described by a catering service provider and that can only be read by the flight crew, eg by means of the at least one operating element. An update of the inventory in this case can be done centrally via the control unit of the galley for each service unit. Alternatively or additionally, however, provision may be made for an active access to the data memory to be enabled for the flight personnel, so that an updated version of the inventory can be created directly on the data memory of the service unit.

0025According to a development, the at least one operating element can be communicatively connected to the data memory of the service unit and configured to read the inventory from the data memory. For example, the service unit can be equipped with an active or passive RFID tag, which comprises a corresponding transponder and an electronic data memory, which in turn can be read by a suitable reading device, which can be integrated into the at least one operating element. For example, the inventory may have been created by a catering service provider prior to loading on the vehicle on the data storage according to the supplied equipment of the service unit. The flight crew can now identify the service unit before use with the help of the control element or determine its content. The corresponding inventory is continuously updated during use in the usual way by capturing each output product with the control.

0026According to a further development, the at least one operating element can be communicatively connected to the data memory of the service unit and configured to cause an update of the inventory on the data memory upon removal of a supply from the service unit and / or recording of a supply from the service unit. Thus, in this development, the service unit (or, more generally, each service unit of a plurality of service units) carries a current version of its inventory. This can be read out and updated at any time by the flight personnel by means of an operating element. In addition, a centralized version of the inventory of this service unit can also be continuously updated.

0027According to a further development, the service unit may comprise a service unit display. The service unit display can be designed to display the inventory. In one example, the service unit display may be provided in the form of an electronic visual display with an operating function, eg as a touch screen, via which additional inputs can be made and which also serves as the operating element of the system. In another example, the service unit may only have a service unit display without further operator functions, which is designed exclusively for outputting the inventory or other inventory management data. In another example, the service unit may include a service unit display for displaying the inventory and, in addition, a separate control coupled to the galley via the wireless connection.

0028According to a development, the galley may have a galley display. The galleys display can be designed to display the inventory management data. The galley display can be designed in concrete examples as an electronic visual display or display with or without operating functions, eg as a LED, OLED, TFT or LCD screen or the like with or without backlight and / or as a touch screen, etc., which in addition to an information output also allows input via a screen serving as a touch panel. The galleys display can be used to monitor and / or control the galley. For this purpose, the galleys display can be coupled to the control unit.

0029According to a development, the control device of the on-board kitchen can be communicatively connected to a cabin management system of the vehicle. For example, the control unit may be connected to a controller area network (CAN) of a cabin management system or the like, via which a connection to external catering service providers, airlines etc. may also be possible.

0030The above embodiments and developments can, if appropriate, combine with each other as desired. Further possible refinements, developments and implementations of the invention also include combinations, not explicitly mentioned, of features of the invention described above or below with regard to the exemplary embodiments. In particular, the person skilled in the art will also add individual aspects as improvements or additions to the respective basic form of the present invention.

0031The present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments given in the schematic figures. It shows:<dl id="dl0001"><dt>Fig. 1</dt><dd>schematic view of a system for inventory management of an on-board catering of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention;</dd><dt>Fig. 2</dt><dd>schematic side view of an aircraft with the system off <figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>;</dd><dt>Fig. 3</dt><dd>schematic view of a system for inventory management of an on-board catering of a vehicle according to another embodiment of the invention; and</dd><dt>Fig. 4</dt><dd>schematic view of a service unit for a system for inventory management of an on-board catering of a vehicle according to another embodiment of the invention.</dd></dl>

0032The accompanying figures are intended to convey a further understanding of the embodiments of the invention. They illustrate embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain principles and concepts of the invention. Other embodiments and many of the stated advantages will become apparent with reference to the drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily shown to scale to each other.

0033In the figures of the drawing are the same, functionally identical and same-acting elements, features and components - unless otherwise stated - each provided with the same reference numerals.

0034<figref idref="f0001">FIG. 1</figref> shows a schematic view of a system 1 for inventory management of an on-board catering of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention.

0035The system 1 is provided in a vehicle cabin 14 of an aircraft 100, in particular a passenger aircraft, as exemplified in FIG <figref idref="f0001">Fig. 2</figref> is shown. The system 1 comprises an on-board kitchen 10, which in<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> purely exemplary is divided into several galley monuments 18. Each of these on-board kitchen monuments 18 has one or more slot compartments 19, which are designed to receive one or more service units 4. Thus, one of the galley monuments 18 (bottom left in the galley in<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>) an insertion compartment 19 for receiving a service unit 4, in this case a roll container. In the galley monument 18 right next to it (bottom right in the galley in<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>) is an insertion compartment 19 formed for two roll containers, where I s one of these two roll containers is currently in use (see the service unit 4 left in<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>). A third on-board kitchen monument 18, which can accommodate standard units as service units 4 in individual insert compartments 19, eg food containers, is arranged above these two galley monuments 18. The insert compartments 19 may, for example, standardized dimensions for receiving standardized containers, trolleys or the like.

0036The galley on-board monument 18 includes an integrated galley display 12. The galley display 12 may be, for example, a screen with OLED or LCD technology or the like, the galley display 12 may be touch-sensitive designed as a touch screen or touch display. Furthermore, the galley display 12 may be hinged to the galley monument 18 movable. The galley display 12 is used in this embodiment as a monitoring and / or control device for the galley 2. For this purpose, the galleys display 12 is connected to a control unit 3, which is designed to control the galley 2. The control unit 3 is in turn connected to a cabin management system 13, eg with a Controller Area Network (CAN) or the like. The control unit 3 may in this case contain other components not shown, such as a microprocessor, a data storage, databases, etc.

0037The control unit 3 is further configured to provide inventory control data of the on-board kitchen 2, which can be displayed via the galleys display 12. On the one hand, the inventory management data comprise an inventory for each of the service units 4, ie, for example, for the rolling container in use on the left in FIG<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>, The inventory includes a list of all in the respective service unit 4 located supplies 5 or service products, such as food, drinks, etc. On the other hand, the inventory management data include other data, such as catering data, passenger data and / or cabin data or the like. Caterer data may be provided, for example, by a caterer 16 such as a catering service provider and may include, among other things, information about the on-board catering provided, ie which products are provided to what extent and in what form. For example, passenger data may be provided by an airline 15 and may include, among other things, information about the passengers who have booked certain catering requests or options. The cabin data can be provided, for example, by the cabin management system 13 and contain, inter alia, information relating to the cabin configuration, eg a seat plan of the passengers etc. The control unit 3 can, for the purpose of obtaining this data with the individual providers or data sources, directly or indirectly via data line or wireless connection 7 'communicate communicatively. In the exemplary configuration of<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> the control unit 3 is connected via a data line with the cabin management system 13 and can moreover use a dedicated wireless network 7 'to contact the airline 15 and the caterer 16, eg retrieve or request data from databases.

0038The system 1 further comprises a first operating element 10, which is communicatively connected to the control unit 3 of the on-board kitchen 2 via a wireless data connection 7, eg a secure WLAN network. In the exemplary embodiment of<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> the first operating element 10 is smartglass, ie a data goggle, which is designed to detect a removal of a supply 5 from the service units 4 and, based on this, to cause an update of the inventory of the transported utilities 5. Likewise, the first operating element 10 can detect a receptacle of a supply 5 in the service unit 4. For this purpose, the first operating element 10 comprises an identification unit 8 in the form of a camera scanner or imager. The identification unit 8 is designed as a bar code reader to detect and identify a supply 5 on the basis of a mark 9 mounted thereon. For example, it may be at the left in<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> shown supply 5 to act on a beverage can on which a bar code is printed as license plate 9. The first control element 10 is for example carried by a flight attendant (not shown) during the food and / or beverage output on the body. While the flight attendant issues the supply 5, the license plate 9 is detected by the first control element 10 and identified. Subsequently, an update of the associated inventory is made via the wireless connection 7. The on-board kitchen 2 is therefore always informed about the current stock of supply products.

0039The first operating element 10 is further configured as data glasses to display the inventory management data, for example on and / or on one of the lenses (indicated by a dashed line on the first control element 10 in FIG <figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>). In this way, the flight crew can be automatically and at any time passenger, cabin and / or catering data displayed, for example, to select a booked product for a specific passenger at a particular seat. At the same time, the first operating element 10 can also output information about the inventory, so that it is possible to check, for example, on the basis of a passenger's wish, whether the desired product is carried in the space provided by the flight attendant or if necessary. one of the other service units 4 is in stock. It is therefore possible at any time to coordinate passenger information or requests with catering requirements and the configuration of the aircraft. In addition, the supplies 5 can be tracked in an automated manner, in particular in real time, in the vehicle cabin 14 or its availability can be monitored. For example, first control element 10 can transmit a current position, ie For example, in which passenger row and / or in which cabin section the crew and / or the service unit 4 are currently located. For example, it can be dynamically displayed on the operating element 10 and / or the service unit 4 which order is present at the respective seat or row of seats. As a result, an automatic, dynamic merchandise management and goods tracking system for the on-board catering of the aircraft 100 is created, which monitors an actual state of the catering stock at all times, without the goods issue being impaired in any way. The person skilled in the art will immediately appreciate that further functionalities can be readily supplemented. For example, a payment system for the goods issue can be implemented via the illustrated system 1, whereby corresponding payment actions can be carried out automatically via the first operating element 10 (or another operating element).

0040In the illustrated embodiment of the system 1, there are several possibilities also to integrate the service units 4 in the system. In a simple embodiment, the service units 4 can only be passively integrated into the system 1 without being able to communicate actively via the wireless network 7. Rather, the service units 4 can only have identification marks, for example a barcode. In the exemplary embodiment of<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> For example, the service unit 4 on the left in the figure has an active or passively readable RFID tag 17 via which the service unit 4 can be identified by the first operating element 10. For this purpose, the RFID tag 17 may include a conventional transponder (not shown) and the first control element a corresponding transceiver unit (also not shown). A flight attendant can now at the beginning of the goods issue first identify the service unit 4 and based on the service unit 4 unambiguously allocate an inventory, which has been provided for example already centrally in the control unit 3 and there previously, for example, by the caterer 16 was sent (eg by download or a other form of data transfer). During the subsequent goods issue, the inventory can now be updated centrally in the manner described above.

0041The first operating element 10 can also be configured to authenticate itself to the service unit 4, wherein access to the inventory of the service unit 4 and / or the supplies 5 of the service unit 4 is released after successful authentication. The authentication can be carried out, for example, via the wireless network 7, for example by means of a corresponding software application, which is stored on the first operating element 10. In principle, a closure system for the service unit 4 can be implemented on this basis, by means of which the service unit 4 can be opened and shut off via the first operating element 10.

0042Alternatively or additionally, the service unit 4 may further comprise a data memory 6, on which, inter alia, the inventory can be stored. The first operating element 10 can now be connected to the data memory 6, for example, the data memory can be coupled to the RFID tag 17 and / or connected to the wireless network 7. In this way, the inventory can not only be stored locally on the service unit 4 (and stored, for example, with the delivery of the service unit 4 by a catering service provider), but also be updated at any time by means of the first control element 10. The service unit 4 may further include, for example, a service unit display 11 on which information about the inventory of the service unit 4 and / or about products may be displayed. In this sense, the service unit display 11 can effectively act as an electronic label.

0043In principle, the system 1 can comprise, in addition to the first operating element 10, further operating elements which can be designed differently. For example, smartphones, smartwatches, tablet computers and / or other portable computers can be used in addition to data glasses. In the embodiment in FIG<figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref> is merely purely exemplary, a second control element 10 'is provided, which is not portable on the body of the cabin crew, but is firmly integrated into the service unit 4. The service unit display 11 of the service unit 4 serves in this case as a second control element 10 'and is designed for this purpose as a touch screen, via which not only information can be displayed, but also inputs can be made. Like the first operating element 10, the second operating element 10 'can also be designed to detect and identify the supplies 5. For this purpose, for example, a barcode reader can be combined with the touchscreen (not shown). As described above for the first operating element 10, the flight attendant can also carry out the product output via the second operating element 10 'by detecting supplies 5 during the delivery and updating the inventory accordingly. For this purpose, the service unit 4 or the second operating element 10 'can be connected to the wireless network 7. Depending on the flight situation, it may be advantageous to use the first operating element 10 or the second operating element 10 'for the goods issue. The illustrated system 1 is thus particularly flexible in this embodiment.

0044<figref idref="f0002">Fig. 3</figref> shows a schematic view of a system 1 for inventory management of an on-board catering of a vehicle 100 according to another embodiment of the invention.

0045Basically, the system is similar to 1 in <figref idref="f0002">Fig. 3</figref> the one in <figref idref="f0001">Fig. 1</figref>, Purely by way of example, here an operating element 10 'is shown, which is integrated with a touch screen designed as a service unit display 11 in a top of the service unit 4. Furthermore, the operating element 10 'at the top of the service unit 4 on an identification unit 8 for the selection of attached to supplies 5 flag 9 or is communicatively connected thereto. The identification unit 8 can be designed, for example, as a barcode reader, for example a CCD scanner or a camera, which can read a barcode as identifier 9.

0046In this specific example, the service unit 4 carries a plurality of supplies 5 in the form of trays, which are each prepacked with several products, such as ready meals, drinks, etc. Each tray 5 is in this case provided with a license plate 9, such as a bar code (see. the tray 5 top left in <figref idref="f0002">Fig. 3</figref>). The tag 9 is read out by the identification unit 8 when a tray 5 is removed. Subsequently, the inventory of the service unit 4 is updated. The system 1 can in this case be initialized manually or automatically, for example by opening a door of the service unit 4 and / or by activating a software application of the operating element 10 '.

0047Likewise, it may be provided that the products located on the trays 5 are identified directly, eg also by means of barcodes or the like, which are mounted on the products. In alternative embodiments, the identification unit 8 can also determine the outer shape of the products and identify the products or the trays 5 on this basis, eg by optical detection of the external shape, for example on the basis of object recognition algorithms, which are based on object models of the products. The identification unit 8 can be permanently integrated into the service unit 4. Alternatively, the identification unit 8 may be part of a portable operating element and / or be communicatively coupled thereto.

0048<figref idref="f0002">Fig. 4</figref> shows a schematic view of a service unit 4 for a system 1 for inventory management of an on-board catering of a vehicle 100 according to another embodiment of the invention.

0049In this case, the service unit 4 is designed as an electronic tablet, which detects via a control element 10 'supplies 5, which are placed on the tray and / or removed from this, and identified by means of mark 9, which are attached to the supplies 5 , For this purpose, the operating element 10 'comprises an identification unit 8, which may be designed, for example, as a bar code reader. Furthermore, the operating element 10 'optionally has a service unit display 11 which can output, for example, information about the inventory. The tablet is thus designed as a "smart tablet", the inventory is automatically updated.

0050In the exemplary embodiment in FIG <figref idref="f0002">Fig. 4</figref> The service unit 4 further comprises one or more weight sensors 20. For example, a support surface of the tray may be formed as a load cell. In such a development, the consumption of the supplies 5 located on the service unit 4 can be monitored. For example, a signal to the on-board staff can be generated automatically in the event that a beverage is to be replenished. It is understood that other sensor technologies may be used for this purpose.

0051The main advantages of the described inventory management for the board catering can be summarized as follows:<ul id="ul0001" list-style="dash" compact="compact"><li>It is always ensured that the right amount of products is available, so that the stock can be managed optimally and efficiently.</li><li>Sales, resource utilization and planning are improved.</li><li>By linking different information and collecting data, inventory management and catering can generally be optimally tailored to customer requirements.</li><li>The organization, efficiency and clarity of the galley will be optimized.</li></ul>

0052In the foregoing detailed description, various features have been summarized to improve the stringency of the illustration in one or more examples. It should be understood, however, that the above description is merely illustrative and not restrictive in nature. It serves to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents of the various features and embodiments. Many other examples will be immediately and immediately apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, given the skill of the art in light of the above description.

0053The exemplary embodiments have been selected and described in order to represent the principles underlying the invention and their possible applications in practice in the best possible way. As a result, those skilled in the art can optimally modify and utilize the invention and its various embodiments with respect to the intended use. In the claims as well as the description, the terms "including" and "having" are used as neutral language terms for the corresponding terms "comprising". Furthermore, a use of the terms "a", "an" and "an" a plurality of features and components described in such a way should not be excluded in principle.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

0054<dl id="dl0002" compact="compact"><dt>1</dt><dd>system</dd><dt>2</dt><dd>galley</dd><dt>3</dt><dd>control unit</dd><dt>4</dt><dd>Service unit</dd><dt>5</dt><dd>Versorgungsgut</dd><dt>6</dt><dd>data storage</dd><dt>7, 7'</dt><dd>wireless data connection</dd><dt>8</dt><dd>identification unit</dd><dt>9</dt><dd>Mark</dd><dt>10</dt><dd>first operating element</dd><dt>10'</dt><dd>second operating element</dd><dt>11</dt><dd>Service unit display</dd><dt>12</dt><dd>Galleys display</dd><dt>13</dt><dd>Cabin Management System</dd><dt>14</dt><dd>cabin</dd><dt>15</dt><dd>airline</dd><dt>16</dt><dd>caterer</dd><dt>17</dt><dd>RFID tag / transponder</dd><dt>18</dt><dd>Galley Monument</dd><dt>19</dt><dd>insertion tray</dd><dt>20</dt><dd>weight sensor</dd><dt>100</dt><dd>aircraft</dd></dl>