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

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

0002Although it can be used in a variety of applications, the present invention and the problems on which it is based are explained in more detail in relation to passenger aircraft. However, the methods and devices described 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 water vehicles.

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

0004The pamphlet<patcit id="pcit0001" dnum="DE102009058327A1"><text>DE 10 2009 058 327 A1</text></patcit> discloses a system for warehousing in an aircraft galley, in which storage devices such as boxes, slide-in units or trolleys or the like are provided with transponders which emit identification signals characteristic of their content, which in turn are read in by a transmitter/receiver unit in the galley in order to sort the inventory to determine the galley. This is intended to improve the overview of the inventory in the galley.

0005The pamphlet<patcit id="pcit0002" dnum="US2009112377A1"><text>U.S. 2009/112377 A1</text></patcit> shows an inventory management system for on-board catering which is continuously updated, for example by reading an RFID tag. Other inventory management systems are from the publications<patcit id="pcit0003" dnum="DE2010027709A1"><text>DE 2010 027709 A1</text></patcit>, <patcit id="pcit0004" dnum="DE102007007717A1"><text>DE10 2007007717 A1</text></patcit> and<patcit id="pcit0005" dnum="US2015057796A1"><text>U.S. 2015/057796 A1</text></patcit> known.

0006Against this background, the object of the present invention is to find improved solutions for managing the inventory of in-flight catering, in which the overview of the inventory is maintained at all times, even while the products are being distributed.

0007According 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 18.

0008Accordingly, a system for inventory management of on-board catering of a vehicle is provided. The system includes a galley, which is provided with a control unit for controlling the galley, the control unit being designed to provide inventory management data for the galley; a service unit for transporting supplies within the vehicle, wherein the inventory management data includes an inventory of the supplies transported with the service unit; and at least one operating element, which is communicatively connected to the control unit of the galley via a wireless data connection and is designed to record a removal of a supply item from the service unit and/or a receipt of a supply item from the service unit and, based on this, an update of the inventory of the transported arrange supplies.

0009Furthermore, an aircraft with the system according to the invention is provided.

0010One idea on which the present invention is based is to manage an inventory of the existing supplies or service products centrally in the galley and to keep it up to date at all times, even if individual supplies have been distributed to the passengers or the staff or otherwise issued will. For this purpose, the present invention provides a wireless data link that connects the galley to at least one control element. The control element or elements are used here to determine the output of a supply item from or from the service unit and to 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 item in, on or by the service unit can also be recorded and the inventory updated accordingly. The current stock of supplies can thus be called up in the on-board kitchen at any time. Ultimately, the invention opens up the possibility of tracking existing service products in an automated manner, in particular in real time, in a cabin of a vehicle or of monitoring their availability. For example, the at least one control element can transmit a current position, ie for example in which passenger row and/or in which cabin section the operating person, ie the control element, and/or the service unit is located. The invention thus provides an automated goods management system for catering goods for a vehicle, in particular for a vehicle cabin, which dynamically informs a cabin crew at any time about the current inventory of the goods and their order situation.

0011According to the invention, the control element comprises a first control element, which is designed as a portable computer. For example, the personnel in a vehicle cabin can carry such a control element with them, for example in the form of a mobile terminal device or generally an “intelligent mobile device” (English: “smart mobile device”). In another example, a further control element can be arranged, attached and/or otherwise integrated into a roll container serving as a service unit. As soon as the cabin crew, eg flight attendants, remove a product from the roll container or another service unit and issue it to a passenger, the removal of the product can be determined using the operating element and the product can be automatically identified, for example using a barcode scanner or the like. The control element then causes the inventory list or the inventory to be updated, which is assigned to this roll container or this service unit and includes a list of the products contained or transported in it.

0012A service unit within the meaning of the invention refers on the one hand to service trolleys such as roll containers, ie trolleys, dining trolleys 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 can also represent a service unit within the meaning of the invention. In this case, it is detected whether a supply item is removed from the tray or placed on it. The tablet inventory is then updated accordingly. The person skilled in the art will understand that the present invention fundamentally enables the wireless connection of the galley to a large number of such service units. A large number of operating elements can also be provided.

0013The wireless connection within the meaning of the invention can be implemented, for example, via a wireless local area network, eg a WLAN or similar. Different versions are conceivable for this. For example, a wireless network that is already present in a passenger cabin for other purposes can be used. On the other hand, the provision of a separate wireless network specifically for this purpose is conceivable. In particular, this can be a secure network to which only people or devices with appropriate security authentication are given access, eg the on-board personnel of the vehicle and/or corresponding electronic devices which should/can only be operated by the on-board personnel.

0014Advantageous refinements and developments result from the further dependent claims and from the description with reference to the figures.

0015According to one development, the at least one operating element can have an identification unit. The identification unit can be designed to identify a supply item using an identifier attached to it. For example, optoelectronically readable writing such as bar codes, bar codes, bar codes or bar codes or the like can be attached to the outside of the supplies, which can be recognized by the identification unit. Correspondingly, the identification unit can be designed, for example, as a barcode scanner or the like. Barcodes according to the invention include both one-dimensional or linear barcodes, ie in particular barcodes, and two-dimensional designs or matrix codes, eg QR codes, etc. Alternatively or additionally, the identification unit can be designed for general object recognition. For example, the identification unit can have a camera, with the help of which shapes, colors, etc. of objects and/or surfaces are recorded and, based on this, a supply item is identified.

0016According to a development, the identification unit can be designed as a barcode reader. The identification unit can thus be embodied as a data acquisition device which can read and pass on different barcodes or the like. The barcode reader can be set up, for example, as a CCD scanner, laser scanner or the like. In addition, barcode readers within the meaning of the invention also include camera scanners or imagers, ie Devices that capture a barcode with the help of a camera, in particular an optical one, and then process the recorded image using digital image processing in order to capture the barcode digitally.

0017According to one 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 operating element can be an intelligent mobile device, e.g data glasses (smart glasses), which can project information onto one or both lenses. The data glasses can also be equipped with a camera scanner, which is designed to capture barcodes. In addition, the data glasses can be connected to a (secure) wireless network. The flight personnel can wear such data glasses, for example, while food and/or drinks are being served. The smart glasses can record and identify each service product issued, so that the inventory of the service products can be kept up-to-date at any time by means of data transmission over the wireless network, without in any way impeding or affecting the usual catering operation.

0018According to a development, the inventory management data can include catering data, passenger data and/or cabin data or the like. In this development, the inventory management data therefore not only includes an inventory or an inventory list of one or more service units or the galley. In addition, various additional information or data can be included. For example, the inventory management data can contain catering data, which are provided by a catering service provider and contain, among other things, information about the on-board catering provided, ie which products are provided to what extent and in what form. Furthermore, the inventory management data can contain passenger data which, for example, contains data about which passengers have booked specific catering requests or options. Furthermore, the inventory management data can contain cabin data. Cabin data can include, for example, a seat map of the passengers.

0019According to one development, the first operating element can be a tablet computer, a smartphone, a smart watch or data glasses (smart glasses).

0020According to one development, the at least one control element can include a second control element. The second operating element can be integrated into the service unit. For example, the second operating element can be fastened or attached (detachably or non-detachably) to the outside of the service unit, for example in the form of a touchpad or a tablet computer. In another example, the second operating element can be a touchscreen or an electronic control panel, which is firmly embedded in a housing of the service unit. The second operating element can also have an identification unit, for example a barcode reader, which can be used to record supply products. For example, the operating element can be integrated into a service trolley or mobile container. As an alternative or in addition, the control element can also be integrated into a tablet, for example, which as a "smart tablet" can therefore track the placement or removal of supplies.

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

0022According to one development, the at least one operating element can be designed to identify the service unit and, based on this, to assign the inventory to the service unit. In one embodiment, for example, conventional roll containers without an electronic connection to the wireless network can be used. The roll containers can be identified, for example, with a barcode or another identifier. An inventory can in turn be clearly assigned to the roll container in the existing inventory management data via the indicator, with the information being able to have been provided, for example, as catering data by a catering service provider. The operating element can, for example, have an identification unit, for example a barcode 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 food and/or beverage distribution, without the mobile container itself having to be connected to the wireless network in any way. Alternatively or additionally, other means of identification can be used in addition to barcodes. For example, the service unit can have an RFID tag or the like, which can be read by a reading device or identification device provided in the operating element.

0023According to one development, the at least one operating element can be designed to authenticate itself to the service unit, with access to the inventory of the service unit and/or the supplies of the service unit being released after successful authentication. In particular, the operating element can be designed to manage access to the supplies and/or the inventory of the service unit, ie to release or block it, for example. In this development, a digital locking system can be implemented, among other things, in which the on-board personnel must first authenticate themselves using the control element before they can access the content and/or the data of the service unit. The control element, e.g a smartphone or a tablet computer, can include a software application with which the service unit can be locked and unlocked in order to block or release access to the transport goods and/or the data of the service unit. The lock can be an electronic lock, for example, which can be actuated via a wireless data connection. For example, the service unit can be identified via an RFID tag attached to it. Certified operating elements can now authenticate themselves using appropriate software applications and, after successful authentication, access the data and/or supplies of the service unit. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that a locking system can also be implemented purely at the software level, ie thus only the access to the data of the service unit can be managed. Combinations of hardware and software solutions are also possible.

0024According to a development, the service unit can include 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 can contain a one-time writable or rewritable data memory that can only be written to by a catering service provider and only read out by the flight crew, e.g by means of the at least one operating element. In this case, the inventory can be updated centrally via the control unit of the galley for each service unit. Alternatively or additionally, however, it can be provided that active access to the data memory is enabled for the flight crew, so that an updated version of the inventory can be created directly on the data memory of the service unit.

0025According to one development, the at least one operating element can be communicatively connected to the data memory of the service unit and designed to read out the inventory from the data memory. For example, the service unit can be equipped with an active or passive RFID tag, which includes 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 control element. For example, the inventory can already have been created by a catering service provider before loading onto the vehicle on the data memory according to the equipment delivered to the service unit. The flight crew can now identify the service unit before using it with the help of the operating element or determine its contents. The corresponding inventory is continuously updated during use in the usual manner by registering each dispensed product with the control.

0026According to one development, the at least one operating element can be communicatively connected to the data memory of the service unit and designed to cause the inventory on the data memory to be updated when a supply item is removed from the service unit and/or a supply item is received by the service unit. In this development, the service unit (or, in general, each service unit of a large number of service units) carries a current version of its inventory. This can be read out and updated at any time by the flight personnel using an operating element. A central version of the inventory of this service unit can also be continuously updated.

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

0028According to one development, the galley can have a galley display. The galley display can be designed to display inventory management data. In concrete examples, the galley display can be in the form of an electronic optical display or display with or without operating functions, e.g as an LED, OLED, TFT or LCD screen or the like with or without backlighting and/or as a touchscreen, etc., which, in addition to outputting information, also enables input via a screen serving as a touch panel. The galley display can be used to monitor and/or control the galley. For this purpose, the galley display can be linked to the control unit.

0029According to a development, the control device of the galley can be communicatively connected to a cabin management system of the vehicle. For example, the control unit can 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. can also be possible.

0030The above configurations and developments can be combined with one another as desired, insofar as this makes sense. Further possible configurations, developments and implementations of the invention also include combinations of features of the invention described above or below with regard to the exemplary embodiments that are not explicitly mentioned. 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 is explained in more detail below with reference to the exemplary embodiments given in the schematic figures. They show:<dl id="dl0001"><dt>1</dt><dd>schematic view of a system for inventory management of on-board catering of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention;</dd><dt>2</dt><dd>schematic side view of an aircraft with the system<figref idref="f0001">1</figref>;</dd><dt>3</dt><dd>schematic view of a system for inventory management of on-board catering of a vehicle according to a further embodiment of the invention; and</dd><dt>4</dt><dd>schematic view of a service unit for a system for inventory management of on-board catering of a vehicle according to a further embodiment of the invention.</dd></dl>

0032The accompanying figures are intended to provide a further understanding of 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 foregoing advantages will become apparent by reference to the drawings. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily shown to scale with respect to one another.

0033In the figures of the drawing, elements, features and components that are the same, have the same function and have the same effect--unless stated otherwise--are each provided with the same reference symbols.

0034<figref idref="f0001">figure 1</figref> shows a schematic view of a system 1 for inventory management of 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 is shown, for example, in<figref idref="f0001">2</figref> is shown. The system 1 includes a galley 10, which is<figref idref="f0001">1</figref> is divided purely by way of example into several galley monuments 18 . Each of these galley monuments 18 has one or more slide-in compartments 19 which are designed to accommodate one or more service units 4 . One of the galley monuments 18 (bottom left in the galley in<figref idref="f0001">1</figref>) a slot 19 for receiving a service unit 4, in this case a roll container. In the galley monument 18 to the right (bottom right in the galley in<figref idref="f0001">1</figref>) a slide-in compartment 19 is designed for two mobile containers, one of these two mobile containers being currently in use (see the service unit 4 on the left in<figref idref="f0001">1</figref>). A third galley monument 18 is arranged above these two galley monuments 18, which can accommodate standard units as service units 4 in individual slide-in compartments 19, eg food containers. The slide-in compartments 19 can, for example, have standardized dimensions for accommodating standardized containers, trolleys or the like.

0036The upper galley monument 18 includes an integrated galley display 12. The galley display 12 can be, for example, a screen with OLED or LCD technology or the like, with the galley display 12 being touch-sensitive as a touchscreen or touch display. Furthermore, the galley display 12 can be movably articulated on the galley monument 18 . In this exemplary embodiment, the galley display 12 is used as a monitoring and/or operating device for the galley 2 . The control unit 3 is in turn connected to a cabin management system 13, for example to a controller area network (CAN) or the like. The control unit 3 can contain other components that are not shown, such as a microprocessor, a data memory, databases, etc.

0037The control unit 3 is also designed to provide inventory management data for the galley 2 which can be displayed via the galley display 12 . The inventory management data include, on the one hand, an inventory for each of the service units 4, ie for example for the roll container in use on the left<figref idref="f0001">1</figref>. The inventory includes a list of all supplies 5 or service products, eg food, drinks, etc., located in the respective service unit 4. On the other hand, the inventory management data includes other data, such as catering data, passenger data and/or cabin data or the like. Catering data can be provided, for example, by a caterer 16 such as a catering service provider and can contain, among other things, information about the on-board catering provided, ie which products are provided to what extent and in what form. Passenger data can, for example, be provided by an airline 15 and contain, among other things, information about the passengers, which passengers have booked specific catering requests or options. The cabin data can, for example, be provided by the cabin management system 13 and contain, among other things, information regarding the cabin configuration, e.g ' be communicatively connected. In the example configuration of<figref idref="f0001">1</figref> the control unit 3 is connected to the cabin management system 13 via a data line and can also contact the airline 15 and the caterer 16 via a wireless network 7′ provided for this purpose, eg retrieve or request data from databases.

0038The system 1 also includes a first control element 10, which is communicatively connected to the control unit 3 of the galley 2 via a wireless data connection 7, eg a secure WLAN network. In the exemplary implementation of<figref idref="f0001">1</figref> the first operating element 10 is smart glasses, ie data glasses, which are designed to detect a removal of a supply item 5 from the service units 4 and, based on this, to cause the inventory of the transported supply items 5 to be updated. Likewise, the first operating element 10 can detect that a supply item 5 has been received in the service unit 4 . For this purpose, the first operating element 10 includes an identification unit 8 in the form of a camera scanner or imager. The identification unit 8 is designed as a barcode reader in order to detect and identify a supply item 5 using an identifier 9 attached thereto. For example, the links in<figref idref="f0001">1</figref> Supply item 5 shown is a beverage can on which a bar code is printed as identifier 9 . The first operating element 10 is worn on the body, for example, by a flight attendant (not shown) while the food and/or drinks are being served. While the flight attendant is handing out the supply item 5, the identifier 9 is detected and identified by the first control element 10. The associated inventory is then updated via the wireless connection 7 . The galley 2 is thus informed at all times about the current inventory of supply products.

0039The first control element 10 is also designed as data glasses to display the inventory management data, e.g. on and/or on one of the lenses (indicated by a broken line on the first control element 10 in<figref idref="f0001">1</figref>). In this way, the flight personnel can have passenger, cabin and/or catering data displayed automatically at any time, for example in order to select a booked product for a specific passenger at a specific seat. At the same time, the first operating element 10 can also output information about the inventory, so that, for example, based on a passenger's request, it can be checked whether the desired product is in the bag carried by the flight attendant or possibly in the bag. one of the other service units 4 is available. It is therefore possible to coordinate passenger information and requests with catering specifications and the configuration of the aircraft at any time. In addition, the supplies 5 can be tracked in the vehicle cabin 14 in an automated manner, in particular in real time, or their 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, the operating element 10 and/or the service unit 4 can display dynamically which order is present at the respective seat or row of seats. As a result, an automatic, dynamic goods management and goods tracking system for the on-board catering of the aircraft 100 is created, which monitors the actual status of the catering stock at all times without the goods issue being impaired in any way. The person skilled in the art will immediately understand that further functionalities can be added without further ado. For example, a payment system for the issue of goods can be implemented via the system 1 shown, with corresponding payment actions being able to 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 options for integrating the service units 4 into the system. In a simple embodiment, the service units 4 can only be passively integrated into the system 1 without being able to actively communicate via the wireless network 7 . Rather, the service units 4 can only have identification marks, eg a barcode. In the exemplary implementation of<figref idref="f0001">1</figref> For example, the service unit 4 on the left in the figure has an RFID tag 17 that can be read actively or passively, via which the service unit 4 can be identified by the first operating element 10 . For this purpose, the RFID tag 17 can include a standard transponder (not shown) and the first control element can include a corresponding transmitter/receiver unit (also not shown). At the beginning of the goods issue, a flight attendant can first identify the service unit 4 and, based on this, clearly assign an inventory to the service unit 4, which, for example, has already been made available centrally in the control unit 3 and has been sent there beforehand, for example by the caterer 16 (e.g. by download or a other form of data transmission). During the subsequent issue of goods, the inventory can now be updated centrally in the manner described above.

0041The first operating element 10 can also be designed to authenticate itself to the service unit 4, with access to the inventory of the service unit 4 and/or the supplies 5 of the service unit 4 being enabled 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 that is stored on the first operating element 10. In principle, a locking system for the service unit 4 can be implemented on this basis, with the aid of which the service unit 4 can be opened and locked via the first operating element 10 .

0042As an alternative or in addition, the service unit 4 can also include a data memory 6 on which, among other things, the inventory can be stored. The first operating element 10 can now be connected to the data storage device 6 , for example the data storage device 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, for example, already stored when the service unit 4 is delivered by a catering service provider), but can also be updated at any time using the first operating element 10 . The service unit 4 can also include, for example, a service unit display 11 on which information about the inventory of the service unit 4 and/or about products can be displayed. In this sense, the service unit display 11 can function to a certain extent as an electronic label.

0043Basically, in addition to the first control element 10, the system 1 can include further control elements that can be designed differently. For example, in addition to data glasses, smartphones, smartwatches, tablet computers and/or other portable computers can also be used. In the embodiment in<figref idref="f0001">1</figref> a second control element 10 ′ is provided purely by way of example, which cannot be worn on the flight attendant’s body, but is firmly integrated into the service unit 4 . In this case, the service unit display 11 of the service unit 4 serves as a second operating element 10′ and is designed for this purpose as a touch screen, via which not only information can be displayed but also inputs can also be made. Just like the first operating element 10, the second operating element 10' can also be designed to record and identify the supplies 5. For this purpose, for example, a barcode reader can be combined with the touchscreen (not shown). Just as described above for the first operating element 10, the flight attendant can also issue the product via the second operating element 10′, in that supplies 5 are recorded during the issue and the inventory is updated 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 can be advantageous to use the first control element 10 or the second control element 10' for issuing goods. The system 1 shown is therefore particularly flexible in this embodiment.

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

0045Basically, the system is similar to 1 in<figref idref="f0002">3</figref> the one in<figref idref="f0001">1</figref>. A control element 10 ′ is shown here purely by way of example, which is integrated with a service unit display 11 designed as a touchscreen in a top side of the service unit 4 . Furthermore, the operating element 10 ′ on the top of the service unit 4 has an identification unit 8 for reading out identifiers 9 attached to supply goods 5 or is communicatively connected to this. The identification unit 8 can be designed, for example, as a barcode reader, for example a CCD scanner or a camera, which can read out a barcode as an identifier 9 .

0046In this specific example, the service unit 4 carries a large number of supplies 5 in the form of trays, each of which is prepackaged with a number of products, e.g. ready meals, beverages, etc. Each tray 5 is provided with an identifier 9, e.g. a bar code (cf. the tray 5 top left in<figref idref="f0002">3</figref>). The identifier 9 is read out by the identification unit 8 when a tray 5 is removed. The inventory of the service unit 4 is then updated. The system 1 can 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 control element 10'.

0047Provision can also be made for the products located on the trays 5 to be identified directly, for example also using bar codes or the like that are attached to the products. In alternative configurations, the identification unit 8 can also determine the external shape of the products and, on this basis, identify the products or the trays 5, e.g through 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 can be part of a portable control element and/or be communicatively coupled to it.

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

0049In this case, the service unit 4 is embodied as an electronic tablet, which uses an operating element 10 ′ to record supplies 5 that are placed on the tray and/or removed from it, and identifies them via identifiers 9 that are attached to the supplies 5 . For this purpose, the operating element 10′ includes an identification unit 8, which can be configured as a barcode reader, for example. Furthermore, the operating element 10′ optionally has a service unit display 11 which can, for example, output information about the inventory. The tablet is thus designed as a "smart tablet", with the inventory being updated automatically.

0050In the exemplary embodiment in<figref idref="f0002">4</figref> the service unit 4 also includes one or more weight sensors 20. For example, a support surface of the tray can be designed 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 can be automatically generated in this way to the cabin crew in the event that a drink needs to be refilled. It goes without saying that other sensor technologies can also be used for this purpose.

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

0052In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features have been grouped together in one or more examples to improve the rigor of presentation. However, it should be understood that the above description is merely illustrative and in no way restrictive. It is intended to cover all alternatives and modifications of the various features and embodiments falling within the subject matter of the invention, which is defined by the claims. Many other examples will be immediately and immediately apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the above description.

0053The exemplary embodiments were selected and described in order to be able to present the principles on which the invention is based and its possible applications in practice in the best possible way. This enables those skilled in the art to optimally modify and use the invention and its various exemplary embodiments in relation to the intended application. In the claims and the description, the terms "including" and "having" are used as neutral terms for the corresponding terms "comprising". Furthermore, the use of the terms "a", "an" and "an" should not fundamentally exclude a plurality of features and components described in this way.

Reference List

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>supply</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 control</dd><dt>10'</dt><dd>second control</dd><dt>11</dt><dd>Service unit display</dd><dt>12</dt><dd>Galley display</dd><dt>13</dt><dd>cabin management system</dd><dt>14</dt><dd>vehicle 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>slide-in compartment</dd><dt>20</dt><dd>weight sensor</dd><dt>100</dt><dd>aircraft</dd></dl>