Drinking implements or utensils are devised by assembling various components having distinctive decorative features. A cup assembly is provided with a threaded ferrule at the base thereof for receiving a threaded pin at the end of a stem assembly. A decorative collar is interposed between the two and adapted for covering and concealing the ferrule in a fashionable manner. A candle holder based upon the same modular assembly technique is also presented.
A drinking glass having a cup portion, a stem attached to the cup and upon which the cup is supported, and a detachable base engageable with the stem in two distinct alternative base positions. The base is capable of securely maintaining the drinking glass at rest in an upright orientation in at least one of the base positions on a range of support surfaces. The range of support surfaces suitably includes a hard even surface and a penetrable uneven surface. In one embodiment, the base is in an upright position and the drinking glass is maintained in an upright orientation on a reasonably flat surface by means of a flange. In this upright base position the base engages with the stem via mating engagement of a spike in a hollow interior of the stem. If the spike is withdrawn and the base inverted to the alternative inverted base position, the stem can be engaged with the base via mating engagement with a socket provided in the underside of the base, such that the spike extends downwards and may be securely penetrated in penetrable media to maintain the drinking glass in upright orientation on an uneven surface. A second embodiment replaces the spike with a corkscrew so that the detachable base can also be used as a handle for a corkscrew.
A stemware assembly includes bowl, stem and foot portions in which the bowl and stem are made of glass, preferably crystal, and the foot is made of ceramic, preferably china, and further in which the glass stem and the crystal foot are joined together by an adhesive, preferably an ultraviolet-curing adhesive, which is suitably translucent when cured.
In a utility vessel with a holding device which is arranged between a base element and a vessel portion and includes a projection which is arranged on the vessel portion and which at least partially narrows, and a receiving device for the projection, the receiving device being arranged on the base element, in order to simplify handling, to prevent unintentional damage on the part of the user and nonetheless to ensure a secure holding action as between the vessel portion and the base element, it is provided that the receiving device includes holding members which are guided displaceably inclinedly relative to the longitudinal axis of the receiving device and which, after introduction of the projection into the receiving device, engage over at least a part of the narrowing region of the projection.
An apparatus for controlling access to a plurality of drawers, in one embodiment being tool dispensing apparatus (10) comprising a housing (12), a plurality of drawers (26) within the housing (12), each drawer for storing one or more tools, and a control system (14-22, 34-50) for controlling access to the drawers (26). Preferably, the apparatus (10) comprises a plurality of drawer trays (28) located in the housing (12) and on each of which one or more drawers (26) is located. The drawers are preferably divided into compartments and a control mechanism for providing access to appropriate compartments is disclosed in detail.
