A vending machine apparatus comprising a housing defining an internal cavity and an article storage compartment positioned inside the cavity. The article storage compartment may have a cooling unit associated therewith for cooling the article storage compartment. The article storage compartment is subdivided into a plurality of article storage sub-compartments, each sub-compartment having an opening at a dispensing end thereof for passage therethrough during a dispensing operation of articles st...

A vending machine apparatus comprising a housing defining an internal cavity and an article storage compartment positioned inside the cavity. The article storage compartment may have a cooling unit associated therewith for cooling the article storage compartment. The article storage compartment is subdivided into a plurality of article storage sub-compartments, each sub-compartment having an opening at a dispensing end thereof for passage therethrough during a dispensing operation of articles st...

A displaceable hinge (28), of particular use in a carrier (10) for a beverage container to allow use of the carrier (10) with different sizes of beverage container, comprises a first member (12) passing through an aperture in a second member (14), the first member being elongate to allow displacement of the second member relatively to the first member, at least one of the first and second members being resiliently deformable to allow pivoting of the second member relatively to the first member, ...

In combination a vehicle bumper comprising a rigid support beam covered with a resilient elastomeric impact energy absorbing body and a lamp assembly housed within the bumper. The lamp assembly having a body and lens assembly telescopically mounted on housing supported within the beam and normally biased to telescopically project into the energy absorbing body. Upon impact causing the energy absorbing body to abut the lamp body and lens assembly, the latter is telescopically retracted relative t...

A fishhook includes a rigid shank having an articulated hook portion comprising a plurality of pivotally connected segments attached thereto with a barb element at the free end of the hook portion. A bore through the shank communicates with bores in the segments and these serve to house a flexible cable having its distal portion affixed in the area adjacent the barb element. When relaxed, the cable allows the hook portion segments to assume an extended position substantially axially aligned with...

A movable furniture part has at least one force sensor to measure the forces acting on the outer panel of the movable furniture part. The movable furniture part has an inner panel, behind an outer panel when viewed from the front and spaced at a distance therefrom. The at least one force sensor is disposed between outer panel and inner panel.

A contactor includes an upper housing (1) for contact parts and a lower bobbin (5) that bears a coil and can be placed therein in an initial position or in a position displaced by 180 degrees. The coil terminals (6, 7) lie next to each other on one side of the bobbin (5). Before the assembly of the bobbin (5) in the housing (1, 4), at least two male parts (2, 3) comprising terminal pins, and at least one female part (8, 9) comprising a hole that is intended to receive one of the male parts (2 or...

Displaceable highway safety barriers extending along the side of a roadway or forming a median strip between opposing roadway sections, the barriers including a number of skid assemblies resting, without attachment, on a supporting surface adjacent a roadway connected by a plurality of semi-rigid, vehicle/barrier interface members extending longitudinally of the roadway.

A camera housing carries an objective whose optical axis O is tiltable and/or transversely shiftable with respect to a reference line A passing centrally through an exposure window for adjusting the position of an object plane and/or eliminating perspective distortion with shots taken at certain angles. A presettable iris diaphragm and an adjoining shutter in the lens assembly of the objective are tripped, at the instant of exposure, by a deformable linkage in the shape of an articulated or flex...

A pinball machine having a vertically displaceable ramp play feature. The ramp moves between an upper position in which it does not interfere with gameplay, and a lower position in which the lower edge of the ramp rests on the playfield. When the ramp is in the lower position, balls can be directed up the ramp towards a suitable target, such as a raised playfield.