Abstract: An optical transmitting and receiving device for the contact-free reading of marks, particularly marks and bar codes. The device has a transmitter diode arranged in a plastic body which directs an oblique transmission beam onto a reference surface outside the plastic body. A receiver diode is arranged at an angle to the transmitter diode in the plastic body, whose receiver beam is likewise directed onto a reference surface. Instead of a glass optical system simple rectangular slotted diaphrams are provided and the transmitter and receiver beams intersect at one single point of intersection in the region of the reference surface.

Abstract: A sales stand for articles such as spools of sewing thread has a lower storage part and a sales part arranged therebove. A carriage arrangement for transporting the spools from the storage part to the sales part includes a horizontally displaceable main carriage, a lower carriage part carried by and vertically displaceable relative to the main carriage, for transporting the spools up from the storage part to a transfer station, and an upper carriage part carried by and vertically displaceable relative to the main carriage for transporting the spools from the transfer station to the sales part. The sales part includes a plurality of compartments arranged in columns and rows, the compartments being inclined downwardly towards the front of the stand, and the upper carriage part delivers the reels to a selected individual sales compartment.

Abstract: The sales stand for sewing thread bobbins and the like consists of a housing which is divided into an upper customer array part and a lower equipment part arranged beneath it in which the customer array consists of storage slots arranged in rows and columns with their longitudinal axes parallel where each slot has a removal opening at the front and a filling opening at the back, and in each slot a number of the same bobbins are arranged which can be removed from the removal opening at the front. Magazines for each diameter of bobbin are arranged in the equipment part from which the transport system automatically refills the storage slots.