Compactly stackable cake platters

A platter adapted when used to support an article above a support and when stored to be nested back to back with a mating platter to minimize the storage space required to store the platters, comprising a member having a non-slip planar upper surface adapted to support the article thereon and a back, and a supporting flange depending from said member and having a lower surface defining a continuous, closed hollow shape and lying substantially in a common plane spaced below the plane of said back;

• at least segments of said flange being disposed substantially inwardly of said member to facilitate grasping of said member when said platter rests on the support;
• said back defining a plurality of equiangularly-disposed linear ribs extending radially outwardly from the center thereof at least as far as said flange, the positions of said ribs being detectable from above said member to permit said ribs to function as guidelines for dividing an article on said member upper surface into aliquots of like area;
• said platter being an injection-molded, homogeneous, one-piece integral construction of a plastic polypropylene, polystyrene and polyethylene;
• the dimensions of said member and the dimensions of the corresponding member of the mating platter being substantially the same and the dimensions of said flange and the dimensions of the corresponding flange of the mating platter being different and enabling said flange of said platter to be nestable within the corresponding flange of the mating platter such that said platter and the mating platter can be nested back to back for storage.

A pair of back to back nested food platters, each of said platters being adapted to support a food item above a support and comprising a plate having a perimeter, a lower surface or back and a generally planar upper surface adapted to support the food item thereon;

• and a flange depending from said plate lower surface and having a lower surface defining a plane spaced below said plate lower surface to space said plate above the support, said flange defining an inner perimeter and an outer perimeter;
• each of said platters being an injection-molded, homogeneous, one-piece integral construction of plastic;
• in each of said platters said flange defining a circular annulus with at least segments of said outer flange perimeter being disposed substantially inwardly of said plate perimeter to facilitate grasping of said plate when said platter rests on the support, and the height of said flange equally spacing said plate lower surface from said flange lower surface;
• said platters having plate perimeters of generally like dimensions and flange perimeters of appreciably different dimensions enabling said outer flange perimeter of one of said platters to be nested within said inner flange perimeter of the other of said platters, with substantially the entire height of said flange of said one platter being telescopically received within the height of said flange of said other platter, thereby to enable said platters to be compactly stacked back to back.