US 5,344,022 AGranted

Stackable and nestable multi-level bread tray

AssigneePiper Industries of Texas, Inc.

InventorEdward L. Stahl

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Abstract

A stackable, nestable, multi-level tray or basket useful for storing and transporting baked goods is provided which includes a floor and a pair of upstanding side walls configured for stacking identical trays as well as allowing the stacking of a tray with smaller, overall dimensions. The structure enables identical trays to slide on to each other in stacked or nested configurations. A multi-level tray includes sidewalls with a plurality of upright stacking posts extending from the floor to a vertical strip of material. Each stacking post flares out at its top end to a cantilevered, extending flat portion. Trays of smaller overall dimensions than the disclosed tray can be advantageously stacked on these extending flat portions.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A tray adapted for alternately stacking or nesting with a similarly configured tray comprising:

(a) a pair of opposed left and right side walls, a pair of opposed front and rear walls, a floor, and a plane of symmetry perpendicular to said floor, and parallel to and equidistant from said left and right side walls;
(b) said left and right side walls being mirror images of each other and each having a plurality of normally upright, spaced apart stacking posts of substantially uniform width and height, each of the stacking posts having a top end, a bottom end, an inner side and an outer side, the stacking posts being interconnected at their top ends by a vertical strip of material, said strip of material being spaced above the floor by a predetermined distance, the stacking posts being connected directly to the floor, thereby leaving a void that extends between each of the stacking posts and that extends from the floor to said vertical strip of material;
(c) said vertical strip having an upper rim extending along said vertical strip wherein said upper rim is a constant height for a forward portion of its length, inclines downwardly from front to rear from the rear extent of said constant height portion and terminates in a constant height at its rearmost extent;
and
(d) each of said stacking posts is flared inwardly at its top end which comprises a horizontally extending flat portion, said flat portion being cantilevered out from the inner side of the stacking post towards said plane of symmetry and a vertical lip provided at an edge of said horizontally extending flat portion closest to said plane of symmetry, thereby providing a surface on which a basket having smaller overall dimensions than said basket can be stacked.

2 more elements

A tray in combination with at least one other similarly configured tray wherein each one of the trays comprises:

(a) a pair of opposed left and right side walls, a pair of opposed front and rear walls, a floor, and a plane of symmetry perpendicular to said floor, and parallel to and equidistant from said left and right side walls;
(b) said left and right side walls being mirror images of each other and each having a plurality of normally upright, spaced apart stacking posts of substantially uniform width and height, each of the stacking posts having a top end, a bottom end, an inner side and an outer side, the stacking posts being interconnected at their top ends by a vertical strip of material, said strip of material being spaced above the floor by a predetermined distance, the stacking posts connected directly to the floor, thereby leaving a void that extends between each of the stacking posts and that extends from the floor to said vertical strip of material;
(c) said vertical strip having an upper rim extending along said vertical strip wherein said upper rim is a constant height for a forward portion of its length, inclines downwardly from front to rear from the rear extent of said constant height portion and terminates in a constant height at its rearmost extent;
and
(d) each of the stacking posts is flared inwardly at its top end which comprises a horizontally extending flat portion, said flat portion being cantilevered out from the inner side of the stacking post towards said plane of symmetry and a vertical lip provided at an edge of said horizontally extending flat portion closest to said plane of symmetry, thereby providing a surface on which a tray having smaller overall dimensions than said tray can be stacked;
and wherein:
all of the trays have predetermined dimensions so that nesting a first one of the trays on top of a second one of the trays which is nested in turn on top of a third one of the trays results in the bottom ends of the stacking posts of said first one of the trays resting on the horizontally extending flat portions at the top ends of the stacking posts of the third one of the trays.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.