Plastic open frame basket construction and method of making the same

A plastic open frame basket construction, comprising:

• a generally circular base member having an outer edge portion;
• a plurality of rectilinear longitudinal rib members connected integrally to said outer edge portion and extending axially away and radially outwardly from said outer edge portion to form an open framework for defining a smoothly tapered body portion;
• each of said longitudinal rib members having a pair of oppositely disposed side wall portions, wherein a plurality of pairs of facing side wall portions are defined by adjacent longitudinal rib members;
• an upper rim member having a lower edge portion connected integrally to distal end portions of said longitudinal rib members to define a generally circular opening for permitting access to an interior space in said tapered body portion;
• a plurality of curved cross members integrally connected between said pairs of facing side wall portions to provide lateral support to said longitudinal rib members for enhancing the structural strength of said tapered body portion;
• each of said cross members having an exterior wall portion connected integrally along an exterior edge and an interior edge to a complementary interior wall portion to form a solid member for increasing the strength of said cross members, wherein said cross members are arranged in concentric circles to help define the tapered body portion;
• wherein a plurality of outer corners are defined by the intersection of said exterior edges and said facing side wall portions, and a plurality of inner corners are defined by the intersection of said interior edges and said facing side wall portions;
• and
• a plurality of raised diagonal parting lines on said side walls and extending between said outer corners and said inner corners of adjacent cross members, wherein said diagonal parting lines are arranged on each side wall portion to define a stepped configuration to facilitate molding of the construction.