Basket And Tray

Abstract

This invention is directed to an openwork basket or container most commonly made of wire and which has pivotable portions that enable one to make from a basket, a basket and tray, or a unit of trays. The pivotable portions are generally the sidewalls or sidewall portions as the case may be and are pivoted inwardly to a substantially horizontal position and retained in the normal confines of the basket, functioning in this position as the bottom of a newly formed tray or smaller basket for supporting articles. A removable-type sidewall portion may be added by placing it in a vertical position covering the opening created by the pivoted sidewall portion and thereby forming an enclosed compartment for retention of articles during rough handling.

Description

This invention relates to containers and in particular to containers of the openwork construction type used to hold food in freezers, fridges and the like.

All the known prior art devices of the above type have been nonconvertible, there are known baskets of all kinds including foldable and collapsible types and there are known pie and cake racks or trays, however a convertible basket of the type hereinafter described and claimed is not known to the inventor. While the basket or rack individually serves a purpose it does not serve all the needs when it is desirable to store rugged and fragile articles in the same container which it is often necessary to do when making maximum use of all available space in a freezer and the like.

The prime object of this invention is to provide a basket of the openwork construction type that is convertible to a combination basket and tray to allow storage of rugged and fragile articles in the same container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a basket of the openwork construction type that is convertible to a unit of trays.

A further object of the invention is to provide a basket of the openwork construction type that is convertible to a combination basket and tray or to a unit of trays, the tray portions of which may be enclosed by the addition of a removable sidewall portion of the type of which the basket may be constructed.

A further object of the instant invention is to provide a multipurpose container that is easy to construct, easy to use and economical to manufacture.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 Is one embodiment in isometric of the instant invention.

FIG. 2 Is a second embodiment in isometric of the instant invention.

FIG. 3 Is a third embodiment in isometric of the instant invention.

FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are various embodiments of a sidewall portion.

FIG. 8 Shows various embodiments of the vertical rods of the sidewall portion and

FIG. 9 Shows various embodiments of the supporting tie rods normally fixed to the vertical rods.

Referring in detail to FIG. 1 of the drawings the numeral 5 indicates in general a horizontal frame rod which includes frame side rods 6 and horizontal frame endwall wires 20. The frame rod 5 is preferably formed of one piece of wire folded upon itself and giving the container its horizontal planar dimensions. The upper horizontal frame rod 5 includes inwardly and downwardly projecting indentations 18 which will be engaged by retaining ends 15 of supporting tie rods 14.sup.1 when a sidewall portion 7 (FIGS. 4-7) is pivoted inwardly and upwardly to a substantially horizontal position within the normal confines of the container. The frame rods 5 are held vertically spaced by vertical frame rods 4. Each pair of vertical frame rods in the plane of the sidewall portion 7 is joined longitudinally by retaining rods 23, the upper retaining rod being formed integral with the vertical frame rods 4. The sidewall portion 7 is formed of vertical rods 11 (FIG. 8(e)) which terminate in loops 10 at the upper end and continue down to bottoms 12. The loops 10 are designed to releasably but moveable engage the upper frame side rod 6 to permit the sidewall portion 7 to pivot as hereinbefore mentioned. The vertical rods 11 of the sidewall portion are transversely spaced and rigidly united by one or more tie rods 14 or supporting the rods 14.sup.1 comprising tie rods 14 having retaining ends 15 that are integral therewith or attached there to. The floor is composed of longitudinal floor wires 22 which wrap around horizontal frame and wall wires 20 and continue upwardly terminating in support and/or carrying handles 16. To strengthen the container and make the floor less open transverse floor wires 21 are provided while the end walls are made less open by endwall wires 17. The lower horizontal frame rods 5 may have a slightly smaller periphery to ensure that by the force of gravity on sidewall portion 7 vertical rod bottom 12 will positively abut retaining rod 23.

With the above-described container in its normal position the sidewall portions 7 are hanging freely in a substantially vertical position with the lower ends 12 of vertical rods 11 butting against retaining rods 23 and retaining ends 15 are in a position to abut vertical rods 4 to prevent lateral sliding movement of sidewall portion 7 thus enabling the container to operate as a basket. When it is desirable to convert the basket to trays one has but to pivot either of the free swinging sidewall portions 7 inwardly to a substantially horizontal position where the retaining ends 15 can engage the projecting indentations 18. One now has two trays formed with retaining rods 23 to prevent articles such as pies, dishes and the like from accidental removal, the one tray being formed from the floor of the basket, the other by the pivoted sidewall portion. To have a combination basket and tray(s) one need only construct two such baskets as an integral unit in end to end or above and below fashion. In the end to end fashion the handles would of course have to be placed at the ends of the unit and in the above and below the longitudinal floor wires with wrap around handle extension would encompass the entire unit. In the container described above and in all others described hereinafter it is to be noted that extra wires or tie rods may be added to make the open work less open. The drawings are devoid of such tie rods or wires for the sake of simplicity.

A further desirable embodiment (not illustrated) is primarily a combination of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 wherein the basic design of FIG. 2 is used but the free swinging type sidewall portion of FIG. 6 with the cooperating projecting indentations 18 of FIG. 1 are substituted for the type of sidewall portion of FIG. 7 which is shown in FIG. 2. The retaining rods 23 of FIG. 1 are substituted for the risers 9 of FIG. 2. With this design one can have a basket, a basket and tray (when one pair of sidewall portions is pivoted inwardly and retained substantially horizontally) and with all sides pivoted, a unit of 3 trays.

Referring now in particular to FIG. 2 the numeral 5 again indicates the horizontal frame rod inclusive of frame side rods 6 and horizontal frame end wall wires 20 spacedly held fast by vertical frame rods 4. Sidewall portions 7 of the type illustrated in FIG. 7 singly or additively compose a sidewall. This sidewall portion is formed of vertical rods FIG. 8(e) and supporting tie rod FIG. 9 (f). The vertical rod loops 10 again releasably engage the frame side rods 6 which contain risers 9. The longitudinal floor wires 22 that wrap around the bottom and extend vertically to close in the end wall and form handles 16 are again used in cooperation with the transverse floor wires 21.

With all the sidewall portions 7 of FIG. 2 locked in the vertical position the container functions as a bulk material basket. When it is desired to form a combination basket and tray as illustrated we unlock one retaining end 15 from vertical frame rod 4 of the lower sidewall portion 7 by springing it away from the basket and then sliding the sidewall portion toward the still locked end until the first end 15 is clear of rod 4 at which time due to the free fit of loop 10 the second end 15 is easily made free to permit a folding inwardly of the sidewall portion 7 to a substantially horizontal position where the ends 15 now engage the top of horizontal frame endwall wires 20 and form a first half of the floor of a basket. The opposite lower sidewall portion 7 in the same manner is folded inwardly and retained to form the other half of the floor of the now newly formed basket. The floor of the original basket is now a tray upon which cakes, pies and the like may be placed and which are prevented from accidental removal by the risers 9. It can be readily seen that if the two upper opposite sidewall portions 7 are pivoted inwardly and retained that we would have three trays formed one by the original floor and two others by two pairs of oppositely inwardly folded sidewall portions.

Referring now in particular to FIG. 3 it is seen that we have the same basic framework as in FIG. 2 but the sidewall portions are of the type illustrated in FIG. 5 which are made up of a flat tie plate 8 and vertical rods of the type shown in FIG. 8(e). The clip-type rod bottom 12 is unclipped by a vertical movement of the sidewall portion 7 enabled by the loop 10. When the sidewall portion is pivoted inwardly and upwardly to a substantially horizontal position the clip is clipped onto a supporting tie rod 14.sup.1 which is placed longitudinally in indentations 13 of the horizontal frame endwall wires 20.

It may be desirable to remove the sidewall portions 7 entirely or to add one or more to a basket already converted to trays thereby providing trays whose contents may be enclosed to facilitate transportation or rough handling if such is desired.

From the foregoing it can be seen that there has been provided a very useful combination basket and tray that fully meets the objectives set forth in the introduction.

The components of the basket are normally made from wire or rods and are normally spot welded together at the joints. However, this does not preclude the use of soldering, clips, clamps, screws or other joining means, nor does it preclude the use of other material such as plastics for the components of the basket. For example the complete sidewall portion 7 may be stamped out of a rigid plastic or sheet metal, or the wires or rods may be plastic or rubber coated.

Minor changes as expressed above in type of material, shape, size and rearrangement of details coming within the field of the invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A combination basket and trays comprising a frame, two end walls, two pivotable sidewall portions each one forming a complete sidewall, and a floor all of open wire construction, said frame including at least one upper and one lower horizontal frame rod each comprising frame side rods and horizontal frame endwall wires in a unitary construction and the upper horizontal frame rod adapted to function as the sole support for both said sidewalls in their pivoted and unpivoted positions, said frame further including vertical frame rods for spacedly supporting the horizontal frame rods, a pair of said vertical frame rods being in the plane of each sidewall in its vertical position and, formed integral therewith at the vertical frame rod upper ends is a retaining rod functioning to support the frame and retain food on the tray formed by one of the sidewalls when pivoted, a further retaining rod joins each pair of the vertical frame rods near their lower ends and functions to restrict outward movement of the pivotable sidewalls, to prevent unwanted lateral removal of articles from the floor, and to further support the frame, each said pivotable sidewall being normally vertically disposed and thereby forming a normal confine of the basket and pivotable to a substantially horizontal position within the normal confines thereby providing lateral access thereto and forming the trays for receiving food and the like, pivot loops on said pivotable sidewalls to permit releasable engagement of the sidewalls with the upper horizontal frame rod, said pivotable sidewalls further including tie rods one of which has integral extensions to engage indentations in the upper horizontal frame rod and to prevent lateral displacement of the sidewall when in the vertical position, said upper horizontal frame rod also being capable of receiving an additional pivotable sidewall in a normally vertical position to replace one of the two pivotable sidewalls that has been pivoted to a horizontal position thereby forming a complete enclosure of the normal confines, longitudinal floor wires which are included in the floor engage the lower horizontal frame rod and then extend upwardly in a vertical position to engage the upper horizontal frame rod and a further extension thereof above the end walls terminates in the form of handles which are so placed as to function as handles and to prevent food on the formed tray from endwise removal.

2. A combination basket and trays comprising a frame, two end walls, two pivotable sidewall portions each one forming a complete sidewall, and a floor all of open wire construction, said frame including at least an upper and a lower horizontal frame rod, the upper horizontal frame rod functioning as the sole support for both sidewalls in both the pivoted and unpivoted positions, said frame further including vertical frame rods for spacedly supporting the horizontal frame rods, at least one pair of said vertical frame rods being longitudinally integrally joined at their upper ends by a retaining rod which operates to support the frame and retain food on the tray formed by one of the sidewalls when pivoted, at least one further retaining rod longitudinally joining a pair of said vertical frame rods near their lower ends and which operates to restrict outward movement of the pivotable sidewalls, to prevent unwanted lateral removal of articles from the floor, now one of the trays, and to further support the frame, each said pivotable sidewalls being pivotable inwardly from a vertical position to a horizontal position thereby providing lateral access to the basket and forming the trays for receiving food, the sidewalls are adapted to releasably engage the upper horizontal frame rod and the upper horizontal frame rod is capable of receiving an additional pivotable sidewall to cover the lateral access provided when one of the two original sidewalls is pivoted to form the trays.

3. A method of making a combination basket and trays comprising forming at least two horizontal frame rods that define the horizontal periphery of the basket, spacedly fastening the at least two horizontal frame rods to at least two vertical frame rods, attaching wire rods to the at least two horizontal and vertical frame rods to form a floor and opposed endwalls, forming two sidewalls for attachment to the frame, forming at least one of the sidewalls with at least one sidewall portion, forming said sidewall portion so as to releasably and pivotably engage one of the at least two horizontal frame rods so that it may be readily removed or pivoted inwardly and upwardly to a substantially horizontal position where it will be further supported by the engaged horizontal frame rod thereby forming the trays and providing lateral access to the basket, and attaching the sidewalls to opposite sides of the frame with said sidewall portion pivotally engaging said one of the horizontal frame rods.

4. A method according to claim 3 further defined by providing pivot loops on the sidewall portions to permit the releasable and pivotable engagement, providing a retaining rod at the upper ends of the at least two vertical frame rods by forming unitarily the retaining rod and at least two vertical frame rods, providing a further retaining rod near the lower extremities of the at least two vertical frame rods for preventing lateral removal of food from the floor of the basket when a tray, for preventing outward movement of the at least one sidewall portion and for providing the required strength for the frame.

5. A combination basket and trays of open-wire construction comprising in combination a frame, opposed end walls, a floor and oppositely disposed sidewalls, at least one of the sidewalls being formed from at least one pivotable sidewall portion which when pivoted provides lateral access to the basket, said pivotable sidewall portion when retained in the pivoted position serves to function as one of the trays, the said frame including at least an upper continuous horizontal frame rod defining the horizontal periphery of the basket and functioning as the sole support for the at least one pivotable sidewall portion in the pivoted and unpivoted positions, the at least one pivotable sidewall portion being pivotally attached to the upper horizontal frame rod and adapted to be pivoted into the interior of the basket, said sidewall portion having means thereon to retain said sidewall portion in the pivoted position.

6. A combination basket and trays as defined in claim 5 wherein the at least one horizontal frame rod is adapted to receive an additional pivotable sidewall to cover the lateral access provided when the at least one pivotable sidewall portion is pivoted to form one of the trays.

7. A combination basket and trays as defined in claim 5 wherein the frame defines two sidewalls each of which is formed from two pivotable sidewall portions and wherein the frame further includes an intermediate and a lower horizontal frame rod, each said sidewall portion releasably engaging the upper or the intermediate horizontal frame rod, said pivotable sidewall portions being retained from outward movement in the vertical position by abutting one of the horizontal frame rods which is immediately therebelow, and being retained in a horizontal position by an extension of the pivotable sidewall, said horizontal frame rods being adapted to receive an additional pivotable sidewall portion to cover the lateral access provided when the pivotable sidewalls are pivoted.

8. A combination basket and trays as defined in claim 7 further including risers on said horizontal frame rods for preventing food and the like on the floor and on the trays where formed, from accidental lateral removal.

9. A combination basket and trays as defined in claim 5 wherein said frame further includes a lower horizontal frame rod, the frame further including vertical frame rods for spacedly supporting the upper and the lower horizontal frame rods, at least one pair of said vertical frame rods being longitudinally integrally joined at their upper ends by a retaining rod which operates to support the frame and retain food on the tray formed by one of the sidewall portions when pivoted, at least one further retaining rod longitudinally joining said pair of vertical frame rods near their lower ends and which operates to prevent unwanted lateral removal of articles from the floor, to restrict outward movement of the at least one pivotable sidewall and the further support the frame, and including means on the at least one pivotable sidewall portion to releasably engage the upper horizontal frame rod which is also capable of receiving an additional pivotal sidewall to cover the lateral access provided by the pivoted sidewall portion.

10. A combination basket and trays as defined in claim 5 wherein said frame further includes a lower horizontal frame rod, the frame further including vertical frame rods for spacedly supporting the upper and the lower horizontal frame rods, at least one pair of said vertical frame rods being longitudinally integrally joined at their upper ends by a retaining rod which operates to support the frame and retain food on the tray formed by one of the sidewall portions when pivoted, at least one further retaining rod longitudinally joining said pair of vertical frame rods near their lower ends and which operates to prevent unwanted lateral removal of articles from the floor, to restrict outward movement of the at least one pivotable sidewall and to further support the frame.