Bakery tray
A molded bakery tray include a tray body that has a top surface, a bottom surface, and a peripheral wall around a perimeter of the tray body. Support ribs on the bottom surface intersect an inner surface of the peripheral wall at intersection points along at least one side of the tray body. The support ribs taper from a nominal width to an intersection width at the intersection points, the intersection width being less than the nominal width.
1 . A bakery tray with a locking handle, comprising:
a tray body having a carrying surface and a surrounding wall that surrounds the carrying surface; and
a handle having a first end and a second end that engage the tray body, the handle being pivotable from a collapsed position to an upright position, wherein, at each of the first end and the second end:
the handle comprises an engagement portion that is pivotally received by a handle-receiving aperture in the surrounding wall of the tray body to define a pivot axis of the handle, the engagement portion being axially moveable within the handle-receiving aperture;
the handle comprises a support portion that extends perpendicular to the engagement portion, wherein, with the handle in the collapsed position, the support portion is spaced from the carrying surface, the support portion pivoting toward the carrying surface as the handle pivots to the upright position; and
the tray body comprises an axial stop adjacent to the handle receiving aperture, the axial stop being perpendicularly spaced from the pivot axis of the handle such that the axial stop allows the engagement portion to be withdrawn from the handle-receiving aperture when the handle is in the collapsed position, and prevents the engagement portion from being released from the handle-receiving apertures when the handle is in the upright position.
2 . The bakery tray of claim 1 , wherein, at each of the first end and the second end of the handle, the surrounding wall further comprises a cammed surface adjacent to a locking groove that receives the support portion of the handle in the upright position.
3 . The bakery tray of claim 1 , wherein the handle is made from a resilient material that biases the engagement portions into engagement with the handle-receiving apertures, the handle further comprises a release mechanism that, when actuated, applies a force to the engagement portions in a direction away from the respective handle-receiving aperture.
4 . The bakery tray of claim 3 , wherein the handle comprises a handle section that extends between the support portions, and the release mechanism comprises a tension member that extends parallel to the handle, wherein a force applied to the tension member causes the engagement portions to withdraw from the respective handle-receiving aperture.
5 . The bakery tray of claim 1 , wherein the support portion comprises a vertical section and a lateral section that extends between the engagement portion and the vertical section such that, with the handle in the upright position, the lateral section extends along the carrying surface and the vertical section extends away from the carrying surface.
6 . The bakery tray of claim 5 , wherein, in the upright position, the lateral section of the support portion engages the axial stop and the vertical section engages a locking profile carried by the surrounding wall.