Tilted cake container system

Abstract

A food container having a base ( 12 ) with a support surface ( 40 ) that supports a cardboard plate with a tall cake thereon, and a tall lid ( 14 ) that closes and opens over the base. The base has a rear end ( 22 ) with a vertical slot ( 50 ) and the lid has a rear end with a pivot connector that can be inserted down into the slot when the lid is in the pivoted-up position but that resists removal in the pivoted-down position. The base rear end that forms the slot lies on a raised platform ( 104 ) of the base that raises the slot above the level of the base front end ( 20 ), by at least ⅓rd the lid height, to cause the lid to move almost vertically as it clears the top front of the cake. The base support surface faces at a forward-upward incline angle to better display the cake through the transparent lid.

1 . A food container of deformed plastic sheeting that includes a base and lid that each has a front end, a rear end, and laterally opposite sides, including:
 means for pivotally supporting said lid rear end on said base rear end and preventing lift-up of the lid rear end as the lid is initially pivoted open from a closed position toward an open position by the lid front end moving upward and rearward, and for releasing said lid to be lifted off the base when the lid has been pivoted up by an angle which is at least 150 from said closed position.   
     
     
         2 . The container described in  claim 1  wherein:
 said base rear end has a slot with front and rear primarily vertical base slot walls, with said rear slot wall having a rear slot wall forward projection, and said lid rear end has a lid pivot connector with a front wall lying behind and adjacent to said base front slot wall, and with a lid connection lying under said rear slot wall forward projection when the lid is closed but not lying under the projection when the lid has been pivot up by 90° from said closed position.   
     
     
         3 . The food container described in  claim 1  wherein said lid is transparent, said base has a base bottom with bottom support locations constructed to rest on a shelf flat surface, and said base has a primarily upwardly-facing base support surface ( 40 ), wherein:
 said base is formed of a single sheet of said plastic sheeting, which forms opposite support surface sides ( 145 ) that are of progressively greater height at progressively more rearward locations therealong, and that hold said base support surface ( 40 ) so it faces at an upward-forward incline of a plurality of degrees from the vertical when said base bottom support locations lie on a shelf flat surface that is horizontal.   
     
     
         4 . The food container described in  claim 1  wherein said base has a primarily upwardly-facing base support surface, and when said base lies on a flat horizontal surface a part of said lid has a top that lies at a lid top height that is a plurality of inches above the level of said base support surface, and wherein:
 said lid rear end is pivotally connected to said base rear end about a pivot axis that lies above a front end of said support surface which is at least one-third said lid top height.   
     
     
         5 . The food container described in  claim 1  wherein said base has a base support surface that can support a flat plate that has a plate length greater than half the length of said base between said base front and rear ends and a plate width that is more than half the width of the plate between said base opposite sides and wherein:
 said base has a rim that extends around said base support surface and that lies below the level of said base support surface along a majority of said base front and said base opposite sides.   
     
     
         6 . A food container of deformed plastic sheeting which has a base with a front, rear, laterally opposite sides, a primarily upwardly facing base support surface, and front and rear base support surface ends, said base being formed of a single piece of plastic sheeting and having a base bottom for resting on a flat horizontal surface with said base sides supporting opposite sides of said base support surface, said container having a transparent lid that covers said base, wherein:
 said base sides each has a progressively greater height at progressively more rearward locations along the side, and holds said base support surface ( 40 ) at a rearward-upward incline of a plurality of degrees relative to said flat surface on which said bottom rests, to thereby better display the contents of the container.   
     
     
         7 . The container described in  claim 6 , wherein:
 said lid has a transparent top surface which lies directly over a majority of said base support surface and which lies in a plane that is parallel to said base support surface.   
     
     
         8 . The container described in  claim 7 , wherein:
 said lid has a lid front, lid rear, and laterally opposite lid sides, that are all horizontally shorter than said front, rear and sides of said base, so when said container and another identical container are stacked on one another the lid of the lower container lies within the boundaries of the base of the next higher container;   each base has downwardly-projecting stacking projections with lower surfaces that lie on an imaginary plane that is parallel to the base support surface of the same container and that rest on the top surface of the next lower container, but with said imaginary plane angle to said base bottom that can rest on a flat horizontal surface, whereby all containers in a stack have parallel base support surfaces.   
     
     
         9 . The container described in  claim 6 , wherein:
 said base rear has a raised rear platform with an upwardly-opening rear slot, and said lid has a rear end bottom forming a pivot connector that lies in said rear slot and that is pivotally connected to an upper end of said platform;   said base front and a majority of said base sides, have a height less than half the height of said projection, said slot of said base sides merging with said slot of said base front;   said base sides have rear transition portions that form laterally opposite sides of front ends of said platform and that each extends at an angle of at least 300 to said horizontal support surface, each transition portion having a slot that merges with one of said slots of said base sides and with said rear slot;   said lid having a lower end that extends along all of said slots.   
     
     
         10 . The container described in  claim 6 , wherein:
 said base has a rim that extends around said base support surface, said rim having a rim top which is below said base support surface along a majority of each side of said base, whereby to facilitate access to said base support surface for the removal of a piece of food thereon.   
     
     
         11 . A food container of deformed plastic sheeting which has a base with a front, rear, laterally opposite sides, a primarily upwardly facing base support surface, and a horizontal base bottom for resting on a flat horizontal surface, said container having a lid that is connected to said base to pivot between open and closed positions thereon, wherein:
 said base rear has a laterally-extending base rear slot with front and rear slot walls and a primarily horizontal bottom slot wall;   said lid has a rear end with a lower end that has a pivot connector that lies in said base slot, said pivot connector having front, bottom, and rear connector parts;   when said lid is in said closed position, said connector front part lies facewise adjacent to said front slot wall and said connector bottom part lies facewise adjacent to said bottom slot wall, and an outer part that connects to said middle part;   said rear connector part extends at a rearward-upward incline to the horizontal from a rear of said connector bottom part and has a free rear end;   said rear slot wall has a forward projection formed therein that has an inclined lower projection surface lying in said slot that extends at a forward-upward incline, and said free end of said rear connector part lies below a lower end of said inclined lower projection surface;   said free end lying under said lower projection resists said outer part free end and said pivot connection portion from lifting so said lower projection resists lift-up of said connector part out of said slot in said lid closed position, but said free end does not lie vertically under with said forward projection when the lid has been pivoted 90° from said closed position so the lid pivot connector portion then can be lifted out of said base rear slot.   
     
     
         12 . A food container of deformed plastic sheeting which has a base with a front, rear, laterally opposite sides, a primarily upwardly facing support surface having front and rear support surface ends, and a bottom forming a horizontal support surface for resting on a flat horizontal surface, said container having a lid that has at least a tall lid portion that lies at least 1.5 inches (38 mm) above said base support surface and that covers said base, wherein:
 said rear of said base has a raised rear projection, and said lid has a rear end that is pivotally connected to said projection about a pivot axis that lies at least 13 mm above the level of said front end of said support surface, whereby the lid front end initially moves forward when the lid is raised from a closed position.   
     
     
         13 . A food container of formed plastic sheeting which has a base with a front, rear, laterally opposite sides, a primarily upwardly facing base support surface, and front and rear base support surface ends, said base having a base bottom for resting on a flat horizontal surface, said container having a lid that covers said base, wherein:
 said base has a rim with a rim slot that extends around said base support surface and said lid has connector walls that lie in said slot when the lid is closed, said rim having a front end with a rim top which lies at a level no higher than said base support surface, to facilitate access to said base support surface through the rim front end.   
     
     
         14 . The food container described in clam  13  wherein:
 said rim of said base has opposite sides that each extends at an upward-rearward incline.