Food service cart

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR STORING AND DELIVERING TRAYS OF PREPORTIONED HOT AND COLD FOOD FROM ITS POINT OF PREPARATION DIRECTLY TO THE CNOSUMER COMPRISING: A TRANSPORTABLE CHEST HAVING TOP, BOTTOM, SIDE AND BACK WALLS DEFINING A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR COMPARTMENT; A DOOR CLOSING SAID COMPARTMENT AND PROVIDING ACCESS THERETO; PARTITION MEANS EXTENDING VERTICALLY BETWEEN SAID TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS AND TRANSVERSELY BETWEEN SAID BACK WALL AND DOOR THEREBY DIVIDING SAID COMPARTMENT INTO TWO THERMALLY DIFFERENT SECTIONS, SAID PARTITION MEANS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING ELEMENTS EACH HAVING UPPER AND LOWER EDGES, SAID UPPER AND LOWER EDGES OF ADJACENT ELEMENTS BEING VERTICALLY SPACED-APART RESPECTIVELY TO DEFINE A PLURALITY OF TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING TRAY-RECEIVING SLOTS; A PLURALITY OF GENERALLY RECTANGULAR FOOD TRAYS EACH HAVING A SINGLE FOOD-RECEIVING SECTION DEFINING THE BOTTOM WALL OF THE TRAY AND SURROUNDED BY A RIM, MEANS RESPECTIVELY ON SAID SIDE WALLS FOR REMOVABLY SUPPORTING SAID TRAYS IN SAID COMPARTMENT IN VERTICALLY SPACED-APART RELATION WITH EACH TRAY EXTENDING THROUGH A RESPECTIVE SLOT AND WITH THE UPPER EDGE OF THE NEXT LOWER PARTITION MEANS ELEMENT ENGAGING THE BOTTOM SURFACE OF THE BOTTOM WALL OF THE TRAY WHEREBY PORTIONS OF EACH TRAY ARE RESPECTIVELY LOCATED IN SAID TWO COMPARTMENTS SECTIONS; AND TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING SHUTTER MEMBERS RESPECTIVELY SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PARTITION MEANS ELEMENTS FOR VERTICAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN A LOWER NORMAL POSITION AND AN UPPER POSITION, EACH OF SAID SHUTTER MEMBERS HAVING A LOWER EDGE AND IN ITS LOWER POSITION EXTENDING ALONG THE NEXT LOWER SLOT WITH SAID LOWER EDGE THEREOF ENGAGING THE UPPER EDGE OF THE NEXT LOWER PARTITION MEANS ELEMENT THEREBY RESPECTIVELY CLOSING SAID SLOTS WHEN SAID TRAYS ARE REMOVED FROM SAID COMPARTMENT, EACH OF SAID SHUTTER MEMBERS BEING BIASED TO ITS UPPER POSITION RESPONSIVE TO INITIAL INSERTION OF A TRAY IN THE RESPECTIVE SLOT, EACH OF SAID SHUTTER MEMBERS EXTENDING INTO AND TRANSVERSELY ACROSS SAID SECTION OF A TRAY WHEN THE TRAY IS POSITIONED ENTIRELY IN SAID COMPARTMENT AND EXTENDS THROUGH THE RESPECTIVE SLOT WITH THE BOTTOM EDGE OF SAID SHUTTER MEMBER ENGAGING THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID BOTTOM WALL AND THE RIM OF THE TRAY THEREBY RESPECTIVELY CLOSING SAID SLOTS WHEN SAID TRAYS ARE POSITIONED IN SAID COMPARTMENT.