Food plate package

Claim 1

A package of lightweight thermoplastic material for use in the storage of heated foods, said package being effective to maintain the heat and flavor of hot food contained therein, said lightweight thermoplastic material normally deforming if a wall of said package reaches the temperature of said hot foods, as occurs when adjacent packages are stacked on each other without provision for the circulation of cooling air between said adjacent packages, said package comprising in combination, a plate, said plate being shaped to receive heated foods, a generally bowl-shaped cover adapted to cover said plate to maintain said foods in a heated condition, a plurality of ribs formed on an outside surface of said cover and being spaced each from the other, each of said ribs being raised from said outside surface to form a planar upper surface, each of said planar upper surfaces of said plurality of ribs cooperating to form a substantially horizontal upwardly facing support surface to receive a plate of a similar package, each of said ribs having at least one generally U-shaped portion to form a bight, the bight of each of said U-shaped ribs generally extending toward the center of said cover from a point in close proximity to the periphery of said cover, the spacing between each of said ribs defining a channel directed toward the center of said cover to allow passage of cooling air over said cover and under the plate of a vertically adjacent package to maintain the temperature of the outside surface of said cover below that of the food contained therein, thereby preventing deformation of said cover due to excessive heat while maintaining said foods at a temperature suitable for consumption and simultaneously providing substantially rigid support for a stack of packages.