Portable pie case

Claim 2

A portable pie case for receiving and carrying a plurality of pies spaced vertically apart, each pie being disposed in a pie pan having a dish body and a peripheral lip, comprising: a housing having top, bottom, side and rear walls, together defining at least one pie receiving compartment; a plurality of removable pie shelves, wherein each shelf comprises a relatively thin sheet member having a pie receiving opening therein sized to receive at least a portion of the body of said pie pan, a central open space at its front to provide a hand passage for facilitating placement and removal of a pie, a support portion bordering said opening and extending about said pie pan a substantial distance to both adequately support the weight of a pie and to restrain said pie against sliding movement in any direction, if subject to inertial forces during the transporting of said pie case, and a peripheral border portion; wherein a substantial part of both said peripheral border portion and said support portion are flanged at a downward angle with respect to the shelf proper for the purpose of increasing the strength and rigidity of said removable shelf; wherein said peripheral border portions of each shelf are flanged at an angle of less than 90° with respect to the shelf proper, and the compartment side walls include a plurality of opposed slideways which are disposed at the same downward angle and which are adapted to receive and hold said removable pie shelves in a vertically spaced configuration, whereby positioning of said removable shelves within the pairs of opposed slideways locks the side walls together, thereby enhancing the lateral bracing and strength of said housing.

Claim 3

A portable pie case according to claim 1, wherein said pie case further includes a front panel sized to extend from bottom-to-top and side-to-side of said housing, and wherein said side walls further include mounting means thereon, being adapted to receive and to hold said front wall in a vertical position closing said pie receiving compartment.

Claim 4

A portable pie case according to claim 2, wherein said mounting means for receiving and holding said front wall comprises a pair of vertically opposed slideways situated at forward side locations on said case, each slideway being adapted to slidably receive an edge portion of said front wall therein.

Claim 5

A portable pie case according to claim 2, wherein said front wall is fabricated from a planar sheet of cardboard.

Claim 6

A portable pie case according to claim 1, wherein said housing further includes a plurality of spaced apart cleats projecting downwardly from its bottom wall, and a like number of complementary cleat receiving recesses formed in the upper surface of the top wall of said housing, so that plural pie cases can be stacked with the cleats of each upper case engaging the recesses of the case below it.

Claim 7

A portable pie case according to claim 1, wherein said housing is a monolithic casting from a structural plastic material.

Claim 8

A portable pie case according to claim 1, wherein said housing further includes a hand receiving opening in said top of said housing, said opening being laterally centered and midway between the front and rear of said housing, and wherein said opening is sized to receive a portion of a hand therethrough so that said housing can be lifted by the underside of the top.

Claim 9

A portable pie case according to claim 1, wherein each removable shelf has diagonally cut-off rear corner portions, preventing the unsanitary accumulation of food debris which would otherwise occur on the rear corners of said removable shelf.

Claim 10

A portable pie case for receiving and carrying a plurality of pies spaced vertically apart, each pie being disposed in a pie pan having a dish body and a peripheral lip, comprising: a housing having top, bottom, side and rear walls, together defining at least one pie receiving compartment; a plurality of removable pie shelves, wherein each shelf comprises a relatively thin sheet member having a pie receiving opening therein sized to receive at least a portion of the body of said pie pan, a central open space at its front to provide a hand passage for facilitating placement and removal of a pie, a support portion bordering said opening and extending about said pie pan a sufficient distance to both adequately support the weight of a pie and to restrain said pie against sliding movement in any direction, if subject to inertial force during the transporting of said pie case, and a peripheral border portion, wherein a substantial part of both said peripheral border portion and said support portion are flanged in a downward angle with respect to the shelf proper for the purpose of increasing the strength and rigidity of said removable shelf; mounting means on said side walls of said pie receiving compartment, adapted to receive and hold said removable pie shelves in a vertically spaced configuration; in combination with a delivery truck having, for said case, side wall mounting means including hook portions, wherein said pie case is adapted to be hand carried between a place where pies are manufactured, said delivery truck, and a customer's place of business, wherein said case further comprises: a plurality of spaced apart apertures defined by the rear wall of said housing, said apertures defining downwardly projecting, hook engaging portions of said rear wall which are adapted to interlock with the corresponding hook portions of its respective side wall mounting means within the delivery truck, for rigidly attaching each said pie case to a side wall of said delivery truck.

Claim 11

A portable pie case for receiving and carrying a plurality of pies spaced vertically apart, each pie being disposed in a pie pan having a dish body and a peripheral lip, comprising: a housing having top, bottom, side and rear walls, together defining at least one pie receiving compartment; a plurality of removable pie shelves, wherein each shelf comprises a relatively thin sheet member having a pie receiving opening therein sized to receive at least a portion of the body of said pie pan, a central open space at its front to provide a hand passage for facilitating placement and removal of a pie, a support portion bordering said opening and extending about said pie pan a sufficient distance to both adequately support the weight of a pie and to restrain said pie against sliding movement in any direction, if subject to inertial force during the transporting of said pie case, and a peripheral border portion, wherein a substantial part of both said peripheral border portion and said support portion are flanged in a downward angle with respect to the shelf proper for the purpose of increasing the strength and rigidity of said removable shelf; mounting means on said side walls of said pie receiving compartment, adapted to receive and hold said removable pie shelves in a vertically spaced configuration; in combination with a delivery truck having, for said case, side wall mounting means including hook portions, wherein said pie case is adapted to be hand carried between a place where pies are manufactured, said delivery truck, and a customer's place of business, wherein said case further comprises: a plurality of spaced apart apertures defined by the rear wall of said housing, said apertures defining downwardly projecting, hook engaging portions of said rear wall which are adapted to interlock with the corresponding hook portions of its respective side wall mounting means within the delivery truck, for rigidly attaching each said pie case to a side wall of said delivery truck.

Claim 12

At least one pie case in combination with a delivery truck according to claim 9, wherein each said pie case includes upper and lower apertures in its rear wall interlockable with said side wall mounting means which include respective upper and lower hook portions, wherein said upper hook portions project a moderately greater distance from a side wall of said truck than do said lower hook portions, to angle mount each said pie case by causing the upper front portion of each said case to extend forwardly of the lower front portion of any other case mounted above it, and wherein the housing of each said pie case further includes forward side edge located slideways opening upwardly, and said front wall is a panel of sheet material which is slid into and out from said slideways, wherein the forward extension of the upper front portion of each said pie case permits installation and removal of said front wall while each said pie case is mounted on a side wall of a delivery truck.

Claim 13

At least one portable pie case in combination with a delivery truck according to claim 10, wherein each side wall of the delivery truck which mounts at least one pie case is outwardly inclined a moderate amount from its bottom to its top to at least partially level the tipping of its respective pie cases which are angle mounted; whereby being more level, the chance that the contents of each pie contained therein might tend to spill out is reduced.