Tray for the field drying of fruit

Claim 2

A tray for the field drying of fruit comprising a substantially planar rectangular sheet of plastic material adapted to receive fruit to be dried thereon when the tray is disposed on the ground, said tray having substantially parallel side edges, being longitudinally corrugated, to resist longitudinal flexibility and transversely foldable over fruit received thereon to form a roll encapsulating the fruit, said edges being fitted for releasable latched engagement when the tray is transversely folded to maintain the tray in said rolled configuration, substantially coextensively with the length of the sheet.

Claim 3

The tray of claim 1 in which said sheet has a longitudinal edge curved from the plane of the sheet to form a hook and an opposite longitudinal edge engageable by the hook releasably to retain the tray in rolled condition.

Claim 4

The tray of claim 1 in which the corrugations have hills and valleys when the tray is disposed substantially flatly on the ground and the valleys are perforated to permit drainage of rain water therethrough.

Claim 5

The tray of claim 3 in which the sheet has tabs individual to the perforations in covering relation to their respective perforations when the portions of the tray in which they are disposed are inverted as in rolling for protection from the weather.

Claim 6

The tray of claim 1 in which one of the side edges is upwardly return bent and the opposite side edge is downwardly return bent for said releasable latched engagement when the tray is transversely folded.

Claim 7

A tray for the field drying of fruit adapted to receive fruit to be dried and to rest on uneven ground comprising: A. a substantially planar sheet of flexible, resilient plastic material having predetermined longitudinal and transverse directions; B. a longitudinally extending elongated valley formed in the sheet whereby the tray is relatively less flexible in the longitudinal direction to resist sagging when rested on the ground and relatively more flexible in the transverse direction to facilitate rolling the tray transversely from a planar condition to a rolled condition encapsulating fruit received on the tray; C. the valley is upwardly open when the tray is in the planar condition and has a floor which is downwardly spaced from the plane of the sheet when the tray is in said condition; D. the floor has a drainage perforation defined therein which extends downwardly therethrough when the tray is in its planar condition; and E. a tab mounted on the floor adjacent to the perforation, the tab extending in covering relation to said perforation when the tray is inverted as a portion thereof is when the tray is in the rolled condition.

Claim 8

A tray for the field drying of fruit adapted to receive fruit to be dried and to rest on uneven ground comprising: A. a substantially planar sheet of flexible, resilient plastic material having predetermined longitudinal and transverse directions; B. a longitudinally extending elongated valley formed in the sheet whereby the tray is relatively less flexible in the longitudinal direction to resist sagging when rested on the ground and relatively more flexible in the transverse direction to facilitate rolling the tray transversely from a planar condition to a rolled condition encapsulating fruit received on the tray; C. the valley is upwardly open when the tray is in the planar condition and has a floor which is downwardly spaced from the plane of the sheet when the tray is in said condition; D. the floor has a drainage perforation defined therein which extends downwardly therethrough when the tray is in its planar condition; and E. a tab mounted on the floor adjacent to the perforation, the tab extending in covering relation to said perforation when the tray is inverted as a portion thereof is when the tray is in the rolled condition.

Claim 9

The tray of claim 6 wherein: A. the sheet is substantially rectangular, having a central portion provided with said valley and a pair of longitudinally extending edges disposed transversely oppositely of said portion; B. one of said edges is extended downwardly from the central portion when the tray is in the unrolled condition and is curved toward said portion defining a convex surface of the edge disposed away from said portion; and C. the other of said edges is extended upwardly from the central portion when the tray is in the unrolled condition and is curved toward said portion defining a concave surface disposed toward said portion and engageable in releasable hooking relation with the concave surface when the tray is in the rolled condition so as to retain the tray in said condition.

Claim 10

The tray of claim 6 wherein: A. the perforation has a pair of transversely opposite sides; and B. the tab extends downwardly from one of said sides when the tray is in the unrolled condition and toward the other of said sides to a distal end downwardly spaced from said one side when the tray is in said condition, defining a transversely facing opening between said distal end and said other side, whereby the perforation is screened from access in a downward direction toward said floor when the tray is in the rolled condition and the floor is upwardly disposed.

Claim 11

The tray of claim 8 wherein: A. said central portion has a pair of interconnected sections extended in transversely opposite directions from the transverse midline of said portion; B. each of said sections has at least one of said valleys and each valley is provided with at least one of said perforations, each perforation having a respective one of said tabs defining a respective one of said transversely facing openings; and C. the openings in each of said sections face transversely away from the other of said sections.

Claim 12

The tray of claim 6 wherein: A. the sheet is substantially rectangular, has a pair of longitudinally opposite edges, is provided with a plurality of said valleys, the floors of the valleys being disposed substantially the same distance downwardly from the plane of the sheet when the tray is in the unrolled condition; B. the valleys have individual, longitudinally open, longitudinal ends disposed at one of said edges and have individual, longitudinally opposite, longitudinally closed ends spaced toward said one edge from the other of said edges; and C. the tray includes a plurality of projections spaced in a transversely extending row between said closed ends of the valleys and the other of said edges, the projections being formed in the sheet and extending downwardly from the plane thereof when the tray is in the unrolled condition to individual tips disposed downwardly of said plane a substantially greater distance than said floors are disposed whereby, when the tray is rested on the ground supported on said distal ends and said floors, the tips of the valleys are elevated above the open ends thereof to facilitate the drainage of rain water longitudinally along the valleys.

Claim 13

The tray of claim 10 wherein the projections are upwardly open when the tray is in the unrolled condition and are provided with individual perforations extended through their tips to permit drainage of rain water therethrough when the tip is downwardly disposed from the plane of the sheet as in said condition.