Taco tray

Claim 1

A tray adapted for holding a taco in an upright position, said tray comprising a base, integral side and end walls extending upwardly from said base and in combination with said base defining an elongated cavity adapted to receive a taco, and a reinforcing flange extending around one top of said cavity and integrally connected to said top and end walls, the side walls being inwardly bowed so that longitudinally central portions thereof are narrowed with respect to the opposite longitudinal ends of said cavity to thereby form a support for a taco, the side walls diverging upwardly from said base for wedgingly receiving therebetween a taco, the side walls at the ends of the cavity being wider than the side walls at the longitudinally central part of the cavity, wherein said base is enlarged at ends thereof to provide a stable support against overturning of the tray when a taco is positioned in it, the end walls being rounded in outline, the reinforcing flange being generally rectangular in peripheral outline, the base being reinforced by a downwardly offset peripheral rib, said rib also defining the supporting surface for said base, the ratio of the length of the cavity to the narrowest distance between the inwardly bowed side walls being greater than a factor of three, the ratio of the width of the widest part of the base ends of the cavity to the width of the narrowest part of the cavity being at least a factor of two, whereby a taco in the cavity is wedgingly engaged along a portion of its sides by at least the narrowest cavity portions defined by the inwardly bowed side walls of the cavity and a portion of the taco adapted to extend above the top of the cavity, and wherein the widest portions of the downwardly offset peripheral base rib, considered transversely of the longitudinal axis of the cavity, are wider than the widest portion of a taco adapted to be placed in the cavity, to thereby inhibit tipping over of the tray when a taco is placed in the cavity.