Container including variable position compartment dividers

Claim 1

A compartmental container comprising a molded plastic container including a bottom and sides, said molded plastic container also including a plurality of spaced apart partitions molded integrally with said container, said integral partitions extending between the sides and defining a plurality of compartments, each of said partitions having opposite faces, at least one of the faces including a plurality of uniformly spaced, generally linear and parallel ribs extending in a direction generally perpendicular to said bottom of said container, and a plastic divider member extending between a pair of said partitions and dividing the compartment into a first compartment portion and a second compartment portion, the divider having opposite ends, one of the opposite ends having a first end flange and a second end flange, said first and second end flanges having an edge integrally joined with said first opposite end, said first end flange and said second end flange extending in generally opposed directions, said first end flange having a first face and said second end flange having a second face, said first face and said second face being in opposed facing relation to one of said faces of said partitions and having a plurality of uniformly spaced, generally linear and parallel ribs adapted to engage the ribs of said one of said faces of said one of said partitions, the other opposite end having a third end flange and a fourth end flange, said third and fourth end flanges having an edge integrally joined with said other opposite end and extending in generally opposed directions, said third end flange having a third face and said fourth end flange having a fourth face, said third face and said fourth face in opposed facing relation to one of said partitions and each having a plurality of uniformly spaced generally linear and parallel ribs adapted to engage the ribs on the face of the other of said partitions, said first and second and third and fourth end flanges each being resiliently flexible and resiliently biased into engagement with said partitions, said divider member being slidable between a retracted position wherein said divider is removed from between said pair of partitions and an inserted position wherein said divider is positioned between said pair of partitions and wherein said ribs prevent slidable movement of said divider in the longitudinal direction of said parallel partitions, and said divider member having a resiliently flexible central wall portion extending between said opposite ends.