Food dispensers

Abstract

A food product dispenser has removably-mounted self-aligning and self-orienting e.g. trapezoidal or triangular legs which, when mounted to the dispenser, tilt the top frontwardly, and/or a lid, hinged at the rear of the receptacle, which can be converted between a self-closing lid and a lid which is not self-closing and which can be retained open by gravity, including while the dispenser is in the frontwardly-tilted orientation. The dispenser tilting frontward such that a first imaginary plane extending across the receptacle, rear to front, at the top of the receptacle, intersects a second imaginary plane extending through the bottoms of the legs, in front of the receptacle, the hinge structure, the lid, and the receptacle as a whole, including the legs, cooperate to enable the lid to be opened at a sufficiently great angle relative to the tilted top of the receptacle, that the lid can be held open by gravity.

1 . A condiment container, comprising:
 (a) a receptacle, said receptacle having a front and a rear, and opposing sides, and comprising
 (i) a bottom wall, 
 (ii) one or more upstanding walls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, to tops of the respective said one or more upstanding walls, and 
 (iii) a top opening defined inwardly of the tops of respective ones of said upstanding walls, 
 said bottom wall and said upstanding walls collectively defining a cavity inside said receptacle and accessible through the top opening, said bottom wall having an inner surface facing toward the cavity and an outer surface facing away from the cavity; 
   (b) a lid overlying at least a portion of the cavity; and   (c) at least one leg removably mounted to the outer surface of said bottom wall, said at least one leg comprising a leg top and a leg bottom, the combination of the top of said at least one leg and the outer surface of said receptacle comprising one or more cooperating sets of recesses and projections, and wherein such sets of cooperating recesses and projections define self-aligning and self-orienting structure which selectively fits together the respective projections in the respective recesses only when the fronts of the at least one legs are aligned with the front of said receptacle.   
     
     
         2 . A condiment container as in  claim 1 , said at least one leg having a leg front corresponding to the front of said receptacle and a leg rear corresponding to the rear of said receptacle, a first height of said at least one leg at the front of said leg being less than a second height of said at least one leg at the rear of said leg, such that said leg presents a trapezoidal support configuration to the bottom of said receptacle. 
     
     
         3 . A condiment container as in  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of trays in the cavity, and wherein said lid self-closes over said trays. 
     
     
         4 . A condiment container as in  claim 1 , further comprising one or more trays suspended from said receptacle flanges and extending into the cavity, the cavity having sufficient depth below said one or more trays to accommodate use of frozen chill product beneath the one or more trays without physical interference with placement of said one or more trays into the cavity. 
     
     
         5 . A hinged-lid condiment container, comprising:
 (a) a receptacle, said receptacle having a front and a rear, a top and a bottom, and opposing sides, and comprising
 (i) a bottom wall, 
 (ii) one or more upstanding walls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, to tops of the respective said one or more upstanding walls, and 
 (iii) a top opening defined inwardly of the tops of respective ones of said upstanding walls, 
 said bottom wall and said upstanding walls collectively defining a cavity inside said receptacle and accessible through the top opening, said bottom wall having an inner surface facing toward the cavity and an outer surface facing away from the cavity; 
   (b) a lid, having a front and a rear, said lid and said receptacle collectively comprising hinge structure, which engages said lid and said receptacle with each other, whereby said lid can be opened and closed relative to said receptacle about a generally rear-mounted hinge structure, said lid overlying the cavity and, when closed, covering both the front and the rear of the cavity;   (c) at least one leg mounted to the outer surface of said bottom wall, said at least one leg having a top and a bottom, a leg front corresponding to the front of said receptacle and a leg rear corresponding to the rear of said receptacle, a first height of said at least one leg at the front of said leg being less than a second height of said at least one leg at the rear of said leg, such that said leg presents a trapezoidal or triangular support configuration to the bottom of said receptacle,   
       said condiment dispenser, when supported by said one or more legs from a horizontal surface, tilting frontward such that a first imaginary plane extending across said receptacle, from the rear of said receptacle at the top of said receptacle, to the front of said receptacle at the top of said receptacle, intersects a second imaginary plane extending through the bottoms of said at least one leg, in front of said receptacle, and wherein said hinge structure, said lid, and said receptacle, including said legs, cooperate to enable said lid to be opened at a sufficiently great angle relative to the tilted top of said receptacle, that said lid can be held open by gravity. 
     
     
         6 . A hinged-lid condiment container as in  claim 5 , further comprising a hinge stop engaging the combination of said lid and said receptacle as said lid is opened, and thereby providing a self-closing feature to said lid. 
     
     
         7 . A hinged-lid condiment container as in  claim 5 , said one or more upstanding walls comprising opposing side walls, receptacle flanges extending outwardly and downwardly from said opposing side walls, each said receptacle flange defining an outwardly-extending portion and a downwardly-extending portion, further comprising a hinge access opening in said downwardly-extending portion of a given said receptacle flange. 
     
     
         8 . A hinged-lid condiment container as in  claim 6 , said one or more upstanding walls comprising opposing side walls, receptacle flanges extending outwardly and downwardly from said opposing side walls, and wherein said hinge stop comprises removable structure which moves with said hinge leaf and thereby engages said outwardly-extending portion of at least one of said receptacle flanges. 
     
     
         9 . A hinged-lid condiment container as in  claim 5 , said one or more upstanding walls comprising opposing side walls, receptacle flanges extending from said side walls, each said receptacle flange comprising an outwardly-extending portion and a downwardly-extending portion, said hinge structure comprising a hinge, including a hinge leaf, extending downwardly from said lid, further comprising an aperture in said hinge leaf, which aperture is below the respective said outwardly-extending portion of a respective one of said receptacle flanges when said lid is closed over the respective portion of the opening, and an insert extending from such aperture and operative to abut said outwardly-extending portion of the respective said receptacle flange when said lid is closed. 
     
     
         10 . A hinged-lid condiment container as in  claim 9  wherein said insert comprises a rubber-like material on an engagement surface which abuts said outwardly-extending portion of the respective said receptacle flange when said lid is closed. 
     
     
         11 . A hinged-lid condiment container as in  claim 5  wherein said hinge structure comprises a hinge, including a hinge leaf, and wherein a hinge stop is mounted on said hinge leaf. 
     
     
         12 . A hinged lid container as in  claim 5 , further comprising one or more trays suspended from said receptacle flanges and extending into the cavity, the cavity having sufficient depth below said one or more trays to accommodate use of frozen chill product beneath the trays without physical interference with placement of said one or more trays into the cavity.