Collapsible Container For Air Shipment of Cargo Having Peaked Top and Method of Use

Abstract

A collapsible cargo container is configurable into an erected condition and a collapsed condition. The container comprises a base, a pair of opposed side walls hinged to the base, a top hinged to the side walls joined in a unitary ring, a front wall hinged to the base, a back wall hinged to the base, flaps hinged to the side walls and top, and a door formed in one of the walls. Fasteners secure the flaps to the front and back walls when the container is in the erected condition. The front and back walls are collapsible upon the base and the side walls and top are collapsible upon the front and back walls when the container is in the collapsed condition.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/385,509 filed Mar. 21, 2006 entitled “Collapsible Container for Air Shipment Cargo and Method of Use” which is fully incorporated by reference herein. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/385,509 is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/227,738 filed Sep. 15, 2005 entitled “Collapsible Container for Air Shipment Cargo and Method of Use.” Both of these patent applications are fully incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a collapsible container for use in an aircraft cargo hold.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Special containers are used on aircraft for storing fragile parcels containing breakable or perishable goods, or for storing passenger luggage. Due to the limited space available in aircraft cargo holds, the shape of such a container is generally designed to fit the shape of the walls of the aircraft cargo hold or luggage compartment. One of the most important factors airlines use in selecting a suitable container for use in an aircraft cargo hold is gross weight. The heavier the container, the heavier the airplane and the more fuel that must be used to fly a predetermined distance.

In order to reduce the space occupied by such a container once it has been emptied, such a container has been designed to collapse. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,612 discloses a collapsible aircraft container which has a rigid base frame supporting an accordion folding frame. The collapsible container has sides made of canvas and sheet metal plates. The frames are made of steel. Therefore, the container is heavy, even when empty.

Another collapsible aircraft container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,405. This collapsible aircraft container has a base, support posts and roof made of aluminum and flexible side walls formed from light weight fabric. Again, due to the support posts, the container is heavy, even when empty.

In each of these collapsible aircraft containers, the less the weight the better, as long as the container is sturdy enough to handle normal wear and tear of such use. Consequently, there is a need for a light weight collapsible airline container which does not include a frame or support posts, thereby reducing its weight.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a collapsible cargo container which is configurable into an erected condition and a collapsed condition. The container comprises a base, a pair of opposed side walls hinged to the base, each of the side walls having two sections joined by a living hinge, a top hinged to the side walls, a front wall hinged to the base, a back wall hinged to the base, flaps hinged to the side walls and top, and a door formed in one of the walls. The top has a peak and two inclined sections extending downwardly from the peak. Fasteners secure the flaps to the front and back walls when the container is in the erected condition. The front and back walls are collapsible upon the base and the side walls and top are collapsible upon the front and back walls when the container is in the collapsed condition.

The base, top, side walls, front wall, and back wall can be plastic. The fasteners can be rotatable latches. Each of the rotatable latches can be attached to the flaps, and the front and back walls can be provided with openings for receiving the rotatable latches. Each of the side walls can have an upper side wall section co-planar with a lower side wall section when the container is in an erected condition. Each of the side walls can be hinged to form an upper section or portion and a lower section or portion, such that when the container is collapsed, the upper section of the side wall overlies the lower section of the side wall. The back wall can have an upper portion hinged to a lower portion, such that when the container is collapsed, the upper portion of the back wall overlies the lower portion of the back wall. The upper portion of the back wall can angle forwardly relative to the lower portion of the back wall. The door can be lockable in a closed position. The base, side walls, and top can be hinged together via living hinges. The base, side walls, and top can be integrally formed as a single, one-piece structure or ring. The ring may comprise multiple pieces welded together to form a unitary structure for strength and stabililty. The front and back walls can be hinged to the base via extruded hinges. Some of the flaps may be secured to the side walls and/or top via living hinges and other flaps may be secured to the side walls and/or top via extruded hinges. In one embodiment, the flaps that are secured to the back wall with fasteners and that are hinged to the upper side wall sections and hinged to the top are hinged thereto with extruded hinges, and the flaps that are secured to the front wall with fasteners and that are hinged to the lower side wall sections are hinged thereto with living hinges. The door can be formed in the front wall.

In another aspect, the present invention is a method of erecting a collapsed cargo container. The method comprises the steps of providing a collapsed cargo container having a base, a pair of opposed side walls hinged to the base, a top hinged to the side walls, a front wall hinged to the base, a back wall hinged to the base, flaps hinged to the side walls and top, and a door formed in one of the walls, lifting the top and side walls of the container to thereby erect the side walls of the container, lifting the front wall of the container to pivot the front wall of the container forwardly relative to the base of the container, fastening flaps on the side walls and top to the front wall with fasteners, lifting the back wall of the container to pivot the back wall of the container rearwardly relative to the base of container, and fastening flaps on the side walls and top to the back wall with fasteners such that when fully erected the side walls of the container are vertical.

The fasteners can be rotatable latches attached to the flaps, and the method can further comprise the steps of providing openings in the front and back walls, passing the rotatable latches through the openings, and rotating the latches.

In yet another aspect, a collapsible cargo container is provided which is configurable into an erected condition and a collapsed condition which comprises a base, a pair of opposed side walls hinged to the base, a top hinged to the side walls, wherein said base, side walls and top are integral with each other, a front wall hinged to the base, a back wall hinged to the base, flaps hinged to the side walls and top, and a door formed in one of the walls. Fasteners secure the flaps to the front and back walls when the container is in the erected condition. The side walls, top, front wall, and back wall are collapsible so as to be substantially parallel to, and generally in close proximity to, the base when the container is in the collapsed condition.

In still another aspect, a method of erecting a collapsed cargo container comprises the steps of providing a collapsed cargo container having a base, a pair of opposed side walls hinged to the base, a top hinged to the side walls, a front wall hinged to the base, a back wall hinged to the base, flaps hinged to the side walls and top, and a door formed in one of the walls, the side walls, top, front wall, and back wall being collapsed so as to be substantially parallel to, and generally in close proximity to, the base, and, in no particular order, lifting the top and side walls of the container to thereby erect the side walls of the container into a vertical orientation, lifting the front wall of the container to pivot the front wall of the container forwardly relative to the base of the container, fastening flaps on the side walls and top to the front wall with fasteners, lifting the back wall of the container to pivot the back wall of the container rearwardly relative to the base of container, and fastening flaps on the side walls and top to the back wall with fasteners.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the container of the present invention in an erected condition;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the container of the present invention in a collapsed condition;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the container of FIG. 2 illustrating the side walls being erected;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the container of FIG. 3 illustrating the front wall being erected;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 4 illustrating the flaps being secured to the front wall of the erected container;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the container of FIG. 5 illustrating the back wall in a collapsed condition;

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the container of FIG. 6 illustrating the back wall being erected;

FIG. 8A is a perspective view of one of the rotatable latches used in accordance with the present invention in an unlocked position;

FIG. 8B is a perspective view of the rotatable latch of FIG. 8A in a FIG. 9 is a bottom perspective view of the erected container of FIG. 1 illustrating the base of the container;

FIG. 10 is a front elevational view taken along the line 10-10 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a front perspective view of the erected container of FIG. 1 illustrating products being placed into the interior of the container;

FIG. 12 is a view taken along the line 12-12 of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 13 is a view taken along line 13-13 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 11, there is illustrated a collapsible container 10 according to the present invention, shown in its erected condition. In FIGS. 2 and 10, the container 10 is shown in its collapsed condition. The collapsible container 10 is designed for use inside an aircraft cargo or luggage hold but may be used in other environments or for other purposes.

The container 10 comprises a base 12 (FIG. 9), a pair of opposed side walls 14, 14 hinged to the base 12, a top 16 hinged to the side walls 14, 14, a front wall 18 hinged to the base 12, and a back wall 20 (FIGS. 6 and 7) hinged to the base 12. The top 16 has a peak 5 and two sections 6 extending downwardly and outwardly in an inclined orientation from the peak 5 when the container 10 is shown in its erected condition. Such a roof or top 16 allows rain and snow to run off the roof, thereby preventing damage to the container. The top sections 6 are joined via living hinges 50 to the side walls 14, 14 as shown in the drawings. At the front of the container 10, flaps 22, 24 are hinged to the side walls 14, 14, and flaps 26 are hinged to the top 16. As shown in FIGS. 5-7, at the back of the container 10, flaps 28, 29 and 30 are hinged to the side walls 14, 14, and flaps 32 are hinged to the top 16.

A door 34 is formed in one of the walls. The door can be formed in, for example, the front wall 18. Fasteners 36 (FIGS. 8A and 8B) secure the flaps 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32 to their respective front wall 18 and rear wall 20, when the container 10 is in the erected condition. Fasteners 36 can be of the quarter turn variety having a stationary portion 38 and a rotatable portion 40. One fastener or rotatable latch which has proven satisfactory is sold by Friedola Tech Holzapfel Gmbh as Part No. M931020. See www.friedola-tech.de. However any other suitable latch or fastener may be used. Rotatable portion 40 is passed through a cooperating opening 42 and turned a quarter turn to secure the flaps 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32 to the front and rear walls 18, 20. The fasteners 36 can be attached to the flaps 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32 and the openings 42 can be formed in the front and back walls 18, 20, or, the fasteners 36 can be attached to the front and back walls 18, 20 and the openings 42 can be formed in the flaps 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32. As illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B, fastener 36 is mounted to the inward facing surface of flaps 26 and the corresponding opening is formed in the front wall 18; a similar mounting arrangement can be employed for flaps 28, 29, 30, 32 and back wall 20. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 11, when the container 10 is in its collapsed condition, the front 18 and back 20 walls are collapsible upon the base 12 and the side walls 14, 14 and top 16 are collapsible upon the front 18 and back 20 walls.

The base 12, side walls 14, 14, top 16, front wall 18, and back wall 20 are preferably made of a honeycomb plastic material. For example, one such suitable plastic material from which to construct the container 10 is sold under the trademark CON-PEARL® by Friedola Gebr. Holzapfel Gmbh & Co., Germany. However, other materials or other configurations may be used without departing from the present invention.

More particularly, the base 12, side walls 14, 14, and top 16 can be hinged together via living hinges 50, i.e hinges formed by creasing, scoring, or folding the material forming the base 12, side walls 14, 14, and top 16 to create a ring for strength and stability. To increase the stiffness and structural integrity of the container 10, base 12, side walls 14, 14 and top 16 can be formed as a single, integral, one-piece structure or ring. In other words, rather than joining separate panels of material together via extrusions or the like to form the container, one or more separate panels or pieces of material can be thermally butt welded or similarly secured without additional fasteners via “hand seaming” shown by dashed lines 8 in the drawings. Although the welds 8 are shown in selected locations, they may be in other alternative locations. For example, if the base 12, side walls 14, 14, and top 16 were stamped out, laser-cut for die-cut as a single sheet or blank, then maybe only a single such butt weld would be required; if out of two sheets or blanks, then two such butt welds would be required; if out of three sheets or blanks, then three such butt welds would be required, and etc. The number of sheets or blanks required to form the base 12, side walls 14, 14, top 16, front wall 18 and rear wall 20 of the container 10 is dictated by the forming machinery and its capabilities. In any event, the resulting integrally formed structure is a single, one-piece, unitary structure or ring, and as such, exhibits superior structural integrity characteristics over a structure formed from separate panels secured together with extrusions.

Further, each side wall 14 can have an upper section 60 hinged to a lower section 62 via a living hinge 64. See FIG. 1. The upper section 60 is generally co-planar with the lower section 62 when the container 10 is in its erected condition to provide a side profile of container 10 which mates with or otherwise matches the geometry of the cargo hold of the air craft in which the container 10 is to be used. The side wall 14 can be hinged as at 64 (living hinge) to facilitate collapsing the container. When the container 10 is collapsed (FIGS. 2 and 11), the upper section 60 of the side wall 14 overlies the lower section 62 of the side wall 14.

If the forming machinery is capable, the front wall 18 and the back wall 20 can likewise be hinged to the base 12 with living hinges, i.e. the base 12, side walls 14, 14, top 16, front wall 18, and back wall 20 can be stamped out, laser-cut or die-cut as a single sheet or blank. If the forming machinery is not so capable, then the front wall 18 and rear wall 20 can be hinged to the base 12 with extruded plastic hinges 70, 72, respectively. See FIGS. 1 and 7. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13, hinge 70 (and 72) can include a pair of U-shaped receptacles 74, 76 and a flexible joining member 78 joining the receptacles 74, 76 and allowing them to move relative to one another. One exemplary hinge for use at 70 and 72 is an extruded plastic hinge made by the Bradford Company, Holland, Mich. Other suitable hinges may, of course, be used.

Again, if the forming machinery is capable, the front flaps 22, 24, and 26 can be stamped out, laser-cut or die-cut integral with the sheet or blank of material from which the container 10 is constructed. In that case, the flaps 22, 24, and 26 can be hinged to the lower section 62 of side wall 14, upper section 60 of side wall 14, and top 16, respectively with living hinges 80 as shown in FIG. 1. The same approach can be taken with the back flaps 28, 29, 30, 32, again with the forming machinery permitting. If the forming machinery does not permit the back flaps to be stamped out, laser-cut or die-cut integral with the sheet or blank of material from which the container 10 is constructed, one or more of the flaps can be hinged to the side walls 14, 14 and/or top 16 with extruded plastic hinges of the type discussed above. As illustrated in FIGS. 5-7, flaps 28 and 29 are hinged to lower and upper sections 62, 60, respectively, of side wall 14 with living hinges 82, whereas flaps 30 and 32 are hinged to the upper side wall sections 60 and top 16 with extruded plastic hinges 84, 86, respectively.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, it will be seen that back wall 20 can have an upper portion 90 hinged to a lower portion 92 via living hinge 94. Upper portion 90 can angle forwardly relative to lower portion 92 when the container 10 is in an erected condition to provide a rear profile of container 10 which mates with or otherwise matches the geometry of the cargo hold of the air craft in which the container 10 is to be used. Again, forming machinery permitting, back wall 20 could be stamped out as a single panel, or it could be stamped out as a part of the sheet or blank of material from which the container 10 is constructed. On the other hand, if desired or required, the back wall 20 can be fabricated as shown, i.e. in hinged upper and lower portions. Upper and lower portion 90, 92 can be hinged together with a living hinge 94, or alternatively, and as illustrated, the portions can be hinged with an extruded plastic hinge of the type described above.

As shown in the FIGS. 1, 5, 9, and 11, front wall 18 has a door 34. The door 34 can have left and right hand portions or sections 100, 102. Each door section 100, 102 can be hinged to the front wall 18 with a vertically oriented hinge 104, and is movable between a closed position as shown in FIG. 1 and an open position as shown in FIG. 11. The door sections 100, 102 can be latched or locked together in a closed position with latches 106, 108. Any desired number of latches or locks may be used. One suitable latch is manufactured by McMaster-Carr, Aurora, Ohio, and is sold as Part Nos. 10425 A86 and 10425 A84. See www.mcmaster.com. Either or both of the latches 106, 108 can be locked if desired. Other suitable latches could as well be employed.

FIG. 12 illustrates hinge 104 in further detail. Hinge 104 can be, for example, a 270 degree hinge extrusion manufactured by Filtrona Extrusion, Athol, Mass. and sold as Part No. 1440. See www.filtrona.com. However, other suitable hinges could as well be employed. For example, the hinges 70, 72 described above made by the Bradford Company, Holland, Mich. could be used as well. As shown in FIG. 12, hinge 104 comprises a pair of generally U-shaped receptacles 110, 112 retaining front wall 18 and the left hand door section 100, respectively. The hinge 104 further comprises a joining member 114 which enables movement of the receptacles 110, 112 and their contents relative to one another. As shown in FIG. 4, nylon straps 120 can be attached at their upper ends to the outside surface of the front wall 18 to facilitate raising the front wall 18 from a horizontal collapsed position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to an erected or raised position shown in FIG. 5. Similarly, nylon straps 66 can be attached to the side walls 14, 14 to facilitate raising the side walls 14, 14 from a partially folded collapsed position shown in FIG. 3 to an erected or raised position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-11, the steps in the method of erecting the collapsible container 10 are illustrated. Operators or assemblers 94a, 94b and 94c first lift the top 16 and upper side wall sections 60 of side walls 14 as shown in FIG. 3 using handles 66, thereby erecting side walls 14 as shown in FIG. 4. At this point the front and back walls 18, 20 are in a partially collapsed condition atop base 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, operator 94a grabs straps 120 and pulls them upwardly and/or forwardly to raise or pivot upwardly front wall 18. More than one operator may be used to pull up the front wall 18 if desired. Front wall 18 is raised first since it lays on top of rear wall 20 when the front and rear walls 18, 20 are collapsed upon base 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, a living hinge 3 extends across the width of the front wall 18 so that in order to collapse properly, an upper portion 4 of the front wall 18 may be folded on top of the remainder of the front wall 18. See FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 5, after the front wall 18 is erected or raised, assembler 94a opens the door 34 and assembler 94b enters the interior of the partially erected container 10. Assembler 94a remains outside the container 10. The assembler 94a folds the front flaps 22, 24, 26 against the front wall 18 causing the rotatable portions 40 of the latches 36 to pass through openings 42 in front wall 18 as shown in FIG. 8A. The assembler 94b inside the container 10 rotates the rotatable portions 40 of the latches 36 as shown in FIG. 8B to secure the side walls 14 and top 16 to the front wall 18.

The assemblers 94a, 94b next turn their attention to the back wall 20. Assembler 94b steps around to the back of the container 10. Assembler 94a enters the interior of the container via door 34 and raises the upper and lower portions 90, 92 of the back wall 20 upwardly, pivoting the back wall 20 rearwardly relative to the base 12. Once he is able to reach it, assembler 94b grasps the upper portion 90 of the back wall 20 and raises it upwardly and forwardly, thereby pivoting the upper portion 90 forwardly relative to the lower portion 92. Once back wall 20 is completely erected, the assembler 94b folds the flaps 28, 29, 30, 32 against the back wall 20 causing the rotatable portions 40 of the latches 36 to pass through openings 42 in back wall 20 similar to the process shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The assembler 94a inside the container 10 rotates the rotatable portions 40 of the latches 36 as shown in FIG. 8B to secure the side walls 14 and top 16 to the back wall 20.

After the container 10 is fully assembled, the door 34 may be closed and locked, if necessary, after products or items 96 are loaded inside the interior 98 of the container 10. See FIG. 11.

To collapse the erected container 10, the above steps are performed in reverse. The resulting collapsed container 10, as shown in FIG. 10, has the front and back walls 18, 20 collapsed upon the base 12 and the side walls 14 and top wall 16 collapsed upon the front and back walls 18, 20. More particularly, the upper section 60 of each side wall 14 folds about living hinge 64 so that the upper section 60 of each side wall 14 overlies the lower section 62 of the side wall 14.

The embodiments of the invention shown and described are for illustrative purposes only. The drawings and the description shall not limit in any way the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. While those skilled in the art may make various changes to, or additional embodiments of, the invention, none of those changes/embodiments shall be deemed to depart from the spirit of the invention. Thus, all such changes/embodiments shall be embraced by the scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

For example, the claims are not limited to the illustrated order of collapsing (and erecting) the side walls, top, and front and back walls. Any other order of collapsing (and erecting) the container shall be within the scope of the claims. In other words, the order of collapsing (and erecting) the top and side walls, and the front and back walls, can be reversed. That is to say, the front and back walls can be collapsed first upon the base, and then the top and side walls can be collapsed onto the front and back walls. And, the order of collapsing (and erecting) the front and back walls can be reversed. That is to say, the front wall can be collapsed first upon the base, and then the back wall can be collapsed upon the front wall. And, the order of collapsing (and erecting) the top and side walls can be reversed. That is to say, the top can be collapsed first upon the base, and then the side walls can be collapsed upon the top.

Furthermore, an alternating order of collapsing (and erecting) can be employed. That is to say, the front wall can be collapsed first, the top and side walls can be collapsed second, and the back wall can be collapsed third. Or, the back wall can be collapsed first, the top and side walls can be collapsed second, and the front wall can be collapsed third. And, within such an alternating order of collapsing (and erecting) the container, the order of collapsing the top and side walls can be reversed. All of these combinations and permutations of collapsing the container result in a collapsed container wherein the side walls, top, front wall, and back wall are substantially parallel to, and generally in close proximity to, the base, and accordingly, any and all combinations and permutations of collapsing the elements of the collapsible container of this invention are within the scope of the claims.

Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A collapsible cargo container configurable into an erected condition

and a collapsed condition, said container comprising:

a base,

a pair of opposed side walls hinged to said base, each of said side walls having two sections joined by a living hinge,

a top hinged to said side walls, said top having a peak and two inclined sections extending downwardly from said peak,

a front wall hinged to said base,

a back wall hinged to said base,

flaps hinged to said side walls and top,

a door formed in one of said walls,

fasteners securing said flaps to said front and back walls when said container is in the erected condition,

said front and back walls being collapsible upon said base and

wherein each of said side walls is hinged to form an upper section and a lower section, such that when said container is collapsed, said upper section of said side wall overlies said lower section of said side wall.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein said base, top, side walls, front wall, and back wall are plastic.

3. The container of claim 1 wherein said fasteners are rotatable latches.

4. The container of claim 3 wherein each of said rotatable latches are attached to said flaps, and said front and back walls are provided with openings for receiving said rotatable latches.

5. The container of claim 1 wherein each of said side walls has an upper side wall section co-planar with a lower side wall section when said container is in the erected condition.

6. The container of claim 1 wherein said back wall has an upper portion hinged to a lower portion, such that when said container is collapsed, said upper portion of said back wall overlies said lower portion of said back wall.

7. The container of claim 1 wherein said door is lockable in a closed position.

8. The container of claim 1 wherein said base, side walls, and top are hinged together via living hinges.

9. The container of claim 1 wherein said base, side walls, top and flanges are hinged together via living hinges.

10. The container of claim 1 wherein said front and back walls are hinged to said base via extruded hinges.

11. A method of erecting a collapsed cargo container comprising the steps of:

providing a collapsed cargo container having a base, a pair of opposed side walls hinged to the base, a top hinged to the side walls, a front wall hinged to the base, a back wall hinged to the base, flaps hinged to the side walls and top, and a door formed in one of the walls,

lifting the top and side walls of the container to thereby erect the side walls of the container,

lifting the front wall of the container to pivot the front wall of the container forwardly relative to the base of the container,

fastening flaps on the side walls and top to the front wall with fasteners,

lifting the back wall of the container to pivot the back wall of the container rearwardly relative to the base of container, and

fastening flaps on the side walls and top to the back wall with fasteners such that when fully erected the side walls of the container are vertical.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the fasteners are rotatable latches attached to the flaps, and further comprising the steps of:

providing openings in the front and back walls,

passing the rotatable latches through the openings, and

rotating the latches.

13. A collapsible cargo container configurable into an erected condition and a collapsed condition, said container comprising:

a base,

a pair of opposed side walls hinged to said base,

a top hinged to said side walls, wherein said base, side walls and top are integral with each other,

a front wall hinged to said base,

a back wall hinged to said base,

flaps hinged to said side walls and top with living hinges,

a door formed in one of said walls,

fasteners securing said flaps to said front and back walls when said container is in the erected condition,

said side walls, top, front wall, and back wall being collapsible so as to be substantially parallel to, and generally in close proximity to, said base when said container is in the collapsed condition.

14. The container of claim 13 wherein said base, top, side walls, front wall, and back wall are plastic.

15. The container of claim 13 wherein said fasteners are rotatable latches.

16. The container of claim 15 wherein each of said rotatable latches are attached to said flaps, and said front and back walls are provided with openings for receiving said rotatable latches.

17. The container of claim 13 wherein each of said side walls has an upper side wall section hinged to a lower side wall section.

18. The container of claim 13 wherein each of said side walls is hinged to form an upper section and a lower section, such that when said container is collapsed, said upper section of said side wall overlies said lower section of said side wall.

19. The container of claim 18 wherein said upper side wall sections are co-planar relative to said lower side wall sections when the container is erected.

20. The container of claim 13 wherein said back wall has an upper portion hinged to a lower portion, such that when said container is collapsed, said upper portion of said back wall overlies said lower portion of said back wall.

21. The container of claim 20 wherein said upper portion of said back wall is angled forwardly relative to said lower portion of said back wall when the container is erected.

22. The container of claim 13 wherein said door is lockable in a closed position.

23. The container of claim 13 wherein said base, side walls, and top are hinged together via living hinges.

24. The container of claim 23 wherein said base, side walls, and top are a single structure or ring.

25. The container of claim 13 wherein said front and back walls are hinged to said base via extruded hinges.

26. The container of claim 13 wherein said flaps that are secured to said front wall with fasteners are hinged to said side walls and top via living hinges.

27. The container of claim 24 wherein some of said flaps are secured to said ring with extruded hinges, and said some of said flaps are secured to said ring with living hinges.

28. The container of claim 13 wherein said door is formed in said front wall.

29. A method of erecting a collapsed cargo container comprising the steps of:

providing a collapsed cargo container having a base, a pair of opposed side walls hinged to the base, a top hinged to the side walls, a front wall hinged to the base, a back wall hinged to the base, flaps hinged to the side walls and top, and a door formed in one of the walls, the side walls, top, front wall, and back wall being collapsed so as to be substantially parallel to, and generally in close proximity to, the base,

in no particular order:

lifting the top and side walls of the container to thereby erect the side walls of the container into a vertical orientation,

lifting the front wall of the container to pivot the front wall of the container forwardly relative to the base of the container,

fastening flaps on the side walls and top to the front wall with fasteners,

lifting the back wall of the container to pivot the back wall of the container rearwardly relative to the base of container, and

fastening flaps on the side walls and top to the back wall with fasteners.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the fasteners are rotatable latches attached to the flaps, and further comprising the steps of:

providing openings in the front and back walls,

passing the rotatable latches through the openings, and

rotating the latches.