COVER CONTAINED FOLDABLE CONTAINER APPARATUS

Abstract

A sheet of material or combination of materials formed as a container system which when folded fits into a cover mechanism for easy storage. Container walls fold onto the container base to lay flat either on the base or on adjacent folded walls folded onto the base. A system of hinges, in some embodiments living hinges, afford complete foldability into the cover mechanism. A support bar system and mechanism to be used in conjunction with the container system wherein the proximal portion and the distal portion each comprise at least one extension for interlocking to prevent the container system from collapsing.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of and takes priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/919,974 filed on Dec. 23, 2013, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present system pertains to storage, consumption and transport systems of commonly stored items. The concept includes systems for sealing and resealing of food products which, in conjunction, afford the user transportability, storage and usability for direct consumption from the system.

2. Description of the Related Art

Presently, storage containers are large and bulky. They require a lot of space on store shelves or store floors and a lot of space in homes, offices, warehouses and the like. Containers are used for storage of clothing, shoes, home goods, bathroom items, tools, golf items, construction materials, etc. Containers are made of fabric, cardboard, plastic, glass, wood, rubber and the like or combinations of materials. In general, containers have a box form with a plurality of walls, a base and a cover. The cover may be connected to the box or separate. It would be desirable to have a box which folds to become small enough to fit inside its cover. The box and cover when fit together would be the size of the cover. The thickness of the box wall and base when combined which occurs when folded, would be similar to the thickness of its cover. The thickness of the folded box would be similar or slightly smaller or larger than the thickness of it cover. To allow the final dimensions of a folded box to fit in its cover, the walls would have to fold inward onto its base. Several walls could fold out and others fold in but it is most desirable to have the walls fold inward. Walls folding outward could only fit in a cover if walls diverged enough to create a cover size that would allow the collapsed container to fit.

In the case of food storage, presently, food is transported or stored in sealed containers made of glass or plastic. Containers include Ziploc® bags and various shapes of bowl like containers such as Rubbermaid, Tupperware® Etc. Leftover food is stored in sealed containers in a refrigerator, on counter tops or in cabinets. Adults and children bring food to school, the work place, on trips or the like in sealed containers. Often, containers are not returned to the owner as occurs when people bring food to someone else's house for a holiday. Children often transport containers to school and dislike the responsibility of, or plainly forget to bring the containers home.

Many food storage containers comprise a box or bowl with four sides. A top covers the container with a friction or snap on fit. It is difficult to store food containers as they vary in size, have separate covers and different shapes. Kitchen drawers are usually not big enough to store containers so cabinets or oversized drawers are used. People buy containers individually and often buy different brands, shapes and materials. The attempt to store these different containers creates a disorganized array of containers that are hard to find and often difficult to match up with their covers. People find it frustrating.

Food containers are sold individually in stores as different sizes, shapes, brands, colors, etc. People require different sizes and shapes to store different amounts of leftovers or to transport food. Food is transported for company events, family get together, to lunch, for children's lunch boxes, and the like which requires different sizes. Stores sell some as multiple units stacked into each other. The amount of volume required is extensive on store shelves as well as in the kitchen. It would be desirable to have a container that can be stored flat to take up minimal space in a store and in a kitchen. It would further be desirable to have a cover reversibly attached to a container for easy storage and to find it easily. It would be further desirable to be able to store a container within its cover.

Present technology uses stacking and attaches covers to a container to minimize these problems but even then, to store small, medium and large sizes is difficult without taking up a lot of space and requiring a lot of work. Often, people get frustrated and simply throw containers into drawers hoping to find them later. Companies attempt to coordinate containers so that the containers fit into other containers within a company's own brand. People often have many containers and are not looking to buy extensive sets of containers. They often buy one or two containers if the need arises. The ones they buy rarely are of the same brand, same shape or sizes as their previous ones so storage is difficult. It would be desirable to have a container that can be collapsed flat for easy storage separate from the ones a person presently owns.

Concurrent containers are difficult to store and the inherently differing sizes, various shapes and separate covering apparatuses render storing containers difficult, as many containers do not fit together, consequently, storage in kitchen cabinets, drawers and pantries requires a lot of space. Ziploc® bags provide sealed storage of food however, it's collapsible nature make it difficult to store foods which contain liquid, and soft or gel like material such as mashed potatoes or stew. Ziploc® bags do not provide or maintain a suitable shape to eat food directly from the bags alone, and often require support. They do, however, take little storage space on a store shelf or in a kitchen cabinet as the fold compactly into a box. It would be desirable to have storage containers do the same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The instant apparatus and system, as illustrated herein, is clearly not anticipated, rendered obvious, or even present in any of the prior art mechanisms, either alone or in any combination thereof. The versatile system, method and series of apparatuses for creating and utilizing a folded sealed or unsealed container systems are illustrated. Thus the several embodiments of the instant apparatus are illustrated herein.

It is a primary object of the present multifunctional apparatus to reveal an easily storable, flat sheet containment mechanism which is able to fold and/or unfold to become a storage container for anything. Included in the new invention is a sealed container for food storage and is further easily adaptable to the use of utensils.

It would be further desirable to reveal a version of the instant apparatus and system which is inexpensive and disposable in order to meet with the current recycling nature of society. Said disposable container system would be useful for transportation of leftovers at restaurants, of food and other such materials to schools, of food to houses on holidays and the like.

It would be further desirable to provide a container which is easily assembled and disassembled and provides a disposable or reusable sealed container which is easily stored when not in use.

It is a primary object of the present system to provide a foldable container which when assembled affords the rigidity and strength for use as a dish to eat food directly from it or for transport and storage of food. A container is folded in such a manner that its final dimensions are approximately the same size or smaller than its cover so it can be placed inside the cover. In one embodiment, the folded container dimensions are small enough to fit in its cover by having a similar width and length while the height can be larger; preferably it would be desirable to have the dimensions of the container in one embodiment be the same height as the cover, such that the container appears to be only the cover. The folded container is pressed or snapped into position within its cover so it will stay until removed for use. For easy identification of various sizes, containers may be color tinted, labeled or the like. In yet another embodiment, the snapping action may be accomplished through a plurality of undercut corners in the cover, snaps, and/or undercuts in the total periphery of the cover, or additionally by extensions, clips or other similar means.

It is an object of the present system to provide a container that may be used for storage of items ranging from construction items e.g. screws and nails, to consumer and household goods including clothing, housewares, food, shoes, and numerous products requiring storage. It is a further object of the present system to provide containers that are constructed on any common storage container material such as polymer and the various plastics, cardboard, fabric, composite combinations and any other suitable material. In yet another embodiment, the container may include a plurality of panels constructed of materials that may be joined with a variety of joint areas of more flexible materials or encases in other materials.

It would be further desirable to introduce a foldable food container with living hinges that could contain liquids or be air tight when assembled. It would be further desirable to introduce a foldable container with four walls and a base all connected as one solid piece with no places where materials could be trapped as occurs with foldable boxes using corner panels. Living hinges are placed with the walls of the container and at the junction of walls. It is further desirable to introduce a foldable food container which fits inside its cover for easy storage and to eliminate the difficulty of finding the proper cover for a container when stored in cabinets and draws.

Alternative foldable containers which are placed into their cover include a flat sheet with a base portion, at least four side walls or panel portions, wings or wing portions engaging each side wall to a corresponding side wall, and a cover. It is an objective of the instant system to introduce a junction of the base to the side walls and the wings to the side walls comprising hinge mechanisms and wherein when polymeric materials are utilized, the hinges are formed by thinned or depressed areas which may be constructed of the same material or a different material such as plastic panels in fabric, paper, etc. It is a further objective of the instant system to utilize living hinges which may provide numerous hinges with little effect on the material. Hinges can be ball and socket, door like rod and sleeve or any common hinging technique, however, these are not the preferred methods

In a preferred method of manufacture, a uniform sheet of plastic as is commonly done with polypropylene, polyethylene or like materials is molded with living hinges creating an inexpensive container. Living hinges are created by injection molding and enhanced by coining. Hinges can be thinned area without being living hinges when limited opening and closing is anticipated.

The container described in the figures has four sides. It is understood that the container may have as few as three walls or many walls to match the shape of the base. For example, the base is a hexagon shape, there will be six sides to a container. In addition, while only two walls are described as having hinges within them, more than two and up to all the walls can have hinges.

The foregoing has outlined the more pertinent and important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood, and the present contributions to the art may be more fully appreciated. It is of course not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components and/or methodologies, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations or permutations are possible. Accordingly, the novel architecture described below is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the versatile integrated foldable container system and series of accompanying systems and apparatuses and embodiments in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty, which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative of the various ways in which the principles disclosed herein can be practiced and all aspects and equivalents thereof are intended to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Other advantages and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrate a side view of a foldable container including an inner rim and a cover of this invention.

FIG. 1B illustrates a side view of the foldable container with the inner rim secured inside the foldable container and the cover not secured.

FIG. 1C illustrates a side view of the foldable container with the cover secured.

FIG. 1D illustrates the cover shown separately for use with the foldable container.

FIG. 2A illustrates an alternate embodiment of the foldable container comprising a plurality of panels and a rim.

FIG. 2B illustrates a top view of the alternate embodiment of the foldable container and the interaction between the rim and the panels.

FIG. 2C illustrates the foldable container in a partially unfolded view with the panels.

FIG. 2D illustrates the foldable container with the walls of the foldable container collapsed onto the base of the container.

FIG. 2E illustrates a cover for use with the foldable container prior to placement over the collapsed container.

FIG. 2F illustrates the cover placed over the fully collapsed foldable container.

FIG. 3A illustrates a side cross-sectional view of the interaction of the foldable container, inner rim and cover.

FIG. 3B illustrates one embodiment of a support and cover mechanism for snapping the rim onto the wall mechanism.

FIG. 3C illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the support and cover mechanism.

FIG. 4A illustrates an alternate embodiment of a folding box with a side wall which consists of a plurality of panels.

FIG. 4B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the folding box with the panels folding on a living hinge and against the side wall.

FIG. 4C illustrates the folding box with one of the panels folded into the box.

FIG. 4D illustrates a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of the side wall of the folding box including an incline and a snap.

FIG. 5A illustrates an exploded view of one embodiment of the foldable container.

FIGS. 5B-5D illustrate various embodiments of how the foldable container may be configured to fold and fit into the cover.

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate a bar which may be attached in one embodiment to a top of the folding living hinged wall.

FIG. 6C illustrates a side view of the bar attached to the panels of the foldable container.

FIG. 7A illustrates another embodiment of the foldable container.

FIG. 7B illustrates the foldable container from FIG. 7A in a partially unfolded view with the disengagement of distal ends of the rim from the upper rim.

FIG. 8 illustrates another embodiment of the foldable container possessing a combined snap and Velcro® mechanism to secure the plurality of panels.

FIGS. 9A-9B illustrate an embodiment comprising a container which includes a snap component of a base panel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides a container which when folded fits into a cover used to close or seal the container. When formed, the container is strong enough to become a sealed or unsealed container with strength enough to be used as an eating dish and for food storage and transportation. The container is constructed of a uniform material with hinges which are preferably living hinges or constructed of multiple materials. In the preferred embodiment, a container has four walls and a base all joined together and preferably formed as one piece with living hinges at the junction of each wall and the base. At least two opposing walls have living hinges within the wall to allow folding of the wall inward toward the center.

The walls of the container of this invention fold inward in the preferred embodiment to create a final folded box dimension capable of fitting inside its cover. In the preferred embodiment, the height of the walls is equal to or less than the dimension of the base it is folding onto such that an opposing wall can also fold inward without interference of the opposing wall. Preferably, in one embodiment when the opposing walls are half the width of the base, the walls will abut next to each other once folded. Alternatively, in yet another embodiment, when the opposing walls are less than half the width of the base, the walls will lay flat apart from each other. Additionally, in another embodiment, when the opposing walls are greater than half the base, one wall folds faster to fold under the opposing wall. Moreover, in operation, preferably the opposing walls may not be greater than the smallest dimension of the base width or length of the container; in embodiments when the opposing walls are greater than the smallest dimension of the base width or length of the container, two of the walls must fold outward.

In the preferred embodiment, a wall hinged to adjacent walls and a base folds inward. There are at least two hinges within opposing walls. The two hinges in a wall extend from the edge connected to the base to the top of the wall. They are at an appropriate angle to the base that when folded, the walls lay flat onto the base. The adjacent walls collapse onto the folding walls as a result of the folding walls pulling them down. The hinges of the adjacent walls to the base are of such a dimension that the adjacent walls are allowed to fold onto the hinged walls which are folded onto the base.

FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate a folding box 7 which comprises at least two opposingly disposed side wall mechanisms 6, 15 comprising a set of panels 8, 10 and 12 and a set of living hinges 9, 11. The wall opposite 6 which is wall 15, consists of the same components. When panel 10 of wall 6 is pressed inward of folding box 7 and opposite wall 15 is pressed inward at the same time, the living hinges at the junction of each wall and the base when combined with living hinges 9, 11, collapse side walls 6, 15 onto base 13. Side walls 16, 17 are pulled on top of folded walls 6, 15. In an alternative construction, different materials may be used to construct panels which are joined together by other materials which may possess enough flexibility to bend as might occur with rubber, cardboard, paper, nylon, cloth, softer plastic or like materials.

The angles and the positioning of hinges 9, 11 in relation to the base 13 are such that the entirety of the walls can fold flat onto each other and the base. The appropriate angle of the hinges to the base will vary based on the width to height ratio of a wall. The angle of hinge 9 and 11 to base 13 is always less than 90 degrees and greater than zero and angled toward the center of the wall as it goes up to the top edge of a wall from the base. In the preferred embodiment, a hinge with a wall should start at the junction of two adjacent walls and the base and extend to the top edge for folding; in this embodiment the angle will be dependent on the divergence of the walls in relation to the base. For example, hinge 9 starts at dividing seam 3 which is the common connection of wall 6, wall 17 and base 13. The hinges 9, 11 fold in in such a manner to allow the full hinge of the base 13 to wall 6 to perform. In one embodiment, when all of the walls are at ninety degrees to the base, the internal wall hinges must be forty-five degrees.

Additionally, the rim 4 which has no center, snaps onto the top surface of all walls to prevent hinges from bending inward during use. The resulting configuration reveals a stable box 7 which cannot fold on itself or collapse. The cover 2 may also fit over and enclose the rim 4 to enclose, and if desired, seal the folding box 7.

FIGS. 2A-2F illustrate additional embodiments of the container 20 comprising folding walls consisting of panels 22, 24 comprising a set of, or at least two, living hinges 26. When the folding walls are pressed inward to the center, as seen in folding box 34, adjacent side walls fold inward and collapse to the center. Thus, when the container is formed, rim 27 snaps onto the top of folding box 30 to stabilize panels 22, 24 to prevent collapsing. Folding box 36 shows walls completely collapse onto the base. Again, while the description is of living hinges in all the figures which are the preferred embodiment, it is understood that the use of different materials or the use of hinges with pins or any other state of the art apparatuses, may be utilized.

Also, the cover 50 comprises the capability to snap onto the rim 27 of cross section view diagram 54. Folding panels 42, 44 and side wall 40 are stacked on each other when fully collapsed onto base 21 which is in hinged communication with a lower portion 19A of the box as opposed to an upper portion 19B of the box. Panel 44 folds onto base 21. Panel 42 folds onto panel 44. Side wall 40 is disposed to fold onto panel 42. The folded container may comprise a base 21 and connected folded walls and panels that fit into cover 50 to create a contained folded box in the cover. In several embodiments, the cover 50 may be secured to the container by a variety of methods, including, but not limited to: friction, snaps, clips, undercuts, adhesives, Velcro®, extensions or other common methods of reversibly joining parts together.

The folded container is held in the cover by friction, Velcro®, snaps, adhesives or any method of reversible connection. In the preferred embodiment, the folded box and rim fits completely into the cover with no dimensions of the folded container extending out or below the plane of the bottom of the cover, however, it should be understood that minimal dimensions may be larger than the cover and extend out of it with minimal influence.

FIG. 3A is a side cross section view that illustrates the interface of the cover 62, rim 64, to the side walls 66. The cover 62 may comprise a handle 69 to allow removal of the cover 62 while leaving the rim 64 attached or in communication with the wall 66. The rim 64 may comprise a handle 68 which when pulled removes the cover 62 and rim 46 simultaneously. FIG. 3B illustrates one embodiment of the support and cover mechanism 70 comprising an option for snapping the rim 74 onto the wall mechanism 76 in a manner such that that it cannot be removed once placed. Cover 72 snaps onto rim 74. When first assembled, rim 74 is snapped in cover 72. Cover 72 and rim 74 are snapped onto wall 76. The bottom of rim 74 has flat area 77 which engages flat area 75 of wall 76 which blocks removal. Rim 74 stays on wall 76 when cover 72 is removed. The container cannot be folded again. FIG. 3C illustrates one embodiment of the support and cover mechanism 80 comprising a cross section of removable cover 82 which is removed from wall 90 and rim 84 when lip 88 is pulled. Rim 84 is removed when lip 86 is pulled which also removes cover 84 to allow folding of the container.

FIGS. 4A-4D illustrate a folding box 100 with a side wall 102 which consists of panels 104, 106, 108, and 110, and living hinges 105 and 112. Panel 106 extends the full width of wall 102 and folds into box 100 on hinge 122 and against the inside of wall 102. Living hinges 105 are designed to only fold inward to the center of the container and not outward. When living hinges 105 are folded on living hinge 112, the portion of living hinge 105 within panel 106 result in panel 106 preventing folding of wall which prevents collapsing. In one embodiment, panel 106 may be folded inward or outward to effectively block collapsing of the hinged wall 102.

Cross sectional view of diagram 120 and 122 shows panel 106 folding on living hinge 112 and against side wall 102. Side wall 114 may have snap 128 which consists of incline 154 and snap 152 to hold panel 106 against wall 102 when folded on living hinge 112 as seen in diagrams 130 and top cross section view diagram 150. Panel 106 can be held against wall 102 by friction, snaps, adhesives, Velcro, or like techniques common to holding parts together.

FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate various ways boxes can be configured to fold and fit into a cover including individual side walls 202 and 204, which fold to become flat box 217 and fit into cover 200. Alternatively, boxes 180, 185 and 190 show corner panels and folding corner panels. Alternative designs may allow a container to be folded outward and flat as described in earlier patent applications and also fold inward to fit into a cover.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate a bar 220 which is attached to the top of a folding living hinged wall. Bar 222 is attached on outside panel and bar 224 is attached to the other outside panel. The two interlock or snap together to provide resistance to collapsing of the wall when fully open. Bar 226 consists of bar 228 which is attached to panel 244 and 234 which is attached to panel 246 with extensions 230 and 232 which interlock or snap to prevent the box collapsing.

FIG. 7A illustrates a box 250 comprising an upper rim 258 attached to a wall below. In this embodiment, a rim 256 is attached at the center panel and clips over the upper rim 258. FIG. 7B shows box 254 as box 250 when folding and disengagement of distal ends of rim 256 from upper rim 258.

FIG. 8 illustrates a combined Velcro® and snap mechanism is shown for added retention, wherein a snap is voluntarily engaged or kept in an open position to create a more secure attachment. Preferably, in order for the box to collapse, the snap will have to be intentionally unsnapped and then the Velcro® disengaged. In this embodiment the folding box 276 has outside panel 280 which is connected to center panel 282 of side wall 283 and moves integrally with it. Outer panels 281 and 284 of side wall 283 are hinged to center panel 282 of side wall 283 and hinged to side walls 288 and 290. Side walls 283, 288, and 290 are hinged to base 286 such that all walls form a solid box. As side walls are raised to form a box, outside panel 280 comes closer to outer panels 281 and 284 such that snaps 300 or Velcro® 296 and 292 of outer panel 208 engage snaps of Velcro® 294 and 298 of outer panel 281 and 284 side wall 283. When snaps 300 or Velcro® 296 engages, the side wall requires intentional force to collapse. The box becomes stable during use and collapsible on demand. The Velcro® and/or snaps may be so secure that each Velcro® or Snap connection is required to be separated individually and cannot be done by simply pressing outward on a side wall.

FIGS. 9A-9B illustrate an embodiment comprising a container 302 which includes a snap component 304 of base panel 306 which accepts snap component 308 of cover 310 to provide reversible retention to container 302. The cover 310 may be constructed in the usually manner to provide a seal over container 302. The cover 310 is snapped onto the bottom of container 302 in such a manner that when container 302 is collapsed, cover 310 and the container 302 are flat with an overall thickness of the two components together.

Claims

1. A folding box system comprising:

a container mechanism, wherein the container mechanism further comprises: a base member; at least two opposingly disposed dynamic side walls in a hinged communication with the base member comprising: a set of panels; and, a set of side hinges; at least two opposingly disposed static side walls in a lower hinged communication with the base member and in side communication with the at least two opposingly disposed dynamic side walls; and a rim, wherein the rim snaps onto a top of the container mechanism to stabilize the set of panels to prevent collapsing; a cover, wherein the cover is disposed to snap onto the rim; and wherein a set of dimensions of the folded container mechanism are approximately the same size or smaller than the cover to enable the folded container mechanism to be placed inside the cover.

2. The folding box system of claim 1 wherein the cover mechanism fits over and encloses the rim mechanism to seal the folding box.

3. The folding box system of claim 1, wherein the base member further comprises a snap component which is disposed to accept a snap component of a cover panel to provide reversible retention to the folding box system.

4. The folding box system of claim 1 further comprising a combined Velcro® and snap mechanism for added retention, wherein a snap is voluntarily engaged or kept in an open position to create a more secure attachment and in order for the container mechanism to collapse, the snap will have to be intentionally unsnapped and then the Velcro® disengaged.

5. The folding box system of claim 1, wherein the folded container mechanism is secured inside the cover through a snapping action selected from the group consisting of: a plurality of undercut corners in the cover, snaps, undercuts in the total periphery of the cover and clips.

6. The folding box system of claim 1,

a dividing seam; and,

a rim mechanism;

wherein the set of side hinges comprises a set of living hinges.

7. The folding box system of claim 6 wherein the hinges at the junction of each wall and the base combine with the side hinges to collapse the side walls onto the base.

8. The folding box system of claim 6 wherein the angle of the hinges to the base varies based upon the width to height ratio of the at least two opposingly disposed static side walls and the at least two opposingly disposed dynamic side walls.

9. The folding box system of claim 6 wherein the angle of the hinges to base is less than ninety degrees and greater than zero degrees and angled toward the center of the wall as it goes up to the top edge of a wall from the base.

10. A folding container system comprising:

an upper portion;

a lower portion;

a base member;

a set of folding walls comprising a set of panels including a set of hinge mechanisms, wherein the folding walls are disposed to collapse when pressed inward toward the center of the lower portion and the adjacent side walls fold inward and collapse to the center; and,

a rim device in mechanical communication with the upper portion stabilize the panels and to prevent collapsing;

a cover, wherein the cover is disposed to snap onto the rim device; and

wherein the final dimensions of the folded container mechanism are approximately the same size or smaller than the cover to enable to the folded container mechanism to be placed inside the cover.

11. The folding container system of claim 10 wherein the set of hinge mechanisms comprises a set of living hinges.

12. The folding container system of claim 10 wherein the folded container is retained within the cover device by a force application system selected from the group consisting of friction, Velcro®, snaps, adhesives and reversible connection.

13. The folding container system of claim 10 wherein the cover comprises a handle mechanism for removal of the cover while the rim device remains in communication with the wall.

14. The folding container system of claim 13 wherein the rim device comprises a handle in communication with the cover device such that when the handle is pulled, the cover device and rim device are removed simultaneously.

15. The folding container system of claim 10 wherein the folding walls comprise at least four female snap receiving mechanisms, wherein the rim device comprises at least four female snap receiving mechanisms and at least four male snap mechanisms; and, the cover device comprises at least four male snap mechanisms; wherein, the rim device is snapped in cover device and the Cover device and the rim device are snapped onto folding walls.

16. The folding container system of claim 10 wherein a lower portion of the rim comprises a flat area and the upper portions of the walls comprise a flat area and wherein the flat are of the lower portion of the rim engages the flat area of the walls in order to create friction which blocks removal and wherein the rim remains attached to the wall when the cover is removed.

17. The folding container system of claim 10, wherein the base member further comprises a snap component which is disposed to accept a snap component of a cover panel to provide reversible retention to the folding container system.

18. The folding container system of claim 10 further comprising a combined Velcro® and snap mechanism for added retention, wherein a snap is voluntarily engaged or kept in an open position to create a more secure attachment and in order for the box to collapse, the snap will have to be intentionally unsnapped and then the Velcro® disengaged.

19. A folding containment mechanism wherein the folding containment mechanism is fully containable within a cover comprising:

at least four side walls comprising: at least two non-folding side walls; and at least two folding walls, wherein each of the at least two folding walls comprises: at least four panels; and at least three living hinges, wherein at least one of the at least four panels extends the full width of an individual of the at least two folding walls and wherein the at least one of the at least four panels which extends the full width of an individual of the at least two folding walls is hingedly attached so as to fold into the interior of the folding containment mechanism;

a cover, wherein the cover is disposed to snap onto the rim; and

wherein the final dimensions of the folded container mechanism are approximately the same size or smaller than the cover to enable the folded container mechanism to be placed inside the cover.

20. The folding containment mechanism of claim 19 wherein the living hinges fold inwardly to the center of the container and wherein the living hinges are folded on the living hinge that corresponds with the at least one of the at least four panels that extends the full width of an individual of the at least two folding walls to prevents folding of wall which prevents collapsing.

21. The folding containment mechanism of claim 20 wherein the at least two non-folding side walls comprise snap mechanisms comprising an incline and snap to hold the at least one of the at least four panels that extends the full width of an individual of the at least two folding walls against the corresponding wall when folded on living hinge.

22. The folding mechanism of claim 21, further comprising a bar support system, wherein the bar support system is attached to the top of at least two folding hinged walls and comprises two interlocking bar members to prevent the box collapsing.

23. The folding mechanism of claim 22 wherein the bar support system comprises a proximal portion and a distal portion wherein the proximal portion is attached on an outside panel and the distal portion bar is attached to an opposing outside panel.

24. The folding mechanism of claim 19 wherein the proximal portion comprises at least one proximal extension mechanism and the distal portion comprises at least one distal extension mechanism wherein the at least one proximal extension mechanism and the at least one distal extension mechanism are in interlocking or snapping communication to prevent the folding mechanism collapsing.

25. The folding box system of claim 19 further comprising a combined Velcro® and snap mechanism for added retention, wherein a snap is voluntarily engaged or kept in an open position to create a more secure attachment and in order for the box to collapse, the snap will have to be intentionally unsnapped and then the Velcro® disengaged.