Patent ID: 7823739

Claim:
A collapsible container comprising: a floor; a roof; a pair of sidewalls, each of said pair of sidewalls comprising an upper side panel and a lower side panel; at least one upper hinge connecting said roof to said upper side panel; at least one lower hinge connecting said floor to said lower side panel; at least one middle hinge on each said sidewall connecting the lower side panel of each said sidewall to the upper side panel of said sidewall; a pair of end walls, wherein each said end wall comprise a lower end wall section connected to the floor and an upper end wall section; wherein said floor has a longitudinal axis and two opposing longitudinal sides substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis, each said longitudinal side of said floor having at least one track, and said floor having two opposing transverse ends substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the floor, and each said lower end wall section being fixed to a different one of said opposite transverse ends of said floor in an upright position relative to said floor; said roof comprising at least one engaging member configured for engagement with at least one complementary engaging portion of auxiliary equipment for moving said container between an erect configuration wherein said sidewalls and said end walls are in a fully upright position and a first stage of a collapsed configuration wherein said roof is collapsed onto said sidewalls and said sidewalls are collapsed onto said floor; a locking assembly housed in said roof for locking said container in said erect configuration, said locking assembly comprising locking members and at least one releasing member operatively connected to said locking members and in operative contact with said engaging members such that engagement of said engaging members with said at least one engaging portion triggers the releasing member to move said locking members from a locked position to an unlocked position wherein said container is movable into said collapsed configuration; a power assembly for moving said upper end wall sections between said erect configuration and a second stage of the collapsed configuration wherein said upper end wall sections are lowered onto said roof following the first stage of the collapsed configuration; and, a plurality of hinge assemblies, each hinge assembly operatively connecting each upper end wall section to the power assembly.