Patent ID: 8434618

Claim:
A reusable shipping container comprising: a substantially rectangular bottom unit, said bottom unit further comprising a base, said base having an upper surface and a lower surface; a fork strap unit, said fork strap unit having an upper surface and a lower surface, and said fork strap unit being releasably connected to said base using a plurality of connectors, each connector of said plurality of connectors further comprising a male latch portion extending downward from the bottom surface of the base, said male latch portion comprising at least one spring member terminating in a ramped end portion and at least one male latching surface defined by the ramped end portion of the at least one spring member and a female latch portion defined by the fork strap unit, said female latch portion further comprising a housing, said housing defining a central opening for receiving said at least one spring member of the male latch portion and said housing defining a female latching surface around a periphery of said central opening wherein none of said plurality of connectors bear a vertical load from the weight of the base; a plurality of inner impact walls extending downward from the base wherein, when the fork strap unit is releasably connected to the base, each of the plurality of connectors is surrounded by one of the plurality of inner impact walls and each of the plurality of inner impact walls has a height such that each inner impact wall contacts the upper surface of forkstrap unit and bears a portion of the vertical load of the base and a plurality of outer impact walls extending upward from the fork strap unit wherein, when the fork strap unit is releasably connected to the base, each of the plurality of inner impact walls is surrounded by one of the plurality of outer impact walls and each of the outer impact walls has a height such that each outer impact wall contacts the bottom surface of the base and bears a portion of the weight of the base wherein each of the inner impact walls has a perimeter that provides a gap between an inner surface of the inner impact wall and the connector the inner impact wall is surrounding and each of the outer impact walls has a perimeter that provides a gap between an inner surface of the outer impact wall and the inner impact wall the outer impact wall is surrounding.