Shipping containers

A collapsible container having an erected and a collapsed condition for transporting goods in the erected condition, the container comprising:

• a base;
• a front wall and a rear wall pivotably attached to the base;
• and
• side walls pivotably attached to the base, the side walls positionable between the front and rear walls when the container is in its erected condition;
• wherein the base includes an upper frame and a lower frame that is spaced apart from the upper frame to receive forklift tines therebetween, and wherein the lower frame comprises a checker plate having a bottom surface that includes a pattern of anti-skid features;
• wherein each of the front and rear walls has a pair of locking mechanisms mounted adjacent opposite sides of its upper end to facilitate securing and releasing the front wall when the container is in its erected position;
• each locking mechanism including (a) a locking pin that is longitudinally movable between a closed position in which it extends into an opening in an associated adjacent side wall, and an open position in which it does not extend into the opening, (b) a handle rigidly joined to the locking pin, (c) a spring that urges the locking pin away from its associated adjacent side wall, and (d) a fixed stop that prevents inadvertent unlocking due to vibration;
• wherein, when locked, the pin is prevented from rotating and is constrained against lateral displacement by the handle engaging the stop;
• wherein, to open the locking mechanisms, the handle must first be displaced laterally toward the adjacent side wall into which its associated locking pin extends, against the urging of the spring, then rotated outward, away from the exterior surface of its associated front or rear wall, thereby disengaging the handle from the stop, then displaced laterally away from the associated adjacent side wall to remove the locking pin from engagement therewith.