Collapsible container with latch mechanism

A container having an assembled condition in which the container is used and a disassembled condition in which the elements of the container are collected into an integral unit, said container comprising:

• a top member having a central wall portion, peripheral side wall portions extending from said central wall portion, and corners, a receptacle being formed in each of said corners of said top member and extending normal to the central wall portion of said top member;
• a bottom member having a central wall portion, peripheral side wall portions extending from said central wall portion, and corners, a receptacle being formed in each of the corners of each of the bottom member and extending normal to the central wall portion, the receptacles formed in said top and bottom members being aligned when said top and bottom members are placed in a position in which said peripheral wall portions of each member extend toward each other;
• a columnar member received in each of said aligned pairs of cylindrical receptacles in said top and bottom members when said case is in the assembled condition, each of said columnar members extending from one of said receptacles in said top member to a corresponding one of said receptacles in the bottom member, each of said columnar members having at least a pair of peripherally spaced slots extending along said columnar members parallel to the axis thereof and each columnar member having a pair of internally mounted rods;
• a plurality of side members having ends, each of said side members having one end inserted in a slot in a columnar member in one corner of said top and bottom members and another end inserted in a slot in a columnar member positioned in a corner adjacent to said one corner so that each of said side members extends between two adjacent corners of said top and bottom members;
• and
• a plurality of latch members, each latch member engaging one of the internal mounted rods in the columnar member,
• said peripheral side walls of said top and bottom members being placed in abutment when said container is in the disassembled condition, said latch members of said top and bottom members being contiguous when said peripheral side wall portions of said top member and bottom member are placed in abutment, said latch members containing means for releasably securing said latch members together, when contiguous to retain the top member and the bottom member in an integral unit when said container is in the disassembled condition, said columnar members and side members being storable within the top and bottom members when the container is in the disassembled condition.