A collapsible container includes rigid sidewalls and end walls that are hinged together and a rigid bottom wall that is hinged to one of the sidewalls. A short leg on an end of each of the sidewalls gives the sidewall a L-shape (when viewed from above). Hinges formed on distal ends of the legs enable the bottom wall to fold against an inboard surface of one of the sidewalls, and enable one of the end walls to lie flat to conserve volume for shipping multiple containers in the collapsed configuration.

A method of forming and assembling a foldable plastic utility enclosure using molds to form sides of the enclosure, preferably using glass fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite. The molds are constructed to form a central hole in hinge members which are formed on ends of the sides. The central hole of the hinge member is molded with two molding parts, wherein one or both of the molding parts have a solid central portion that forms the central hole. The sides are removed from the molds after curing and the sides are assembled to form the utility enclosure while the sides are still hot from the molding process. Hinge pins are inserted into the central holes of the hinge members to form hinges and to prevent the sides from warping during cooling. Assembling the sides and inserting hinge pins to form the utility enclosure is completed within approximately 10 minutes after removing the sides from the molds.

A lid for a utility enclosure having a front end, a rear end, a right side, a left side, a top lid portion, and a bottom, defining an interior. Large reinforcement ribs are on an interior surface of the top lid portion and form a lattice-type structure. Small reinforcement ribs are mounted in spaces formed by the lattice type structure. The lid is made of glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene and metal bars or rebar are embedded in the large reinforcement ribs. The metal bars are positioned near a bottom of the large reinforcement ribs and spaced above the bottom. The physical structure of the lid and the lid's composition, consisting essentially of glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene, are constructed so that the lid withstands up to 33,750 pounds of force without breaking or being deformed.

Provided is a foldable box having a left part and a right part, the left and right parts which include a pair of left auxiliary plates and a pair of right auxiliary plates, respectively, and most of which is made of a hard material, and therefore, it is possible to protect an item stored therein from an external impact and easily fold or unfold the foldable box, thereby maximizing convenience of storage and use.

Provided is a foldable box having a left part and a right part, the left and right parts which include a pair of left auxiliary plates and a pair of right auxiliary plates, respectively, and most of which is made of a hard material, and therefore, it is possible to protect an item stored therein from an external impact and easily fold or unfold the foldable box, thereby maximizing convenience of storage and use.

Provided is a foldable box having a left part and a right part, the left and right parts which include a pair of left auxiliary plates and a pair of right auxiliary plates, respectively, and most of which is made of a hard material, and therefore, it is possible to protect an item stored therein from an external impact and easily fold or unfold the foldable box, thereby maximizing convenience of storage and use.

A foldable rectangular plastic/composite enclosure having first, second, third and fourth sides connected by hinges. The enclosure folds flat by rotating the sides on the hinges but is constructed to fold only in one direction. The hinges allow the enclosure to be folded flat for storage and transportation. The hinges are composed of a plurality of hinge members wherein each hinge member is positioned in a housing. The housing has an open interior which helps anchor the enclosure in the ground. An insertable locking pin can be inserted through each hinge to prevent the enclosure from folding. The enclosure can be made of plastic/composite imbedded with fibers such as carbon fibers, glass fibers, or ceramic fibers or imbedded with particles such as glass particles. The use of plastic/composite and various openings or cutouts makes the enclosure light weight.

A foldable rectangular plastic/composite enclosure having first, second, third and fourth sides connected by hinges. The enclosure folds flat by rotating the sides on the hinges but is constructed to fold only in one direction. The hinges allow the enclosure to be folded flat for storage and transportation. The hinges are composed of a plurality of hinge members wherein each hinge member is positioned in a housing. The housing has an open interior which helps anchor the enclosure in the ground. An insertable locking pin can be inserted through each hinge to prevent the enclosure from folding. The enclosure can be made of plastic/composite imbedded with fibers such as carbon fibers, glass fibers, or ceramic fibers or imbedded with particles such as glass particles. The use of plastic/composite and various openings or cutouts makes the enclosure light weight.

Systems and methods which provide a reusable shipping product comprised of a reusable shipping container and reusable shipping event code are shown. A shipper may use a user device to interact with a reusable shipping event code and/or corresponding shipping event management system for facilitating operation herein. The reusable shipping event codes of embodiments provide for shipping information used in processing an item during shipment in a configuration adapted for repeated use in shipping. A shipping event code database is preferably provided, such as at a shipping event management system, wherein shipping information associated with a corresponding shipping event code may be stored, such as for use in shipping services processing of a shipped item using a reusable shipping product of embodiments herein. The reusable shipping containers of embodiments of the invention provide shipping containers which are adapted for repeated use in shipping.

A reconfigurable container is disclosed, the container being reconfigurable between a first configuration in which the container defines a receptacle for receiving an item, and a second configuration in which the container comprises a collapsed configuration for storage. The container comprises: a base and a wall which is arranged to extend around the base, the wall comprising at least two hingedly coupled wall portions, the base being hingedly coupled to a lower region of at least one wall portion, the wall further comprising a ledge disposed along a lower region thereof which is arranged to extend inwardly of the container, for supporting the base when the container is configured in the first configuration.