WO2005123508A2

WO2005123508A2 - Collapsible storage container

Info

Publication number: WO2005123508A2
Application number: PCT/US2005/020985
Authority: WO
Inventors: Azad Sabounjian
Original assignee: Pro-Mart Industries, Inc.
Priority date: 2004-06-10
Filing date: 2005-06-10
Publication date: 2005-12-29
Also published as: WO2005123508A3

Abstract

A collapsible container, having a box and a plurality of rod members. The box has a plurality of top sides and a plurality of peripheral sides for discretely confining the rod members therein. At least one handle is attached to one of the rod members confined at the top sides. The box also has a bottom panel and a plurality of side panels each having a bottom edge connected to respective edge of the bottom panel, a top edge and a pair of opposing edges. The top edges define the top sides of the box, and the side edges of each side panel are connected to proximal side edges of the side panels adjacent thereto. Thereby, the peripheral sides of the box are defined.

Description

COLLAPSIBLE STORAGE CONTAINER

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to collapsible containers in general, and provides particular advantages for a collapsible container that can be folded into a flat piece. Collapsible boxes are known that have flexible sides held taut by wire frames that twist and fold into overlapping hoops, as shown in Patents to Zheng 5,560,385, Ziglar 5,964,533, Kellogg 5,971,188, and Sabounjian 6,527,136. But in these containers the wire frame encircles each side and provides a strong structure to transfer forces from the flexible fabric sides to the frame and to the handles by which a user carries the containers. The use of these various handles are impractical when applied to collapsible containers having a number of separate frame segments for each side of the container, where the frame segments are not fastened together. Such containers are shown in U.S. Patent Nos. 6,149,025 and 6,588,590 to Wang, the complete contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Because the frame segments on each side of the container are not continuous the frame segments cannot participate significantly in transferring the weight of objects held in the container to the handles by which a user can carry the container. This is especially so when the vertical frame segments are not connected to the top frame segment, and when there is no bottom frame segment. Further, the material used in the commercial embodiments of these Wang containers is a single or double stitch Nylon, which has some stiffness and helps support the sides of the containers, but which will easily ravel and propagate tears, making it impractical to cut holes in the sides of the flexible material in order to form handles. There is thus a need for an improved handle by which a user can carry these containers having segmented frames made of material that readily propagates tears in the material.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A collapsible container is provided that has a general box shape formed of flexible material with a rod extending along the length of each edge of the box. . The box has a plurality of top sides and a plurality of peripheral sides. A plurality of rod members is discretely confined at the top sides and the peripheral sides of the box. At least one handle is attached to one of the rod members confined at the top sides. The box further includes a bottom panel and a plurality of side panels each having a bottom edge connected to the bottom panel, a top edge to define the respective top side, and a pair of opposing side edges defining the peripheral sides of the box. The side edges of adjacent side panels are connected to each other, so as to define the peripheral sides of the box. Preferably, a support plate may be placed on the bottom panel, and the side panels are fabricated from foldable but self-supporting materials such as weave nylon or nylon mesh. A plurality of hems is formed at the top sides and a plurality of pockets is formed at the peripheral sides for confining the rod members. The handle is in the form of a strap having two opposing ends attached to two different locations of the rod member confined at one of the top sides. The opposing ends are placed at one side of the rod member, and a pair of fabrics is placed at the opposite side of the rod member to be stitched with the opposing ends of the strap over and under rod member. Alternatively, the opposing ends of the strap are folded about two locations of the rod member and self stitched to encircle the rod member therein. Preferably, but optionally, the top side for confining the rod member is cut with two notches to expose the rod member at the two locations. The box may be in the form of a rectangular prism, a polygonal prism, a cylinder or other geometries. A collapsible container is further provided that has a bottom panel having a plurality edges, a plurality of rectangular side panels, a plurality of rod members,. and at least one handle attached to the rod member. Each of the side panels has a bottom edge connected to the respective edge of the bottom panel, a top edge, and a pair of opposing side edges connected to the side edges of two adjacent side panels. A plurality of hems is formed by folding and self-stitching the top edges of the side panels, and a plurality of pockets by stitching portions of each pair of adjacent side panels proximal to the side edges. Thereby, the rod members can be confined in the hems and the pockets at the top edges and the sides of the side panels. A support plate can be placed on the bottom panel. The side panels are fabricated from nylon mesh, for example. The rod members are preferably discretely embedded in the hems and the pockets. The handle is in the form of a strap having at least one end folded about a portion of the rod member and self-stitched to encircle the portion of rod member therein. The handle may also comprise a handling strap and a fastening strap stitched to each other at two opposing sides of the top rod member, such that a portion of the rod member is sandwiched between the handling strap and the fastening strap. Each of the side surfaces has a diagonal folding line allowing the side surface to be folded into a triangular configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These as well as other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a collapsible container; Figure 2a is a partial cross sectional view taken along 2-2 of Figure 1 ; Figure 2b is a partial cross sectional view taken along 2-2 of Figure 1 showing a further embodiment of Figure 2a; Figure 3 a is a partial cross sectional view taken along 3-3 of Figure 1; Figure 3b is a partial cross sectional view taken along 3-3 of Figure 1 showing a further embodiment of Figure 3 a; Figure 4 is shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of the handle to the collapsible container; Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along 5-5 of Figure 4; Figure 6a shows a cross sectional view of a second embodiment of the attachment of a handle to the collapsible container; Figure 6b shows a cross sectional view of a further embodiment of the attachment of Figure 6a; Figure 7 shows a perspective view of third embodiment of the attachment of a handle to the collapsible container; Figure 8 shows the cross sectional view taken along 8-8 of Figure 7; Figure 9 shows the process for collapsing the container; Figure 10 shows the collapsible container in a collapsed condition; and Figure 11 shows a cross-sectional view taken along 11-11 of Figure 1; Figure 12 is a perspective view of a multiple-compartment container in a horizontal orientation; Figure 13 is a perspective view of a single compartment, multiple-level container in a vertical orientation; Figure 14 is a top perspective view of a container with three sides; Figure 15 is a perspective view of the container of Figure 14 upside down; Figure 16 is a perspective view of a further embodiment having a zipper in a top panel; Figure 17 is a perspective view showing the container of Figure 16 partially collapsed (or partially expanded); and Figure 18 is an exploded perspective view of the container of Figure 16 with the side panels and bottom in phantom and with a handle not shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to Figure 1, a collapsible container 10 as provided has a bottom panel 20, two pairs of opposing side panels 22 and an open top 24 substantially opposing to the bottom panel 20. One or more handles 26 are fastened to the container as described later. Preferably, but optionally a stiff plate 28 is placed in the bottom of the container, over the bottom panel 20, and adjacent the edges 30 of the bottom panel. The container has sides 32 shown as vertically oriented sides, with a side pocket 36 along the length of each side and side rods 38 located in each of these side pockets 36. Each of the top sides 34 of the container 10 also has a top pocket 42 in which pockets are located a top rod 42. The rods 38, 42 extend for substantially the entire length of the edges on which they are located, but are separate parts. In the depicted rectangular container 10, there are thus four vertically oriented side rods 38 and four top rods 42. Opposite each of the top rods 42 are either additional rods in pockets, or preferably, a bottom hem 44 providing some stiffness. The depicted container 10 has a rectangular shape so there are four sides and a bottom in addition to the open top 24. Each of the side panels 22 has a bottom edge connected to the respective edge 30 of the bottom panel 20, a pair of opposing side edges connected to the side edges of its adjacent side panels 22, and a top edge to define the top side 24. The edge of the bottom panel 30 can fasten to the bottom edges of the side panels 22 as shown in Figure 10 which uses a backing to join the distal ends of the respective panels. The edges could be joined in other ways known to those skilled in the art, especially given the disclosure herein. A construction that includes a rod similar to top rod 42 could also be used. The side edges are vertically oriented in the depicted embodiment and the top and bottom edges are horizontal. The bottom panel 20 typically rests on a supporting plane when the container 10 in either open or collapsed condition. The side panels 22 are generally vertical when the collapsible container 10 is in an open condition, and folded and overlying each other on the bottom panel 20 when the collapsible container 10 is in a collapsible condition. The side edges of each pair of adjacent side panels 22 are connected to define a peripheral vertical side 32 of the container 10 as shown in Figure 1. The side panels 22 are preferably but optionally made of a foldable but self- supporting material such as single weave nylon or knitted nylon. In this embodiment, the bottom panel 20 and the side panels 22 are both in the form of single weave nylon meshes. The side panels 22 may include a single piece of material folded with a cross-section conformal to the bottom panel 20; or alternatively, a plurality of separate pieces of foldable, but self-supporting materials seamed therewith. The container 10 can thus be formed by connecting the bottom edges of the side panels 22 with the edges of the bottom panel 20. Alternatively, at least one of the side panels 22 and the bottom panel 102 may be obtained by folding a single piece of material folded, while the remaining side panels 22 can be separate pieces of self-supporting materials seamed with the bottom panel 102 and the side panel 22 folded from the bottom panel 20. In the embodiment as shown in Figure 1, the storage container includes a rectangular bottom panel 20 and four rectangular side panels 22. It is appreciated that the bottom surface 20 can also be configured into various shapes such as triangle, pentagon, polygon, or circle to different geometries of the container 10. A triangle is shown in Figure 14 by way of example. As the shape of the bottom panel 20 varies, the number of the side panels 22 is changed. According to specific requirements, the side surfaces 22 can be transparent, translucent or opaque. The container 10 further has a pair of handles 26 attached to a pair of the opposing side panels 22 thereof. The bottom surface 20 can be fabricated from material similar to that for fabricating the side surfaces 22 or other self-supporting fabric or material. As shown, the container 10 further comprises a plate 28 placed on the bottom surface 20. The plate 28 is preferably solid, made of stiff plastic sheet or paperboard, and conformal to the shape of the bottom surface 20; and advantageously but optionally, the plate 28 can be easily removed from the container 10. Figure 2a and 2b are a partial cross sectional views taken along 2-2 of Figure 1, showing two related embodiments for fastening the side panels 22 to form the pockets 40 in which the top rod segments 42 are contained. The top side 34 of each side surface 22 is folded and stitched to itself using stitches 21 to form a top pocket 40 for confining a top rod 42 therein. In Figure 2a a single stitch is used and the distal edge of the side 22 is external of the pocket 40. In Figure 2b, the distal edge of the side 22 is inside the pocket 40, and the stitch 21 can optionally extend through three adjacent layers or folds of the side 22. Figures 3a-3b are partial cross sectional views taken along 3-3 of Figure 1 and show alternative ways for forming the pockets 36 containing the side rods 38. As shown, each of the peripheral sides 32 includes a pocket 36 for confining a side rod member 38 therein. The pocket 36 is preferably formed by stitching portions of the adjacent side panels 22 proximal to each peripheral side 32 together. Figure 3a shows the distal edges being stitched on one side of the rod 38 and adjacent side panels 22 being stitched together on an opposing side of the rod 38. Figure 3b shows the distal edges of two adjacent sides 22 being folded to more completely overlap the rod 38 with the stitches 21 extending through more layers or folds of the sides 22. The top and side rod members 42 and 38 can include hollow plastic pipes, solid plastic rods, or steel rods operative to support the container 10 in an open condition as shown in Figure 1. The side rods and top rods 38, 42, respectively, are flexible rods and may be solid or tubular, and are preferably made of flexible plastic, but could be made of other materials including metal if sufficiently flexible. Hollow plastic rods are preferred. The rods should be sufficiently flexible that if a person pushes on them or falls on them, the rods do not penetrate the tissue. The rods 38, 42 fit in pockets 36, 40, respectively. The ends of the pockets 36,

40 are preferably folded over to provide a thickened material at the distal ends of the pockets to prevent the rods from poking through the ends of the pockets. If desired, a lining or backing material could be used. The pockets are preferably slightly longer than the rods to allow movement of the pockets along the rods as the container 10 is twisted between the collapsed and expanded configurations. The vertical side rods 38 help hold the container open, in the expanded configuration. Likewise, the horizontal or lateral top rods 42 hold the side rods 38 apart and thus also help maintain the container in an open configuration. The flexible material connecting the ends of adjacent pockets provides hinges which allow the rods and side panels 22 to rotate and move between the collapsed and expanded configurations. Figures 4 to 8 shows various embodiments of attachments of the handles 26. As shown in Figure 1, each of the handles 26 has two opposing ends to be fastened at different locations of the top rod members 42. In the embodiment as shown in

Figures 4 and 5, the handles 26 are flexible strap-like handles fabricated from flexible materials such as woven fabrics, nylon, cotton, or of flexible PVC, polyurethane or polyethylene. A variety of handles can be used. Each end of the handles 26 is placed at one side of the top rod 42, and an additional piece of backing material 46 is aligned with the end of the handle 26 at the opposite side of the top rod 42. The backing material 46 is preferably a thicker material, and advantageously the same material of which the handle 26 is made. The end of the handle 26 and the additional piece of backing material 46 are then stitched using stitches 21 together over and under the top rod 42, such that two locations of the top rod 42, including the pocket 40 confining the top rod 42, are encircled by the ends of the handle 26 and the additional piece of fabrics 42. The use of the backing material 46 allows the top rod 42 to be connected to the handle 26 on opposing sides of the rod while greatly reducing the potential tearing of the material forming the side panels 22. This is especially important when the material is a single stitch woven Nylon, as that material propagates tears readily. Figures 6a -6b show a cross sectional view of two related embodiments for fastening the handles 26 with the top rod members 42. As shown, the handles 26 includes a strap having at least one end folded about and encircling a portion of the top rod 42, including the top pocket 40 confining the top rod 42. The end of the handle 26 is overlapped with the remaining portion of the strap. The overlapped portion is then stitched using stitches 21 across the side panel 22 to encircle the top rod member 38 therein. In Figure 6a the distal end of strap 26 forms a loop parallel to the side panel 22 shown in Figure 2a. The distal end forms a U shape that opens downward toward bottom 20. A single stitch 21 below the rod 42 and at the lower end of the pocket 40 fastens the strap to itself and fastens the strap to opposing sides of a side panel 22. In Figure 6b, the distal end of strap 25 is adjacent the distal end of the side panel 22 (as shown in Fig. 2b) and only partially encircles the rod 42. The distal end forms a U shape that opens upward. A single stitch below the rod 42 can fasten two folds of the strap 26 and two folds of the side panel together, and if desired a single stitch above the rod 42 can do the same on the top side of the rod 42. In Figures 7 and 8, at least one of the top pockets 40 is cut with two notches 44 which expose portions of the top rod 42. In doing so the side panel 22 should be hemmed around the notch 48 using hem 50 in order to prevent unraveling of the material forming panel 22, and it must be hemmed (e.g., hem 50) or otherwise prevented from unraveling if the material of panel 22 is single stitch, woven Nylon. The handle 26 includes a strap having two opposing ends encircling the exposed portions of the top rod 42. The ends of the strap are then overlapped and stitched using stitches 21 with the remaining portion of the strap. Thereby, the exposed portions of the top rod members 42 are encircled by the ends of the strap. The embodiment of Figure 7 requires the strap 26 fasten at two separated locations on the same panel 22, so the strap encircles two spaced apart locations of the same rod 42. If the strap 26 encircled rod 42 at only one location, then the rod 42 could bend and slip out of the notch 48 across which the rod extends. By fastening the same handle 26 at two or more locations on the same rod, the material 22 between the rods helps maintain the rod from pulling out of the pocket 40 and notches 48. But it is still possible for the distal ends of the rod 48 to pull out of the pocket 42 where the pocket opens onto the notches 40 - if the rod 42 is flexible enough and if the notch 48 is wide enough.. Thus, it is advantageous to fasten the rod 42 to the side panels 22, preferably at the pockets 40. The rod 42 can be fastened to the pockets 40 by adhesives, screws, rivets, hook and loop fasteners, etc. The distal ends of the handle 26 en circling the rod 42 are also preferably, but optionally, fastened to the rod 42. If not fastened to the panels 22 or pockets 40, then the rod 42 must extend past the notch 48 a distance sufficient that flexing of the rod under the loads for which the container is designed to carry, does not cause the rod to slip out of the notch and out of the pocket. Keeping the notches 48 short so they do not extend very far along the length of the rod 42 is also useful. Alternatively, the rod 42 can be configured to be sufficiently stiff so that the distal portion of the rod located outward of the location where the handle 26 encircles or fastens to the rod, does not bend enough to slip out of the notch 48, but that is undesirable. While rigid rods 42 would reduce the tendency to pull out of the notches 48, rigid rods are undesirable as the rods should have some flexibility along the longitudinal axis of each rod, so the rod bends or buckles under sudden axial loads exerted by a user pressing or falling on the rod... Figure 9 shows the process for collapsing the container as shown in Figure 1. As shown, the container 10 is collapsed by twisting the top sides 34 of the open top 24 with respect to the bottom panels 20. As a result, each of the side panels 22 is folded into a triangle over a diagonal line and lying over each other on the bottom surface 20. As shown in Figure 10, the container 10 is collapsed into a flat piece which can be easily stored or carried by the user. In addition to the twisting operation, by folding or pressing diagonal corners of one side panel 22 towards each other, the remaining side panels 22 will be consequently folded in the same manner to obtain the configuration as shown in Figure 10. The open condition of the container 10 can be easily resumed by unfolding the side panels 22 or twisting the top 24 along an opposite direction. The side panels 22 are described as preferably made of single or double stitch Nylon. This material has some stiffness in the plane of the material and that helps the side walls 22 stay upright, and other similar materials are also believed suitable. It is further believed suitable to also use a laminated backing on the described Nylon, or on another, more flexible material that lacks sufficient in-plane stiffness to be self supporting. This is especially so if the laminate is selected to provide some in plane stiffness and more so if the laminate provides sufficient support that the resulting lamination can support its own weight when a plane of the laminate is vertically oriented or rolled. A laminate using PVC (polyvinylchloride) or polyurethane or polyethylene is believed suitable. The laminate has advantages over the Nylon, as a cut or a tear in the laminated material will typically not run or readily propagate. Referring to Figure 12, a plurality of the containers described above can be joined to form a multiple compartment container 10. Three containers are shown, with common walls 22c forming either dividers, or walls of two separate containers, depending on the point of view. The handles 26 can be placed on any of the various top rods, but are preferably on opposing sides of the container from each other. The handles are shown on opposing ends, but could be on opposite sides of any of the compartments. Two common walls 22c are shown, forming three compartments, but there could be fewer or more compartments. If desired, one or more of the common walls 22c could be omitted to form an elongated container with multiple segmented rods 42 (not shown) in the three top pockets 40. Referring to Figure 13, the individual containers can be joined vertically with only a single bottom panel 28 in the lowest container 10 to form an elongated cavity extending the length of both containers lOtop.and lObottom. Preferably the bottom of the top container lOtop is a hem 44, and the top of the bottom container lObottom is a rod 42 in a pocket 40, although it could alternatively be a hem 44. The handles 26 can be fastened to any of the top rods 42 through notches 48 in the pockets 40, with hems 50 being provided as needed to avoid raveling and tearing. The handle 26 can also be fastened to or encircle two adjacent hems 44 or a hem 44 and adjacent rod 42 as depicted on the right side of the container 10. Referring to Figures 14-15, a container 10 is shown with three sides 22, a triangular bottom panel 28, three top pockets 40 and three side pockets 36 containing top rods 42 (not shown) and side rods 38 (not shown). This and other non-square or non-luadralateral shapes can also be extended horizontally analogous to the configuration of Figure 12, or extended vertically analogous to the configuration of Figure 13. Referring to Figures 16-18, the container 10 is shown with a closed top panel 52 connected to the top edge of each side panel 22. The top panel 52 has a zipper 54 with a pull tab 56, with the zipper forming an opening allowing access to the inside of the container 10. The zipper 54 is shown extending along three adjacent corners or sides of the container 10, but the zipper could have a different path, including a curve, or a diagonal, or a straight line across a portion of the top panel such as the center of the panel. The opening formed by the zipper 54 is preferably large enough so that the bottom plate 28 can pass through that opening, preferably, but optionally, without deforming the bottom plate. Handles 26 can fasten to the material forming side panels 22, or it can fasten to one or more of the rods 42. In the embodiment of Figure 16, the upper rods 42 are also shown adjacent the bottom panel 28 so the hem 44 either forms a pocket or the rods 42 are otherwise fastened to the lower corners of the side panels 22.. Preferably lower pockets are formed analogous to pockets 36, 40, but the detailed description is not repeated here. The above embodiments are described with the top and side rods 38, 42 being fastened to the side corners and top edges or top corners of the container 10 by being held entirely or partially within pockets 36, 40. But the rods 38, 42 could be fastened at the respective corner and edge locations of the side panels 22 by various means, including stitches 21, adhesives, rivets, grommets, melting, and other means known to one skilled in the art. Further, the rods 42 could be similarly fastened along the bottom edges or bottom corners of each side in which case the bottom plate 28 is preferably, but not necessarily, omitted. The opening formed by zipper 54 could be located in any one or more of the side panels 22, or even in the bottom 20. Further, the opening in such panels need not be defined by a zipper, but could be defined by the respective side panel 22 or the bottom 20, with the opening being of any desired size or configuration, or even of any number within the same side or bottom. Further, referring to Figure 7, the notches 48 preferably end within or with the pockets 40 and any hem or stitching 21 forming the pocket, and the pockets 40 are preferably as small as possible, being no larger than needed to hold the rods 38, 42. But the notches 48 could be larger with a hem 50 or other anti-raveling mechanism being provided as needed formed by pockets 40 The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation. Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devise variations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention. Further, the various features of this invention can be used along, or in varying combinations with each other and are not intended to be limited to the specific combination described herein. Thus, the invention is not to be limited by the illustrated embodiments but is to be defined by the following claims when read in the broadest reasonable manner to preserve the validity of the claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A collapsible container having at least three flexible with side corners, the sides each having a bottom corner joining a bottom, the bottom and sides defining an enclosed space, the sides each having a top edge, the container comprising: a flexible rod fastened to each side corner and each top edge; a sheet abutting the bottom and conforming in shape to the bottom; and a handle fastened to one of the top pockets or one of the top rods.

2. The container of Claim 1, wherein the top edge of each side forms a top pocket enclosing one of the top rods and the handle has a distal end which is fastened to the pocket.

3. The container of Claim 1, wherein the top edge of each side further comprises a top pocket enclosing one of the top rods and at least one of the top pockets has a hemmed notch with a distal end of the handle fastening to the top rod within the notch.

4. The container or Claim 1, wherein the container has top pockets enclosing the top rods and there are two spaced apart hemmed notches in the same top pocket and the handle has opposing distal ends each of which is fastened to the same top rod at a different one of the notches.

5. The container of Claim 4, wherein the side panels and top pockets are fabricated from single stitch woven nylon.

6. The container of Claim 4, wherein the side panels and top pockets are fabricated from laminated material having sufficient stiffness to support the material vertically.

7. The container of Claim 1, , wherein the sides are made of single stitch woven nylon and the handles is fastened to the top rod by having a distal end of the handle on one side of the top rod and a backing material on the other side with the distal end fastened to the backing on opposing sides of the rod to enclose the rod between the distal end and the backing.

8. The container of Claim 1, wherein the sides are made of single stitch woven nylon or laminated material and wherein opposing distal ends of the handle are folded into a U shape to encircle a portion of one of the top rods, with opposing legs of the U shape being stitched together to encircle the rod member therein.

9. A collapsible container, comprising: a bottom panel having a plurality edges; a plurality of rectangular side panels, each of the side panels having a bottom edge connected to the respective edge of the bottom panel, a top edge, and a pair of opposing side edges connected to the side edges of two adjacent side panels; a plurality of top pockets formed by folding and self-stitching the top edges of the side panels; a plurality of side pockets formed by stitching portions of each pair of adjacent side panels proximal to the side edges; a plurality of rods each embedded in a different one of the top pockets and the pockets; and at least one handle attached to one of the top rods.

10. The container of Claim 9, further comprising a support plate placed on the bottom panel and conforming to the shape of the bottom panel.

11. The container of Claim 9, wherein the side panels are fabricated from self-supporting nylon.

12. The container of Claim 9, wherein the side panels are fabricated from self-supporting laminated material.

13. The container of Claim 9, wherein the handle comprises a flexible strap having at least one end folded about a portion of one of the top rods and self- stitched to encircle the portion of the top rod therein.

14. The container of Claim 9, wherein the handle comprises a backing opposite a distal end of the handle with a portion of a top rod interposed between the distal end and backing, the backing fastened to the distal end to hold the handle.

15. The container of Claim 9, wherein the plurality of rods and side panels form a multiple bay container, with the handle having distal ends fastened to two opposing top rods.

16. The container of Claim 9, further comprising a top on the container which is fastened to the top pockets, with a zippered opening in the top.

17. The container of Claim 9, further comprising a zippered opening in one of the sides.

18. A collapsible container having at least three flexible with side corners, the sides each having a bottom corner joining a bottom, the bottom and sides defining an enclosed space, the sides each having a top edge, the container comprising: a flexible rod fastened to each side corner and each top edge; a bottom sheet abutting the bottom and conforming in shape to the bottom; a handle; means for fastening the handle to at least one of the top rods.

19. The container of Claim 18, wherein the container is made of single weave nylon.

20. The container of Claim 18, wherein the container is made of a self- supporting material.