Transport with variable volume, independently cooled compartments

Abstract

Transport with Variable Volume Cooperatively Independently Cooled Compartments includes a transport body that has a conventional cooling and refrigerator unit mounted on the front wall and ceiling. The cooling unit has conditioned air outlets and a return air inlet. The ceiling has simple air conducting channels that conduct conditioned air to central outlets which are situated generally centrally of the transport body. A central wall extends between the ceiling and the floor and has a door or doors. Bulkheads are provided to divide the transport into variable volume compartments defined as a freezer compartment, a chilling compartment, and an ambient temperature compartment. Conditioned air is exhaused into the freezer compartment and into the chilling compartment. Heaters in the chilling compartment and the ambient temperature compartment control the temperatures therein. The heaters and exhaust fans are thermostatically controlled. An apparatus for loading and unloading food products into the transport includes a lift gate and lift truck combination. A method for loading and unloading food products into the transport includes removing bulkheads and loading food items on pallets and maneuvering the pallets along longitudinal and horizontal roller tracks into and out of the frozen food compartment and the chilled food compartment and placing loads into the ambient temperature compartment.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.