Container comprising an improved floor structure

Claim 1

A container for transporting goods under a controlled environment, comprising in combination: an enclosed, generally box-like container providing a bottom wall, a top wall, opposite end walls and opposite side walls; partition means adjacent one end wall and defining a vertical space therewith; ventillation means for causing air to be inducted into the bottom of said vertical space and discharged at the top of said vertical space; a feeding channel communicating with said top of the vertical space and extending generally centrally along said top wall toward that other end wall remote from said partition means and terminating in a discharge opening adjacent the juncture between said top wall and said other end wall, whereby all of the air circulated by said ventillation means is discharged into the container space adjacent said juncture; floor means defining return flow passages communicating with said bottom of said vertical space for providing uniform temperature and humidity conditions throughout the cargo space of the container, said return flow passages having inlet openings remote from said one end wall to provide a majority of return air flow area adjacent said other end and said floor means comprises a plurality of groups of channels in which channels of each group are of different lengths to present inlet openings progressively more remote from said one end wall, and upstanding partitions forming extensions of those channels terminating short of said other end wall, which extensions extend to said other end wall.