The present invention relates to a receptacle for cremated remains.
More and more cremations of human or animal remains are taking place now, as cremations are now fully accepted by many of the major religions for funerals and also for social and economic grounds. However a problem exists with securing a final resting place for a loved one's cremated remains.
Traditional graveyards are not properly able to deal with cremated remains. Some graveyards offer small plots for burying the remains in the ground and some others provide walls having places for receiving the cremated remains.
However land in graveyards is limited and plots for cremated remains take up a lot more space than is actually needed. Also the wall storage system is very cluttered and offers little privacy to persons visiting the site.
There is therefore a need to provide a system by which local authorities and owners of graveyards can provide a simple, effective, inexpensive but secure means of storing cremated remains.
The present invention provides a receptacle for storing cremated remains, the receptacle comprising an elongate hollow tower, means for securing the tower in the ground, a lockable cover or door for getting access to the interior of the elongate hollow tower wherein cremated remains can be placed within the tower. Optionally a plurality of cremated remains can be accommodated, for example a plurality of cremated remains holders can be stacked on another (within the tower).
The means for securing the tower will secure it in an upright position, for example by securing the tower in an upright position on the ground, for example by the means for securing anchoring itself in the ground. It will be appreciated that within the present invention the receptacle could be secured to a support or base which is itself directly or indirectly supported on the ground. The present invention includes such arrangements and reference to being secured in the ground should not be construed so as to exclude such arrangements
The means for securing can be any suitable means and is not limited to those described herein.
Desirably the tower is modular, so that it can be extended as desired. In this way its holding capacity can be increased. So, for example, as a group of people, such as a family, can have their remains within a receptacle of the invention, and the receptacle's capacity can be extended whenever required to accommodate further remains. This means that associated people, for example, a family, can add remains at different times. Yet the remains can all remain together. This may be achieved without having to buy a plot of land, for example such as a burial plot. A burial plot may be dimensioned to accommodate at least one coffin and as such may be much larger than is required for cremated remains.
The tower itself may itself be formed by a series of modular units. These modular units may allow accommodation of additional remains holders such as urns within the tower. These modular units may each be a receptacle, in which remains are (directly) placed.
Any modular units may be stacked one on the next.
Where the tower is modular, it can be extended by one or more modular units such as an extension part.
Desirably the tower comprises modular units which are stackable.
A receptacle of the invention may comprise a base part, and a closure part; and an extension part, and the extension part fits between the base part and the closure part to extend the height of the receptacle.
A receptacle of the invention may comprise a base part, a cap part; and an extension part, and the extension part fits between the base part and the closure part to extend the height of the receptacle and the cap fits to the extension part to close the receptacle.
A receptacle of the invention may comprise a base part, a cap part; and a plurality of extension parts, and the extension parts fit between the base part and the closure part to extend the height of the receptacle and the cap fits to an extension part to close the receptacle. For example a plurality of extension parts fit together and also fit between the base part and the closure part to extend the height of the receptacle and the cap fits to an (uppermost) extension part to close the receptacle.
A receptacle according to any preceding claim wherein the means for securing is an anchoring means, for example an anchoring bolt for the tower.
The tower may accommodate one or more remains holders such as secondary receptacles, for example urns, which hold the remains.
The tower may be formed by modular units, for example modular receptacles, optionally wherein each receptacle is for holding remains.
Each of the modular units may add height to the tower.
The modular units may be formed by one or more side walls that define a peripheral wall, for example an annular wall. The modular units may be open at each end. The modular units may have a support at one end, for example to form a support such as a floor on which a remains holder such as a receptacle can be placed. It will be appreciated that the support may take any form such as a continuous floor, a series of support members such as cross members or an annular lip or rim or combinations thereof.
Where the tower is modular one or more retaining collars may be provided to hold two modular units together, for example in a stacked arrangement. The retaining collars may be holding rings.
Desirably where the tower comprised parts which stack vertically to form the tower those parts interconnect for example by having a lower end of one part interfit with another. For example one part may overfit another in a male-female interconnection.
In one arrangement one part of the tower, for example a lower part, has an upstanding wall or rim on a top end thereof that is insertable into and engages with a receiving portion on the bottom end of a second part.
Desirably the tower comprises at least two parts, a base part and a cap part.
Preferably, an identification means is provided on the exterior surface of the tower so that the identity of the interred deceased person or animal is visible.
An identification means may be in the form of a band which is attached to the tower and optionally the band is positioned against the remains of the particular person. Desirably the band extends across a front face and onto at least one side face for example at least two side faces. To the extent the tower has no side faces, for example is circular then it is desirable that the band extends about the tower past that part of a tower that is seen in a front elevational view. For example at least 120 degrees about a central vertical axis of a tower, such as at least 180 degrees.
Advantageously, the tower is cylindrical in shape. Alternatively, the tower may be of cube, cuboid, hexagonal prism, triangular prism or other shape. Reference to the tower being cylindrical in shape should not be seen as limiting.
The identification means may be in the form of a sleeve which fits over the tower and the sleeve is positioned against the particular remains, for example of the particular person.
The identification means may be in the form of a placque which is attached to the tower. Preferably the placque is positioned on the outside of the tower and/or against the particular remains, for example of the particular person. A placque can be removed and/or repositioned.
Preferably, the receptacle is manufactured from stainless steel, for example polished stainless steel. Of course other materials can be used. Different finishes and colours can be utilised.
The receptacle of the invention is weatherproof—it protects the remains held within it from atmospheric elements such as wind and rain etc.
The invention will hereinafter be more particularly described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings which show by way of example only one embodiment of a receptacle for cremated remains according to the invention. In the drawings:—
Referring to
The cremated remains of deceased persons in their individual holders such as caskets or containers (not shown) for example urns, are stacked one on top of each other until the tube 104 is full. A sleeve 106 is marked up as appropriate to identify the deceased person and located adjacent the casket or container containing their remains.
The base of the tube 104 is securely fixed to the cylindrical base 102 and cannot be removed when in situ. The upper cap member 108 is removable to allow access to the inside of the tube 104 but is securely locked in position to prevent unauthorised access.
In
The hollow tower 120 has a base or lower end 122 and sidewall(s) 124.
A base end or floor 123 (best seen in
For aesthetic purposes an optional rim 127, such as an engraved rim, may be provided.
A placque 130 is provided on the sidewall 124. It is held in place by (four) screws or bolts 132—one at each corner of the placque 130. Typically this placque 130 would provide identification means on the exterior surface of the tower 120 so that the identity of the interred deceased person(s) is visible. Generally there will be one placque per remains.
An additional or alternative identification means is provided on the exterior surface of the receptacle 120. This takes the form of a band 136. The band 136 optionally extends about the receptacle beyond the part of the receptacle 100 that is visible in an elevational view. For example in the elevational view of
The band 136 may for example also provide identification means on the exterior surface of the tower 120 so that the identity of the interred deceased person(s) is visible. It can be used in addition to, or instead of, one or more placques.
The band 136 may be provided with identification means for example information which identifies the family name. So, for example the band may have a family name while the or each placque may be provided with further identification means such as one or more of first name; date of death, etc. The band is held in place by suitable fixing means for example two fixing means such as fixing screws 137 (best seen in
An upper cap member 108 is provided to close the top end 128 of the tower 120. Optionally, and as shown in the embodiments of
As best seen from
Again as best seen from
As best seen in
The tower 120 may accommodate one or more remains holders such as secondary receptacles, for example urns 160 (see
The embodiment of
In this way, a receptacle 100 of the invention would be utilised by finding a suitable location in which to place it; securing it to the ground (or other support) as described above; placing remains, such as an urn 160, within the tower 120; closing the tower using the cap member 108, for example utilising fixing screws as described above; and providing suitable identification means for example on a band 136 and/or a placque 130. In this way the tower is securely fixed in place and the remains are held within a weatherproof receptacle and are thus appropriately preserved.
One of the advantages of the present invention is the relatively small footprint it occupies. A further advantage of the present invention is its ability to be extended as required. For example, a group of associated people, such as a family, could purchase a receptacle of the invention to accommodate one set of remains, but extend the receptacle over time to accommodate further remains.
To achieve this, the tower of the invention may further include an extension part and for example be formed by at least three parts, a tower part, an extension part, and a closure part such as a cap member.
The tower is modular in nature—any number of extension parts may be employed. The extension part connects to the tower 120 in a manner analogous to the cap and apertures 177 provided in the extension part can be utilised to fix the extension part 170 to the remainder of the tower 120. The extension part 170 is provided with an upstanding wall or rim 178 in a manner analogous to that described above, and it engages with the cap in a manner analogous to the remainder of the tower 120. Locking means such as fixing screws can be inserted through apertures 179 in the upstanding wall and rim 142 securing the cap 108 to the extension part 170. The extension part 170 can optionally carry a placque 130.
The embodiment of
It will be appreciated that even though reference is made to a tower 120, once the extension part 170 is in place, the tower is the structure formed by the original part 120 and the extension part 170.
It will be appreciated that the tower may be provided with a first part intended to accommodate a number of remains, for example one or two remains, and then an extension part is available for accommodating any subsequent amount of remains.
For example the receptacle 100 of
It will be appreciated that the parts of any receptacle 100 of the invention may interconnect in any way, for example by having a lower end of one part interfit with another. For example one part may overfit another in a male-female interconnection.
It will be appreciated that it may not be desirable to place a remains holder, such as an urn 160 on top of another remains holders such as an urn 160. In such a case, the receptacle 100 of the invention may include additional supports, such as additional shelves or floors upon which a receptacle holders such as urns can be placed.
While the embodiments of the invention describe a modular system that accommodate respective remains, it will be appreciated that each part of the tower, may itself be a receptacle into which respective remains may be placed directly and held separately. Those receptacles will essentially function in the same manner as the parts of the receptacles described above with the additional function that separate compartments to hold separate remains separately will be provided within the tower itself.
The receptacles according to the invention take up very little space and can accommodate a number of cremated remains and also function as a dignified memorial. They can be spaced apart from each other giving plenty of space for persons visiting the site.
The words “comprises/comprising” and the words “having/including” when used herein with reference to the present invention are used to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.
It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details described herein which are given by way of example only and that various modifications and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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S2015/0028 | Feb 2015 | IE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2016/052356 | 2/4/2016 | WO | 00 |