Patent Application
20140250645
The present invention relates to the field of cremation urn burial vaults and, more particularly, to a cast acrylic urn vault used to protect and preserve, in a sealed environment, buried urns containing cremated remains.
There are already a number of solutions for protecting cremation urns. Most of these solutions, however, fail to satisfy the requirements of the cremation industry in that they are large, heavy, cumbersome and they often price themselves out of the reach of the average consumer. Most of the cremation urn vaults currently available to consumers are made of concrete, steel, polymers, granite, marble, ceramic or stained glass, steel, and even wood and are so heavy that outside agencies must be paid to deliver and install these current urn vaults. Today, there exists a desire for a lighter, more easily-handled cremation urn vault that is impervious to nature's elements to a greater degree than concrete, polymers, and the like. There is a need for a stronger structure that does not have the weaknesses of existing vaults and can withstand the heavy weight of the covering soil as well as any heavy equipment that passes overhead. With thousands of additional families choosing cremation every day, there is a tremendous need for a protective, sealing, urn vault with far greater stability than what is offered in the industry today. Such an efficient urn vault would streamline installation, to the point where the actual families involved could lower the urn vault into its burial position by themselves, allowing for additional closure for grieving loved ones. Also, this new invention would lower overall installation costs and still guarantee the confidence and peace of mind for grieving families. Funeral homes and funeral director's have never been able to sell any current protective urn vault on a preneed basis because they are so large that consumers can't take immediate possession of the vaults and these sales are limited to at-need families. Preneed sales account for a large part of funeral home profits and this present acrylic urn vault invention is extremely light, easily handled by funeral employees and family members, as well as dynamic in its presentation and will be a very desirable product to the preneed market. With cremation on the rise around the world, there is a greater need for an attractive, secure, and stable sealing urn vault that suffers from none of the stability and installation problems of the current urn vault solutions today. This cast acrylic urn vault invention satisfies that need.
Most urn vaults are designed with a base adhered to sidewalls and a lid that closes from the top. Essentially, most cremation urn vaults are simply heavy boxes. These all portend to seal and protect the urn, but fail either because of the hefty weight, inferior build quality that breaks down in extreme soil conditions, or they fail because of the exorbitant costs associated with handling and burying these vaults.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,421,765 is an aesthetically pleasing vault and urn system where the vault and the urn are covered with materials capable of resisting deterioration for extended periods of time. The failure here is that the vault is “covered with materials” that resist deteriorization. These materials, underground, will break down, separate, and fail, leaving the urn and cremains to the elements. Any covered product placed underground will eventually break down. That is certain.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,162 utilizes the beauty of stained glass combined with innovative assembly techniques to provide a cremation urn that is pleasing in appearance, light in weight, rugged in construction, and moisture and dust resistant. Yet, this urn vault could not be used to protect urns that are buried in-ground. The weight of the soil and pressures associated with in-ground burials would crack the stained glass and break immediately.
U.S. D432285 is a cremation urn vault with an ornamental design. It is a heavy concrete box that is costly to install and impossible to handle, except for cemetery professionals. Water and soil moisture eventually weaken any underground concrete structure. This concrete box is no different and is extremely susceptible to moisture.
Although these and other urn vaults are available, there is still a need for a new cremation urn vault, unlike any of these existing vaults. A patent search was recently performed for this new invention, targeting all cremation urn vaults, cremation vault assemblies, and cremation urn containers. The patent search “failed to locate any references considered to be of relevance” to this new cremation urn vault invention. This invention is a much more structurally sound urn vault capable of being handled easily for burial and decorative enough to serve as a display for an urn in a home setting. This acrylic urn vault seals tightly when underground, eliminating the threat of water, air, insects, and molds as well as being able to withstand any weight pressing on it from above. This sealing concept is exactly like an empty glass turned upside down in a sink full of water. The trapped air inside the glass presses against the water and doesn't allow any to get in. This new invention works in a similar fashion, except there are extra precautions inherent to the device that would never allow water, soil, insects, molds, etc. to enter and contaminate the urn or cremains.
The majority of existing urn vaults today are very heavy and require either machinery and/or extensive man-power to handle them. This weight problem creates additional labor and increased costs. Concrete urn vaults, the most prominent on the market today, can weigh well over 100 lbs. and those skilled in the art recognize that these are extremely difficult to lower into burial spaces. Also, most concrete vaults have inner polymer liners to protect the urns because over time, water and moisture will weaken the integrity of the aggregate concrete, leading to cracks and eventual failure. Once failure occurs, the plastic liners collapse, leaving the cremation urn and its contents vulnerable to the underground elements. For the size required, granite and marble urn vaults are simply cost prohibitive and their weight is similar, if not greater than concrete. Ceramic and glass are much too fragile to entrust with protecting a family's “buried” urn and wood is simply a bio-degradable substance that deteriorates quickly, much like water-based, aggregate concrete. Also, if a family were to request a disinterment to remove a buried urn or to add an additional urn, concrete urn vaults are extremely difficult to remove and if in fact the vault is still intact at the time of removal, the concrete lid will have to be broken in order to remove the urn. The concrete lid pieces falling into the vault could also damage the urn. Steel urn vaults do not seal, leaving the enclosed urn vulnerable to insects, molds and more, and even galvanized steel will succumb to rust in a moist environment. This new cast acrylic cremation urn vault will successfully address all of these existing urn vault issues by being extremely strong and durable, easily handled, capable of being reopened and resealed if requested, and can be easily manufactured as well as quickly assembled.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a sealing, acrylic urn vault which is both functional and decorative. The cremation urn vault of the invention is comprised of ⅝″ thick, cast acrylic which when bonded, provides a completely sealed environment devoid of any penetration by water, moisture, air or insects. The urn vault includes a generally square piece of acrylic serving as the base and a generally square top panel which will have four adjacent side walls cemented to its edges and all four protruding downward. Each opposing side wall will be bonded length-wise to each adjoining side, creating a seamless acrylic box, open at the bottom, that lowers onto the base. All acrylic pieces are bonded using a special acrylic solvent adhesive which molds adjoining pieces into a single entity by first softening the acrylic surfaces to be joined and then fusing them together when the solvent dissipates, leaving a strong glue-free joint. This is referred to as “solvent welding” or “adhesively bonded”. Both terms will be used throughout. Because the solvent adhesive used is formulated for adhering acrylic sheets to themselves, the resulting pieces have the tensile strength of a single, solid sheet of acrylic. Attached to the base are 0.625″ tall ⅝″ thick guide rails which are bonded equidistant from the outside edge on all four sides of the base. This “square railing system” serves as the resting guide for the acrylic top box which then lowers onto the base with the four sides walls resting against the outside of the four rails. The fit is such that the top walls are held securely in place by the guide rails with no opportunity to slide or move in its position on the base. Underneath the acrylic base are four 1″ square cubes that are set in 1″ from the sides at each corner. The four cubes serve as the pedestal feet which make the device protable. Also, the underneath space created by the pedestal feet would allow the use of straps or ropes if the urn vault is to be lowered into the ground any distance that might make it difficult to be lowered by hand. This acrylic invention can also be made of ¾″ panels to warrant extra protection from unusually heavy equipment or extremely harsh environments. This acrylic urn vault can also be altered to meet any urn size requirement as side walls may be increased in height and the base unit would adjust accordingly. This description doesn't put any limitations on the present invention's makeup or configuration.
This acrylic urn vault serves to protect the integrity of the cremation urn for a much longer period of time than the current heavy, concrete urn vaults. It is impervious to the two inherent weaknesses of concrete. Acrylic is not affected by moisture as is concrete and is chemically-resistant and impact-resistant. Also, a 1″ thick acrylic sheet is bullet-proof and has been tested at 9600 psi while concrete has a maximum strength of 700 psi. This acrylic urn vault, at ⅝″ thickness, has a minimum tensile strength of 1500 psi, still twice that of any current concrete urn vault. One vital purpose of this acrylic urn vault is that at only 12 lbs., it is very easily moved and can be handled by most any consumer, unlike the average concrete urn vault which weighs in at well over 100 lbs. Such concrete, steel, and marble/granite/bronze vaults require extra labor and machinery to move them into place. Since the acrylic urn vault is very light, it can also serve as a decorative, presentation device in the homes of families that delay urn burial for any length of time. In a home, the acrylic vault can both separate and protect the cremation urn in a decorative environment until a time is selected for inurnment. At that point, the entire acrylic device may be taken to the final resting place. Once the vault is lowered into place with the urn inside, an acrylic solvent adhesive is administered along the outside of the vault base guide rails which will permanently bond the adjoining acrylic pieces, sealing the urn inside for all time. Another option at the time of interment is for the acrylic base and top to be placed in position without the bonding compound, leaving the vault in a position to be opened at any point in the future should the family choose to do so. Even without the use of the sealing adhesive, the weight of the topsoil and grass holds the top of the vault in place, with the trapped air pressure sealing the urn inside, free of the threat of water, insects, mold, and the weight of heavy equipment.
It would be advantageous to provide a sealing urn vault that protects the cremation urn in an isolated, underground environment created by trapped air pressure which prevents any water, moisture, or underground contaminants from entering the urn vault.
It would also be advantageous to provide a cremation urn vault that offers a sealed environment even if the urn vault is not permanently sealed by solvent adhesive. Once the top is placed onto the base, held in place by the base guide rails, the trapped air pressure inside the vault works in the same manner to repel water, chemicals, and insects as when sealed permanently.
It would further be advantageous to provide a sealing cremation vault that when no solvent adhesive is required, at any time in the future, the vault may be reopened simply by removing the fill dirt and lifting the vault top off of the base. This is required if a family requests a disinterment or if they wish to place a second urn inside the vault which can then be permanently sealed once the final urn is in place. No other existing cremation urn vault serves this purpose.
The current invention offered is relative to the current trends in today's death industry regarding cremation. Each year, tens of thousands of additional families are choosing to move away from traditional casket burials and are instead, selecting cremation as a preferred means of final disposition. And in doing so, cremation ashes are placed into various types of cremation urns, including wood, bronze, marble, ceramic, and even plastic containers. A large percentage of these families are choosing to bury the cremation remains in cemeteries, private sites, and in garden settings. If the cemetery or cremation garden requires an outer burial container for cremation ashes or if the consumer wants additional protection for the buried urn, this acrylic urn vault serves that purpose. If an urn vault is not required, but the family requests the vault just to guarantee the integrity of the urn, itself, this urn vault serves that purpose. And if a grieving family wishes to take part in the burial ceremony to achieve closure, they may place this cremation urn vault into the designated grave space themselves and this invention serves that purpose as well, an act not allowed by current urn vault solutions. And, as previously stated, many families are delaying the act of interring the cremation urn and this invention serves the purpose of providing a protective and decorative display device for the urn before and after the burial takes place.
A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunction with the subsequent, detailed description, in which:
For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components will bear the same designations and numbering throughout the Figures.
The present invention will now be described more fully, referencing the accompanying drawing
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The current invention also surpasses the benefits of any present urn burial vaults in that the acrylic urn vault 44 top portion 42 may be placed onto the base unit 18 without being solvently welded to the base guide rails and trapped air inside the top portion 42 will seal the acrylic urn vault 44 air-tight and water-tight, providing a completely sealed environment devoid of any penetration by water, moisture, air or insects. The additional benefit here is that this acrylic urn vault 44 after ground burial, may then be uncovered at some point in the future and reopened in order to add an additional urn. The weight of the overhead fill soil keeps the top portion 42 in place and guarantees the enclosed urn will remain protected and free of any underground contaminants. Once a second urn is added, the acrylic urn vault 44 top 42 may be solvently welded to the acrylic base 18 and its accompanying guide rails. By using the present invention, consumers may avoid additional expenses by not having to purchase duplicate urn burial vaults.
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The invention has been described in considerable detail and those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications in the shape, size, materials, and arrangement of parts may be made. For example, alternate fastening systems may be used other than the preferred acrylic adhesives, IPS Weld-On 3 and Weld-On 4, which were in use in the acrylic urn vault 44 of this invention. These acrylic adhesives were chosen to be used on the smooth finished edges of said acrylic urn vault 44, leaving the joints clear of any residue once it dries. Other fastening systems are available for acrylic, including cyano-acrylate (super glue), methylene chloride, epoxy, and other acrylic cement adhesives. Also, other sizes and shapes may be selected to accommodate various cremation urn dimensions. For example, the embodiment of the invention may have its sides lengthened to any height for a taller urn or the base 18 may be stretched to accommodate longer cremation box-type urns or changed to add additional sides as in a triangular, pentagon, or hexagon shape. The invention base 18 could be circular as well and employ a round guide rail system. Materials may also vary with this invention. The guide rail sealing system would allow the acrylic urn vault 44 to be made of glass, bronze, marble, cement, wood, polyethylene or any biodegradable material as understood by those skilled in the art. This invention can also be made of acrylic ¾″ thick walls to warrant extra protection from extraordinarily heavy equipment. This urn vault can also be manufactured to meet any urn size requirement. It should be understood that the current invention is not limited to the details disclosed here.
Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of this invention.
Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.
