1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to burial or cremation caskets and, more particularly, to casket lids.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Caskets or coffins traditionally include a body container to which is pivoted a lid or a cap. The lid usually has a dome, a pie, a rim, and a header in the case of a split lid. The dome, or the crown, is often, though not necessarily, convex in shape. The pie, or the fishtail, is a pie-shaped section which fits into a pie-shaped cutout in one end of the dome. The dome and pie assembly is typically referred to in the industry as the “cover”. The cover thus has opposed sides and opposed ends. Each of the opposed sides has a decorative piece of molding known as a side rim member secured thereto. Similarly, the pie has secured thereto a decorative piece of molding known as an end rim member. The pair of side and end rim members together define the rim or the ogee. The rim is mounted under the cover to form a raised lid.
In order to fabricate the lid, several different pieces must be time consumingly assembled and secured together. For example, in the case of wood caskets, the dome is typically formed from a plurality of boards secured together lengthwise with glue and/or fasteners. The pie is likewise formed from a plurality of boards and is secured to the dome with glue and/or fasteners. Next, the side and end rim members, themselves formed from a plurality of boards, are secured to the cover and the header, if any, again via glue and fasteners. The rim members are mounted inwardly of the cover to form a raised lid. As can be appreciated, manufacturing a casket lid is tedious and time consuming.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an efficient assembling method for casket lids.
One aspect of the invention provides a casket lid adapted to be mounted to a casket body container. The casket lid comprises a lid member and at least one rim member. The lid member and the at least one rim member are provided with corresponding male and female mating members. The male member and the corresponding female member are engaged for mounting the at least one rim member to the lid member.
Another aspect of the invention provides a casket lid comprising a lid member having a crown member bent into an arched shape; and at least one rim member mounted to the lid member with a groove and tongue engagement.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method to manufacture a casket lid. The method comprises: providing a lid member having one of a male member and a corresponding female member; providing at least one rim member having the other one of a male member and a corresponding female member; and engaging the male member and the corresponding female member for mounting the at least one rim member to the lid member.
A further aspect of the invention provides a method to manufacture a casket lid. The method comprises: arching a crown panel along a longitudinal axis of the crown panel, and reducing the spring-back of the arched crown panel by laminating a veneer with a wood grain pattern on a web panel forming the crown panel.
According to a general aspect, there is provided a casket lid adapted to be mounted to a casket body container. The casket lid comprises a lid member and at least one rim member, the lid member and the at least one rim member being provided with corresponding male and female mating members, the male member having an edge at least partly formed as an edge of the lid member, the female member having a groove at least partly provided as a longitudinal groove in the at least one rim member, and the male member and the corresponding female member being engaged for mounting the at least one rim member to the lid member with the edge of the lid member being securely received in the longitudinal groove.
According to a general aspect, there is provided a casket lid comprising a lid member having a crown member bent into an arched shape; and at least one rim member mounted to the crown member with a groove and tongue engagement, the at least one rim member having the groove and at least a section of a peripheral edge of the crown member being inserted into the groove.
According to a general aspect, there is provided a casket lid comprising a lid member having a crown member bent into an arched shape; and at least one rim member mounted to the crown member with a groove and tongue engagement, the crown member having two longitudinal edges; the lid member has a pie member extending between the two longitudinal edges of the crown member and having a transversal edge; and the at least one rim member has a transversal rim member and two longitudinal rim members, each one of the transversal and longitudinal rim members having an elongated groove therein; the longitudinal edges of the crown member being inserted into a respective one of the elongated grooves of the longitudinal rim members and the transversal edge of the pie member being inserted into the elongated groove of the transversal rim member.
According to a general aspect, there is provided a casket lid comprising a lid member having a crown member bent into an arched shape; and at least one rim member mounted to the crown member with a groove and tongue engagement, the crown member having a web and a veneer with a wood grain pattern laminated to the web.
Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which:
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.
Referring to the drawings and, more particularly, referring to
The lid can be either a one-piece lid 14 (
Referring to
In another embodiment, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the slots can be created into the cover for allowing the rims 28, 30 to be securely engaged into these slots. A person skilled in the art will also appreciate that the slots and the edges can be replaced by any combination of male and female members.
The lid 14 can be produced from solid timber, craftwood, particleboards, fiberboards, agrifiber boards, a combination of these materials or any other material known to one skilled in the art. The lid 14 can be covered with a solid timber veneer or a paper veneer bearing a timber grain design or any other design.
Referring now to
An adhesive layer is applied between the veneers 40 and the web 44 to create a permanent bond therebetween. The adhesive can be a heat or pressure activated adhesive such as PVA (polyvynil acetates), yellow glue (aliphatic resin), urea resins, as it will be described in more details below.
A person skilled in the art will appreciate that any number of veneers 40 can be laminated on a respective face 42 of the web 44. Moreover, one or both faces 42 can be veneer-free. The wood grains can also be oriented differently than for the embodiment described. In an alternative embodiment, to reduce the manufacturing costs, the veneers 40 can be replaced with a cardboard panel (not shown), a MDF panel, a MDF panel laminated with a paper veneer, a paperbacked veneer, and the like.
The web 44 can be made of any appropriate material such as, without being limitative, particle boards such as MDF, agrifiber boards, cardboard, wood, etc. The veneers 42 can be wood veneers, paper veneers or any other appropriate material known to one skilled in the art. In an embodiment, the thickness of the web 44 varies between 1/16 to ½ of an inch and the thickness of the veneers 40 varies between 1/10 to 3/16 of an inch. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the thickness of the web 44 and the veneers 40 can vary depending on the materials used.
Referring now to
If a heat or pressure activated adhesive is used, the web 44 and veneers 40 assembly is reinforced after the bending process since the adhesive has been actuated.
Applying at least one veneer with wood grains, along one of the longitudinal axis 46 and the transversal axis 48, over one face 42 of the web 44 reduces the spring back effect of the crown panel 50 after the bending process. The spring back effect results in the modification of the crown panel radius after the bending process. Combined with the heat or pressure activated adhesive and at least one veneer 40 with the wood grains along the transversal axis 48, the spring back effect of the crown panel 50 is even more reduced.
A person skilled in the art will also appreciate that the veneers 40 and the web 44 can be bent independently and assembled after the bending step.
One skilled in the art will also appreciate that the crown panel 50 can be formed from a plurality of boards secured together and it can have a different shape than a convex shaped dome.
As shown in
Grooves 64 are provided along the outer face 62 of the template 60 and define cutting patterns for cutting sections of the crown panel 50. Two triangular-shaped cutting patterns 65 are provided at the ends 67 of the template 60. A plurality of triangular shaped cutting patterns 68 are also provided along the longitudinal edges 69 of the template 60. The purpose of the cutting patterns 65, 68 will be described in more details below. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the disposition and the shape of the cutting patterns 65, 68 can differ from the one shown in
Referring now to
A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the shape of the indentations 74 can differ from the one shown in
For a split lid 14a, 14b, the length of the dome 16 can be the length of a one-piece lid and the dome 16 is cut into two distinct pieces or the length of the dome 16 can be the length of the split lid 14a and only one indentations 74 is created at one end 72 of the dome 16. For a one-piece lid, two indentations 74 are created in the dome 16 at a respective end 72.
As shown in
The arch-shaped second panel 80 is disposed over the template 60. It will be appreciated that a different template than the one used for the crown panel 50 can be used. As for the crown panel 50, the template 60 prevents the second panel 80 from moving when the suction pump is actuated. Several V-shaped end members 82, or pie-shaped sections, are cut and removed along the longitudinal edges 84 of the second panel 80. For cutting the V-shaped end members 82, the saw is aligned along the grooves 64 of the cutting patterns 68. The number of V-shaped end members 82 cut and removed from the second panel varies in accordance with the length of the second panel 80 and the template 60 used.
In summary, the V-shaped end members 82 are cut on the longitudinal sides 84 of the second panel 80 which are straight while the V-shaped sections 70 are cut at the ends 72 of the crown panel 50 which are bent. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the transversal rims 30, if any, can be mounted to the longitudinal sides of the second panel 80 before cutting the end members 82 therein. Similarly, the longitudinal rims 32, if any, can be mounted to the longitudinal edges 22 of the crown panel 50 creating the indentations 74 at the ends 72.
Each end member 82 has a transversal edge 24, which correspond to a section of one of the longitudinal edges 84 of the second panel 80, and a summit 88, opposed to the transversal edge 24. The shape of the end members 82 corresponds to the shape of the indentations 74 in the dome 16. Therefore, if the shape of the indentations 74 differ from the shape of a pie-shaped cut-out, the shape of the end members 82 vary accordingly. The length of the transversal edge 24 corresponds to the distance between the ends of the longitudinal edges 22 of the dome 16. Moreover, since the second panel 80 and the dome 16 have the same curvature, the edges of the end members 82 mate with the edges of the dome 16 defining the indentations 74. The end members 82 form the pies 18 of the lid 14.
Referring now to
In the cavity 98, the outer face 96 of the template 94 includes suction cups 99 operatively connected to a suction pump (not shown), or vacuum pump. When actuated, the suction cups 99 provide a suction, or partial vacuum, in the cavity 98 and maintain the dome 16 and the pies 18 (or end members 82), as it will be described in more details below, in a fixed position in the cavity 98. As for the template 60, the suction cups 99 can be disposed in accordance with any appropriate pattern in the cavity 98. Moreover, the vacuum means, preventing the dome 16 and the pies 18 from moving inside the cavity 98, can differ from the one illustrated in
Then, two pies 18 (or end members 82) are respectively inserted into the indentations 74 of the dome 16, disposed In the template 94, and secured thereto. When the vacuum pump is actuated, the pies 18 and the dome 16 remain in a predetermined position relatively to one another. Once the pies 18 and the dome 16 juxtaposed, they are secured together with an adhesive, fasteners, or any appropriate technique known to those skilled in the art while being maintained together in the template 94.
A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the assembling of the end members 82 (or pies 18) with the dome 16 can be carried out without using the template 94, with any other appropriate means. If the template 94 is used, it can differ from the above described embodiment. For example, it can be free of suction cups 99 or the suction cups 99 can be replaced by any other means preventing the dome 16 from moving while assembling the pies 18 thereto.
Referring simultaneously to
The longitudinal and transversal rims 28, 30 can be molded, can be formed from a plurality of boards secured together, can be made from wood, MDF or any other material shaped from a mechanical molding machine. Moreover, the rims 28, 30 can have a different shape than the rim members shown in
A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the longitudinal slot 32 can be performed in each rim 28, 30 before or after cutting the ends of the rim 28, 30 into beveled edges.
The longitudinal edges 22 of the dome 16 are inserted into the slot 32 of a respective longitudinal rim 28 and the transversal edges 24 of the pies 18 are inserted into the slot 32 of a respective transversal rim 30. Once inserted, they are secured together with an adhesive, fasteners, or any appropriate technique known to those skilled in the art.
It will appreciate that the rims 28, 30 can be mounted to the crown panel 50 and the second panel 80, either before bending the later or cutting the V-shaped sections 70 and the end members 82. Therefore, if the rims 28, 30 are mounted to the crown panel 50 and the second panel 80, the beveled edges 104 of the rims 28, 30 are created simultaneously when cutting the V-shaped sections 70 and the end members 82.
A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the template 94 can differ from the shown in
As mentioned above, for a split lid 14a, 14b, the one-piece lid thus obtained can be cut into two distinct pieces. A header 20 can be mounted to each section 14a, 14b of the split lid, at the end opposed to the pie 18. In the alternative, the same manufacturing process can be applied to manufacture independently each section 14a, 14b of the split lit.
As shown in
Instead of securing together a plurality of boards to form the dome 16 and the pie 18, the lid 14 is made from two panels bent into an arched shaped. The panels 50, 80 are thinner than the boards assembled for forming the dome 16 and the pie 18. Therefore, the resulting cover is thinner.
Instead of mounting the rim (or the ogee) under the cover to form a raised lid, the peripheral edges 22, 24 of the cover are inserted into the longitudinal slot (or a groove) 32 of the rim members 32, 34. Therefore, the rims 32, 34 are not mounted under the cover but a section of the cover is inserted into the rims 32, 34, providing a distinct appearance to the resulting lid 14.
The groove and tongue engagement between the edges of the lid 14 and the rims 32, 34 is possible since the lid 14, made from arch-shaped panels 50, 80, is thinner and lighter than the prior art casket lids made from a plurality of relatively thick boards.
Less manufacturing time and steps are required to manufacture lids with the above described technique. Consequently, less manpower is required to manufacture the lids.
One skilled in the art will appreciate that the lid 14 can differ from the one of the embodiment described hereinabove. For example, it can have a unique lid design or can have a basic design such as a flat lid.
The embodiments of the invention described above are intended to be exemplary only. It will be appreciated that the assembly of the rim and the cover using a combination of male and female members can be carried out with any types of casket lids and not necessarily with lids manufactured with bent panels. For example, it can be applied to flat casket lids or casket lids manufacture by securing together a plurality of boards. Moreover, the cover can include the female member and the rims can include the corresponding male member, especially if the cover is relatively thick. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims priority of U.S. provisional patent application 60/626,875 filed on Nov. 12, 2004, the specification of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
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