This invention relates to memorials for deceased loved ones and respected others to be remembered, and more particularly to methods for providing memorials for cremated loved ones in a body of water where family, friends and admirers are reminded of their past associations with, and accomplishments of, the decedent.
Many families and groups of friends and neighbors have lived, vacationed and enjoyed fellowship and the good times of life at waterside homes, and wish to continue to honor deceased members of family and friends and to be reminded of the contributions made to the joy of life by deceased members of their families and friends. Memorials erected or positioned in graveyards are remote from the venues of everyday life and from the meetings, parties and celebrations of everyday life.
Recently, cremation is becoming a popular post-death treatment of the remains of a deceased loved one, and many families choose to house the cremains of a loved one in an urn and keep their cremains in their homes.
The invention permits families, friends and admirers who have enjoyed waterside living to provide perpetual memorials adjacent their waterside homes for deceased family members, loved pets and close friends.
Applicant can find no prior record of, and knows of no prior methods for providing, with the cremains of loved ones, water-borne memorials, or memorial buoys therefor.
The invention provides a method for providing a water-borne memorial with the cremains of a loved one that can be located in a body of water, such a lake, river, bay or inlet, adjacent, for example, a residential or vacation dwelling. Such a method includes providing a water-tight container for the cremains of a loved one with sufficient water-tight volume to float adjacent the surface of the water in which it may be placed, placing the cremains of the loved one inside the water-tight container through a closeable opening in the water-tight container, providing a closure adapted to engage the closeable opening and render the container water-tight, attaching the closure to the container to close the closeable opening and render the container water-tight, selecting a location in a body of water where family and friends of the cremated loved one frequent, such as a lakeside residence or summer home, and anchoring the water container at the selected location where it floats adjacent the surface of the water and provides a visible memorial to the cremated loved one. If desired, the memorial buoy can be provided with a memorial such as an inscription on its visible portion, an attached inscribed plate, a religious symbol, such as a cross, or other remembrance.
The invention also comprises a memorial buoy for cremains, which can be used in the practicing the method of the invention. Such a memorial buoy can comprise a buoy assembly forming a water-tight interior for carrying the cremains of a deceased loved one, a sealable opening for insertion of the cremains within the water-tight interior, and a closure for closing and rendering the sealable opening water-tight. The water-tight container can be provided with the buoyancy needed for support of the buoy assembly adjacent the surface of a body of water in which it is placed and the display of any memorial may carry, and the cremains will provide ballast for the buoy assembly. The memorial buoy can carry a cremains holder in its water-tight interior, if desired, and such a cremains holder can itself water-tight if desired. The buoy assembly can also be provided with means for anchoring the buoy assembly in a selected location for any memorial it may carry.
One simple buoy assembly of the invention can comprise a lower container, which can have any cross-sectional shape, into which the cremains are poured and provide ballast while the empty container portion above the cremains provides buoyancy to float the buoy assembly at a desired height in the water. A closure is then joined to the open top of the container in a water-tight connection to prevent water from entering the container and reaching the cremains.
If desired, the cremains can be placed in an appropriate separate cremains holder, and both the cremains and cremains holder can then be placed in the lower container. To allow the cremains and cremains holder to be removed from the buoy assembly for placement within the home of the decedent's surviving family, e.g., during the cold months of the year, the upper portion of the lower container portion can be provided with a sealable surface including a seal member, and the closure can be provided with a mating sealable surface so the container closure can be removable but provide a water-tight container when fastened onto the mating sealable surface edge of the lower container. Thus, such a buoy assembly can have a sealable opening for insertion of the cremains or cremains holder within its water-tight interior and provide the buoyancy for supporting the buoy assembly adjacent the surface of a body of water as a memorial. The separate cremains holder, if used, can comprise, for example, a container with a fitting lid, which may also adapted to form a water-tight seal for the enclosed cremains.
In another buoy assembly, the buoy assembly can be formed with a container body, which can have any cross-sectional shape, with one preferred cross-section being circular. The container end which will be supported by the buoy assembly adjacent the surface of the water in which it is placed will carry an upper end piece fastened to the container body with a peripheral water-tight connection and will provide the sealable opening of the buoy assembly. The upper end piece can include a central opening formed to engage and support a cremains holder centrally within the container body, can further include a sealable end surface around the sealable opening of the buoy assembly, and can provide an outer surface portion with a circular cross-section which can provide a cylindrical threaded outer surface around a sealable end surface and the central opening. In such a buoy assembly an end closure with a cylindrical skirt with internal threads that engage the cylindrical threaded outer surface of the upper end piece and a sealable inner surface can be screwed onto the threaded outer surface of the upper end piece to close the sealable opening. A seal sized for sealing engagement with the sealable end surface of the upper end piece and sealable inner surface of the end closure cap seals the sealable opening of the container as the closure cap is screwed onto the upper end piece. Thus, the closure cap may be screwed onto the upper end piece and seal the sealable opening to provide the water-tight interior of the buoy assembly and may be unscrewed from the upper end piece to permit access to and, if desired, insertion and removal of the cremains holder into and from the buoy assembly.
The buoy assembly can have any desired shape and finish, preferably a shape that is both attractive and functional, e.g., spherical, and can be manufactured from any material that resists corrosion in water and can provide a water-tight interior for cremains. The water-tight interior of the buoy assembly is dimensioned to provide buoyancy selected to carry the memorial buoy adjacent the surface of a body of water into which is inserted, and preferably may be provided with buoyancy selected to carry the memorial buoy with the sealable opening above the water's surface.
Other features and advantages of memorial buoys of this invention will become apparent from the drawings of the invention and more detailed description of embodiments of the invention that follow.
Further embodiments of memorial buoy assemblies of the invention and variations of their parts and assemblies will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the drawings and the further more detailed description of the illustrated embodiments follows.
As illustrated in the drawings and the following description of the invention, the buoy assembly itself can have many varied designs and part arrangements and can be made from many materials and many manufacturing methods in providing a water-tight container for the cremains of a decedent.
The memorial buoy assemblies of
The
As illustrated by
The invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated and described above. For example, the memorial may have a triangular cross-section with the sealable opening in one of its sides. In this embodiment the cremains can be carried adjacent the junction of two of the three sides, and its third side can be carried adjacent the surface of the water where it may be adapted to provide a memorial to a deceased loved one. In addition, a cremains holder, if used, may be a bag formed with a thin, sealable flexible film of water impermeable material, such as polyethylene, the opening of which is sealed after the cremains are inserted. Such a bag may deform and carry the cremains adjacent the junction of two of the sides to provide a desirable ballast for the cremains container.
While the drawings and preceding description of the invention illustrate and describe memorial buoys formed from metals by metal manufacturing methods, memorial buoys of the invention can be formed from other materials, such as rubber, plastics, such as nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene, poly chloride, epoxies and the like, which generally resist corrosion by water, by forming methods, such as vulcanizing, blow molding, injection molding, casting and others well known in the art.
It is believed that the families of a cremated decedent will prefer that the cremains of their loved ones be carried in a cremains holder within a memorial buoy assembly, in a manner like that shown in
The size of a cremains holder will be governed by the size of the deceased loved one. “What size urn do I need”, available on the internet at www.mainelyurns.com/what-size-cremation-urn.html, indicates that for each pound a decedent weighed, one cubic inch of volume is needed to store the cremains. For example, the cremains of a 240 pound decedent will need 240 cubic inches of storage volume in a cremains holder, and the cremains of a 50 pound child will require 50 cubic inches of volume in the cremains holder.
“I'm Burning Up How much will my ashes weigh?, available on the internet at www.slate.com/articles/news and politics/explainer/2008/07/im_bnurning up.html , indicates that the cremains of a decedent will weigh from 2 pounds all the way up to 10 pounds. The weight of the cremains of a decedent must be added to the weight of the memorial buoy assembly and any cremains holder in the memorial buoy assembly to determine the volume of the water-tight portion of the memorial buoy assembly needed to provide the desired displacement of water and buoyancy of the memorial buoy assembly and the amount by which the memorial buoy assembly extends above the water surface. Water has a density of about 0.04 pounds per cubic inch. The weight of the memorial buoy assembly can be determined by the volume of its parts and the densities of the materials from which its parts are made. Examples of metals from which the parts of memorial buoys can be made and their densities are: aluminum-density of about 0.10 pounds per cubic inch; steel-density of about 0.28 pounds per cubic inch; and bronze-density of about 0.32 pounds per cubic inch. For a memorial buoy to float, each pound of a memorial buoy assembly and its contents must be supported by at least an equal weight of displaced water, and to provide exposure of a memorial plaque, the weight of the water to be displaced when the memorial buoy is placed in the water must be less than the total weight of the water displaced when the memorial buoy is completely immersed, and this desired displacement of water can be calculated using the weight of the memorial buoy assembly, the dimensions of the water-tight portion of the memorial buoy assembly and the density of water, about 0.04 pounds per cubic inch. The dimensions and the resulting volume, in cubic inches, of the water-tight interior of the memorial buoy assembly as it accumulates from bottom to top along its central axis of the water-tight portion of the memorial assembly, multiplied by 0.04 pounds per cubic inch will be less by a selected amount than the total volume of water displaced when the memorial buoy assembly is totally submerged in water.
The descriptions and drawings of this application disclose examples of possible memorial buoy assemblies (and their parts) of the invention. It will be apparent to skilled artisans that many other possible embodiments of buoy assemblies can be devised using the invention.
This patent application claims the benefit and filing date of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/959,004 filed Aug. 13, 2013.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61959004 | Aug 2013 | US |