Patent Application
20100186206
The present invention relates, generally, to memorials and more particularly to memorials for commemorating deceased loved ones that are of a size and construction so as to make in-home display of the memorial possible.
In many Roman Catholic funerals it is part of the burial rite for the priest to present to the surviving spouse or one of the surviving children of the deceased the crucifix, which was present on the coffin. While this crucifix is forever linked to the deceased, it is often stored away in a drawer or box following the funeral and forgotten.
Similarly, items representing other religions such as a Latin cross, or the Star of David, or the military service or national origin of the deceased which were of significance to the deceased may become lost.
Permanent memorials such as gravestones or the like cannot be moved, are often not readily accessible, or are located far from the home of the survivors.
A pressing need exists for memorials which are light in weight and small in size so as to be easily portable by hand, the memorials being inscribed with the name and vital dates of the deceased and being readily positioned for prominent display in a place of honor for open viewing or moved to any selected location for keeping alive the memory of the deceased all while displaying selected ones of miscellaneous items such as a cross, or a crucifix, or other religious, or military, or national items or insignia intimately associated with the deceased and of great importance or significance to him or her.
It is a primary object of the invention to provide miniature memorials which are light in weight and of small size so as to be easily portable by hand, the memorials being inscribed with the name and vital dates of a deceased loved one and being readily positioned for prominent display in a place of honor for open viewing or moved to any selected location for keeping alive the memory of the deceased while displaying miscellaneous items such as a cross, or a crucifix, or other religious or military or national items or insignia intimately associated with the deceased.
Referring first to
Memorial 10 is preferably of small size and low weight so as to be readily portable by hand, with the foundation, base and headstone being fabricated from white Italian marble, or any other appropriately light weight stone, or wood, or plastic materials.
The foundation and base are both horizontally disposed and rectangular in plan and form a stepped structure with the base 14 being smaller in length and width than the length and width of foundation 12, while both are of approximately the same thickness. The foundation and base may be formed as an integral structure of may be formed separately with the base fixed to the upper face of the foundation by any suitable fastening means. A felt pad F may be fixed to the lower face of foundation 12 to protect against marring of tabletops or other surfaces on which the miniature memorial may be placed.
Headstone 16 is generally rectangular in front elevation and is fixed to and extends vertically upwardly from base 14 adjacent the rear edge thereof, with the length of the headstone being less than that of base 14 to further enhance the stepped appearance of memorial 10.
Memorial plaque 18 is fixed to the face of headstone 16 and may be fabricated from any bright metal such as gold, silver, brass, or the like. The plaque is engraved as at 26 with the phrase “In memory of” and the name of the deceased and at 28 with the vital dates of birth and death of the deceased. To add a striking feature to the memorial, plaque 18 may be fabricated from black brass, while the letters of the engravings 26 and 28 may be inscribed in gold. For a more traditional setting, plaque 18 may be omitted and the name and vital dates of the deceased inscribed directly on the face of headstone 16.
Latin cross 20 is attached to headstone 16 by inserting the lower end of upright member 22 of the cross into a provided port or opening 30 which is located centrally of the upper horizontal face of the headstone and extends vertically into the body of the headstone.
Cross 20 may be permanently attached to headstone 16 by any suitable means such as an adhesive or by a press fit between the upright member 22 and port 30. Alternatively, the port 30 may have threads inscribed therein, so as to threadedly engage with watching threads formed on the cross 20.
In the miniature memorial 110 as shown in
In the miniature memorial 210 as shown in
In the miniature memorial 310 as shown in
It will be readily apparent from the foregoing that miniature memorials are provided which are of small size and are fabricated from low weight materials so as to be readily portable by hand and which may be appropriately modified to display a wide variety of religious, military, national, or other items intimately associated with a deceased loved one, with the memorials being easily moveable from place to place for keeping alive the memory of a deceased loved one.
