The field of the invention is for cemeteries. More specifically, the field of invention is for a cemetery having a themed and unique configuration relating to an event, apparatus and the like.
Cemeteries and different burial places have been contemplated from the beginning of time. The human race has always desired the best ways to respect and bury their dead. The type of burial has changed over the centuries to include burning, burying, sending out to sea, building elaborate burial structures and the like.
The two most common types of burial methods today are cremation and casket burial. In more recent times, cremation has become more prevalent and is a little less expensive as it does not require acquiring a plot, or tombstone/gravestone. However, what is actually done with the cremation remains is often up to the families or the deceased. Many wish their ashes to be spread or placed at certain locations and others are stored by loved ones. The second traditional method of burial includes the use of a casket, plot and gravestone/mausoleum. The dead are prepared for burial, placed in a casket, and lowered into the ground. A gravestone or mausoleum is placed on top of the burial site to mark where the deceased is located. Typically, prior art cemeteries are parks with trees, grass and other park-like structures. Some prior art cemeteries are located on church grounds or other holy sites. Cremation remains are also sometimes found at these similar locations.
However, no significant developments have been made in the cemetery industry for some time. One way of denoting the interests and hobbies of the deceased individual is to carve the information directly onto the deceased headstone or gravestone. The information provided may give some idea of the individual's personal life, hobbies or other information that may immediately denote some characteristic or personal trait of the individual. Outside the markings of a headstone or gravestone, it is often very difficult to identify characteristics about the individual that may have identified their personal traits, interests or hobbies.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and unique cemetery theme that may allow the deceased some options when considering where and how to be buried. Additionally, a need exists for an improved cemetery which may provide greater deference and options to individuals that may be dictated by personal interests and hobbies while still giving the options for the type of burial ceremony, including cremation and/or traditional casket burial. Moreover, a need exists for an improved themed cemetery that may celebrate the common passion in the memorialization process, yet still give diverse burial options.
The present invention provides an improved cemetery experience whereby the cemetery and accompanying facilities may celebrate and demonstrate the passion and hobbies of the deceased individual. The contemplated themed cemetery may be a stand-alone cemetery that celebrates a common passion of a plurality of individuals, yet still maintains the traditional burial and memorialization process. The themed cemetery may take a specific event, or commonly understood and loved location and memorialize that location in the theme of a cemetery where those with that common interest and enjoyment of the commonly understood location may desire to be buried. The cemetery would closely resemble both visually and physically, a replica of the theme being celebrated and may provide space for the deceased while still providing adequate income and revenue in the way of advertising for the operator.
Among the many different possibilities contemplated, a themed cemetery may be provided for burial of the deceased.
To this end, in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a themed cemetery, the cemetery comprising: a portion of property replicating at least a venue both physically and visually; a plurality of plots located within the famous venue; said plots capable of holding traditional caskets and cremated remains; and at least a portion of the famous structure having advertising space thereon.
In an exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery venue is a baseball stadium.
In an exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery venue is a golf course.
In an exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery venue is a football stadium.
In an exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery venue is an automobile racetrack.
In an exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery venue is a casino, building, racetrack, and/or any other notable structure.
In an exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery plots are capable of holding human remains whereby the plots may have different revenue value depending on location within the famous venue.
In an exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery advertising space is provided on the outside walls of the famous venue.
In an exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery advertising and promotional space is provided within the venue to coincide with the advertising and promotional space provided at the corresponding real world facility for which the cemetery is modeled after.
In an exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery advertising space is provided in the same locations where advertising is found in a real life famous venue.
In an exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery further comprises: unique burial headstones having personal preferences that relate to the famous venue.
In yet another exemplary embodiment, a method for creating a themed cemetery is provided. The method comprising the steps of: providing a property which replicates at least a landmark venue both physically and visually; providing a plurality of plots located at different locations within the landmark venue; said plots located at different locations whereby said different locations being capable of holding either traditional caskets or cremated remains; and at least a portion of the famous structure having advertising space thereon.
In an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises the step of: providing areas within the landmark venue capable of holding human remains whereby the plots have assigned values depending on the location within the landmark venue.
In an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises the step of: allowing deceased individuals to be buried in a familiar location to social activities that the deceased member was involved in during their life, which is associated with the landmark venue.
In an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises the step of: providing a seating area for visitors coming to the landmark venue whereby space is provided in the seating area for placement of deceased individuals' remains.
In an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises the step of: said landmark venue being any of: a baseball stadium, a golf course, a basketball, hockey, football stadium, a car racing park, a traditional park, a casino, building, racetrack, famous landmark, structure or building.
In an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises the step of: providing preferred locations within the landmark venue whereby the preferred locations provide increased revenue for burial at those locations.
In an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises the step of: providing monuments, articles and memorabilia which are incorporated into the landmark venue to simulate and conjure up memories of the real world facility for which the themed cemetery is modeled thereafter.
In an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises the step of: providing unique burial headstones and plots which have personal preferences and memorabilia that relate to the landmark venue.
In an exemplary embodiment, the method further comprises the step of: providing advertising and promotional space within the venue to coincide with the advertising and promotional space provided at the corresponding real world facility for which the cemetery is modeled after.
Additionally, in an exemplary embodiment, a themed cemetery may be provided whereby the cemetery may deliver a visual and a substantially similar replica of the theme being celebrated.
In yet another exemplary embodiment, it is contemplated that the themed cemetery may take the form of a scaled replica of a famous golf course.
In another exemplary embodiment, it is contemplated that the themed cemetery may take the form of a scaled replica of a football stadium such as Soldier Field, Lambeau Field, or Qualcomm Stadium.
A further exemplary embodiment contemplates that the themed cemetery may be formed to replicate a baseball stadium such as Wrigley Field, Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium.
In yet another exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery may be adapted to replicate a driving forum such as the Daytona 500 and/or Talladega.
Additionally, in an exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery may be adapted to replicate a famous casino, a famous building or any other structure, theme or hobby that may have been of interest to a plurality of deceased individuals.
In yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the themed cemetery may celebrate a common passion and/or theme in every aspect of the traditional burial and memorialization process.
Still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention is to provide a themed cemetery whereby the theme is celebrated through the unique property design.
Yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention is to provide a themed cemetery whereby the cemetery is specifically customized as a funeral and/or burial service with diverse burial options.
Still another exemplary embodiment is to provide a themed cemetery whereby the operators and creators of the cemetery would make every effort to deliver a visual and physical replica of the original venue to be celebrated, whether it may be a stadium, building or golf course.
Another exemplary embodiment of the invention is to provide a themed cemetery whereby the theme may be a NASCAR race track.
In yet another exemplary embodiment, a themed cemetery may be provided whereby the themed cemetery may utilize and capture the excitement of being at the actual themed event which the cemetery is designed after.
A further exemplary embodiment is to provide a themed cemetery whereby the physical size of the cemetery would be substantial in an effort to capture the feel of the true stadium, building, or venue.
Another exemplary embodiment is to provide a themed cemetery whereby the cemetery may have various portions thereof which may be of higher value to certain individuals, including bleachers which an individual may have spent a lot of time in, or premium boxes which may have been a favorite for the deceased. Similarly, an individual may wish to be buried in an infield portion of a stadium, or the pit area of a NASCAR themed cemetery, which may be chosen by the individual depending on their tastes.
A further exemplary embodiment is to provide a themed cemetery whereby the themed concept may be followed through in a design to include things like stadium seating that may be designed as community niches, which from a quantity standpoint may be most prevalent.
Still another exemplary embodiment is to provide a themed cemetery whereby the themed concept may be followed through in a design to include aspects such as viewing towers and private box niches, pit areas, winner's circles for car and horse racing venues, in-fields and end zones in stadium venues, and even outside walls that may be utilized to store the cremated remains of an individual.
Yet another exemplary embodiment is to provide a themed cemetery whereby the themed cemetery may also include a revenue stream for the operators by allowing advertising which have become common in most venues. The operator may sell advertising space on the outside walls, the pit areas, or box areas as are commonly found in most sporting venues. Thereby the operator of the cemetery may generate multiple revenue streams and may change the advertising space in the same manner as most venues change advertising space and use depending on time and other factors.
In another exemplary embodiment, the themed cemetery may be provide whereby the themed cemetery may be constructed to constitute any of a plurality of sporting or leisure events including baseball, basketball courts, hockey rinks, horse racing grounds, children's playgrounds, favorite restaurants, specific city buildings, country buildings, miniaturized landmarks, and the like.
In still another exemplary embodiment, unique tombstones, headstones and gravestones may be utilized to demonstrate a particular individual's interest in that venue. For example, an individual may have a personal connection to a certain individual car, green (for golf) or player, whereby the individual may utilize unique headstones that display their preferences within the themed cemetery.
Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.
The following description of a preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses. For ease of description, only one exemplary embodiment is herein described in detail. However, it should be understood that a person of ordinary skill in the art would contemplate that any of a plurality of embodiments may utilize the same themed cemetery construction for many different themes including stadiums, landmarks, buildings, parks, and the like. It should be understood that the use of a car racing stadium is utilized only for illustration purposes only and is in no way limited to only race car stadiums.
As illustrated in
Additionally, as illustrated in
Included in the grandstands 5 may be a grandstand burial area 11. As enumerated above, many individuals may have spent much of their time at a particular sporting event, such as season tickets for baseball games where the season ticket holder held the same seats for many years. The themed cemetery 1 may provide the individual with the ability to be buried or interned in much the same location or seating area where that individual may have spent so much of their leisure time. Additionally, visitors that knew the individual well, would know that the individual had been buried in the grandstand burial area 11 at a location that was close or at the location where that individual spent much of their leisure time. Many visitors may have at one point or the other, gone to a sporting event with the person interned or buried there and may have fond memories of their time with that individual. The grandstand burial area 11 may also provide nostalgic and/or fond memories for the individuals that visit the deceased, creating a positive atmosphere as opposed to the deserted, and desolate prior art cemetery grounds that provide the atmosphere that would provoke the fond and happy memories, thereby creating a positive cemetery visitor experience.
The track area 29 may even be divided into a first area 41 and a second area 43. The first area 41 may comprise more uniform tombstones 47 that lie at ground level and may complete the aesthetic appearance of a track area 29. Moreover because of their proximity to other tombstones 49, the first area 41 may be marketed as a cheaper area to purchase than other areas of the themed cemetery 1. The second area 43 of the track area 29 may be marketed by the facility owners as a more expensive, larger plot area of the themed cemetery 1. As illustrated in
Also illustrated in
The themed cemetery may take any of a plurality of shapes and sizes, depending on the desires and accommodations necessary for those wishing to be interned at the location. For example, the themed cemetery may take the form of a baseball stadium (
The above-described device may be altered by means known in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.
The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. The terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced.
While the invention has been described in what is presently considered to be an exemplary embodiment, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the specific illustrative embodiment, but be interpreted within the full spirit and scope of the appended claims.
This application claims priority to the earlier filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/108,670 filed on Oct. 27, 2008, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/606,977 filed on Oct. 27, 2009 which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1096758 | Rogers | May 1914 | A |
4688359 | See | Aug 1987 | A |
4977652 | Graham | Dec 1990 | A |
5408786 | Konno | Apr 1995 | A |
6052954 | Dudek | Apr 2000 | A |
6261028 | Volpe | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6662416 | Huggins | Dec 2003 | B1 |
6681534 | David | Jan 2004 | B2 |
6799399 | Dudek | Oct 2004 | B2 |
6854165 | Parker | Feb 2005 | B1 |
7036196 | Salatin | May 2006 | B2 |
7089495 | Barrows | Aug 2006 | B2 |
7127783 | Poole et al. | Oct 2006 | B1 |
7165297 | Poole, Jr. | Jan 2007 | B2 |
7421765 | Kaiser | Sep 2008 | B1 |
7900327 | Elhaj | Mar 2011 | B2 |
8196274 | Heckenbach | Jun 2012 | B2 |
20010036354 | Majors | Nov 2001 | A1 |
20020133360 | Hill, II | Sep 2002 | A1 |
20030145533 | Dudek | Aug 2003 | A1 |
20060053604 | Brine | Mar 2006 | A1 |
20100075767 | Correll | Mar 2010 | A1 |
20100101158 | Montgomery | Apr 2010 | A1 |
20100313395 | Heckenbach | Dec 2010 | A1 |
20110126480 | Tsao | Jun 2011 | A1 |
20110161254 | Van Den Bogart | Jun 2011 | A1 |
20120227227 | Heckenbach | Sep 2012 | A1 |
Entry |
---|
Kara, Spak, “Beyond the Vines”, Sun Times Article, Jul. 13, 2008. |
Home, “Beyond the Vines”, (http://web.archive.org/web/20080915030157/http://beyond the vines.net/default.aspx-Way Back Date—Sep. 15, 2008). |
Babwin, Don, “Beyond the Vines”, Media Coverage, Sep. 15, 2008. |
Packages, “Beyond the Vines”, Packages, Sep. 15, 2008. |
Ground Breaking News, “Beyond the Vines”, Sep. 15, 2008. |
Fans Forever Inc., “Beyond the Ivy”, Jul. 9, 2008. |
Simon, Scott, “Fore Die-Hard Fans, a Cubs-Themed Cemetery”, NPR, Jul. 19, 2008. |
Hofman, Rich, “Philadelphia Sports Cemetery”, The Philadelphia Daily News, Sep. 10, 2008. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20140150224 A1 | Jun 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 12606977 | Oct 2009 | US |
Child | 14090999 | US |