This disclosure relates generally to the field of cremation urns and planters and more specifically to an urn and planter combination.
It is a common practice to cremate the remains of a person or pet when that person or pet dies. The resulting ashes are often put on an urn to be placed in a spot of honor in a house or office. Alternately, some people elect to disperse the ashes in a natural environment so that the ashes may mingle and become one with the environment. As an extension of this idea, it would be useful to have an urn that has the capability of connecting directly with a container that can hold a plant or bonsai tree, where the ashes in the urn can mingle with the ashes thereby infusing the plant or tree with elements found in the person or pet's ashes.
The idea of placing the remains of a pet or person in close proximity to a living plant or tree has been considered in the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,652 by Graham shows the idea of placing remains under a tree. But this idea is not suitable for indoor use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,373 by Raymond shows an urn that has an upper soil holding part and a lower ash holding part. However, there is no provision for the ash material to mingle with the soil material.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,382 by Parker et al. shows a planter having a false bottom that can hold ashes, but again, there is no provision for the ash material to mingle with the soil.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,943,657 by Perry et al shows a planter having a side cavity allowing an urn to next into the side cavity, but again, there is no provision for the ash material to mingle with the soil.
Therefore there is a deficiency in the prior technology in that none of the prior designs allows the ashes of a deceased person or pet to commingle with the soil of a plant or bonsai tree for use in an indoor setting. The commingling of the ash and soil gives the owner of the combination urn and planter the comfort that some of the elements of the deceased are being used to directly feed the plant or tree and thereby having material of the deceased literally incorporated into the plant or tree.
The primary object of the invention is to provide an urn and planter combination that allows a person to have a container that both holds the ashes resulting from cremation and a living plant or bonsai tree.
Another object of the invention is to provide a combination urn and planter that allows the ash remains to commingle with a soil medium so that the usable plant friendly materials found in the ashes can be drawn into the plant or tree thereby capturing elements of the deceased and recycling them into a living plant.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed an urn and planter combination comprising: a central plant holding cup shape formed by an outer wall and a bottom planar surface, a first concentric ash and soil holding ring formed by an inner wall, a bottom planar surface and an outer wall, a second concentric ash holding ring formed by an inner wall, a bottom planar surface and an outer wall,
a first ring closure cap, a second ring closure cap,
an outer main housing,
an outer main lid, an outer secondary central lid,
a central cup partition sheet,
a first ring partition sheet,
said central cup shape having a plurality of vertical slots evenly spaced along its outer wall,
said first concentric ring having a plurality of vertical slots evenly spaced along its inner wall,
said central cup partition sheet placed on the inside wall of said central cup,
said first ring partition sheet placed inside said first ring's inner wall,
said first concentric ring surrounding said central cup shape,
said second concentric ring surrounding said first concentric ring,
said outer main housing surrounding said second concentric ring,
said first ring closure cap having a central aperture capable of letting said central cup protrude,
said first ring closure cap capable of tightly fitting over the top of said first concentric ring,
said second ring closure cap having a central aperture aligned with the inner wall of said second concentric ring,
said second ring closure cap capable of tightly fitting over the top of said second concentric ring,
said outer main lid including a central opening to allow the top of said central cup shape to protrude through,
said outer main lid capable of tightly fitting onto the perimeter of said outer main housing,
said outer main lid including an upwardly directed collar at the edge of said central opening,
and said outer secondary central lid including a downwardly directed collar that can tightly engage the collar of said outer main lid.
The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention.
Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.
Referring now to
Although the shape of the cup, rings and outer housing is shown as cylindrical in this embodiment, the shape can be other concentric shapes such as square, a hexagon or an octagon. Additionally, the height of the central cup shape 6 and outer housing 2, 4 can rise significantly to create a more vertical, vase-like appearance.
Optionally, an additional central cup can be housed within cup 6. The additional cup would be a standard flower pot and not contain slots for the migration of roots. In this way, a person can elect to use the surrounding rings for the ash remains and have the additional cup be removable for replanting in the future.
While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/530,992, filed Apr. 4, 2017; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/530,992 claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/390,679, filed Apr. 7, 2016, both of which applications are incorporated herein in their entireties.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4977652 | Graham | Dec 1990 | A |
5029373 | Raymond | Jul 1991 | A |
5815897 | Longstreth | Oct 1998 | A |
6092330 | Pratt | Jul 2000 | A |
6112382 | Parker | Sep 2000 | A |
6516501 | Vazquez-Perez | Feb 2003 | B2 |
6854165 | Parker | Feb 2005 | B1 |
7610663 | Johnson, Sr. | Nov 2009 | B2 |
7904998 | Motz | Mar 2011 | B2 |
8943657 | Perry | Feb 2015 | B1 |
20150264869 | Steiner | Sep 2015 | A1 |
20160000002 | Bibaud | Jan 2016 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20180160631 A1 | Jun 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
62390679 | Apr 2016 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 15530992 | Apr 2017 | US |
Child | 15867127 | US |