US2783523A - Burial vault - Google Patents

Description

J. L. HALLEY Mgu'ch 5, 1957 BURIAL VAULT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 10, 1955 INVENTOR. JAMES LEO HALLEY March 5, 1957 J. L. HALLEY 2,783,523

BURIAL VAULT Filed Oct. 10. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Vxgfll INVENTOR. JAMES LEO HALLE V T TOPNEVS yUnited States Patent l 2,783,523 BURIAL VAULT James Leo Halley, San Francisco, Calif` Applictio October g-19553-Sei'ial No. 539,587l

7`Claiin`s. (Cl.27'-'3'5) This invention relates to improved receptacles or burial vaults for containing human corpses.

In my Patent No. 2,705,828 issued April 12, 1955, I disclosed a receptacle for containing' a human corpse that allows the fluid released by the decomposition of a corpse to drain from the receptacle and after complete decomposition permits the drain outlet from the receptacle to be sealed.

It is, in general, the broad object of the present invention to provide an improved casket or vault construction thatftcan be sealed from within the receptacle or vault itself. v

Another object of the inventionis to providea unitary receptacle or vault that includes within its structure its Afurther object of the present invention is to provide vreceptacles or vaults` that are capable of use either ina grave or in a mausoleum where multiplebur-ials are con-` templated, .and wherein after. decomposition of thecorpses in: eachvault, the vaults can'be separately sealed.v

I tlhasbeen the custom to enclose a bodyina casket which may or may not be hermetically sealed, their on burial in the ground vthis Icasket is `lowered into a cement for wooden vaultthat is previously placed in the ground;

It is Alenownthat the human body is composed oapprox imately 85% water or liquidA and to this is added the rembalming. fluid. Therefore, when a Icorpse decomposes,

lie-in this putridruid, and in the event-,of Vdisi-ntermentof :the body, for anyY reason, persons disinterring. the corpse and dehydration of the corpseis immediately drained'froiil theacompartmentin thervaultwherein the corpse i's l'oca'ted and is channeled into an asepticor septic' compartment wherein. said fluid can be treated to purify the-same and then is .permitted tofv flow intoy thel ground: or intoaregular sewer drain, if oneisavailable.- `An-fodor-testt can-bjc made from time to time to determine when decomposition and* dehydration of thebody is-complete. Whenrthe body has completely decomposed' and dehydrated, then :the v ault itselfcanlze permanently andhermetiCalIy sealed from within. vAlso by use voi the present inventiommultiple burials can be made inthe same grave or in a mausoleuin `and the second: or third vault canbe easily connectfe'd tothe septic or aseptie compartment ot. the vfirst vault.' K

One form which the inventionmay assume is Sexempli- 'edfi'n the-` following. d'escription-and` illustrated b y way of example in'the accompanying drawings', in which;

Fig'. l! is an end'view in elevation showing two vaults in use with the ventI pipes and-'drains ofthe two vaults-shown. F;g;.2` tsaside view taken along line z+1 ernia-1 1', idwing'ne two vlts in' use with the vent pipe and -own aseptic or septic tank so that fluid emitting from the Y `vault during decomposition of the corpse can be purified and thus will not be odoriferous o r contaminating and `can be, if desired, discharged'intoa sewer system.

.-a-qnantityof uidis released.- Ifthe-casketis-hermetically I fsealed andL iswater impervious, the corpse continues to 2,783,523 Patented...ll/lar.v A5, 1952 Fig. 3 is a side view taken along line 3--3 of Figad',

Fig.- 5 is a fragmentary view taken' along line 545 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the two vaults showing the arrangementof the drain'pipes.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, Fig, l shows a multiple burial .wherein two vaults are employed, each containing a human corpse. The vaults are constructed of'water-impervious material such as concrete or like substance. Thelower or bottom vault is generally indicated at 10 and the upper or top vault` is generally indicated at 11. The ylower vault has side walls 12, end walls 13' and 14, a cover 15, an intermediate bottorn .wall 16 and: a bottom wall 17. At one end of sa'id intermediate bottom wall 16 there is formed a sumpv 18. Saidsump is generally of rectangular shape and has an angularl-y disposed endV wall, indicated at 1,9.v The end wall-19 is angularly disposed to facilitate `the lill-ing` of thef-sumpf- 1,8-- with a settable material, as will-'beY hereinf` after explained. A drain outlet 20 is formed in the botl tom of said sump 18, saiddrain outletpreferably having a threaded screenv 21` at the upper endthereof vthat is clis-l posed abovey the floor of-th'eksump to prevent theY blocking orclogging ofthe drain by any loose,4 solid or semi-solid matter withinHt-he vault. A ball float 22 is placed with'in the drain outlet, and said ball oatis inserted within the drain outlet by unscrewing thev screen 21 ,and dropping the ball float 22 in-said drain. The ball is held-in place in sa-iddrain by a pin 23 thatisaixed to the side'of the drain .and prevents the ball fromk dropping completely through` the said drain outlet.- If, by any. chance, .the water level of the surrounding ground in which: thevault is buried should rise tor such an extent, and water should back up into said drain, said ball oat wouldseat-itselfon thevalve seat 24vand close said drainoutlet 20.

Channels 25 are formed in the upper surface26 oflsaid intermediate bot-tonrwalLlto directthel'low of uidinto thesump 18 andl drain-outlet 20.J The said. drain outlet connects at its lower end with a septic or aseptic' drain compartment27 formed in the bottom'of the vaultby the intermediate bottom wall 16, bottom: wall,17, Vandthe lower: portion ofthe' end wall 13 and` wall 28: VBottom wall 17 slopes slightly; downwardly away from wall 13 to facilitate the` drainage of fluid from said drain compartment 27. Fluid passing through'compartment 27 can be. purified-,by any well-known method of lpurilioatiom WallZS h-asan outlet 29 to permit the drainage of uid from said compartment 27. vA hinged -valve covers the outlet 29. This valve prohibits underground animals or insects from entering the compartment 27,. and;:also in .the event the 4water level shouldnt any time' riseto abovethe level of the valve, it actsto prevent-theiwater from backing up into compartiment 27. ln:theeventburial-is to be in a mausoleum, the outlet-29 canfbe threaded and'connected directly to sewer fac i l ities. An air space 31 is provided at the rear of the valve 30 so that-.s aidvalveean atall times ,operate freely andV fluid can easilydrainfrom s'aid compartment4 27.- through said outlet 29 and5valve 3 0. A screen 32f is placed over the openend of said airspace 31 to stop bugs, insects, rodents or dirtfrom enteringsai'd outlet and valve.

The end wall. 13 of saidvault lasincluded' thereintpipfes or conduits 33 andV 34. Conduit: 33" passesthroughpnd wall 13 with its Vlower outlet 3Sf terminating aqrecess said" outlet being below the upper surfaceovoftheinter-g 33- attaches'bynipple "connection 37 to conduit 38 that extends upwardly to ground level. The upper end of said conduit 38 is closed by a threaded cap. Placed in said conduits 33 and 38 is a bleeder pipe 39, the use of which will be explained in detail hereafter. f' In-the -event of a single burial, wherein only the lower vault isemployed, said vault is lowered into a grave dug in thegroun'd or is placed in a mausoleum." The casket containing the corpse is then placed in said vault and the cover is sealed in place. The conduit'BS is screwed into the nipple 37 and a threaded cap is placed over said conduit 3S. From time to time an odor test can be made by unscrewing the said threaded cap. When itis determined by the odor test that the corpse is completely decomposed and dehydrated, then the threaded ca p can be removed and a sealing material can be poured down conduits 38 and 33, filling the sump i3. Any pressure of air formed in the vault, caused by the introduction of a sealing material into the vault, can pass out through the bleeder pipe 39. A sul'licient amount of sealing material is poured into the vault to completely seal conduit Y33 and bleeder pipe 39. The construction 'of the sump 18 facilitates the complete sealing of the vault due to the fact that theupper lip 35aV of conduit l 33 opens into said sump so that it is below the upper surface 26 oi the intermediate horizontal wall 16. Also the -angularly disposed end wall 19 of the sump tends to force the settable material back upon itself to completely fill said sump i8. The vault then becomes hermetically sealed and if the body is later exhumcd for any purpose, there is no unpleasant odor or mess to contend with. This is also true if the body must be exhumed before complete decomposition and dehydration because all of the fluid formed by the partial decomposition and dehydration of the body is drained from the vault as it is formed.` ln the ordinary burial, particularly where a waterproof hermctically sealed vault is employed, on eX- humation a foul and disagreeable condition is encountered because the uids occasioned by decomposition stay in the casket or vault and make such a task practically unbearable.

When two or more burials are contemplated in the same grave or mausoleum, additional conduits, such as conduit 34, are placed in the end wall 13 of the vault 10 as shown in Fig. l. at their lower end in the compartment 27 and at their other end at the upper end of wall 13. When not in use, they are capped over in the usual manner. The second vault 11 has side walls 40, end walls 41 and 42, cover 43 and bottom 44.

The bottom 44 of the second vault has formed therein asump 4S with a drain outlet 46, floating ball valve 47 and valve seat 48 similar to that in the first vault. One wall of said sump 4S is formed at an angle, as indicated at 49. This is so formed to facilitate the closing of the vault with a settable material, as previously described. Channels 50 are also formed in the said bottom Li4 for drainage purposes.

The end wall 41 has an odset 51 formed therein. In said offset is a conduit 52. The lower end of said conduit 52 connects with sump 4S, and the upper end of said conduit 52 is connected to a vent pipe 53. Said vent .pipe 53 is closed at its upper end by a threaded cap 54.

The end wall 41 is formed. so that its lower face 55 is approximately parallel to the upper face of the bottom 44 and is below the lower end 52a of conduit 52. By this construction, said sump 45 includes two walls that are capable of blocking Vany sealing material poured therein; namely, the angular wall 49 and wall 56 formed by the lower portion of end wall 41. The said drain outlet 46 is constructed similarly to drain outlet 2) with a threaded screen 57, lloat ball valve 47 and valve seat 48. Said drain outlet 456 is connected to conduit 34 in end wall 13 of the said rst vault 10 which connects with compartment 27 of the said rst vault 10. Any

These condiuts also terminate 4 standard type connection is employed to join the drain outlet 46 to conduit 34. i

Fluid released as a result-of decomposition of the body in the second vault will ow along channels into the sump 4S, out drain 46 through conduit 34 and into drain compartment 27, and finally through drain 29.

When multiple burials are contemplated, the cover 15 of the lirst vault 10 hasvformed therein two recesses 58 and 59 and the bottom 44 of the second vault 11 has formed therein recesses 60 and 6i. These two sets of recesses 53-59 and 60--61 are in alignment. 0n the first burial, dummy half pins are inserted in recesses 58 and 59. However, inthe event of a second burial these dummy pins are removed and pins 62 and 63 are inserted in said recesses 58 and 59, and when the second vault is lowered into position, the upper ends of said pins 62 and 63 are inserted in recesses 60 and 61, respectively. The second or top vault 11 is held in place on the lirst vault not only by the connection of the drain outlet 46 with the conduit 34, but also by the pins 62 and 63.

After the second burial, an odor test can be madefrom time to time to determine the state of decomposition and dehydration of said second corpse and when, as a result of such test, it is determined that decomposition and dehydration has been completed, a sealing material may be poured down vent pipe 53 and conduit 52 into the sump 45. A sul'licient amount of sealing material is poured into the said sump 45 to completely till the same, thus covering the drain outlet 46, closing the lower end of conduit 52 and sealing said vault 1i. Any air put under pressure by the introductionl of the sealing material can pass out of said vault through the bleeder pipe 64. By this means the pouring of the sealing material into the vault is greatly facilitated as no back pressure is built u thereby.

Additional burials can be made using the drain compartment 27 by merely placing in the end wall 13 of vault 10 additional conduits so that drains from additional vaults can be connected therewith.

By the use of this construction sanitary conditions are greatly improved, for not only is the corpse permitted to dehydrate as a result of decomposition, but the fluid released by such decomposition of the body can be puriied to a great degree by passage through the drain compartment wherein said iiuid is treated by any well-known method of purification. Thus, any liuid ilowing out of the vault is free from contamination.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in its construction by those skilled in the art with'- out departing from the spirit of the invention as dened in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A burial vault for receiving a human corpse, said vault comprising integral vertical side and end Walls, an intermediate bottom wall, a bottom wall, a cover at the upper ends of the vertical walls to close said vault, said side and end walls, cover, intermediate wall and bottom wall forming a corpse receiving chamber and a drain compartment underlying the chamber, said intermediate wall being formed with a drain passageway communicating between the said corpse receiving chamber and said drain compartment, a conduit connected at its lower end to the chamber adjacent said drain passageway and terminating at its `upper end adjacent the top of said vault whereby sealing material may be introduced through the conduit to seal it and the drain passageway.

`2. A burial vault for receiving a human corpse, said vault comprising monolithic integral vertical side and end walls, an intermediate horizontal bottom wall, la horizontal bottom wall, a monolithic cover at the upper ends of the vertical walls to he hermetically sealed, relative thereto, said side and end walls, cover, intermediatewall and bottom wall forming a corpse receiving chamber and a drain compartment underlying the chamber, said intermediate wall formed with a sump adjacent one end thereof, a drain passageway comirzunicating between the sump andsaid drain compartment, -a conduit formed in one end wall and opening at its upper end through the top thereof and at its lower end in the sump adjacent the bottom thereof whereby sealing material may be introduced through the conduit to seal said conduit, sump and the drain passageway. n

3. A burial vault for receiving a human corpse, said vault comprising monolithic integral vertical side and end walls, an intermediate horizontal bottom wall, a horizontal bottom wall, a monolithic cover at the upper ends of the vertical walls to be hermetcally sealed relative thereto, said side and end walls, cover, intermediate wall and bottom wall forming acorpse receiving chamber and a drain compartment underlying the chamber, said intermediate wall formed with a sump adjacent one end thereof, a drain passageway communicating between the sump and said drain compartment, valve means in said drain passageway to permit uid flow from the sump to the compartment only, conduit formed in one end wall and opening at its upper end through the top thereof and at its lower end in he sump adjacent the bottom thereof whereby sealing material may be introduced through the conduit to seal said conduit, sump and the drain passageway.

4. A burial vault for Vreceiving a human corpse, said vault comprising Ymonolithic integral vertical side and end walls, an intermediate horizontaltbottom Wall, a horizontal bottom wall, a monolithiccover at the upper ends of the vertical walls to be hermetically sealed relative thereto, said side and end walls,`cover, intermediate wall and bottom wall forming a corpsereceiving chamber and a drain compartment underlying the chamber, said intermediate wall formed with a sump adjacent one end thereof, a drain passageway communicating between the sump and said drain compartment, valve means in said drain passageway to permit iiuid flow from the sump to the compartment only, a conduit formed in one end wall and opening at its upper end through the top thereof and at its lower end in the sump adjacent the bottom thereof whereby sealing material may be introduced through the conduit to seal said conduit, sump and the drain passageway, and one wall of the drain compartment being formed with a drain opening for permitting iluid to drain from said compartment.

5. Multiple burial vaults for receiving human corpses comprising a rst vault formed of integral vertical side and end walls, an intermediate bottom wall, a bottom wall, a cover at the upper ends of the vertical walls, said side and end walls, cover, intermediate wall and bottom wall forming a corpse receiving chamber and a drain compartment underlying said chamber, said intermediate wall being formed with a ldrain passageway communicating between the said corpse receiving chamber and said drain compartment, a rst conduit terminating at its lower end in the chamber adjacent said drain passageway and its upper end above the top of said first vault whereby `sealing material may be introduced through said first conduit to seal it and said drain passageway, a second conduit spaced laterally from said first conduit and terminating at its lower end in said drain compartment and extending upwardly to the top of said first vault, a second vault for receiving a human corpse formed of integral side and end walls, a bottom wall and a cover forming a corpse receiving chamber, said second vault being adapted to be superimposed on the first vault, a drain passageway communicating between the said corpse receiving chamber and said second conduit, a third conduit terminating at its lower end adjacent the drain passageway of said second vault and at its upper end above the top of said second vault whereby sealing material may be introduced through said third conduit to seal it and said drain passageway in said second vault.

6. Multiple burial vaults for receiving human corpses comprising a first vaultformed of integral Vertical side and end walls, an intermediate bottom wall, a bottom wall, a cover at the upper ends of the vertical walls, said side and end walls, cover, intermediate wall an-d bottom wall forming a corpse receiving chamber and a drain compartment underlying said chamber, said intermediate wall being formed with a sump adjacent one end thereof, a drain passageway communicating between the said sump and said drain compartment, a first conduit terminating at its lower end in the sump adjacent the bottom thereof and at its upper end above the top of said first vault whereby sealing material may be introduced through said first conduit to seal said conduit, sump and said drain passageway, a second conduit spaced laterally from said first conduit and terminating at its lower end in said drain compartment and extending upwardly to the top of said first Vault, a second vault for receiving a human corpse formed of integral side and end walls, a bottom wall and a cover forming a corpse receiving chamber, said second vault being adapted to be superimposed on the first vault, said second vault being interiorly formed with a sump, a drain passageway communicating with the said sump and said second conduit, a third conduit terminating at its lower end adjacent the sump of said second vault and at its upper end above the top of said second vault whereby sealing material may be introduced through said third conduit to seal said conduit, sump and drain passageway in said second vault.

`7. Multiple burial vaults' to be disposed beneath the ground for receiving htunan corpses comprising a first vault formed of monolithic integral vertical side and end walls, an intermediate horizontal bottom wall and a horiz'ontal bottom wall, a monolithic cover at the upper ends of the vertical walls to be hermetically sealed relative thereto, said side and end walls, cover, intermediate wall and bottom wall forming a corpse receiving chamber and a drain compartment underlying said chamber, said intermediate wall being formed with a sump adjacent one end thereof to receive iluid from said chamber, said intermediate wall being formed with a drain passage forming a communication between said sump and said compartment, a oat valve member and seat in said drain passage to permit ow from the chamber to the compartment only, a first conduit formed in one end wall and opening at its upper end at the top end of said wall and at its lower end in the chamber in communication with the sump whereby sealing material may be introduced through said first conduit to seal it and said drain passageway, said one end wall being formed with a second conduit extending between the upper end of the wall and said drain compartment and spaced laterally from the first conduit, a second vault for receiving a human corpse formed of monolithic integral vertical side and end walls, a bottom wall and a cover forming a corpse receiving chamber, said second vault being adapted to be superimposed on the first vault, said second vault being interiorly formed with a sump communicating with said chamber and extending into one end wall, the bottom wall of said second vault being formed with a drain opening therethrough adapted to register with said second conduit in the end Wall of the rst vault when the second vault is superimposed thereon, valve means in said drain opening permitting only downward flow of uid from said chamber and sump to said second conduit, sai-d end wall of said second vault being formed with a vertical passageway therethrough and extending from the sump through the top of the wall.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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