US3488818A - Burial casket with transparent body covering lining - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 13, 1970 C. R. ORR 3,488,818

BURIAL GASKET WITH TRANSPARENT BODY COVERING LINING Filed Feb. 21, 1968 FIG. 4

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United States Patent Oiilice 3,488,818 Patented Jan. 13, 1970 3,488,818 BURIAL CASKET WITH TRANSPARENT BODY COVERING LINING Carl R. Orr, 7538 Willey, Germantown, Tenn. 38038 Filed Feb. 21, 1968, Ser. No. 707,227 Int. Cl. A61g 17/04 U.S. Cl. 27-2 6 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention Relates to cofns or burial caskets and particularly to enclosure structures for preserving the corpse after interment.

Description of the prior art Prior are caskets fall generally into two categories: The full couch type in which a single lid is fitted over the casket corpse-receivingchamber and fully covers the corpse, and a half-couch type casket which typically includes two lids mounted edge to edge and which may be used for covering or uncovering the torso or upper part only of a corpse. It is often of great concern to relatives of the deceased that the body of the deceased be fully protected after interment. To these ends, caskets are made substantially air and waterproof. The typical contemporary casket, whether half couch or full couch is provided with sealable lid means for sealing the corpse inside the casket. In the casket art considerable effort is made to assure that a casket may be properly sealed: The welded joints are usually inspected or tested to make certain no opening exists in the walls of the'casket; where the casket handles are attached, and where holes must be formed in the casket walls, gasket seals are used to assure a tight connection; also, gaskets are used at the corner brackets and at such points where the trim or ornamentation of the casket requires perforations to be made in the casket wall; the lid sealing means is often complicated and considerable effort and expense is directed toward providing eifective sealing and latching means for casket lids.

Air lock type vault means are often utilized as a means of protecting a corpse. In addition to sealing a corpse in a casket, it is not unusual to seal the sealed casket in a vault during interment. The typical vault means includes an integrally formed steel cover having an open bottom and is adapted to be placed over the casket. As may well be seen, considerable effort is expended to assure proper protection of a corpse after interment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides comparatively simple but etfective means for protecting a corpse. The basic concept is to provide a casket having the principal corpsesealing or corpse-protecting means on the inside of the casket shelf or body. A long clear plastic case is adapted to -be placed over the corpse in a casket prior to closing and securing the lid of a casket. The lower edge of the case extends substantially below the corpse supporting surface and there is an air seal provided by the case. In other words, the air entrapped within the case will prevent the level of any water, which 'finds its way into the interior of the casket body, from rising to the height ofthe corpse so that the corpse will remain dry. The clear plastic case means of the present invention may be formed to fit or coact with an existing casket body or shell, or the invention may be in the embodiment of a combination including the casket body and the inside transparent case.

The present invention exhibits several desirable features: It can be utilized equally as readily in either the full couch or half couch type of casket: the transparent case inside the casket body provides an additional safeguard that a corpse is protected; when the inside case means is used in conjunction with a casket body having a scalable lid, double guard corpse-sealing means is provided; when the inside transparent case is tted in a sealed casket -body and the casket body is enclosed in a typical casket vault, triple-guard corpse-sealing means is pro vided in interment.

The transparent case means of the caskets of the present invention is easily tted in the casket body and with substantially no likelihood that it has not been properly fitted. Being formed of clear plastic material, the undertaker or a workman in the art may view the case after installation in a casket body and readily determine if the case has been properly installed. Also, the relatives of the deceased may readily see that the corpse is adequately protected by the clear plastic case. Utilizing the clear plastic case on the inside of a casket body substantially eliminates the importance of obtaining positive sealing at the casket lid and at the attachment points of the handles, corner brackets, ornamental trim and the like, and substantially insures that a completely efective air seal is provided. Moreover, in many instance, the use of the corpse-sealing means of the present invention obviates the necessity of enclosing the casket in a vault.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. l is a view of one form of the casket means of the present invention with parts in vertically spaced arrangement for purposes of description.

FIG. 2 is a vertical plane longitudinal sectional view of FIG. l with the parts arranged in operative configuration, and with the casket handle parts removed for clarity.

FIG. 3 is a vertical plane transverse sectional View taken as on the line III-III of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal plane sectional view taken as on the line IV-IV of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view of a second embodiment of the casket means of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1-4 illustrate at rst embodiment 11 of the present invention and includes basically a casket body 13 including -base structure 15 and lid structure 17; a clear plastic case 19 adapted to be arranged in the interior of the casket body 13; and bed means 21 defining a corpsesupporting surface 23.

Casket body 13 includes upstanding rectangularly arranged wall structure including side walls 25, 25 and end walls 27, 27. Base structure 15 in conjunction with upstanding wall structure 25, 25, 27, 27 deiine an upwardly opening corpse-receiving chamber 29. Base structure 15 preferably includes strucfure defining a generally rectangular flat upper surface 31 ard a rectangular upwardly facing base surface 33 coplanar arranged with surface 31 and extending circumferentially thereabout. Base surface 33 intersects respectively inside surfaces 35, 35, 37, 37 respectively of side and end walls 25, 25, 27, 27; rectangular base surface 33 extends generally continuously along upstanding rectangular wall structures 25, 25, 27, 27. Lid structure 17 preferably includes a head lid 39 and foot lid 41 in much the same form as the typical half couch casket. Head and foot lids 39, 41 are hinged respectively as at 43, 45 to a respective side wall 25 and are adapted to be sealingly closed over chamber 29.

Bed means 21 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) includes basically a rigid lower bed structure 47 and a resilient upper bed structure or mattress 49. Lower bed structure 47 preferably is formed of sheet metal material and includes a broad planar horizontal top 51, downturned rectangularly arranged vertical side and end panels 53, 53, 55, 55 and a horizontal rectangular configured flange 57 extending right angularly respectively from side and end Ipanels 53, 53, 55, 55 of lower -bed structure 47. Bed structure 47 is adapted to be removably received in chamber 29 with flange 57 restingly engaging base surface 33 of casket body base structure 15.

The rectangular periphery of bed structure flange 57 is proportioned to snugly but freely fit the interior rectangular configuration of casket chamber 29; the rectangular peripheral edge portions of flange 47 are adapted to be arranged contiguous the side and end Wall inside surfaces. Mattress 49 may be formed of any suitable resilient material and is configured rectangular to conform with the rectangular configuration of top 51 of bed structure 47. Mattress 49 extends coextensive with top 51 with undersurface 59 thereof restingly engaging the upper surface of top 51 of lower bed structure 47.

Case 19 preferably is integrally formed of Clear plastic sheet material and includes a generally horizontal top wall 61 and side and end walls 63, 63, 65, 65. Case 19 is generally inverted U-shaped in transverse section and side and end walls 63, 63, 65, 65 terminate in a generally rectangular downwardly oriented bottom edge 67, The horizontally bounding external configuration of case 19 or the rectangular configuration of side and end walls 63, 63, 65, I65 of case 19 corresponds substantially with the interior configuration of side and end walls 25, 25, 27, 27 of casket -body 13. The side and end walls of case 19 are preferably uniformly spaced respectively from the side and end walls of casket -body 13; case 19 is adapted to be freely removably fitted in casket body chamber 29 with rectangular bottom edge 67 thereof restingly engaging the upper surface of rectangular flange 57 of bed structure 47. The lower inside vertical surface portions respectively of side and end walls 63, 63, 65, 65 of case 19 are adapted to freely but snugly engage respectively vertical outside surfaces respectively of side and end walls 53, 53, 55, 55 of lower bed structure 47. Case 19 is adapted to be freely fitted over the upwardly displaced top 51 of bed structure 47 and to be freely engaged or disengaged from bed structure 47.

Case 19 is constrained against upward movement in casket body 13. The preferred means of constraining case 19 against upward movement is by proportioning body 13, case 19 and lid structure 17 so that the upper surface of case 19 engages the undersurface of lid structure 17 when the lid structure is in a closed disposition on casket body 13. The relative proportions of casket body 13, case 19 and lids 39, 41 are such that when the lids are closed over chamber 29 the undersurfaces of the respective lids engage top wall 61 of case 19.

It will be understood that if water seeps into the inside of casket body 13 and starts to fill up in the bottom of the base structure 1S, the level of the water cannot rise up into the inside of case 19 to the level of the corpse which is spaced above the lower edge of the case, since the entrapped air in the interior of the case will prevent the water from rising beyond a certain point. Thus, the entrapped air around the corpse is sealed off from the outside atmosphere. In addition, it will be understood that the engagement of the upper surface of case 19 with the lid .structure will ,prevent the case from floating.

The second embodiment, indicated 11', is similar to first embodiment 11; the primary difference in the two embodiments being that bed structure 47', rather than being removable from casket body 13', is formed integral with base structure 15 of casket body 13. The bottom edge 67 of case 19 of second embodiment 11 is adapted to restingly engage rectangular base surface 33 of casket body base structure 15. Lower bed structure 47 is displaced upwardly into the lower interior of case 19' with top 51 supportingly engaging the undersurface of mattress 49. The upwardly facing bed surface or corpse-supporting surface 23 of mattress 49 is arranged at a level a substantial distance above the level of bottom edge 67 of case 19'. As in embodiment 11, the relative proportions respectively of body 13', case 19 and lid structure 17 are such that the lid structure is adapted to constrain case 19 against upward movement when the lid structure is in a closed disposition,

Although in the drawings, the casket body and lid parts have been illustrated as being of Substantially heavy or thick-walled construction, it will of course be understood that suchV illustration is for disclosure purposes only and that in actual practice the casket body and lid thereof will be preferably formed of sheet metal, wood or the like and of construction typical in the art. Also, it will be lunderstood that although cases 19, 19 are illustrated and are heretofore described as being of unitary construction formed of clear sheet plastic material, case means of other than unitary construction may be utilized in certain embodiments of the invention. It is contemplated that in certain embodiments of the invention it may be desirable to fabricate cases 19, 19' of various sheet material other than clear sheet plastic and with certain portions of the case walls being formed opaque rather than transparent. Such as this is well within the discretion of those working the art.

While I have shown and described exemplary embodiments of the present invention it will of course be understood that various modifications and rearrangements of structure may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A burial casket comprising a body including a horizontal generally rectangular base structure, upstanding rectangularly arranged wall structure connected with said base structure and defining a generally rectangular upwardly opening chamber, said base structure including structure defining a general-ly rectangular upwardly facing base surface arranged in said chamber and extending generally-continuously along said upstanding rectangularly arranged wall structure, said body including lid structure adapted for displaceeble securement on said wall structure over said chamber, a generally rectangular openbottomed rigid-walled imperforate case generally inverted U-shaped in transverse section and having a lower substantially continuous generally horizontal downwardly oriented bottom edge, said case being of a size to accommodate and completely cover a prone corpse, the horizontally bounding externa-l configuration of said case being" slightly smaller and corresponding substantially with the horizontally vbounding internal configuration of theuupstanding wall structure of said casket body, said case being adapted to be simultaneously placed in said chamber and over the corpse, said case being fitted in said body with the bottom edge of said case being contiguous said generally rectangular base surface of said base structure,l and bed means supported on said base structure including structure defining an upwardly facing bed surface for supporting the corpse, said bed surface being at a level a substantial distance above the level of the bottom edge of said case.

2`. A casket as dened in claim 1 wherein said bed means includes rigid lower bed structure substantially in1 teg'rally formed with said base structure of said casket body and includes resilient upper bed structure defining said upwardly facing bed surface,

3. A casket as defined in claim 1 wherein said bed means includes rigid lower bed structure adapted to be removably received in the chamber of said casket body, said lower bed structure being removably supported on said base structure of said body, and includes resilient upper bed structure defining said upwardly facing bed surface.

4. A casket as defined in claim 1 wherein at least the wall portions of said case adapted for covering the upper portion of a corpse is formed of transparent material for viewing the corpse.

5. A casket as defined in claim 1 which additionally includes means for constraining said case against upward movement in a direction away from said base structure.

6. A casket as defined in claim 5 wherein said means 15 for constraining said case against upwardly movement includes means defining relative proportions of said body, said case, and said lid structure for causing undersurface portions of said lid structure to be arranged contiguous the upper surface portions of said case when said lid struc- 20 ture is closed on said body and covering said chamber, said case being constrained against upward movement by engagement with said lid structure.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 194,530 8/ 1877 Nirdlinger 27--19 647,959 4/1900 Gerwe 27-12 1,454,427 5/ 1923 Cunning 27-19 2,508,319 5/ 1950 Westenhaver 27--35 2,579,756 12/1951 Reed 27-7 FOREIGN PATENTS 756,363 9/1933 France.

WILLIAM E. KAMM, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl, X.R. 27-19

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