US20080116772A1

US20080116772A1 - Wall-mounted urn display cabinet

Info

Publication number: US20080116772A1
Application number: US11/940,871
Authority: US
Inventors: Dennis R. Champagne
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-01-04
Filing date: 2007-11-15
Publication date: 2008-05-22

Abstract

A wall-mounted urn display cabinet comprising: a cabinet top; a first sidewall in communication with a cabinet top; a second sidewall in communication with the cabinet top, in opposition to the first sidewall; a front urn wall in communication with the first sidewall and second sidewall, the front urn wall comprising: a rear side of the front urn wall; a front side of the front urn wall located on a side opposite the rear side of the front urn wall; a first keepsake volume located generally in the rear side of the front urn wall; a first urn sidewall defining a perimeter of the keepsake volume; a first routed front wall located adjacent to the first urn sidewall, and adjacent to the front side of the front urn wall; a rear wall in communication with the first sidewall, the second sidewall, and the cabinet top; and a first keepsake panel attachable to the rear side of the front urn wall, and configured to seal the first keepsake volume with a volume of ashes located in the first keepsake volume.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/325,163 filed on Jan. 4, 2006 by Dennis Champagne, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a wall-mounted display for cremation ashes.

BACKGROUND

As a technique for disposal of a dead body, cremation is becoming more popular for various reasons. Cremation generates ashes which are of course of greatly reduced volume relative to the volume of the original body. The ashes are wholly hygienic and have little bodily material, but it remains a problem as to how to dispose of the ashes. In some cases ashes are spread at a particularly preferred location of the deceased. In some cases the ashes are interred in an urn and subsequently buried in a burial plot which can act as a memorial, although the burial plot is of course significantly reduced in dimension relative to the conventional burial plot for the interred body.
In other cases the ashes are stored in an urn or other container which can be displayed as a memorial or ornament in the home or which can be simply stored away. Little attention has been given to the development of containers or urns suitable for mounting on a wall, where the photos and personal effects of the deceased can be displayed in the same container as the cremated remains, with windows on the urn to view either the cremated remains or personal effects of the deceased.
Therefore, a wall-mounted display cabinet combined with an urn and viewing windows is needed that provides the above mentioned advantages not found in other cremation urns.

SUMMARY

The disclosed invention relates to a wall-mounted urn display cabinet comprising: a cabinet top; a first sidewall in communication with a cabinet top; a second sidewall in communication with the cabinet top, in opposition to the first sidewall; a front urn wall in communication with the first sidewall and second sidewall, the front urn wall comprising: a rear side of the front urn wall; a front side of the front urn wall located on a side opposite the rear side of the front urn wall; a first keepsake volume located generally in the rear side of the front urn wall; a first urn sidewall defining a perimeter of the keepsake volume; a first routed front wall located adjacent to the first urn sidewall, and adjacent to the front side of the front urn wall; a rear wall in communication with the first sidewall, the second sidewall, and the cabinet top; and a first keepsake panel attachable to the rear side of the front urn wall, and configured to seal the first keepsake volume with a volume of ashes located in the first keepsake volume.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be better understood by those skilled in the pertinent art by referencing the accompanying drawings, where like elements are numbered alike in the several figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet from FIG. 1, with the urn door and display door opened;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet from FIG. 1 with the rear wall removed;

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet from FIG. 3, with a first keepsake panel installed;

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display from FIG. 4, with a both the first keepsake panel and a second keepsake panel installed;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display from FIG. 5, with the rear wall installed; and

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet, with only one urn window.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet 10. A first sidewall 14 is visible in this view, the second sidewall 18 is not visible in this view, but is visible in FIG. 2. A display case floor 19 is not visible, but is in communication with the first sidewall 14 and second sidewall 18 at the bottom of the display cabinet 10. An optional shelf base 22 and optional shelf 26 is located at the top end of the cabinet 10. An urn door 30 is located below the shelf base 22. The urn door 30 may have an urn door opening knob 34. The knob 34 may be a simple peg, hook, or any other suitable device to allow one to pull open the urn door 30. Below the urn door 30 is a front display case wall 38. Located in the front display case wall 38 is a display door 42 with a display window 46. There may be a plaque 51 located on the front display case wall 38. The display door 42 may have a door lock 43. When the door lock 43 is locked, both the display door 42, and urn door may be configured to lock. In another embodiment, the urn door 30 may have its own door lock.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet 10 from FIG. 1. In this Figure, urn door 30 has been opened revealing a front urn wall 50 with at least one urn window 55. In this embodiment two urn windows 55 are shown. Between the front urn wall 50 and front display case wall 38 is a hinge wall 54. At least one hinge 58 is coupled to the urn door 30 and the hinge wall 54. The at least one hinge 58 may be visible or hidden. Also in this Figure, the display door 42 has been opened revealing the rear wall 60 and the second sidewall 22. The interiors of the medial wall 66, first sidewall 14, second sidewall 18, front display case wall 38, and the display case floor 19 define a volume that is the display volume 70. The interior of the rear display wall 60 may be covered with a pinnable layer, that is a layer of material that a push pin may be inserted into, such as but not limited to: cork board, and construction board. The pinnable layer may be of any suitable thickness, and preferably of a thickness that is between ⅜ of an inch and 1 inch. Velvet, felt or other covering may be placed over the pinnable layer. memorabilia may be placed in the display volume 70, such as, but not limited to, pictures of a loved one, items of the loved one such as a pair of glasses, lucky rabbit's foot, etc. In other embodiments, the pinnable layer may also be placed on the first and second sidewalls 18, 22, and the display case floor 19, which may then also be covered in velvet, felt or any other suitable covering. A light source 62 is shown attached to the display side of a medial wall 66 that is in communication with the first sidewall 18 and second sidewall 22. The medial wall 66 is not visible in FIGS. 1 and 2, but is visible in FIG. 3.
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view from the rear of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet 10 with the rear wall 60 removed. An urn container volume 74 is defined by the interior of the shelf base 22, the first sidewall 14, the second sidewall 18, the medial wall 66, the front urn wall 50 and the rear wall 60 (removed in this figure). Attached to the front urn wall 50 is a keepsake container 78. The keepsake container 78 comprises a plurality of walls: an upper keepsake wall 82, a lower keepsake wall 86, an inner keepsake wall 90, a first outer keepsake wall 94, and a second outer keepsake wall 98. The inner keepsake wall 90, first outer keepsake wall 94, and second outer keepsake wall 98 are all coupled to both the upper keepsake wall 82 and lower keepsake wall 86. The keepsake container 78 is configured and attached to the front urn wall 50 such that both urn windows 55 are generally centered in the openings of the keepsake container 78. The light source 62 is shown attached to a light base 102. The light base is in electrical communication with a power supply 106 via an electrical communication device 110, such as, but not limited to a wire. The power supply 106 may be, but not limited to, one or more batteries. In other embodiments, the light base 102 may be in electrical communication with a power supply located external to the cabinet 10, such as, but not limited to a home electrical system. The power supply 106 may be located in a compartment located between the display case floor 19 and the cabinet bottom panel 114. The cabinet bottom 14 may have an access panel to allow access to the power supply 106. Of course, in other embodiments, the power supply 106 may be located elsewhere on the cabinet 10.
FIG. 4 shows again a perspective view from the rear of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet 10 with the rear wall 60 removed. However, in this Figure, a first keepsake panel 118 is shown attached to the keepsake container 78. The keepsake panel 118 is attached to the keepsake container via at least one adhesive element between the panel 118 and container 78. Additionally, a plurality of screws 122 also are used to attach the first keepsake panel 118 to the keepsake container 78.
FIG. 5 shows a perspective view from the rear of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet 10 with the rear wall 60 removed, with both the first keepsake panel 118 and a second keepsake panel 126 attached to the keepsake container 78. The second keepsake panel 126 is attached to the keepsake container via at least one adhesive element between the panel 126 and container 78. Additionally, a plurality of screws 122 also are used to attach the second keepsake panel 126 to the keepsake container 78. Thus it should be clear that there are two volumes in the keepsake container 78. The first keepsake volume 91, is defined by the upper keepsake wall 82, the lower keepsake wall 86, the inner keepsake wall 90, the first outer keepsake wall 94, the front urn wall 50, and the first keepsake panel 118. The second keepsake volume 92, is defined by the upper keepsake wall 82, the lower keepsake wall 86, the inner keepsake wall 90, the second outer keepsake wall 98, the front urn wall 50, and the second keepsake panel 126.
FIG. 6 shows perspective view from the rear of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet 10 with the rear wall installed. The rear wall 60 comprises an upper section 130 and a lower section 130. The upper section 130 and lower section 134 are attached to the cabinet 10 via an adhesive element between the upper section 130 and lower section 134 on the one hand, and the cabinet 10 on the other hand. Additionally, a plurality of screws 122 also are used to attach upper section 130 and lower section 130 to the cabinet 10.
FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet 10. In this embodiment, the front urn wall 50 has only one urn window 55. The disclosed cabinet may be easily modified such that front urn wall 50 may have one or two urn windows 55, and the urn window 55 may be either on the left or right side of the cabinet 10.
The disclosed wall mounted display cabinet may be variously configured. For example, in one configuration, a portion of the cremated remains may be kept in the first keepsake volume with the first keepsake panel 118 installed. The second keepsake panel 126 may be left uninstalled, or empty. In this configuration, the front urn wall 50 with only one urn window 55 installed may be used. Various mementos may be stored in the urn container volume 74 prior to the upper section 130 being installed. In another configuration, all the ashes of a person, which is generally much more than a cup, may be stored in the container volume 74, with neither the first keepsake panel 118 nor the second keepsake panel installed 126, but with the upper section 130 installed. In still another configuration, keepsake ashes for two people may be stored in the cabinet 10. In this configuration, a first person's ashes may be kept in first keepsake volume 91, with the first keepsake panel installed, and the second person's ashes may be kept in the second keepsake volume 92, with the second panel 126 installed. Various mementos of either one or both of the people may be stored in the urn container volume 74 prior to the upper section 130 being installed. The cabinet 10 may be configured to be installed on a wall, or the cabinet 10 may be configured to be recessed into a wall. In other configurations, additional keepsake volumes may be installed using the same keepsake container concept, but instead of only having two volumes 91, 92, the keepsake container may configured to have a single volume, or 3 or more volumes for separate containment of people's ashes. The use of adhesive elements, and the screws 122 provides sealed volumes such that the ashes are protected from contamination or leakage.
FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the disclosed wall-mounted urn display cabinet 10. In this embodiment, a display door 42 is shown closed on the display cabinet 10. The display door 42 opens on the right side 44 of the display door 42 about hinges 58 (not visible in this view) located on the left side 45 of the display door 42. A display window 46 is located on the display door as is an opaque panel 47 may be located below the window 46. Of course in other embodiments, the display door may open on the left side 45, or on the top side of the door 42 or the bottom side of the door 42. In other embodiments, the display window may include the area currently occupied by the opaque panel 47. In this embodiment, there is one display door 42, and no separate urn door 30. The urn windows 55 are revealed by opening the display door 42. Of course in other embodiments, there may be a separate urn door 30 as shown in FIG. 2.
FIG. 9 shows the display cabinet 10 from FIG. 8, with the display door 42 opened. In this embodiment, the urn container volume 74 (located behind the urn windows 55 and the front urn wall 50) and front urn wall 50 urn windows 55 are located adjacent to the cabinet bottom panel 114. The display volume 70 is located above the urn container volume 74. In this embodiment, there is no separate front display case wall 38, as the display door 42 serves as the front display case wall when the door 42 is closed. Also, there is no shelf 26 or shelf base 22 in this embodiment. However, the cabinet 10 does have a top 142 that may be flat, or in other embodiments the top 142 may be rounded, sloped (as shown), or any other suitable shape. A light source 62 is shown at the top of the display volume 70. A power supply 106 may be located in the top 142 of the display cabinet, where it may be hidden from view, as shown. The light source 62 may attach to the top of the display volume 70 via an optional light base 102 (not shown). In this embodiment there is no front display case wall 38.
FIG. 10 shows a rear perspective view of the display cabinet 10. In this view, the lower section 134 of the rear wall 60 is removed to shown the interior of the first keepsake volume 91 and the second keepsake volume 92. In this embodiment, the front urn wall 50 is relatively thick, the wall 50 may have a thickness of about 0.5 inches to about 2 inches, or more. In the shown embodiment, the wall 50 has a thickness of about 0.75 inches. Two volumes 91, 92 are cut out of the urn wall 50. The cutting may be done by any means, including, but not limited to a wood router. The volumes 91 and 92 may be about 0.5 inches deep, when using a wall of about 0.75 inches thickness. The routing of the wall 50 creates a first urn sidewall 146 around the perimeter of the first keepsake volume 91, and a second urn sidewall 150 around the perimeter of the second keepsake volume. Because only a portion of the total thickness of the front urn wall 50 has been cut out (routed), a first routed front wall 154 remains as does a second routed front wall 158. An opening in each of the routed front walls 154, 158 may be made for the attachment of an urn window 55 for each keepsake volume 91, 92. The window 55 may be attached to the front urn wall via any suitable attaching means including but not limited to glue. A first keepsake panel 118 attaches to the rear side of the front urn wall 50 to enclose the first keepsake volume 91, similarly a second keepsake panel 126 attaches to the rear side of the front urn wall 50 to enclose the second keepsake volume 92. In one embodiment, the first keepsake panel 118 may attack to the rear of the front urn wall 50 via screws 122 that screw into screw holes 123 located on the rear side of the front urn wall 50. Similarly, the second keepsake panel 126 may attach to the rear of the front urn wall 50 via screws 122 that screw into screw holes 123 located on the rear side of the front urn wall 50. The lower section 134 of the rear wall 60 attaches to the first sidewall 14, the second sidewall 18, and the display case floor.
In still other embodiments, the urn container volume 74 may be located in the middle of the cabinet 10, off-centered, in one or more of the corners, or whatever is aesthetically pleasing to the user. The urn volume 74 is shown taking up about ¼ of the total cabinet volume, however the urn volume may be larger or smaller. The display volume is shown taking up about ¾ of the total cabinet volume, however, in other embodiments the display volume may be larger or smaller. The cabinet 10 as shown is generally rectangular, but in other embodiments, the cabinet may have any suitable shape, including, but not limited to the following shapes: generally round, generally heart, generally oval. In other embodiments, the cabinet 10 may not have windows 46 and/or 55. The windows 46 and 55 may be part of a door (like the display door 42), or may be part of a separate front wall, similar to how the urn window 55 is located in the front urn wall 50. The cabinet, in other embodiments, may come with urn doors 30 (such as the urn doors as shown in FIGS. 1-3) or without display doors 42, where instead a front display wall 38 is substituted for the display door. The cabinet 10 may be made of any material including but not limited to: wood, glass, metal, fiberglass, plastic. In different embodiments, the urn keepsake volume(s) 91 and/or 92 may be filled with ashes via the front of the cabinet or the rear of the cabinet, or the top or bottom of the cabinet.
Of course, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the disclosed urn display cabinet may be modified to have only one keep sake volume, or more than 2 keep sake volumes. Additionally, the power supply 106 may be located in various locations on and in the cabinet 10.
It should be noted that the terms “first”, “second”, and “third”, and the like may be used herein to modify elements performing similar and/or analogous functions. These modifiers do not imply a spatial, sequential, or hierarchical order to the modified elements unless specifically stated.
While the disclosure has been described with reference to several embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wall-mounted urn display cabinet comprising:

a cabinet top;

a first sidewall in communication with a cabinet top;

a second sidewall in communication with the cabinet top, in opposition to the first sidewall;

a front urn wall in communication with the first sidewall and second sidewall, the front urn wall comprising:

a rear side of the front urn wall;

a front side of the front urn wall located on a side opposite the rear side of the front urn wall;

a first keepsake volume located generally in the rear side of the front urn wall;

a first urn sidewall defining a perimeter of the keepsake volume;

a first routed front wall located adjacent to the first urn sidewall, and adjacent to the front side of the front urn wall;

a rear wall in communication with the first sidewall, the second sidewall, and the cabinet top; and

a first keepsake panel attachable to the rear side of the front urn wall, and configured to seal the first keepsake volume with a volume of ashes located in the first keepsake volume.

2. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 1, further comprising:

an opening located in the first routed front wall; and

a window located in the opening of the first routed front wall.

3. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 1, wherein the front urn wall further comprises:

a second keepsake volume located generally in the rear side of the front urn wall and generally adjacent to the first keepsake volume;

a second urn sidewall defining a perimeter of the second keepsake volume;

a second routed front wall located adjacent to the second urn sidewall, and adjacent to the front side of the front urn wall;

and wherein the wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 1 further comprises:

a second keepsake panel attachable to the rear side of the front urn wall, and configured to seal the second keepsake volume with a volume of ashes located in the second keepsake volume.

4. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 1, further comprising:

an opening located in the second routed front wall; and

a window located in the opening of the second routed front wall.

5. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 1, further comprising:

a medial wall in communication with the first sidewall, second sidewall, front display case wall, and front urn wall;

a light base in communication with the medial wall;

a light source in electrical communication with the light base; and

wherein the front urn wall is located above the medial wall.

6. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 5, further comprising:

a display case floor in communication with the first sidewall, the second sidewall, and the rear wall;

a cabinet bottom panel located below the display case floor, and in communication with the first sidewall, the second sidewall, and the rear wall, the cabinet bottom panel comprising an access panel;

a power supply located in a compartment defined by the display case floor, cabinet bottom panel, the first sidewall, the second sidewall, and the rear wall, the power supply in electrical communication with the light base.

7. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 1, further comprising:

a medial wall in communication with the first sidewall, second sidewall, and front urn wall;

a light base in communication with the internal side of the cabinet top;

a light source in electrical communication with the light base; and

wherein the front urn wall is locate below the medial wall.

8. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 5, further comprising:

9. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 1, further comprising:

an urn door swingably attached to a wall selected from the group consisting of the first sidewall and the second sidewall. (changed ash to urn)

10. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 9, further comprising:

an urn window located in the ash door; and

wherein the urn window is configurable to show the interior of at least one sealed volume. (change ash to urn)

11. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 1, further comprising:

a display door swingably attached to a wall selected from the group consisting of the first sidewall and the second sidewall.

12. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 11, further comprising:

a display window located in the display door.

13. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 9, wherein the urn door is attached to the cabinet via hidden hinges.

14. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 11, wherein the display door is attached to the cabinet via hidden hinges.

15. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 1, further comprising:

a display case floor in communication with the first sidewall, the second sidewall, the rear wall, and the front display case wall; and

wherein the interior of the rear display wall is covered with a surface layer of material selected from the group consisting of velvet, felt, and fabric.

16. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 15, further comprising:

a pinnable layer is located between the surface layer of material and the interior of the rear display wall.

17. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 1, further comprising:

a door lock located on the display door.

18. The wall-mounted urn display cabinet of claim 17, wherein the door lock is configured to lock both the display door and the urn door.

19. The wall mounted urn display cabinet of claim 17, comprising a plurality of keepsake volumes.