US3208188A

US3208188A - Burial vaults

Info

Publication number: US3208188A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bertram A Fulton; Richard S Lindstrom; Robert M Lucas
Original assignee: Wilbert W Haase Co
Current assignee: Wilbert W Haase Co
Priority date: 1962-11-13
Filing date: 1962-11-13
Publication date: 1965-09-28
Anticipated expiration: 1982-09-28

Description

Sep t. 28, 1965 P 1965 B. A. FULTON ETAL 3,208,188

BURIAL VAULTS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 13, 1962 INVENTORS BERTRAM A FULTON RCHARD S. L\NDSTROM ROBERT M. LUQA'5 WLZM IJEJF1 -1-F P 1965 B. A. FULTON ETAL 3,208,188

BURIAL VAULTS Fled Nov. 15, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS BERTRAN A. FULTON R\CHARD S. \NDSTRQM ROBERT N\. LUCAS P 1965 B. A. FULTON ETAL 3,208,188

BURIAL VAULTS Filed Nov. 13, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS BERTRAM A. FULTON R\CHARD S. L\NDSTROM ROBERT M. LUCAS United States Patent Eertrarn A. Feiten, lLynniield, Richard S Lindstrnm,

Rearing, nnd Robert M. Lucas, Meirose, Mass. assignors, by rnesne assignments, to Wilbert W. Haase Co.,

Braaview, ili., a cnrporaticn of 'iiinois Fileel Nov. 13, 31962, Ser. Nn. 237254 2 Claims. (Cl. 5238) This invention relates to burial vaults.

More specifically, this invention relates to burial vaults of the so-ealled air-seal type, and particularly to burial vaults of the air-seal type whieh may be made of synthetic plastic resinous materials, such as those hereinafter deseribecl, or equivalent materials.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and irnproved li htWeight bureal vault of the air-seal type whieh may be made of synthetc plastic resinous materials, and which has adequate structural and flexural strength to resist the crushing and bending forces of overlying earth loads and the weight of earthhandling machinery to whieh burial vaults are subjected in a grave opening as, for example, when such earth-handlng machinery passes over the grave or is engaged in excavating an adjacent grave.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved burial vault which has adequate struetural and flexural strength to Withstand the load applied thereto when the vault is interred in a grave opening and one side thereof is exposed and deprived of its lateral support during the excavation of an adjacent grave opening.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a new and improved synthetic plastic resinous burial vault of the air-seal type whieh is so designed flll(l constructed that it may be effectively sealed against the entry of water and n1oisture from the grave opening.

A urther object of the invention is to provicle in the new air-seal burial vault a nevel construetion and means or reinforcing the side walls and the end walls of the cover member unit of the vault against the bending forees and stresses to which such a burial vault is subjected in the grave opening Another object of the invention is to provide a burial vault of the air-seal type which includes a new and irnproved base mernber having a nevel construction and arrangement of casket-supporting members, or so-callecl casket rests, molded as an integral part thereof and on the upper surace thereol, and wl1ich materially strengthen and increase the rigidity of the base mernber.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved air-seal burial vault Which is so constructed and designed that it is substantially smaller in overall vertieal heignt than prior air-seal burial vaults, thereby enabling maximum utilization of rave depth in a grave opening, whieh is becon1ing an increasingly important consicleration as cemeteries becorne more crowded and multiple burials are commonly made in a single grave opening.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the aceompanyng drawings which, by Way of illustration, show a preferred ernbodirnent of the present invention and the principles thereof and what we now consder to be the best mode in which we have con templated applying these principles. Other ernbodirnents of the invention ernboclying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skillecl in the art without departing from the present invention.

in the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the new ar-seal burial vault in assembled condition;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the 3Z8,i Patenied Sepr. 28, 1Q55 base and the cover unit of the new air-seal burial vault in exploded condition, that is, separated frorn each other;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical sectional view of the new air-seal bural vault in assembled condition;

FlG. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view on line in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged ragrnentary sectional detail view of the area indicated by the circle designated FIG. 5, in FG. 3 showing the sealing eonstruction and arrangement for sealing the base and the cover member of the new air-seal burial vault together;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a moclification of one feature of the new air-seal burial vault;

FG. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the modification of the new air-seal burial vault sh0Wn in F1G. 6;

FIG. 8 is a transverse sectional view on line 8-3 in FG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a modification of the base rnember of the new air-seal burial vault;

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view on line 100 in FIG. 9 illustrating the design and construction of one of the base-strengthening members Whieh are molded integrally with the base member on the upper surface thereof, and also illustrating one of the base-strengthening 1nernbers attached to the bottom of the base member; and

PK}. 11 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view on line 11-11 in FIG. 9, illustrating the construction of the casket-supportng members and the basestrengtheing members emboclied in the base of the new air-seal burial vault sl1own in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11.

A typical embodirnent of the new air-seal burial vault is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, inclusive, of the drawings, where it is generally indicated at 14), and includes a domeshaped cover unit or member 11 having a somewhat rounded upper or top surface, the cover unit or rnember ll being molded or otherwise formed as a single unitary n1ember and including side walls ll2,

end walls

13, and 21 top wall 14, the side walls 12 being parallel to each other in a horizontal plane and the end walls 13 being parallel to each other in a horizontal plane. However, as sl1own in the drawings, the sicle walls 12 and the end walls 13 diverge somewhat outwardly from their upper encls to their lower ends.

The new air-seal burial vault also includes a base member 15 which includes a marginal peripherally extending and generally ehannel-shaped bottom wall portion 16 and an upraised centrally arranged wall or platform 17 Whieli is connected to the peripherally eXteding and generally ehannel-shaped botton1 wall portion l6 by an upwardly extending and sliglitly inwarclly inclined web portion 18 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) which extends around the said base member 15. As shown in the drawings, the said marginal bottorn wall portion 16 has an open top for the reception of the lower enige portions of the side walls 12 and end walls 13 of the dome-shaped cover member 11 and to provide a sealing groeve for sealing material used in sealing the vault, as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

t will be noted thta the angular inclination of the sicle walls 12 and end. walls 13 of the cover member 11 and of the web portions 18 of the base member 15 is such that the side walls 12 and the end walls 13 of the cover member 151 and the side and end portions of the nclined web ing members, or so-called casket rests 19, in the form of raised integrally molded and somewhat rounded elevated portions of the raised platform 17 of the base member 15, are formed in the upper surface of the raised platform portion 17, and extend transversely thereacross. These members 19 serve as casket rests for the purpose of supporting a casket thereon, and slightly above the upper surface of the platform 11, and also serve to strengthen the base member 115 and to add rigidity thereto. Moreover, while only two of these members 19 are shown, in the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, inclusive, of the drawings, it is understood that additional members 19 may be molded in the base member to impart greater strength and rigidity thereto, if desired, as will be referred to hereinafter.

The cover member 11 has a plurality of spaced parallel hollow and generally channel-shaped reinforcing members or ribs 20 thereon. Each of these spaced hollow reinforcng members or ribs 21) includes a generally channelshaped upper portion 21 which extends across the top wall 14 of the cover member 11, on the inner surface thereof, and a pair of depending generally channel-shaped side portions or ribs 22 which extend downwardly on the inner surfaces of the side walls 12 of the cover member 11 and are tapered or flattened somewhat toward the lower end portions of the side walls 12 of the cover mernber 11 into which they merge at their lower ends (FIGS. 4 and 5. Each of the hollow generally channel-shaped reinforcing rnembers or ribs 2) includes a centrally arranged body portion 23 having a pair of outwardly flared side wall portions 24 each of which terminates in a laterally extending flange portion 25.

In the practice of the invention the hollow reinforcing members or ribs 20 may be molded integrally with the top wall 14 and side walls 12 of the cover member 11 or they may be molded or otherwise formed separately of the same materials as are employed in making the domeshaped cover member 11, as hereinafter described, or of other suitable or equivalent materials, and adhesively secured to the inner surfaces of the top wall 14 and side walls 12 of the cover member 11 by means of suitable adhesive appliecl along the outer surfaces of the flange portions 25 and between the latter and the inner surfaces of the top wall 14 and side walls 12 of the cover member 11. Moreover, if desired, the reinforcing members or ribs 2%), and the other reinforcing members or ribs herein de scribed, may be formed as solid members of unidirectional glass roving impregnated with a suitable resin such as, for example, polyester resin.

It will be noted that the depending side wall portions or ribs 22 of the spaced hollow reinforcing members or ribs 20 in the cover member 11 are tapered downwardly and are of gradually diminshing cross sectional thickness from their upper end portions to their lower end portions (FIG. 2) thereby minimizing the weight of the domeshaped cover 11 whle, at the same time, preserving adequate structural and flexural strength in the walls thereof. In addition, the design and construction of the tapered side wall portions or ribs 22 of the spaced hollowing reinforcing members 20 in the cover member 111 enables the overall width of the vault to be minimized since if the side wall ribs 22 were mantainecl at full cross-sectional thickness from top to bottom thereof the vault would have to be substantially wider in order to accommodate a casket of a given size.

The new air-seal vault 10 may be made of any suitable synthetic resinous plastic material such, for example, as resin-impregnated glass fiber molded or formed into the desired shape of the cover member 11 and base 1.5, by any suitable means and method such, for example, as by the spray-mp method, employing glass fiber irnpregnated with a polyester resin, or by other suitable molding techniques.

In one use of the new air-seal vault, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, inclusive, of the drawngs, a thermosetting resinous sealing material 26 may be placed in the channel defined by the peripherally extending channel-shaped bottom wall portion 16 of the base 15, with the lower portions of the side walls 13 and end walls 14 of the cover rnernber 11 disposed therein, and with the parts arranged as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5, thus complet ing the assembly and sealing of the cover rnember 11 and the base 15 together. However, in the use of the new air-seal burial vault the cover mernber 11 and base 15 meed not necessarily be assembled before the sealing material is placed in the sealing groove or channel defined by the channel-shaped bottom wall portion 16 of the base 15 siace in the use of various sealing compounds of either a soft thermoplastic or thermosetting nature the sealing compound may be placed in the sealing groove and the top or cover member 11 then placed in position. However, in the use of thermosetting resinous compounds it is necessary to place the top or cover member 111 into position before the thermosetting resinous sealing material begins to cure. Thus, for example, in the practice of the invention the sealing material 26 may be a nonsetting permanently thermoplastic resinous material, such as an asphalt sealing material, or it may be a thermosetting resinous sealing material such, for exarnple, as an epoxy 01 polyester resin.

VJhen the cover 11 and the base 15 of the new burial vault are thus assembled and sealed, as in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5, the sealing arrangement shown in detail in FIG. 5, provides adequate protection against the ingress of water and other liquid and solid components from the grave opening into the assembled vault, or into the casket disposed on the members 19 which provide casket rests 19 on the raised platform portion 17 of the base 15.

The hollow reinforcing members or ribs 211 in the cover member 11 provide adequate structural and flexural strength to resist the bending and other forces and stresses to which the new air-seal vault may be subjected in a grave opening, by reason of the weight of the overlying earth load and the weight of earth-handling machinery moving thereover, as well as when one side of the vault is deprived of its lateral support during the excavation of an adjacent grave opening, while, at the same time, preserving the desired lightness in the new synthetic plastic resinous burial vault.

The design of the new air-seal burial vault is such that it is substantially smaller in overall vertical height than prior air-seal burial vaults, thereby enabling more efficient utilization of grave depth when in the grave opening which is an increasingly important consideration as cerneteries become more crowded and multiple burial vaults in a single grave opening are common.

It has been found that the somewhat rounded upper surface of the cover member 11 is substantially more eficient in use than a flat surface for the reason that the weight load of the overlying earth and the stresses incidental thereto are applied substantially uniforrnly over the entire upper surface of the vault cover, rather than being concentrated at the outer edges thereof, as would be the case if the upper surface of the vault cover were flat with rounded edge portions. Moreover, the shape of the new vault cover does not add materially to the height or weight of the vault and the rounded curvature of the top thereof is compatible with providing in the new burial vault a minimum overall height for the vault since most caskets are rounded on the top and hence will project into the rounded portion of the top of the cover member 11 of the new vault in use.

A modification of the reinforcing construction of the cover member 11 is illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8, inclusive, of the drawings, and those parts therein which are the same or are similar in construction to corresponding parts in the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, inclusive, have been given the same reference numerals followecl by the additional and distinguishing reference character a.

The form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8, inclusive, of the drawngs is substantially the same as the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, inclusive, except that in the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 8, inclusive, an addtional hollow and generally channel-shaped reinforcng member or rib 27 is provided on the inner surface of each of the end walls 13a, centrally thereof. This additional reinforcing member or rib 27 is similar in design and construction to the reinforcing members or ribs 20a, and includes a porton 28 which ex tends down the inner surface of each end wall 13a, and a portion 29 which extends partially over the inner snrface of the top wall 14a to the adjacent vertically reinforcing mernber or rib 20a, as shown in FIGS 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings.

A modification of the base of the new air seal burial vault is illustrated in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 of the drawings, and those parts thereof which are sirnilar to or correspond to parts emboclied in the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 8, inclnsive, have been given simllar reference numerals, followed by the additonal and distinguishing reference character b.

It Will be noted that in the form of the base llustrated in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 there are three of the casket-supporting, and base strengthenng members 191), as distinguished from the two members 19 in the form of the base shown in FIG. 2, and that in this form of the base additional base-strengthenng rnembers 19c are provided on the lower surface of the platform 17b, as by being molded integral therewith, or by being formed scparately from the base member and adhesively or otherwise secured thereto, as desired. The base-strengthening members 190 are preferably arranged in staggered or spaced relationship With but extend parallel to the casket-supporting and base-strengthenng members 19 on the upper surface 1717 of the base 15b.

Sirnilarly, the combination casket-supporting and basestrengthening, as members 19 or 1%, may, if desired, be formed separately from and adhesively or otherwise secured to the upper surface 17 or 17 b of the base rnember 15 or 1512 in the same manner as the base-strengthenng mernbers 19c are shown as being formed separately from and adhesively or otherwise attached to the bottom surface of the base member 15b.

It will thus be seen from the foregoing description, considered in conjuncton with the accompanying drawings, that the present nvention provides a new and improved synthetic plastic resinous ar-seal burial vault having the desirable advantages and characteristcs, and accornplishing its intended objects, including these hereinbefore pointed out and others which are inherent in the nvention.

We claim:

1. An air-seal burial vault forrned of lightweight plactc resinous material and comprising a generally rectangular-shaped base member including a generally channel-shaped bottom marginal wall portion having an open top, and a raised generally horizontally extending casketsupportng platform disposed above and within the said marginal bottom wall portion and interconnected thereto by generally vertcally extending si:de and encl web portons extending between the said marginal bottom wall porton and the said rased platform of said base member, a generally dome-shaped cover member ncluding a generally arcuate top wall having a rounded but relatively flat outer surface and a complemental arcuate nner surface and an open bottom, and including side walls and end walls extending substantially parallel to the said side and end web portions, respectively, of the said base member outwardly of the latter, the said side walls and end walls of the said dome-shaped cover member having lower edge portions disposed in the said channel-shaped marginal bottom wall portion of the said base member outwardly of the said interconnecting web portions, scalirrg means disposecl in the said channel-shaped marginal bottom wall portion and around the lower edge portions of the said sde walls and end walls of the said domeshaped cover mernber disposed therein, the said generally dome-shaped cover member having a plurality of spaced parallel hollow and generally channel-shaped reinforcing rnembers attached thereto only on the inner surfaces thereof, each of the said spaced parallel hollow reinforcing rnembers comprsing a bottom wall With spaced legs projecting therefrom, said hollow renforcing members having upper portions extendng across the top wall of the said cover member on the inner surface there of With the bottom wall of said upper portions of said reinforcing members extending in a plane substantially parallel to said casket supporting platform and the vertical distance between the bottom wall and the inner surface of said top wall of the cover member decreasng along the length of the reinforcing rnembers from their center to the outer edge portions thereof adjacent the cover side walls, and each of the said hollow and generally channelshaped reinforcing rnembers having a portion extendng downwardly over the inner surface of each of the said side walls of said cover member on the inner surface thereof continung from the outer edge portions of said upper portions of said renforcing rnembers to a point adjacent the upper surface of the said raised generally horizontally extending casket-suporting platform of the said base member, eacl1 of the said downwardly extending portions of the said hollow and generally channel-shaped reinforcng rnembers having the distance between the channel bottom wall thereof and the inner surface of the adjacent cover side wall gradually decreasng along the length thereof trom its upper end portion to its lower end porton With the Wdth of said channel bottom wall gradually increasing as said distance decreases, and the said raised horzontally extending casket-supporting platform portion of the said base having a plurality of spaced parallel upwardly and transversely extending casket-supporting and base strengthening members thereon and projecting upwardly above the snrface of the said raised platform portion of the said base.

2. An air-seal burial vault as defned in claim 1 in Which the said cover member includes an additional hollow and generally channel-shaped reinforcng member on the inner snrface of each of the said end walls of the said cover member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 205,555 7/78 Johnston 27-7 1,469,220 10/23 Kemp 50-268 X 1,657,305 1/28 Gschwind 27-25 1,928,672 10/33 Mitchell 27-35 2,940,156 6/60 Cool: 27-35 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Prz'mary Examner. JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Examiner.

Claims

1. AN AIR-SEAL BURIAL VAULT FORMED OF LIGHTWEIGHT PLASTIC RESINOUS MATERIAL AND COMPRISING A GENERALLY RECTANGULAR-SHAPED BASE MEMBER INCLUDING A GENERALLY CHANNEL-SHPED BOTTOM MARGINAL WALL PORTIN HAVING AN OPEN TOP, AND A REISED GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING CASKETSUPPORTING PLATFORM DISPOSED ABOVE AND WITH IN THE SAID MARGINAL BOTTOM WALL PORTION AND INTERCONNECTED THERETO BY GENERALLY VERTICALLY EXTENDING SIDE AND END WEB PORTIONS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE SAID MARGINAL BOTTOM WALL PORTION AND THE SAID RAISED PLATFORM OF SAID BASE MEMBER, A GENERALLY DOME-SHAPED COVER MEMBER INCLUDING A GENERALLY ARCUATE TOP WALL HAVING A ROUNDED BUT RELATIVELY FLAT OUTER SURFACE AND A COMPLEMENTAL ARCUATE INNER SURFACE AND AN OPEN BOTTOM, AND INCLUDING SIDE WALL AND END WALLS EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE SAID SIDE AND END WEB PORTIONS, RESPECTIVELY, OF THE SAID BASE MEMBER OUTWARDLY OF THE LATTER, THE SAID WALLS AND END WALLS OF THE SAID DOME-SHAPED COVER MEMBER HAVING LOWER EDGE PORTIONS DISPOSED IN THE SAID CHANNEL-SHAPED MARGINAL BOTTOM WALL PORTION OF THE SAID BASE MEMBER OUTWARDLY OF THE SAID INTERCONNECTING WEB PORTIONS, SEALING MEANS DISPOSED IN THE SAID CHANNEL-SHAPED MARGINAL BOTTOM WALL PORTION AND AROUND THE LOWER EDGE PORTIONS OF THE SAID SIDE WALLS AND END WALLS OF THE SAID DOMESHAPED COVER MEMBER DISPOSED THEREIN, THE SAID GENERALLY DOME-SHAPED COVER MEMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED PARALLEL HOLLOW AND GENERALLY CHANNEL-SHAPED REINFORCING MEMBERS ATTACHED THERETO ONLY ON THE INNER SURFACES THEREOF, EACH OF THE SADI SPACED PARALLEL HOLLOW REINFORCING MEMBERS COMPRISING A BOTTOM WALL WITH SPACED LEGS PROJECTING THEREFROM, SAID HOLLOW REINFORCING MEMBERS HAVING UPPER PORTIONS EXTENDING ACROSS THE TOP WALL OF THE SAID COVER MEMBER ON THE INNER SURFACE THEREOF THE WITH BOTTOM WALL OF SAID UPPER PORTIONS OF SAID REINFORCING MEMBERS EXTENDING IN A PLANE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID CASKET SUPPORTING PLATFORM AND THE VERTICAL DISTANCE BETWEEN THE BOTTOM WALL AND THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID TOP WALL OF THE COVER MEMBER DECREASING ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE REINFORCING MEMBERS FROM CENTER TO THE OUTER EDGE PORTIONS THEREOFE ADJACENT THE COVER SIDE WALLS, AND EACH OF THE SAID HOLLOW AND GENERALLY CHANNELSHAPED REINFORCING MEMBERS HAVING A PORTION EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY OVER THE INNER SURFACE OF EACH OF THE SAID SIDE WALLS OF SAID COVER MEMBER ON THE INNER SURFACE THEREOF CONTINUING FROM THE OUTER EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID UPPER PORTIONS OF SAID REINFORCING MEMBERS TO A POINT ADJACENT THE UPPER SURFACE OF THRSAID RAISED GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING CASKET-SUPPORTING PLATFORM OF THE SAID BASE MEMBER, EACH OF THE SAID DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING PORTIONS OF THE SAID HOLLOW AND GENERALLY CHANNEL-SHAPED REINFORCING MEMBERS HAVING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CHANNEL BOTTOM WALL THEREOF AND THE INNER SURFACE OF THE ADJACENT COVER SIDE WALL GRADUALLY DECREASING ALONG THE LENGTH THEREOF FROM ITS UPPER END PORTION TO ITS LOWER END PORTION WITH THE WIDTH OF SAID CHANNEL BOTTOM WALL GRADUALLY INCREASING AS SAID DISTANCE DECREASES, AND THE SAID RAISED HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING CASKET-SUPPORTING PLATFORM PORTION OF THE SAID BASE HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED PARALLEL UPWARDLY AND TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING CASKET-SUPPORTING AND BASE STRENGTHENING MEMBERS THEREON AND PROJECTING UPWARDLY ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE SAID RAISED PLATFORM PORTION OF THE SAID BASE.