A slab-hanging system for a vertically arranged series of removable slabs, which achieves proper location of all slab-supports by the combination of a series of vertical support column members, each of which is adjustable horizontally, vertically and outwardly of the building's associated supporting structure, and slab-supporting hanger devices mounted on the column members; the full adjustability of the column members achieves the proper alignment and positioning of all the hanger devices.

The present invention relates to a slab-hanging system, such as for the 
marble facing of mausoleum crypts, in which heavy slabs are supported in a 
removable manner and in an arrangement which is in effect both a vertical 
and a horizontal series. 
More particularly, the present invention relates to an integrated 
slab-supporting system for the removable support of such slabs, it being 
integral in the sense that its various components and features co-operate 
to achieve the proper alignment and positioning of such slabs, even though 
the associated supporting structure may be somewhat irregular of surface, 
and even though there is the likely possibility of some mis-alignment of 
the system's supporting devices which are inset into the concrete of the 
building's supporting structure upon which these large and quite heavy 
slabs are hung or mounted. 
In carrying out the invention in a preferred embodiment, there is provided 
a combination of two basic components or sets thereof. That is, there are 
provided, horizontally-spaced, a series of vertical support column 
members, and each of these are provided with full adjustability 
(horizontally, vertically, and outwardly) with respect to the associated 
supporting structure; and there are provided shelf-like supporting hanger 
devices for mounting on to those support column members. 
The overall or integrated arrangement thus provides and assures a full and 
proper orientation (alignment and positioning) of the whole array of the 
crypt slabs, by the principle that the support column members are 
themselves first properly positioned and oriented in all respects, and all 
the shelf-like hanger devices are thus automatically properly positioned 
and aligned by their mounting onto the support column member. This 
assurance of proper orientation and alignment and positioning of all the 
hangers and all the support column members is assured by the relatively 
easily-maintained close tolerances of metal-forming procedures; and this 
is quite in contrast to the difficulties and seeming impossibilities of 
close tolerances of attachments embedded in the concrete of associated 
supporting structure, and in contrast to the irregularities usually 
present in the outer face of concrete supporting structure, and in 
contrast to a support column which although initially positionable as to 
proper orientation and alignment does not provide easily-assured proper 
mounting of individual slabs. 
The prior art is quite close to individual components of the combination 
here achieved, as is now shown, but that very similarity with respect to 
individual components of the inventive combination helps show the 
non-obviousness of the concepts as an operative combination; and the prior 
art also indicates the non-obviousness of the present combination, as 
shown below, by the fact that the present invention is a departure from 
the slab-mounting concepts of the latter of the prior art. 
The prior art for years is represented by the following U.S. Patents: 
J. B. Sinner, J. W. Rickards, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,005, Sept. 19, 
1967, 
J. B. Sinner, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,870, Sept. 30, 1958, 
J. B. Sinner, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,618,145, Nov. 18, 1952, 
J. B. Sinner, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,574,938, Nov. 13, 1951, 
J. B. Sinner, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,363,156, Nov. 21, 1944, 
and J. B. Sinner, U.S. Pat. No. 2,080,190, May 11, 1937. 
Additional prior art has been found to be devices of Aeon Mfg. Co., 929 W. 
253rd Street/P.O. Box 351, Harbor City, Cal. 90710. These appear quite 
similar to the above-cited Sinner Brothers, Inc., devices in being mounted 
directly into the concrete, and in other features. They apparently were 
not patented; and although specimens show numerals (2,768,001 and 
2,768,002), those are not U.S. patent numbers for devices of this field. 
But whether patented or not, they fail to suggest a unitary and 3-way 
adjustible mounting column as in the combination of the present invention. 
Accordingly, in realistically evaluating these prior art references, to 
realistically consider the present invention against the actual background 
of prior art, it is expressly noted that the above-listed prior art 
references show various concepts relating to shelf-like slab hangers or 
mounts such as are incorporated in the present invention of a combination. 
However, they all fail to show or suggest a vital component and concept of 
the combination, i.e., they fail to show or suggest vertical support 
column devices for the mounting of the slab-hangers or mounts; and thus 
these references fail operationally to achieve a proper positioning of the 
slab-hangers or mounts, for those references depend upon the hope (often 
an illusory hope) that sufficient proper alignment and positioning of the 
slab-hangers or mounts can be somehow achieved by their being partially 
embedded into the concrete of the associated supporting structure. 
For years, devices according to one or more of those references were 
marketed, but all sorts of installation tricks or gimmicks seemed to be 
required; for the embedding of the slab-hangers or mounts in concrete, and 
the individual type of support of the hangers or mounts, did not achieve 
their proper positioning, particularly considering the desired appearance 
of extremely accurate and attractive flushness of the crypt slabs of a 
large array of such slabs. 
After many years of struggling with problems of mis-alignment, etc., as 
indicated above, there was developed a vertical support member type of 
installation, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,663, and U.S. Pat. No. 
4,064,664, an embodiment of the latter patent being the commercial device 
as advertised by Crypt Systems, Inc., 165 East Erie St., Chicago, Ill. 
60611. These were indeed a departure from the individually-retained 
hangers or mounts of the above list, and seem to be an improvement indeed, 
for they provided a series of vertical support channels which could be 
themselves adjusted, as sub-mounts for individual slab-hangers. 
However, this prior art by Crypt Systems, Inc., still produced alignment 
problems, for in the embodiments of U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,663, the 
adjustment was only vertical (notches 35), with slab-hangers of the 
shelf-type as in the Sinner Bros. devices, thus failing to provide the 
greatly needed operatively universal adjustability provided in the 
combination of the present invention. That patent's other embodiment, also 
with only vertical adjustability, used diagonally mounted cleats (48) with 
diagonal slab-recesses (47), still productive of alignment problems. The 
devices of Crypt Systems, Inc., as advertised and sold, and as shown in 
the embodiment of FIGS. 5-7 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,664, do indeed provide 
such universal adjustability, but they do not provide the shelf-type 
slab-hangers which are featured in the combination of the present 
invention. That is, as they are shown in FIGS. 5-7 of that patent, and 
advertised and sold, the Crypt Systems devices having no slab-hangers of a 
shelf-type upon which the slabs would seat, and, instead have curved 
brackets which are pre-affixed to recesses cut into the slabs; and thus 
alignment and positioning problems still existed, particularly recognizing 
the reality that when Crypt Systems, Inc., finally provided a pre-mount 
vertical channel having more than merely the insufficient vertical 
adjustability, they had departed from the shelf-type slab mount 
components. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,664 
also appears to have the 3-way adjustability, i.e., vertical, horizontal, 
and outwardly; but neither that or the other embodiment of that patent 
have a shelf-like slab hanger, which provides a support shelf. 
With each of the prior art references, of the patents or of the commercial 
and advertised products, and even though they may have appeared 
theoretically to be usable, the designs in every case were such as to 
require unattainable tolerances and installation procedures. 
Such was the state of the art when the present invention was achieved, of a 
combination which showed a successful integration of concepts from both 
types of prior devices, yet a departure from each type, as herein 
explained. 
The above description is of somewhat introductory and generalized form. 
More particular details, concepts, and features are set forth in the 
following and more detailed description of an illustrative embodiment, 
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are of somewhat 
schematic and diagrammatic nature, and in which:

As shown in the drawings, the inventive concepts provide the combination of 
a pre-adjustable support column 20, fully adjustable as herein specified, 
with shelf-like slab-mounts or hangers 22, in a combination which provides 
ease of installation of heavy slabs 24 in an attractive array in which all 
the slabs' outer surfaces 26 are flush or co-planar. 
The slab-hanging means of this combination provides that the slabs 24 are 
removably supported, such as in a mausoleum, with a vertically-arranged 
series of such slabs 24 upon associated supporting structure 28, 
conventionally concrete of the building framing. 
For the vertical support column members 20, sometimes referred to as grid 
bars due to their integrated appearance as a grid when assembled in an 
overall installation, they are provided with retaining means 30 for 
retaining the support column members 20 to the associated supporting 
structure 28; and the retaining means 30 is shown as providing full 
adjustments, i.e., adjustments both horizontally and vertically and 
outwardly, with respect to the associated supporting structure 28, for 
achieving a uniform and accurate positioning of each of the support 
columns 20 as units, thus assuring that all the slab-hangers 22 for the 
slabs 24 will be properly positioned so that all the slabs 24 will be 
automatically positioned in the desired attractive flush or co-planar 
position when the slabs 24 are mounted on the mounts 22. 
The support column member 20 is shown as provided (FIG. 6) with a series of 
spaced connector means shown as threaded openings 32, and there is 
provided a shelf-like slab-mount or hanger 22 for each of the series of 
these spaced openings 32, the openings 32 being shown as provided on sets 
of two. 
Bolts 34 provide interconnecting means which interconnect each of the 
slab-hangers 22 to the support column member 20 by threaded engagement 
with respective ones of said connector holes 32; and the accurate spacing 
of the holes 32 provides a proper uniformity of spacing of the slab-mounts 
22. The bolts 34 pass through holes 34a in hangers 22, spaced as per holes 
32 of bars 20. 
The accurately-located slab-hangers or mounts 22, therefore, each provide a 
shelf-like support abutment or shelf 35 upon which may releasably rest one 
of the heavy slabs 24; and the full adjustability of all the support 
column members 20 achieves automatically the proper alignment and 
positioning of all of the said slab-hangers 22 mounted thereon, fully 
assuring that all bottom edges 35a of slabs 24 supported in the series 
will be properly aligned and positioned when seated upon the respective 
slab hanger 22. This combination of concepts takes advantage of the ease 
and certainty of proper positioning of the vertical support grids 20 and 
the conveniently usable shelf-like slab-mounts or hangers 22. 
In more particular reference to the mounting of the vertical grid bars 20 
onto the concrete supporting frame 28 of the building, the retaining means 
30 is shown as comprising (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) a receiver member 36 provided 
as an embedded attachment to the associated supporting structure 28 of the 
building. This form provides an open interior 38 of the receiver member 36 
which horizontally slidably but non-rotatably receiving a nut means 40 
which is threadedly engageable with a bolt means 42 which extends through 
and whose head-nut 44 operatively bears onto the vertical support column 
member 20, that slidability providing ample horizontal adjustment of the 
vertical support column member 20 with respect to the concrete building 
framing 28. The receiver 36 is of a generally C-shape as viewed from the 
end; and rearwardly it carries a retainer 45 for anchoring in the concrete 
64 of framing 28. 
Vertical adjustment of the column members 20 is also provided, as now 
detailed. That is, the vertical support column member 20 is shown provided 
with a vertical slot means 46 through which the bolt means 42 extends, 
providing for the vertical adjustment of the vertical support column 
member 20 with respect to the concrete 28. Also, each of the vertical 
support members 20 is shown provided with a vertical height adjustment 
bolt means 48 which is itself supported upon the associated flooring; and 
that adjustment bolt 48 provides at least substantially all of the 
vertical support of the support column member 20. The above-mentioned 
vertical adjustment slot feature 46 of the retaining means 30 which 
retains the support column members 20 to the associated supporting 
structure 28 accommodates the height-adjustment effect of the vertical 
height-adjustment bolt 48 but contributes at most only a small portion of 
all of the vertical support of the column member 20. 
The vertical height-adjustment bolt 48 is of conventional form, i.e., it is 
screw-threadedly received in an opening in the bottom of the vertical 
support member 20, and a locking nut 50 is shown as provided to maintain a 
specific height-adjustment. 
Outward adjustment also is provided in connection with the retaining means 
30, and thus as to the relative position of each support grid 20; and such 
adjustment is shown (FIGS. 4, 5) by the shims 51 insertable between the 
concrete 28 and the grid bar 20 at the location of the bolt 42 and the 
embedded receiver member 36. That location is shown by numeral 51a in FIG. 
3; and after installation is made the front end of bolt-rod 42 is cut off. 
Each of the slab-hangers or mounts 22 is provided with a retainer member 
shown as a bolt 52 having a designed head or washer 53 (sometimes referred 
to as a rosette) for releasably retaining the associated slab 24 onto the 
respective slab-hanger 22. Also, as is conventional, each of the 
slab-hangers 22 (FIGS. 1, 6, 9, 10) also includes spring means 54 which 
operatively bears upon the associated slab 24 and the support column 
member 20, the spring 54 being in a state of compression when the 
associated slab 24 supported by the slab hanger 22 is releasably connected 
to the mount 22 by the retainer bolt 52. The bolt 52 is held by a threaded 
opening 56 in the hanger-mount 22; and the spring 54 is held by the bolt 
34. 
The various components of the building's structure (generally indicated by 
numeral 28) are shown as follows: the floor 60 is the structure upon which 
the height-adjustment bolt 48 seats; the horizontal crypt-shelves 62 are 
at the general elevation of the slab-hangers 22, each adjacent set of such 
shelves 62 defining the vertical limits of a crypt whose front face is 
provided by one of the slabs 24; and the vertical risers 64 provide the 
side walls of each crypt and provide the supporting mount or framing for 
each of the retainer assemblies 30 which provide for and accommodate the 
3-way adjustability (horizontal, vertical, and fore-and-aft or outward 
adjustability) of each of the grid-columns 20. 
It is thus seen that a slab-hanging system according to the inventive 
concepts of an integral combination as herein set forth provides a desired 
and advantageous device, yielding the advantages of ease of installaton of 
an array of slab-facings such as in a whole array of crypts of a 
mausoleum, with ease of proper alignment and positioning assuring an 
attractively neat and flush appearance of the whole array, even though 
supported by concrete building components having irregularity of surface 
features. 
Accordingly, it will thus be seen from the foregoing description of the 
invention according to this illustrative embodiment, considered with the 
accompanying drawings, that the present invention provides new and useful 
combination concepts of a novel and advantageous slab-mounting system, 
yielding desired advantages and characteristics, and accomplishing the 
intended objects, including those hereinbefore pointed out and others 
which are inherent in the invention. 
Modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the 
scope of the novel concepts of the invention; accordingly, the invention 
is not limited to the specific embodiment or form or arrangement of parts 
herein described or shown.