Patent Publication Number: US-2013232829-A1

Title: Crypt plaques and method of displaying same

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure relates to markers at entombment locations and other points of interest, and, more particularly, to a method of displaying memorial plaques on crypt fronts. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Individuals&#39; desire to remember and honor their loved ones who are deceased is considerable and needs no elaboration. To assist in this regard, crypts, sometimes referred to as burial vaults, are frequently found in cemeteries&#39; mausolea and underneath public religious buildings, such as churches. Crypts are also occasionally built on personal estates, providing families with a place where all members of a given family may be interred. 
     More specifically, mausoleums efficiently provide above-ground interment spaces in a plurality of individual abutting crypts which are arranged, in a grid or matrix style, along a wall in horizontal tiers and vertical rows. Each crypt typically has a drawer front which is formed of marble or another natural or artificial stone. The crypt front is usually inscribed with information identifying the person interred or, via screws or bolts, has affixed to it a nameplate. The format of the nameplates, including their sizes and shapes, commonly vary within a mausoleum. 
     Crypt fronts are often decorated, physically apart from the nameplates, as a tribute and form of remembrance. Such scattered ornamentation can be in the form of a floral arrangement, with or without a supporting element such as a vase, emblems or other embellishments, or plaques of varying sizes and styles. This non-uniform ornamentation, while serving a noble purpose, can significantly detract from the overall appearance of the crypts when they are viewed collectively. In addition to not being aesthetically pleasing, existing crypt ornamentation attempts often involve gluing or otherwise adhering the flowers, images, or other embellishments to the crypt fronts, but problems arise in that such adornments may be removed relatively easily. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention may comprise one or more of the following features and combinations thereof. 
     In one illustrative embodiment of the present method, a grid or matrix of abutting crypts is provided as a first step, with the front of each crypt able to receive a customized plaque as well as a name plate of dimensions identical to those used on the other crypts. The plaques may be metallic plaques, each bearing a customized, etched collage of imagery and/or wording relating to the deceased. Sized to match the dimensions of the crypt front or sharing another common size, as further steps, these plaques are then situated behind their corresponding nameplates and affixed to the crypt fronts by means such as screws or bolts of a length sufficient to pass through a nameplate and plaque and retain them. Additional holes may be required in the crypt fronts in order to affix the plaques to the crypt fronts. The metallic plaques may be cast bronze. It is also possible that the relief imagery and any text on the plaques is generated by hand and/or computer-implemented means known in the art. 
     As noted, the plaques are utilized in connection with standardized nameplates, which provides an aesthetically pleasing appearance for the entire collection of crypts while retaining the ability to customize each crypt to uniquely honor and remember those who have passed. In addition to an overall consistent appearance in a crypt, the method provides the benefit of memorial permanence. It should be noted that the application of the plaques and nameplates to the crypts in a given collection need not occur at one time, but may occur over the course of time as 
     Additional features of the disclosure will become apparent to individuals skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a front-perspective view of an illustrative crypt front produced when practicing the method disclosed herein; and 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective, partial view of a plurality of crypts with an exploded view of a plaque and nameplate, with crypt each having the type of front illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS 
     For the purposes of promoting and understanding the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to one or more embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an illustrative embodiment of the present method involves the use of a plaque  10 , bearing a customized collage  20  of imagery and/or text, to be placed in a mausoleum or other location of significance. The collage  20  will thus relate to an individual in a crypt or otherwise in some way to the particular location. The plaque  10  may be a metallic, cast bronze panel in one embodiment, and have a raised or sunken collage  20  that is manufactured via a mechanical process, including a computer-assisted or controlled one, or the required relief created by hand, as is known in the metallurgical and sculpting arts. The plaque  10  is utilized in connection with a nameplate  30 . 
     The method commences with the step of providing a grid or matrix  40  of abutting crypts  50 , an example of which is depicted in  FIG. 2 , with the front  60  of each crypt  50  able to receive a customized plaque  10  as well as a nameplate  30 . The method continues with the step of providing a plurality of customized plaques  10  and nameplates  30 . Each nameplate  30  may be of a type or style already employed by a given cemetery and is standardized in that it has a shape and dimensions identical to those of the nameplates  30  used on the other crypts  50 . 
     Sized to match, or at least fit within, the dimensions of the crypt front  60  or sharing another common size, the plaques  10  are positioned behind their corresponding nameplates  30  and then affixed to the crypt fronts  60 . The affixing means include, but are not limited to, screws  70  or bolts of a length and rigidity sufficient to pass through a nameplate  30  and plaque  10  and retain them to the front  60 . Inner holes  80  drilled or otherwise cut into the crypt fronts  60  should spatially correspond to the positions of the holes  80  cut in the plaques  10  and nameplates  30 . It should be noted that additional, outer holes  90  may be required in the crypt fronts  60  in order to affix the plaques  10  to the fronts  60 . 
     When viewed collectively after installation, the plaques  10  on the crypt  50  provide an aesthetically-pleasing array of imagery  20  in a context that is standardized by the grid-like arrangement of the crypts  50  and the use of the identically-styled nameplates  30 . 
     As noted, the plaques  10  are metallic in one embodiment and may be cast bronze. The shape of the plaques  10  is not restricted, but it can mirror the common, generally rectangular crypt front  60  shape. The nameplates  30  may be composed of similar material. The materials for the plaques  10  and nameplates  30  are not limited, however, and may be other metals such as aluminum, brass, copper, or other alloys. The layout options for each plaque  10  are virtually unlimited and graphic design considerations may come into play. It is envisioned that photographs may be scanned or otherwise input into a computer-controlled or aided manufacturing system in order to generate highly-detailed, relief-style imagery on the plaques  10 . As is known in the manufacturing software art and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,814,959 to Karenbauer, the scanned photographs will be converted to a digital representation, and software may be used to determine the appropriate tool path for routing a polyurethane or other pattern of the imagery  20 . Molten metal such as bronze may then be introduced into the pattern to make the detailed plaque  10 . In light of the identifying information on the nameplates  30 , the plaques  10  need not bear any wording, but the type of textual information on each plaque  10  may include a name and important dates. The nameplates  30 , though, need not bear names or merely information to identify a person. 
     It should be understood, however, that the context for practicing the present method is by no means limited to mausolea and crypts. Virtually any setting where there is a grid or matrix-type of arrangement of abutting, generally flat surfaces capable of receiving the plaques  10  and a standardized marker similar to the nameplates  30  will suffice. Moreover, it should be understood that all of the illustrated steps are merely exemplary. Other steps may be added, some may be omitted, and variations in the step sequence are envisioned, and the order of the steps may certainly be changed for differing settings for the plaques  10 . 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the foregoing drawings and description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown and described and that all changes and modifications which are within the scope of the claimed subject matter are desired to be protected.