Patent Publication Number: US-3878657-A

Title: Sealing device and burial vault

Description:
[45] Apr. 22, 1975 United States Patent Ferver [54] SEALING DEVYICE AND BURIAL VAULT SEALING DEVICE AND BURIAL vAuLT DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention is a form, made into the shape of an arch dome. It is designed to &#34;sleeve&#34; down inside of a conventional top-seal burial vault. It fits down over a casket thereby capturing and encasing the casket in a dome of air, the function being that the air trapped in the dome prevents liquid from raising in the dome to the point where it would come in contact with the casket. The dome has sufficient height to allow the casket to be elevated on legs (normally found in all conventional burial vaults), thus creating a condition where the casket is suspended in captured air. The conventional tongue and groove. asphalt filled seal of a topseal burial vault is not always 100% certain, whereas the captive air created by trapping a dome of air inside the conventional top-seal burial vault by a non-porous form, in the shape of a dome. is certain.  
 OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION lt is an object of the invention to provide an improved burial chamber.  
  Another object of the invention is to provide a burial chamber which is simple in construction. economical to manufacture, and simple and efficient to use.  
  Another object of the invention is to provide a burial chamber which uses an inverted open topped waterproof container to keep water from coming into contact with the coffin.  
  With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportions, and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages ofthe invention.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. l is a side view of the vault according to the invention;  
  FIG. 2 is a Cross sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. l.  
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Now with more particular reference to the drawings, a vault is shown by way of example and is made of conventional construction which may be made of concrete or the like. The vault has sides l1, a bottom 12, a cover 14 is supported on top of the vault base. The cover 14 has side shoulders 13 and a top surface 24. A tongue is integrally attached to the open rim of the vault base indicated at 18. This tongue is received in a groove in the cover. The cover 14 rests on shoulder 17 on the sides ll. The vault has conventional reinforcements 16 and the cover has reinforcing rods l5.  
  The inner sealing member is formed into the shape of an arch with lower edges 28 that are received in grooves 29 in the bottom of the vault. The lifting members 21 are attached to the sealing member by means of which the sealing member may be lowered into or removed from the vault. The sealing member has closed ends 22. The sealing member acts as an inverted container so that if and when water enters the space between the conventional vault inside walls and the outside of the sealing member. the water is held from entering the space in said sealing member 30 by air trapped in the sealing member 30. The sealing member 30 may be made of a preformed non-porous material such as by way of example plastic material. either thermoplastic or thermo-setting plastic or non-ferrous metal formed into an archlike shape as shown, with the ends 22 cemented or welded in place. The entire inner sealing member could be molded from a single piece of watertight material.  
  The bottom surface 31 of the vault supports the coffin. Cleats could be formed on the bottom 3l to support the coffin above the surface 3l. The bottom 3l holds the sealing member in position between channels 29. The channel 29 extends around the periphery of the bottom. The bottom 31 inside the channel acts as a restraining means to hold the bottom ofthe sealing member outwardly. The channel provides a space to receive the lower edges 28 of the sealing member to prevent the water pressure between the inside walls of the vault and the outside of the sealing member from collapsing the sealing member inward.  
  The channel 29 could be filled with asphalt. Thus, the lower edges of the sealing member would be included in an asphalt seal. This provides a support to prevent the lower edges of the sealing member from moving inward. It also creates a double asphalt seal, one seal being at the top 18 and the other at the channel 29. The channel 29 is optional. A plain bottom could be provided. Cleats could be formed in the bottom to hold the lower side of the sealing member outward.  
  The foregoing specification sets forth the invention in its preferred practical forms but the structure shown is capable of modification within a range of equivalents without departing from the invention which is to be understood is broadly&#39; novel as is commensurate with the appended claims.  
  The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:  
 l. A burial vault and a seal combination comprising,  
 an open topped vault base part with a channel formed in the bottom of said vault adapted to receive a coffin,  
 a cover for said vault base part,  
 an open bottomed airtight sealing member sleeved down into said vault base part,  
 said sealing member being adapted to fit over said coffin whereby air is trapped inside said sealing member and around said coffin and said sealing member prevents water from entering into said space around said coffin and from coming in contact with said coffin,  
 restraining means to prevent the bottom of said sealing member from collapsing inwardly&#39;,  
 the lower edges of said sealing member are disposed between the outer edges of said restraining means whereby said restraining means hold said sealing member against collapsing,  
 said restraining means comprising a continuous channel formed in the bottom of said vault and the lower edges of said sealing member being received in said channel.  
 said sealing member edges being secured in said channel.  
  4. The combination recited in claim 1 wherein said open topped vault base part has a tongue member integrally attached to the rim thereof, and said cover has a groove adapted to receive said tongue.  
 5. The combination recited in claim l wherein said channel is filled with asphalt.