Patent Publication Number: US-6988299-B1

Title: Memorial container

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This document concerns an invention relating generally to urns and other storage containers for cremated remains, and particularly to memorial containers for the remains of those who have an interest in motor vehicles and motorsports. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   People often wish to have their remains stored or disposed of in a manner which reflects their interests and hobbies. As examples, it is common for people to be buried with fishing lures, gardening equipment, or travel photos where these items reflect their hobbies and interests. In corresponding situations where cremation is chosen rather than burial, they might choose for their cremated remains to be scattered in rivers, gardens, or in various locations about the world. Other options include having a memorial marker (i.e., a gravestone) or cremation urn personalized to reflect the deceased&#39;s interests. Providers and carvers of memorial markers often have a number of stock images that can be chosen for placement on a marker (e.g., images of fishing and hunting activities, sporting images, etc.). Similarly, cremation urn providers often have a number of plaques and appliques dealing with interests/hobbies that can be chosen for affixation to a memorial container (e.g., a cremation urn). 
   For many, the current options for personalization are disappointing. Specifically considering the field of memorial containers for cremated remains, while some degree of personalization is possible, memorial containers are usually personalized by taking a stock container and retrofitting it with a stock image or text, and the resulting memorial container gives a limited impression of personalization: it still expresses very little of the deceased&#39;s personality, and it still appears to be a mass-produced, off-the-shelf item. Custom sculptures and castings can be commissioned, but these are exceedingly expensive and unaffordable for most people. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention, which is defined by the claims set forth at the end of this document, is a memorial container for the storage and display of cremated remains of people who had hobbies and interests in the field of motor vehicles, motorsports, and other fields that concern internal combustion engines, with the invention being intended to at least partially address some of the aforementioned problems in the memorial field. A brief summary of an exemplary version of the invention (depicted in the accompanying  FIGS. 1 and 2 ) is now provided to give the reader a basic understanding of some of the preferred features of the invention, with more details being provided elsewhere in this document. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2  for a depiction of an exemplary version of the invention, the memorial container  100  is formed of at least a portion of an engine block  102  which contains at least one engine cylinder  104  (the cylinder  104  being visible in  FIG. 1 ), with each cylinder  104  having its piston removed so that cremated remains can be stored within the cylinder  104 . For example, the engine block portion  102  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  is taken from a motorcycle engine wherein the engine block walls  106  that bound each cylinder may be removed from the remainder of the engine block (i.e., each cylinder  104  in the engine is independently removable from the engine), so the depicted engine block portion  102  merely includes a single cylinder. In other versions of the invention, more than one cylinder  104  might be included; for example, the engine block portion  102  might be a cutaway section of a solid engine block  102  which has two or more cylinders  104  defined therein, or it might in some cases be an entire engine block. In these latter cases, remains may be contained in one or more cylinders  104 . 
   To maintain the cremated remains within the cylinder  104 , the cylinder  104  is closed at its opposing ends by closures  108  and  110  attached to the engine block  102 . One closure  108  preferably defines a base which supports the engine block  102 , and this base closure  108  may be permanently or removably attached below the cylinder  104 . The other closure  110  preferably defines a top lid which is removable from the engine block  102  to allow access to the interior of the cylinder  104  when desired. 
   Since the volume of a single cylinder  104  usually cannot accommodate the entire volume of a deceased person&#39;s cremated remains, the base closure  108  preferably has an at least partially hollow interior  112  (visible in  FIG. 1 ), with the interior  112  of the base closure  108  opening onto the cylinder  104  so that remains placed within the cylinder  104  will be received in both the interior  112  of the base closure  108  and in the cylinder  104 . The base closure  108  is depicted as having its interior  112  bounded by side walls  114 , a top wall  116 , and a bottom wall (not shown in the drawings) formed of seamlessly joined thin metal sheet or plate for sake of light weight and leak-free containment of remains, though other constructions are possible for the base closure  108 . The use of the depicted box-like construction for the base closure  108  beneficially defines a pedestal for the memorial container  100  which allows significant storage volume, and at the same time allows ready display of names and other notations, which may be placed on the sidewalls  114  by engraving, by adhered nameplates, or by other means. 
   Certain characteristics of the memorial container  100  adapt the engine block  102  so that it is more easily displayed in standard settings, e.g., on mantels, shelves, and the like. The base closure  108  helps to stabilize the memorial container  100  so that it will not as readily tip from the weight of the (generally heavy) engine block  102 , and the engine block  102  preferably extends upwardly (but not laterally outwardly) from the base closure  108  so that the engine block  102  does not interfere with a wall or other vertical surface when the base closure  108  is slid into abutment with the vertical surface. 
   Further advantages, features, and objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the invention in conjunction with the associated drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front exploded perspective view of an exemplary memorial container  100  formed of a portion of a motorcycle engine block  102 , more particularly a cylinder casing containing an engine cylinder  104  with its piston removed, with the engine block  102  being supported by a partially hollow base closure  108  and covered by a lid closure  110 . 
       FIG. 2  is front perspective view of the assembled memorial container  100  of  FIG. 1 , wherein the engine block  102  is attached to the base closure  108  and lid closure  110  to allow cremated remains to be stored therein. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED VERSIONS OF THE INVENTION 
   The memorial container  100  described above is useful to anyone having an interest in motor vehicles and motorsports (e.g., to motorcycle aficionados and members of motorcycle clubs), and who desires something more than the conventional crematory urn to store and display cremated remains. One may choose an engine block  102  which relates to a particular make and model of engine which relates to the deceased&#39;s interests, and the engine block  102  may even be taken from the deceased&#39;s own vehicle (though scrap or used engine blocks  102  are usually economically available for use, allowing the deceased&#39;s vehicle to be maintained in its original condition). 
   It should be understood that the engine block  102  can take a variety of forms different than that shown in the exemplary engine block  102  depicted in the drawings. Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the memorial container  100  includes a portion of an engine block  102  consisting of a removable cylinder casing for a single engine cylinder  104  (as may be found, for example, in certain types of motorcycle engines). However, where the deceased&#39;s interests relate to other types of engines, the engine block  102  may take other configurations, such as a cutaway section of an engine block  102  which contains one or more cylinders  104  (as may be appropriate for automotive engines, which usually contain multiple cylinders  104  defined in an integrally cast engine block  102 ). In other situations, an entire engine block  102  might be used. Where multiple cylinders  104  are present in the engine block  102 , all or only some may open onto a hollow base closure  108 , or if sufficient cylinder volume is present, none need open onto a hollow base closure  108  (and the base closure  108  need not be hollow). Where multiple cylinders  104  are present in the memorial container  100 , it is also possible to separately store the cremated remains of multiple people, such as a husband and wife, or the members of a motorcycle club. 
   While it is preferred that all pistons be removed from the engine block  102  used in the memorial container  100  for sake of enhanced storage volume in the cylinder(s)  104  and for decreased size and weight, the piston(s) may be retained if desired, and may form one of the closures  108  or  110  by welding or otherwise affixing the piston(s) within the cylinder(s)  104 . In this manner, the memorial container  100  may represent the point at which the engine stopped for the last time. 
   The base closure  108  can also take a variety of forms different from that of the exemplary hollow box-like base closure  108  depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The base closure  108  is preferably formed of seamlessly joined thin metal plate or sheet for sake of sturdiness (but light weight), particularly if the memorial container  100  should fall from a mantel or the like, and for leak-free construction. However, the base closure  108  can be made of other materials such as wood, ceramics, or plastics instead of (or in addition to) metals. Whatever the form and materials of the base closure  108 , it preferably will remain the widest point of the memorial container  100  so that the base closure  108  forms a stable tip-resistant base for the memorial container  100 , since the memorial container  100  will often be displayed on a mantel or the like, from which it would be undesirable to have the memorial container  100  fall (particularly because it may be quite heavy). It is also useful to have the engine block  102  and lid closure  110  extend upwardly, but not laterally outwardly, from the base closure  108  so that the base closure  108  may be slid against a wall or other vertical surface without interference from the engine block  102  and lid closure  110 , thereby further enhancing stability. 
   Similarly, the lid closure  110  can take a variety of forms different than that shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The depicted lid closure  110  is readily formed by turning metal stock on a lathe, but wooden or ceramic lid closures  110  are also possible. As with the base closure  108 , the lid closure  110  may be formed to extend across and close one or multiple cylinders  104  in the event that multiple cylinders  104  are present in the memorial container  100 . Where multiple cylinders  104  are present, it is also possible to simply use multiple lid closures  110 . 
   In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the base closure  108  and lid closure  110  are depicted as being fastened to the engine block  102  via base closure fasteners  118  and lid closure fasteners  120 , but other forms of affixation are possible. In particular, the base closure  108  may be permanently welded to the engine block  102 , though the lid closure  110  is preferably removably affixed to the engine block  102  for ease of access to the cylinder  104  (though permanent affixation of the lid closure  110  to the engine block  102  might occur once the remains are placed within the cylinder  104 ). Removable fastening can occur by any appropriate means, e.g., by fasteners  118 , by engaging threads machined into the mouth of the cylinder  104 , by hermetic sealing from a gasket engaging the mouth of the cylinder  104 , and so forth. 
   The base closure  108  can accommodate some desired inscription, memorial plaque, applique, or other matter for further personalization; for example, apart from the deceased&#39;s name and dates of birth and death, it can bear the makes and models of the deceased&#39;s vehicle(s), his/her racing record or club affiliation, or similar matter. This may also be done at other areas of the memorial container  100 , e.g., on the lid closure  110  or even on the engine block  102 , but the base closure  108  will usually most easily accommodate engraving, adhesion of plaques or appliques, or the addition of other such matter. However, the lid closure  110  is particularly useful for addition of matter such as hood ornaments, vehicle nameplates, miniature vehicle models, and the like if additional personalization is desired. 
   The invention is not intended to be limited to the exemplary features described above, but rather is intended to be limited only by the claims set out below. Thus, the invention encompasses all different versions of memorial containers that fall literally or equivalently within the scope of these claims.