Patent Publication Number: US-7913364-B2

Title: Casket with combination shelf, drawer, and/or memorialization feature

Description:
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/122,109 filed May 16, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,981, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein as if fully set forth in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This invention relates generally to caskets, and more particularly to memorialization features for caskets. 
     BACKGROUND 
     There is a trend in the death care industry towards “personalization”—the personalizing of funeral products and funeral, memorial or other services purchased for the deceased, to provide a more meaningful experience for the family and friends of the deceased. Oftentimes, there is a desire on the part of the deceased&#39;s family and loved ones to memorialize the faithfully departed. This may manifest itself in several ways such as, for example, displaying various religious or sentimental items close to or on the casket during viewing of the deceased or even placing items in the casket prior to interment of the casket above or below ground. The display and/or storage of various items of personality near or in caskets has existed as a means to memorialize the deceased. 
     One of the earlier attempts at providing a means of personalizing or customizing a casket to the deceased may be seen with reference to the assignee&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,054 titled Casket Shelf. This patent discloses a casket shelf which is mounted to the dish assembly of the head end cap when the head end cap is in the open position, such as during viewing of the deceased. The shelf provides a surface for supporting and displaying articles of religious or personal significance to the deceased. 
     A more recent innovation may be seen with reference to the assignee&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,124 titled Casket Having Memorabilia Compartment. Caskets embodying one embodiment of the invention of the &#39;124 patent have a drawer built into the foot end lid in which keepsakes of the deceased can be stored and displayed, and are commercially available as the MemorySafe® line of caskets from Batesville®. Until the innovative casket of the &#39;124 patent, caskets did not have any designated, easily accessible receptacle or compartment for either the display of personal effects of the deceased therein or the inclusion therein of mementos of memorialization by the deceased&#39;s family and friends. Prior attempts at solving this shortcoming had generally taken the form of the placement of a small memento box into the casket alongside the deceased. However, such memento boxes often appeared as an afterthought, simply placed alongside the deceased in the casket somewhat haphazardly. The &#39;124 patent solved this shortcoming, as it provided the first casket with a memorabilia compartment integral to the casket for displaying and storing mementos and other items of memorabilia. 
     A further, and even more recent, innovation in the area of casket personalization may be seen with reference to the assignee&#39;s U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,190 for Memorialization Casket. This patent discloses an alcove structure formed in the cap panel in the underside of the head end lid, for receiving ornaments or memorabilia when the lid is in the open position during visitation or during a funeral or other memorial service, as a means of memorializing the deceased. 
     Despite the advancements made in the area of personalization of caskets as demonstrated by the products discussed above, there remains room for improvement. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect a casket comprises a shell, a cap closable on the shell, and a dish assembly mounted to an underside of the cap, the dish assembly comprising a cap panel, an alcove structure formed in the cap panel and adapted to receive an ornament for display when the cap is open, a shelf mounted to the cap panel which projects forwardly and is adapted to support an ornament for display when the cap is open, and a drawer assembly mounted to the cap panel for display and storage of items of memorialization of a deceased. 
     In another aspect, a casket comprises a shell, a cap closable on the shell, and a dish assembly mounted to an underside of the cap, the dish assembly comprising a cap panel, an alcove structure formed in the cap panel and adapted to receive an ornament for display when the cap is open, and a shelf mounted to the cap panel which projects forwardly and is adapted to support an ornament for display when the cap is open. 
     In yet another aspect, a casket comprises a shell, a cap closable on the shell, and a dish assembly mounted to an underside of the cap, the dish assembly comprising a cap panel, an alcove structure formed in the cap panel and adapted to receive an ornament for display when the cap is open, and a drawer assembly mounted to the cap panel for display and storage of items of memorialization of a deceased. 
     In still another aspect, a casket comprises a shell, a cap closable on the shell, and a dish assembly mounted to an underside of the cap, the dish assembly comprising a cap panel, a shelf mounted to the cap panel which projects forwardly and is adapted to support an ornament for display when the cap is open, and a drawer assembly mounted to the cap panel for display and storage of items of memorialization of a deceased. 
     In a further aspect, a casket comprises a shell, a cap closable on the shell, and a dish assembly mounted to an underside of the cap, the dish assembly comprising a cap panel, and a drawer assembly mounted to the cap panel portion for display and storage of items of memorialization of a deceased. 
     The casket can be a full-couch casket having a single full length cap, or a split cap casket having a head end cap and a foot end cap. The alcove can have a floor, a pair of side walls, and a back wall. The shelf can be co-planar with the floor of the alcove. The alcove defines an opening in the cap panel, and the shelf can be wider than the opening. An upper end of the opening can be arcuately shaped. The shelf can have forwardly projecting corners which are arcuately shaped. The drawer assembly can comprise a drawer supporting box structure mounted to the cap panel and a drawer which is movably received in the box structure. The shelf can be wider than the box structure. The shelf can have forwardly projecting corners which are arcuately shaped, and the drawer can have a drawer front having forwardly projecting corners which are matingly arcuately shaped. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a casket with memorialization features according to the disclosure herein. 
         FIG. 2A  is an exploded perspective view of the memorialization feature of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 2B  is a view similar to  FIG. 2A  but in assembled perspective view. 
         FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 1  but with the memorialization feature in a full couch casket. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a casket  10  has a shell  12 , a cap or lid  14  which closes on the shell  12 , and a dish assembly  16  mounted to an underside of the cap  14 . As illustrated, casket  10  is a so-called split cap or half cap casket, and thus has the prior mentioned cap  14  at the head end of the casket  10  as well as a foot end cap  14   a . The casket  10  could just as well have a single full-length cap  14   b , in which case the casket  10  would be of the so-called full couch variety. See  FIG. 3 . Both types of caskets are deemed to be embraced by the claims. 
     The dish assembly  16  has a cap panel  18 , and can have any combination of two of an alcove structure  20  formed in the cap panel  18  for receiving an ornament for display, a shelf assembly  22  mounted to the cap panel  18  for supporting an ornament for display, and a drawer assembly  24  mounted to the cap panel  18  for display and storage of items of memorialization of a deceased, or all three of the alcove  20 , shelf  22 , and drawer  24 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the alcove structure  20  can have a floor  30 , a pair of side walls  32 ,  32 , and a back wall  34 . Facilitating assembly to the cap panel  18 , each side wall  32  can have an outwardly extending flange  36  which can be attached to a rear side of the cap panel  18  with, for example, double sided tape  38 . Other suitable forms of attachment can be used. Side walls  32 ,  32 , back wall  34 , and flanges  36 ,  36  can advantageously be made from a single sheet of material having 90° fold lines. 
     Shelf assembly  22  can include a shelf surface or simply shelf  40  which can be co-planar with the floor  30  of the alcove  20 . In fact, shelf  40  can advantageously be made as a part or an extension of floor  30  of alcove structure  20 , i.e. as a single sheet of material. The alcove  20  defines an opening  42  in the cap panel  18 . Shelf  40  can be wider than the opening  42 . An upper end  44  of the opening  42  can be arcuately shaped. The shelf  40  can have forwardly projecting corners  46 ,  46  which are arcuately shaped. 
     The drawer assembly  24  can comprise a drawer supporting box structure  50  mounted to the cap panel  18 , and a drawer  52  which is movably received in the box structure  50 . The shelf  40  can be wider than the box structure  50 . The drawer  52  can have a drawer front  56  having forwardly projecting corners  58 ,  58  which are shaped so as to be matingly arcuately shaped with the arcuately shaped corners  46 ,  46  of the shelf  40 . Box structure  50  can be attached to the lower surface of the sheet of material forming the alcove floor  30  and shelf  40  with, for example, double sided tape (not shown), or with any other suitable form of attachment. 
     Assembled, the lateral edges  60 ,  60  of the alcove floor  30  and shelf  40  can fit in slots  62 ,  62  in the opening  42  in the cap panel, and the lower surface of box structure  50  can rest atop lower end  64  of opening  42 . There can be slots  66 ,  66  near the lateral edges  60 ,  60  of alcove floor  30  which accept supports  68 ,  68 . The supports  68 ,  68  can be attached to the rear side of the cap panel  18  with, for example, double sided tape  38 . On the front side of the cap panel  18 , decorative supports  70 ,  70  can support the lower surface of the box structure  50 . Reinforcement strips  72 ,  72  can be placed against the rear surface of the cap panel  18 , and screws (not shown) can sandwich the cap panel  18  between the reinforcement strips  72 ,  72  and the supports  70 ,  70 . Due to the manner in which the forward corners  58 ,  58  of the drawer front  56  can be arcuately shaped so as to match the arcuate shape of the forward corners  46 ,  46  of the shelf  40 , the forward corners  58 ,  58  can “wrap around” the lateral sides of the box structure  50  when the drawer  52  is in the closed position, thereby forming additional side pockets  74 ,  74  as a part of the drawer front  56 . 
     Cap panel  18 , alcove structure  20 , shelf  22 , and drawer  24  can advantageously be made from a type of sheet material known as chip board, single cell cardboard or any other suitable material, which can be fabric covered for decorative purposes. Supports  68  and reinforcing strips  72  can be made from any suitable material such as wood, plastic, etc. Supports  70  can be wood, plastic, or other suitable material. 
     The embodiments shown and described are for illustrative purposes only. The drawings and the description are not intended to limit in any way the scope of the claims. Those skilled in the art will appreciate various changes, modifications, and alternative embodiments. All such changes, modifications and embodiments are deemed to be embraced by the claims. Accordingly, the scope of the right to exclude shall be limited only by the following claims and their equivalents.