Patent Publication Number: US-7584529-B1

Title: Casket with alcove memorialization feature in vertical puffing of cap dish assembly

Description:
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 personalty 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 cap dish assembly mounted to an underside of the cap. The dish assembly comprises a cap panel having opposite sides and opposite ends, a puffing member positioned at each of the opposite sides and each of the opposite ends of the cap panel, and an alcove structure formed in one of the puffing members positioned at one of the opposite ends of the cap panel, the alcove structure having a floor, a pair of side walls, and a back wall, and defining an area recessed away from an onlooker in which to display items to memorialize a deceased. 
   In another aspect, a cap dish assembly is adapted to be mounted to an underside of a cap of a casket. The dish assembly comprises a cap panel having opposite sides and opposite ends, a puffing member positioned at each of the opposite sides and each of the opposite ends of the cap panel, and an alcove structure formed in one of the puffing members positioned at one of the opposite ends of the cap panel, the alcove structure having a floor, a pair of side walls, and a back wall, and defining an area recessed away from an onlooker in which to display items to memorialize a deceased. 
   The said alcove structure can include a shelf, formed as a part of the floor, which projects toward an onlooker. The casket can further include a support beneath the floor and attached to the one puffing member for supporting the floor. The cap can be a pair of caps, a head end cap and a foot end cap, with the dish assembly being mounted to the head end cap. The puffing member in which the alcove is formed can be oriented generally vertically when the cap is in an open position. The one puffing member can have an opening in which the alcove structure is mounted; the opening can have straight sides, a straight lower end, and an arcuate upper end. The alcove structure can include a shelf, formed as a part of the floor, which projects toward an onlooker, the shelf being supported at least in part by the straight lower end of the opening in the one puffing member. 

   
     DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a casket with memorialization feature according to the disclosure herein. 
       FIG. 2  is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the memorialization feature of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 2 , enlarged even more, of the assembled memorialization feature of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION 
   Referring first to  FIG. 1 , a casket  10  has a shell  12 , and at least one cap or lid. As illustrated, casket  10  has a pair of caps, a head end cap  14   a  and a foot end cap  14   b . The memorialization feature of this disclosure can be incorporated into the head end cap  14   a  or the foot end cap  14   b  or both of the illustrated split top casket, or into the single cap of a full couch casket. 
   As illustrated, and referring now to all  FIGS. 1-3 , the memorialization feature  20  is incorporated into the head end cap  14   a . More particularly, the head end cap  14   a  has a dish assembly  22  mounted to an underside thereof. The dish assembly  22  comprises a cap panel  24  having opposite sides  26 ,  26  and opposite ends  28 ,  28 , a puffing member  30  positioned at each of the opposite sides  26  and a puffing member  32  positioned at each of the opposite ends  28  of the cap panel, and an alcove structure  34  formed in one of the puffing members  32  positioned at one of the opposite ends  28  of the cap panel  24 . The alcove structure  34  has a floor  36 , a pair of side walls  38 ,  38 , and a back wall  40 , and defines an area recessed away from an onlooker in which to display items to memorialize a deceased, such as ornament  41 . 
   More particularly, alcove structure  34  can include a shelf  42 , formed as a part of the floor  36  of the alcove structure  34 , which projects toward an onlooker, i.e. away from puffing member  32 . A support  44  ( FIG. 2 ) can be positioned beneath the floor  36  of the alcove structure  34  and attached to the puffing member  32  for supporting the floor  36  and hence alcove structure  34 . Support  44  can be, for example, a small block of wood or plastic, attached to the rear side of the puffing  32  with double sided tape (not shown) or any other suitable fastener; floor  36  would simply rest atop an upper surface of the block. As illustrated, the puffing member  32  in which said alcove  34  is formed is oriented generally vertically when the cap  14   a  is in an open position. The puffing member  32  can have an opening  46  in which to mount the alcove structure  34 . The opening  46  can have, for example, straight sides  48 ,  48 , a straight lower end  50 , and an arcuate upper end  52 . The shelf  42  can be supported at least in part by the straight lower end  50  of the opening  46  in the puffing member  32 . 
   Each of the side walls  38  can include a flange  60  extending laterally outwardly therefrom to facilitate attaching the alcove structure  34  to the puffing member  32 . Each flange  60  can be attached by double sided tape, adhesives, or any other suitable attachment device. A notch  62  on either lateral side of the floor  36  of the alcove structure  34  can receive a respective side  48  of the opening  46  to further secure the alcove structure  34  in place. The alcove structure  34  can be rotated 180° to conceal the floor or shelf  36  and ornament  41  if desired. 
   The cap panel  24 , puffing members  320 ,  32 , and alcove structure  34  can be fabricated of a type of sheet material known as chip board, single cell cardboard, or any other suitable material, and can be covered with decorative fabric for appearance. 
   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.