Patent Publication Number: US-2005126058-A1

Title: Grave marker with memorabilia compartment

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates generally to burial or grave markers, and more particularly to grave markers with a compartment containing memorabilia relating to the deceased.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Grave markers are well known in the art and typically take the form of a headstone made of marble, granite or other type of stone or suitable structural material. The grave marker usually includes certain information such as, for example, the deceased&#39;s name, dates of birth and death as well as an epitaph or other thoughtful sentiment.  
      Oftentimes, there is a desire on the part of the deceased&#39;s family and loved ones to memorialize or “stay in touch” with the faithfully departed. This may manifest itself in several ways such as, for example, keeping various sentimental items close to the burial site. The placement of various items of personalty at grave sites, such as flowers, jewelry, photographs and other mementos, has existed as a means of staying in touch with the deceased. These items of personalty are usually placed on the ground adjacent to the headstone and may created various problems with cemetery maintenance such as cutting the grass and keeping the cemetery clean of debris.  
      There are a number of devices in the prior art for storing memorabilia near a grave site. The provision for memorabilia storage near a grave site is meaningful, because it gives many people peace of mind prior to death by knowing that they will still be in close proximity to objects that have sentimental value. Providing a memorabilia storage compartment that is viewable by visitors of a grave site is also important because it provides the visitor a sense of staying in touch with the decedent by viewing memorabilia stored therein. In this way, survivors can be reminded of and memorialize major events with the deceased by placing pictures and other memorabilia in the storage compartment.  
      For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,921 discloses a grave marker having a memorabilia compartment therein that is accessible to visitors to the grave site. The marker is a box interred in the ground and is made from a plastic material that is lightweight and easy to mold. The box houses an air and water tight cylindrical container in which memorabilia is placed and retained. A removable lid covers the top surface of the box and provides additional protection for the memorabilia from the elements. U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,703 also discloses a burial marker having a cylindrical or rectangular memorabilia storage compartment. The memorabilia storage compartment is formed directly in a solid construction marker and includes a lid that seals the contents of the compartment from the air and water.  
      Advances have therefore been made in the area of grave marker memorabilia storage compartments as demonstrated with the products discussed above. However, there continues to be room for improvement in the area of grave markers with memorability storage.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is a grave marker memorabilia compartment assembly adapted to couple to a grave marker to provide display and storage for mementos and other items of memorabilia pertaining to the deceased. The memorabilia compartment assembly comprises a grave marker plate, a retainer coupled to an underside of the grave marker plate for retaining the mementos and other items of memorabilia, and a retainer door formed in the grave marker plate that covers the retainer when the retainer door is in a closed position and further allows the contents of the retainer to be viewed when the retainer door is in an open position.  
      The grave marker plate can be generally rectangular having a pair of opposed sides extending in a longitudinal direction and a pair of opposed sides extending in a traverse direction. The retainer can be generally rectangular having a bottom wall and four side walls and defining an opening along a top end of the side walls having a pair of opposed longer sides extending in the longitudinal direction and a pair of opposed shorter sides extending in the traverse direction. A transparent member can be sandwiched between the retainer and underside of the grave marker plate. Moreover, a sealing gasket can be sandwiched between the transparent member and the underside of the plate such that the retainer, transparent member and sealing gasket can be securely coupled to the grave marker plate to provide an airtight and watertight memorabilia compartment.  
      The retainer door of the memorabilia compartment assembly provides visual access to the contents of the memorabilia compartment. The retainer door can be generally rectangular with a pair of opposed longer sides extending in the longitudinal direction and a pair of opposed shorter sides extending in the traverse direction. The retainer door can be hinged to the grave marker plate to provide an open and closed position. When the retainer door is in the open position, the contents of the memorabilia compartment can be viewed. When the retainer door is in the closed position, the top surface of the retainer door comprises at least a portion of the top surface of the grave marker plate and as such can include an inscription as a part of, for example, identifying the deceased. The retainer door and/or grave marker plate can include a latch for securing the retainer door in the closed position.  
      The memorabilia compartment assembly can further include a flower-receptacle and/or a candle receptacle. Both receptacles comprise a door formed in the grave marker plate that can, for example, be hingably attached to the plate to provide an open and closed position. The door includes a tube coupled to the underside of the door and having an axis along the length of the tube such that the axis is in a substantially vertical orientation when the door is in the open position. The tubes are adapted to receive flowers or a candle. In this way, flowers and a candle can be displayed at the grave site to memorialize the deceased.  
      In another aspect, a grave marker having a memorabilia compartment for mementos and other items of memorabilia comprises a generally rectangular base for interment into the ground and having a recess formed in a top surface thereof and a grave marker memorabilia compartment assembly coupled to the base. The memorabilia compartment assembly comprises a grave marker plate, a retainer coupled to an underside of the grave marker plate for retaining the mementos and other items of memorabilia and a retainer door formed in the grave marker plate having an open and closed position, the mementos and other items of memorabilia-viewable when the retainer door is in the open position. The retainer is positioned in the recess of the base when the grave marker memorabilia compartment assembly is coupled to the base.  
      These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings herein, in which: 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS OF THE INVENTION  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a grave marker having a memorabilia compartment assembly for storing mementos and other items of memorabilia in accordance with the principles of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the grave marker memorabilia compartment assembly of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the grave marker of  FIG. 5  taken generally along line  3 - 3 .  
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged disassembled cross sectional view of the retainer of  FIG. 3  but showing the retainer door in a closed position.  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a grave marker similar to  FIG. 1  but showing the retainer door, flower receptacle door and the candle receptacle door all in the open position. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION  
      With reference to  FIG. 1 , there is illustrated a grave marker  10  incorporating a grave marker memorabilia compartment assembly  11  according to the present invention. The grave marker  10  includes a base  14  generally interred into the ground  15  and a memorabilia compartment assembly  11  typically overlying a portion of, and removably coupled to, a top surface  16  of grave marker base  14  by means known to those having skill in the art.  
      Referring now to  FIGS. 1-4 , the memorabilia compartment assembly  11  of the present invention comprises a grave marker plate  12 , a retainer  18  coupled to the underside surface  19  of the grave marker plate  12  and a retainer door  20  formed from a portion of grave marker plate  12 . Grave marker plate  12  traditionally includes certain information about the deceased, such as, for example, the deceased&#39;s name, dates of birth and death, and perhaps an epitaph or decorative design. Mementos and other items of memorabilia pertinent to the deceased can be placed in the retainer  18 . Retainer door  20  has a closed position such that retainer door  20  covers retainer  18  when in the closed position and an open position such that the contents of retainer  18  can be viewed when in the open, position.  
      Grave marker base  14  is interred in ground  15  and can be generally rectangular having a pair of opposed sides  22 ,  22  extending in a longitudinal direction and a pair of opposed sides  24 ,  24  extending in a traverse direction. The grave marker base  14  can be made of a marble, granite, concrete, or any other type of stone or suitable material known in the art. Base  14  can include a recess  26  formed therein to accommodate retainer  18  when grave marker memorabilia compartment assembly  11  is removably coupled to the top surface  16  of base  14 . Recess  26  can for example be a hole extending through base  14  such that retainer  18  is unsupported by base  14  or alternatively, recess  26  can be formed in base  14  so as to conform to the shape of retainer  18  and support retainer  18  when memorabilia compartment assembly  11  is coupled to base  14 .  
      Grave marker plate  12  can be generally rectangular having a pair of opposed sides  28 ,  28  extending in the longitudinal direction and a pair of opposed sides  30 ,  30  extending in the traverse direction and corresponding to sides  22 ,. 22  and  24 ,  24  of base  14 , respectively. Grave marker plate  12  can be made of a bronze, an aluminum, a composite material, including plastic, or any other suitable material known in the art. Retainer  18  can be coupled to the underside surface  19  of plate  12  by known means, such as, for example, a plurality of threaded bolts and corresponding tapped holes in grave marker plate  12 .  
      As illustrated in  FIGS. 2-4 , retainer  18  can be generally rectangular including a bottom wall  32 , and pair of longer side walls  34  and a pair of shorter side walls  36  to define an opening  38  at the top end  40  of retainer  18 . When retainer  18  is coupled to the grave marker plate, longer side walls  34  extend in the longitudinal direction while shorter side walls  36  extend in the traverse direction. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not so limited to the rectangular configuration described herein and those skilled in the art will recognize many possible configurations. Side walls  34 ,  36  can further include an outwardly extending lip  42  along opening  38  such that retainer  18  is secured to the underside surface  19  of grave marker plate  12  by, for example, a plurality of threaded bolts and corresponding tapped holes in grave marker plate  12 , along lip  42 . Retainer  18  can be made from a composite material, such as plastic, a metal, such as sheet metal, or any other suitable material known in the art.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , to protect items placed in the retainer  18  from theft and environmental deterioration, memorabilia compartment assembly  11  can further include a transparent member  44  juxtaposed or sandwiched between retainer  18  and the underside surface  19  of grave marker plate  12 . When memorabilia compartment assembly  11 , including transparent member  44 , is installed and coupled to grave marker base  14  ( FIG. 1 ), the contents of retainer  18  are no longer accessible (i.e., without disassembly), but can still be viewed by the deceased&#39;s family and loved ones through retainer door  20 . In this way, the contents of retainer  18  can have increased safety from vandals and the like while providing a location for mementos and other items of memorabilia that have particular meaning to the deceases or to his/her family. The transparent member can be made from a tempered glass, plexiglass, lexan, or other suitable materials, such as other polycarbonate materials.  
      Furthermore, the grave market memorabilia compartment assembly  11  can also include a sealing gasket  46  sandwiched between the transparent member  44  and the underside surface  19  of grave marker plate  12 . The sealing gasket  46  can be configured to prevent any water and/or air from entering retainer  18  and deteriorating items placed therein. The sealing gasket  46  can for example, be a gasket ring and the underside surface  19  of plate  12  can further include a groove to properly position the gasket ring.  
      The grave marker plate  12  includes retainer door  20  that provides at least visual access to the items in retainer  18 . Retainer door  20  generally conforms and can be coextensive with opening  38  in retainer  18 . Retainer door  20  can be rectangular having a pair of opposed longer sides  54  and a pair of opposed shorter sides  56 . Longer sides  54  extend in the longitudinal direction and shorter sides  56  extend in the transverse direction with retainer door  20  overlying opening  38  of retainer  18 . Retainer door  20  can include a hinge  58  that permits retainer-door  20  to pivot about, for example, a longitudinal axis. When retainer-door  20  is in an open position, the contents of retainer  20  can be readily viewed. When retainer door  20  is in a closed position, a top surface  60  of retainer door  20  comprises at least a portion of a top surface  62  of grave market plate  12  and thus can include an inscription, such as the deceased&#39;s name, or other design that can be incorporated into the overall design of grave marker plate  12 . Retainer door  20  and/or top surface  62  of grave marker plate  12  can also include a latch or locking mechanism  64  for securing retainer door  20  in the closed position.  
      As shown in  FIG. 5 , grave marker memorabilia compartment assembly  11  can also include a flower receptacle  66  and/or a candle receptacle  68 . Flower receptacle  66  can include a flower receptacle door  70  formed in grave marker plate  12  and having a pair of opposed sides  71 ,  71  extending in the longitudinal direction and a pair of opposed sides  72 ,  72  extending in the traverse direction. Flower receptacle door  70  can be hingably attached to grave marker plate  12  so as to pivot about, for example, a longitudinal axis thereby providing an open and closed position. Flower receptacle door  70  can further include a cylindrical tube  76  coupled to the underside surface  78  of flower receptacle door  70  and configured such that an axis extending through tube  76  can be in a substantially vertical orientation when flower receptacle door  70  is in the open position. When flower receptacle door  70  is in the open position, tube  76  can be adapted to receive one or more flowers (shown in phantom) to memorialize the deceased.  
      Candle receptacle  68  can include a candle receptacle door  80  formed in grave marker plate  12  and having a pair of opposed sides  82 ,  82  extending in the longitudinal direction and a pair of opposed sides  84 ,  84  extending in the traverse direction. Candle receptacle door  80  can be hingably attached to grave marker plate  12  so as to pivot about, for example, a longitudinal axis thereby providing an open and closed position. Candle receptacle door  80  can further includes a cylindrical tube  86  coupled to the underside surface  88  of candle receptacle door  80  and configured such that an axis extending through tube  86  can be in a substantially vertical orientation when candle receptacle door  80  is in the open position. When candle receptacle door  80  is in the open position, tube  86  can be adapted to receive a candle (shown in phantom) to memorialize the deceased.  
      Those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations and modifications which can be made to the present invention which will result in an improved grave marker with memorabilia compartment, yet all of which will fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.