Improvements in or connected with Coffins.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Feb., 1896-Accepted, 21st Mar., 1896
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Coffins.
1, MICHAEL KARNICKI of 12 Mazawiecka Warsaw, in the Empire of Russia..
Landed Proprietor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention relates to coffins and has for its object a complete means of safety
against the danger of persons being buried whilst in a state of trance. The invention
consists of an hermetically closed metallic box or coffin which may be preserved in a
vault, the cover or upper part of said coffin having a lid which is also tightly closed,
and transparent discs which tend constantly to fly upwards by the action of springs
but are held down in their position by a suitable mechanism and are adapted to
immediately spring off on the slightest movement in the interior of the coffin by the
said mechanism being either pulled or pressed.
If the person buried in a state of trance opens his eyes on returning to consciousness,
he sees light through the glass discs of the lid, and will on coming to his senses,
unconsciously make a movement by which the mechanism which stands under the
pressure of the springs, is immediately released and the springing up of the lid is
effected. The sick person can thus raise himself, he receives air, and by striking on
the glass tombstone or by operating an alarm device he is in a position to call the
attention of the passers-by to effect his rescue. If the awakening of the sick person
takes place at night, it is inevitably necessary to wait for some hours, but with
the beginning of day, service at the church altar will afford a certain chance of
speedy aid.
The invention is shown as a practical example of construction in the accompanying.
drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of an hermetically closed coffin;
Figure 2 a view of the lid with the mechanism from below;
Figure 3 a partial cross section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;
Figure 4 a cross section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and
Figure a view from below of the coffin lid showing the released position of the
separate parts of the mechanism.
A frame a is firmly connected with the lid of the coffin, and is provided on its inner
longitudinal sides with eyelets a' and at its ends with flat springs a². Sliding bolts
which are suitably guided by means of screws and slots and which always tend to fly
together in the direction of the arrow, shown in Figure 5, under the action of
springs are also provided on the underside of the frame a. These bolts b preferably
carry on their inner ends small rollers and have their outer ends provided with
wedges 62. A plate p containing glass discs g is provided with bolts p' adapted to
readily enter the eyelets a¹ formed on the frame a and is provided in the centre with
a bar p², on the under side of which are arranged slides which slide in suitable-
guides and tend to constantly move inwards under the action of springs c³. In the
middle of the bar p² a push d is further arranged and provided with a pressure disc or
button d'in such a way as to be vertically movable within certain limits and levers /
pivotally mounted in supports fare connected to the said push d. The push is also.
provided with a plate a2 which can move in and out of a recess in the bar p2 and on
this plate d² springs ds act and tend to always press the push & downwards (see
Figure 4).
If now the coffin is to be closed, the plate p is placed on to the frame a, the bolts pl
of the former enter the eyelets a' of the frame, and by the use of sufficient pressure

page_text: which are
on the plate p the springs a² and also a suitable washer a³ placed on the frame a are
compressed. The bolts b are then caused to lie in a horizontal plane with the
slides c and assume the position shown in Figure 5. By drawing the slides c apart
they are brought into the position shown in Figure 2 by which means the bolts b
are separated until their wedges 62 enter slots in the bolts p¹ of the plate p and
press the latter still firmer on the frame a. The fixing in position of these parts
now in tension is effected by means of the plate d2 attached to the
push which plate emerges from the recess in the bar and rests against and
between the projecting inner end surfaces of the slides c, as shown in Figures 2
and 3. The connection of the coffin lid with the coffin body, both of which
parts are provided with flanges, may then be effected by means of screws, a suitable
washering substance being placed between them. The mechanism is thus set
(under spring pressure) and it is so sensitively constructed that a person returning
to consciousness may, by exerting a comparatively slight pressure on the disc d',
or a pull on rings which are arranged on the outer ends of the levers f, as
shown in dotted lines in Figure 3, easily effect a movement inward of the push d
with the plate d² into the recess of the bar p2 and thus produce an immediate
springing off of the lid plate p.
The special arrangement of the mechanism hereinbefore described may of course
be varied in many ways and does not in itself form the object of the invention;
the latter consisting rather of a plate provided with glass discs and tightly pressed
on the coffin lid and held by suitable mechanism in its closed position, said plate
being caused to immediately spring off on the release of the mechanism, or on the
slightest movement of the person inside the coffin. Thus, for instance, the coffin
plate p can be made in two parts which, on the release of the mechanism, spring
to two different sides, and so forth.
The coffin is so made that if the power of the springs and the washering material
should not be found sufficient to prevent for a length of time an escape of gases,
it may be always possible to solder it down, and this can be done by skilled work-
men after about 14 days. It may here be noted that in such case the work of
soldering down can be effected much more completely than if the same had been
done before the burial and in great haste, as hitherto, at the house of the deceased
person, where a complete hermetical closing from above did not take place.
Finally it may also be mentioned that by means of the present invention not
only is thorough security afforded against the danger of being buried when in a
state of trance, but the general sanitary precaution of a rapid hermetic closing of
the coffin is thus afforded.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same. is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The improvement in coffins, which consists in a plate, having transparent
material in one or more parts, being tightly inserted in the lid of the coffin and
connected with the coffin by suitable means in such a way that by the exertion
of a slight pressure or pull on a suitable intermediate mechanism, the means for
holding said plate down are released and the transparent closing plate allowed to
spring up under the action of springs previously compressed, thus permitting an
alarm device to be set in action by the buried person who has returned to conscious-
ness substantially as described.
2. The construction and combination of parts taken as a whole forming the
improved coffin for the saving of persons buried alive whilst in a trance substantially
as hereinbefore described and illustrated.
Dated this 11th day of February 1896
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.