Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/660,574, hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to caskets, and, more specifically, to apparatus for attaching decorative corner trim pieces to the corners of a casket.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Some casket designs incorporate decorative or ornamental corner pieces secured to the casket during fabrication thereof. In many, if not most, prior designs, these ornamental corner pieces are rigidly affixed to the casket shell. Consequently, if a customer purchasing the casket is not pleased with the particular pre-installed ornamental corner pieces, and wishes to customize the casket exterior to his or her taste, the funeral director must go through a lengthy and complicated process to first remove the original ornamental corner pieces and then reinstall the ornamental corner pieces chosen by the customer. This process typically requires manual manipulation and access to the interior of the casket which may require the removal of bedding, lining, and the like. Such a process is time consuming and can damage the otherwise new casket and is thus frowned upon and generally avoided by the funeral director.  
         [0004]     To more effectively market caskets, the funeral director desires to offer a wide variety of ornamental corner pieces from which a customer can select according to the customer&#39;s taste. However, to offer such a wide selection, and to avoid the undesirable practice mentioned above, the funeral director would have to maintain a large inventory of many different casket material/finish and corner piece combinations, which is also undesirable. To minimize the required inventory of finished caskets, the funeral director could simply have one casket of each material/finish provided that the funeral director had some means providing for the quick and efficient changing of the ornamental corner pieces on each casket. As such, the customer could quickly view numerous corner pieces on a single casket, and the funeral director would need only stock a single casket of each material/finish. Prior casket designs, which rigidly affix the ornamental corner pieces, do not permit such quick and efficient changing of the ornamental corner pieces as discussed above.  
         [0005]     What is needed, therefore, is an attachment mechanism to permit the quick and efficient installation and removal of ornamental corner pieces onto and from caskets. The attachment mechanism should also permit attachment of existing ornamental corner pieces which are designed to be rigidly attached, i.e., allow for retrofitting of current fixed corner pieces such that they, too, are quickly and efficiently installed and removed.  
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of prior ornamental corner pieces. In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the ornamental corner piece includes a back plate which is adapted to mount to the corner of a casket. An attachment clip is operatively mounted within an elongated groove in the back plate. The clip member has at least one keyhole groove comprising an opening and a slot. An ornamental corner insert has at least one attachment member which selectively slidingly engages the keyhole groove in the attachment clip such that the ornamental corner insert may be selectively mounted to or removed from the back plate. Advantageously, the attachment member is a shoulder screw having a head sized to fit through the opening and be held by the slot. The slot includes protrusions which act to positively secure the shoulder screw into the slot.  
         [0007]     In one aspect of the invention, the attachment clip includes an indexing member. When the attachment clip is installed, the indexing member extends into a throughhole in the elongated groove in the back plate. The indexing member properly orients the attachment clip in the elongated groove. Advantageously, the indexing member is positioned closer to one end of the attachment clip than the other. As such, the attachment clip can be inserted into the elongated groove in only one orientation. By allowing the attachment clip to be oriented in only one orientation, the ornamental corner insert is always installed or removed in a standard method. For example, the ornamental corner insert might always be installed by slidingly engaging the attachment clip from left to right and removed by slidingly disengaging the attachment clip from right to left.  
         [0008]     In another embodiment of the invention, the ornamental corner piece includes a base member which is adapted to mount to the corner of a casket. A back plate operatively mounts to the base member. An ornamental corner insert having at least one attachment member selectively slidingly engages a keyhole groove in the back plate such that the ornamental corner insert may be selectively mounted to or removed from the back plate.  
         [0009]     In still another aspect of the invention, a casket includes a shell having a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls. At least one corner is disposed between adjacent side walls and end walls such that the corner is angled relative to them both. The corner includes at least one keyhole grove. The casket further includes an ornamental corner insert having a front and a back side. The ornamental corner insert includes at least one attachment member on its back side. The attachment member is adapted to be removeably slidingly received in the keyhole groove via a sliding motion which is parallel to a plane defined by the corner. Advantageously, the attachment member is a shoulder screw. The casket may include a back plate which is operatively mounted to the corner. The back plate, not the corner, includes the keyhole groove for receiving the attachment member.  
         [0010]     In yet another embodiment of the invention, a casket comprises a shell, an ornament, a first attachment element operably associated with the shell and a second attachment element operably associated with the ornament. The first and second attachment elements removably secure the ornament to the shell. The first and second attachment elements are configured such that the ornament is removably secured to the shell via motion in first and second non-parallel directions generally parallel to a plane defined by the first attachment element.  
         [0011]     The first attachment element is preferably a plate with at least one groove therein and the second attachment element is preferably at least one stud. The groove preferably includes a first keyhole portion and a second non-keyhole portion. The first keyhole portion has a first longitudinal axis, the second non-keyhole portion has a second longitudinal axis, and preferably the first and second longitudinal axes are non-parallel. Preferably, the first and second longitudinal axes are perpendicular. The stud is preferably a screw, for example a shoulder screw. The motion in the first and second directions is preferably rectilinear.  
         [0012]     In still another embodiment of the invention, apparatus for removably securing an ornament to a casket shell comprises a first attachment element adapted to be operably associated with the shell and a second attachment element adapted to be operably associated with the ornament. The first and second attachment elements are configured such that the ornament is removably secured to the shell via motion in first and second non-parallel directions generally parallel to a plane defined by the first attachment element.  
         [0013]     Various additional advantages, objects and features of the invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a casket embodying the corner attachment mechanism of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a disassembled perspective of the corner attachment mechanism shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a plan view of the attachment clip shown in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a partial cross-sectional view of the assembled corner attachment mechanism of  FIG. 3  taken along line  4 - 4 ;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a partial cross-sectional view of the corner attachment mechanism of  FIG. 3  taken along line  5 - 5  with the screw removed for clarity;  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a partial cross-sectional view of another assembled corner attachment mechanism similar to the one in  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is a partial cross-sectional view of the ornamental corner insert of  FIG. 4  affixed to a casket corner without using the attachment clip of  FIG. 3 ;  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  is disassembled perspective view of another embodiment of the corner attachment mechanism of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is a broken-away side view of the fastenings means holding together the base and back plate of  FIG. 8 ; and  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  is a view similar to  FIG. 8  of yet another embodiment of the corner attachment mechanism of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0024]     With reference to  FIG. 1 , a casket  10  is shown incorporating the corner attachment mechanism  12  of the present invention. The casket has a top  14 , a pair of oppositely disposed end walls  16  and two oppositely disposed side walls  18 . Advantageously, the casket  10  may be made from wood, although the corner attachment mechanism  12  is not limited to use on wooden caskets, i.e., the corner attachment mechanism  12  has equal applicability to metal caskets.  
         [0025]     With further reference to  FIG. 2 , end walls  16  and side walls  18  are joined by brace or mounting member  20 . Brace  20  includes throughhole  22  which, as described below, is sometimes used to mount corner attachment mechanism  12  to the casket  10 . The ends of end wall  16  and side wall  18  do not meet such that an opening  24  is formed which provides access to the interior of the casket  10 . Corner attachment mechanism  12  includes a back plate  30 , an attachment clip  32 , and an ornamental corner insert  34 . The back plate  30  includes end pieces  36 ,  38  joined by vertical member  40 . Vertical member  40  includes an elongated groove  42  with a throughhole  44  extending from the front side of the vertical member  40  to the back side of vertical member  40 . Vertical member  40  is secured to brace  20  by fasteners  45 . Fasteners  45  could be screws, nails, brads and the like, but are preferably screws. Vertical member  40  is preferably wood but could be made from any suitable structural material such as steel, aluminum, plastic or the like.  
         [0026]     With reference to  FIGS. 2-5 , attachment clip  32  is sized to rest within and conform to the elongated groove  42 . Attachment clip  32  is removably affixed to vertical member  40  with fasteners  46  inserted through throughholes  48  in attachment clip  32 . Fasteners  46  are preferably screws. Attachment clip  32  includes an indexing member  49  ( FIG. 4 ) with throughhole  50  which aligns with and penetrates throughhole  44  when attachment clip  32  is placed into elongated grove  42 . Indexing member  49  is positioned closer to the upper end of attachment clip  32  than the lower end. As a result of the offset position of indexing member  49 , the attachment clip  32  can be inserted into elongated groove  42  in only one orientation. As such, the installation and removal of the ornamental corner insert  34  will be consistent for all caskets  10 . That is, the ornamental corner insert  34  will always be installed by sliding it from left to right and removed by sliding it from right to left.  
         [0027]     With specific reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , attachment clip  32  further includes two keyhole grooves  52 ,  54 . Keyhole grooves  52 ,  54  include, respectively, openings  56 ,  58  and slots  60 ,  62 . Slots  60 ,  62  are partly formed by oppositely disposed rib members  64 ,  66 . Each rib member  64 ,  66  includes a protrusion  68 ,  70 . As will be explained in greater detail below, protrusions  68 ,  70  assist in attaching ornamental corner insert  34  to the attachment clip  32 .  
         [0028]     Ornamental corner insert  34  includes a decorative or ornamental side  80  and a mounting side  82 . Generally, the decorative side  80  can be of any aesthetically pleasing shape. Mounting side  82 , however, is preferably, but not necessarily, flat so that the ornamental corner insert  34  can be flushly mounted to vertical member  40 . Threaded inserts  84 ,  86 ,  88  are flush mounted to mounting side  82 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , fasteners, and, preferably, shoulder screws  90 ,  92 , are threaded into threaded inserts  84 ,  88 . Shoulder screws  90 ,  92  include heads  94 ,  96  and shoulder members  98 ,  100 . Preferably, the shoulder screws are # 14 - 10  type A, blunt tip shoulder screws sold by Modular Systems, Inc. of Fruitport, Mich. Heads  94 ,  96  are sized in order that they may fit through openings  56 ,  58  but not fit through rib members  64 ,  66 . Accordingly, to attach ornamental corner insert  34  to back plate  30 , the heads  94 ,  96  of shoulder screws  90 ,  92  are inserted into openings  56 ,  58 . The ornamental corner insert  34  is then moved from left to right, as viewed in  FIG. 2 , such that the protrusions  68 ,  70  on rib members  64 ,  66  positively engage the shoulder screws  90 ,  92  to hold them in slots  60 ,  62 . To remove the ornamental corner insert  34  and possibly replace it with one of a different design, the ornamental corner insert  34  is moved from right to left until heads  94 ,  96  are allowed to escape through openings  56 ,  58 .  
         [0029]     Advantageously, the design of back plate  30  and attachment clip  32  may accommodate former ornamental corner inserts which do not incorporate shoulder screws  90 , 92 . These former ornamental corner inserts typically have only a threaded rod protruding from its back for securing it to the corner of a casket. As such and with reference to  FIG. 6 , a former ornamental corner insert  112  is shown without inserts  84 ,  88 . In this configuration, only threaded insert is present to receive threaded rod  114 . To install ornamental corner insert  112  to casket  10 , threaded rod  114  is inserted through indexing member  49  and throughhole  22  of brace  20 . Wing nut  118  threadingly engages threaded rod  114  to secure ornamental corner insert  112  to back plate  30 . Former ornamental corner insert  112  is representative of the corner inserts which must be rigidly affixed to the corner of caskets. Judicious placement of indexing member  49  allows the former style ornamental corner inserts  112  to be used with attachment clip  32  and back plate  30 , i.e. be retrofitted according to the principles of the present invention. Alternatively threaded insert  86  can be eliminated, with the threaded screw being screwed directly into the wood, plastic or metal insert.  
         [0030]     Advantageously, ornamental corner insert  34  may be installed onto casket corners not incorporating back plate  30  and attachment clip  32 . That is, ornamental corner insert  34  of the present invention is not restricted to use with only back plate  30  and attachment clip  32 . Importantly, ornamental corner insert  34  may be used on caskets which were initially constructed using former ornamental corner insert  112 . Accordingly and with reference to  FIG. 7 , the ornamental corner insert  34  is shown affixed to a back plate  124 . Back plate  124  is representative of back plates used previously in conjunction with former ornamental corner insert  112 . Back plate  124  is similar to back plate  30 ; however, back plate  124  does not include elongated groove  42 . Because back plate  124  does not include a place to secure attachment clip  32 , shoulder screws  90 ,  92  cannot be used to secure ornamental corner insert  34  to back plate  124 . As such, shoulder screws  90 ,  92  are removed and threaded rod  114  is threaded into threaded insert  86 . To install ornamental corner insert  34  to back plate  124 , threaded rod  114  is inserted through throughhole  44  and throughhole  22  and held in place with threaded wing nut  118 . The benefit of using the shoulder screws in conjunction with attachment clip  32  is that the ornamental corner insert  34  can be installed and removed quickly and efficiently without having to access the interior of the casket  10 . The embodiments shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , however, require the use of hand tools and access to the interior of the casket  10  in order that wing nut  118  can be threaded onto threaded rod  114 .  
         [0031]     The embodiments referenced in  FIGS. 2-7  are preferably used with a casket  10  constructed of wood. Another embodiment of the present invention is used on a casket formed from sheet metal, e.g., steel or aluminum. Accordingly, and with reference to  FIG. 8 , a casket  128  made from steel is shown with a corner attachment mechanism  130 . The corner attachment mechanism  130  includes a base or mounting member  132 , a back plate  134  and an ornamental corner insert  136 . Base  132  is affixed to the corner of casket  128  with fasteners, preferably screws,  138 . Base  132  and back plate are preferably made from plastic. Integrally molded within back plate  134  are keyhole grooves  140 ,  142  which are similar to the geometry of keyhole grooves  52 ,  54 . More specifically, keyhole grooves  140 ,  142  include openings  144 ,  146  and slots  148 ,  150  which are similar to openings  56 ,  58  and slots  60 ,  62 . Back plate  134  also includes a plurality of oppositely disposed fastening members  152  which engage oppositely disposed slots  154  along the vertical edges of base  132  to secure back plate  134  to base  132 . In this embodiment, back plate  134  does not include throughhole  44 . As such, the ornamental corner insert  112 , having only threaded insert  86 , cannot be attached to base  132 . Like the attachment clip  32  of  FIG. 2 , the back plate  134  permits the ornamental corner insert  136  to be installed from left to right and removed from right to left. For example, to install the ornamental corner insert  136 , the heads  94 ,  96  are inserted into openings  144 ,  146  of keyhole grooves  140 ,  142  and slid from left to right across slots  148 ,  150 .  
         [0032]     Referring now to  FIG. 10 , there is illustrated yet another embodiment of the present invention for use on sheet metal caskets. With like numbers representing like elements, the primary difference between the  FIG. 10  embodiment and the  FIG. 8  embodiment is the design and construction of the grooves  140 ′ and  142 ′ in the plate  134 . More particularly, groove  140 ′ includes a first keyhole portion comprising opening  144 ′ and slot  148 ′, and a second non-keyhole portion comprising slot  149 ′. Similarly, groove  142 ′ includes a first keyhole portion comprising opening  146 ′ and slot  150 ′, and a second non-keyhole portion comprising slot  151 ′. As illustrated, the longitudinal axis of slot  149 ′ is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of slot  148 ′. Similarly, the longitudinal axis of slot  151 ′ is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of slot  150 ′.  
         [0033]     To install the casket corner ornament  136 , the heads  94 ,  96  are inserted into openings  144 ′,  146 ′ of grooves  140 ′,  142 ′; ornament  136  is then moved generally parallel to a plane defined by plate  134  from left to right thus sliding heads  94 ,  96  from left to right in slots  148 ′,  150 ′. The ornament  136  is then moved again generally parallel to the plane defined by plate  134  downwardly thus sliding heads  94 ,  96  down in slots  149 ′,  151 ′. The multi-direction movement to install ornament  136  in the  FIG. 10  embodiment reduces the potential for the ornament  136  to become inadvertently dislodged from plate  134 .  
         [0034]     While the two directions of motion to install the ornament  136  in the  FIG. 10  embodiment have been illustrated as being perpendicular, the openings, grooves, etc. could as well be configured such that the directions of motion were not perpendicular, but simply non-parallel. Furthermore, while the motions to install ornament  136  in the  FIG. 10  embodiment have been illustrated as being rectilinear, the openings, grooves, etc. could as well be configured such that the motions were not rectilinear, but curvilinear. All such variations are within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0035]     While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of various preferred embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail in order to describe the best mode of practicing the invention, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention itself should only be defined by the appended claims, wherein we claim:

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