EP2477591B1

EP2477591B1 - Urn lowering device

Info

Publication number: EP2477591B1
Application number: EP10747404.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Niels Tarpgaard Nielsen
Original assignee: Urn-Care ApS
Current assignee: Urn-Care ApS
Priority date: 2009-09-18
Filing date: 2010-08-24
Publication date: 2013-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 2030-08-24
Also published as: EP2477591A1; WO2011032558A1; EP2298265A1; DK2477591T3

Description

Field of invention

The present invention relates to a device to be used for lowering an urn containing cremated remains into a grave.

Background of the invention

Due to the depth of a normal urn grave, which is typically in the order of one meter, manual placement of the urn in the grave without using any device for assisting the lowering of the urn requires that the person placing the urn has to kneel down very deeply or even lay flat on the ground in order to reach down far enough to place the urn safely at the bottom of the grave. Such a lowering procedure would be considered by most people to be most undignified and not befitting a solemn funeral ceremony.
Different types of devices have been developed in order to solve this problem. A well-known solution is to use a large pair of tongs to hold the urn while lowering it into the grave. However, handling the urn with such pair of tongs is related to some insecurity due to the risk of losing the grip on the urn and dropping it either on the ground or down into the open grave. Most people feel rather nervous using such a device for lowering an urn. Especially if, for instance, a relative of the deceased who has typically no experience with using such a pair of tongs, would like to perform the lowering of the urn, a more secure solution would be desirable.
Canadian patent application No. CA 2,069,121 discloses an urn lowering device including a platform to support the urn, which platform is suspended in a horizontal direction from a ring in two loops of cord passing through the ring. A second, retaining ring surrounds the cords above the urn and may slide down the cords towards the urn to further assist in retaining the urn on the platform.
Some drawbacks of this device, however, are that the urn is only supported by the cords when the platform is hanging down from the ring, and that there is no simple way of decorating the urn, a possibility which would, in many cases, be appreciated highly by the relatives of the deceased person in order to improve the solemnity of the funeral ceremony.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an urn lowering device, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the known devices within the art.

Brief description of the invention

The present invention relates to an urn lowering device for suspending and lowering an urn, comprising at least one handle for holding the device when an urn is suspended therein, a weaved mesh made for enclosing tightly an urn, a handle connection part for each handle, connecting the weaved mesh to the handle, and a locking mechanism for keeping the weaved mesh in a tight relation to the urn, even when the urn is not suspended from the one or more handles of the device.
The present invention can also be used for transportation of an urn being suspended in the device from the one or more handles. When the device is used for this purpose, the shock-absorbing properties of the material, from which the weaved mesh is produced, provides a certain protection of the urn suspended therein.
The possibility of keeping the weaved mesh in a tight relation to the urn, even when the urn is not suspended from the handles of the urn lowering device, allows for placing the urn in an upright position within the weaved mesh on a horizontal surface, such as a table, for decorating the urn before the funeral, for instance by placing flowers and the like between the weaved mesh and the outer surface on the sides of the urn.
By the expression "tight" is to be understood a relation between the weaved mesh and the urn tight enough to keep flowers and/or other decorating items placed there between in fixed positions, but not too tight to allow lifting up the strings of the mesh and place the flowers there under, and not so tight that flowers placed under the weaved mesh will be destroyed or damaged by the pressure.
In an embodiment of the invention, the locking mechanism is adaptable allowing the same device to be used for accommodation of urns of different sizes and allowing for adjustment of the tightness of the relation between the weaved mesh and the urn.
The use of an adaptable locking mechanism reduces the number of different types and sizes of urn lowering devices needed to accommodate the different sizes and types of urns available on the market. It should be noted that an urn lowering device according to the present invention can also be used with urns containing the cremated remains of pets.
In an embodiment of the invention, the urn lowering device comprises two handle connection parts extending, when an urn is suspended in the device, upwards from opposite sides of the urn towards their respective handles.
The use of two handles has shown to be advantageous in relation to the production and user-friendliness of the invention.
In an embodiment of the invention, the locking mechanism holds and keeps the two handle connection parts fixed together at a point above an urn placed in the weaved mesh.
Fixing the two handle connection parts to each other at a point just above the urn is an advantageous way to assure that the weaved mesh is kept in a tight relationship with the urn.
In an embodiment of the invention, the locking mechanism consists of one or more apertures in the handle connection parts, through which apertures the handle connection parts can be interlaced with each other, so as to hold and keep the handle connection parts fixed together in the point of interlacing.
Locking the two handle connection parts together by means of interlacing has shown to be a simple and yet very effective solution, requiring no additional parts for achieving the locking mechanism.
In an embodiment of the invention, both the weaved mesh and the handle connection parts are made from a biologically degradable material.
In an embodiment of the invention, one or more strings used for the weaved mesh and the handle connection parts are made from a paper material.
In an embodiment of the invention, all parts of the device are made from biologically degradable materials, such as wood, bone, horn, mother-of-pearl or paper materials.
For environmental reasons, it is very advantageous to use only biologically degradable materials for the urn lowering device, assuring that after a suitable time, no non-natural foreign objects or remains are left in the grave. For the strings making up the weaved mesh and the handle connection parts of the urn lowering device, it has shown to be very advantageous to use a paper material, which is a highly processible and at the same time biologically degradable and non-expensive material.
In an aspect of the invention, it relates to the use of an urn lowering device as described above for suspending, transporting and/or lowering of an urn or a smaller coffin, especially a coffin for newborn or stillborn infants.
Apart from being used for handling urns, the device is also suitable for handling small coffins, the handling (especially the lowering into small graves) of which gives rise to problems similar to the ones described above relating to the handling and lowering of urns.

The drawings

In the following, a few embodiments of the invention are described and explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, where

fig. 1: illustrates an urn suspended in an urn lowering device according to an embodiment of the invention,
fig. 2: illustrates schematically how two handle connection parts may be locked to each other according to an embodiment of the invention,
fig. 3: illustrates schematically a ring structure at the bottom of an urn lowering device according to an embodiment of the invention,
fig. 4: illustrates a knot in the weaved mesh of an urn lowering device according to an embodiment of the invention,
fig. 5a: illustrates one type of handles of an urn lowering device according to an embodiment of the invention, and
fig. 5b: illustrates another type of handles of an urn lowering device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description

Fig. 1 illustrates an urn 2 suspended in an urn lowering device 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The device 1 comprises two handles 4 and a weaved mesh 7 and two handle connection parts 5 connecting the handles 4 to the weaved mesh 7.
The two handle connection parts 5 are interlaced together in a point of interlacing 6 just above the lid 3 of the urn 2. The interlacing holds and keeps the two handle connection parts 5 fixed together in the point of interlacing 6, thus assuring that the weaved mesh 7 is kept in a tight relation to the urn 2, even when the urn 2 is not suspended from the handles 4.
The pearls 9 integrated in the weaved mesh 7 serve two purposes. Apart from being decorative, the pearls 9 also facilitate the decoration of the urn 2 in the device 1 by lifting the strings of the weaved mesh 7 from the surface of the urn 2, thus enabling for the placement of flowers and other forms of decoration between the weaved mesh 7 and the urn 2.
The thickness of the strings used for the handle connection parts 5 and the weaved mesh 7 of urn lowering devices 1 according to the invention is selected depending on the strength of the material from which the string is made, and on the aesthetic expression and appearance of the device 1 desired by the designer.
The total length of urn lowering devices 1 according to the invention as measured from the handle 4 to the bottom of an urn 7 suspended therein, preferably falls within the range between 50 cm and 150 cm, most preferably between 80 cm and 120 cm.
The weaved mesh 7 can contain meshes of many different geometrical shapes, such as circles, triangles and polygons with different number of sides. Like the string thickness, the dimensions of the meshes in the weaved mesh 7 of an urn lowering device according to the invention, when the weaved mesh 7 is mounted tightly around an urn 2, depends on the aesthetic expression and appearance of the device 1 desired by the designer. The maximum dimension of each of the meshes preferably is in the range between 5 mm and 450 mm, most preferably between 10 mm and 150 mm.
Apart from the pearls 9 integrated in the weaved mesh 7 illustrated in fig. 1, the urn lowering device 1 may further be decorated with charms of different kinds (not shown). These charms may be formed as hearts, angels, crosses, doves, stars or other suitable figures and may typically be attached to the device 1 be sewing or be being clipped tightly around one or more strings of the weaved mesh 7.
Like the rest of the device 1, the charms will be made from biologically degradable materials, such as wood, bone, horn, mother-of-pearl or paper materials. The strings used for the handle connection parts 5 and the weaved mesh 6 are typically made from a 100 % biologically degradable paper material.
Urn lowering devices 1 according to the invention can be made in different forms and sizes in order to fit different sizes of round as well as square urns 2. The devices 1 may be designed to fit existing types of urns 2, or a device 1 and an urn 2 may be designed together to fit each other and to be marketed and sold as a single unit comprising the urn 2 as well as the urn lowering device 1.
Fig. 2 illustrates schematically how two handle connection parts 5 may be locked to each other according to an embodiment of the invention. Both of the handle connection parts 5 are provided with one or more apertures 10 placed in a sequence at the lower part of the handle connection part 5. In order to keep the weaved mesh 7 in a tight relation to the urn 2, the two handle connection parts 5 may be held and kept in a fixed position relative to each other at a point of interlacing 6.
The interlacing is obtained by first pulling the one handle 4 and corresponding handle connection part 5 through an aperture 10 of the other handle connection part 5, and subsequently pulling the other handle 4 and the other handle connection part 5 through the corresponding aperture 10 of the first handle connection part 5. When the two handle connection parts 5 are tightened, they will be kept family together in the point of interlacing 6.
The choice of which apertures 10 of the handle connection parts 5 to use for the interlacing depends on the size of the urn 2 to be lowered by the device 1 and on the desired tightness of the relation between the urn 2 and the weaved mesh 7 of the device 1.
Fig. 3 illustrates schematically a ring structure 11 at the bottom of an urn lowering device 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The figure illustrates the bottom of an urn 2, under which the weaved mesh 7 surrounding the urn 2 is assembled in a ring shaped structure 11. In this way, it is assured that the thickness of the weaved mesh 7 does not substantially exceed the thickness of the knots 8 of the weaved mesh 7. Thereby a substantially flat weaved mesh 7 is obtained under the urn 2, allowing the urn 2 to rest safely and securely in an upright position when placed on a horizontal surface within the weaved mesh 7.
Fig. 4 illustrates a knot 8 in the weaved mesh 7 of an urn lowering device 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The knots 8 may be made in many different ways. Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a preferred way to make a knot 8, in which the strands of each of the two strings are separated from each other in two groups, thus forming an aperture in each of the strings. Subsequently, the knot 8 is made by interlacing the two strings in a way similar to the interlacing of the two handle connection parts 5 described above, i.e. by first pulling the one string through the aperture of the other string and then pulling the other string through the aperture of the first string.
Fig. 5a illustrates one type of handles 4 of an urn lowering device 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. In the shown example, each of the two handles 4 consists of a ring in a size and thickness suitable for giving the user of the device 1 a firm and secure grip when suspending the urn 2 in the device 1. The attachments 12 of the handles 4 to the handle connection parts 5 consist of a simple tying of the rings 4 to the handle connection parts.
Depending on the material from which the handle ring 4 is made, the internal diameter and the thickness of the ring 4 is chosen to give a good and comfortable grip and to ensure that the ring 4 is strong enough not to break, even when a large and heavy urn 7 is dispended in the device 1.
Like the rest of the device 1, the handle rings 4 will be made from biologically degradable materials, such as wood, bone, horn, mother-of-pearl or paper materials.
Fig. 5b illustrates another type of handles 4 of an urn lowering device 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. In this case, the handles 4 are made from the same paper material as the handle connection parts 5. Even further, the handles 4 are integrated parts of the handle connection parts 5 being made from the same strings making up the handle connection parts 5 and manufactured in the same process as the handle connection parts 5.

List of reference numbers

1.: Urn lowering device
2.: Urn
3.: Urn lid
4.: Handle
5.: Handle connection part
6.: Point of interlacing of handle connection parts
7.: Weaved mesh
8.: Knot in weaved mesh
9.: Pearl integrated in weaved mesh
10.: Aperture in handle connection part
11.: Bottom ring structure of weaved mesh
12.: Attachment of handle to handle connection part

Claims

An urn lowering device (1) for suspending and lowering an urn (2) comprising at least one handle (4) for holding the device when an urn (2) is suspended therein,
a weaved mesh (7) made for enclosing tightly an urn (2),
a handle connection part (5) for each handle (4), connecting the weaved mesh (7) to the handle (4), and
a locking mechanism for keeping the weaved mesh (7) in a tight relation to the urn (2), even when the urn (2) is not suspended from the one or more handles (4) of the device.
An urn lowering device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism is adaptable allowing the same device to be used for accommodation of urns of different sizes and allowing for adjustment of the tightness of the relation between the weaved mesh and the urn.
An urn lowering device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, comprising two handle connection parts extending, when an urn (2) is suspended in the device, upwards from opposite sides of the urn (2) towards their respective handles.
An urn lowering device (1) according claim 3, wherein the locking mechanism holds and keeps the two handle connection parts fixed together at a point above an urn (2) placed in the weaved mesh.
An urn lowering device (1) according to claim 4, wherein the locking mechanism consists of one or more apertures in the handle connection parts, through which apertures the handle connection parts can be interlaced with each other, so as to hold and keep the handle connection parts fixed together in the point of interlacing.
An urn lowering device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein both the weaved mesh and the handle connection parts are made from a biologically degradable material.
An urn lowering device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein one or more strings used for the weaved mesh and the handle connection parts are made from a paper material.
An urn lowering device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein all parts of the device are made from biologically degradable materials, such as wood, bone, horn, mother-of-pearl or paper materials.
Use of an urn lowering device (1) according to any of claims 1-8 for suspending, transporting and/or lowering of an urn (2) or a smaller coffin, especially a coffin for newborn or stillborn infants.