GB2415679A

GB2415679A - Memorial formed from organic remains

Info

Publication number: GB2415679A
Application number: GB0513001A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Josefine Lenzhofer
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-06-30
Filing date: 2005-06-27
Publication date: 2006-01-04
Also published as: DE102005030385A1; GB0513001D0; GB0414592D0

Abstract

A memorial such as a bowl, vessel, vase, display, wall hanging, sculpture or paperweight is formed from the remains of a dead person, animal or plant by cremating the remains, combining the resulting matter with a further material such as a ceramic or glass and forming the resulting material into the memorial.

Description

A MEMORIAL

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to memorials. Specifically, the present invention relates to creating a memorial for a deceased person.

Cremation is the final ritual performed on a deceased body as per the customs of various societies across the world. Cremation results in the dead organic tissue of the body turning into ashes, which is primarily inorganic matter, which does not decay with time. Therefore, the remains of a deceased person can be preserved indefinitely as a memento. It can be kept in an urn at a secure place. However, articles such as an urn are delicate and may break or overturn, spilling the ashes. Other ways of preserving ashes include mixing it with mouldable materials into a statue, a mould, etc., which can be placed as a showpiece in a house or a garden.

However, due to sentimental reasons, some people may want to keep the remains of the deceased on their persons and carry it around. Therefore, there is a need for memorials, which are compact, durable and portable.

SUMMARY

An object of the invention is to create a memorial, which serves as a remembrance of a deceased person.

Another object of the invention is to create a memorial, which is compact, portable, and durable.

Yet another object of the invention is to create a memorial, which can have any colour combination.

Still another object of the invention is to create a memorial, which has aesthetically appealing features and can be of any shape.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided A method of creating a memorial, the method comprising: a. obtaining remains of dead organic tissue; b. processing the remains; c. combining the processed remains with a suitable material; and d. treating the combination of the processed remains and the material to create the memorial.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a memorial product created from remains of a dead organic tissue, the memorial comprising: a. remains of the dead organic tissue, the remains being processed to form processed remains; and b. a material, the material being combined with the processed remains to form a combination, wherein the combination is treated to form the memorial.

In accordance with an embodiment, the invention employs the ashes of an organic tissue to create a memorial. The dead organic tissue can be obtained from any dead plant, animal or person and is then processed to create a memorial. The processing is done by pulverizing the cremated remains, and subsequently sieving them to obtain the powdered form. The powdered remains are preheated to a predefined temperature for a fixed period of time, and subsequently cooled to obtain the processed remains. These are combined with a material that is suitable for the creation of a durable memorial. The combination is created by mixing the processed remains with the material.

Additives may also be added to the combination to improve the surface finish and strength, and to impart colours to the memorial. The combination is heated till the material melts and fuses with the remains. Various embodiments of the invention provide a method to create memorials that are compact, portable and durable.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the memorial may be opaque, transparent or translucent. Additionally, the embodiments of the invention provide for a memorial that has aesthetically appealing features, for instance, it may have an aesthetic shape, size and surface finish with any image, pattern or mark that reminds one of the deceased person.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, provided to illustrate and not to limit the invention, wherein like designations denote like elements, and in which: FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for creating a memorial, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a memorial before it is treated, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a memorial, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention; and FIG. 4 illustrates different views of a memorial after its treatment, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A memorial and a method to create the memorial are described, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. The memorial is composed of the cremated remains of a deceased person.

FIG.1 is a flowchart of a method for creating the memorial, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention. In accordance with an embodiment, the remains used for the creation of the memorial are the cremated remains of dead organic tissue. At step 102, the remains of dead organic tissue are obtained. The dead organic tissue may be that of plants, animals or human beings.

At step 104, the cremated remains are processed. Processing involves powdering the remains by sequentially using a mortar, a mill and a sieve, and preheating the powdered remains. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the cremated remains are ground in a mortar with a pestle, to grind the remains. A mill is then employed to crush the remains obtained from the mortar. The crushed remains from the mill are filtered through a sieve to obtain a clear powder.

Thereafter, the powdered remains are preheated to a predefined temperature to remove any impurities. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the remains are preheated at not less than 950 degree Celsius for a predefined time period. As per one embodiment, the remains may be heated for three to five minutes. The preheating may be carried out in an electrical furnace or in any other conventional furnace. Preheating imparts certain specific physical properties to the powdered remains, such as adhesiveness, density, and so forth, so that they can bind well with the material used for making the memorial. The heated powdered remains are cooled. Thereafter, the process of magnetic separation is employed to remove any ferrous-based impurities from the remains. Processed remains, obtained in this manner, are ready for making a memorial.

At step 106, the processed remains are combined with a material that is suitable for creating a memorial. In accordance with an embodiment, the material may be (but not limited to) glass, ceramic or cord. The material may also incorporate a pattern, a shape, a mark, a text, an image, or any combination thereof. For example, a mark can be a name, a birth date, or any other sign or symbol related to the identity of the deceased.

The amount of remains required for the memorial depends on the size of the memorial that is to be created. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the processed remains are combined with the material, so that its weight is not more than 50 percent of the weight of the memorial.

At step 108, the combination of the processed remains and the material is further treated. The combination of the processed remains and the material may be treated in a crucible, which may be made of a substance with a high melting point and low chemical reactivity, for example, porcelain. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a portion of coloured glass may be added homogeneously to the combination of the processed remains and the material.

In accordance with another embodiment, the coloured glass may be placed in the crucible along with the combination, so that it imparts a specific colour to the memorial. Additives may also be added to the combination to improve the surface finish and strength, and to impart colours to the memorial. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the additives may be, for example, soda, natriumhydrogencarbonicum or a copper compound, a chromium compound, a cobalt compound, a ferrous compound, a manganese compound, a nickel compound, and so forth.

The combination of the processed remains and the mass of the material, including the additives, is heated in the crucible till the material melts. Upon heating, the mass of the material joins together and fuses with the processed remains, which are encapsulated within the mass. The fused combination of the processed remains and the material is then cooled, to obtain the memorial. In accordance with an embodiment, the cooling may be performed by the method of annealing.

The memorial created by the method of this invention may be coloured, transparent or opaque. The shape of the memorial may be utilitarian, i.e., it can be created in the shape of a bowl, a vessel, a vase, a table-top display, a wall hanging, a sculpture, a touchstone, a paper weight, or in any other form. The memorial may be cut, polished, laser-engraved, mechanically engraved, sand blasted, faceted, mounted on a plaque, displayed in a box, interred in a columbarium, buried, or formed into an ornament or a piece of jewellery. It created in accordance with the method of the present invention, and may be in a compact form so that it can be carried on a person in a pocket or a handbag or even worn as an ornament.

In FIG. 2, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment, an arrangement of the combination of the material and the processed remains is described, to create a memorial.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a memorial 200 before it is treated in the crucible, i.e., before the processed remains fuse with the material. Memorial includes a mass of material 202a, a mass of material 202b, and a mass of material 204. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the mass of material 204 has a hollow portion 206 in its center. The hollow portion 206 in the mass of material 204 is used for filling the processed remains. Hollow portion 206 may have any shape, such as circular, square, triangular, and so forth.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of memorial 200, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Mass of material 204 is sandwiched between mass of material 202a and 202b. The processed remains are filled in hollow portion 206 of mass of material 204, once mass of material 204 has been placed on mass of material 202b. Mass of material 204 that comprises the processed remains in hollow portion 206 is then covered with mass of material 202a, so that the processed remains are sandwiched between mass of material 202a and 202b. In accordance with an embodiment, mass of material 202a, 202b and 204 have a square shape. Mass of material 202a, 202b and 204 may also have other shapes, such as rectangular, triangular, and so forth. In accordance with one embodiment, the thickness of each mass of material 202a, 202b and 204 is 3 millimetre (mm).

Memorial 200 is treated (as described in conjunction with step 108 of FIG. 1) to fuse together mass of material 202a, 202b and 204, which are placed in accordance with the arrangement described in conjunction with FIG. 2 and FIG.3. An exemplary shape of memorial 200 after its treatment through fusing is explained in conjunction with FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a view of memorial 200 after its treatment, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention. View 402a is a front view of memorial 200. View 402b is a top view of memorial 200, and view 402c is a side view of memorial 200. In accordance with one embodiment, processed remains 404, enclosed in memorial 200, may create a bulge 406 if the material is compressed after treating the combination. The degree of bulge 406 is based on the amount of processed remains encapsulated in the mass of the material.

Further, the degree of bulge 406 is based on the shape of hollow portion 206 (as described in conjunction with FIG. 2). In accordance with one embodiment, the thickness of memorial 200 decreases after treatment, due to heating.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be clear that the invention is not limited to these embodiments only. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions and equivalents will be apparent to those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as described in the claims.

Claims

Claims:
2. A method of creating a memorial, the method comprising: a.

obtaining remains of dead organic tissue; b. processing the remains; c. combining the processed remains with a suitable material; and d. treating the combination of the processed remains and the material to create the memorial.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein processing the remains comprises: a. preheating the remains for a predefined time interval; b. removing impurities from the remains; and c. cooling the remains.
4. The method according to claim 2, wherein processing the remains further comprises obtaining powdered remains.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein combining the processed remains with the material comprises placing the processed remains between masses of the material.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein treating the combination comprises: a. heating the combination, the heating being performed till the masses of the material melt and fuse with the processed remains; and b. cooling the fused combination.
7. The method according to claim 5, wherein treating the combination further comprises adding additives to the combination to enhance the physical properties of the memorial.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the combination of the processed remains and the material is compact, portable, and durable.
9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the remains are associated to a deceased being.
1 O.A memorial product created from remains of a dead organic tissue, the memorial comprising: a. remains of the dead organic tissue, the remains being processed to form processed remains; and b. a material, the material being combined with the processed remains to form a combination, wherein the combination is treated to form the memorial.
11.The memorial product according to claim 9, wherein the material is composed of at least one of glass, ceramic and cord.
12.The memorial product according to claim 9, wherein the material is one of opaque, transparent or translucent.
1 3.The memorial product according to claim 9, wherein the material incorporates one or more of a colour, pattern, a shape, a mark, a text or an image.
14. A memorial product created from remains of a dead organic tissue substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

14. A method of creating a memorial substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

15. A memorial product created from remains of a dead organic tissue substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows Claims: 1. A method of creating a memorial, the method comprising: a. obtaining remains of dead organic tissue; b. processing the remains; c. combining the processed remains with a suitable material; and d. treating the combination of the processed remains and the material to create the memorial.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein processing the remains comprises: a. preheating the remains for a predefined time interval; b. removing impurities from the remains; and c. cooling the remains.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein processing the remains further comprises obtaining powdered remains.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein combining the processed remains with the material comprises placing the processed remains between masses of the material.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein treating the combination comprises: a. heating the combination, the heating being performed till the masses of the material melt and fuse with the processed remains; and b. cooling the fused combination.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein treating the combination further comprises adding additives to the combination to enhance the physical properties of the memorial.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the combination of the processed remains and the material is compact, portable, and durable.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the remains are associated to a deceased being.

9. A memorial product created from remains of a dead organic tissue, the memorial comprising a. remains of the dead organic tissue, the remains being processed to form processed remains; and b. a material, the material being combined with the processed remains to form a combination, wherein the combination is treated to form the memorial.

10.The memorial product according to claim 9, wherein the material is composed of at least one of glass, ceramic and cord.

11.The memorial product according to claim 9, wherein the material is one of opaque, transparent or translucent.

12.The memorial product according to claim 9, wherein the material incorporates one or more of a colour, pattern, a shape, a mark, a text or an image.

13. A method of creating a memorial substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.