NZ272857A - Coffin; comprises a material blank foldable about crease lines to form a coffin and having reinforcement means at upright corners - Google Patents

Description

272857 Priority Date(8): Complow Spacification Filed: dftaa A.&JSn/Dl^.o.ty f.O. Journal No: jl|& Patents Form No. 5 Our Ref: JT205226 NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION COFFIN We, R.H. MINTER PTY. LIMITED, an Australian company of 17 Park i Road, Oakleigh, Victoria 3166, Australia hereby declare the invention, for which We pray that a patent may be granted to us and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: PT0585641 1 - 272857 t COFFIN The invention relates to coffins for the disposal of animal or human remains.

Coffins of the present invention may be made of fibreboard, cardboard, paper mache or material having similar properties. Such materials are readily and inexpensively available and can reproducibly be cut in the necessary sizes without any need for matching. They are suitable for cremation and burial as they do not give rise to poisonous gases on burning, and decompose rapidly in the 10 soil.

Coffins made of fibreboard or the like have previously been proposed, but it has proved difficult to design a model which can be readily erected to give the appearance of a conventional wooden coffin and also have the necessary 15 strength.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a coffin assembly including a blank which includes a base, side pieces and end pieces integral yet separated 20 by crease lines such that the side pieces and end pieces may be folded to form a coffin wherein each piece cooperates with an adjacent piece to define an upright corner when assembled; and reinforcement means positionable at or proximate at least one of the upright 25 corners to provide increased rigidity thereto.

When used in the description and claims the term "coffin" refers to a container of any shape suitable for human or animal remains. The term "coffin" includes for example, burial coffins shaped for human remains and caskets of square or 30 rectangular shape. 272857 In one embodiment of the invention, at least one side or end piece of the coffin blank has at least one lateral extension such that in the erected coffin, the extension constitutes reinforcement means by way of connection to an adjacent side or end piece.

Reinforcement means may also be positionable at areas of the coffin other than upright corners in order to provide increased rigidity thereto.

In a further preferred embodiment, the reinforcement means includes a reinforcement panel, which may be a fibreboard or paper mache, panel, for attachment to an upright comer area of the coffin. Attachment of such a panel may significantly increase the thickness of the coffin at a region of potential weakness of the structure under pressure. The extra thickness effectively provides further strength to the coffin structure. The reinforcement means may ■include more than one reinforcement panel for attachment to an upright corner region of the coffin.

The side or end pieces of the coffin blank may be connected to form upright corners by way of an adhesive, such as glue, or staples or a combination of both.

The reinforcement means may be attached to an upright corner region of the coffin by way of adhesive, such as glue, or staples or a combination of both. in a preferred embodiment, a coffin assembly of the present invention includes a handle of any shape or size attachable to an external surface of the coffin. Attachment of the handle to the coffin may further strengthen a reinforced upright corner region of the erected coffin. The handle may be attached by insertion of a fastening device through a reinforced upright comer region of the coffin. The fastening device may be a nail or a bolt. 272 In a preferred embodiment, the handle includes an elongate member which is attachable to more than one reinforced area. The handle may be made of timber or the like material.

The coffin may further include a top reinforcing member extending around at least a portion of the top edge. The top reinforcing member may include a rail or a strip of timberboard or the like material. The strip of timberboard may be attached to the top edge by way of glue or staples or a combination of the two.

A coffin assembly of the present invention may further include a lid. In a preferred embodiment the lid includes a sheet of triple thickness. The lid may also be tapered at one or more of the edges.

A coffin blank according to the invention may be cut from a sheet of fibreboard or 15 the like. In a preferred embodiment the fibreboard or like material is corrugated. The corrugations of the coffin base may extend longitudinally. The coffin or coffin blank may be treated to render it waterproof. The waterproof treatment may include a coating of waterproof film. Waterproof treatment allows the coffin to be substantially impervious to moisture seepage. A further coating of woodeffect, 20 veneer paper or paint may be applied to the outside before or after erection of the blank into a coffin. Thus, the appearance of the coffin need not be substantially inferior to that of a timber coffin.

In another aspect the invention provides a coffin constructed from the coffin 25 assembly.

In another aspect the present invention provides a method of constructing a coffin which includes cutting a coffin blank from a sheet of material said blank including a base, side pieces and end pieces integral yet separated by crease lines; folding the blank to form a coffin wherein each piece cooperates with an adjacent piece to define an upright comer; and Q R 27 * t attaching reinforcement means to at least one of the upright corners to provide increased rigidity thereto.

It will be understood that a coffin assembly of the present invention provides a 5 number of advantages. The blank can be erected into a coffin in a short time whenever needed. The coffin has the necessary strength and is simple to erect, requiring only a minimum of tools, in particular, a suitable adhesive and/or a staple gun. In addition, the coffin is relatively cheap to produce. Furthermore, the rate of flammability is substantially greater than that of a timber coffin and thus 10 this coffin is particularly suitable for cremation ceremonies.

The present invention will now be more fully described with reference to the accompanying examples. It should be understood, however, that the examples are illustrative only and should not be taken in any way as a restriction on the 15 - generality of the invention described above.

DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a plan view of a blank for erection into a coffin according to the 20 invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the blank of figure 1 erected into a coffin.

Figures 3 and 4 depict upright corner regions of an erected coffin which are 25 reinforced with extra fibreboard panels.

Figure 5 depicts attachment of a handle to a reinforced upright corner region of a coffin.

Figure 6 shows the insides view of all components of a coffin in flat unassembled form. 1 27285 Figure 7 shows top and side views of an erected coffin.

In figure 1, a broken line indicates a crease and a solid line indicates a cut. The blank includes a base B, a head end piece C, upper sides E diverging from the 5 head end to a shoulder portion, lower sides F converging from the shoulder portion to a foot end, and a foot piece D. The upper sides E have lateral extensions EE, and the lower sides F have lateral extensions FF. The base B, end pieces C, D sides E, F and extensions EE and FF are integral, being cut from a standard sheet of fibreboard, yet separated by crease lines to facilitate folding 10 so as to give the appearance of a conventional wooden coffin in the finally erected form. The sides E, F respectively have ends E, F cut at angles such as to give an upright corner when connected to the end of an adjacent side or end in the erected coffin. The extensions EE and FF are respectively connected to the insides of the ends C and D.

- Figure 2 is an side view of a preferred embodiment of the coffin (1) according to the present invention. The dotted line represents a connection between two side pieces to give rise to an upright corner. The upright corner regions are reinforced by way of an attached fibreboard panel (2). A handle (3) is attached to the coffin 20 by way of a bolt (4) inserted through the fibreboard reinforcement panel. Insertion of the bolt through the reinforcement panel adds further strength and rigidity to the coffin structure. The upper edges of the coffin sides are reinforced by attachment of lengths of timber customboard. The timber customboard is attached to the coffin sides with glue.

Figures 3 and 4 are top views of upright corner areas of the coffin, showing reinforcement fibreboard panels glued on for extra strength.

Figure 5 depicts attachment of a handle to the erected coffin by insertion of a bolt 30 laterally through a reinforcfed upright corner region. Insertion of the bolt increases the rigidity of the upright corner. 27285 Example Two coffins manufactured according to the present invention were submitted to AMCOR Research and Technology centre for testing and evaluation.

The coffins were manufactured from corrugated fibreboard with a top frame made from medium density fibreboard (MDF) with wooden handles. The two coffins submitted for testing are depicted in Figures 6 and 7 respectively.

The corrugated structures were manufactured by Amcor Fibre Packaging, Brooklyn, using a triple wall corrugated board grade: FC418/FS140A/KL210/FS140C/KL210/FS140B/FC418 {Note that the FC418 liner is a lamination of two kraft liners using low density polyethylene. The approximate 20gsm layer of low density polyethylene in the FC418 liner provides a water and watervapour barrier which protects the strength of the inner fibreboard structure].

Test Program fSeven Days TotaH Step 1) Simulate and pack coffins using dummy material: 100kg - sand plus steel weights. 2) Condition coffins under ISO conditions, 23°C 50% Relative Humidity, for 24 hours prior to testing. 3) Support the coffins on two edges (1m spacing), for 72 hours, then measure the sag of the base. 4) Suspended the coffins by the handles, at six points for 24 hours, and assess any structural change. 272 85/ ) Carry out a flat drop test, onto the base of the coffins from 500mm, and assess any structural change.

Test Results * No noticeable sag of the base after the coffins were supported on two edges for 72 hours.

* No noticeable structural changes were observed after the coffins were subjected to a flat 500mm drop test, with the minor exception of a 2mm lid movement.

* Inner inspection of coffins after all tests showed no significant movement of sand/weights.

Finally, it is to be understood that various other modifications and/or alterations may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as outlined herein.

Claims (20)

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1. A coffin assembly including a blank which includes a base, side pieces and end pieces integral yet separated by crease lines such that the side pieces and end pieces may be folded to form a coffin wherein each piece cooperates with an adjacent piece to define an upright corner when assembled; and a first reinforcement means positionable at or proximate at least one of the upright corners to provide increased rigidity thereto.

2. A coffin assembly according to claim 1 wherein at least one side or end piece of the coffin blank has at least one lateral extension such that in the erected coffin, the extension constitutes reinforcement means by way of connection to an adjacent side or end piece.

3. A coffin assembly according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the coffin blank is fibreboard or cardboard.

4. A coffin assembly according to claim 3 wherein the fibreboard or 20 cardboard is corrugated.

5. A coffin assembly according to claim 4 wherein the corrugations of the base extend longitudinally. 25

6. A coffin assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 5 which futher includes a second reinforcement means positionable at an area other than a upright corner to provide increased rigidity thereto.

7. A coffin assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the 30 first or second reinforcement means includes a reinforcement panel. 13 wn ;337 - 10- 272 857

8. A coffin assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 7 wherein the first or second reinforcement means includes a reinforcement panel which has at least two layers of thickness. 5

9. A coffin assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the first or second reinforcement means includes at least one reinforcement panel for attachment to the external surface of a region of the coffin and at least one reinforcement panel for attachment to the internal surface of said coffin region.

10 10. A coffin assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein said assembly includes a handle attached or attachable to an external surface of the coffin.

11. A coffin assembly according to claim 10 wherein the handle is attached or 15 attachable by insertion of a fastening device through a reinforced area of the coffin.

12. A coffin assembly according to claim 10 or claim 11 wherein the handle includes an elongate member attached or attachable to more than one reinforced 20 area of the coffin.

13. A coffin assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 12 which further includes a reinforcing member extending or for extension around at least a portion of the top edge of the coffin. 25

14. A coffin assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 13 which further includes a lid.

15. A coffin assembly according to claim 14 wherein the lid includes a sheet 30 of triple thickness. 13 m I397 20 11 - 272 85 7

16. A coffin assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 15 wherein the coffin or coffin blank is coated with a waterproof film.

17. A coffin assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 16 wherein the 5 coffin blank is cut from a sheet of material.

18. A coffin constructed from an assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 17. 10

19. A method of constructing a coffin which includes cutting a coffin blank from a sheet of material said blank including a base, side pieces and end pieces integral yet separated by crease lines; folding the blank to form a coffin wherein each piece cooperates with an adjacent piece to define an upright corner; and 15 attaching reinforcement means to at least one of the upright corners to provide increased rigidity thereto.

20. A coffin or coffin blank for erection into a coffin, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the example or figures. 25 END OF CLAIMS R.H. MIN® TY. LIMITED By Its Attorneys BALDWIN, SON