US2913895A

US2913895A - Multiple tier concrete grave box construction

Info

Publication number: US2913895A
Application number: US471250A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herman J Blasius; Richard G Reichle
Original assignee: American Wilbert Vault Corp
Current assignee: American Wilbert Vault Corp
Priority date: 1954-11-26
Filing date: 1954-11-26
Publication date: 1959-11-24
Anticipated expiration: 1976-11-24

Description

Nov. 24, 1959 H. J. BLASIUS ETAL 2,

MULTIPLE TIER CONCRETE GRAVE BOX CONSTRUCTION 7 Filed Nov. 26. 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 24, 1959 H. J. BLASIUS ET AL 2,913,895

MULTIPLE TIEE CONCRETE GRAVE BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 26, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 192' Mn forts 67 722 a 72 .7 8/05 z as Nov. 24, 1959 H. J. BLASIUS ET AL 2,913,895

MULTIPLE TIER CONCRETE GRAVE BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 26, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 United States Patent MULTIPLE TIER CoNCRETE GRAVE BOX CONSTRUCTION Herman J.Blasius, Forest Park, and Richard G. Reichle, Riverside, 111., assignors to American Wilbert Vault Corporation, Forest Park, 111., a corporation of lillinois Application November 26, 1954, Serial No. 471,250

1 Claim. (Cl. 72--7) This invention relates to grave boxes and more particularly to multiple tiered grave boxes adapted foruse in cemeteries.

Heretofore in the art it has been common practice to use in cemeteries grave boxes made of concrete and deposited in the grave opening to receive the casket prior to the time the grave opening is filled with the earth previously removed therefrom. In many of the large cities it is now common practice to inter one or more caskets directly above the other in a single grave opening and one result of this is that the single tier concrete grave boxes heretofore used are unsatisfactory while, at the same time, there is a growing demand for concrete grave boxes which will permit multiple burials in a single grave opening.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved multiple tier concrete grave box construction which is adapted to be used for making multiple interments one above the other in a single grave opening.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved multiple tier grave box construc- Patented Nov. 24, 1959 at 10, and comprises an upper grave box unit 11 and a lower grave box unit 12. The upper grave box unit 11, like the lower grave box 12, is formed of reinforced concrete and comprises a body or receptacle portion which includes a pair of end walls 13, side walls 15, and a bottom wall 14 in which combination casket rests and box handling clevises 18 are embedded, and a top wall or cover unit 16 which is the top provided with suitable handles 17 embedded. in the concrete thereof to facilitate handling and placement of the cover unit on the body portion of the new grave box unit.

The lower grave box unit 12 likewise comprises a body or receptacle portion which includes a pair of side walls 20, and a pair of end walls 21, and a bottom wall 19 in which suitable casket rests 22 are embedded.

In the practice of the present invention we form a peripheral or marginal groove 25 in the outer portion of the bottom wall 14 of the upper grave box unit 11 and in the practice of the present invention this peripheral or marginal groove 25 enables the bottom wall 14 of the upper grave box unit 11 to be nested upon and above the lower grave box unit 12 by inserting the upper grave box unit 11 on the lower grave box unit 12 in the manner shown in the drawings, so that the upper portion of each of the side walls 20 and end walls 21 of the bottom grave box 12 extend into the marginal groove 25 in the upper grave box unit 11 in which they are suitably sealed by means of a suitable sealing composition 26 (Fig. 2).

Similarly, the bottom wall 19-of the lower grave box unit 12 is provided with a marginal or peripheral groove 27 so that the body portion or receptacle portion of the lower grave box unit 12 may be used selectively either as tion madeof concrete and which is so constructed andarranged that the receptacle portions of the new grave box construction may be used selectively in either an upper or lower portion in the grave opening, and in which the cover construction is such that it may be used interchangeably upon either the upper or the lower grave box unit.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved multiple tier concrete grave box construction embodying a plurality of grave box units which may readily be stacked one upon the other and arranged in position in a single grave opening without being dislodged therefrom.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments of the present invention and the principles thereof and what we now consider to be the best mode in which we have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a multiple tier grave box embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal sectional view thereof on line 2--2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view on line 3-3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing certain features of the construction of the new multiple tier grave box.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in the drawings, where it is generally indicated box unit or as the body or receptacle portion of a lower grave box unit, as may be seen from the drawings.

Likewise, the cover 16 of the upper grave box unit 11 has a rabbetted marginal or peripheral groove or channel 28 formed therein and extending therearound to receive the upper end portion of the side walls 15 and end walls 13, and the cover 16 is hermetically sealed on the body portion of the upper grave box unit 11 by means of suitable sealing composition 26 such, for example, as an asphaltic sealing composition.

Suitable drain openings 30 are provided in the side walls 20, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

In the use of the new multiple tier grave box of the present invention multiple interments may be made in a single grave opening by inserting the body portion or receptacle portion of the lower grave box unit 12 in the grave opening and placing the casket on the casket rests 22 whereupon a suitable asphaltic or like sealing composition 26 may be placed in the marginal groove 25 of the receptacle portion of the upper grave box unit 11 which may then be laid upon the lower grave box unit 12 to complete the sealing of the latter. When the parts are so arranged the body portion or receptacle portion of the upper grave box un.t 11 serves as the cover of the lower grave box unit 12.

The cover 16 of the upper grave box unit 11 may then be laid upon the side walls 15 and end walls 13 of the body portion or'receptacle portion of the upper grave box unit 11, without sealing it thereon, and the grave opening closed until such time as it is necessary to make a second or multiple interment, whereupon the grave opening may be opened and the cover 11 of the upper grave box unit 11 removed from the body portion or receptacle portion of the upper grave box unit 11. The casket may then be placed in the receptacle portion of the upper grave box unit 11, on the casket rests 18, and the marginal or peripheral groove 28 composition 29 and the cover 16 of the upper grave box unit 11 then placed in the receptacle portion of the upper grave box unit 11 so as to complete the closing and sealing of the latter.

The side, end and bottom walls of the upper grave box unit 11 and the lower grave box unit 12 may be reinforced by means of suitable wire mesh or like reinforcing material as 23.

It will be noted that the parts of the new concrete grave box construction are so constructed and arranged that the cover or closure member 16 of the upper grave box unit 11 may likewise be used as the cover or closure member upon the receptacle portion of the lower grave box unit 12 when the latter is used as the upper grave box unit.

It will further be noted that while in the drawing only two grave box units 11 and 12 have been shown and the invention is not limited to a multiple tier grave box unit which includes only two grave box units but includes multiple tier grave box construction including three or more grave box units. Hence, in the claim where the expressions upper grave box units and lower grave box units, and similar expressions, are engaged, it is to be understood that these expressions are intended to define the relative functions of the grave box as being arranged one upon the other, and we do not imply that there are only two grave box units in the multiple tier grave box construction defined in the claim.

It will thus be seen from the foregoing description, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, that the present invention provides a new and improved multiple tier grave box construction having the desirable advantages and characteristics, and accomplishing its intended object, including those hereinbefore pointed out, and others which are inherent in the invention.

We claim:

A concrete grave box assembly comprising a plurality of nested similar grave boxes, each box defining a receptacle having integrally formed side, end and bottom walls of substantially constant thickness, the peripheral edge of the lower surface of each bottom Wall being notched completely therearound defining downwardly facing horizontal surfaces and outwardly facing vertical surfazes, said horizontal surfaces being of a width substantially equal to the thickness of said end and side walls of the box immediately therebeneath and said vertical surfaces being of a height to project a substantial distance into the open upper end of an underlying box and abutting the inner surfaces of corresponding side and end walls of such underlying box whereby the lower wall of each box other than the lowermost box forms a cover for the box immediately thereunder, the inside surfaces of corresponding side and end walls of all of the boxes being substantially coplanar, sealing composition disposed between said horizontal surfaces and the upper edges of the side and end walls of an underlying box whereby the weight of the uppermost box of each pair of adjacent boxes forms a hermetic seal for the underlying box, a plurality of clevises embedded in the lower wall of each of said boxes and projecting upwardly from the upper surface of the associated bottom walls, reinforcing means embedded in the side, end and bottom walls of each of the boxes, and a removable cover having a marginal groove formed in its lower surface defining downwardly facing horizontal surfaces and outwardly facing vertical surfaces, said last mentioned horizontal surfaces being of a width substantially equal to the thickness of said end and side walls, the upper edge portions of the side and end walls of said upper grave box extending into said marginal groove in said cover member, and sealing composition disposed between said last mentioned horizontal surfaces and the upper edges of the side and end walls of the upper grave box for hermetically sealing the cover with respect to said upper grave box.