US860282A - Grave-vault. - Google Patents

Description

No. 860,282. PATENTED JULY 16, 1907.

- W. A. CREW.

GRAVE VAULT.

APPLIOATION FILED APB. 1a. 1900.

UNITED s Amns a ENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. CREW, OF SALISBURY, MARYLAND.

GRAVE-VAULT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM A. CREW, a citizen of the'United States, residing at Salisbury, in the county of \Vicomico, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grave-Vaults; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to grave vaults, and has for its object to provide a grave vault constructed of interchangeable sections.

A further object is to provide a grave vault constructed of cement or other plastic material in such a manner that the same may be readily transported.

Still further objects consist in undercutting the lower edges of the inner faces of the side and end blocks to form inclined, overhanging shoulders, which form a more perfect retaining means for the cement of the joint between said blocks and the base blocks; in the formation of tenons on the base and cover blocks, the side and end blocks fitting against the shoulders formed by said tenons, thus preventing any inward movement of said blocks due to the pressure of the earth thereagainst; and in the provision of an improved rabbet joint between the adjacent sections of the cover, sides, ends, and base of the vault.

With these objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts all as hereinafter fully described, pointed out in the claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a vault constructed in accordance with this invention, the vault cover being removed. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section with the cover in place. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The same parts are designated by similar reference numerals in the several views.

The vault is shown as comprising the base or main blocks 7, end blocks 8, side blocks 9, and top or covering blocks 10. The several blocks which compose the vault base are provided with end tenons 11 while the end blocks of said base are, in addition, provided at their outer edges with the side tenons 11, there being a groove 12 formed in the upper face of each tenon, the several grooves in the tenons ill mating when the sections or blocks of the base are put together, and the grooves in the side tenons 11 connecting the ends of the two long grooves thus formed and forming the remaining sides of the completed rectangular groove as indicated in dotted lines in Fig, 1. The inner edges of said base blocks are rabbeted so as to interlock with each other, and to this end one face of each block is provided with a single longitudinally extending curved projection or shoulder, while its Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 18, 1906.

Patented July 16, 1907.

Serial No. 312,452.

opposite face has a single longitudinal concave depression or groove formed therein, the depth of each groove, however, being less than the outward extent of the corresponding projection or shoulder, so that, when two sections or blocks are interlocked, there will be an inner and an outer space 13 therebetween, owing to the fact that their corresponding side edges do not contact with each other. The grooves or spaces so formed serve as seats for a cement or other sealing composition.

The end blocks 8 are constructed with flat upper and lower faces, and are provided on their side edges with curved projections 14, similar to those shown on the base blocks.

The inner face of each end block is under-cut adjacent its lower edge to form a shoulder 15, the undercutting being extended upwardly a slight distance beyond the lower edge of said shoulder, as at 16.

The side blocks 9 are each under-cut in similar fashion to present the shoulders 17, and are likewise formed with the flat upper and lower faces. The adjacent edges of said side blocks are rabbeted in a like manner with the base blocks, forming the inner and outer grooves 18. The outer side blocks are provided on their inner faces with curved grooves or depressions 19 adapted to receive the projections 14 in the end blocks 8, the depth of said depression being less than the outward extent of the projections, thus resulting in the formation of the inner and outer grooves 20 between said end blocks and the adjacent or outer side blocks.

Owing to the formation of the tenons upon the main or base blocks, the side and end blocks, which are positioned with their undercut portions against the shoulders formed by such tenoning will be prevented from any inward movement due to the pressure of dirt thereagainst.

As will be seen from Fig. 2, the shoulders 15 and 17 formed on the side and end blocks 8 and 9 respectively are disposed a slight distance above the upper face of the base blocks 7, so that a slight space exists between the under face of said shoulder and the upper face of said base blocks in which a layer of cement may be inserted, the depending formation of said shoulders serving as a further means for retaining the cement in place. It will also be apparent from the same figure that when the side and end blocks are set up in place upon the vault base, the flat under faces of said blocks will rest directly over said groove and offer a surface to which the filling will readily adhere.

The top or cover blocks 10 are likewise provided with end and side tenons 21 and 22 respectively similar to and oppositely disposed with respect to the tenons 11 and 11 formed on the base blocks 7, the inner faces of the side and end blocks fitting against the depending shoulders formed by the tenoning which shoulders like those formed on the base blocks, thus act as stops.

The inner edges of said cover blocks 10 are likewise the sides and ends of the vault, thus leaving room rabbeted as shown in Fig. 2, the curved projections and depressions of the rabbet members being similar to those of the base blocks and side blocks, the projections being of greater outward extent than the depth of the adjacent depressions, forming the inner and outer top grooves 22.

The various parts of the vault are assembled in the following manner :The base blocks 7 are laid, as shown in .Fig. 2, and the upper and lower grooves 13 between adjacent blocks, are filled with cement. The groove 12, which extends entirely around the outer edges of the base blocks, is likewise filled with cement, and the side blocks are then fitted in place thereon, with their under-cut portions in contact with the sides of the shoulders resulting from the tenoning. Owing to the formation of the groove 12, in the base blocks, there will be a greater surface exposed to the cement, resulting in a firmer and more perfectly water-tight joint. The end blocks 8 are then fitted in place in a similar manner with their projections 14 received in the grooves 19 of the outer side blocks, and their flat lower faces extending over the groove 12. The grooves 20 between the end and adjacent side blocks, are in like manner filled with cement. The joint between the side and end blocks and the base block shoulders is then filled with cement from the inside, the cement filling said joint entirely and extending under and beyond shoulders 15 and 17, as shown in Fig. 2, forming a tie extending completely around the interior of the vault, and holding the end and side blocks firmly in place. The upper ends of the several blocks have applied thereto a layer of cement, and the cover blocks 10 are then fitted in place thereon, the upper and lower grooves 22 between adjacent blocks being filled with cement in similar manner to the base blocks 7. The outer edges of the cover blocks do not extend as far as for another layer of cement extending entirely around the top of the vault. Owing to the provision of inner and outer groovesbetween each pair of adjacent pair of blocks, a more perfect water-tight joint is obtained than if there were but a single groove, as there are practically two separate joints in each instance, thus giving double adhesion.

It will thus be seen that a vault constructed of independent blocks assembled and set together in the manner described, is practically integral, and is as strong and impenetrable as though constructed of solid masonry or cement.

The formation of the oppositely disposed shoulders on the base and cover blocks by reason of the tenoning completely prevents any inward movement of the end or side blocks, thus holding the entire structure in shape, while the joint between the under-cut portions of said side and end blocks forms a rigid tie extending entirely around the vault,,on the inside thereof.

The various blocks comprising the cover bases, sides and ends of the vault, may be cheaply and readily cast, and being of approximately the same shape and size may be packed with ease for shipping purposes.

What is claimed, is

In a portable grave vault, the combination of base and cover blocks, and s ide and end blocks, said side and end blocks being undercut on their inner faces adjacent the lower edges thereof to form shoulders extending over the upper face of said base blocks and disposed in spaced relation thereto to form a seat for a sealing composition, the inner faces of said shoulders being downwardly inclined.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM A. CREW.

Witnesses Isaac L. PRICE, R. LEE WALLnn.

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