WO1996006253A1

WO1996006253A1 - Holder for a gravestone

Info

Publication number: WO1996006253A1
Application number: PCT/SE1995/000922
Authority: WO
Inventors: Roger Westling
Original assignee: Ecept Ab
Priority date: 1994-08-23
Filing date: 1995-08-14
Publication date: 1996-02-29
Also published as: AU3357795A; SE9402807L; SE9402807D0; SE502132C2

Abstract

This invention relates to a holder for a gravestone comprising a base on which the gravestone itself is intended to be applied, the gravestone being fastened to the base in a suitable way, for instance by means of steel studs. According to the invention the holder is characterized in that the base (9) is fastened to a device (1), which is designed in such a way that it surrounds a relatively large on each side of the base (9), i.e. in the front side as well as on the rear side of the gravestone, and that the device (1) is designed in such a way that the weight of that part (3) of the device which is positioned on the one side of the base is essentially the same as the weight of that part (4) which is positioned on the other side of the base.

Description

Holder for a gravestone This invention relates to a holder for a gravestone comprising a base on which the gravestone itself is intended to be applied, the gravestone being fastened to the base in a suitable way, for instance by means of steel studs.

Such a holder for a gravestone is used today in churchyards and is accordingly already known. In this connection the base is to the largest extent buried under the ground surface and will in this way stabilize the gravestone.

There are, however, problems connected with the known arrangement. These consist of the fact that during the spring period, when the frost in the ground breaks up, the ground around the gravestone base is loosened up, whereby the risk is extremely great that the gravestone and the base will begin to tilt and in the worst case fall down. Due to that fact the gravestone can be damaged when falling to the ground. Of course, there is also the risk that the person that shall raise the gravestone to its original position can get hurt.

In order to improve the stability and to reduce the tilting risk of high gravestones among other things, the base has been placed on plinths. With this solution, however, the entire problem is not solved. There is still a risk that the ground frost also lifts this arrangement, and in certain cases there can arise still greater difficulties for the churchyard workers to straighten it up, since the plinths increase the load and make it more difficult to raise up the gravestone.

This invention intends to remove the problems with the known technique and to provide a technical solution that prevents the gravestone from falling down. This has been made possible by a holder for a gravestone of the kind mentioned by way of introduction which has the features mentioned in the claims.

The invention, which is based upon the fact that the weight of the gravestone and the base is distributed over a very large area, shall be described more closely below with reference to the accompanying drawings, where Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment of the invention, seen from above, Fig. 2 shows a view, seen in the direction of the arrows II-II, of the embodiment according to claim 1, and Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of the invention.

Referring to figures 1 and 2 is shown there the first embodiment of the invention. This one comprises an elongated, essentially rectangular device 1, which is intended to be buried under the ground surface 2 in the churchyard and there take an essential horizontal position. The device 1 comprises a first framelike part 3, which is made of a suitable material which is resistant against corrosion in the ground, for instance concrete or stainless steel, and a second part 4 consisting of a balance support 5 which is fastened to a portion 6 of the frame 3 by means of two rods 7, 8, preferably made of stainless steel. In this connection the balance support 5 according to this embodiment is designed like a plate and is suitably made of concrete or stainless steel and is so arranged that it can be displaced on the rods 7, 8 towards or from the frame portion 6. This frame portion 6 which according to this embodiment has a position essentially at the middle of the device 1 , when the balance support 5 has taken its outermost position, is intended to be a fastener for a base 9. This base is fastened on the frame portion 6 of the device 1 in different ways, for instance by means of studs 10 and/or by means of resilient angle irons lla,b; 12a,b as i shown in the figures, which irons are directed towards each other. Each angle iron has a portion 13 which extends up on the base. On the top of the base is the gravestone 14 intended to be fastened in the usual way.

In fig. 3 is shown a second embodiment of the invention. This embodiment has two essentially equal, frame-shaped parts 15, 16, which are connected by means of two rods 17,

18, the frame parts being able to be displaced towards or from each other on the mentioned rods. The parts of this embodiment are suitably made of that/those materials that the embodiment according to figs. 1, 2 is made of. Each of the frame parts 15, 16 has a portion

19, 20, and these two portions are directed towards each other. Each of these portions is intended to receive a base 21, 22, which in its turn is intended to receive a gravestone 23, 24. This second embodiment of the invention can be regarded as two holders for gravestones, built together, and is suitably intended for minor grave places, for instance grave places for urns.

Due to these described arrangements the entire weight of the gravestone and the base will be distributed over a larger area, which results in a reduced ground pressure and a strongly improved stability of the gravestone. The stability means that if the ground conditions are changed, as is happening when the ground frost is active, the entire gravestone construction will follow the movement of the ground and then return to the normal position when the ground conditions have been stabilized.

Thus, the new invention means that the churchyard workers do not have to adjust the gravestones each spring, which of course gives great economic savings for the church. The greatest advantage, however, is that the risk for accidents for both churchyard workers and visitors is reduced. Moreover, it is much nicer for the visitors to walk in a churchyard having gravestones which stand upright. The invention is of course not limited to the mentioned embodiments but can be modified within the scope of the following claims. Thus, the frame-shaped parts of concrete could be replaced by concrete plates, because the important thing is the fact that a large surrounding surface is achieved on each side of the gravestone, and that the weight of the gravestone holder on each side of the gravestone is essentially the same.

Claims

1. A holder for a gravestone, comprising a base on which the gravestone itself is intended to be applied, the gravestone being fastened to the base in a suitable way, for instance by means of steel studs, characterized that in the base (9) is fastened to a device (1), which is designed in such a way that it surrounds a relatively large area on each side of the base (9), i.e. on the front side as well as on the rear side of the gravestone (14), and that the device (1) is designed in such a way that the weight of that part (3) of the device which is positioned on the one side of the base is essentially of the same as the weight of that part (4) which is positioned on the other side of the base.

2. A holder according to claim 1, characterized in that the one part (3) of the device (1) which is positioned on the one side of the base (9) has a framelike design and is made of a material which is resistant against corrosion, and that the other part (4) of the device (1) on the other side of the base (9) comprises a balance support (5), which is fastened to a portion (6) of the framelike part (3) by means of two rods (7, 8), the balance support being displaceably arranged on the rods (7, 8) towards or from the framelike part (3).

3. A holder according to claim 2, the portion (6) of the frame part (3) being positioned closest to the balance support (5), characterized in that the base (9) is fastened to the portion (6) of the frame part (3) by means of studs (10) and/or resilient angle irons (11a, b; 12a, b), which are directed to each other, and each of which has a portion (13) which extends up on the base (9).

4. A gravestone holder intended for two gravestones directed towards each other, each gravestone being intended to be fastened on a base, which is an integral part of the holder, characterized in that the holder for the gravestone comprises two opposite rectangular/ square parts (15, 16), which are positioned at a distance from each other and are connected with each other by means (17, 18), that the portions (19, 20) of the opposite parts (15, 16), which portions are positioned closest to each other, are intended to receive the mentioned bases, and that the rectangular/square parts (15, 16) are essentially equal in size and weight.

5. A holder according to claim 4, c h a r a c te r i z e d in that the rec- tangular/ square parts (15, 16) are designed like a frame and are connected with each other by means of two rods (17, 18), and that the portions (1 , 16) are made of a material which is resistant against corrosion.