Background Methods and apparatus for the dignified handling and burial of human remains have a long history of develop- ment, and. peopl. e. worldwide. have evoLved a. varie. ty of rituals and processes to fulfill these solemn tasks. One universal element in virtually all approaches to interment is a desire for a high degree of permanence in the pro- cesses invoked. Cremation. of both. human and animal remains also has a long history of usage in many cultures, and is recently becoming the process of choice for an increasingly large number of societies. Many factors are cont. ributing to the. recent shift away from conventional grave-site burials toward cremation, not the least of which are practical considerations. However, given the high cultural importance of burials, the primary humani- tarian criteria for interment, have. always.,.. and. most.. Likely will continue to prevail. These are: a universal desire for dignified handling of the deceased; a desire for permanence in the disposition of the resulting remains; and, oftentimes,. a pref. erence. for a.. spec. ifi. c lo. c. at. i. on for the final resting place of the remains.

Description of typical prior art approaches to pro- cesses and systems for producing and interment of cremated r. emains. may be. fo. und.. in. a. n. umber. a. f... US.... patent. s.

U. S. Patents 4,781,174 to Gardner and 3,770,215 to

Wittke disclose processes for producing and handling cremation residues. In the 1988 Gardner pat. ent,. he. at rays from the sun are concentrated and focused on a body as part. of a funeral service to r. educe it to ashesfi and suggests presentation to the next of kin of ash compressed into a suitable urn for interment. The 1973 Wit. tke. patent describes apparatus for receiving, cleaning, and comminut- ing c. rematian residues.,. and subsequently manually com- pressing the resulting ash into an urn.

A funiary urn in the form of a cylindrical canister is described in U. S. Patent 5,172,457 to Allen et al. The urn. includes a cap having a plurality of detents that mate with a corresponding plurality of grooves in the canis- ter's outer wall to provide a substantially gas-tight fit.

U. S. Patents 3,990,198 to Ortutay and 3,579,730 to Thompson provide teachings o.f.post-cremationburialof human remains contained in urns. In the Ortutay patent a self.-retaining barr. e. l vault is described wherein a plurality of urn-holding elements is configured to inter- lockingly form the vault. walls. The 1970 patent to Thompson describes an open frame structure for the interment of a. plurality of individual storage. tube urns containing cremated remains. ofthesepriorartapproachesteachesoneWhileeach or another aspect of producing, processing, and burial of cremated remains, it is the unique combination of compac- tion/containment that the present invention admirably pr. ovides with. its elegant and straightforward containment tube approach.

Objectes of theInvention It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an. improved compaction and contain- ment system for handling and storing the remains of deceased human and animas.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a process and a system for the. high compaction of cremation ash into a containment tube suitable for long- term interment.

A still further object of the pres. ent invention is to provide a containment tube to both facilitate the compac- tion of cremation ash and to serve as an extended service life container for the compacted ash.

A yet further object of the present invention. is. to provide a compaction/containment system amendable to the burial of a large. pluralityofextended,serviceli.f.econ- tainment tubes within a conventional-sized grave plot.

In vaseline and alternateembodiments,.an.elongated containment tube of nominally constant cross section along its length is formed. to serve as both.. a confining. con- tainer during a high-pressure ash compaction step, and an estended servic. e. li. fe containez thereafter when fitted with one or more precisely formed end caps. The end cap (s) include (s.) circumferentiall. y disp. osed teeth-Like locking means for deformably engaging the inner or outer wall surfaces of the open-ende. d. tubu. lar. cont. ainer. an may further include compression rings to improve the cap/tube seal. _ The combinati. on of multi-element. sealing means. f. and selection of impervious materials for the cap/tube members, ensures the long-term integrity of the. compacted remains and precludes the entry of air, water, and other Burialofalargenumberoftheseambientcontaminants. hermetically sealed, long-life containment tubes containing the. remains, of related family members are preferably arrayed in a conventionally sized grave plot.

Brief Description of the Drawings Additional objects and advantages of the invention wi. ll become apparent to. thos. e skilled. in. the art. a s the description proceeds with reference to the accompanying

drawings wherein: FIG. 1 is a schematic view of. a compression-assembly for compacting the cremated remains of a human or pet into virtuaLly solidified. form acco. rding. to the present invention; isacross-sectionalviewofacontainmentFIG.2 tube for use with the present invention; FIG. 2A is a partial, cross-sectional, view of. sealing means for a containment tube cap; FI. G. 2B is a simplified schematic view of an al. ter- nate form of the end cap/containment tube interface ; FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a. grave-sized site for the interment of a plurality of individual containment tubes. of. cremated remains; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the grave site of FI. G _ 3 taken alo. ng the lines. 4-4; and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the grave site of FIG.. 3 taken along the l. ines. 5-5.

Best Mode for Carryina out the Invention Re. ferring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a. compression assembly for compacting the ash that results from the cremation. of humans or pets-hereinafter, referred. to as cremains-into solidified form according to the present invention.. The assembly 10 is formed o. f. two virtually identical half mold sections 12 and 14, which are pivot- ally interconnected by a piano.. hinge 16. The assembly 10 is shown in the opened position with each half section including a. funnel-shaped input portion 18 at. its. upper end, a central compression shaft portion 20, and a containment tube atitslowerend.Theright22 half section 14 shows a compaction ram 24 adapted to be urged downward through the.. shaft. porti. on.. 20. res. pons. ive to a compression force F applied via an input shaft 26. A tube28ispositionedinthecylindricalcontainment

region 22 of the half section 14.

In use, the assembly 10 is prepared to compress cremains by the emplacement of an empty containment tube in the region 22> pivoting the two half sections together and retaining them by a pair of latch members 30L and 30R, and slightly elevating the ram 24. Thereafter, cremains of an individual are poured into the input portion 18 to arrive in loose form into the. containment tube 2-8., and-may also partially extend into the lower end of the shaft portion 20. Upon application of the compression force"F" by any suitable means, such as hydraulic, pneumatic, or mechanical,urging, the cremains. are tightly compacted into the containment tube 28. Suitable choices of tube sizes, applied forces, and strengths of the compression tube and compression assembly ensure that the cremains are opti- mallymallycompacted into 28.Compactiontube under high pressure not only produces a highly solidified ash, but also improves the long-ter stability of the cremains and facilitates their indefinite storage.

An illustrative, containment tube is. described. with reference now to FIG. 2. A cylindrical tube 28 having integrally formed sidewalls 32 and bottom end 34 is configured as an open-topped container of height"H"and Inapreferredembodiment,thetube28isdiameter"D." formed of stainless steel to provide a hermetically sealable container when fitted with a precisely machined tube cab 36. The cap 36 may include one or more circum- ferent. ia. iiy dispo. sed. locking, te. eth. 38 and a compression ring 40, as shown in enlarged scale in a partial cross- sectional view of FIG. 2A. Typical overall tube dimen- sions are contemplated to be in the range of 2-6 inches in diamet. er and 6-12 inche. s in length. After the cremains have been compacted into containment tube 28, the filled tube is sealed by firmly urging the end cap 36 into the open tube top. The locking teeth 38 slightly deform the

tube walls upon insertion, ensuring a tight mechanical grip of high integrity that does not yield over time, and the compression ring 40 of neoprene or other resilient materials hermeticseal.Inpreferredembodi-a ments, various combinations of well-known sealing means beyond those shown here may be employed to ensure a seal impervious to air and water penetration. Sealing means adequate to. support. bur. ial a. t. sea or. underwater, are. also contemplated.

Other alternate containment tube arrangements may include the use of a pair of end caps 36A which are theouterwallsofcompression-fittedover an open-ended sleeve-like container 28A, all as depicted in FIG 2B. The end caps 36A may also include deformable teeth-like lock- ing means (not shown to scale) as in those of FIG. 2A, as otherwell-knownsealingmeansincludingoneorwellas more compression rings.

The cylindrical containment tube described thus far represents a preferred but baseline embodiment, and a number of variants are contemplated, with. re-spect t. o. both the shape and materials that may be employed. Beyond the well-known desirable properties of stainless steel, the containment tube 28 may also be formed of other metals, such as aluminum,, brass,, and br. o-nz. e Molded, ceramics.. and high-strength plastics may also serve well. Regarding shape, a range of alternate forms may readily be substi- tuted for the baseline cylinder, such as elongated tubes having orothercrosssections.rectangular, It is, however, desirable for best compaction that the cross section chosen be amenable to accommodating the compacting process without causing undue localized onthetubewalls.Thisfactorfavorsdeformingstresses the use of tubes having cross sections more or less uniform over the tube length, but does allow for conical or pyramidal shapes of shallow side slopes. In

considering the shape and materials for the containment tube 28, primary considerations lead to a choice of materials that provide a robust container of superior long-term stability that is he. rmetic. ally s. ea. lable SQ as to provide containment impervious to contaminating ambient conditions, and shapes that provide a dignified and aesthetically pleasing repository for cremains.

Inkeepingwiththecontainmentburialaspect,ofthe present invention, a number of approaches are contempla- ted, all having in common the interment of a plurality of containment tubes within a limited-sized burial plot. For illus. trative t. e. a. chings. of post-cr. emation,. above.-ground burial arrangements, the interested reader is referred to the aforementioned U. S. Patents 3,990,198 to Ortutay and 3,529,730 to Thompson. The Ortutay patent (issued in 1976) shows a syst. em. fo. r. s. epulchraL. urn. huria. l. wherein a large number of individual urns are arrayed in separate blocks that form the sloping walls of a barrel vault. The Thompson patent (issued in 1970) shows a more conventional open-f. ramed structure that. sup. ports. a. pluraLi. ty. of. stQrag2. tubes for the interment of individually identified cremated remains.

Refe. rr. ing. to. F2GS.. 3-5 a. co. nventi. onal. ly sized grave- site arrangement is shown for accommodating a large number of individual containment tubes.. In. the top view of FIG. 3, a horizontal array of vertically disposed tube- 42areshownfittedintoa2-footbyreceivingopenings 6-foot plot. Reference to the lateral cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 shows the depth of e. ach. o. pe. ning 4. 2 to.. be just under 4 feet, thereby allowing the emplacement of approximate. ly s. ix iLdividuaL containment tubes.... For the illustrative 4 x 12 horizontal array of openings depicted, a Large number of burial spaces ar. e.. availab. l. e,.. arid each burial opening may hold up to six family members. This consideredparticularlyauspicious,becauseitapproachis

permits a smooth integrating of interment modes by the utilization of existing grave plots in present-day cemeteries.

Although the inventio. n has. been described, in. terms of selected preferred embodiments, the invention should not be deemed limited thereto, since other embodiments and modifications will readily occur to one skilled in the art.. It.. is. therefQre.. to be. understood, that. the. appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.