COFFIN AND ASSEMBLY JIG

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to coffin kits. It relates particularly to coffins, which are designed to ease the assembly process and apparatus for enabling the same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditionally, coffins/caskets have been used to carry the mortal remains of humans. Coffins are usually made of wood, which provides a factor of elegance and sturdiness for the structure. Intricate designs and shapes can be carved on the outer surface of coffins, which enhances the appearance of the same. However, fully assembled coffins occupy considerable floor space, and their volume increases transportation costs since only a few can be shipped at a time. This also increases the delivery time. Moreover, the handling of the heavy and large assembled coffin is also difficult.

Ready to assemble coffins and kits have been disclosed in US Patent No. 4,170,054 and US Patent No.3,879,818 that are made of cardboard and self- skinning urethane, respectively. The cardboard coffins pose a problem of

lack of sturdiness and elaborate designs and engravings cannot be made on them. Urethane requires a higher temperature to burn. Thus it is not economical for crematoriums, and the byproducts from burning of urethane are toxic to the atmosphere.

Other ready to assemble coffin kits pose the problem of being very heavy for the assembler. Thus, even though they are designed to be assembled at the point of use, handling the weight of the coffin during assembly can cause substantial discomfort and possible injury to the person assembling it and such prior art kits are complex and therefore require skilled persons to assemble them. Also such prior art coffins require two or more persons to assemble them due to the difficulty in moving it and trying to access the nooks and corners during assembly. The prior art coffins also pose the problem that the side and end boards have to be manually supported by the assemblers once they are positioned on the base plate before and while fastening them to the same. This causes additional and substantial discomfort and effort on the part of the assemblers. Even though the ready to assemble prior art coffins make the coffins more modular, handling the elongated sideboards and the base plate poses additional difficulties. The present invention solves this problem by constructing the longer, heavier

components in half-sections, which are then joined during the overall assembly.

Thus, it is one object of the present invention to make the process of assembly easier, and reduce the amount of labour required to assemble the coffin. It is another object of the invention to enable the base plate to self- support the sideboards and end boards by suitable supporting means, before and while they are fastened to the former by the assembler. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, such as for example, solving the problem of decomposing fluids of the body, will become more fully apparent from the following description of the embodiments illustrating the principles of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention describes coffin kits and a means for facilitating the assembly of the same.

In an embodiment, the coffin kit comprises of a base plate having side and end edges and grooves along the side and end edges of the plate. There is a pair of sideboards and end boards for forming the sides and ends of the

coffin, the thickness of the boards such that it is receivable into the grooves in the base plate. It also consists of four corner angles for covering the corners formed by the assembly of the sideboards and end boards. A rigid liner is also included to line the coffin, to perform the functionality of retaining liquids.

In another embodiment, the kit comprises of a base plate assembly, which consists of a plurality of base plate sections and connecting members, the base plate sections having grooves along the sides and ends. It also contains of a pair of sideboard assemblies, each assembly consisting of a plurality of sideboard sections and connecting members. It also further included end boards for forming the ends of the coffin and corner angles for covering the corners formed by the assembly of the sideboards and end boards.

An apparatus for facilitating the assembly of the above said coffin is also discussed. The apparatus consists of a pair of rigid bottom frames, which act as load bearing members, a suitable rotating member to rotate the load on the apparatus and a supporting member to support the rotating member. It also consists of a base, on which is placed the load and consists of a plurality of axial members and a plurality of members joined to the axial members at

a suitable angle. The apparatus further consists of a pair of end assemblies, each assembly consisting of vertical and horizontal members joined by suitable means, a suitable supporting member, which helps in supporting the said end assembly against the bottom frame and suitable holding means to hold the said base of the apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects, advantages and details of this invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Fig 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the coffin.

Fig 2 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of the coffin.

Fig 3 is a perspective view of a part of the coffin with the moisture impervious liner.

Fig 4 is a perspective view of the fully assembled jig.

Fig 5 is a front elevation view of the fully assembled jig.

Fig 6 is a view of the base assembly of the jig taken along Section 6-6 of Fig 5.

Fig 7 is a side elevation view of the end assembly of the jig taken along Section 7-7 of Fig 5.

Fig 8 is a front elevation view of the end assembly of the jig.

Fig 9 is a side elevation view of the A-frame of the jig taken along Section 9-9 of Fig 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As illustrated in Fig 1, the coffin assembly consists of a base plate 21, two identical sideboards 22, 23, two identical end boards 24, 25, two lid sections 26, 27 and four corner angles 28, 29, 30 and 31. While the parts may be composed of solid wood or particleboards, it is preferred to be molded from composite wood. Composite wood comes under the category of engineered

wood, which is made from waste wood chips collected as a manufacturing by-product and saw dust. The moulding process employs glue, which acts as a binder and imparts strength and rigidity to the parts. One of the advantages of using molded parts is that designs can be imparted to the mould, so as to provide a decorative appearance looking like engraved wood. Also composite wood is environmentally more sustainable and results in no wastage of material.

As further shown in Fig 1, the base plate 21 provides the base support for all the other members. The base plate has grooves 32 on all the four sides into which the bottom edges of the sideboards 22, 23 and end boards 24, 25 are inserted one by one. The grooves have vertical predrilled holes 33 extending through the bottom which enables screwing the end boards and sideboards to the base plate. The edges of the sideboards and end boards have predrilled holes 22a, 23a and 24a, 25a respectively. The predrilled holes in the sideboards and end boards are machined in such a way that when the boards are inserted in the base plate, the holes are in line and enable joining the boards by means of screws. The corner angles 28, 29, 30 and 31 serve to camouflage the joints resulting from joining the end boards and sideboards, thus providing an aesthetic appearance. The end boards 24, 25 and side

boards 22, 23 have L shaped cuts 24b, 25b and 22b, 23b at their edges, which serve to receive the ends of the corner angles, so that the outer surface of the corner angles are flush with the outer surface of the sideboards and end boards. The corner angles also help in improving the overall appearance of the coffin by enabling designs to be engraved on it. The grooves in the base plate 21 serve the novel purpose of self-supporting the sideboards and end boards during assembly, which reduces the effort to be put in on the part of the assembler.

Two lid sections 26, 27 serve to cover the coffin, and as depicted in Fig 1, they maybe in two equal halves. In the embodiment shown in Fig 1, the upper side of the lid maybe flat, but it is preferred to be dome shaped to provide an overall aesthetic appearance. The lid sections 26, 27 are fitted to the sideboard 22 or 23 with hinges, which are not shown. The lid being in two sections makes opening the coffin easier, and allows for the lid at the foot end to be closed during the viewing of the deceased if desired.

The modular coffin kit is also provided with a rigid moisture impervious liner 36 as shown in Fig 3 which lines the inside of the coffin up to a height of about 6 inches from the base of the cavity of the coffin. The preferred

material for the rigid impervious liner maybe plastic, and more preferably, PET (Polyethyleneterephthalate). The lining provided by the liner 36 serves to retain the liquids that are discharged from the mortal remains.

During assembly, the end boards 24, 25 are fitted into the grooves 32 of the base plate 21. The sideboards 22, 23 are then slotted into the grooves and positioned at right angles to the end boards 24, 25. The end boards and sideboards are then joined together with screws. The next step is to more permanently secure the sideboards 22, 23 and end boards 24, 25 to the base plate 21. The securing is done by means of screws or the like, screwed upwardly from the bottom of the base plate 21. This involves turning the semi-assembled coffin upside down as will be more fully described hereafter. After assembling the side and end boards to the base plate 21, the corner angles 28, 29, 30 and 31 are placed on the intersecting edges of the sideboards 22, 23 and end boards 24, 25. The corner angles maybe fixed using double-sided tape, glue or screws. Next, the hinges on one of the sideboards 22 or 23 are fitted in place to enable supporting the lid sections 26, 27. The lid sections are then fitted to the boards by means of the hinges. The rigid moisture impervious liner 36 is then mounted so as to line the lower portion of the cavity of the coffin. The steps in the assembly

procedure described above can also be interchanged with regards to the order of inserting the sideboards and end boards, and the order of fitting the corner angles and the lid sections and hinges.

Another embodiment as illustrated in Fig 2 consists of two base plate parts 37a, 37b and a connecting member 37c. Similarly the sideboards are also split into two sideboard parts 38a, 38b and 38'a, 38'b, connecting members 38c, 38'c and camouflaging members 38d, 38'd. There are two identical end boards 39, 40 and four corner angles 41, 42, 43 and 44. The corner angles can be fitted to the intersection of the edges as previously described. There are two lid sections 45, 46. The sideboard parts have a stepped cut surface 47, which has predrilled holes for screws. The connecting member 38c, 38'c also has predrilled holes for screws corresponding to the ones in the side section parts 38a, 38b and 38'a, 38'b respectively. The side section parts are assembled into a complete side section by bringing both the side section parts together and holding them in place and screwing the connecting members. The camouflaging members 38d and 38'd are then fitted on the side just opposite to the connecting member so as to camouflage the joints. Similarly the base plate parts 37a, 37b have predrilled holes positioned corresponding to the ones in the connecting member 37c. The base plate

parts and the sideboard parts are first assembled individually before the coffin is assembled. The coffin is then assembled in the same manner as described in the previous embodiment. Similar to the previous embodiment, the members may be made from particleboard or solid wood, but are preferably of moulded composite wood for the reasons previously discussed. As in the previous embodiment, a rigid moisture impervious liner is provided as a waterproof lining for the inside of the coffin. Because of the split sideboards and base plates, the length of the most elongated members is substantially reduced so as to make it more compact and thereby easier to be transported and handled.

In order to facilitate the assembly and reduce the required manpower, a jig 80 is provided as illustrated in Figs 4 - 9.

The jig consists of rigid A-frames 71 at the bottom, one on each end as illustrated in Fig 9. The A-frames are the load bearing members of the jig and for the coffin when it is assembled. The A-frame 71 consists of legs 72 in the shape of alphabet A. On the top portion of the legs 72 is fitted a supporting member 73. The spindle 74 is supported firmly on the supporting member 73 in such a way that it allows rotation of the spindle. The spindle

74 supports the end assembly 62 and base 59, as will be more fully described hereafter through the frame-supporting member 66.

The base 59 of the jig as illustrated in Fig 6 consists of two identical, elongated channel members 60a, 60b connected to three identical channel members 61a, 61b and 61c placed perpendicular to members 60a, 60b. The axial members 60a, 60b and members 61a, 61b, 61c provide a flat, horizontally extending shelf to support the coffin during assembly. The channel members 60a, 60b, 61a, 61b and 61c can be square or round or C shaped.

The jig further includes two end assemblies 62, one of which is illustrated in Fig 7. The end assembly consists of two inner vertical channel members 63a, 63b and two outer vertical channel members 64a, 64b. There are two identical horizontal channel members 65a and 65b, one on the top and one on the bottom of the end assembly 62. The end assemblies 62 are rigidly secured to both ends of the base 59. The horizontal members 65a, 65b are firmly joined to the vertical members 63a, 63b and 64a, 64b. In the base of the inner vertical members 63a, 63b are attached holding members 67a, 67b respectively, which are substantially long with their axis perpendicular to the

plane of the end assembly 62. Each of the holding members 67a, 67b have a substantial taper in their end. The taper 68b in the holding member 67b is illustrated in Fig 8. The inner dimensions of the holding members 67a, 67b correspond to the outer dimensions of the axial members 60a, 60b. The ends of the axial members 60a, 60b are inserted into the holding members 67a, 67b and held by screws. Thus the holding members 67a, 67b serve to support the base 59 of the jig.

A pair of clamp supports 69a, 69b is connected to the top of the outer vertical members 64a, 64b respectively. The clamp support 69b is illustrated in Fig 8. The clamp supports 69a, 69b are screwed onto the upper horizontal member 65a and support manual screw-type clamps 70a, 70b respectively. The manual clamps 70a, 70b help in clamping down the corners of the coffin during assembly. Attached between the bottom part of the inner vertical member 63a, 63b is the frame-supporting member 66, which serves to support the base 59 and end assembly 62 on the A-frame 71.

The spindle 74 enables rotating the end assembly 62 and base 59 freely. The supporting member 73 has a block projection 76 on its side on which is situated a lock pin 75 as illustrated in Fig 5 and Fig 9. The horizontal

member 65b and the inner vertical member 63a in one of the end assembly 62 have holes 66b and 66a respectively for inserting the lock pin 75. Once the end assembly and base assembly as a whole is rotated, it can be locked in place by inserting the lock pin 75 into either of the lock pin holes 66a or 66b, depending on the position of the combined assemblies. This enables locking the combined end assembly 62 and base 59 in place, which makes assembling the coffin easier without the need to hold the rotated coffin.

As illustrated in Fig 4, a side frame 90 is fitted on to one side of the jig assembly 80. The side frame 90 is fitted to the sides of both the end assemblies with screws. The side frame 90 consists of three members, a top bar 92, a middle bar 94 and base bar 96. The bars prevent the partially assembled coffin from slipping when it is rotated during assembly. The base bar 96 supports the base plate of the coffin, and the middle bar 94 supports the sideboard of the coffin. The top bar 92 supports the lid section of the coffin when it is being assembled, preventing any slipping of the lid section when the hinges are screwed.