BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION In the past coffins have mostly been made of wood. Wooden coffins tend to be heavy and whilst they are biodegradable one does not have control over the time it takes for a wooden coffin to biodegrade.

Wooden coffins are also fully assembled at manufacturing sites and are inconvenient to transport when fully assembled.

Coffins have also been made of other materials such as steel. Steel coffins destruct through corrosion. Steel coffins are also not as aesthetically pleasing as wooden coffins. Steel coffins are not combustible and cannot be used in cremation ceremonies.

Some other coffins are moulded from mouldable materials. It is however difficult to mould a two-piece coffin having a lid as one piece and the sides and bottom moulded as a unit to form the other piece. Such moulds are difficult to handle and are difficult to use in moulding processes.

The abovementioned coffins also do not provide a sealed compartment.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide a coffin which, at least partially, alleviates some of the abovementioned difficulties.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with this invention there is provided a coffin comprising a coffin body having a bottom panel, at least two side panels, at least two end panels and at least one lid panel, the panels being made of a synthetic resin and at least some of the panels having slots therein into which edges of adjacent panels are fitted.

The panels may be assembled by means of complementary tongue and groove formations.

Further features of the invention provide for the synthetic resin to be polyurethane, polypropylene or polyethylene ; and for the biodegradable material to be grasses, seeds, nuts and/or shells, in crushed, dry, granulated or fibre form.

At least some of the panels are made from a mixture of synthetic resin and a biodegradable material.

A further feature of the invention provides for the biological material in the resin to generate or accelerate the organic decomposition process of the synthetic resin.

A further feature of the invention provides for the amount of biological material to control the period of biodegrading.

Further features of the invention provides for handles to be integrally moulded on panels and inscriptions to be integrally formed on the panels ; for the inscriptions to be moulded with an inscription set so that inscriptions may easily be altered.

It is also provided for the panels to be moulded so as to have an outer coating resembling a finish such as a wood, metal, leather, granite or any other desired finish;

alternatively, the panels are coloured prior or during the moulding process; further alternatively, the panels are coloured prior, during and/or after the moulding process if a special effect is required.

There is provided for the lid to be made of more than one panel.

These and other features of the invention are described in further detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS One embodiment of the invention is described below by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a plan view of a bottom panel, two end panels and two side panels of a coffin; Figure 2 shows a plan view of the coffin of figure 1 with a lid placed on the coffin; Figure 3 shows a side elevation of the coffin of figure 2; and Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional end view of the coffin of figures 2 and 3 along line A-A of figure 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With reference to the drawings a coffin is generally indicated by reference numeral 1.

The coffin consists of a coffin body having a bottom panel 2, two end panels 3, two side panels 4 and a lid 5.

The panels are made of a mixture of a synthetic resin and a biodegradable material as is more fully described below. The panels 2,3, 4 and 5 are

assembled by sliding bottom and top edges of the end panels 3 and side panels 4 into grooves 6 on an upper side of the bottom panel 2 and grooves on lower surface of lid 5 and side edges of the end panels 3 and side panels 4 into grooves 8 on an underside of the lid 5. The two end panels are fitted first followed by the two side panels. Side edges of the end panels 3 are located in grooves 8 on inner surfaces of the side panels 4.

The panels are separately moulded in four different moulds (not shown).

The panels are moulded from a mixture of synthetic resin and a biological material. The synthetic resin may be polyurethane, polypropylene or polyethylene. The biological material is grass, seeds, nuts or shells or any combination thereof in crushed, dry, granulated or fibre form. The biological material is mixed into the resin. The amount of biological material controls the onset or accelerates the period of biodegrading of the coffin 1. I for example nuts are used, the nuts germinate when the coffin 1 is placed underground thus setting off a decomposition process. It is envisaged that by changing the amount and type of nuts or seeds or other biological material used, the period of biodegrading of the coffin can be altered from a few months to more than 20 years. In some cases, where coffins are buried at or below an underground water level, the biodegrading period can be set for longer periods so as to protect the purity of the underground water. The biological material may be in crushed, desiccated, granulated, milled or fibre form.

Handles (not shown) are integrally moulded on the side panels. Inscription sets may also be located in the moulds prior to the moulding process so that any logo, name or other inscription may be integrally moulded with any one or more of the panels. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the handles can be provided separately and thus not integrally moulded on the side panels.

Prior to moulding the panels, colorants and/or pigment may be mixed with the resin to colour the panels. Thin sheets having different motifs thereon may alternatively be included in the moulds to provide an outer finish on each

panel. Such an outer finish may resemble a wood, metal, leather, granite or any other desired finish.

A sealant (not shown) is used in and around the grooves to assemble the panels of the coffin 1. The grooves 7 in the lid are moulded such that the grooves snugly fit over the side panels 4 and end panels 3 to provide an airtight seal. In this way, a sealed compartment is formed to allow for the prolonged used of the coffin outside of a refrigerator or refrigerated area when a body is sealed in the coffin.

The resin and biological material mixture is combustible thus facilitating use of the coffin in cremation.

It is envisaged that the coffin described herein will be environmentally friendly and easy to use. A blanket may be provided to be used with the coffin. The coffin, when sealed, will also prevent the distribution of diseases such as aids or cholera.

It will be appreciated that the word coffin is used in a generic sense in this specification."Coffin"includes caskets or any other container which is required to be biodegradable or at least part of which is required to be biodegradable or will decompose over time.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the polyurethane may include components in the form of polyols, isocyanate, surfactants and catalysts. Furthermore, polyurethane foam are normally of a closed cell nature which inhibits water ingress into the polymer. This also inhibits degradation of the polymer. By incorporating certain organic compounds in the polyols and/or the isocyante compant such as grass, seeds and nuts, water absorption is promoted and decomposition is thus accelerated.

It will also be possible to include integral handles and inscriptions on the panels or lid of the coffin and to provide any look-alike finish to the coffin.

The lid may also consist of two or more panels.

The followina steps are followed during the manufacrutinct process.

1. The material is checked against the manufactures batch certificate, and then the required additional catalyst, and or water and or blowing agent are added to the respective batch.

2. The material is loaded into the dispensing machine where it is brought up to the required temperature.

3. Once the material is up to temperature, then the ratios that are required for the correct stoichiometric value of the mixed material is adjusted to the correct ratio.

4. A small shot is dispensed into an open plastic bag to confirm the correctness of mixture as well as the function of the machine. During this process the following is checked:- 1. The cream time.

2. The tack free time.

3. After the material in the bag has cured, then it is sliced open and the general cell structure is inspected for any abnormalities.

5. Once the above procedure is completed then the dispensing of the material into the moulds can be carried out.

6. The moulds must be at the correct temperature and prepared with a release agent.

7. The side of the item that is going to be the outer side is then prepared with an in-mould coating. This not only gives the required final colour and or the background colour for the Aqua Decorative Technology

(ADT) or water film transfer process, but also helps consolidate the surface ready for the final matt or gloss varnish.

8. Then the correct shot size for that respective mould is dispensed via the dispensing machine into the mould, where after the mould is closed up and held closed until the material has foamed up and cured to a handleable state.

9. After the above, which is generally between 15 and 20 minutes, the item is moulded and laid on a rack for further curing.

10. Once the item is fully cured it is washed off to ensure the removal of the release agent and any flashing on the edges.

11. Once the item is cleaned and finally inspected it is then put through a drying oven, in preparation for the final coat and or the ADT to be applied.

12. If an ADT coating is to be applied then the following steps are followed.

1. A piece of film of the desired finished effect is chosen and cut to the correct size.

2. This film can be sourced from various manufactures, typically Global Technologies of Japan.

3. An activator is then applied to the film.

4. The film is then laid out flat on the water in the heated bath.

5. Once the film starts to dissolve and grow, the ink-based pattern is ready for the item to be dipped into the tank over the area where the pattern is located.

6. Once the panel has been dipped, then it is washed off in another heated bath to remove all traces of the dissolved film. This second bath is to eliminate the contamination of the water in the dipping bath.

7. Then the item is placed in a drying/curing oven in preparation for the final coating.

13. The item, which either has just a base coat, and/or ADT as well is cleaned off in preparation for the final matt or gloss topcoat.

14. After the topcoat of either the matt or gloss has been applied, then it is once again cured in an air oven ready for assembly.

15. During the assembly process the following steps are followed.

1. The tongues and the grooves of the various items/panels are cleaned off.

2. An adhesive, which has been specially formulated, is applied to these respective tongues and grooves.

3. The panels are pushed together in a uniform manner to ensure the panels are even and level once all have been pressed together.

4. The unit is then put to one side undisturbed to allow the adhesive to cure.

16. Once the base is fully assembled then the unit goes to the trimming department where any for of finish with regards to the following can or will be fitted.

1. Internal linings.

2. Handles.

3. Locks.

4. Hinges.

5. Sealing kits for the lids.

6. Any other decorative and or identification marking.

Coffins made as described above have been tested and it has been confirmed that they are biodegradable with or without a biodegradeable material mixed in with the resin if the resin is a polyester based resin. Such coffins also reduce to dry ash during cremations.

The coffin may also not include a biological material in its panels. A polyester based resin can be used which would also render the coffin biodegradable, as well as suitable for cremations.