IL161271A - Multi-tier burial system - Google Patents

Description

MULTI-TIER BURIAL SYSTEM o m Jim miip ronyo The present invention relates to compact burial of deceased persons. The invention is a development of, and an improvement on, the multi-tier burial system described in our registered Israel Patent No. 108,493, which allows individual ground-based burial at a significantly higher density than that provided by conventional burial. j s stated in our previous Israel Patents 100,012 and 108,493, burial methods are chosen according to civil law, religious law or custom, and also according to the wishes of the deceased and surviving relatives. While burial methods such as cremation and burial at sea require no land area at all, such methods are completely unacceptable to large sections of the population, whether Jewish, Christian or Moslem. Accordingly, land must be allocated for burial of the deceased in a grave.

While the system of the present invention conforms to the requirements of Jewish religious law, in particular as stated in the Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, Chapter 362, it is also applicable to in non-Jewish societies where dignified burial is required, and where low-cost land is no longer available for this purpose.

Many burial societies, Jewish and non-Jewish, in Israel and abroad are faced with rapidly filling cemeteries and a near impossibility of being able to purchase suitable land for expansion within reasonable proximity to large cities. This problem has become even more acute in the decade since our previous Israel patent 108493 was granted. Even where such land has been found, residents in its vicinity often object vehemently to the establishment of a new cemetery within sight of their homes.

In Jewish as well in other societies graves are considered permanent resting places, and many countries have laws forbidding the removal of buried persons except in exceptional circumstances. It is thus not surprising that with each new generation further pressure on land use becomes apparent.

As an example of land requirements, assuming ^ death rate of about 10 per thousand per year, and a burial density of 1000 graves per acre (that is, about 250 graves per 1000 square meters), a city such as Tel-Aviv will require about 160 acres of additional land within about 15 years. The task of finding and financing the purchase of such a plot in a suitable area are daunting. In London cemeteries already cover approximately 1300 hectares, just under 1 % of Greater London's land cover. Cemeteries in use are already inconveniently situated in the far outer suburbs in Morden, Enfield, Barnet and new cemeteries have been established even further from the center of the city.

Thus the need is apparent to raise burial density, while maintaining individual graves in a manner that not only conforms to Jewish religious law, but also meets the reasonable expectations of the family of the deceased for a dignified burial.

Crypt systems, mainly intended for above-ground burial, are known. Examples are described in US Patents 3,878,656 and 3,958,378. Components used in crypts are described in US Patents 4, 102,089 and 4,989,382. None of the crypts described in these patents meets the requirements of Jewish law with regard to burial in earth, nor is provision made for sufficient spacing between individual crypts.

In conventional cemeteries it is common practice that a husband and wife are buried side by side, and such burial is much desired particularly by couples having experienced a happy marriage. Furthermore, this arrangement is convenient for surviving children and others who wish to visit or pray at the gravestone. Meeting this demand in a multi-tier burial system is an important part of the present invention.

It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to obviate the Jimitations.of prior art burial arrangements and to provide increased burial density without contravening Jewish religious law, and while upholds the dignity of the deceased.

In particular it is an important further object of the present invention to provide an arrangement allowing a couple to be buried so that the first deceased is buried in a manner allowing the later addition of the second deceased above the first deceased, with appropriate vertical spacing and earth to meet all requirements.

Yet a further object of the invention is to effect these improvements while maintaining the possibility of building small-area cemeteries in or near urban centers, the visual impact thereof being arranged in a manner to be acceptable to businesses and homes within sight.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to ensure that there is a continuity of earth from the earth on which the deceased is placed to the earth at ground level.

The present invention achieves the above objects by providing a multi-tier burial system comprising a plurality of columns of stacked units, wherein a major portion of said units are each formed as a box-like element, a lower volume of said unit being bounded by a bottom and by two long and two short sides, an opening being provided above one of said short sides of each of said units for the horizontal insertion of a body through said opening, and wherein above at least a major portion of each of said columns there is provided an additional burial area sized to accommodate at least two bodies with vertical separation therebetween, said additional burial area having an upper opening for vertical insertion of bodies into said area.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a multi-tier burial system wherein bottom surfaces of said units are removable to enable vertical insertion of bodies into lower units of said columns.

In a most preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided multi-tier burial system, wherein bottom surfaces of stacked pre-cast units are provided with openings enabling the contiguous disposition of earth between vertically stacked units.

It is to be understood that while the invention is described with regard to pre-cast units, it is also possible to carry out the essence of the invention using an integrally formed system such as one created from poured concrete and thus in another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a multi-tier burial system comprising a plurality of columns of stacked integrally formed units, wherein a major portion of said units are each formed as a box-like element, a lower volume of said unit being bounded by a bottom and by two long and two short sides, an opening being provided above one of said short sides of each of said units for the horizontal insertion of a body through said opening, and wherein above at least a major portion of each of said columns there is provided an additional burial area sized to accommodate at least two bodies with vertical separation therebetween, said additional burial area having an upper opening for vertical insertion of bodies into said area Also in this embodiment it is preferred that bottom surfaces of said units are removable to enable vertical insertion of bodies into lower units of said columns.

Yet further embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter.

It must be understood that when the system of the present invention is in use, additional earth is inserted onto and above the body to fill the pre-cast unit. The open side of the pre-cast unit is then hermetically sealed and an inscribed tombstone is positioned to face the area accessible to Visitors. These arrangements have been described in our previous patent and will not be detailed in the present text.

The vertical separation of bodies includes two earth layers each at least 24, cm thick in addition to the floor member of the pre-cast unit It should be noted that the novel system of the present invention meets the Jewish law by providing at least 48 cm depth of earth between bodies, and by burying the body in earth connected to the earth at ground level. As in conventional burial, the body of the deceased rests horizontally, the head facing upwards.

The invention will now be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures so that it may be more fully understood.

With specific reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.

In the drawings: FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the burial system according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an earth-holding pre-cast burial unit for the system seen in FIG. 1 ; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an earth-holding pre-cast burial unit for the system particularly useful for use in the additional burial area; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an earth-holding pre-cast burial unit for the system particularly useful for use in the columns seen in FIG.1 ; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an earth-holding pre-cast burial unit for the system providing continuity of earth when used in the system seen in FIG. 1 ; FIG. 6 is a plan view of the arrangement obtainable by use of the units seen in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a further preferred embodiment of the burial system; FIG. 8 is a top view of a burial unit useful for the system seen in FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a further burial unit which can be used for the system seen in FIG. 1 ; FIG. 10 is a side view of the embodiment of the system described with reference to FIG. 1 ; and FIG. 1 1 is a fragmented perspective view of the system similto that seen in FIG. 1.

There is seen in FIG. 1 a multi-tier burial system 10. A plurality of columns 12, four of which are seen in the diagram, is composed of stacked pre-cast burial units 14 seen in FIG. 2. Each column 12 comprises several pre-cast units vertically positioned below an additional burial area 16 to be described.

The pre-cast unit 14 seen in FIG. 2 is simple earth-containing box-like element, a lower volume of the unit being bounded by a bottom 18 and by two long 20 and two short sides 22. The lower volume of the unit is bounded to retain a layer of earth 24 having a depth of at least 24 cm.

Regarding the units 14, which are to form part of the columns 12, the body 26 to be buried, seen in FIG.1 , is placed onto the layer of earth 24 in the unit before the unit is built upon. Where this is not convenient, arrangements for horizontal insertion are applicable, as will be seen in FIG.5.

Above the column 12 there is provided an additional burial area 16 sized to accommodate four bodies 26 with vertical separation therebetween. This configuration is suitable for two people who wish to be buried in close proximity to each other, usually a married couple or a parent and son and other close relatives.

The additional burial area 16 seen holds two units 14 as seen in FIG. 2 above a column 12 at a first lower level. When the system of the present invention is in use, additional earth is inserted onto and above the body to fill the pre-cast unit 14.

After burials at the first lower lev >el two additional units 14 are inserted there above, space being provided to maintain a required depth of earth between the higher and lower units.

The additional burial area 16 is topped by a floor/ceiling 28 and is provided with two upper openings 30 for vertical insertion of bodies into the area 16.

With regard to the rest of the figures, similar reference numerals have been used to identify similar parts.

FIG. 3 illustrates an additional pre-cast upper burial unit, 32 which may be used in the building of an additional burial area 16 of the multi-tier burial system 10 seen in FIG. 1. The unit 32 is provided with a bottbm surface 34 which may be slid out, and later replaced. The long sides 36 of the unit provide column support, while removal of the bottom surface 34 makes possible the insertion of bodies and earth through the upper unit and into a lower unit (not shown). Thereafter the bottom surface 34 is slid back into place and a layer of earth 24 seen in FIG. 2 may be placed in the upper unit 32.

Seen in FIG. 4 is a further embodiment of a pre-cast burial unit 38 which may be used in the building of a multi-tier burial system similar to the system 10 seen in FIG. 1.

The upper volume of the stacked pre-cast unit 38 is bounded by a concrete wall on two long sides 40. An opening 42 is provided on one of the short sides 44, allowing the horizontal insertion of earth 24 seen in FIG. 2 and a body through the opening 42 onto the layer of earth 24. The upper face 46 of the unit is inaccessible when the unit forms part of a column. The open side 44 of the pre-cast unit 38 is then hermetically sealed and an inscribed tombstone 48 is positioned to face the area accessible to visitors, as seen in FIG. 1 1 and described in detail in Israel Patent 108,493.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is depicted another embodiment of a pre-cast burial unit 50 for use in a multi-tier burial system.

The outer faces 52 of the long sides 54 of the stacked pre-cast units 50 are provided with four vertically-disposed rib projections 55 on each long side to form, in combination with a similar abutting unit of the same tier, three vertical hollows 56, 58. As is seen in FIG. 6, the central vertical hollow 56 is earth filled, thus providing an earth connection for all its adjacent units to ground level. Openings 60 are provided in the long sides 54 of the units which connect to the earth-filled vertical hollow 56, thus enabling the contiguous disposition of earth between vertically-stacked units.

The two circular hollows 58 are filled with concrete and optional steel reinforcement, to enhance the stability and earthquake resistance of the column 12 seen in FIG. 1.

Turning now to FIG. 7, there is illustrated a staggered multi-tier burial system 62, which illustrates the greatly improved burial density possible in the present invention. An additional burial area 73 is seen above the staggered arrangement. Each tier 66, 68 comprises a plurality of pre-cast cast units 64 seen below in FIG. 8, each of the units 64 being formed as an earth-containing box-like element.

A first plurality of the units 64 is aligned in spaced-apart relationship to form a first tier 66.^ A second plurality of the unitsr64 is aligned in spaced-apart relationship to form a second tier 68, staggered with relation to the first tier 66. Thus the second tier 66 straddles the spaces formed between two adjacent units of a lower tier 66, and is respectively supported by two lower units 64. The advantage of the staggered arrangement seen is that it is easier to provide the necessary vertical spacing between buried bodies 70 The bottom of an upper unit and the interfacing sides of two adjacent lower units which support the upper unit delimit three surfaces of a burial niche 72.

Seen in FIG. 8 is a top view of a pre-cast burial unit 64 which can be used in the multi-tier burial system described in FIG. 7. The bottom surface 74 of the unit 64 is provided with openings 76 enabling the contiguous disposition of earth between burial units and the earth-filled burial niche 72 seen in FIG. 7 which is disposed directly under a burial unit 64.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is depicted a further embodiment of a stackable pre-cast burial unit 78 provided with six external vertically-disposed rib projections 80 on each longer side 82. The unit 78, when interfaced with a similar second unit side to side, provides for five hollows 84, 88. The center and outer hollows 84 may be used for stabilizing the column by pouring concrete therein, while the two longer remaining hollows 88 are earth filled. Openings 90 are seen which provide continuity of the earth to ground level.

An advantage of this design is the long side walls 82 of the unit 78 may be made thinner, as the vertically-disposed projections 80 act as strengthening ribs.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the embodiment of the system 10 already described with reference to FIG. 1. It is shown here to illustrate an eye-pleasing arrangement possible within the framework of the present invention.

In FIG. 11 there is seen a more general view of the system 10 built using the arrangement described with reference to FIG. 6. Shelves 92 are retained between columns of bricks 94, the shelves 92 serving visitors who wish to place a stone on the grave or leave flowers thereby. An inscribed tombstone 48 is seen at the bottom of one of the columns 12.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Claims (11)

10 161 ,271/2

1. WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: ver ca nser on o o es n o sa area.

2. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1 , comprising a plurality of columns of stacked pre-cast units, wherein a major portion of said units are each formed as an earth-containing box-like element, a lower volume of said unit being bounded by a bottom and by two long and two short sides to retain a layer of earth, an opening being provided above one of said short sides of each of said units for the horizontal insertion of a body through said opening onto said layer of earth, and wherein above at least a major portion of each of said columns there is provided an additional burial area sized to accommodate at least two bodies with a vertical separation therebetween, said additional burial area having an upper opening for vertical insertion of bodies into said area.

3. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1 , wherein a majority of said columns comprises at least two stacked pre-cast burial units vertically positioned below an additional burial area as defined.

4. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1 , wherein bottom surfaces of said units are removable to enable vertical insertion of bodies into lower units of said columns.

5. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1 , wherein the upper volume of each of said stacked pre-cast units is bounded on two long sides and is provided 11 161 ,271/2 with an opening on one of said short sides of each of said units for the horizontal insertion of a body through said opening onto said layer of earth.

6. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1 , wherein the outer faces of said long sides of said stacked pre-cast units are provided with vertically-disposed rib projections to form, in combination with a similar abutting block of the same tier, a plurality of vertical hollows.

7. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 6, wherein at least one of said vertical hollows is earth filled and at least one of said hollows is filled with concrete, and wherein openings are provided in said long sides of said units leading to said vertical hollows enabling the contiguous disposition of earth between vertically-stacked units.

8. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1 , comprising a plurality of pre-cast cast units, each of said units being formed as an earth-containing box-like element, wherein a first plurality of said units is aligned in spaced-apart relationship to form a first tier, and a second plurality of said units is aligned in spaced-apart relationship to form a second tier and staggered with relation thereto, wherein said second tier straddling the spaces formed between two adjacent units of a lower tier and being respectively supported by two lower units, wherein the bottom of an upper unit and the interfacing sides of two adjacent lower units which support said upper unit delimit three surfaces of a burial niche.

9. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 8, wherein bottom surfaces of said stacked pre-cast units are provided with openings enabling the contiguous disposition of earth between vertically stacked units.

10. A multi-tier burial system according to claim 1 , comprising a plurality of columns of stacked integrally formed units, wherein a major portion of said units are each formed as a box-like element, a lower volume of said unit being bounded by a bottom and by two long and two short sides, an opening being provided above one of said short sides of each of said units for the horizontal insertion of a body through said opening, and wherein above at least a major portion of each of 12 161 ,271/2 said columns there is provided an additional burial area sized to accommodate at least two bodies with vertical separation therebetween, said additional burial area having an upper opening for vertical insertion of bodies into said area

11. . A multi-tier burial system according to claim 10, wherein bottom surfaces of said units are removable to enable vertical insertion of bodies into lower units of said columns. For the Applicant WOLFF, BREGIVIAN^ND GOLLER by: Jj*