US2461675A - Lowering and handling apparatus for burial vaults - Google Patents

Description

C. L. BERG Feb. 15, 1949. 2,461,675

LOWERING AND HANDLING APPARATUS FOR BURIAL VAULTS Filed May 2, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet l FIG. 2.

m T m V m CHRISTY L. BERG M ATTORNEY C. L- BERG 15, LOWERING AND HANDLING APPARATUS FOR BURIAL VAULTS Filed May 2, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CHRISTY L.

' ATTORNEY Feb. 15, 1949.

Filed May 2, 1945 c. 1.. BERG AGLWS LOWERING AND HANDLING APPARATUS FOR BURIAL VAUL'ITS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR CHRISTY L. BERG ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 1949 LOWERING AND HANDLING APPARATUS FOR BURIAL'VAULTS Christy L. Berg, St. Louis, -Mo.

" Application May v2, 1945', Serial-No. 591,493

1 a 2 Claims.

" This-inve'ntion relates generally to a lowerin 'andhan'dling' apparatus for burial vaults, and

.a more particularly to an "apparatus for lowering such avault with-its enclosed casket into a grave,

" in the process of making an interment. In this I irespect and for this purpose the present inven- "tion embodies certain structural improvements lzupon applican'ts original United States patent,

"numbered 1,855,469.

'The main object of the present invention is" to provide an. improved apparatus of the kind wr'eferred to and-as disclosed in said original pat- -:ent-'and*wherein"the usual cofl'ln is enclosed withmina v'ault or' burialcase formed of concrete or n-otherisuitablematerial for protecting the coflin. I

*In them'aking ofinterments by the use of the eapparatus-described in the said original patent ..-and inthepresen't improved apparatus, the sep- --.arableabasez'slab of thevau'lt' is first positioned andproperly supported overthe mouth of the i ..:grave.*by means of removable cross-strips extended :across the ends of the open grave, then nrsuspendin'ghthe dome of the vault vertically above ithe base; then placin the cofiin upon the vault base below the vault dome; then lowering the vault domefover the coifin, and finally lowering l-t-he whole':assembly to the bottom of the grave =-and-filling the latter in.

iThe' construction, operation and function of the' original patented apparatus, in the process of making such interments, are fully set out in '1ztherxsaidwpatent, "and the primary object of this represent invention is 'to show and describe cerimprovements .in the :said patented appai: iratus,:ior? facilitating and rendering more efficient :'the'.use andoperation ofthe same.

I ADOthGI'Z'ObjGOt of the present invention is to 11providemeans incorporated upon the original -rinvention' for morex conveniently locating and. 'placingthe lowering apparatus, and for regulatling-"and governing the speed of operation.

*With the'stated objects in view, together with such-Iotherand additional objects and advan- -tages as may appear from the following specification; attention is now directed to the accom-' panying drawing as embodying and illustrat- Zing'thepreferred structural features of the presenti invention as representing the said improve-- ..;.ments .overrthe original patent, and wherein:

. rratus assetrupreadyfor use over a grave,.showing the vault dome suspended above its base; and

supon-tlie base.

:eshowing in 'ibrokenu-lines thexcofiinas -,positioned Figure 2'is ahorizontal section on'the line 2 2 ofFigure 1.

Figure 3 is an end elevation-of the assembly 1 as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an end view of the assembly-as shownin' Figure 1, showing the vault dome however as lowered upon the vaultbase over'the 'cofiin, and ropes or cables passed underneath the ends of the vault base and releasably connected at-their ends to the-ends of the lowering straps,

- preliminary to lowering the vault and enclosed c'oflin into the grave, thegear'head at one'end of the apparatusbeing broken away.

- Figure-Ms a side view on a reduced scale,'showingthe-vaultand enclosed coffin'as lowered into the grave, the upper portions of the apparatus being broken away.

g Figure 6 isa sectional and fragmentarydetail on an enlarged scaleof thereleasable connections between the vault and the lowering straps or'the apparatus.

Figure 7' is an enlarged detail of onerof'the gear heads and associated elements; as employed at .each end of theapparatus for manipulating .and controlling. the lowering operations-of the apparatus.

Figure 8 is. a vertical section taken son .the planeindicated by the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure '9. is a fragmentar detail showing a method of adapting the apparatus for one man" 1 operation.

' The original and. patented invention includes the four corner. posts l, jointing Ts"2 adjacent the upperends' of the posts,.and secured inplace by pins '3," relatively short sleeves or'tubes lbeing threaded inthelateral outlets of these'Ts, sills i being provided at the sides of thegrave 'A,"and"th'ere ibeing socket members 8 seated atop the ends of the sills l for engaging "the lower en'dsof the posts I fonsupporting same .in upright position." However in this'connection and in accordance with the present invention "the posts 1 instead of beingflocatediendwiseof "thej'grave A,"are located laterally of the ends thereof, thus facilitating intermentsxin situations a where 'the endwise space between adjacent graves and'tomb-stones is limited. "As a'matter l Figure lisa side .v1ew--ofthe complete appa- 1 of course. in lieu of thesills 1, any other conven- "tional method of basal support for the "posts I "maybe provided. Alsoin the original and'patented construction, side bars "H3 connect at their "=-"ends"with the sleeves 4, thus completingfthe 'rectangularsupporting frame of the apparatus.

Also in *a'ccordance "with the original patented fifi 'inventiony- 'gear housings of twmpartstructureare mounted atop two of the laterally aligned corner posts I' at one side of the apparatus, but in accordance with the revised and improved form of the invention the said housings H are of three-part structure as clearly indicated in Figure 7 of the drawing, the same including the pair of lower said castings l2a and the superposed top or cap castings l2b for covering both of the lower castings l2a. This structure facilitates the inspection, oiling and repairing of the contained working gears as positioned and mounted within these housings, without the complete disassembling of the same as would be .required in the original structure. The parts of this housing are secured together by means of the bolts lila, ltb and the lower parts of the housing are formed with sockets l4 adapted to set over the upper ends of two of the laterally disposed corner posts l. The housing castings l2a and l12b are formed with the gear recesses or seats it and with the shaftways l6 longitudinally aligned at one side of the apparatus. A pair of T-joints H are threaded by their medial and down-turned outlets l8 onto the upper ends of the oppositely disposed posts I, and have their heads is bored and reamed'for freely receiving and journalling at one end the end cross-shafts or rollers 20, the opposite ends of these cross-shafts being extended through and journalled in the gear housings II at points :above the shaftways !B. are keyed on the ends of the rollers 20 within the housings H, and short drive shafts 22 are jour- :nalled through the shaft-ways l6 and are provided with the worms 23 meshing with the said 'worm gears 25. ikeyed to the outer ends of the drive shafts 22, 'whereby the rollers 20 may be rotated by turning ithese hand-wheels.

Hand wheels 24 are rigidly The rollers 26 are of course of such length as to allow the sides of the frame to be set apart a :distance somewhat greater than the width of the :grave A. Four lowering straps 25 of any suitably strong and flexible material are provided, a pair of these straps being secured by one end to each of the end rollers 20 in a spaced relation and anchored thereto in any conventional manner. These straps are rolled or wound upon themselves around the rollers 20, and of course will be payed out or unrolled by rotating the hand wheels 24 in the proper direction, and will be rewound or drawn upward by the reverse rotation of these wheels. Triangular loops or eyes 26 are secured to the free ends of the straps 25 and S-shaped hooks 21 are hooked through these eyes as shown, these hooks being thus disposable for use in a manner later to be pointed .out.

The foregoing elements and structural features constitute the frame-work and working .elements of the said patented invention, the only :novel feature of the assembly as so far described residing in positioning the posts I laterally of the ends of the grave A for facilitating inter- :ments in limited end-wise space, as heretofore referred to, and in the described three-part structure of the housings I I.

It is obvious that the assembly as described may be readily dismantled for transportation from place to place, the dismantling resulting in the dividing of the frame and separation of the elements, all of which may be again speedily reassembled for use on location as desired.

Theapparatus as described is for use in con-v Two worm gears 2| 4 nection with a hollow vault B', as usually formed of concrete or other suitable material, the same being generally of rectangular or oblong formation, with its under side open, and adapted to seat upon the base or bottom slab C over the coffin D as mounted upon the said base. The cofiin D is of any conventional form, and in the process of interment is positioned upon the base slab C which in turn is supported immediately over the grave A upon spaced cross strips 30,

immediately under the vault dome B and in vertical operative alignment therewith. Thus as the vault dome is lowered it will nicely enclose the cofiin and seat at its lower margins upon the base slab.

In accordance with the invention the vault dome B is provided with metal end hooks or loops 28 anchored in spaced relation in the lower margins of the ends thereof, and which may be a part of the usual reinforcing framework commonly used in suchconcrete structures. These loops 22 may thus be readily engaged by the hooks 2'! in the operation of the apparatus inmaking an interment. The apparatus also includes lowering cables 3| for positioning under the ends of the base of the vault and enclosed coflln, these cables being of such length as to permit their being pulled upward at their ends alongside and above the vault B when thesame is resting upon its base, as shown in Figure 4. Loops or eyes 32 are secured to the ends of these cables.

In performing an interment with an apparatus of this kind, the vault dome B is first elevated above the mouth of the grave A by hooking the hooks 21 into the end loops 28 and then winding up the straps 26 onto the shafts or rollers 20. The base C is then positioned over the grave and supported in place by the cross strips 30, these operations of course being performed prior to the arrival of the coii'in at the grave. The pail-bearers deposit the coffin on the base C, and the vault dome B is then lowered over the coffin onto its base C, by rotation of the hand wheels 24.. The hooks 2'! are then disengaged from the loops 28 at the ends of the vault dome, and the ends of the cables 3! after being passed under the ends of the base slab C are drawn upward alongside the vault and the hooks 21 are engaged with the loops or eyes 32, after the straps 25 have been wound up somewhat tautly. Thus slings are provided at the ends of the assembly for lowering the same into the grave, which is readily done by first raising the assembly, slightly for removal of the cross strips 30 and then operating the hand Wheels 241 for the lowering operation. When this is done the hooks 21 are disengaged from one end of each of the cables 3! and the straps 25 are wound up, thus withdrawing the cables from the grave and leaving the vault assembly in place therein, the latter being positioned on bricks 33 in a conventional manner and for facilitating the withdrawal of the cables. Ordinarily it should require a man improvements and novelstructuralfeatures as recited. An important additional novel feature or features resides in braking devices forappropriately regulating and slowing the lowering operation of the heavy vault dome down onto its base over the coflin, and then lowering the entire assembly down into the grave. Owingto the weight of such an assembly, the gravitational pull is so great as to unduly speed the descent of the vault and contents into the grave. It is an important object of, the present invention therefore to provide practicable hand braking -mechanisms or regulators for controlling the worm gears 2 l, and cooperating friction plugs in the ends of the worm shaft-ways [6 for controlling the drive shafts 22 mounted through the shaft-ways. For this purpose the gear housings I l are provided with bushingsl'la ffor receiving the journalled ends of the shafts or rollers 28 as passed into these housings, the said bushings being mounted at each side of the worm gears 2|. jointed ends 20a of the roller shafts 20 as passed through the housings II are keyed to the shafts 20' in a' conventional manner, as at 2017, and are reduced and screw threaded as shown at 20c, and axially tapped brake wheels 35 are provided for threadedly mounting upo-njthese ends, where they may be locked in place by means of washer-s36 removably mounted upon the ends of the shafts 20 by means of set screws 31 passed through the washers and into the tapped ends of the'shafts. Heavy friction washers 38 of any suitably fibrous or composition material, are mounted over the ends of the roller shafts 20 and are pressed up against the sides of the housings H, and outer press or friction cones 39 are then slidably keyed as at 40 upon the ends of these shafts and adapted to press up against the outer sides of the washers 38,-these cones being normally pressed outward by coil springs 4i seated over the shaft ends. The dimensions of the elements are such that when the Washers and cones are mounted upon the ends of the roller shafts the outer ends of the cones will extend out somewhat over the threaded ends of the shafts and so that when the brake wheels 35 are turned up onto these threaded ends of the shafts, they will press up against the outer ends of the friction cones and force those cones and the friction washers up against the housings ll, thus exerting a braking effect upon the worm gears 2| commensurate with the pressure of the brake wheels as turned upon the threaded spindies of the roller shafts. Complementary to the described braking wheels and mechanisms just described, co-operative screw threaded friction plugs or nuts 42 are seated within the tapped inner ends of the shaft-ways I6, as clearly shown in Figure '7, and it is to be noted that these plugs are reversible for seating within the ends of the shaft-ways, and that the opposite ends of the plugs are formed with circular, fiat-faced heads 42a and 42b, either of which is adapted, when turned inwardly, to abut flatly against the inner flat ends of the drive shafts 22, and thus act as a friction brake upon the rotation of said drive shafts, depending upon the degree of pressure of the plugs and whether the larger or smaller ends thereof are turned inwardly, the degree of pres sure of the plugs being of course dependent upon the force with which they are turned or screwed into their seats.

Thus it is evident that by the employment of either or both of the described braking mechanisms, singly or in unison, the descent of the vault and contents may be regulated in speed as desired, or may be even held stationary when desired. The described apparatus is ordinarily operated by placing a man at each of the handwheels 24, however should it be found desirable or necessary to operate the apparatus by only one man, this could be readily accomplished. as

The outer separable and illustrated in Figure 9, by reversingthe positioning of one of the housings Hat one endof the apparatus, so that the hand-Wheel end thereof would face toward the housing at the opposite end, then removing the said reversed hand-wheel 24, then removing the friction plug or nut 42 at this opposite end, and slip joint in a conventional manner a connecting shaft X between the ends of the two aligned worms 23, for operatively connecting these worms. Thus operation of the one-hand wheel 24 would co-operatively rotate both of the worms 23 for rotating the roller shafts 20 and raising or lowering the connected vault and contents.

It is thought that the construction, use and operation of the said improvements over the original patented invention will be fully understood from'the foregoing descriptions, and while the drawing and description shows specific forms of said improvements, these forms and specific constructions may be changed or modified as may be desired, within the scope of the claims.

Iclaim:

1. In an apparatus of the kind described for mounting over an open grave, the same including an oblong supporting frame with corner posts and gear housings upon the upper ends of the posts at one side of the frame and roller shafts disposed transversely at the ends of the frame and horizontally journaled at one end through the said gear housings and rotatably supported at their opposite ends at the upper ends of the posts at the opposite side of the frame, and there being worm gears upon the ends of the roller shafts within the gear housings, and including drive shafts with worms thereon journaled through the gear housings transversely below the said worm gears with the worms in mesh with the gears, and there being operating hand wheels upon the outwardly extended ends of the drive shafts, braking mechanisms at the ends of the roller shafts as extended through the gear housings, the same comprising brake wheels threadedly mounted upon the reduced and threaded ends of the roller shafts, and frictional braking elements interposed between the brake wheels and the adjacent sides of the gear housings,

whereby the turning up of the brake wheels or releasing same will result in pressing the intermediate brake elements against the sides of the gear housings for slowing the movement of the roller shafts, or releasing the brake wheels will speed the movement of said shafts.

2. In an apparatus according to claim 1, and additional brakingdevices mounted upon the inner ends of the said drive shafts for controlling the rotation thereof.

CHRISTY L. BERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 56,937 Hartill Aug. 7, 1866 323,531 Reiche Aug. 4, 1885 851,861 Brown et a1. Apr. 30, 1907 1,855,469 Berg Apr. 26, 1932 1,971,515 Transue Aug. 28, 1934 2,117,518 Smola May 17, 1938 2,262,937 Holmes Nov. 18, 1941

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