Abstract: A method of making a one-piece, unitary lid for a casket comprises providing tooling configured to produce a casket lid having a crown, a pie, a rim and a header, providing settable material, preferably a mixture of wood chips arid binder, from which to mold the lid, molding the settable material with the tooling and permitting the settable material to set. The tooling transmits a wood grain pattern into the settable material. The wood grain pattern of the lid is continuous when viewed rotated 180° about an axis perpendicular to the plane defined by the lid, located medially of the transverse extent of the lid and coinciding with the header end edge of the lid. Thus two such caps placed end-to-end have a continuous wood grain pattern extending from the head end of the casket to the foot end of the casket. Resin impregnated tissue paper is applied to the settable material prior to molding. The resin impregnated tissue paper conforms to the wood grain and conceals the wood chips.

Abstract: A selection room display facilitates a casket selection by a customer of a funeral home. The display includes a vertical back wall and a pair of vertical, spaced apart wing walls cooperating with the back wall to form an alcove. A plurality of casket portions are displayed in the alcove. A vertical signage column may be positioned in the alcove. Information modules are also displayed in the alcove. The modules correspond to the casket portions. The casket portions are supported on shelves which are removably secured to the back wall. The information modules are similarly removably secured to the back wall. The display may incorporate “themes” to feature the various casket choices. The theme technique may also be utilized in the funeral home viewing room.

Abstract: A casket bed comprises a rectangular bed frame formed from a pair of side rails, a pair of end rails, a plurality of cross braces spanning between the side rails and a plurality of bed straps spanning between the end rails. The cross braces are adjustably movable along the side rails. The bed straps have first ends directly connected to one of the end rails. Each cross brace includes a plurality of locators thereon each of which receives a bed strap and locates the bed strap side-to-side on the bed frame. The side and end rails are formed from beams L-shaped in cross-section which overlap at the corners of the frame: at each corner, one of the beams has a tongue which cooperates with its horizontal leg to receive therebetween the free edge of the horizontal leg of the other beam.

Abstract: In an effort at increasing the quality and styling of the casket interior, and in particular the casket cap dish assembly, and in an effort to increase the quality of the memorialization aspect of the casket and memorial service, the present assembly was devised which comprises, in one aspect, a dish assembly for installation into an underside of a casket cap, the assembly comprising a foam dish including an opening therethrough, and a cap panel installed in the opening in the foam dish. In a second aspect, the dish assembly comprises a dish including an opening therethrough and a cap panel removably installed in the opening in the dish, the cap panel being personalized to the deceased and being removable from the dish by a loved one of the deceased subsequent to a memorial service for the deceased and retained by the loved one as a memorial to the deceased.

Abstract: A method of producing memorial items for memorializing a deceased, a method of memorializing a deceased and a combination of memorial items for memorializing a deceased. The method of producing memorial items for memorializing a deceased comprises providing a casket in which to inter the deceased, providing a plaque to be presented to a loved one of the deceased as a memorial to the deceased, inscribing the casket with an inscription of memorialization and inscribing the plaque with the same inscription of memorialization. The method of memorializing a deceased comprises providing a casket in which to inter the deceased, providing a plaque to be presented to a loved one of the deceased as a memorial to the deceased, inscribing the casket with an inscription of memorialization, inscribing the plaque with the same inscription of memorialization, interring the deceased in the inscribed casket and presenting the inscribed plaque to the loved one of the deceased.

Abstract: A casket bed comprises a rectangular bed frame formed from a pair of side rails, a pair of end rails, a plurality of cross braces spanning between the side rails and a plurality of bed straps spanning between the end rails. The cross braces are adjustably movable along the side rails. The bed straps have first ends directly connected to one of the end rails. Each cross brace includes a plurality of locators thereon each of which receives a bed strap and locates the bed strap side-to-side on the bed frame. The side and end rails are formed from beams L-shaped in cross-section which overlap at the corners of the frame; at each corner, one of the beams has a tongue which cooperates with its horizontal leg to receive therebetween the free edge of the horizontal leg of the other beam.

Abstract: A lightweight structurally sound casket formed preferably of a sandwich construction using a core of an open cell or honeycomb patterned material and fluid resistant surface elements. The casket is comprised of a body containment portion and a lid portion, each of which has the sandwich construction as the main structural element. The open cell material is structurally enhanced by being sandwiched between first and second stabilizing surface elements in both the body containment portion and the lid portion. In addition to the stabilizing surface elements, an aesthetically pleasing material is adhered to the outer portions of the body containment section and lid so that the casket has an attractive appearance. The body containment portion is constructed from rectangular pieces of the open cell material and stabilizing surface elements by folding the same into a box-like configuration.

Abstract: A lightweight structurally sound casket formed preferably of a sandwich construction using a core of an open cell or honeycomb patterned material and fluid resistant surface elements. The casket is comprised of a body containment portion and a lid portion, each of which has the sandwich construction as the main structural element. The open cell material is structurally enhanced by being sandwiched between first and second stabilizing surface elements in both the body containment portion and the lid portion. In addition to the stabilizing surface elements, an aesthetically pleasing material is adhered to the outer portions of the body containment section and lid so that the casket has an attractive appearance. The body containment portion is constructed from rectangular pieces of the open cell material and stabilizing surface elements by folding the same into a box-like configuration.

Abstract: A trim piece for attachment to a casket to provide both decoration and concealment of mounting hardware. The trim piece includes a frame member which is adapted to be fixedly secured to a portion of the casket. The frame member has a lip which defines an opening in the frame member. A cover member with at least two attachment tabs disposed on opposite edges of the cover member engages the lip of the frame member so that the cover member is detachably affixed to and covers the opening in the frame member. In one aspect of the device, the trim piece is specifically constructed to affix to a corner of the casket. In another aspect of the device, the trim piece is specifically constructed to affix to the side of the casket. In yet another aspect of the device, the trim piece is a single, integrally formed corner piece where a living hinge pivotally connects the cover member to the frame member.

Abstract: A casket comprises a shell including a floor, a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls. A pair of caps are closable upon the shell. At least one of the walls is constructed of at least two panels having adjacent abutting edges forming a joint between the panels. A decorative feature disguises the joint to create the appearance of the two panels being a single panel. Each cap has a crown, a longer dimension and a shorter dimension, and is constructed of a plurality of boards extending parallel to the longer dimension and including a center spine board. The center spine board is fabricated from a single full-length board sawed in two; remaining ones of thee cap crown boards are non-full length boards. The gap between the head and foot end caps when closed in combination with the matching grain of the spine boards creates the appearance of the cap crowns being constructed of full length boards. Also, by utilizing at least one full length board in the cap, current tooling may be used.

Abstract: A metal casket that is readily assembled at a location remote from the location of manufacture. The casket has several different potential embodiments. For example, first and second tabs on respective first and second side walls are overlapped to form a joint connecting the first and second walls. In another embodiment, a plurality of side walls has peripheral slots extending from lower sections of respective walls. A bottom has a periphery extending into the peripheral slots of the side walls to join the bottom and the side walls together. In a further embodiment, a portion of a plurality of side walls have an upward opening groove for receiving a decorative material. In a still further embodiment a casket cover includes a cap providing an exterior finish of the casket and a dish disposed within the cap to provide an interior finish for the cover of the casket. The cover further has a frame with a first slot for receiving an edge of the cap and a second slot for receiving an edge of the dish.

Abstract: A method of making a one-piece, unitary lid for a casket comprises providing tooling configured to produce a casket lid having a crown, a pie, a rim and a header, providing settable material, preferably a mixture of wood chips and binder, from which to mold the lid, molding the settable material with the tooling and permitting the settable material to set. The tooling transmits a wood grain pattern into the settable material. The wood grain pattern of the lid is continuous when viewed rotated 180° about an axis perpendicular to the plane defined by the lid, located medially of the transverse extent of the lid and coinciding with the header end edge of the lid. Thus two such caps placed end-to-end have a continuous wood grain pattern extending from the head end of the casket to the foot end of the casket. Resin impregnated tissue paper is applied to the settable material prior to molding. The resin impregnated tissue paper conforms to the wood grain and conceals the wood chips.

Abstract: In an effort at increasing the quality and styling of the casket interior, and in particular the casket cap dish assembly, and in an effort to increase the quality of the memorialization aspect of the casket and memorial service, the present invention was devised which comprises, in one aspect, a dish assembly for installation into an underside of a casket cap, the assembly comprising a foam dish including an opening therethrough, and a cap panel installed in the opening in the foam dish. In a second aspect, the dish assembly comprises a dish including an opening therethrough and a cap panel removably installed in the opening in the dish, the cap panel being personalized to the deceased and being removable from the dish by a loved one of the deceased subsequent to a memorial service for the deceased and retained by the loved one as a memorial to the deceased.

Abstract: A method of making a one-piece, unitary lid for a casket comprises providing tooling configured to produce a casket lid having a crown, a pie, a rim and a header, providing settable material, preferably a mixture of wood chips and binder, from which to mold the lid, molding the settable material with the tooling and permitting the settable material to set. The tooling transmits a wood grain pattern into the settable material. The wood grain pattern of the lid is continuous when viewed rotated 180° about an axis perpendicular to the plane defined by the lid, located medially of the transverse extent of the lid and coinciding with the header end edge of the lid. Thus two such caps placed end-to-end have a continuous wood grain pattern extending from the head end of the casket to the foot end of the casket. Resin impregnated tissue paper is applied to the settable material prior to molding. The resin impregnated tissue paper conforms to the wood grain and conceals the wood chips.

Abstract: In an effort at increasing the quality and styling of the casket interior, and in particular the casket cap dish assembly, and in an effort to increase the quality of the memorialization aspect of the casket and memorial service, the present invention was devised which comprises, in one aspect, a dish assembly for installation into an underside of a casket cap, the assembly comprising a foam dish including an opening therethrough, and a cap panel installed in the opening in the foam dish. In a second aspect, the dish assembly comprises a dish including an opening therethrough and a cap panel removably installed in the opening in the dish, the cap panel being personalized to the deceased and being removable from the dish by a loved one of the deceased subsequent to a memorial service for the deceased and retained by the loved one as a memorial to the deceased.

Abstract: A method for constructing a body containment section of a casket.