Furnaces – Process
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-05
2002-05-07
Lazarus, Ira S. (Department: 3749)
Furnaces
Process
C027S001000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06382111
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention describes a method to convert ashes or other remains of the cremation (such as bone fragments) into solid, durable objects and/or ornamental products such as composite, coloring and paints.
2. Description of Related Art
Cremation has been used worldwide for many centuries by many societies. The method has been chosen over burial either because of religious reasons or the convenience of reducing a body mass into ashes. The ashes can last indefinitely, primarily because ashes contain inorganic matters, which will never spoil. Traditionally, the method of cremation has been practiced in eastern societies such as among Hindus in India and a large sector of Buddhist followers. The cremation practice is becoming more popular among western countries including the United States in the recent years, and cremation currently accounts for 24% of all final dispositions in the United States.
Cremation is also being used with increasing numbers for deceased pets too.
Traditionally, ashes resulting from cremation have been placed and stored in closed containers, called urns. These ash samples are normally a very small fraction of the cremation residue. As ash, they are very fine powdery materials and can spread readily into dust. As a result if the container is broken or ash is poured out accidentally, it will be very difficult if not impossible to collect them back into the container. Consequently, the containers of ash samples are normally kept in a secure place to avoid spillage. These secure locations are normally out of view.
The need exists for a method to convert remains to a solid, durable object that not only has spiritual and moral values, but it is appealing to the eyes and can have also functional and decorative properties.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a method to convert ashes or other remains of the cremation (such as bone fragments) into solid and durable objects such as glass, ceramics, clay like objects or embedded into polymers such as epoxies, metals or variety of cementaceous materials such as Portland cement or plaster. Another objective of the present invention is to formulate paints and colors that in part contain ash, and are used to create paintings, drawings and colorings. It should be noted that for the sake of simplicity, the word solid from now on covers all the claimed products of glass, ceramics, clay-based materials, all composites, colors, paints, and shades that contain cremation ash. These solid objects can be made to be functional such as decorative jewelry, glass containers, ceramics or clay wares, or non-functional, such as abstractive shaped art forms and paintings. It must be clear that the present invention is not limited to any shape and forms of the final product because unlimited shapes and forms can be fabricated. The final product can also be machined into other forms or be framed in the case of paintings.
Additionally, the present invention allows the cremation residue to become an object that not only has spiritual and moral values, but it is appealing to the eyes and can have also functional and decorative properties.
Still is another objective of the present invention to establish a data base for maintaining all the pertaining information about the deceased and the product that was made thereafter.
The residue from the cremation process which is primarily inorganic is used to produce a variety of solid objects including but not limited to glass, ceramics, or a clay based materials, composites and paint and colorings. The inorganic residue may be in part or wholly selected from ashes or bony remains. Both, bottom ash (normally left at the bottom of cremation chamber), or fly ashes,(very fine ash that is transported to the exhaust stack and filtered before being releasing to the outside air) can be used. For glass, ceramics and clay-based products, appropriate additives may be added to the cremation residue to adjust the composition of the mixture in order to produce a durable and stable product. Additives may also be added to impart color or other artifact to the product. In the case of composites, the ash will form the dispersive phase (or particles dispersion phase) and the matrix phase can be selected from variety of organic polymers, or inorganic cementaceous systems such as Portland cement or gypsum, or metallic systems such as aluminum, copper and other metal and alloys. The products fabricated according to the method of the present invention may still undergo other secondary processes such as cutting, grinding, shaping, coloring, etc. before becoming the final products. In another embodiment of the present invention ash is blended with a liquid or multiple of liquids and other solids. The resulting mixture can be used as paints, colorings, or shades to create work of arts such as paintings and alike, which solidify upon drying. Unlimited combinations and shapes can be produced from glass, ceramics, clay-based formulations, and various composites. In general, any shape and form that these solidified materials can take without the addition of ash are possible. A computer database may be employed to maintain all the pertaining information related to product and the deceased.
It is also possible to blend the residue with at least one liquid to form a functional, decorative product comprising at least one of a paint, colorant, shade, glazing, or combination thereof.
The residue may be defined by at least one of ashes and bone fragments. In other words, the residue may be selected from the group comprising ashes, bone fragments, and combinations thereof.
It is also possible to encapsulate the cremation residue in various materials instead of blending as described above. Accordingly the encapsulant can be selected from one or multiple of glass, ceramics, polymers, metals and paints.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed toward the production of solid objects, which are durable, and stable from the cremation residues of humans and animals.
Material objects in accordance with the present invention are made by solidifying the cremation residues, which are primarily or entirely inorganic. Amount of cremation ash needed for processing depends on the size, and number of finished products. Normally, small quantities are needed for single item products, from few grams to as much as several hundred grams. Since large quantities of residue remains after the cremation, large or multitude of products can be fabricated without any material shortage. The residue is normally heterogeneous; and it can be homogenized by conventional techniques such as milling, grinding and other homogenizing equipment. The residue may also contain organics and elemental carbon, which is formed by Pyrolysis of organic matters. If the carbon content is high, it may interfere with the solidification by glass melting or ceramic processing. For example if total carbon content of glass formulation is more than several wt %, foaming or reduction of glass may occur at high temperatures. If foaming or reduction become a problem, then the sample may be subjected to an initial heating in air or pure oxygen to oxidize the residual carbon. This is simply accomplished by placing the sample in an appropriate container such as a ceramic dish and heated in a furnace to about 600-1000° C. for approximately several minutes to several hours depending on the temperature. The higher temperature requires shorter residence time. After heating the oxidized sample is removed from the furnace and is allowed to cool down. A post grinding may be required to finely divide the ash into a powdery material. The fine powder forms the precursor to all of the products fabricated according to the methods of the present invention. The term cremation ash will be used interchangeably with cremation residue throughout the text from now on. Cremation ash is normally rich in oxides of calcium and phosphors forming the mineral apatite Ca
5
(OH, F)(PO
4
Lazarus Ira S.
Liniak, Berenato, Longacre & White LLC
Rinehart K. B.
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