CREMATORIA

Abstract

A crematorium (10) comprising sequentially interconnected primary (20), secondary (28), plenum (22) and tertiary (24) chambers, the a primary chamber (20) being a combustion chamber shaped and sized to accommodate a human body and comprising one or more burners (30) adapted, in use, to ignite, and sustain the combustion of, a human body placed inside the primary combustion chamber (20); the secondary (28) and tertiary (24) chambers each comprising one or more additional burners (32, 34) adapted, in use, to re-heat flue gasses expelled from the primary chamber (20), and wherein the plenum chamber (22) is located adjacent the primary chamber (20) such that re-heated flue gasses expelled from the secondary chamber (28) heat at least one wall (50) of the primary chamber (20).

Claims

1. A crematorium comprising: sequentially interconnected primary, secondary, plenum and tertiary chambers, the a primary chambers being a combustion chamber shaped and sized to accommodate a human body and comprising one or more burners adapted, in use, to ignite, and sustain the combustion of, a human body placed inside the primary combustion chamber; and wherein the secondary and tertiary chambers each comprising one or more additional burners adapted, in use, to re-heat flue gasses expelled from the primary chamben, and wherein the plenum chamber is located adjacent the primary chamber such that re-heated flue gasses expelled from the secondary chamber heat at least one wall of the primary chamber.

2. The crematorium, wherein the primary and plenum chambers are separated by a dividing wall, which dividing wall is heated by the said re-heated flue gasses.

3. The crematorium of claim 1, wherein the primary chamber is located atop the plenum chamber.

4. The crematorium of claim 1, wherein the tertiary chamber comprises a flue stack.

5. The crematorium of claim 4, wherein the flue stack is detachable.

6. The crematorium of claim 1, wherein any one or more of the primary, secondary, plenum and tertiary chambers are manufactured from, or lined with, a refractory material.

7. The crematorium of claim 1, wherein the primary chamber comprises an entrance doorway, through which, in use, a body to be cremated can be placed inside the primary chamber.

8. The crematorium of claim 7, wherein the entrance doorway is manufactured from, or lined with, a refractory material.

9. The crematorium of claim 7, wherein the entrance doorway is mounted on a lift-assisted hinge or sliding device.

10. The crematorium of claim 1, wherein the primary chamber comprises one or more ash chutes in a base wall thereof, leading to one or more ash collection chambers.

11. The crematorium of claim 10, further comprising an ash drawer within the collection chamber.

12. The crematorium of claim 1, wherein the plenum chamber comprises one or more baffles arranged, in use, to cause the flue gasses to follow a serpentine path therethrough.

13. A mobile crematorium comprising the crematorium of claim 1.

14. The mobile crematorium of claim 13, comprising an outer enclosure, the outer enclosure comprising an ISO bulk transport container.

15. The crematorium of claim 1, wherein any one or more of the primary, secondary, plenum and tertiary chambers comprises a service hatch.

16. The crematorium claim 1, wherein an outlet of one or more of the burners is angled downwardly.

17. The crematorium of claim 1, wherein the primary, secondary, plenum and tertiary chambers are interconnected as a unit.

18. The crematorium of claim 1, wherein the primary and plenum chambers are formed as a first unit, and wherein the secondary and tertiary chambers are formed as a second unit, the first and second units being separable from one another.

19. The crematorium of claim 1, wherein the primary, secondary and plenum chambers are formed as a first unit, and wherein the tertiary chamber is formed as a second unit, the first and second units being separable from one another.

20. The crematorium of claim 18, comprising a second unit and a plurality of first units connectable to the second unit.

Description

[0033] Various embodiments of the invention shall now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0034] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a crematorium in accordance with the invention;

[0035] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the crematorium of FIG. 1 on II-II;

[0036] FIG. 3 is a cutaway view of the crematorium of FIG. 1 showing its internal configuration;

[0037] FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are schematic perspective, side and plan views, respectively, of a first type of modular crematorium in accordance with the invention; and

[0038] FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are schematic perspective, side and plan views, respectively, of a second type of modular crematorium in accordance with the invention.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a crematorium 10 in accordance with the invention comprises a main body portion 12 that is mounted within an external enclosure 14 in the form, in the illustrated embodiment, of a bulk transport ISO container.

[0040] In FIG. 1 of the drawings, one of the sidewalls of the outer enclosure 14 has been removed for clarity. The ISO container 14 is accessible via two sets of doors 16 located at opposite ends of the container, and it can be seen in FIG. 1 in particular, that when the doors 16 have been opened, a narrow passageway is formed down one side of the container 14, which passageway 18 enables personnel to gain access to the crematorium 10 for servicing, maintenance and repair.

[0041] The passageway 18 additionally provides some empty space within the container 14, which enables other items to be transported along with the crematorium 10, for example fuel supplies, flat-packed coffins, etc., as may be required.

[0042] The main body 12 of the crematorium 10 is formed from a number of chambers, namely: a primary combustion chamber 20, which is located above a plenum chamber 22. The plenum chamber 22 connects to a tertiary chamber 24 and the tertiary chamber 24 is vented to atmosphere via a flue stack 26.

[0043] Although not apparent from the drawings, the flue stack 26 is removable for transportation and storage purposes, and can be stowed in the passageway 18 when the crematorium 10 is not in use.

[0044] As can be seen more clearly from FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the crematorium 10 additionally comprises a secondary combustion chamber 28, which interconnects the primary combustion chamber 20, and the plenum chamber 22.

[0045] Each of the primary 20, secondary 28, and tertiary 24 chambers are provided with burner units 30, 32, 34, whose functions shall be described hereinbelow.

[0046] Each of the chambers 20, 22, 24, 28 are lined with refractory materials, such as cast concrete or slabs of refractory ceramics, to withstand the elevated temperatures that they experience, in use. The refractory materials are held within a steel framework 36 to provide a robust construction and to prevent movement of the chambers relative to one another, for example during transportation.

[0047] Referring now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, which shows the main body 12 of the crematorium 10 in section, it can be seen that the primary combustion chamber 20 is formed from sheets of relatively thick refractory material 38, which are held in place by the supporting steel sheet and frame support system 36 mentioned previously.

[0048] The primary combustion chamber 20 is shaped and sized to accommodate a human body although will be appreciated that the dimensions of the primary combustion chamber can be selected to suit various requirements and also to optimise the combustion process as will be readily understood by persons skilled in the art.

[0049] The primary combustion chamber 20 is accessible via a doorway 40, which is also lined with refractory material, which selectively opens and closes one end of the primary combustion chamber 20 to permit a body to be placed inside it. As can be seen from FIG. 3 of the drawings, the doorway 40 is supported on a hinge system comprising gas struts 42 to facilitate lifting and lowering the considerable weight of the door 40 in use.

[0050] The primary combustion chamber 20 comprises a base wall 50, which separates the primary combustion chamber 20 from the plenum chamber 22 below it. The base wall 50 comprises an ash chute 52 that enables ashes that remain in the combustion chamber 20 after cremation, to be brushed, or otherwise fed, into an ash collection drawer 54 below. The ash collection drawer 54 facilitates the removal of the ashes from the primary combustion chamber 20 after each cremation cycle. A service hatch 56 is also provided to facilitate maintenance of the interior of the primary combustion chamber 20.

[0051] The primary combustion chamber 20 is fitted with two primary burners 30, which ignite, and sustain the combustion of, the content of the primary combustion chamber, in use. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the provision of a number of primary burners 30 may be advantageous from the point of view of more evenly distributing the heat and combustion process within the primary combustion chamber 20. The precise configuration of the primary burners is outside the scope of this disclosure, but will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0052] The primary combustion chamber 20 comprises a first outlet 68 through which flue gasses can escape (as indicated by arrow 62) into the secondary combustion chamber 28. The secondary combustion chamber comprises a secondary burner 32, which re-heats the flue gases and the down-angle of the secondary burner 32 is such that it forces the flue gases down inside the secondary chamber 28 and into the plenum chamber 22 located below the primary combustion chamber 20. Thus, the configuration of the secondary burner 32 facilitates the extraction of flue gases from the primary chamber 20 into the plenum chamber 22, via the secondary chamber 28.

[0053] The plenum chamber 22 is also formed from slabs of refractory material so that they can withstand the high temperatures of use. The slabs are arranged to support the base wall 50 of the primary combustion chamber 20, and also to form a series of staggered baffles 64, which cause the flue gases to follow a serpentine pathway (as indicated by arrow 66) through the plenum chamber 22 below the primary combustion chamber 20.

[0054] The provision of baffles 64 serves to increase the dwell time of the flue gases within the plenum chamber 22, thus increasing their time-at-temperature, and thereby improving the neutralisation of the flue gasesas will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0055] The flue gases pass through the plenum chamber 22, following the serpentine path 66 described above, before passing through an internal aperture 68 in one of the baffles 64 and then proceeding in an opposite direction, along an opposite side of the plenum chamber 22 (as indicated by dashed arrow 70), until the flue gases are discharged into the tertiary chamber 24 at the far end of the main body 12.

[0056] The tertiary chamber 24 comprises a tertiary burner 34 located towards its base and angled slightly downwardly, to direct the flue gases along the base of the tertiary chamber 24 before they escape via the flue stack 26, which is in fluid communication therewith.

[0057] It will be appreciated, from the foregoing description, that the crematorium 10 of the invention comprises essentially three chambers, namely the primary combustion chamber 20 in which the body is cremated; a secondary chamber 28 in which the flue gases are re-heated; a plenum chamber 22, through which the flue gases pass and in doing so increase the dwell time of the flue gases at elevated temperature and storing heat also in the base wall 50 of the primary combustion chamber 20; and a tertiary chamber 24 in which the flue gases are re-heated again by the tertiary burner 34 before they escape to atmosphere via the flue 26.

[0058] This particular configuration may be advantageous because the time-at-temperature of the flue gases is greatly increased, thereby increasing the neutralisation efficiency of the system. Further, some of the heat generated by the system, in use, can be preserved in a heat store formed by the various chambers of the crematorium 10.

[0059] Various modular embodiments of the invention are shown now in the remaining drawings.

[0060] Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6 of the drawings, a first type of modular crematorium 100 in accordance with the invention is shown, which comprises a shared, central secondary 102 and tertiary chamber 104 unit 105, to which one or more main body portions 106 can be selectively affixed. The main body portions 106 each comprise a primary combustion chamber 20 as previously described, which sits atop a plenum chamber 22. The primary combustion chamber 20 has an outlet tube 60 that connects to an inlet 108 of the secondary chamber 102. The secondary chamber 102 has an outlet 110 that connects to an inlet tube 112 of the plenum chamber 22. Thus, flue gasses flow, as indicated by arrow 62, from the primary combustion chamber 20, into the plenum chamber 22, via the secondary chamber 102.

[0061] The plenum chamber 22 has baffles (not shown) that cause the flow of flue gasses, as indicated by arrow 66, to flow through the plenum chamber 22 to a plenum outlet tube 114 that connects to an inlet 116 of the tertiary chamber 104. The flue stack 26 provides an outlet for the twice-reheated flue gasses, as indicate by arrow 116.

[0062] Referring now to FIGS. 7 to 9 of the drawings, a second type of modular crematorium 120 in accordance with the invention is shown, which comprises a shared, central tertiary chamber 104 formed as a unit 105, to which one or more main body portions 106 can be selectively affixed. The main body portions 106, in this embodiment, each comprise a primary combustion chamber 20 as previously described, which sits atop a plenum chamber 22 and adjacent to a secondary chamber 122.

[0063] The primary combustion chamber 20 has an outlet 60 connecting an inlet of the secondary chamber 122. The secondary chamber 122 has an outlet 130 that connects to an inlet of the plenum chamber 22. Thus, flue gasses flow, as indicated by arrow 62, from the primary combustion chamber 20, into the plenum chamber 22, via the secondary chamber 122.

[0064] The plenum chamber 22 has baffles (not shown) that cause the flow of flue gasses, as indicated by arrow 66, to flow through the plenum chamber 22 to a plenum outlet tube 124 that connects to an inlet 126 of the tertiary chamber 124. The flue stack 26 provides an outlet for the twice-reheated flue gasses, as indicated by arrow 116.

[0065] The modular systems described above enable a central unit 105 to be used in conjunction with one or more main body portions 106, 126, thus forming a group. The main advantages of such a configuration are rationalisation, flexibility and expandability: the system 100, 120 can be adapted or modified to suit different requirements from a kit of parts.

[0066] Further, by grouping the central secondary 102 and tertiary chamber 104 as a unit 105, or simply by sharing a tertiary chamber 124, the burners (not shown) of these chambers can be operated independently of the burners of the primary combustion chambers 20, thus potentially leading to shorter cycle times for the main body portions 106, which now only need to partially re-heated between cycles.

[0067] The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiments, in particular in terms of the shape, materials and dimensions (whether stated explicitly, or implicit), which embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention.