Cooperative graveyard system

Abstract

The present invention rationalizes interment of ashes and visitation, and allows a visitor to visit a deceased person in a more natural form. The present invention comprises: an underground facility 109 having a plurality of ash interment chambers; a deceased person database for recording information relating to the ashes stored in the respective ash interment chambers; an aboveground facility 101 that accommodates a plurality of visitors; a monitor 103 provided to the aboveground facility, the monitor 103 displaying information in an image; a user interface for receiving input from a visitor; and a control unit for reading information pertaining to a specific deceased person from the deceased person database and outputting the information to the monitor 103 on the basis of information inputted from the user interface.

Description

Community Grave System

[0001] The present invention relates to a communal grave system that includes an above-ground facility for accommodating multiple worshippers and an underground facility with multiple ossuaries.

[0002] In recent years, the space available for use as cemeteries in urban areas has been limited, and the small communal cemeteries attached to traditional temples have already reached saturation point, and it is not easy to locate new ones. Furthermore, while large-scale cemeteries are being developed in the suburbs of cities, many of them are located far from the city center and lack convenience.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a cemetery facility that can be installed in urban areas. This cemetery facility consists of an above-ground facility and an underground facility connected to the above-ground facility. The underground facility is equipped with a columbarium for storing and storing a large number of remains in a storage room and a worship room. Meanwhile, the above-ground facility is a public cemetery or a mausoleum. The columbarium is configured to store a large number of remains in a high-density storage room in racks and is equipped with automatic transport equipment that can automatically transport desired remains between the storage room and the worship room. The underground facility has a hall with a dome-shaped ceiling, and a skylight at the top that allows light to enter from the ground. Furthermore, the underground facility is installed in a nearly vertical underground structure, a nearly horizontal underground structure, or both.

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a technology that enables multiple Internet terminals to access a virtual cemetery server via the Internet, displaying the same tombstone image on each Internet terminal and virtually visiting a common grave. In this technology, a grave visit page sending means searches a customer database and sends a grave visit page to the Internet terminal. A manners content selection page sending means references the manners database and sends a manners content selection page to each Internet terminal with a terminal ID on the cemetery visit customer list. A manners applet sending means sends the corresponding manners applet from the manners database to each Internet terminal and links them to a list of previously sent manner applets. A start request forwarding means forwards a start request to each Internet terminal. A termination request forwarding means forwards a termination request to each Internet terminal. A list deletion means deletes the cemetery visit customer list and the list of previously sent manner applets.

[0005] JP 2003-138785 A JP 2002-251487 A

[0006] In the graveyard facility described in Patent Document 1, multiple worshippers enter a worship room located underground. This worship room has a dome-shaped ceiling with a skylight at its top. The skylight protrudes into an artificial pond located on the ground surface, allowing natural light to enter the worship room through the water surface.

[0007] However, in order to accommodate multiple worshippers, the underground facility would have to be large, which would increase construction costs. In addition, it would be necessary to manage the entrance and exit of worshippers and evacuation methods in case of an emergency, and safety management would also have to be carried out separately, so maintenance costs would not be cheap.

[0008] With the technology described in Patent Document 2, worshippers do not enter underground facilities, but because it is a virtual cemetery, it is not much different from television broadcasts or browsing the Internet, and it does not solve the problems that arise when trying to build a cemetery, inter the remains, or actually worship.

[0009] The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a communal grave system that streamlines interment and worship, and allows worshippers to pay their respects to the deceased in a more natural way.

[0010] (1) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention employs the following means: That is, the common grave system of the present invention is characterized by comprising an underground facility having a plurality of ossuaries, a deceased person database that records information about the remains stored in each of the ossuaries, an above-ground facility that accommodates a plurality of worshippers, a display unit provided in the above-ground facility that displays information as an image, a user interface that accepts input from worshippers, and a control unit that reads information about a specific deceased person from the deceased person database based on information input from the user interface and outputs the information to the display unit.

[0011] In this way, having multiple ossuaries allows for the storage of a large number of remains, and visitors can view information about the deceased person they are paying homage to on the display unit, allowing for a natural visit to the cemetery.

[0012] (2) The common grave system of the present invention is also characterized by having a plurality of the above-ground facilities and the display unit provided in each of the above-ground facilities.

[0013] In this way, multiple ground facilities are provided, and each ground facility is equipped with a display unit, so that different deceased persons can visit the grounds at the same time at each ground facility.

[0014] (3) Furthermore, in the communal grave system of the present invention, the underground facility is characterized by being sterilized.

[0015] In this way, the underground facility is sterilized and can be kept clean at all times.

[0016] The communal grave system of the present invention has multiple ossuaries, making it possible to store a large number of remains, and visitors can view information about the deceased on a display, allowing for a natural visit to the cemetery. This makes it possible to visit multiple deceased people in succession in an above-ground facility located in a place with limited space.

[0017] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the community grave system according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the underground facilities of the community grave system according to this embodiment. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the community grave system according to this embodiment. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation when making a worship visit in the community grave system according to this embodiment.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the common grave system according to this embodiment. In FIG. 1, the common grave system 100 according to this embodiment is composed of multiple above-ground facilities 101 and an office 107 that manages data. Each above-ground facility 101 accommodates multiple worshippers in a worship area 102. Each above-ground facility 101 also has a monitor 103 that displays information about a specific deceased person, such as an image of the deceased's portrait, posthumous Buddhist name, and date of death. Each above-ground facility 101 also has a rest area 105 where worshippers can take a break.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the underground facility of the communal grave system according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, an underground facility 109 containing multiple ossuaries is provided beneath each above-ground facility 101. This underground facility 109 is composed of multiple ossuaries 110 and a transmission passage 111. The multiple ossuaries 110 are divided into categories such as luxury areas, standard areas, and public areas. The luxury areas are larger than the other areas and are configured to accommodate not only remains but also personal belongings of the deceased and to be decorated. The standard areas are large enough to accommodate at least one urn. The public areas are configured to be used for so-called unclaimed remains or when it is difficult to identify the deceased due to multiple disaster victims.

[0020] The transmission path 111 is used when transporting urns, personal belongings, etc. It may be wide enough for a person to pass through, or it may be configured as an automated rack warehouse so that urns can be transported automatically.

[0021] The underground facility 109 is subjected to sterilization treatment. For this sterilization treatment, methods such as ultraviolet sterilization, which kills microorganisms by irradiating ultraviolet rays, and formaldehyde disinfection, which sprays formaldehyde, can be used.

[0022] Although FIGS. 1 and 2 show a case where there are three ground facilities 101, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the community grave system according to this embodiment. This community grave system stores information about the deceased in a deceased person database 10. This information includes image data of a memorial portrait, data indicating the deceased's name and posthumous Buddhist name, and data indicating the deceased's characteristics, such as their background, hobbies, and special skills. The user interface 12 includes an operation panel and a screen, allowing worshippers to input information necessary to retrieve the deceased's information. The communication interface 14 is an interface for wireless or wired information communication. It can be connected to a worshipper's smartphone or tablet to input information for retrieving the deceased's information from the deceased person database 10, or to retrieve the deceased's information from the deceased person database 10 and output it to the worshipper's smartphone or tablet.

[0024] The display unit 16 is comprised of a liquid crystal panel display and a projector, and displays information read from the deceased person database 10. It is possible to display a large portrait of the deceased, posthumous Buddhist name, etc. for a large number of visitors. The control unit 18 controls these electrical components.

[0025] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the communal grave system according to this embodiment. First, the worshipper operates the user interface 12 to access the deceased person database 10 (step S1). Alternatively, the worshipper may access the deceased person database 10 from a smartphone or tablet owned by the worshipper via the communication interface 14. When the control unit 18 detects access from the user interface 12 or the communication interface 14, it performs login authentication (step S2). Next, it determines whether authentication is successful (step S3). If authentication is unsuccessful, it displays an error message (step S4). If authentication is successful, it reads specific information from the deceased person database 10 and outputs it to the display unit 16 (step S5). The display unit 16 displays, for example, a portrait of the deceased, the deceased's name, posthumous Buddhist name, and other information. This allows the worshipper to pay their respects and offer prayers for the deceased. After worshipping, the worshipper logs out. It determines whether the worshipper has logged out (step S6). If the worshipper has not logged out, this determination is repeated. On the other hand, if the user logs out, the communal grave system of this embodiment transitions to its initial state (step S7) and waits for input from other worshippers, allowing other worshippers to worship the deceased.

[0026] The communal grave system of this embodiment has multiple ossuaries, making it possible to store a large number of remains, and visitors can view information about the deceased on the display, allowing for a natural visit to the cemetery. This makes it possible to visit multiple deceased people in succession in an above-ground facility located in a place with limited space.

[0027] 10 Deceased person database 12 User interface 14 Communication interface 16 Display unit 18 Control unit 100 Community grave system 101 Aboveground facility 102 Worship area 103 Monitor 105 Rest area 107 Office 109 Underground facility 110 Ossuary 111 Transmission passage

Claims

1. An underground facility having a plurality of columbaria, a deceased person database that records information regarding the remains stored in each of the columbaria, a ground facility that accommodates a plurality of worshippers, a display unit provided in the ground facility that displays information as images, a user interface that receives inputs from the worshippers, and a control unit that reads out information of a specific deceased person from the deceased person database and outputs it to the display unit based on the information input from the user interface. A joint cemetery system characterized by comprising these components.

2. The joint cemetery system according to claim 1, characterized by comprising a plurality of the above-mentioned ground facilities and the display units respectively provided in each of the ground facilities.

3. The joint cemetery system according to claim 1, characterized in that the underground facility is subjected to aseptic treatment.

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