Memorial Urn With Removable Ash Vessel and 3D Printed Face Retainer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ash-retaining urns lack personalization and versatility, typically being simple jars or vases, failing to provide a meaningful and customizable way to memorialize loved ones, especially in terms of appearance and display options.
Innovation Solution
A memorial urn with an external configuration resembling the loved one's facial features, featuring a removable ash-containing vessel that can be customized and mounted on a wall or headstone, utilizing 3-D printing technology and software like 'Face Gen' to create a personalized and removable ash container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional simple jars or vases are used for ash retention, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the personalization and emotional connection are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The urn is divided into two separate components: an external retainer featuring a 3-D printed facial representation of the loved one, and an internal ash-containing vessel. This segmentation allows the external shell to be highly personalized through 3-D printing while keeping the internal functional component simple and removable for easy manufacture and assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The external retainer uses 3-D printing technology to create a precise copy or representation of the loved one's facial features. This copying process enables high levels of personalization and emotional connection by literally creating a tangible likeness of the departed person, transforming the urn from a generic container to a personalized memorial.
2Ease of operation
If the ash-containing vessel is permanently fixed in the external retainer, then the structure is stable, but the ease of removal for special occasions is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The connection between the ash-containing vessel and external retainer is designed to be dynamic rather than static. A removable connection mechanism allows the ash vessel to be securely held during normal display (maintaining structural stability) but easily removed when needed for special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries, providing both stability and ease of operation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the external retainer is designed with a flat rear surface for wall mounting, then the display versatility is improved, but the 3-D facial feature representation may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the urn into external retainer and internal ash vessel, the design allows the external retainer to have a flat rear surface for wall mounting while maintaining a 3-D facial representation on the front. The segmentation separates the mounting function (flat rear surface) from the representational function (3-D facial features), allowing both requirements to be satisfied simultaneously without compromise.
Data Source
AI summary
A memorial urn is composed of a first external retainer bearing an image which reminds the urn owner of her/his loved one, and a second ash-containing vessel that can be removably secured with a complementarily shaped opening in the flat rear surface of the retainer. The ash-containing vessel is shaped as or, alternatively, has a religious symbol etched/painted thereon, of the urn owner's choosing.