Casket having exchangeable inner shell and associated methods

A casket comprising:

• an outer shell comprising
• a base,
• a pair of opposing sidewalls extending upwardly from the base,
• a pair of opposing endwalls extending upwardly from the base and connected to the pair of opposing sidewalls,
• at least one lid connected to at least one of the pair of opposing sidewalls and adapted to be moved between an opened position and a closed position, and
• a plurality of rollers carried by the base, the rollers being positioned parallel to at least one of the pair of opposing sidewalls and the pair of opposing endwalls,
• wherein at least one of the opposing sidewalls or opposing endwalls is adapted to be moved between an opened position and a closed position, and
• an inner shell comprising
• a tray member including a base, a pair of opposing ridges extending downwardly from a bottom surface of the base and adapted to space the bottom surface of the base from the earth to allow for burial strap removal during interment, the ridges allowing the bottom surface of the base to slidably cooperate with the plurality of rollers for removable placement of the inner shell in the outer shell, a pair of opposing sidewalls extending upwardly from the base and a pair of opposing endwalls extending upwardly from the base and connected to the pair of opposing sidewalls.

A method for using a casket, the casket comprising an outer shell and an inner shell, the outer shell comprising a base, a pair of opposing sidewalls extending upwardly from the base, a pair of opposing endwalls extending upwardly from the base and connected to the pair of opposing sidewalls, at least one lid connected to at least one of the pair of opposing sidewalls and adapted to be moved between an opened position and a closed position and a plurality of rollers carried by the base, the plurality of rollers being aligned parallel to at least one of the pair of opposing sidewalls and the pair of opposing endwalls, the inner shell comprising a tray member including a base, a pair of opposing ridges extending downwardly from a bottom surface of the base, the ridges adapted to space the bottom surface of the base from the earth to allow for burial strap removal during interment, the ridges allowing the bottom surface of the base to slidably cooperate with the plurality of rollers for removable placement of the inner shell in the outer shell, a pair of opposing sidewalls extending upwardly from the base and a pair of opposing endwalls extending upwardly from the base and connected to the pair of opposing sidewalls, the method comprising:

• opening at least one of the opposing sidewalls or opposing endwalls of the outer shell;
• moving the inner shell between an engaged position with the outer shell and a disengaged position with the outer shell, the inner shell being adapted to slide over the rollers, the engaged position being defined as the inner shell being carried within an interior portion of the outer shell, and the disengaged position being defined as the inner shell being positioned exterior to the outer shell;
• and
• closing a respective at least one of the opposing sidewalls or opposing endwalls of the outer shell.