BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to building materials in general, and specifically to blocks use to construct exterior walls.

Standard concrete blocks for making exterior walls are well known in the art. They are inexpensive and easy to manufacture, and allow for walls to be constructed quickly. However, standard concrete blocks are not very attractive.

People tend to like to have growing plants and other vegetation on their property, and often like to embellish walls with plants. Traditionally, this was done by placing pots or other planters on the tops of walls or in front of walls. This tends to be less than suitable, however, as pots placed on top of walls may blow off in high winds, or otherwise fall from the wall, while those placed in front of walls impede movement past the wall and may even present a tripping hazard.

A potential solution to these problems is to affix a planter to the outer surface of the wall. However, this solution is less than optimal, as it requires considerable effort to ensure the planter remains attached to the wall. It also does not address the impedance of movement past the wall, as such a planter protrudes from the face of the wall.

Another potential solution is found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,818,919 (Oct. 26, 2010), “Botanically Studded Edifice”, in which modified blocks are used to replace selected standard concrete blocks in a wall. These modified blocks have containers which protrude out from the face of the wall, allowing soil to be placed therein. While this approach solves the problem of falling planters, as well as the problem of easily affixing a planter to the wall, it does nothing to alleviate the impedance of movement past the wall.

It is therefore shown that an improved block for building walls is needed, in which the block can be substituted for a standard concrete block and thus be integrated seamlessly into the wall.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a block for constructing a wall which comprises an integrated planter.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a block for constructing a wall which comprises an integrated planter which does not protrude from the face of the wall.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a block for constructing a wall which is sized and dimensioned the same as a standard concrete block.

Other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent from the description that follows.

SUMMARY

The present invention is an improved concrete block used for constructing a wall. The improvement over the standard concrete block is a front wall that angles inward and downward, forming a triangular interior space as well as a forward space. The back and side walls remain configured substantially the same as a standard concrete block. This allows the block of the present invention to be used together with standard concrete blocks to create a wall interspersed with the blocks of the present invention, in any pattern desired. For example, the blocks may be stacked either staggered as in conventional block wall construction, or vertically with one directly on top of the next. Moreover, standard walls are limited to straight walls and ninety degree corners. The improved block of the present invention can readily be used to form rounded corners on curved vertical structures, with plantings located on the inside of the curve or the outside of the curve or both. This is an improvement over the prior art, which requires the blocks to be staggered to allow space for the plant structure because they extend beyond the standard wall.

This design therefore provides two usable spaces: the interior space between the back and front walls provides a container for soil and plant roots; while the space in front of the front wall provides an area for the above ground plant structure (stems, leaves, vines, etc.) Both of these spaces are contained within the footprint of the block. Because the front wall of the block is angled inward and downward, a block stacked on top of another block does not obscure the top opening of the lower block. Thus, soil can be placed into the lower block and plants can be planted in the soil. They will have access to the sun and rain due to the angled front wall of the block placed above it. However, because the front wall of the block is angled inward, the resulting wall does not have protrusions extending out from the face of the wall. This gives a clean finish as well as increasing safety, since there is nothing to impede the movement of persons or objects close to the wall. An additional benefit of the present design is to provide a continuous plant presence on the front of walls, thereby allowing for the organic absorption of solar energy and productive bio usage of architectural space.

It is to be understood that the foregoing and following description of the invention is intended to be illustrative and exemplary rather than restrictive of the invention as claimed. These and other aspects, advantages, and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after review of the entire specification, accompanying figures, and claims incorporated herein.

