GB2230413A

GB2230413A - Building elements

Info

Publication number: GB2230413A
Application number: GB9008859A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Terence David Breverton; Brian Peter Jordan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-04-20
Filing date: 1990-04-20
Publication date: 1990-10-24
Also published as: GB8908996D0; GB9008859D0

Abstract

A building element comprises a container 10 composed of two polygonal sections 12 interconnected by a waist section 13. A plurality of such containers can be interlocked in a horizontal plane and/or stacked upon one another to form a decorative feature, wherein configurated projections 20 on the base walls 19 of some of the containers engage lips 11 surrounding the open tops of other containers. The waist section can be offset from a centre line connecting the two sections 12, or can be disposed generally symmetrically with respect to that centre line. The sections 12 can be hexagonal, octagonal or dodecagonal in shape. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: Building Elements This invention relates to building elements in the form of containers.

According to the present invention, there is provided a building element in the form of a container having an open top, the container comprising (as viewed in plan) two polygonal sections which are connected together at a waist section which is narrower than the width of the polygonal sections.

The waist section can be elongate, and can also be laterally offset from a centre line joining the polygonal sections with a side wall which is coplanar with respective side walls of the polygonal sections. Alternatively, the waist section can be disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to said centre line.

Preferably, a base wall of the container has formations for interlocking engagement with a lip extending around the open top of a similar building element, these formations for example being in the form of projections depending frown the base wall.

A base wall of the container can be provided with drainage holes. Alternatively, the base wall can be unperforated, and a perforated partition can be located above the base wall. This partition can rest upon formations which extend from the base wall and/or side walls of the container.

Advantageously, the container is formed as a closed box (preferably by a rotation moulding process), and the partition is formed by a lid which is subsequently removed from the closed box to create said open top.

Desirably, side walls of the container taper inwardly in a downward direction, to enable the building element to be stacked with other similar elements, for example for transportation and/or storage.

The polygonal sections are preferably in the form of regular polygons, and can be e.g. of hexagonal, octagonal or dodecagonal shape.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a building element according to the present invention; Figures 2 and 3 are respectively top and bottom plan views of the element shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a section taken along the line IV-IV in Figure 3; Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the element shown in Figures 1 to 4; Figure 6 is a perspective view showing several such elements stacked together; Figure 7 is a plan view of a second embodiment of a building element according to the present invention; and Figures 8 to 11 are perspective views of further embodiments of the building element, also according to the present invention.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 5, the building element shown therein comprises a container 10 having an open top which is surrounded by a lip 11. The container 10 is composed of two end sections 12 each of which takes the form of a regular polygon (as viewed in plan), in this case a regular hexagon. The sections 12 are interconnected by a relatively narrow, elongate waist section 13 which is laterally offset from a line joining the centres of the sections 12 and which has a side wall 14 coplanar with respective side walls 15 of those sections. An opposite side wall 16 of the section 13 co-operates with adjacent side walls 17 of the sections 12 to define a part-hexagonal recesses 18 in one side of the container 10. A base wall 19 of the container has configurated projections 20 depending therefrom, the p-urpose of which will be described later.

These projections co-operate with internal side walls of the container to form an internal ledge 21 (see Figure 5) extending substantially all the way around the base wall 19.

The container 10 is primarily designed to receive plants, either as pot plants in their own containers or planted into a compost which fills the interior of the container.

To this end, the base wall 19 can incorporate drainage holes (not shown): these may be produced at the manufacturing stage or their position can simply be marked on the base wall for a purchaser to drill or punch out, if desired. Alternatively, the base wall 19 can be left unperforated and a perforated partition 22 (see Figure 5) can be located above the base wall to support the plant pot or the compost, as the case may be. Under these circumstances, the resultant space between the base wall 19 and the partition 22 can be used as a water reservoir, with wicking elements (not shown) being lead through the perforations in the partition 22 to provide a self-watering system.

The illustrated building element can be made from any suitable~material, for example a cementitious material such as concrete or reconstituted stone. It is preferred, however, that the element is made from plastics material.

In the case where the element is relatively small (such as for containing herbs on a windowsill), it can be produced by a blow moulding process. For larger scale elements, however, a rotation moulding process can be employed. In the latter case, there is produced in the first instance a box-like structure wherein the open top of the container is closed off by an integral lid. This lid can then be cut away and used as the aforementioned partition 22 after suitable perforations have been formed therein.

In use, a plurality of the building elements can be assembled together to form a decorative feature. For example, the elements can be arranged in a horizontal plane with the sections 12 on some elements locating in the recesses 18 on other elements, and/or with other containers being arranged back-to-back. Alternatively or additionally, the elements can be assembled in staggered, stacked relationship (for example as depicted in Figure 6) to form a wall or similar structure. In the latter case, the configurated projections 20 on the base of one element interlock with the lips 11 of the element below to prevent relative longitudinal and lateral movement between the two elements.It will be seen from Figure 3 that the projections 20 are in fact separated by slots 23 which receive the lips 11 of the elements below: these slots are arranged in such a way that the element can be positioned on the element below in a variety of different relative positions and orientations. For added versatility, for example to finish off a run of walling in a neat manner, a further type of building element can be provided (not shown) which comprises a single hexagonal section only, similar to the sections 12.

If desired, the interior of the container 10 can be divided into several compartments by means of one or more partitions 24, for example as depicted in broken lines in Figure 2. These partitions can be formed as an integral part of the container, but are preferably designed as removable inserts. As shown in Figure 4, side walls of the container taper inwardly in a downward direction: this enables a plurality of building elements to be stacked together one within another for transportation and storage purposes Figure 7 shows a variation of the building element wherein the waist section 13 is of regular hexagonal form (as viewed in plan) and projects from the side walls 15 of the sections 12. This creates further part-hexagonal recesses 25 in the sides of the container 10 which can receive other building elements in a variety of different orientations.

Figure 8 shows a further variation in which the waist section 13 is disposed generally symmetrically with respect to the centre line between the two sections 12. A pair of part-hexagonal recesses 26 are thus defined on either side of the container 10, which can again receive other building elements in a variety of different orientations.

Figure 9 shows a building element which is generally similar to that depicted in Figure 8, except that the sections 12 are of regular octagonal shape as viewed in plan, and the recesses 26 are of part-octagonal shape also.

In a variation of this (not shown), the waist section 13 is laterally offset from the centre line between the sections 12, so that one of its side walls is coplanar with respective side walls of the sections 12. This variation therefore has the same general appearance as that depicted in Figure 1, except that the sections 12 are octagonal rather than hexagonal in shape.

Figure 10 shows a further variation of the Figure 9 embodiment, wherein the waist section 13 is not of elongate configuration, so that the sections 12 adjoin each other and are effectively joined together along a common side.

Although not specifically illustrated, there is in practice a small, short waist section 13 between the sections 12 to facilitate extraction of the element from the mould and also to assist in stacking of one element within another.

In this particular construction, the container has triangular recesses 27 in its opposite sides: in a still further variation (not shown), one of these recesses is omitted so that a side wall of the section 13 is coplanar with adjacent side walls of the sections 12.

Figure 11 shows another building element which is generally similar to that illustrated in Figure 8, except that the sections 12 take the form of a regular dodecagon, as viewed in plan. In a variation of this (not shown), the waist section 13 is laterally offset from a centre line between the two sections 12 so that one of its side walls is coplanar with adjacent side walls of the sections 12.

The geometry of the containers shown in Figures 9 and 11 is such as to enable right-angle turns to be made in an assembly of the elements.

The-building elements have been described above as being primarily for containing plants. However, they can be put to other uses as well: for example, the elements can contain water for use as a water garden feature, with waterfalls being created between elements on different levels. As a completely different usage, the elements can be employed as a play element for children, enabling interesting constructions to be made.

As mentioned above, the elements can be made from a variety of materials. They can also have a variety of surface finishes, both in texture and in surface relief.

In the embodiments described above, the lip 11 is plain and is substantially the same thickness as the side walls of the container 10. However, in a modified arrangement (not shown), the lip is formed as a turned-over edge.

Alternatively, the lip can be made thicker than the side walls, but formed as a separate component which is subsequently attached to the remainder of the container.

Claims

Claims:

1. A building element in the form of a container having an open top, the container comprising (as viewed in plan) two polygonal sections which are connected together at a waist section which is narrower than the width of the polygonal sections.

2. A building element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the waist section is elongate.

3. A building element as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the waist section is laterally offset from a centre line connecting the polygonal sections.

4. A building element as claimed in claim 3, wherein the laterally offset waist section has a side wall which is coplanar with respective side walls of the polygonal sections.

5. A building element as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the waist section is disposed substantially symmetrically with respect to a centre line connecting the polygonal sections.

6. A building element as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a base wall of the container has formations for interlocking engagement with a lip extending around the open top of a similar building element.

7. A building element as claimed in claim 6, wherein said formations are in the form of projections depending from the base wall.

8. A building element as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a base wall of the container is provided with drainage holes.

9. A building element as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a perforated partition is located above and spaced from the base wall.

10. A building element as claimed in claim 9, wherein the partition rests upon formations which extend from the base wall and/or from side walls of the container.

11. A building element as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the container is formed as a closed box, and the partition is formed by a lid which is subsequently removed from the closed box to create said open top.

12. A building element as claimed in claim 11, wherein the closed box is formed by a rotation moulding process.

13. A building element as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein side walls of the container taper inwardly in a downward direction to enable the building element to be stacked with other similar elements.

14. A building element as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the polygonal sections are each in the form of a regular polygon.

15. A building element as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the polygonal sections are of hexagonal shape.

16. A building element as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the polygonal sections are of octagonal shape.

17. A building element as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the polygonal sections are of dodecagonal shape.

18. A building element substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 or any one of Figures 7 to 11 of the accompanying drawings.