Patent ID: 7207147

Claim:
A beam for constructing a vertical wall structure having at least a first set of superposed blocks in substantial alignment, with each block including a front face, a rear face spaced from said front face by a distance defining the depth of the block, a top surface, a bottom surface spaced from said top surface by a distance defining the height of the block, and side surfaces spaced from each other by a distance defining the width of the block, with each side surface including a finger with opposing sides; the beam comprising: an elongated web; a first pair of laterally extending ribs constructed and arranged to operatively connect the first set of superposed blocks together in substantial vertical alignment as the ribs receive and frictionally grip the opposing sides of the fingers of the superposed blocks therebetween; and a second pair of laterally extending ribs constructed and arranged to operatively connect a second set of superposed blocks together in substantial vertical alignment as the ribs receive and frictionally grip the opposing sides of the fingers of the second set of superposed blocks therebetween.