Structural supports for mounting sheet metal panels

Claim 1

A UNITARY STRUCTURAL SUSTAINER FOR THE MOUNTING THEREON OF A THIN GAUGE SHEET METAL PANEL, SAID SUSTAINER COMPRISING A STRUCTURAL METAL SHAPE HAVING A CROSS-SECTIONAL CONFIGURATION IMPARTING STRENGTH AND RIGIDITY THERETO COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF FLAT ELEMENTS WITH CONTIGUOUS ELEMENTS THEREOF ANGULARLY DISPOSED EACH TO THE OTHER, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID ELEMENTS HAVING A PLANAR METAL PANEL MOUNTING FACE, SAID FACE HAVING PROVIDED THEREIN A PLURALITY OF SPACED MOUNTING APERTURES EXTENDING ENTIRELY THROUGH SAID MOUNTING FACE AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A SUITABLE FASTENER AND HAVING A FREE MARGINAL EDGE INTEGRAL WITH SAID FACE, EACH OF SAID APERTURES HAVING EMBOSSMENT MEANS ADJACENT TO AND INTEGRAL WITH SAID FACE PROJECTING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM TO AN EXTENT GREATER THAN THE THICKNESS OF THE SHEET METAL PANEL TO BE MOUNTED THEREON, SAID EMBOSSMENT MEANS HAVING A STRIKING SURFACE ADAPTED TO DEFORM AN AREA OF A SHEET METAL PANEL COINCIDENT WITH AN ADJACENT APERTURE PLACED ON CONTACT THEREWITH UPON THE APPLICATION OF A SUITABLE FORCE TO AN AREA OF EXPOSED FACE OF A SHEET METAL PANEL OVERLYING SAID EMBOSSMENT AND SAID APERTURE, AND BEING SUFFICIENTLY STRONG TO RESIST DEFORMATION BY SAID FORCE.