Structural element for corner construction

Claim 1

IN A MAIN WALL AND ASSOCIATED PARTITIONING WALL ASSEMBLY WHICH DEFINES A CORNER BETWEEN THE PARTITIONING WALL AND THE MAIN WALL FROM WHICH THE PARTITIONING WALL EXTENDS SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULARLY, SAID MAIN WALL INCLUDING A TOP PLATE, A LOWER SILL, STUD MEMBERS INTERCONNECTING THE SILL AND PLATE AND WALL PANELS EXTENDING ACROSS THE SPACE BETWEEN THE SILL AND PLATE, AND SAID PARTIONING WALL INCLUDING A PARTITIONING SILL AND A PARTITIONING PLATE WITH WALL PANELS EXTENDING THEREBETWEEN, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A UNITARY SHEET METAL MEMBER HAVING A BASE PORTION ATTACHED AT ITS TOP END TO THE TOP PLATE OF SAID MAIN WALL AND AT ITS LOWER END TO THE LOWER SILL OF SAID MAIN WALL, SAID BASE PORTION BEING DIMENSIONED TO HAVE A LENGTH GREATER THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE BOTTOM OF THE TOP PLATE AND THE TOP OF THE SILL BUT LESS THAN THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TOP OF THE TOP PLATE AND THE BOTTOM OF THE SILL, A BENT FLANGE PORTION EXTENDING FORWARDLY SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULARLY FROM THE UPPER END OF THE BASE PORTION AND OVERLYING SAID PARTITIONING PLATE, A PAIR OF OUTWARDLY FACING SECTIONS FORMED FROM CONTINUATIONS OF THE LATERAL EDGE PORTIONS OF THE BASE PORTION, SAID SECTIONS COMPRISING INNER WALLS IN SUBSTANTIALLY OVERLYING PARALLEL RELATION TO THE BASE PORTION AND JOINED THERETO AT THEIR FORWARD EDGES, A BACK WALL INTEGRAL WITH THE INNER EDGE OF EACH INNER WALL AND EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY FORWARDLY THEREFROM FOR A DISTANCE CORRESPONDING TO THE THICKNESS OF SAID WALL PANELS, AND A PORTION EXTENDING FORWARDLY FROM THE BACK WALL HAVING AN EDGE PORTION TURNED BACKWARDLY AS A SPRING LIP TO FORM A TONGUE AND LIP, AND A PARTITIONING STUD MEMBER, A PAIR OF LONGITUDINALLY ALIGNED GROOVES DEFINED BY SAID PARTITIONING STUD MEMBER, SAID GROOVES BEING SPACED APART A DISTANCE CORRESPNDING TO THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID TONGUE AND LIP PORTIONS, SAID TONGUE AND LIP PORTIONS BEING RECEIVED IN ATTACHING RELATION WITHIN SAID ALIGNED GROOVES IN SAID PARTITIONING STUD MEMBER, SAID GROOVES BEING DIMENSIONED TO HAVE A LENGTH CORRESPONDING TO THE LENGTH OF THE TONGUE AND LIP PORTIONS AND A WIDTH LESS THAN THE NORMAL OVER-ALL WIDTH OF THE TONGUE AND LIP PORTIONS, SAID NORMAL WIDTH CORRESPONDING TO THE WIDTH PRIOR TO INSERTION OF SAID TONGUE AND LIP PORTIONS WITHIN SAID GROOVES.