Panel retention type joint

Claim 1

A PANEL AND JOINT ASSEMBLY COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF PANELS BEING ARRANGED IN THE SAME PLANE AND HAVING PARALLEL SIDES BEING SPACED FROM ONE ANOTHER TO FOR A GAP THEREBETWEEN; A PLURALITY OF GENERALLY U-SHAPED RIGID CHANELS EACH HAVING A BASE WITH A PAIR OF PARALLEL SPACED APART SIDES EXTENDING IN THE SAME DIRECTION FROM THE BASE, THE CHANNELS BEING DISPOSED WITHIN THE GAP BETWEEN ADJACENT PANELS AND ARRANGED WITH THE BASE IN ABUTTING RELATION WITH THE CHANNEL SIDES EXTENDING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS, RESPECTIVE SIDES OF EACH CHANNEL BEING SECURED TO THE INTERNAL END SURFACES OF THE SIDES OF SAID PANEL; EACH CHANNEL HAVING AN ELONGATED CENTRALLY-LOCATED SEMI-CIRCULAR GROOVE EXTENDING IN THE SAME LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION AS THE CHANNEL SUCH THAT AN ELONGATED CIRCULAR OPENING IS FORMED BETWEEN ABUTTING BASES ON THE CHANNELS; A CYLINDRICAL SUPPORT EXTENDING WITHIN SAID MATING WITH THE CIRCULAR OPENING BETWEEN ABUTTING CHANNELS; THE CHANNELS INCLUDING A PAIR OF ELONGATED SPACED RIDES BEING DISPOSED ON THE CHANNEL BASES ONE EACH OF OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CHANNEL GROOVE AND EXTENDING PARALLEL TO THE CHANNEL SIDES, EACH CHANNEL INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF SPACED SLOTS THROUGH THE CHANNEL SIDES ADJACENT TO THE CHANNEL BASE AND TO THE CHANNEL RIDGES WITH SAID SLOTS IN EACH CHANNEL BEING DIRECTLY OPPOSITE ONE ANOTHER; A PLURALITY OF RESILIENT U-SHAPED CLIPS HAVING A BASE AND A PAIR OF PARALLEL FLAT SIDES EXTENDING IN THE SAME DIRECTION FROM THE BASE, AN ELONGATED GROOVE IN EACH SIDE OF EACH CLIP EXTENDING PARALLEL TO THE CLIP BASE AND OPENING TOWARDS EACH OTHER, THE CLIP BEING INSERTED INTO ABUTTING CHANNELS WITH ONE CLIP SIDE EXTENDING RESPECTIVELY INTO OPPOSED CHANNEL SLOTS, WHEREBY THE CLIPS SIDES MATE WITH THE CHANNEL BASE AND THE CHANNEL RIDGES.