US 3,999,354 A · Structural member and box beam employing same

Abstract

This structural member is an elongated extruded part having a cross-sectional contour including a stitching leg adapted to be deformed together with the margin of an adjacent panel, so as to connect the member and the panel. The structural member disclosed is channel-shaped and has two stitching legs, one on either side of the channel. Each stitching leg cooperates with a wall of the channel to define a slot for receiving the margin of a panel. After the panel margin is inserted in the slot, the stitching leg and the panel are deformed together to connect the panel and the member. Two extruded structural members may be connected with two panels to form a box beam of hollow rectangular cross-section. Other polygonal cross-sections may be formed by connecting alternate extruded members and panels, with appropriate angles at their interconnections.

Claims6

Dependent claims

An elongated structural member adapted for attachment to a margin of a panel, including:

a. a wall;
b. a flange projecting from said wall;
c. a stitching leg projecting from the flange and opposed to and spaced from the wall, said wall, said flange and said leg defining a slot to receive the margin of the panel;
d. said leg having a tapered portion attached to the flange and thickest at its connection with the flange and tapering from said connection to a marginal portion of uniform thickness;
e. said wall having a elongated recess extending lengthwise of its surface and facing the marginal portion of said leg and adapted to receive deformed portions of the panel and the leg, to grip the panel between the leg and the wall.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Structural member and box beam employing same

Life of this patent

Structural member and box beam employing same

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims6