Mechanically fastened appended tabs invisibly secure common edge-abutting wallboard panels to common wood or metal framing members. The fastener appendants are spaced apart tabs extending from the back of and exposed beyond the vertical edges of the wallboard panels so as to be conveniently screw fastened. When screw fastened to common wall framing members, the appended tabs secure the wallboard panels slightly off the framing member front surface to permit offset appendant tabs of abutting wallboard panels to slide between the fastened wallboard panels and the framing members and be engaged by the fastened wallboard panels in a tongue and groove relationship.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to conventional wallboard construction and the 
common practice of supporting prefinished wallboard panels on ordinary 
framing members, such as wood or metal studs and furring runners. 
Prefinished wallboard panels are available from many sources in a wide 
variety of colors and textures, the most common being the vinyl surfaced 
gypsum drywall panels. Various methods are used to secure these 
prefinished panels to ordinary framing members, a preferred practice is to 
secure each sheet perimeter with self-drilling screw fasteners. This 
method holds the panels securely but requires a decorative cover or batten 
strip to conceal the unsightly screw heads along the exposed panel joints. 
A most aesthetically pleasing but more difficult construction method 
utilizes an adhesive to invisibly secure the wallboard panels to ordinary 
wood or metal framing members. This method eliminates the unsightly batten 
strips but elaborate bracing devices are required to temporarily secure 
the panels while the adhesive cures. The adhesive method is desirable for 
the unobstructed joint surface appearance, but the installation is more 
labor intensive and the panels are difficult to remove without damage. 
Many so called "movable" or "demountable" partition systems are available 
which utilize prefinished wallboard panels modified with various fastening 
devices, but all of these systems require unique or specially manufactured 
framing members of more or less elaborate configuration. These special, 
single purpose framing members are not as readily available as 
competitively priced ordinary wood or metal studs and furring and 
expensive special inventories are required for installation and 
maintenance of these special systems. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention there are provided wallboard 
fasteners useful for holding a first wallboard panel to a framing member 
at an end thereof and for joining to a second wallboard panel to be 
installed coplanar with and having an end thereof abutting the held end of 
the first panel so that parts of said fasteners, on installation of the 
second wallboard, contact the first panel, to which said fasteners are not 
joined, and prevent transverse movements of the second panel. Such 
fasteners comprise single pieces of sheet metal each having a 
substantially flat plate portion, a tongue portion extending from the 
plate portion and coplanar therewith, a pair of web portions, one on each 
side of the tongue portion and each extending at a right angle from said 
plate portion and an impaling flange portion extending from each web 
portion in the same direction essentially parallel to and overlying said 
plate portion and opposite to the direction in which the tongue extends so 
that the plate portion may contact the surface of the wallboard panel 
while the impaling flange portion is impaling said panel at an edge 
thereof. Said fasteners include a walled depressed area in the plate and 
tongue portions with a longitudinal slot in the tongue portion, the 
depression being in the direction opposite to that in which the webs 
extend. The fasteners are free of impaling portions extending in the 
direction of the tongue portion and are free of webs extending beyond the 
depression from the tongue and from the plate portions in the direction 
the depression extends from such portions. In preferred embodiments of 
such fasteners the depressed area in the plate and tongue portions is of 
such a depth as to allow the head of a mounting screw passing through the 
slot in said depressed area to be below the surface of the tongue portion 
of the fastener and the depressed area has a substantially flat bottom and 
terminates short of the end of the tongue portion so as to facilitate 
insertion of fasteners impaled on a second wallboard panel behind a 
mounted first wallboard panel as the panels are assembled on a wall. 
It is an object of the invention to provide a mechanical fastener appendant 
which will invisibly secure wallboard panels to ordinary wood or metal 
framing members. 
A particular object of this invention is to provide a building structure of 
the type described wherein fastener appendants coengageably secure 
wallboard panels along abutting joints in a tongue and groove 
relationship. 
A further object of the invention is to provide a building structure of the 
type described wherein the wallboard panels are removably attached to the 
supporting framing members. 
Yet another object of the invention is to provide mechanical fastener 
appendants that may be joined to common wallboard panels just prior to 
installation. 
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the 
drawings and detailed description, wherein the purpose is to disclose a 
preferred embodiment of the invention without placing limitations thereon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to FIG. 1, an impaling fastener appendant 10 is shown formed of a 
unitary integral sheet of metal; such as steel. The appendant 10 is 
comprised of a plate portion 12, a centered tongue portion 14, a pair of 
discrete web portions 16 and 18, each with a wallboard impaling terminal 
penetrant portion 20 and 22 respectively. A longitudinally axially located 
flat bottomed and walled depressed area or indentation 24 is struck across 
plate portion 12 and tongue portion 14 to (a) act as a stiffening rib, (b) 
increase the effective thickness of the tongue 14 and the plate 12 
portions and (c) provide a well for the head of a fastener such as a screw 
or nail. A longitudinally axially located slot 26 or a hole may be 
provided in this depressed or indented portion 24 of the tongue 14 to 
facilitate convenient mechanical fastening. Sides 15 and 17 of tongue 14 
are spaced apart from sides 19 and 21 of web portions 16 and 18, 
respectively so that clearance openings 23 and 25 between the webs and the 
tongue are provided. 
In FIGS. 2 and 3 the fastener appendant 10 has been installed by impalement 
on common wallboard panel 28. These wallboard panels are often comprised 
of a semi-rigid center composition 30, such as gypsum, an outer wrap 32, 
such as paper and a decorative surface cover 34, such as embossed vinyl 
plastic. In practice, the appendants 10 are installed by impalement on 
wallboard panels 28 by placing plate portion 12 in firm flat contact with 
the back surface 36 of wallboard panel 28, as shown in FIG. 3 to cause 
pointed penetrants 20 and 22 to impale wallboard panel 28 at the 
approximate midpoint of its end surface 38. The appendant penetration is 
easily accomplished by striking web portions 16 and 18 alternately. 
For proper appendant location on each wallboard panel, it has been found to 
be convenient to pencil or scribe spaced lines on the back side of each 
wallboard panel along marginal edges at quarter points. This spaces the 
lines two, four, and six feet distant from the top end of a common eight 
foot high panel. The appendants are then installed by impalement slightly 
above the scribed lines on the left marginal edge, and the appendants are 
installed slightly below the scribed lines on the right marginal edge of 
each wallboard panel. This appendant layout is necessary to insure the 
by-pass of opposing appendants of abutting wallboard panels when 
vertically erected on the framing members as illustrated in FIG. 4, which 
illustrates a typical wall structure or partition of the type contemplated 
according to the broad concept of the invention. The wall structure 
comprises common sheet metal framing members, including laterally spaced 
apart stud members 40 which have their upper and lower ends frictionally 
retained in rigid channel shaped runners 42 and 44, mounted on ceiling and 
floor, respectively, with open channel sides in confronting relationship 
to receive the respective ends of the studs. 
The wallboard panel erection of the partition in FIG. 4 was begun in a left 
corner (not shown) and is proceeding sequentially to the right. Wallboard 
panels 28a and 28b have been secured to upper and lower channels 42 and 44 
by common drywall screws 46. The exposed screw heads are later concealed 
across the top marginal edge with a common ceiling trim runner (not shown) 
and concealed along the bottom marginal edge with a common baseboard trim 
runner (not shown). Only the abutting vertical edges of the wallboard 
panels are secured with the fastener appendants of this invention. 
Appendant tabs 10R, installed along the right vertical marginal edges of 
wallboard panels 28a and 28b are secured to the vertical stud runners 40 
by common sheet metal screws 50. Offset appendant tabs 10L impaled along 
the left vertical marginal edge of wallboard panel 28b are frictionally 
disposed behind the previously fastened abutting wallboard panel and 
between it and stud 40 in a tongue and groove relationship. 
The sequence of the panel erection is better illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. 
In FIG. 5 the wallboard panel 28b is cut away to better display the 
fastener appendant 10R, which is secured to a common sheet metal stud 40 
by a common self drilling screw 50. Wallboard panel 28b is rigidly held, 
slightly off the framing member front surface 52, creating a slot 54 or 
groove between the back surface of the wallboard panel 28b and stud 40, 
between the appendants 10R for convenient insertion of offset appendant 
tabs 10L of abutting wallboard panel 28c, as illustrated in FIG. 6. It 
should be noted that the metal stud represents only one of the many common 
types of framing members and the use of the appendant fasteners of this 
invention is not limited to framing members of this configuration. On the 
contrary, a unique advantage of the screw or nail fastened appendant is 
its ability to work equally well on any flat surfaced wall framing 
members, wood or metal. While appendant fastener tabs installed by 
impalement on common wallboard panels at the job site give excellent 
results, it is obvious that the appendants of this invention could be 
attached at the wallboard manufacturing plant with an adhesive or other 
suitable means and transported with the panels to the job site. 
Various other modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the 
art without departing from the spirit of my invention and hence, I do not 
wish to be restricted to the specific form shown or uses mentioned, except 
to the extent indicated in the appended claims.