Patent ID: 11879225
Assignee: ONE PASS INNOVATORS, LLC
Field: Civil engineering (Other fields)
Classification: CPC E | IPC E

Claim 0:
1. A flexible in-ground shield, comprising:
a first wall disposed on a first side of the flexible in-ground shield;
a second wall disposed on a second side of the flexible in-ground shield;
a third wall disposed on a third side of the flexible in-ground shield and coupled to the first and second walls to define a trough extending from a top end to a bottom end of the flexible in-ground shield;
a plurality of shoring members extending between the first wall and the second wall; and
a plurality of pivoting couplers, each pivoting coupler pivotably coupling an end of one of the shoring members to one of either the first and second walls, respectively, to allow the first wall and the second wall to pivot relative to the third wall;
wherein the plurality of pivoting couplers are at least one of a hinge joint, a ball and socket joint, a condyloid joint, or a saddle joint;
and wherein the flexible in-ground shield is structurally configured to be coupled to a trencher during trenching and to direct fill material longitudinally from the top end of the in-ground shield into a trench formed by the trencher.