Patent Publication Number: US-2018044875-A1

Title: Wall trench panel and system

Description:
This application claims priority and herein incorporates by reference U.S. provisional patent application 62/375,073, filed Aug. 15, 2016. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Excavation is known to be hazardous and collapses in trench supports take many lives each year. Even though we have made great strides improving trench safety, it remains very dangerous. A trench is defined as a narrow excavation that is deeper than it is wide. Trenching done in an emergency situation can be particularly dangerous because of need to quickly support the trench during search and rescue operations. 
     There is a need for a simple and easy to use trench wall panel system that allows a user to reinforce and support a trench both for emergency rescues and for routine trench construction. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A wall trench panel and system utilizes extruded aluminum panels having ribs and a socket edge and a ball edge which allows them to slide together and create a continuous trench wall that may be stabilized using traditional jack and wale techniques. To allow the trench to make a corner, a knuckle is provided which accepts both ball and socket edges of the panels to change the direction of the panels. In deep trench situations, panels of different sizes are provide to stager the installation of the panels which provides a continuous trench wall that is very strong and stable which eliminates the necessity of staging the trench in ever smaller portions. 
     Other features and advantages of the instant invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of a shoring panel according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the shoring panel shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a top view of a knuckle according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the knuckle shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of multiple shoring panels connected together in typical use. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of multiple shoring panels connected together and a corner formed by using a knuckle. 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of multiple shoring panels connected together and using a knuckle to provide a corner. 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of multiple shoring panels connected together in a situation showing flexibility in following a non-linear topography. 
         FIG. 9  is a top view of a contained area using a closed wall trench panel and system according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a cut-away side view of a typical closed wall trench panel and system installed in a trench and showing supporting mechanisms. 
         FIG. 11  is a cut-away side view of the closed wall trench panel and system being installed in a deep trench application. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of a closed wall trench panel installation using staggered panels. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is made to the drawings in which reference numerals refer to like elements, and which are intended to show by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. 
     Referring to figures, a trench wall panel and system  100  is shown having an extruded shoring panel  110  which has a socket  120  along one outer edge and a ball  125  along an opposing end. Each shoring panel  110  slides into a corresponding end to form a continuous wall of shoring panels  110  to support the earth  150  to form a trench  170  lined with shoring panels  110 . A plurality of ribs  115  are used to provide structural stability and rigidity to shoring panel  110 . Of course, although shoring panel  110  is shown with two ribs  115 , any number of ribs  115  may be used. In addition to providing additional strength to shoring panel  110 , ribs  115  also act as a guide for construction supports when using a wooden framework for support. 
     In use, any number of shoring panels  110  may be used to provide a trench wall of a desired length as needed. In a use where it is necessary to form a corner, a knuckle  130  is provided to join two shoring panels  110  to form a corner. Knuckle  130  has a pair of knuckle sockets  135  along opposing edges and a pair of knuckle balls  140  at  900  which allows corresponding joining portions (socket  120  and ball  125 ) of shore panels  110  to join at an angle to form the corner. Both shoring panels  110  and knuckles  130  are made of extruded aluminum to provide high strength and light weight. Of course other materials may be used such as, but not limited to, sheet metal, zinc coated metal, etc. or even composite materials as long as the material can be formed with the ribs and connecting structures. 
     Now referring to  FIG. 8 , a top view of shoring panels  110  being placed to follow an irregular trench boundary. This is particularly important in an emergency situation where you need to stabilize a trench collapse to reach and rescue trapped individuals where it may not be possible to carefully place the trench panels. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9 , a top view of trench wall panel and system  100  is shown forming a completely bounded area by using the selected panels and knuckles to form the boundary desired. This may be used in situation where water is an issue. Although shown as a square installation, other configurations are possible using the appropriate number of panels and knuckles as needed. 
       FIGS. 10 and 11  show a typical trenching operation using shoring panels  110  and braced with jacks  160  and wales  165 . The braces may be wood or may be hydraulic jacks depending on the situation encountered and the available resources of the user. In hydric soils, sand, gravel, etc. anything that is somewhat loose or granular, the soil is continually leaking through into the trench delaying rescue and also changing the dynamics of the soil pressures outside the trench and making a secondary collapse more likely. Closed wall trench panel and system  100  prevents the majority of leaking while adding structural strength and unitizes trench  170 . It also speeds up the process of installing trench panels as they simply slide together. You simple place the first panel, stabilize it and then build from there. While prior art methods are adequate under perfect conditions, in real life situations, especially under time critical emergency conditions, closed wall trench panel and system  100  provides a system that works in imperfect real life conditions such as where the trench is curved or sloughed off in an irregular manner. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 12 , a staggered trench wall is shown using two different size panels  110 , and  112 . In this way, a very tall wall may be constructed without having to use the “inverted layer cake” method shown in  FIG. 11 . This is particularly important in emergency situations where having to construct different layers can significantly increase the time taken to construct. The instant method of staggering the size of the panels to provide deep trenches is significantly faster to construct and stabilize the trench. Although two different size panels are shown, other combinations of varying size panels may be used. 
     Although the instant invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art.