Patent ID: 7559724

Claim:
A portable and adjustable trench support for placement within a trench for shoring up the opposed walls of the trench, comprising: a pair of support plates with each support plate including an interior side, an opposite trench wall side, an upper end, an opposite lower end, an upper flat surface adjacent the upper end, and the interior sides facing each other when trench support is placed within the trench; a plurality of support arm guides with at least two support arm guides spaced from each other and mounted to the interior side of one support plate and at least two support arm guides spaced from each other and mounted to the interior side of the other support plate; each support arm guide extending from the upper end to the lower end of the respective support plate and including a channel coequal in length with the support arm guide; a plurality of l-shaped offsets with at least four offsets laterally extending from each support arm guide and being adjoined thereto; each l-shaped offset including an offset slot that registers with the channel of the respective support arm guide; a plurality of larger diameter support arms slidably mountable to the support arm guides of the support plates; a plurality of smaller diameter support arms slidably mountable to the support arm guides of the support plates; the smaller diameter support arms being telescopically receivable within the respective larger diameter support arms and selectively linearly adjustable with respect thereto for obtaining the appropriate spacing of the support plates within the trench so that the support plates abut the opposed walls of the trench; and whereupon the larger diameter support arms are slidably disposed within the channels of the support arm guides of one support plate and then further slid into the desired l-shaped offsets and the smaller diameter support arms are slidably disposed within the channels of the support arms guides of the other support plate and then further slid into the desired l-shaped offsets whereby each larger diameter support arm is positioned opposite one smaller diameter support arm thereby allowing each smaller diameter support arm to be telescopically received within and then secured to the corresponding larger diameter support arm resulting in the support plates being spaced from each other a distance commensurate with the width of the trench so that the support plates are positioned adjacent to the walls of the trench when the trench support is placed within the trench.