Ground-working tooth and method

Claim 1

IN AN EXCAVATING TOOTH COMPRISING A WEDGE-SHAPED POINT DEFINING A DIGGING EDGE AT THE FORWARD END, AND A POINT HOLDER, SAID POINT BEING EQUIPPED WITH A GENERALLY WEDGE-SHAPED SOCKET OPENING THEREINTO FROM THE REAR END THEREOF FOR MOUNTING THE POINT ON THE HOLDER BY MOVEMENT OF SAID POINT ALONG A PATH DEFINING THE AXIS OF THE THRUST COMPONENT OF A FORCE APPLIED TO SAID POINT, SAID THRUST COMPONENT AXIS EXTENDING PERPENDICULARLY TO THE AXIS OF THE BEAM COMPONENT OF SAID FORCE, SAID SOCKET AND HOLDER EACH HAVING CONFRONTING FORWARDLY CONVERGENT UPPER AND LOWER WALLS DEFINING THE WEDGE SHAPES THEREOF, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: (A) UPPER AND LOWER BEAM BEARING SURFACES CONSTITUTING A PAIR OF SURFACES IN EACH OF SAID POINT AND HOLDER WITH EACH BEAM BEARING SURFACE INTERSECTING ITS ASSOCIATED CONVERGENT WALL AND LOCATED RESPECTIVELY AT THE APEX OF SAID SOCKET AND THE FORWARD END OF SAID HOLDER, (I) SAID SURFACES BEING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID THRUST AXIS AND WITH SAID THRUST AXIS LYING BETWEEN THE SURFACES OF EACH PAIR, (II) THE SPACING BETWEEN THE SOCKET SURFACES BEING GREATER THAN THE SPACING BETWEENT THE HOLDER SURFACES, AND (III) WITH THE CONVERGENT WALLS OF SAID SOCKET AT LEAST ADJACENT SAID SOCKET BEAM BEARING SURFACES BEING ALWAYS SPACED FROM THE CORRESPONDING CONFRONTING WALLS OF SAID HOLDER WHEREBY SAID POINT IS ADAPTED TO ROCK LIMITEDLY ON SAID HOLDER TO SELECTIVELY BRING CORRESPONDING BEAM BEARING SURFACES OF SAID SOCKET AND HOLDER INTO CONTACT, AND (B) A SEPARATE SURFACE ON EACH OF SAID POINT AND HOLDER FOR PRIMARILY TRANSMITTING THE THRUST COMPONENT OF SAID FORCE.