Combination excavating and trimming machine

Claim 1

IN A COMBINATION EXCAVATING AND TRIMMING MACHINE INCLUDING A WORK FRAME DISPOSED BETWEEN RESPECTIVE TRANSPORT VEHICLES, THE COMBINATION OF AN EXCAVATING MEANS CARRIED BY THE WORK FRAME AND INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF DIGGING MEMBERS, EACH OF SAID DIGGING MEMBERS HAVING INTEGRAL THEREWITH EARTH CUTTING IMPLEMENTS IN SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS ENGAGEMENT WITH AN EARTH FOUNDATION, WHEN SAID DIGGING MEMBERS ARE PROGRESSIVELY EXCAVATING MATERIAL THEREFROM; A DRIVE MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID EXCAVATING MEANS FOR MOVING SAID EARTH CUTTING IMPLEMENTS OF EACH OF SAID DIGGING MEMBERS PROGRESSIVELY INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH EARTH MATERIAL; AND A TRIMMING MEANS DEPENDING AFT OF THE EXCAVATING MEANS FOR SCRAPING EXCAVATED EARTH MATERIAL FROM THE EARTH FOUNDATION, SAID TRIMMING MEANS BEING DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE MACHINE AND BEING SUBSTANTIALLY COEXTENSIVE IN LENGTH WITH THE WORK FRAME; AND WHEREIN EACH OF SAID DIGGING MEMBERS HAS AN INTEGRAL ENGAGING PORTION THEREOF POSITIONED IN VERTICAL OVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIP AND BEING SUBSTANTIALLY CONTIGUOUSLY TO A PORTION OF THE SAID TRIMMING MEANS; AND SAID TRIMMING MEANS CROSS SECTION CONFIGURATION SUBSTANTIALLY CONFORMING TO THE GEOMETRIC SILHOUETTE OF SAID VERTICALLY OVERLAPPING INTEGRAL ENGAGING PORTION OF EACH SAID DIGGING MEMBERS; AND SAID OVERLAPPING INTEGRAL ENGAGING PORTION OF EACH SAID DIGGING MEMBERS AND SAID OVERLAPPED PORTION OF THE TRIMMING MEANS DEFINE THEREBETWEEN A MEANS FOR CONTAINING EXCAVATED AND TRIMMED EARTH MATERIAL AND A MEANS FOR CONDUCTING THE MATERIALS SO CONTAINED REARWARDLY TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE MACHINE AND OVER THE TRIMMING MEANS TOWARD A POINT OF DISPOSAL OF SAID MATERIALS, WHEREBY THE EXCAVATED AND TRIMMED EARTH MATERIALS ARE SUBJECTED TO MOVEMENT SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSLY BY SAID CONTAINING AND SAID CONDUCTING MEANS.