Grave opening and closing machine

In combination, a wheeled vehicle including a plurality of peripheral portions, a generally horizontal support beam pivotally supported from said vehicle with one end thereof projecting outwardly of one peripheral portion of said vehicle and vertical oscillation of said one end of said beam relative to said vehicle, first motor means connected between said beam and said vehicle for effecting selected angular displacement of said beam relative to said vehicle, an upstanding support structure pivotally supported at its upper end from said one end of said beam for angular displacement relative thereto about a horizontal axis extending transversely of said beam, a downwardly opening clam-type digging head carried by the lower end of said support structure, second motor means connected between said beam and said support structure for angularly displacing the latter relative to the former, said support structure including a pair of parallel elongated and independently longitudinally extendible upstanding support members suitably rigidly interconnected at their upper end portions for swinging in unison about said horizontal transverse axis and with said support members spaced apart in a direction paralleling said axis, said head including an elongated mounting portion paralleling the axis of oscillation of said support structure relative to said one end of said beam, said mounting portion including opposite side longitudinal marginal portions having depending digging blades supported therefrom for angular displacement about axes extending longitudinally of said longitudinal marginal portions, motor means operatively connected between said depending blades for pivoting the latter toward downwardly convergent positions, the lower end portions of said support members being pivotally anchored to longitudinally spaced midportions of said mounting portion of said head for oscillation relative thereto by pivot connections defining axes of oscillation extending transversely of said mounting portion and disposed at generally right angles relative to said support members and said horizontal transverse axis, one of said pivot connections including means operative to allow shifting of the corresponding axis relative to and longitudinally of said head.