Side cutter apparatus for an excavating machine

A side cutter apparatus for an excavating machine of the type having a plurality of spaced rotating digging wheels mounted on a common shaft of a frame, each wheel having a pair of spaced sidewalls and a plurality of buckets mounted therebetween, and having frame rails partially extending into the spaces between the sidewalls of adjacent digging wheels;

• which comprises a base plate affixed to the periphery of a cut-away section of a sidewall adjacent to the open space between said sidewall and that of the adjacent wheel, a pivotal side cutter formed by a pair of essentially parallel front and back panels, said back panel disposed in said cut-away section and being pivotally mounted at its lower end so as to pivot away from its respective sidewall and into said open space, said front panel being pivotally mounted at its lower end on a common axis with said back panel so as to be pivotally movable therewith, said front panel being disposed radially outward from said back panel with respects to said common shaft of said digging wheels, a cutting tooth affixed to an upper portion of said front panel adjacent to the said open space and being disposed at an angle so as to extend into said open space, a roller rotatably mounted on said front panel on an axis extending into a vertical space between said panels so as to dispose said roller directly adjacent to said open space, resilient means for providing pivotal movement of said pivotal side cutter into said open space;
• means for limiting said pivotal movement of said pivotal side cutter into said open space;
• means for urging said pivotal side cutter into a closed position inside a bucket of said digging wheel;
• and means for maintaining said pivotal side cutter in said closed position thereby allowing said pivotal side cutter to clear said frame of said excavating machine as the digging wheels rotate about said common shaft.