Patent ID: 7627966

Claim:
A method of controlling off-fall during a trenching operation of an excavation machine having an excavating assemblage including a boom, stick and bucket, comprising: positioning the machine and operating the excavating assemblage to excavate a trench having opposing first and second sidewalls, each sidewall having an upper edge including an off-fall; positioning the excavating assemblage over the trench to set a trench centerline; horizontally moving the excavating assemblage and positioning the bucket adjacent the off-fall of the first sidewall; providing an initiation signal to an electronic control module to initiate an automatic off-fall control mode; providing position signals indicative of the position of the boom, stick, and bucket to the electronic control module; and after the off-fall control mode has been initiated, providing control signals from the electronic control module for automatically operating the excavating assemblage to move the bucket along the off-fall substantially parallel to the trench centerline to remove or compact the off-fall.