Patent ID: 6154955
Filing Date: 2000-12-05
Classification: B23P,Y10T

Abstract:
A machine for removing deckboards from pallets, each pallet having spaced parallel stringers, upper and lower deckboards secured to the stringers and spaced a Predetermined distance apart, the deckboards being disposed perpendicular to the stringers and defining open-ended spaces between the stringers, the machine comprising:a table assembly that establishes a working surface upon which a pallet can be placed;a pair of parallel, elongate frame members spaced from the working surface and lying in a plane generally parallel to the working surface, the frame members having first and second ends and capable of being inserted into the spaces between adjacent stringers;a paddle included as part of each of the frame members, the paddle having a width less than that of the distance between the deckboards on either side of a deckboard to be removed, the paddle being disposed within the first and second ends of the frame members such that the paddle is movable from a retracted position where the paddle is disposed within the frame member to an extended position where the paddle moves outside the frame member and contacts the deckboard so as to move it relative to the stringers; andmeans to move the paddles from the retracted position to the extended position.