Patent ID: 6032351
Filing Date: 2000-03-07
Classification: B23P,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
A machine for removing stringers from pallets, each pallet having spaced parallel stringers, upper and lower deckboards secured to the stringers on opposite sides thereof, 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 carrier assembly spaced from the working surface, the carrier assembly including:a pair of spaced, parallel, elongate cutter rails having upper and lower surfaces and first and second ends, the cutter rails being spaced a distance greater than the width of a stringer and adapted to receive a stringer therebetween, the first end of each cutter rail being tapered for insertion into a selected space between the stringers;a cutting assembly connected to the cutter rails toward the first ends thereof, the cutting assembly including a rotatable upper disk and a rotatable lower disk connected to each cutter rail, the upper and lower disks each having a sharpened edge and outer and inner surfaces, the upper disks being spaced side-by-side such that the edges thereof are in contact with each other and the lower disks being spaced side-by-side such that the edges thereof are in contact with each other, the upper disks lying in a plane generally parallel with the upper surface of the cutter rails and the lower disks lying in a plane generally parallel with the lower surface of the cutter rails, the upper and lower disks being supported such that the distance therebetween does not change during a stringer removal operation; andmeans to separate the deckboards from the stringer as the upper and lower disks advance through the pallet; andmeans for moving the pallet and the carrier assembly toward and away from each other.