Patent ID: 8783675

Claim:
A pallet separating apparatus adapted to expand a stack of pallets in the vertical direction such that each pallet is separated a short distance from adjoining pallets and then restack the pallets, the apparatus comprising: a plurality of lifting members, each lifting member comprising a pair of carriage members, an extended bar member, a mounting flange and at least two horizontally-oriented insertion arm members, and at least one post member positioned on the side of the carriage member; a plurality of spacing link members each comprising an elongated extension slot, said spacing link members being retained on said post members of adjoining lifting members; a first array of said lifting members disposed in a first frame assembly and a second array of said lifting members disposed in a second frame assembly; lateral translation means for reciprocating said first and second frames toward and away from each other; separating means for raising and lowering each array of lifting members such that vertically adjoining lifting members are separated; whereby with a stack of pallets positioned between said first and second frame assemblies, said frame assemblies are laterally moved together such that said insertion arm members of said lifting members are inserted into or between individual pallets in said stack, the uppermost set of opposing lifting members are raised, thereby raising the uppermost pallet from the stack and separating the uppermost sets of opposing lifting members from the next adjacent set of opposing lifting members, continuing to raise said uppermost set of lifting members until said extension slots of said link members abut the post members of the next lower adjacent set of opposing lifting members, such that the next adjacent set of opposing lifting members and the next adjoining pallet are raised, and continuing this operation until all said pallets in said stack are separated from adjoining pallets, performing a cleaning operation on the separated pallets, lowering the lifting members and pallets to reform the stack, and separating said first and second frame assemblies.