Patent ID: 8266790

Claim:
A board removal apparatus for a wooden pallet comprising: a frame; a carriage carried by said frame and comprising a pair of spaced apart tables with a fixed gap therebetween, said carriage being movable between a pallet receiving position and a board removal position, the wooden pallet comprising a plurality of spaced apart stringers and a plurality of boards on top and bottom surfaces thereof, with the wooden pallet being positioned thereon when in the pallet receiving position so that a board to be removed overlies the fixed gap; at least one board removal assembly carried by said frame and comprising at least one push rod and at least one board removal foot pad pivotally coupled thereto, said at least one push rod and said at least one board removal foot pad inserted between adjacent stringers when said carriage is in the board removal position, and said at least one board removal foot pad overlying at least a portion of the board to be removed and overlying at least a portion of the fixed gap between said pair of spaced apart tables; an upper support arm pad coupled to said frame for resisting an upward force of the wooden pallet when said at least one board removal foot pad applies a board removal force for removing the board; and a lower support arm pad pivotally coupled to said frame to provide a counter force on the board to be removed, with the counter force being less than the board removal force for maintaining the board in a substantially horizontal position during removal thereof from the wooden pallet.