Inclined-roller destacker

A method for destacking a mass of articles, the method comprising:

• (a) inducting articles into a first zone of rollers rotating in a conveying direction and inclined at an inclination angle that allows top articles carried piggy-back atop bottom articles in contact with the rollers to slide down the articles in contact with the rollers;
• (b) propelling the bottom articles in contact with the rotating rollers up the inclined rollers to an upper end of the first zone along with any top articles still piggy-backed atop the bottom articles;
• (c) selectively activating rollers in a second zone of rollers extending in the conveying direction from the upper end of the first zone to propel articles received from the first zone in the conveying direction;
• (d) selectively deactivating the rollers in the second zone to make them freely rotatable to allow the bottom articles to slide back down the deactivated rollers in the second zone in a direction opposite to the conveying direction and into contact with the roller at the upper end of the first zone to propel the bottom article contacting the roller in the conveying direction and allowing piggy-backed top articles to fall off the bottom article as it reverses direction back into the first zone;
• (e) selectively reactivating the rollers in the second zone of rollers to propel the bottom articles received from the first zone in the conveying direction.

A destacking conveyor comprising:

• a roller-top conveyor belt advancing in a conveying direction along a carryway inclined at an inclination angle from a lower infeed end to an upper discharge end wherein the roller-top conveyor belt includes a plurality of article-supporting rollers extending through the thickness of the roller-top conveyor belt;
• a first stationary bearing surface underlying the roller-top conveyor belt in a first zone extending in the conveying direction from the lower infeed end to an upper end of the first zone, wherein the rollers passing through the first zone roll on the first stationary bearing surface to propel articles atop the rollers along the roller-top conveyor belt in the conveying direction;
• a second bearing surface underlying the roller-top conveyor belt in a second zone extending in the conveying direction from the upper end of the first zone to an upper end of the second zone, wherein the second bearing surface is movable from a first position in contact with the rollers passing through the second zone to a second position out of contact with the rollers;
• an actuator for selectively activating the rollers passing through the second zone to rotate in the conveying direction by moving the second bearing surface to the first position and selectively deactivating the rollers passing through the second zone to rotate freely about their axes by moving the second bearing surface to the second position.

A destacking conveyor comprising:

• a lower infeed end and an opposite upper discharge end;
• a set of rollers arranged to form an inclined conveying plane extending in a conveying direction between the lower infeed end and the upper discharge end at an inclination angle, wherein the rollers are rotatable about axes perpendicular to the conveying direction, wherein the rollers are continuously activated to rotate in the conveying direction;
• a lift attached to the upper discharge end to change the inclination angle of the conveying plane;
• wherein the lift changes the inclination angle rapidly back and forth to help jostle piggy-backed top articles conveyed atop the rollers off bottom articles.