Feed conveyor system including an unscrambling and aligning portion

A feed system adapted for feeding articles to a sortation system, said feed system, comprising:

• at least one feed conveyor upstream of the sortation system feeding articles to said sortation system, said feed conveyor comprising a plurality of side rails extending from an initial portion of said feed conveyor to a terminal portion thereof;
• said side rails being spaced apart a substantially constant distance from said initial portion to said terminal portion providing a footprint that is substantially the footprint of a transport conveyor of said sortation system;
• a conveying surface between said side rails, wherein said conveying surface includes an article-unscrambling portion;
• said unscrambling portion comprising a plurality of tapered rollers mounted between said side rails, said tapered rollers varying in diameter from one diameter at one end thereof to a larger diameter at an opposite end thereof;
• wherein said tapered rollers rotate about substantially horizontal axes.

A feed system adapted for feeding articles to a sortation system, said feed system, comprising:

• at least one feed conveyor upstream of the sortation system for feeding articles to said sortation system, said feed conveyor comprising a plurality of side rails extending from an initial portion of said feed conveyor to a terminal portion thereof;
• said side rails being apart substantially constant distance from said initial portion to said terminal portion providing a footprint that is substantially the footprint of a transport conveyor of said sortation system;
• a conveying surface between said side rails, wherein said conveying surface includes an article-unscrambling portion;
• said unscrambling portion comprising a plurality of tapered rollers mounted between said side rails, said tapered rollers varying in diameter from one diameter at one end thereof to a larger diameter at an opposite end thereof;
• said tapered rollers arranged in a single lane between said side rails.

A feed system adapted for feeding articles to a sortation system, said feed system, comprising:

• at least one feed conveyor upstream of the sortation system feeding articles to said sortation system, said feed conveyor comprising a plurality of side rails extending from an initial portion of said feed conveyor to a terminal portion thereof;
• said side rails being spaced apart a substantially constant distance from said initial portion to said terminal portion providing a footprint that is substantially the footprint of a transport conveyor of said sortation system;
• a conveying surface between said side rails, wherein said conveying surface includes at least one article transporting portion and at least one article-unscrambling portion, said portions being in tandem;
• said unscrambling portion comprising a plurality of tapered rollers mounted between said side rails, said tapered rollers varying in diameter from one diameter at one end thereof to a larger diameter at an opposite end thereof.