Handle orienter for buckets

摘要

An apparatus and method for denesting and orienting a stack of handled receptacles. Each receptacle comprises a substantially open container having a base, an upper portion through which access to the open container is provided, and a pivotable handle connected to the upper portion. The orienter, which does not require that the receptacle have an open container, includes a support for holding the receptacle and a mechanism for retaining the pivotable handle of the receptacle. A mechanism is also provided for moving the receptacle off the support such that the receptacle hangs by its handle on the handle retainer. The orienter also includes a mechanism for releasing the handle from the handle retainer so that the receptacle is oriented in a predetermined position with respect to the apparatus. The denester of the present invention may be used to separate the first receptacle from a stack of receptacles so that each receptacle may be oriented by the orienter. The denester includes a mechanism for retaining all receptacles except the first receptacle on the support. The moving mechanism which moves the first receptacle off the support of the orienter of the present invention also serves as a mechanism to separate the first receptacle from the other receptacles in the stack. In this manner, each receptacle is oriented in the same orientation with respect to the apparatus for further processing, such as filling, lidding or labelling the receptacle.