Bailing apparatus with handle orienter

1. A bailing apparatus comprising

a bailer adapted to couple a handle having a shaft and a lug to a container and

a bailer feeder including a handle supplier adapted to supply a handle without a predetermined orientation, an infeed device arranged to feed a handle with a predetermined orientation to the bailer, and handle orienter means for orienting the handle received from the handle supplier without the predetermined orientation to cause the handle to be delivered to the infeed device with the predetermined orientation so that the shaft is perpendicular to a shaft orientation axis and the lug is adapted to be coupled to the container by the bailer and extends away from the shaft.

2. The bailing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the handle orienter means includes a lug orienter and a shaft orienter, the lug orienter is arranged to orient a pair of lugs that are included in each handle for attachment to a container and coupled to opposite ends of a shaft included in the handle so that the lugs extend downwardly from the shaft upon delivery of the handle to the shaft orienter by the lug orienter, and the shaft orienter is arranged to orient the shaft of each handle so that the shaft is perpendicular to the shaft orientation axis along which the shaft orienter moves each handle toward the infeed device.

3. The bailing apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the lug orienter includes a sequencer and a picker, the sequencer is arranged to move groups of handles received from the handle supplier in sequence into communication with the picker, the picker is arranged to pick up handles from whichever group is in communication with the picker and to lay down the picked-up handles onto a belt included in the shaft orienter so that the lugs of the handles placed on the belt extend downwardly.

4. The bailing apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the shaft orienter includes a deck and a belt coupled to the deck and arranged to move the handles positioned thereon by the lug orienter toward the infeed device, the deck includes first and second side walls that are spaced apart from and parallel to one another, the deck is formed to include a diverging notch diverging away from the first side wall to the second side wall, and, when the belt moves the handles toward the infeed device, the first side wall is adapted to engage a first of the lugs of each handle and the diverging notch is adapted to receive a second of the lugs of each handle to guide the second lug toward the second side wall to cause the shafts of the handles to become perpendicular to the shaft orientation axis.

5. The bailing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the handle orienter means includes a compartment rotator and a plurality of compartments adapted to receive handles from the handle supplier and spaced circumferentially about a compartment rotation axis for rotation about the compartment rotation axis by the compartment rotator.

6. The bailing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the handle orienter means includes a belt, a wheel arranged to rotate about a wheel rotation axis, and a plurality of handle couplers coupled to the wheel and spaced circumferentially about the wheel rotation axis to couple to the handles and release the handles onto the belt.

7. The bailing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the handle orienter means includes a side wall and a belt and is formed to include a diverging notch, the belt is arranged to move handles positioned thereon toward the infeed device, the diverging notch diverges away from the side wall, and, when the belt moves the handles toward the infeed device, the side wall is adapted to engage a first lug of each handle and the diverging notch is adapted to receive and engage a second lug of each handle to cause a shaft of each handle to become perpendicular to the shaft orientation axis along which the belt moves the handles toward the infeed device.

8. A bailing apparatus comprising

a bailer adapted to couple handles to containers and

a bailer feeder including a handle supplier adapted to supply handles without a predetermined orientation, an infeed device arranged to feed handles with the predetermined orientation to the bailer, and handle orienter means for orienting handles received from the handle supplier without the predetermined orientation to cause the handles to be delivered to the infeed device with the predetermined orientation in which shafts included in the handles are perpendicular to a shaft orientation axis and lugs included in the handles and adapted to be coupled to the containers by the bailer extend away from the shafts

wherein the handle orienter means includes a lug orienter and a shaft orienter, the lug orienter is arranged to orient a pair of lugs that are included in each handle for attachment to a container and coupled to opposite ends of a shaft included in the handle so that the lugs extend downwardly from the shaft upon delivery of the handle to the shaft orienter by the lug orienter, and the shaft orienter is arranged to orient the shaft of each handle so that the shaft is perpendicular to the shaft orientation axis along which the shaft orienter moves each handle toward the infeed device

wherein the lug orienter includes a sequencer and a picker, the sequencer is arranged to move groups of handles received from the handle supplier in sequence into communication with the picker, the picker is arranged to pick up handles from whichever group is in communication with the picker and to lay down the picked-up handles onto a belt included in the shaft orienter so that the lugs of the handles placed on the belt extend downwardly

wherein the sequencer includes a bin and a bin shuttler, the bin is formed to include a plurality of compartments adapted to receive handles from the handle supplier and a compartment rotator, the picker includes a rotatable wheel, a plurality of handle couplers coupled to the wheel, and a wheel rotator arranged to rotate the wheel and the handle couplers coupled thereto about a wheel rotation axis, the bin shuttler is arranged to move the bin along a shuttle axis toward the wheel to a transfer position and away from the wheel to a retracted position, the wheel is positioned to rotate about the wheel rotation axis in an access opening formed in the bin allowing the handle couplers to pass through the access opening to pick up handles from one of the compartments and lay down the picked-up handles onto the belt of the shaft orienter when the bin is positioned in the transfer position, and the wheel is positioned outside the access opening allowing the compartment rotator to rotate the compartments about a compartment rotation axis when the bin is positioned in the retracted position.

9. The bailing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the handle orienter means includes a controller coupled to the bin shuttler and the compartment rotator to coordinate movement of the bin between the transfer and refracted positions and rotation of the compartments.