Automated vial hopper and feeder assembly

A method of orienting items from a random configuration to a configuration wherein all items are oriented in the same direction, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a hopper for receiving a plurality of said items in a randomly oriented fashion;
• providing a rotatable singulator, having a series or receptacles, wherein each receptacle receives a single item from said hopper, and wherein each said item is oriented either in an upright or upside down configuration within a receptacle;
• providing a turnstile having a pocket for receiving an item from one of said receptacles;
• transferring one of said items from one of said receptacles to said pocket, so that said item is disposed within said pocket in either a generally upright or generally upside down orientation;
• determining whether said item is in said generally upright orientation or is in said generally upside down configuration;
• rotating said turnstile in one of two directions, based on a determination of whether said item is oriented in a generally upright or generally upside down orientation, so that said turnstile rotates in a first direction if said item is in a generally upright orientation, and said turnstile rotates in a second direction if said item is in a generally upside down configuration;
• releasing said item from said pocket, so that upon release, said item is oriented in a single direction regardless of its orientation within said pocket.