Stacking system and method

A system for stacking a plurality of containers into a stacked group, comprising:

• an orienting screw set including an upper orienting screw disposed above a lower orienting screw;
• an orienting channel axis defined by the orienting screw set;
• the upper orienting screw and the lower orienting screw defining a receiving pocket and a series of orienting pockets distributed axially along the orienting channel axis;
• the receiving pocket configured to receive a container in a vertical orientation from an infeed conveyor;
• the series of orienting pockets configured to translate the container from the vertical orientation to a substantially horizontal orientation as the container is progressed axially through the series of orienting pockets via rotation of the orienting screw set.

An orienting screw set comprising:

• a first orienting screw;
• a second orienting screw;
• an orienting channel defined by the first orienting screw and the second orienting screw;
• a orienting channel axis defined by the orienting channel;
• a first end defining a receiving pocket configured to receive a container;
• wherein the container defines a container axis;
• the receiving pocket configured to receive the container in a vertical orientation such that the container axis in the vertical orientation is substantially perpendicular to the orienting channel axis;
• a second end configured to discharge the container in a substantially horizontal orientation such that the container axis in the horizontal orientation is substantially parallel to the orienting channel axis;
• a series of orienting pockets configured for translating the container from the vertical orientation to the horizontal orientation by rotation of the first and second orienting screws;
• and
• wherein each of the orienting pockets is asymmetrical relative to the orienting channel axis.