Dual handle inserting machine

A machine for attaching handles to pairs of containers used to store liquid, each of said handles having a pair of coplanar ring portions formed at opposite ends of an elongate central gripping portion, said machine for use with a conveyor system for transporting said pairs of containers along a container flow path from upstream to downstream comprising:

• a handle reservoir fixture for retaining a stack of said handles adjacent the container flow path;
• a vertically moveable handle insertion fixture located above the container flow path for receiving a handle from said stack, delivering the handle to a pair of said pairs of containers and securing said handle to said pair by snapping said ring portions over lips formed about necks of said pair;
• the handle insertion fixture having a first portion for holding the handle for delivery to the pair of containers, said first portion of the handle insertion fixture having a first hinged guide biased to support said handle along a first side of said handle as it is delivered to said pair of containers, and a second portion, vertically moveable relative to the first portion, for ejecting the handle from the first portion and securing it to said pair of containers;
• and
• a pusher for delivering the handle from said stack to said handle insertion fixture.