Lid remover

Apparatus for removing from a container a lid having an axis of rotation comprising:

• first and second operating members each including juxtaposed handle elements at one end thereof having first opposed surfaces and associated jaw elements at the other end thereof having second opposed surfaces generally diverging in a direction away from said handle elements;
• pivot means joining said first and second operating members intermediate their ends permitting relative rotation thereof between an open position at which said handle elements are spaced apart and a closed position at which said handle elements are in a substantially contiguous relationship;
• a substantially flat rigid plate fixed to one of said operating members and lying in a plane parallel to and proximate with a plane containing said jaw elements, said plate being engageable with an upper surface of the lid to be removed for positioning said jaw elements so that they lie in the plane of the lid;
• and
• an elongated resilient element fixed at one end to one of said operating members and forming a loop in a region defined between said jaw elements and having a free end extending between said handle elements, said loop adapted to encircle the outer peripheral surface of the lid, such that as the free end of said resilient element is drawn between said handle elements in a direction away from the container lid, the loop engages the outer peripheral surface of the container lid and draws the lid firmly against said resilient element proximate to said opposed surfaces whereby relative rotary displacement of said handle elements from said open position to said closed position draws said first opposed surfaces into engagement with said element and subsequent rotation of said handle elements as a unit in a direction about the axis of rotation of the container lid results in loosening and removal of the lid from the container.