Apparatus for mechanically removing circumferentially complete sheets from containers

Apparatus for relieving a container, which has a substantially cylindrical external surface, of a cover sheet that has an internal surface adjacent to and withdrawable from the external surface of the container, comprising means for withdrawing at least a portion of the internal surface of the cover sheet away from a portion of the external surface of the container to thus establish a clearance between said portions of the internal and external surfaces;

• means for severing the cover sheet in a region of the portion of the internal surface that has been withdrawn, said severing means comprising a cutting edge that is inclined relative to an axis of the cylindrical external surface of the container and comprising a distancing element adjacent said cutting edge;
• and means for establishing a relative movement of the container with the sheet thereon and the severing means, said means for establishing including means for moving said severing means in a predetermined direction in substantial parallelism with the axis of the cylindrical external surface of the container and with the distancing element located ahead of said cutting edge, as viewed in said direction, and extending into a clearance between the external and internal surfaces.