Apparatus and method for the dry removal of labels from containers made of plastics

An apparatus that is suitable for removing labels from containers made of plastics comprising:

• a tubular stator and a rotor defining an annular chamber that extends axially between an inlet and an outlet for the containers;
• on said rotor there being mounted dragging and thrusting members for rotationally dragging and thrusting the containers inside said annular chamber;
• wherein on said tubular stator there are first scraping tools provided with first tip ends, and in that said dragging and thrusting members include second scraping tools provided with second tip ends that are distributed along one or more helical paths, said first tip ends and said second tip ends defining respectively in said annular chamber a first punctiform scraping surface and a second punctiform scraping surface for said containers, in which a distance between said first punctiform scraping surface and said second punctiform scraping surface keeps substantially constant in a longitudinal direction and in a circumferential direction with respect to said rotor;
• wherein the first scraping tools are oriented substantially in a radial direction towards the rotor and each of the second scraping tools extends along a plane that is orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of said rotor, each of said second tools having a respective axis that is tilted by an angle with respect to a straight line that is orthogonal to said longitudinal axis and points in a rotation direction of said rotor;
• and
• wherein the first punctiform scraping surface is a discontinuous scraping surface defined by the first tip ends of the first scraping tools, and the second punctiform scraping surface is a discontinuous scraping surface defined by the second tip ends of the second scraping tools.