Article and method for treating fabrics in a clothes dryer
First Claim
1. An article for controlling build-up of static electricity and for conditioning fabrics within a clothes dryer, comprising:
- a bladder defining a chamber adapted to hold a volume of water, said bladder comprising a moisture-permeable, waterproof material;
a closeable fill spout on said bladder having an opening that permits fluidic communication with said chamber; and
a water-absorbing material contained within said bladder;
a fabric conditioning agent in the form of a plurality of quantities of said conditioning agent, each of said quantities being micro-encapsulated by a time release coating and being impregnated into said water-absorbing material;
whereby, when said bladder is filled with water and inserted into a clothes dryer the conditioning agent of at least some of said quantities is released in the clothes dryer and heat within the clothes dryer produces water vapor within said bladder and permits the water vapor to permeate said material, thereby decreasing the amount of static electricity within the clothes dryer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An article and method are disclosed for controlling the build-up of static electricity within a clothes dryer by adding the article to the dryer along with a load of fabrics to be dried. The article comprises a bladder formed from a waterproof, moisture-permeable material, such as expanded polytetrafluoroethylene. Within the bladder is a sponge or other water-absorbent material. The article releases sufficient moisture during tumbling of the article with the fabrics to prevent the build-up of static electricity on the fabrics. To avoid loss of moisture from the bladder when it is not in use and during the early portions of the dryer cycle, the waterproof material utilized can be one that is moisture-impermeable at room temperature, but that becomes moisture-permeable at the elevated temperatures that exist within the dryer during the later portions of the dryer cycle. The article includes a fill spout for adding water and other fabric conditioning agents to the bladder. Fabric conditioning agents carried by the bladder can also be microencapsulated to provide a timed release of the agents so that fabric conditioning can be provided continuously and over a large number of dryer loads.
61 Citations
14 Claims
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1. An article for controlling build-up of static electricity and for conditioning fabrics within a clothes dryer, comprising:
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a bladder defining a chamber adapted to hold a volume of water, said bladder comprising a moisture-permeable, waterproof material; a closeable fill spout on said bladder having an opening that permits fluidic communication with said chamber; and a water-absorbing material contained within said bladder; a fabric conditioning agent in the form of a plurality of quantities of said conditioning agent, each of said quantities being micro-encapsulated by a time release coating and being impregnated into said water-absorbing material;
whereby, when said bladder is filled with water and inserted into a clothes dryer the conditioning agent of at least some of said quantities is released in the clothes dryer and heat within the clothes dryer produces water vapor within said bladder and permits the water vapor to permeate said material, thereby decreasing the amount of static electricity within the clothes dryer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An anti-static article for controlling build-up of static electricity within a clothes dryer, comprising:
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a bladder defining a chamber adapted to hold a volume of water, said bladder comprising a moisture-permeable, waterproof material; a closeable fill spout on said bladder having an opening that permits fluidic communication with said chamber; and a first water-absorbing material contained within said bladder; a second water absorbing material comprising an absorbent, woven layer between said waterproof material and said first water-absorbing material;
whereby, when said bladder is filled with water and inserted into a clothes dryer water is absorbed by said first water-absorbing material and heat within the clothes dryer produces water vapor within said bladder and permits the water vapor to permeate said waterproof material, thereby decreasing the amount of static electricity within the clothes dryer. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An anti-static article for controlling build-up of static electricity within a clothes dryer, comprising:
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a bladder defining a chamber adapted to hold a volume of water, said bladder comprising a moisture-permeable, waterproof material; a closeable fill spout on said bladder having an opening that permits fluidic communication with said chamber; and a water-absorbing material contained within said bladder; an outer covering over said waterproof material comprising a blend of cotton and synthetic fiber and being capable of holding moisture that has permeated through said waterproof material; whereby, when said bladder is filled with water and inserted into a clothes dryer, heat within the clothes dryer produces water vapor within said bladder and permits the water vapor to permeate said material, thereby decreasing the amount of static electricity within the clothes dryer.
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11. An anti-static article for controlling build-up of static electricity within a clothes dryer, comprising:
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a bladder defining a chamber adapted to hold a volume of water, said bladder comprising a moisture-permeable, waterproof material; a closeable fill spout on said bladder having an opening that permits fluidic communication with the chamber of said bladder; and a water-absorbing material contained within said bladder; whereby, when said bladder is filled with water and inserted into a clothes dryer, heat within the clothes dryer produces water vapor within said bladder and permits the water vapor to permeate said waterproof material, thereby decreasing the amount of static electricity within the clothes dryer, and wherein said bladder has a pair of spaced apart oppositely disposed walls which are joined together at the perimeter thereof, said bladder being separated into plural compartments and each compartment is separated from an adjacent compartment by a vent opening extending through the opposed walls of the bladder whereby air flow through the dryer may pass through said openings.
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12. An article for conditioning fabrics within a clothes dryer, comprising:
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a bladder defining a chamber adapted to hold a volume of liquid, said bladder comprising a vapor-permeable, liquid proof material; a closeable fill spout on said bladder and an opening that permits fluidic communication with said chamber; an absorbent material contained within said bladder for absorbing liquid in said chamber; a fabric conditioning agent, said agent being micro-encapsulated by a time release coating and being impregnated into said absorbent material; said fabric conditioning agent being released by said coating after a predetermined time, said conditioning agent being vaporized by the heat of said dryer and having a vapor particle size small enough to permeate the material of said bladder at a predetermined temperature, whereby said article produces a controlled delivery of said conditioning agent during operation of said dryer.
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13. An article for conditioning fabrics within a clothes dryer, comprising:
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a bladder defining a chamber adapted to hold a volume of liquid, said bladder comprising a vapor-permeable, liquidproof material; a closeable fill spout on said bladder and an opening that permits fluidic communication with said chamber for adding liquid thereto, a plurality of bodies disposed in said chamber, each body containing a fabric conditioning chemical which is released in vapor form at the operating temperature of said dryer, said liquid being vaporized at the operating temperature of said dryer, whereby said article produces a controlled delivery of the vapors of the liquid and the chemical through said vapor-permeable, liquidproof material during operation of the dryer. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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Specification