Sequential dispensing of laundry additives during automatic machine laundering of fabrics
First Claim
1. A system for providing sequential dispensing of laundry additive materials into several stages of a laundering cycle which occur during an operation of an drum-containing automatic fabric laundering washing machine, which system comprises:
- A) a rigid housing structure positioned within said washing machine in a fixed spatial relationship to said washing machine drum, which housing structure comprises a base and an openable and closable lid for said base;
B) a multi-compartmented insert which can be placed within said housing structure at the beginning of the laundering operation, said insert containing within at least two different compartments thereof at least two different laundry additive materials which are to be added at different times to the contents of the washing machine drum during the laundering cycle;
C) means associated with said rigid housing structure for opening at least a first compartment of the multi-compartmented insert upon closing of the lid of said housing structure when said insert is positioned inside said housing with said opening permitting the dispensing of the material within said opened compartment into said washing machine drum; and
D) means associated with said housing structure and/or with said multi-compartmented insert for opening one or more additional compartments of said insert containing laundry additive material different from that in said previously opened first compartment, said opening of said additional compartments occurring after initiation of the spin cycle of said washing machine operation, and said means for opening said additional compartments being activated by the centrifugal force arising from the spin cycle during the operation of said automatic washing machine;
said opening permitting the dispensing of the material within said additional compartment(s) into said washing machine drum.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are systems, methods, devices and kits for sequentially dispensing laundry additive materials into the drum of an automatic washing machine as that machine is used to carry out a fabric laundering operation. To bring about such dispensing of additives, a lidded housing structure is placed within the drum of an automatic washing machine, a multi-compartmented insert, containing different laundry additives in each compartment, is placed within the lidded housing structure, the lid is closed and the machine is run through the several stages of its laundering cycle. Means are provided to open at least one compartment of the insert upon closing of the housing structure lid, thereby dispensing the contents of that opened compartment into the washing machine drum as wash additive materials. Additional means are also provided to open additional compartments of the insert later in the laundering cycle to dispense contents of those additional compartments into the washing machine drum as rinse additive materials. The means for opening such additional compartments of the insert are activated by centrifugal force arising during the spin cycle of the laundering operation.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A system for providing sequential dispensing of laundry additive materials into several stages of a laundering cycle which occur during an operation of an drum-containing automatic fabric laundering washing machine, which system comprises:
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A) a rigid housing structure positioned within said washing machine in a fixed spatial relationship to said washing machine drum, which housing structure comprises a base and an openable and closable lid for said base; B) a multi-compartmented insert which can be placed within said housing structure at the beginning of the laundering operation, said insert containing within at least two different compartments thereof at least two different laundry additive materials which are to be added at different times to the contents of the washing machine drum during the laundering cycle; C) means associated with said rigid housing structure for opening at least a first compartment of the multi-compartmented insert upon closing of the lid of said housing structure when said insert is positioned inside said housing with said opening permitting the dispensing of the material within said opened compartment into said washing machine drum; and D) means associated with said housing structure and/or with said multi-compartmented insert for opening one or more additional compartments of said insert containing laundry additive material different from that in said previously opened first compartment, said opening of said additional compartments occurring after initiation of the spin cycle of said washing machine operation, and said means for opening said additional compartments being activated by the centrifugal force arising from the spin cycle during the operation of said automatic washing machine;
said opening permitting the dispensing of the material within said additional compartment(s) into said washing machine drum. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15)
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12. A system according to claim 12 wherein, after cessation of the spin cycle, substantially all of the contents of the opened rinse additive compartment(s) of the insert flow into said washing machine drum through holes in said housing structure.
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16. A method for providing sequential dispensing of laundry additive materials into several stages of a laundering cycle which occur during an operation of an drum-containing automatic fabric laundering washing machine, which method comprises:
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A) positioning a rigid housing structure within said washing machine in a fixed spatial relationship to said washing machine drum, which housing structure comprises a base and an openable and closable lid for said base; B) placing within said housing structure with its lid open at the beginning of the laundering operation, a multi-compartmented insert containing within at least two different compartments thereof at least two different laundry additive materials which are to be added at different times to the contents of the washing machine drum during the laundering cycle; C) closing the lid of said housing structure with said insert inside to thereby activate means associated with said rigid housing structure to open at least a first compartment of the multi-compartmented insert and to thereby permit dispensing of the material within said opened compartment into said washing machine drum; and D) running said automatic washing machine through its operational cycle, including through its spin cycle to thereby activate means associated with said housing structure and/or with said multi-compartmented insert to open one or more additional compartments of said insert containing laundry additive material different from that in said previously opened first compartment, said opening of said additional compartments occurring after initiation of the spin cycle of said washing machine operation, and said means for opening said additional compartments being activated by the centrifugal force arising from the spin cycle;
said opening further permitting the dispensing of the material within said opened compartment(s) into said washing machine drum. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification