Abstract An apparatus for conditioning fibrous materials includes a rotatable drum in which the fibrous material may be tumbled, as in an automatic laundry dryer, and held, to the interior wall of the drum, so as to be in form-retaining relationship therewith, a base which has on an exterior surface thereof a conditioning agent for the fibrous materials. On contact with the tumbling fibrous materials, the conditioning agent is removed from the base and is deposited on the materials in sufficient quantity to condition them. Usually, the conditioning agent is a fabric softener and/or antistatic agent of the synthetic organic surface active type, the base is a thin flexible sheet or strip of material, such as paper or suitable plastic, the conditioning takes place in an automatic laundry dryer and the base is held to the dryer interior wall by an adhesive, such as a pressure sensitive adhesive.
An apparatus according to claim 1 comprising means for passing heated air through the fibrous materials in the drum and in which the drum is of form-retaining material.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
23 words
An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the flexible base has an exterior surface thereof coated with a fabric softener and/or antistatic agent.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
41 words
An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the interior of the drum contains form-retaining baffle means and said baffle means have attached thereto by a pressure sensitive adhesive a flexible base having a external coating of fabric softener and/or antistatic agent.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
104 words
An apparatus according to claim 3 wherein each fabric softner- flexible base- pressure sensitive adhesive combination is in thin strip or sheet form, with the conditioning agent being a surface active synthetic organic fabric softener which, under the conditions of automatic laundry drying, elevated temperature, high humidity and repeated contact with tumbling moist laundry, is gradually deposited on the tumbling laundry brought into contact with it, and the pressure sensitive adhesive holds sufficiently to the interior wall of the dryer drum under the conditions of drying of laundry to maintain the strip or sheet of base material in form-retaining contact with said interior wall.