Patent ID: 7036177

Claim:
A system for providing laundry rinse additive material to rinse water during a rinse cycle which occurs during a fabric laundering operation carried out in a drum-containing automatic washing machine, which system comprises: A) a unit dose package containing a laundry rinse additive material; B) a rigid housing structure into which said additive-containing unit dose package can be inserted at the beginning of the laundering operation, said housing structure being positioned within the drum of said automatic washing machine in a location which brings it into significant contact with rinse water during the laundering operation; C) means associated with said unit dose package or said housing structure or both to open said unit dose package, said opening means being activated by centrifugal force applied to said unit dose package during the spin cycle occurring in the operation of said automatic washing machine, whereby upon opening of said unit dose package the contents thereof can be emptied from said package into said rigid housing structure and held within said structure by said centrifugal force during said spin cycle; and D) aperture means associated with said housing structure for providing gravitational flow of said laundry additive material from said housing structure into said rinse water in said washing machine drum after cessation of said centrifugal force at the end of said spin cycle.