CA1267755A - Fabric conditioning articles for use in laundry dryers - Google Patents

Abstract

FABRIC CONDITIONING ARTICLES FOR
USE IN LAUNDRY DRYERS

Russell Norris ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
Fabric conditioning articles for use in treating fabrics in a laundry dryer. The articles comprise a flexible substrate and a fabric conditioning composition, wherein the fabric conditioning composition is distributed unevenly on the substrate so as to form a visual contrast between areas containing relatively high amounts of conditioning composition and areas containing either no conditioning composition or relatively low amounts thereof.

Description

~2~ S

BAC~Q~OUN~_OF THE I~VENTION
The present invention relates to articles for conditioning fabrics in an automatic clothes dryer wherein the article compri6es a flexible substrate which carries a fabric softening/antistatic agent (hereinafter "fabric conditioning agent").
The employment of such fabric conditioning articles to impart softening and antistatic effects to fabrics in a laundry dryer has been described in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No.
3,442,692 to Gaiser, issued May 6, 1969, described the conditioning of fabrics in a laundry dryer by cotumbling the fabrics with a flexible substrate carrying a conditioning agent.
The conditioning agent is transferred to the tumbling fabrics to provide fabric conditioning which otherwise might only inconveniently be effected by treatment, for example, during the rinsing cycle of a laundering operation. Similarly, U.S. Pat.
No. 3,686,025 to Morton, issued August 22, 1972, describes an article for conditioning fabrics in a laundry dryer. The article comprises an absorptive substrate impregnated with a fabric softening agent for the provision of fabric softening effects with minimal stalning tendencles.
In the articles desaribed ln the above prior art and in those which are presently available in the market, the fabric conditioning agent is distributed uniformly on the substrate. As a result, it 18 difficult, when visually examining a used article, to determine if the article has been previously used to I2677~;S

condition fabrics in a dryer, i.e., the article has a uniform appearance prior to use, and after any given period of use in the dryer it still has a uniform appearance.
It is an object of the present invention to provide fabric conditioning articles for dryer use which indicate by their appearance whether or not they have been previously used.

DE~I LED DESCRI PTI ON OF THE I NVENTI ON
According to the present invention, dryer-added fabric conditioning articles are provided comprising a flexible web substrate and a fabric conditioning composition wherein the fabric conditioning composition is disposed upon the substrate unevenly so as to provide an article having areas which are visuall~ contrasted from each other. Preferably, these areas of visual contrast form a pattern. In the course of usage the degree' of contrast diminishes as the conditioning composition is depleted from the substrate. This difference in appearance from that of the original article provides a means of visually distingui 8 hi ng articles which have been used from those which have not.
In one embodiment, an article of the invention comprises a flexible woven or nonwoven web substrate in a sheet form having disposed thereon a fabric conditioning composition, wherein the fabric conditionin~ composition is unevenly distributed on the substrate in areas of high aoncentration of fabric conditioning composition per unit area of substrate and area6 of low concentration of fabric conditioning composition per unit area of substrate so as to produce visual contrast between ~2677~

said high concentration and low concentration areas, whereln the weight per unit area of composition in the high concentration areas is at least about 2 times (preferably from about 3 to about 10 times) the weight per unit area of composition in the low concentration areas, and wherein the total weight ratio of fabric conditioning compo6ition to ~ubstrate is from about 0.5:1 to about 5:1.
In another, and more preferred embodiment, a pigment is incorporated into the portion of the fabric conditioning composition which forms the areas of high concentration of fabric conditioning composition on the substrate, thus enhancing the degree of achievable visual contrast between the high concentration and low concentration areas, and also making po6sible the achievement of a given level of visual contrast between areas of high concentration and low concentration with a smaller difference in concentrations between these areas than is possible when no pigment is used. Such preferred embodiment can be described as an article comprising a woven or nonwoven web substrate in a sheet form having disposed thereon a fabric conditioning composition, wherein the fabric conditioning composition is unevenly distributed on the substrate in areas of high concentration of fabric conditioning compositlon per unit area of substrate and areas of low concentration of fabric oondltioning oomposition per unit area of substrate so as to produce a visual contrast between said high concentratlon and low concentration areas, wherein the portion of the fabric conditioning composition in the areas of high concentration ~6775~;

contains from about 0.05% to about 10% (preferably from about 0.1% to about 7%), based on total weight of fabric conditioning composition in said areas of high concentration, of a pigment which causes the portion of fabric conditioning compo~ition in the areas of high concentration to differ in color from the portion of the fabric conditioning compoæition in the areas of low concentration, wherein the weight per unit area of composition in the high concentration areas is at least about 1.25 times (preferably from about 1.4 to about 3.0 times, and most preferably from about 1.4 to about 2.0 time~) the weight per unit area of composition in the low concentration areas, and wherein the total weight ratio of fabric conditioning composition to substrate is from about 0.5:1 to about 5:1.
In a method embodiment, the present invention also compriæes a process of manufacturing dryer-added fabric condltioning articles in sheet form wherein said articles comprise a flexible woven or nonwoven web substrate having a fabric conditioning agent disposed unevenly on said sub6trate so as to produce a visual contrast between areas of high concentration of fabric conditioning composition and areas of low concentration of fabric conditioning composition, said process compri6ing the steps of:
A. applying a first portlon of fabric conditioning composition, in a melted state, uniformly to the obverse face of said substrate;
. coollng the substrate so as to solidify the said composition;

~LZ67~55 C. passing the cooled substrate through the nip formed by the impression roll and the printing roll of a rotary printing station, said station comprising;
i) an impression roll, ii) a rotogravure printing roll having recessed areas in its face in the shape of a pattern which it i8 desired to print onto the substrate, iii) a means for feeding melted fabric conditioning composition to 6 aid rotogravure roll, and iv) a means (such as a doctor blade) for scraping melted fabric conditioning composition from the face of said rotogravure roll, but leaving fabric conditioning composition in the recessed areas of the face of said roll, thereby printing onto a portion of the area of said substrate a second portion of fabric conditioning composition in a pattern corresponding to the reces6ed areas of said rotogravure roll, the respectlve amounts of fabrl¢ conditioning composition applied to the substrate in ~teps A
and C being such as to provide a total compositlon to ~ubstrate ratio of from about 0.5:1 to 5:1 and to provide a concentration of fabric ~26~755 conditioning composition per unit area of ~ubstrate on the portion of the substrate defined by the pattern, which is at least 1.25 times the concentration of fabric condi-tioning composition per unit area on the portion of the substrate not defined by the pattern, the said second portion of fabric conditioning composition containing a pigment in sufficient quantity such that the concentration of pigment in the total amount of fabric conditioning composition in the area defined by the pattern is from about 0.05% to about 10%; and D. cooling the substrate so as to solidify the fabric conditioning composition.
It will be useful at thi6 point to define certain terms and concept6 u6ed throughout this 6pecification in describing the present invention.
"Fabric conditioning agent" shall mean an organic substance which i6 capable of imparting a fabric softening or antistatic effect to fabrics.
"Fabric conditioning composition" ~hall mean a composition comprising one or more ~abric oonditionlng agents.
"Substrate" shall mean a woven or nonwoven web structure in a sheet configuration.
"Obverse face" shall mean the face of the substrate to which the fabric conditioning composition 18 applied in 1~677~;

manufacturing articles of the invention.
"Reverse face~ shall mean the face of the substrate which is on the reverse side of the substrate from the obverse face.
~ Area~ shall mean a space defined by dimensions on the obverse face of the substrate and shall include the entire thickness of the subætrate under the said space. (The term "under" is used with reference to the substrate lying horizontally, with the obverse face facing upward.) Thus, for example, a nonwoven web substrate which is 25 cm. wide, 25 cm.
long and 0.01 cm. thick has a total area of 625 sq. cm. for purposes of describing the present invention.
It is to be understood that substrates used in the articles of the invention can be relatively porous and absorbent.
Thus, with respect to a given portion of the space on the obverse face of a 6ubstrate occupied by a fabric conditioning composition, some of the compo~ition, becau6e of impregnation into and through the porous, absorbent structure, can reside within the substrate and on the reverse face of the substrate under the given portion. Thus, within the context of the present invention, the amount of fabric conditioning composition "di6posed on" a portion of the area of the substrate, includes the amount which resldes on the ~urface ~pace of the obverse face, defined by the dimen~ion~ of that portion, a~ well as that amount which resides within the 6ubstrate and on the reverse face of the substrate d-rectly under the obverse face dimensions of that portion. Consider, for example, a square porous nonwoven ~```f; j .A .. ` .

~2677~i g web substrate which has an obverse face dimension of 25 cm. by 25 cm. and is 0.01 cm. thick. A 15 cm. diameter circle (177 sq.
cm.), having its center at the center of the obver~e face of the substrate is marked off on the obverse face. 2 grams of melted fabric conditioning composition are applied (e.g., by rotogravure printing as described hereinafter) to the portion of the obverse face defined by the circle. Because of the porous nature of the substrate, some of the compo~ition penetrates into the substrate and through the substrate to the reverse face, opposite the circle on the obverse face. Since the circle occupies 28.3% (177 sq. cm - 625 s~. cm. x 100%) of the substrate area (as defined above), 100% of the ;abric conditioning composition is disposed upon 28.3% of the area of the substrate. The weight per unit area of composition in the high concentration area is about 0.011 g./sq. cm., and in the low concentration area it is 0 g. per sq.
cm. The welght ratio of composition per unit area in the high concentration area to the low concentration area is, therefore, infinity.
If in the foregoing example, 50% of the 2 grams of fabric conditioning composition (i.e., 1.0 g.) is applied unlformly to the entire area of the obverse face of the substrate, followed by application of the remaining 50~ ~i,e., 1.0 g.) to the portion of the obverse ~ace dafined b~ the circle, then 64.1% of the fabric condltionlng aomposition ~(1-0 5a~ 83) + 1.0 g.l ~ 100%

2 g.

lZ6775~

i6 disposed upon 28.3~ of the substrate area. In this case, the weight per unit area of composition in the high concentration area is 0.0072 g./sq. cm., and the weight per unit area of composition in the low concentration area is 0.0016 g. per sq.
cm. The weight ratio of composition per unit area in the high concentration area to the low concentration area is 4.5:l.
In the articles of the invention, the areas of high concentration of fabric conditioning composition will generally occupy from about 5% to about 60% of the total substrate area while the remaining portion of the total 6ubstrate area consist6 of the areas of low concentration of fabric conditioning composition. Preferably the high concentration areas occupy from about 15% to about 50% (most preferably from about 25% to about 45%) of the total substrate area, the remainder of the total substrate area consisting of areas of low concentration of fabric conditioning composition.
Although articles of the invention can have all of the fabric conditioning composition disposed in the areas of high concentration (i.e., the "low concentration" areas contain no fabric conditioning composition), it i6 preferred that fabric conditioning composition be present ln both the high conoentratiGn and lo~ conaentration areas.
~ he uneven distribution of fabric conditioning composition onto the substrate in area of high concentration and low concentration is desirably in the form of a pattern which is aesthetically pleasing and/or informative to the user of the ~1 .

ilZ~775~

article. Thu~ by printing techniques such as rotogravure printing, or rotary screen printing, the uneven distribution of fabric conditioning composition can be used to form decorative patterns such a~ geometric designs, flowers, lace, bells, clouds, etc., or it can be used to form words such as the product brand name.
Vescriptio~ of the D~awinas Figure lA shows an article of the invention prior to use. The areas of high concentration of fabric conditioning composition have been printed onto the substrate in the form of letters to form the word "brand." Figure lB depicts the appearance of the article as the visual pattern begins to disappear during use in the dryer. Figure lC depicts the appearance of the article after the visual pattern has completely di 8 appeared.
Figure 2 iB a schematic diagram depictin~ a means of manufacturing articles of the invention by rotogravure printing, and will be described in more detail hereinafter.
Figure 3 is a drawing o~ a pre~surized applicator head which can be used to apply fabric conditioning composition to a rotogravure printing roll, and will be described in more detail hereinafter.
Figure 4 18 a drawing of a vertical cros~-sectlo~ of a pressurized appl~ cator heAd whlah is a variation of the type of appllcator head shown in Figure 3, and will be de~cribed in more detail hereinafter.

~lZ~i775~

F~ic Cond1~1s~i~sLCom~ositions The fabric conditioning compositions utilized in the articles of the present invention can comprise any of the fabric softening and/or antistatic agents (i.e., fabric conditioning agents) conventionally used in dryer-added fabric softening articles. The agents can be utilized individually or in mixtures.
Such softening/antistatic agents are organic compounds having at least one relatively long hydrocarbon group serving to provide lubricity and/or antistatic effects. Among such groups are al~yl groups contàining 8 or more carbon atoms and preferably from 12 to 22 carbon atom6. Suitable fabric conditioning agent~
include cationic, anionic, nonionic, or zwitterionic compounds.
Cationic fabric conditioning agents are the preferred fabric conditioning agents for use herein. They include the cationic nltrogen-oontaining oompounds 6uch a6 quaternary ammonium compounds which have one or two straight-chain organic groups of at least eight carbon atoms. Preferably, they have one or two such gro~ps of from 12 to 22 carbon atoms. Preferred cation-active softener compounds include the qua~ernary ammonium softener compounds corresponding to the formula.

N / ~ ~_ ~67 75~ii wherein R is hydrogen or an aliphatic grsup of from 12 to 22 carbon~; R1 is an aliphatic group having from 12 to 22 carbon atoms/ R2 and R3 are each alkyl groups of from 1 to 3 carbon atoms; and X is an anion selected from halogen, acetate phosphate, nitrite and methyl sulfate radicals. The methyl sulfate radical is the preferred anion.
Because of their excellent softening efficacy and ready availability, preferred cationic softener compounds of the invention are the dialkyl dimethylammonium 6alts (particularly the methylsulfate salts, wherein the alkyl groups have from 12 to 22 carbon atoms. The alkyl groups are usually derived from long-chain fatty acids, such as hydrogenated tallow fatty acids.
As employed herein, alkyl is intended to include unsaturated compounds such as are present in aliphatic groups derived from naturally occurring fatty oils. The term "tallow" refers to fatty alkyl group6 derived from tallow fatty acids. Such fatty acids give rise to quaternary softener compounds wherein R and R1 have predominantly from 16 to 18 carbon atoms. The term "coconut" refer~ to fatty acid groups from coconut oil fatty acids. The coconut-alkyl R and R1 groups have from about 8 to about 18 carbon atoms and predominate in C12 to C14 alkyl groups. Repre~entative examples of quaternary softener6 of the invention include tallow trimethyl ammonium methyl B ul fate;
dltallow dimethyl ammonium methylsulfate; dlhexadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride; di(hydrogenated tallow) dimethyl ammonium methylsulfate; dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium methylsulfate;
dlelco~yl dimethyl ammonium methylsulfate; didocosyl dimethyl lZ677~5 ammonium methylsulfate; di(hydrogenated tallow) diethyl ammonium methylsulfate; dihexadecyl diethyl ammonium methylsulfate;
dihexadecyl diethyl ammonium methylsulfate; dihexadecyl dimethyl ammonium acetate; ditallow dipropyl ammonium phosphate; ditallow dimethyl ammonium nitrate; di(coconut-alkyl) dimethyl ammonium chloride.
Other suitable cation-active softener compounds herein are the quaternary imidazolinium ~alts. Preferred salts are those conforming to the formula H H +
H - C - C - H O
l l 11 . N ~ / N \ C2H4 - I - C ~ ~7 L

wherein R6 i8 an alkyl containing from 1 to 4, preferably from 1 to 2, carbon atoms, R7 is an alkyl containing from 1 to 4 carbon atom6 or a hydrogen radical, R8 is an alkyl containing from 8 to 22, preferably at least 15, carbon atoms, R5 is hydrogen or an alkyl containing from 8 to 22, preferably at least lS, carbon atoms, and X i~ an anion, preferably methylsulfate. Other suitable anion~ include those di B cl osed with reference to the cati oni c ~uaternary ammonlum fabric softeners de~cribed hereinbefore. Particularly preferred are tho~e imidazolinium compounds in which both R5 and R8 are alkyl8 of from 12 to 22 carbon atoms, e.g., 2-heptadecyl~ methyl [(2-~tearolyamido) ethyll imidazolinium methylsulfate.

~.~677~;~

Other cationic quaternary ammonium fabric softeners, which are useful herein include, for example, alkyl (C12 to C22)-pyridinium methylsulfates, alkyl (C12 to C22)- alkyl (C1 to C3)-morpholinium methylsulfates, and quaternary derivatives of amino acids and amino e~ters.
The anionic fabrlc conditloning agents can include any of the various surface-active anionic fabric-softening and antistatic agents such as alkali metal or ammonium salts of higher fatty alcohol sulfates, higher fatty alcohol ether sulfates, higher fatty alcohol sulfonates, the linear higher alkyl benzene sulfonates, the higher fatty acyl taurides and isethionates. Generally, the cation of such compounds will be an alkali metal or other water-solubilizing radical. The hydrophobic moiety of such compounds will normally contain from lO to 22 carbon atoms. Alkali metal and ammonium soaps of fatty acids of from lO to 22 carbon atoms can also be employed and include the sodium or potassium coconut or tallow soaps.
Suitable nonionic fabric conditioning agents that can be employed are the polyoxyalkylene glycols, the higher fatty alcohol esters of polyoxyalkylene glycols, the higher fatty alcohol ethers of polyoxyalkylene glycols. Also suitable are the ethoxylates of long-chain alcohols of from 8 to 22 carbon atoms such as the ethoxylates of tallow alcohol with, for example, lO to ~0 moles of 0thylene oxide. Other nonionlc~ include the amides such as the alkanolamldes, e.g., the higher fatty amides and higher fatty acid mono- and di-lower alkanolamides, wherein the long-chain hydrophobic groups have from about lO to 22 carbon atoms.

~,~

lZ67 7~S

A particularly useful class of nonionic fabric conditioning agents are the fatty acid esters of sorbitan and ethoxylates of such esters. These materials, as well as cationic fabric conditioning agents, are described more fully in U.S.
Patent No. 4,022,938 to Zaki et al., issued May 10, 1977.
Examples of suitable sorbitan esters are sorbitan tristearate, sorbitan dipalmitate, sorbitan monolaurate and sorbitan monstearate, as well as mixtures of sorbitan esters such as mixtures of mono-, di- and tristearate esters of sorbitan.
Particularly preferred fabric conditioning compositions for use in the articles herein contain from about 15% to about 85%
(preferably from about 20% to about 80%) by weight of a cationic fabric conditioning agent such as ditallowdimethylammonium methylsulfate and from about 85% to about 15% (preferably from about 80% to about 20%) of a Cl~ to C26 fatty acid ester of sorbitan, ~uch as sorbitan monostearate. All composition percentages herein are "by weight" unles6 specified otherwise.
Other suitable softening agents include the zwitterionic compounds of the formula Rlo I

R _ N~ _ CH2 ~ R12 ~ CH2S3 I

wherein R1o and R11 are each methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, ~i~7~5 2-hydroxyethyl or 2-hydroxypropyl, Rg i6 a 12 to 22 carbon atom alkyl or alkenyl and wherein 6aid alkyl or al~enyl contains from 0 to 2 hydroxyl substituents, from 0 to 5 ether linkages, and from 0 to 1 amide linkage, and R12 i~ an alkylene group contalning from 1 to 4 carbon atoms with from 0 to 1 hydroxyl substituent6; particularly preferred are compounds wherein Rg i8 a carbon chain containing from 14 to 18 carbon atoms selected from the group consisting of alkyls wherein said alkyls contain 0 to 2 hydroxyl substituents. Specific examples of the particularly preferred compounds of this class include the following: 3-(N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethylammonio)-2-hydroxypropane-l-sulfonate; and 3-(N-octadecyl-N,N-dimethylammonio)-propane-1 -8ul fonate.
Other examples of conditioning agents suitable for the articles herein are described in detail in Morton, U. S. Patent No. 3,686,025, at column 5, line 51, to column 14, line 6.
The fabric conditioning compositions will generally comprise a mixture of fabric conditioning agents in order to obtain the optimum balance of conditioning performance. Cationic fabric conditioning agents generally comprise at least about 10% by weight of such mixtures, preferably about 20%. Generally, however, cationic agents are not used in mixtures ~ith ~nionia s~ents because of ahemical lnteraotion.
The amount of fabria aonditioning oomposition which i5 applied to the substrate to fabricate an article of the present lnventlon i6 an amount suffiaient to provide the desired conditlonlng effect without sub~tantial exce~s. Generally, the ~2677S~

amount used is sufficient to provide a conditioning agent:
substrate weight ratio of from about 0.5:1 to about 5:1, preferably from about 1:1 to about 3:1.
The fabric conditioning compositions herein comprise from about 85% to 100% fabric conditioning agent.
In addition to fabric condi~ioning agents the conditioning composition can contain additives such as pigments, perfumes, mothproofing agents, mildewproofing agents, fabric brighteners, viscosity modifiers, such as clays and gums, etc.
Pigments are particularly useful additives for the fabric conditioning compositions of the invention. In a preferred aspect of the invention, the portion of fabric conditioning composition which is disposed upon the areas of high concentration of fabric conditioning composition in the articles of the invention contains from about 0.05% to about 10%
(preferably from about 0.1% to about 7%) by weight of a pigment.
The percent of pigment is based upon the total weight of fabric conditioning composition (i.e., pigment plu6 other composition components) disposed upon the areas of high concentration of fabric conditioning compooitlon. The pigment present in the portion of composition which is disposed upon the high concentration areas accentuates the visual difference between the high concentration and low concentration area~. In the absence of plgments, the fabric oon~itionlng compositlons herein are generally tran61ucent and have a grayish or yellowish color ln thelr solld state.
Any particulate material having a particle size from 1 Z67~75~;

about 6 to about 100 microns, which i5 inert to the other components of the fabric conditioning compositlon and which is insoluble in the melted composition i6 suitable for use as a pigment herein. The pigment is incorporated into the composition by blending it into a molten mixture of the other composition components. Examples of suitable pigments are titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, magnesium oxide, clay, ultramarine blue, phthalocyanine blue, ~Monastral"* fast blue, permanent peacock blue, "Monastral"* fast green and pigment green B.
The Substr~
The sub6trate component of the article of the present invention i8 a woven or nonwoven flexible web substrate which carries the fabric conditioning agent. Such substrates include paper (e.g., paper towelling), woven or nonwoven cloth made from natural or synthetic fibers, ànd foamed plastic material6 such as polyurethane foamed sheets. The use of flexible webs as substrate6 for carrying fabric conditioning agents for dryer use is described in U.S. Patents 3,442,692, Gaiser, is6ued May 6, 1969; 3,895,128, Gaiser, issued July lS, 1975; and 3,686,02S, Morton, is6ued August 22, 1972. Numerous examples of flexible web substrate6 are di~olosed in these referenoes.
In order to obtain a good appeAr~noe ln the fabric condltloning article6 herein, and to obtain even relea~e of the *Trademark for phthalocyanine blue and phthalocyanine green pigments.

~267~ S

fabric conditioning composition to the clothes in the dryer, it is preferable that the web substrate be absorbent. "Absorbent~
as defined herein, is intended to mean a sub6trate with an ab~orbent capacity (i.e., a parameter representing a substrate~s ability to take up and retain water) of from 4 to 25. Suitable paper and woven and nonwoven cloth absorbent substrates are disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,686,025, issued August 22, 1972 to Morton. As described in that patent, determination of absorbent capacity values is made by using the capacity testing procedures described in U.S. Federal Specifications UU-T-595b, modified as follows:
(1) tap water is used instead of di~tilled water;
(2) The specimen is immersed for 30 seconds instead of

3 minutes;
(3) draining time is 15 seconds instead of 1 minute;
and

(4) the specimen iB immediately weighed on a torsion balance having a pan with turned-up edges.
Absorbent capacity value~ are then calculated in accordance with the formula given in said Specification. Based on this test, one-ply, dense bleached paper (e.g., kraft or bond having a basis weight of about 7.9 kg. per 100 square meters) has an ab~orbent capacity of 3.5 to 4. Commercially availAble household one-ply towellng paper has a value of 5 to 6; and commercially available two-ply household toweling paper has a value of 7 to about 9.5.
If the 6ubstrate to be used 1B paper or a woven or nonwoven cloth, rather than a foamed plastic material, the i267~7~;5 absorbency should preferably be in the range of 4 to 12, most preferably between 5 and 7. For foamed plastic materials, such as foamed polyurethane, the preferable absorbency is in the range of about 15 to 22.
The thickness of the substrates used herein can range from about 0.005 cm. to about 0.5 cm. Generally, paper and woven or nonwoven cloth substrates will have thicknesses of from about 0.005 cm. to about 0.02 cm. and the foamed plastic substrates will have thicknesses of from about 0.05 cm. to about 0.5 cm.
The preferred substrates for use in the present invention are nonwoven cloth substrates, which can generally be defined as adhesively bonded fibrous or filamentous products having a web or carded fiber structure (where the fiber strength is suitable to allow carding), or comprising fibrous matters in which the fibers or filaments are aistributed haphazardly or in random array (l.e., an array of fi~ers in a carded web wherein partial orientation of the fibers is frequently pre~ent, as well as a completely haphazard distributional orientation), or substantially aligned. The fibers or filaments can be natural (e.g., wool, silk, jute, hemp, cotton, linen, sisal, or ramie) or synthetic (e.g. rayon, cellulose ester, polyvinyl derivative6, polyolefins, polyamides, or polyesters).
Methods of making nonwoven clo~h~ are not a part of this invention and, being well-known in the art, are not described in detail herèin. Generally, however, such cloths are made by air- or water-laying processes in which the fibers or filaments are first cut to desired lengths from long strands, ~.2677~

passed into a water or air stream, and then deposited onto a scraen through which the fiber-laden air or water is passea. The deposited fibers or filaments are then adhesively bonded together, dried, cured, and otherwise treated as desired to form the nonwoven cloth. Nonwoven cloths made of polyesters, polyamides, vinyl resins, and other thermoplastic fibers can be spun-bonded, i.e., the fibers are spun out onto a flat surface and bonded (melted) together by heat or by chemical reactions.
The absorbent properties preferred herein are particularly easy to obtain with nonwoven cloths and are provided merely by building up the thickness of the cloth, i.e., by superimposing a plurality of carded webs or mats to a thickness adequate to obtain the necessary absorbent properties, or by allowing a sufficient thickness of the fibers to deposit on the screen. Any diameter or denier of the fiber (generally up to about 10 denier) can be used, inasmuch as it is the free space between each fiber that makes the cloth porous and is directly related to the absorbent capacity of the cloth.
The choice of binder-resins used in the manufacture of nonwoven cloths can provide substrates possessing a variety of desirable traits. For example, the absorbent capacity of the cloth can be increased, decreased or regulated by respectlvely using a hydrophilic binder-resin, a hydrophoblo binder-resin, or a mixture thereof, in the fiber bondlng step. Moreover, the hydrophobia binder-resin, when used singly or a~ the predominant compound of a hydrophobic-hydrophilic mixtuxe, provides nonwoven cloths which are especially useful as substrates when the softening articles herein are u~ed with damp fabrics in an automatic dryer.
When the substrate for the ~oftening articles herein is a nonwoven cloth made from fibers deposited haphazardly or in random array on the screen, the articles exhibit excellent strength in all directions and are not prone to tear or separate when used in the automatic clothes dryer.
Preferably, the nonwovsn cloth is water-laid or air-laid and i8 made from cellulosic fibers, particularly from regenerated cellulose or rayon. Such nonwoven cloth can ne lubricated with any standard textile lubricant. Preferably, the fibers are from 0.45. cm.to 5 cm. in length and are from 1.5 to 5 denier. Preferably, the fibexs are at least partially oriented haphazardly, particularly substantially haphazardly, and are adhesively bonded together with a hydrophobic or substantially hydrophobic binder-resin, particularly with a nonionic self-crosslinking acrylic polymer or polymer~. Preferably, the cloth comprises about 70% fiber and 30% binder-resin polymer by weight ana ha~ a basi6 weight of from about 17 to 29 grams per s~uare meter.
It i8 preferred that the fabric softening articles of the present invention be structured to have maximum compatibility with conventional laundry dryer de~ign~. Whlle it is preferred to employ the article~ of the pre~ent inventlon ln an automatic laundry dryer, other equivalent machines can be employed, and in ~ome instances, heat and drying air may be omitted for part or all of the cycle. Generally, however, heated ~677~;5 air will be employed and ~uch air will be circulated frequently in the dryer. Normally, there are from about 5 to 50 volume changes of drying air in the dryer drum per minute and the air moves at about 3.5 to 5 cubic meters per minute. These changing volumes of air create a drawing or suction effect which can, especially with small fabric loads, cause an item such as a sock, handkerchief, or the like, or a fabric conditioning article, to be dispo6ed on the surface of the air outlet of the dryer. A
usual load of fabrics of from about 5 to 7 pounds dry weight will fill from about 10% to 70% of the volume of most dryers and will normally po6e little difficulty.
A sufficient number of tumbling items will normally be present to prevent any item from being drawn to the exhaust outlet or to cause it to be removed from the outlet. In the event, however, a fabric softening article is caused to be disposed in relation to the air exhaust outlet in such a manner as to cause blocXage of passing air, undesirable temperature increases can re6ult. In the case of fabric conditioning articles, the fabric conditioning compositions substantially melt under conditions of heat, and the article may tend to adhere to an exhaust outlet.
The problem of blockage can be solved by providlng openings in the article ln the manner described in U.S. Patents 3,944,694, McQueary, is~ued March 16, 1976; and 3,956,556, McQue~ry, issued May 11, lg76.
More speciflcally, slits or holes are cut through the ~ubstrate to allow free passage of air.

~.2~77'95 The slit openings are provided f~r two principal purposes. Importàntly, the 61its permit passage of air in the event the article is placed in a blocking relationship to the air exhaust outlet. Moreover, the slit openings provide a degree of flexibility or resiliency which causes the article to crumple or pucker. The effect of such crumpling is that only a portion of the air exhaust outlet will be covered by the softening article in the event it is carried by the moving air stream to the exhaust outlet. Moreover, the crumpled article is more readily removed by tumbling fabrics than would be the case if the article were placed in a flat relationship to the exhaust outlet.
The type and number of slit openings can vary considerably and will depend upon the nature of the sub6trate material, its inherent flexibility or rigidity, the nature of the fabric conditioning composition, and the extent to which increased pas 5 age of air therethrough is desired. The preferred articles of this invention can comprise a large number of small slit6 of various types or configurations, or fewer larger slits.
For example, a single rectilinear or wavy 6 1 i t, or a plurality thereof, confined to within the area of a sheet and extending close to opposite edges of the article, can be employed. By maintaining a border around all edges of the artlole, A deBired degree of flexibllity and ~urface areA avail~blllty to tumbling fabrlcs can be maintained. While, for example, reotilinear slits can be cut into a softening article completely to the edges of the article, confinement of the slits to within the area of the article will be preferred where the convenience of packaging the iz67755 softening artlcle in roll form is desirea, i.e., the article will better maintain its structural integrity when being handled by the user.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, a sheet of fabric softening article i8 provided with a plurality of rectilinear slits extending in one direction, e.g., the machine direction of the web substrate, and in a substantially parallel relationship. The slits can be aligned or in a staggered relationship. A preferred embodiment will contain from

5 to 9 of such 61its which will extend to within about 5 cm. and preferably 2.5 cm. from the edge of the web material which is, for example, a 22.9 cm. by 27.9 cm. sheet. In general, the greater the number and the longer the slit6, the greater the effect in preventing restriction of air flow. Such an article permits the individual panel areas or sections within the rectilinear slits to flex or move ln independent relationship to each other and out of the plane of the sheet. This flexing minimizes the probability that such an article will align itself in a flat and blocking relationship to an exhaust outlet. The inhèrent puckerin~ or crumpling tendency of the article allows the article to contact the air outlet in such a manner as to leave at least a portion of the air exhaust outlet uncovered. In addition, the tumbling fabrlcs in the dryer will collide wlth the crumpled artiole causing it to be removed from the exhaust outlet. Removal i6 readily accompllshed by reason of the protrusion of the crumpled article which makes it more availa~le for contact with the tumbling load of fabrics in the dryer.

~2Ç~

The slit openings in the 60ftening articles of the invention can be in a variety of configurations and sizes, as can be readily appreciated. In some instances, it may be desirable to provide slit openings as C-, U- or V-6haped slits. Such ~lits arranged in a continuous or regular or irregular pattern are desirable from the standpoint of permitting gate-like or flap 6tructures which permit the passage of air therethrough.
ArtiC~ a~Yf~Y~
The articles of the present invention are manufactured by melting the fabric conditioning composition, distributing it onto portions of the obverse face of the substrate to produce the desired visual pattern, and then cooling to 601idify the fabric conditioning composition. A preferred embodiment i8 one wherein a portion (generally from about 20% to about 80% by weight) of the total amount of fabric conditioning composition which is applied to the substrate is evenly di6posed onto the entire obverse face of the substrate, and then cooled to solidify this portion of composition, before the remaining 80% to 20% by weight of fabric conditioning composition i6 disposed onto particular areas of the obverse face to produce areas of high concentration of fabric conditioning compositlon and thereby produclng the desired areas of vlsual contrast. ~he portion~ o~ composition applled in the two steps can be portions of the 8ame aomposltion or they can be portion~ of two different composltions.
Preferably, the portion of the fabric conditioning composition which is evenly dlsposed onto the sub~trate i5 free of plgment and the portion whlch 18 di.sposed onto particular areas to ~Z677~;5 produce areas of high concentrations, contains a sufficient amount of pigment to produce a pigment concentration of from about 0.05% to about 10% (preferably from about 0.1% to about 7%), by weight of pigment, based on the total amount of fabric conditioning composition disposed upon the areas of high concentration. The "total amount of fabric conditioning composition" in the areas of high concentration includes the originally unpigmented composition which was originally disposed onto those areas, as well as the pigmented composition which has been added.
In the articles of the invention the weight ratio of total fabric conditioning composition to substrate should be within the range of from about 0.5:1 to 5:1, and is preferably from about 1:1 to about 3:1, with the fabric conditioning composition being disposed unevenly on the substrate so as to form the desired visual contrast effect between areas of high concentratisn and low concentration. As indicated hereinbefore, the uneven disposition of fabric conditioning composition is desirably in the form of a pattern which is aesthetically pleasing and/or informative to the user.
A convenient means of manufacturing articles of the invention is by rotogravure printing, Figure 2 present~ a schematia description of how article~ of the invention can be made by such a process.
The substrate 2 from unwind roll 1 is drawn over heated metal rollers 3 and 3a which are maintained at a temperature of from about 38 C to 80 C. The eubstrate is then drawn over idler ~12Ç~
_~9_ rollers 4, 4a and 4b and over coating head 5, which is a clo6ed container with a narrow slit opening at the top. The slit is aligned perpendicular to the direction of movement of the substrate and has a length equal to the width of the substrate.
Molten fabric conditioning composition (maintained at a temperature of about 10 C to about 40 C above the melting point of the composition) from reservoir 6 i6 pumped by pump 7 into coating head 5 so as to maintain a positive pressure (140 to 1400 g./sq. cm.) of molten conditioning composition againRt substrate 2 through the slit of coating head 5, thereby applying a uniform treatment of fabric conditioning composition to the obverse face of substrate 2. (Pres 6 ures quoted herein are gauge pressures unless specifi2d otherwise.) Substrate 2 is then drawn between the nip of distribution rolls 8 and 8a and over distribution roll 8b, which are all maintained at a temperature of from about 55'C
to about 80 C. The function of the distribution rolls is to distribute the composition evenly throughout the thickness of the substrate. The pre~sure between the nip of distribution rolls 8 and 8a is maintained at a gauge pressure of about 2500 to 15,000 g. per liner cm. Substrate 2 is then drawn over cooling rolls 9 and 9a which are maintained at a temperature of about l'C to about 25'C, to solidify the fabric conditioning composition applied by coating head 5, Substrate 2 i8 then drawn under idler roll 10 and between nip of impression roll 11 and rotogravure roll 12, which picks up molten fabric conditioning composition from print pan 13, which is supplied with fabric conditioning compositlon from reservoir 14 via pump 15. The fabric ~2~77S~

conditioning composition in the print pan is maintained at a temperature of at least 10 C (preferably about 10 C to about 40 C) above the melting point of the composition. Rotogravure roll 12 contains reces~es in its surface face which are in the pattern which it is desired to print on sub6trate 2. The recesses are from about 0.009 cm. to about 0.030 cm. deep with reference to the surface face of the roll. Preferably the recesses consist of a plurality of individual cells, with a density of from about 60 to about 600 cells per sq. cm. of recessed area. After pickup of fabric conditioning composition from print pan 13, rotogravure roll 12 contacts doctor blade 16 which scrapes exces fabric conditioning composition off the ~urface face of rotogravure roll 12, leaving fabric conditioning composition in the recesses of said roll. Rotogravure roll 12 comes into contact with ~ubstrate 2 which i6 pressed between lmpresslon roll 11 and rotogravure roll 12. The pressure exerted by impre6sion roll 11 (preferably from about 2500 to 15,000 g.
per linear cm.) oauses fabric conditioning composition to be transferred from the recesses of rotogravure roll 12 to the obverse face of substrate 2 thus imprinting the desired pattern of composition onto the substrate. Substrate 2 is then drawn over cooling rolls 17, 17a and 17b, which are maintained at a temperature of from about 1'C to about 25'C ~o A~ to ~olidify the composition on sub~trate 2. Finally, substrate 2 passes over idler rolls 18 and 18a and is wound onto rewind roll 19. Heated rolls 3 and 3a, coating head 5, reservoir 6, pump 7, distribution rolls 8, 8a and 8b and chill rolls 9 and 9a can be deleted from ~26~5 the process if it is not desired to treat the obverse face of the substrate with fabric conditioning composition prior to applying the patterned design from rotogravure roll 12.
Figure 3 depicts an alternate means to the open print pan for applying melted fabric conditioning composition to the rotogravure roll. This means i6 a pressurized applicator head which fits against the rotogravure roll and feeds fabric conditioning composition, under pressure to the roll. The head comprise6 a back wall 20, a top wall, which is comprised of doctor blade 21 and doctor blade retainer 22, a bottom wall which is compriæed of doctor blade 23 and doctor blade retainer 24, and side walls 25 and 26. Doctor blade retainer 24 contains feed ports 27, 27a, 27b and 27c through which melted fabric conditioning composition is pumped into the applicator head through feed lines 28, 28a, 28b and 28c from a reservoir (not shown). When used, the open front face of the applicator defined by doctor blades 21 and 23 and the curved edges of side walls 25 and 26 is engaged against the surface of the rotogravure roll.
The applicator head is filled with melted fabric conditioning composition which is maintained at a pressure of from about 140 to 2000 g. per sq. cm. As the rotogravure roll rotates in the direction of arrows 29 and 30, it picks up fabric conditioning composition from within the applicator he~d. As the rotogravure roll rotates past doctor blade 23, the doctor blade scrape~
exoess fabric conditioning composition off the surface of the surface face of the roll, leaving fabric conditioning composition in the reces~es of the roll.

~677~S

Figure 4 depicts a vertical cross-~ection of a pressurized applicator head, which is a variation of the type depicted in Figure 3, in contact with a rotogravure roll 39.
The applicator head comprises a metal casing 31, which encloses a chamber 32, on three sides, a plurality of inlet ports, one of which is depicted and designated 33, an upper doctor blade 34, a lower doctor blade 35, an upper doctor blade retainer 36, a lower doctor blade retainer 37, and a plurality of threaded holes, 38, 38a, 38b, 38c, and 38d by which end walls (not shown) are fastened to the ends of the casiny. A leakproof seal between the end walls and the casing is achieved by use of a ~Viton~ quad ring gasket. The ends of the doctor blades are in movable sealed contact with the end walls which are made of "Teflon6~" . This seal is achieved by the compression of the blade against the "Teflon"~ In use, the chamber of the applicator head is filled with melted fabric conditioning composition and maintained at a pressure (about 140 to 2000 g.
per s~. cm.) by the pumping of melted fabric conditioning composition into the chamber via the inlet ports. The opposing forces eY.erted against the doctor blades by the fluid pressure of the composition in the chamber and by the rotogravure roll 39, retain the blades in very tight contact agalnst the rotogravure *Trademark of du Pont for a fluoroelastomer based on the copolymer of ~inylidene fluoride and hèxafluoropropylene.
** Trademark of du Pont for polytetrafluoroethylene~

~k 1267~5 roll. As the roll rotates in the direction of arrow 40, it picks up fabric conditioning composition from within the applicator head. As the roll rotates past doctor blade 34, the doctor blade scrapes exceas conditioning composition off the surface face of the roll, leaving fabric conditioning composition in the recesses of the roll 41, 41a, 41b, and 41c.
The temperature of heated and cooled rolls in the process can be maintained by circulating refrigerated or heated liquid through the interior of the rolls.
The finished article material on rewind roll 19 can be subsequently unwound and cut into individual sheets for packaging and sale. Instead of individual sheets, the finished material can be cut into lengths with perforated tear lines at predetermined intervals perpendicular to the length direction.
Theae lengths can be placed on individual rolls and packaged so that the user oan tear off individual sheetæ of appropriate aize at the time of U6 e.
If it ia desired to incorporate slits or other types of openings into the article, this can be done just prior to winding the finished article material onto rewind roll 19, or when it is unwound from 6aid roll for cutting and packaging, Typically, the individual usAge sheets of article~ of the lnvention are deslgned to provlde from about 1 to about 5 grams of fabric condltioning composltion per aheet, wlth the area of the individual sheet~ being from about 130 sq. am. to about 970 sq. cm.
The article ia used by placing it in the dryer with up ~26775S

to about 5-7 lbs. of fabrics ~based on dry weight) and cotumbling the article and the fabrics together during the drying cycle.
The invention is illu~trated by the following example.
EXAMPLE I
An article of the invention is made according to the process of Figure 2.
The substrate is a nonwoven cloth made of rayon fibers having an average length of about 4 cm. and a denier of about 3.
The fibers are bound together by an ethyl acrylate binder system, the binder comprising about 30% to about 35% by weight of the substrate. The ~ubstrate thicknes~ i5 O. 008 cm. and the substrate weight is 21 grams per square meter. The 6ubstrate has an absorbent capacity of 6 grams of water per gram of substrate.
The portion of fabric conditioning compo~ition which i8 applied uniformly to the obverse face of the substrate by coating head 5 consists of 70% by weight sorbitan mono~tearate (SMS) and 30% by weight ditallowdimethylammonium methylsulfate (DTDMAMS), and is applied to the ~ubstrate in an amount 80 as to produce composition:sub~trate ratio of 0.97:1. The portion of composition which i6 applied by the rotogravure roll is prepared by mixing 100 parts of the above SMS/DTDMAMS composition in a molten state with 11 part~ titanium dioxide and 1 part of "Ben~olite L" clay ta montmorillonite alay purohased from Southern Clay Produots) to form a composition consisting of 26.8 by weight DTDMAMS, 62.6% by weight SMS, 9.8% by welght titanium ~Trademark ~r, 1;,~

~Z67~;S

dioxide, and 0.8% clay. The clay thickens the mixture and also provides pigmentation. This pigmented portion of composition is printed onto the substrate (to which the unpigmented composition has already been uniformly applied) in a decorative "clouds"
design produced by the recesses in the surface face of the rotogravure roll. The printed-on design covers 36% of the substrate area and the amount of pigmented composition which is added by the print-on, raises the total fabric conditioning composition:substrate ratio to 1.5:1, and the weight percent of pigment (titanium dioxide plus clay) present in the total amount of fabric conditioning composition present on the substrate area defined by the printed design is 6.4%
In preparing the article according to the process of Figure 2, metal rollers 3 and 3a are maintained at a temperature of about 70 C, the compositions in coating head 5 and print pan 13 are maintained at a temperature of about 65 C. The pressure in the soating head is maintained at about 350 g./sq. cm. The distribution rolls 8, 8a and 8b are maintained at a temperature of about 70 C and the cooling rolls 9 and 9a are maintained at a temperature of about 13-C. The recesses in the rotogravure roll 12 a.e cellular, having a depth of about 0.02 cm. and a density of about 140 cells per sq. cm. of reoes~ed Area. The temperature of rotogravure roll 12 and impre~sion roll 11 i~ maintained at about 80 C. Cooling rolls 17, 17a and 17b arc maintained at about 1-C.
After cooling and rewinding, the printed substrate is cut into individual 22.9 cm. by 27.9 cm. rectangular articles.

lZ67755 A series of six 12.7 cm. slits, approximately 2.5 cm. apart, are cut into the articles in the lengthwise direction, the series of slit6 being centered within the article (see U.S. Patent 3,944,694). The articles each contain about 2.1 grams of fabric conditioning composition, and the composition:substrate ratio is about 1.5:1. In these articles, 58% by weight of the fabric conditioning composition is disposed upon 36% of the substrate, and 42% by weight of the fabric conditioning composition is disposed upon the remaining 64% of the 5 ubstrate area.
One of these articles is placed into an automatic laundry dryer with five pounds (dry weight basis) of damp clothes. The dryer is operated for 45 minutes at the normal heat setting. The fabrics and article are then removed from the dyer and it is observed that the pattern has disappeared from the article. The fabrics are softer and exhibit less static cling than fabrics which have been dried in a similar manner without adding a fabric conditioning article to the dryer. Depending upon conditions of usage, the pattern on the article may not always completely disappear during use. In any event, however, the pattern will exhibit a substantially different appearance after usage than before usage, thereby providing an easy mean~ o~
distinguishing a used article ~rom one which has not been used.

Claims (26)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An article suitable for conditioning fabrics in a laundry dryer, said article comprising a flexible woven or nonwoven web in sheet form having disposed thereon a fabric conditioning composition, wherein the fabric conditioning composition is unevenly distributed on the substrate in areas of high concentration of fabric conditioning composition per unit area of substrate and areas of low concentration of fabric conditioning composition per unit area of substrate so as to produce visual contrast between said high concentration and low concentration areas, wherein all of the fabric conditioning composition is disposed in the areas of high concentration of fabric conditioning composition and no fabric conditioning composition is disposed in the areas of low concentration of fabric conditioning composition, and wherein the total weight ratio of fabric conditioning composition to substrate is from about 0.5:1 to about 5:1.

2. The article of Claim 1 wherein the substrate has a thickness of from about 0.005 cm. to about 0.5 cm.

3. The article of Claim 2 wherein the substrate has an absorbent capacity of from about 4 to about 25.

4. The article of Claim 3 wherein the substrate material is selected from the group consisting of paper and woven or nonwoven cloth and has an absorbent capacity of from about 4 to about 12 and a thickness of from about 0.005 cm. to about 0.02 cm.

5. An article of Claim 4 wherein the substrate is a nonwoven cloth comprising cellulosic fibers having a length of from about 0.45 cm to 5 cm. and a denier of 1.5 to 5 and wherein said fibers are adhesively bonded together with a binder resin.

6. The article of Claim 5 wherein the fabric conditioning composition comprises at least 10% by weight of a cationic fabric conditioning agent, and wherein the weight ratio of conditioning composition to substrate is from about 1:1 to about 3:1.

7. The article of Claim 6 wherein the cationic fabric conditioning agent is a methylsulfate salt.

8. The article of Claim 7 wherein the substrate has openings sufficient in size and number to reduce restriction by said article of the flow of air through a laundry dryer.

9. An article according to Claim 8, wherein the fabric conditioning composition comprises from 15% to about 85%
by weight of a cationic fabric conditioning agent which is a methylsulfate salt, and from about 85% to about 15%
by weight of a C10 to C26 fatty acid ester of sorbitan.

10. An article suitable for conditioning fabrics in a laundry dryer, said article comprising a flexible woven or nonwoven web in sheet form having disposed thereon a fabric conditioning composition, wherein the fabric conditioning composition is unevenly distributed on the substrate in areas of high concentration of fabric conditioning composition per unit area of substrate and areas of low concentration of fabric conditioning composition per unit area of substrate so as to produce a visual contrast between said high concentration and low concentration areas, wherein the portion of the fabric conditioning composition in the areas of high concentration contains from about 0.05% to about 10%
based on the total weight of fabric conditioning composition in said areas of high concentration, of a pigment which accentuates the visual difference between the portion of fabric conditioning composition in the areas of high concentration and the portion of the fabric conditioning composition in the areas of low concentration, wherein the weight per unit area of composition in the high concentration areas is at least about 1.25 times the weight per unit area of composition in the low concentration areas, and wherein the total weight ratio of fabric conditioning composition to substrate is from about 0.5:1 to about 5:1.

11. The article of Claim 10 wherein the weight per unit area of composition in the high concentration areas is from about 1.4 to about 3.0 times the weight per unit area of composition in the low concentration areas.

12. The article of Claim 11 wherein the amount of pigment in the portion of fabric conditioning composition in the areas of high concentration is from about 0.1% to about 4% by weight.

13. The article of Claim 12 wherein the substrate has a thickness of from about 0.005 cm. to about 0.5 cm.

14. The article of Claim 13 wherein the substrate has an absorbent capacity of from about 4 to about 25.

15. The article of Claim 14 wherein the substrate material is selected from the group consisting of paper and woven or nonwoven cloth and has an absorbent capacity of from about 4 to about 12 and a thickness of from about 0.005 cm. to about 0.2 cm.

16. An article of Claim 15 wherein the substrate is a nonwoven cloth comprising cellulosic fibers having a length of from about 0.45 cm to 5 cm. and a denier of 1.5 to 5 and wherein said fibers are adhesively bonded together with a binder resin.

17. The article of Claim 16 wherein the fabric conditioning composition comprises at least 10% by weight of a cationic fabric conditioning agent.

18. The article of Claim 17 wherein the cationic fabric conditioning agent is a methylsulfate salt

19. The article of Claim 18 wherein the substrate has openings sufficient in size and number to reduce restriction by said article of the flow of air through a laundry dryer.

20. A process of manufacturing dryer-added fabric conditioning articles in sheet form wherein said articles comprise a flexible woven or nonwoven web substrate having a fabric conditioning agent disposed unevenly on said substrate so as to produce a visual contrast between areas of relatively high concentration of fabric conditioning composition and areas of relatively low concentration of fabric conditioning composition, said process comprising the steps of:
A. applying a first portion of fabric conditioning composition, in a melted state, uniformly to the obverse face of said substrate;
B. cooling the substrate so as to solidify the said composition;
C. passing the cooled substrate through the nip formed by the impression roll and the printing roll of a rotary printing station, said station comprising:
i) an impression roll;
ii) a rotogravure printing roll having recessed areas in its face in the shape of a pattern which it is desired to print onto the substrate, iii) a means for feeding melted fabric conditioning composition to said rotogravure roll, and iv) a means for scraping melted fabric conditioning composition from the face of said rotogravure roll, but leaving fabric conditioning composition in the recessed areas of the face of said roll, thereby printing onto a portion of the area of said substrate a second portion of fabric conditioning composition in a pattern corresponding to the recessed areas of said rotogravure roll, the respective amounts of fabric conditioning composition applied to the substrate in steps A and C being such as to provide a total composition to substrate ratio of from about 0.5:1 to 5:1 and to provide a concentration of fabric conditioning composition per unit area of substrate on the portion of the substrate defined by the pattern which is at least 1.25 times the concentration of fabric conditioning composition per unit area on the portion of the substrate not defined by the pattern, said second portion of fabric conditioning composition containing a pigment in sufficient quantity such that the concentration of pigment in the total amount of fabric conditioning composition in the area defined by the pattern is from about 0.05% to about 10%; and D. cooling the substrate so as to solidify the fabric conditioning composition.

21. The process of Claim 20 wherein from about 20% to about 80% of the total amount of fabric conditioning composition is applied to the substrate in Step A, and from about 80% to about 20% of the total amount of fabric conditioning composition is printed onto the substrate in Step C.

22. The process of Claim 21 wherein the recessed areas in the face of the rotogravure printing roll consist of a plurality of individual cells, the density of said cells in said recesses being from about 60 to about 600 cells per sq. cm. of recessed area.

23. The process of Claim 22 wherein the substrate is selected from the group consisting of woven or nonwoven cloth and has an absorbent capacity of from about 4 to about 12 and a thickness of from about 0.0005 cm. to about 0.02 cm.

24. The process of Claim 23, wherein the fabric conditioning composition comprises from 15% to about 85%
by weight of a cationic fabric conditioning agent which is a methylsulfate salt and from 85% to about 15% by weight of a C10 to C26 fatty acid ester of sorbitan.

25. The process of Claim 21, wherein the concentration of pigment in the total amount of fabric conditioning composition in the area defined by the pattern is from about 0.1% to about 7%.

26. A multiple-use fabric conditioning product comprising a substrate of sheet form with a continuous layer of a fabric conditioning formulation exposed on at least one major surface, characterized in that the continuous layer has at least one discrete area of reduced depth.