Since rotary driers are used to enable washing to air or dry outside, rain or the threat of rain means the washing must be brought inside to prevent it becoming wet again.

My idea is to provide a waterproof cover that can quickly and simply be drawn around the rotary airer at or before the onset of rain, allowing the washing to continue drying while remaining outside The invention provides a rotary clothes drier with a rain cover, the cover being carried on a centre pole or extension thereof to be drawn from a gathered, out-of-use form to an extended form where it covers the arms of the drier and items carried thereon, the inner edge of the cover being slidably mounted by rings or otherwise to a carrier ring resting freely on an expanded upper part of the pole or pole extension.

Such a construction gives a curtain that may be freely drawn over 360° as easily as an ordinary curtain, without interruption by supports or restriction as to its position, and shows considerable advantage therefore over driers such as those of GB 2 342 577A or DE 3 902 068A1 hitherto proposed.

Subsidiary features, set out fully in the claims are:- - perimeter weights in the rain cover to stop it blowing away - a cover at the top of the pole to stop rain dripping through the center of the rain cover itself - securing the rain cover on an arm of the drier when not in use - the rain cover being generally circular with a slot from center to perimeter and fastenings for it - a perimeter hole in the cover at each arm position, anchoring the cover

The following is a detailed description of an embodiment of the invention, accompanied by drawings, comprising a pole, which attaches to the usual central post of a rotary airer, a waterproof curtain, attached by rings to a central ring located over a bulb-shaped section at the upper end of the pole, and a flattened cone-shaped hat, fixed to the top of the pole, the curtain being adapted to be drawn over and around the rotary airer.

The embodiment consists of three separate components.

Figure 1 shows a pole A, suitably made from a moulded plastic or light-weight metal, and its optional extension B. The top of pole A is bulb-shaped to allow a ring to sit on it,.

Bulb C then screws into the top of pole A, and the flattened cone-shaped hat D screws into the top of bulb C.

All parts are simple and inexpensive to make and easy to assemble, and if for example pole A cannot be directly inserted into the top of the central post of the rotary airer, it can be inserted into the extension pole B. Pole AB can then be attached alongside the central post of the airer by means of suitable fixings E.

Figure 2 shows a plan view of the lightweight waterproof curtain K. It can be circular in shape with an opening as drawn, and a suitable material is that sold for heavy duty shower curtains. If it needs to be weighted around the outside this can be achieved by sewing weights into the hem at intervals.

Figure 3 shows the center of the curtain in detail. F is the ring, which sits on pole A (Figure 1). G indicates curtain rings which attach the main ring F to the curtain through reinforced holes.

Figure 4 shows the assembly using the extension method with the curtain rolled up and attached to one on the rotary arms by ties at I.

Figure 5 shows the assembly without the extension. The curtain is drawn around the airer and attached at points J by suitable fastenings of hook and loop type ('Velcro'-trade mark).

To attach the rotary airer rain protection cover to the rotary airer using the extension method.

- Starting with the rotary airer in the closed position feed the pole AB up under the strings of the drier until the pole is standing alongside the rotary post. Attach the lower fastenings, pull the curtain free from the strings, open the airer, then attach the upper fastenings. Attach one side of the curtain opening to one of the rotary arms by fixing provided at I.

To attach the rotary airer rain protection cover to the rotary airer using the attach method.

-Starting with the rotary airer in the closed position, insert the pole A into the top of the rotary post then open the airer and attach the curtain to the rotary arm as described above.

An additional feature of the airer, optional and therefore not illustrated, is for the curtain to have reinforced holes corresponding in position to the arms and for each arm to have a stop engaging the reinforcement. The curtain is very effectively anchored in this way and with the holes out near the edge of the curtain the very small amount of rain that gets in through the holes is no problem.