Hole perforation plate for manufacturing of a toothbrush head and part thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11617432-B2
Application number	US-202016898382-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2020
Priority date	Jun 21, 2019
Publication date	Apr 4, 2023
Grant date	Apr 4, 2023

Abstract

A hole perforation plate (60) has a front surface (61), a back surface (62), a thickness (D) therebetween, and a plurality of holes (70), grouped into more than one arrangement (65) of holes (70), wherein the more than one arrangement (65) of holes (70) can be identical or different compared to one another regarding the number of the holes (70), the shape of the holes (70), the size of the holes (70), the distance between the holes (70), the arrangement of the holes (70), and a combination thereof, and wherein the front surface (61) is uneven in the area of the arrangement (65) of the holes (70).

First claim

What we claim is:

1. A hole perforation plate ( 60 ) for manufacturing a cleaning element carrier ( 30 ) of a toothbrush ( 14 ) having at least one protrusion ( 37 ) located centrally at a front surface ( 31 ) of the cleaning element carrier ( 30 ),
the hole perforation plate ( 60 ) comprising a front surface ( 61 ), a back surface ( 62 ), a thickness (D) therebetween, and a plurality of holes ( 70 ) grouped into a plurality of arrangements ( 65 ) of holes ( 70 ),
wherein the arrangements ( 65 ) are separate from one another and are either identical to or different from one another with respect to a number of the holes ( 70 ), a shape of the holes ( 70 ), a size of the holes ( 70 ), a distance between the holes ( 70 ), an arrangement of the holes ( 70 ), and any combination thereof, wherein the front surface ( 61 ) is uneven in the area of the arrangement ( 65 ) of the holes ( 70 ),
wherein the front surface ( 61 ) of the hole perforation plate ( 60 ) comprises a first depression and a central depression ( 63 ), wherein the central depression is closer to the back surface than the first depression, wherein the diameter of the first depression is larger than the diameter of the central depression, and wherein the central depression has a constant thickness which extends in the same direction as the thickness (D) of the hole perforation plate ( 60 ), the central depression including at least two holes and an area between and surrounding the at least two holes, the central depression being configured to form the at least one central protrusion ( 37 ) located centrally at the front surface ( 31 ) of the cleaning element carrier ( 30 ) to be manufactured, and
wherein the hole perforation plate ( 60 ) is a part of a mold.

2. The hole perforation plate of claim 1 , wherein the number of holes ( 70 ) in one arrangement ( 65 ) is from 1 to 60.

3. The hole perforation plate of claim 2 , wherein the number of holes ( 70 ) in one arrangement ( 65 ) is from 15 to 40.

4. The hole perforation plate of claim 3 , wherein the number of holes ( 70 ) in one arrangement ( 65 ) is from 15 to 35.

5. The hole perforation plate of claim 4 , wherein the number of holes ( 70 ) in one arrangement ( 65 ) is from 15 to 30.

6. The hole perforation plate of claim 1 , wherein the holes ( 70 ) are selected from the group consisting of through-holes structured and configured to receive bristle tufts and blind holes ( 64 ) structured and configured to receive elastomeric cleaning elements.

7. The hole perforation plate of claim 1 , wherein the holes ( 70 ) have shapes selected from the group consisting of a round shape, an oval shape, a half-round shape, a sickle shape, an elliptic shape, an elongate shape, an angled shape, a quadrangular shape, a trapezoidal shape, a pentagonal shape, a hexagonal shape, a heptagonal shape, an octagonal shape, and any combination thereof.

8. The hole perforation plate of claim 1 , wherein the holes have a size of from 0.6 mm 2 to 3 mm 2 .

9. The hole perforation plate of claim 8 , wherein the holes have the size of from 1.0 mm 2 to 2.0 mm 2 .

10. The hole perforation plate of claim 9 , wherein the holes have the size of about 1.5 mm 2 .

11. The hole perforation plate of claim 1 , wherein a distance between adjacent holes ( 70 ) in the hole perforation plate ( 60 ) is from 0.2 mm to 2 mm.

12. The hole perforation plate of claim 11 , wherein the distance between adjacent holes ( 70 ) in the hole perforation plate ( 60 ) is from 0.4 mm to 1.8 mm.

13. The hole perforation plate of claim 12 , wherein the distance between adjacent holes ( 70 ) in the hole perforation plate ( 60 ) is from 0.5 mm to 1.2 mm.

14. The hole perforation plate of claim 1 , wherein the hole perforation plate is made of a material selected from the group consisting of metal, metal alloys, heat-resistant plastic, ceramic, and any combination thereof.

15. The hole perforation plate of claim 14 , wherein the hole perforation plate is made of a material comprising steel or stainless steel, and wherein the hole perforation plate comprises several layers.

16. The hole perforation plate of claim 15 , wherein the several layers are made from different materials.

17. The hole perforation plate of claim 16 , wherein the several layers comprise at least a first layer and a second layer, and wherein the first layer comprises the front surface ( 61 ) of the hole perforation plate and is made of a material that is more heat-resistant than a material of the second layer that comprises the back surface ( 62 ).

18. The hole perforation plate of claim 1 , wherein the hole perforation plate has the thickness (D) of from about 5 mm to about 20 mm.

19. The hole perforation plate of claim 18 , wherein the hole perforation plate has the thickness (D) of from about 6 mm to about 14 mm.

20. The hole perforation plate of claim 1 , wherein the holes ( 70 ) of at least one arrangement ( 65 ) are located at different levels of the hole perforation plate ( 60 ).

21. The hole perforation plate of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of arrangements corresponds to a bristle field ( 28 ) of a toothbrush head ( 12 , 16 ) selected from the group consisting of a bristle field of a head of a manual toothbrush and a bristle field of a replacement brush head ( 19 ) for an electric toothbrush.

22. The hole perforation plate of claim 21 , wherein the at least one arrangement ( 65 ) of holes ( 70 ) has a shape selected from the group consisting of an elongated shape and a round shape.

23. The hole perforation plate of claim 1 , wherein the back surface ( 62 ) is combinable with a stopper plate.

24. The hole perforation plate of claim 23 , wherein the stopper plate has a surface selected from the group consisting of a flat surface and a surface comprising protrusions corresponding in form and shape to the arrangements ( 65 ) of holes ( 70 ).

Assignees

• Procter & Gamble

Inventors

• Ganninger Jochen
• Schulz Holger
• Altmann Niclas

Classifications

• A46B3/06

  by welding together bristles made of metal wires or plastic materials · CPC title

• A46D3/045 Primary

  for fixing bristles by fusing or gluing to a body · CPC title

• A46B9/04 Primary

  {Arranged like in or} for toothbrushes · CPC title

• A46B9/06

  Arrangement of mixed bristles or tufts of bristles, e.g. wire, fibre, rubber · CPC title

• A46B3/22

  rubber bristles being fixed in or on brush bodies · CPC title