A method of tufting, with a tufting tool, a brushroll dowel for a vacuum cleaner having a bristle stiffener protruding from the dowel and a bristle hole adjacent the bristle stiffener. The tufting tool includes a notch. The method provides a brushroll with bristles tufted into the bristle hole adjacent the bristle stiffener. A brushroll for a vacuum cleaner can be made using an injection molding process, with bristle stiffeners integrally molded with the dowel and a plurality of stiffened bristles protruding from the brush dowel adjacent to the bristle stiffeners.

An oral care implement which incorporates a head coupled to a handle. The head has a neck portion and a head portion. The head portion is formed of a base structure, a plurality of tuft blocks mounted on the base structure, and a guard structure covering the base structure. The plurality of tuft blocks each have a plurality of bristle tufts. In some configurations, the head portion may have a wall and a plurality of fingers. The wall may extend in a concave shape which is formed by a plurality of bends located between adjacent tuft blocks.

An oral care implement which incorporates a head coupled to a handle. The head has a neck portion and a head portion. The head portion is formed of a base structure, a plurality of tuft blocks mounted on the base structure, and a guard structure covering the base structure. The plurality of tuft blocks each have a plurality of bristle tufts. In some configurations, the head portion may have a wall and a plurality of fingers. The wall may extend in a concave shape which is formed by a plurality of bends located between adjacent tuft blocks.

A tuft-picking device for a brush-making machine includes a container for holding loose filaments with circumferences having at least one recess; and a tuft picker having a working surface having a notch. The notch has a depth, a width, and an opening. A contour of the working surface is movable during a working stroke past an open side of the container so that the opening passes the loose filaments. First and second projections reduce the opening versus an inner width. The first projection's top is located in the working surface of the tuft picker and the second projection's top is located off-site the working surface and inside the notch. The second projection passes the open side of the filament container last during a working stroke. A distance from the top of the second projection to the working surface is from 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm, and an angle between the working surface and a line of reflection symmetry crossing the top of the second projection is from 0 to 45.

A tuft picker for a tuft-picking device has a working surface having a tuft-picking notch with a depth, a width, and an opening. First and second projections reduce the opening of the notch versus an inner width. At least one top of the first and/or second projection is located off-site the working surface of the tuft picker and inside of the notch. A distance from the at least one top to the working surface of the tuft picker is in the range of from 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm, and an angle between the working surface of the tuft picker and a line of reflection symmetry crossing the at least one top is from 1 to 45.

Nanobrushes, methods of forming nanobrushes, and methods of altering material with a nanobrush are disclosed herein. A nanobrush may include a substrate having a surface and a plurality of bristles deposited on at least one portion of the surface. The plurality of bristles may be arranged into a plurality of bunches. Each of the plurality of bunches may be spaced from an adjacent bunch at a bunch interval equal to or less than about 100 m.

Nanobrushes, methods of forming nanobrushes, and methods of altering material with a nanobrush are disclosed herein. A nanobrush may include a substrate having a surface and a plurality of bristles deposited on at least one portion of the surface. The plurality of bristles may be arranged into a plurality of bunches. Each of the plurality of bunches may be spaced from an adjacent bunch at a bunch interval equal to or less than about 100 m.

An oral care implement having a head with a bristle bearing surface. The oral care implement may include a central bristle tuft extending from a central portion of the bristle bearing surface. The oral care implement may include a plurality of perimetric bristle tufts extending from the bristle bearing surface and arranged to circumferentially surround the central bristle tuft. The perimetric bristle tufts may have different shapes from one another.

A method of making a cleaning element carrier for a toothbrush comprises: providing at least two pluralities of loose filaments of a predefined length and different from one another in at least one of filament material, filament diameter, filament cross-section, filament shape, presence or absence of additives, presence or absence of a coating, and any combination thereof; providing a hole-perforation plate having a front surface, a back surface, a thickness therebetween, and a plurality of holes shaped and arranged according to a predetermined pattern; picking filaments from the pluralities of loose filaments; providing an energy source; arranging a plurality of bristle tufts in a fusing position in the hole-perforation plate so that ends of the bristle tufts are disposed at different distances from the energy source, wherein the distances are adjustable according to the at least one property, wherein the plurality of bristle tufts includes bristle tufts comprising an inner portion bristle tufts comprising a peripheral portion, and wherein a distance between the energy source and the ends of the bristle tufts comprising the inner portion is shorter than a distance between the energy source and the ends of the bristle tufts comprising the peripheral portion; applying energy from the energy source to the ends of the tufts until fuse balls are formed at the ends of the tufts; transferring the tufts to a molding position in the hole-perforation plate so that a distance between a bottom edge of at least one fuse ball of at least one bristle tuft and the front surface of the hole-perforation plate is different from a distance between the bottom edge of the fuse ball of said tuft and the front surface of the hole-perforation plate in the fusing position; over-molding the fuse balls with molten plastic material thereby forming a cleaning element carrier.

A method for separating bristle bundles (5) from a supply (10) of loose bristle filaments (11) is provided, in which a bundle separator (13) having a separating notch (14) is moved in a separating movement past the supply (10) of loose bristle filaments (11), in the process separating a bristle bundle (5) from the supply (10) which makes its way into the separating notch (14). When the separating movement is carried out, the separating notch (14) changes its direction of movement in a separating region (16) on the supply (10) at least twice, preferably at least thrice.