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.

The embodiments of the present disclosure provides a brush manufacturing machine (100) comprising a rotary transportation mechanism (160); a bristle carrier loading station (110); one or more bristle dispensing station (120a-d) comprising a bristle feed mechanism (200), a bristle tuft picker (240), and a bristle plant feeder (250), that plants high-density and short length bristle tufts on a bristle carrier (170) with fine pitch openings; an ultrasonic fusion station (130); a heating station (140); an unloading station (150); and a logic controller system for providing programmed commands, controlling the machine sequence and monitoring the feedback of operating conditions at every station through a network of sensors and actuators.

A tuft picker for a brush-making machine for automated production of brushes, toothbrushes adapted to remove filaments from a filament container. The tuft picker includes two cover tools spaced by a picking part. The picking part has at least one picker eye for taking up a predefined number of loose filaments from the filament container. This picker eye has an opening that can be opened and closed by moving the cover tools from a first position to a second position during one working stroke.

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 method and an apparatus for producing bristle fields for brushes. The bristles are filled into a hole of a mold form by a feed line having an upstream end with an inlet valve and a downstream end with an outlet valve. The method includes steps of forming a bundle of bristles; applying a predefined gas pressure above atmospheric pressure in the feed line the inlet and outlet valves; inserting the bundle into the feed line at an insertion station between the inlet and outlet valves; and maintaining the predefined pressure between said valves; draining off a first volume of gas from the feed line via the outlet valve while feeding a second volume of gas into the feed line via the inlet valve, thereby moving the bundle of bristles in the feed line towards the mold form, wherein the pressure in the feed line upstream and downstream of the bundle of bristles is kept above atmospheric pressure.

The embodiments of the present disclosure provides a brush manufacturing machine (100) comprising a rotary transportation mechanism (160); a bristle carrier loading station (110); one or more bristle dispensing station (120a-d) comprising a bristle feed mechanism (200), a bristle tuft picker (240), and a bristle plant feeder (250), that plants high-density and short length bristle tufts on a bristle carrier (170) with fine pitch openings; an ultrasonic fusion station (130); a heating station (140); an unloading station (150); and a logic controller system for providing programmed commands, controlling the machine sequence and monitoring the feedback of operating conditions at every station through a network of sensors and actuators.

A transportation device for transferring bristles from one location to another location comprises a tube system and a baffle plate comprising conically shaped vents. The baffle plate is arranged at one end of the tube system in order to stop the movement of the bristles transported inside the tube system using airflow. Such a transportation system may be part of a device for automated production of brushes, in particular toothbrushes. A plurality of bristles can be transferred by such transportation system in order to be arranged in a pre-defined bristle pattern corresponding to a bristle field of a brush, in particular a tooth brush.

A transfer station for bristle filaments that are fed to the transfer station in bristle bundles is provided. The bristle filaments are assembled in bundle form by at least one band and are transferred to a magazine in which the bristle filaments are stored. The transfer station has at least two pairs of gripping fingers spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the bundles, with the gripping fingers of the gripping-finger pairs being movable relative to one another in order to grip a bristle bundle by a distance between said gripping fingers being reduced. The gripping-finger pairs grip the bristle bundle such that the band of the bristle bundle is arranged between adjacent gripping-finger pairs. This makes it possible for the bristle filaments fed in bundle form to be transferred in an automated manner to the magazine arranged upstream of a stuffing tool of a brush-production machine.

Improvements in the technical field of brush manufacture are provided by a dividing-up device (1), which includes a dividing-up disc (5) with at least two dividing-up indents (6) formed at its circumference. In order for it to be possible to adapt an effective indent volume of the dividing-up indents (6) as desired, the dividing-up device (1) also includes an adjusting device (8), which is designed to adjust the effective indent volume of the dividing-up indents (6) that is available for dividing up clusters (2) of bristles.

According to a method or an apparatus for fastening bristles in a bristle carrier (10) without using an anchor a heating (39) is provided in a tool part configured to transport the bristles. After inserting the bristles into anchoring openings (12) in the bristle carrier (10), the anchoring openings are closed by applying pressure.