An apparatus (1) for producing bristle products (2), in particular brushes, brooms and/or paint brushes, having at least two stations (3,4) and a transport apparatus (5), with which the bristle product bodies (6) and/or bristle products (2) to be processed are movable from station to station. The transport apparatus (5) has at least two transport planes (7,8) which are independent of one another and in which bristle product bodies (6) and/or bristle products (2) can be supplied to the stations (3,4) for processing and/or handling.

To improve the brush-making field, a tuft-picking device (4) is provided, which includes the tuft picker (8) that is movable in relation to the material box (2) of the brush-making machine (1) and, on its front side (11), which in the operating position faces the bristle supply (3) held in the material box (2), includes at least one tuft-picking notch (12). The tuft-picking notch (12) has two opposing knife edges (14, 15), which delimit the notch opening (13) of the tuft-picking notch (12) and are oriented transverse to the direction of movement of the tuft picker (8). Another part of the tuft-picking device (4) is the counter piece (9), which is provided with the separating edge (17) facing the tuft picker (8). In order to allow bristle filaments (16) to be removed from the bristle supply (4) as gently as possible, at least one of the two knife edges (14, 15) and/or the separating edge (17) is rounded.

An apparatus for producing bristle products is provided. The apparatus (1) has at least two, preferably redundant, tufting units (3, 4) which can optionally be moved from a setting-up position (7) outside a working chamber (8) of the apparatus (1) into a working position (9) within the working chamber (8) and vice versa, in particular such that, whenever one of the at least two tufting units (3, 4) is arranged in the setting-up position (7), another of the at least two tufting units (3, 4) can be or is arranged in the working position (9).

A filament-transportation device has a plurality of tube elements for transporting filaments from an intake area to an outtake area via an airstream generated by underpressure or overpressure. Each tube element has an end orifice. A baffle-plate unit has a baffle plate having a through-hole, a top surface opposite to the end orifices to stop the transport of the filaments, and a bottom surface opposite to the top surface. The baffle plate includes baffle plate elements associated with the end orifices. Each of the baffle-plate elements has a top surface forming part of the top surface of the baffle plate, a bottom surface forming part of the bottom surface of the baffle plate, and a side surface extending between the top and bottom surface. There is a plurality of bridge elements, each having a top surface forming part of the top surface of the baffle plate, a bottom surface forming part of the bottom surface of the baffle plate, and a side surface extending from the top surface of the bridge element to the bottom surface of the bridge element. The through-hole is defined either by the side surfaces of at least two baffle plate elements or by the side surfaces of at least one baffle plate element and of a side surface of at least one bridge element not facing an end orifice of a tube element, which bridge element connects two spaced apart baffle plate elements from the plurality of baffle plate elements.

A method for producing a toothbrush head, comprising: providing at least two filament containers, each comprising a supply of loose filaments that differ in at least one of their property selected from material, diameter, cross-section, shape, and presence of additives and/or coating; picking bristle tufts from the containers and arranging them in a perforation plate comprising holes shaped and distributed according to a desired bristle field of the brush head to be produced; arranging an energy source and the ends of the tufts in a contactless arrangement, wherein the ends of the tufts to be fused are at different distances from the energy source, and wherein the distance is adjusted according to the at least one property; applying energy to the ends of the tufts until fuse balls are formed thereon; transferring the tufts to a molding position, wherein a distance between at least one fuse ball and the front surface is different from the distance between the bottom edge of said fuse ball and the front surface in the fusing position; over-molding the fuse balls with molten plastic material thereby forming a cleaning element carrier; transferring the cleaning element carrier to a brush head mold and injecting molten plastic material into the brush head mold forming a toothbrush head, wherein the cleaning element carrier is over-molded thereby and the tufts are still located in the perforation plate.

To improve the brush-making field, a tuft-picking device (4) is provided, which includes the tuft picker (8) that is movable in relation to the material box (2) of the brush-making machine (1) and, on its front side (11), which in the operating position faces the bristle supply (3) held in the material box (2), includes at least one tuft-picking notch (12). The tuft-picking notch (12) has two opposing knife edges (14, 15), which delimit the notch opening (13) of the tuft-picking notch (12) and are oriented transverse to the direction of movement of the tuft picker (8). Another part of the tuft-picking device (4) is the counter piece (9), which is provided with the separating edge (17) facing the tuft picker (8). In order to allow bristle filaments (16) to be removed from the bristle supply (4) as gently as possible, at least one of the two knife edges (14, 15) and/or the separating edge (17) is rounded.

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 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 tuft picker for a brush-making machine for automated production of brushes, such as toothbrushes, which is adapted to remove filaments from a filament container. The tuft picker comprises two parts. Each of the two parts comprises at least one picker eye for taking up a predefined number of loose filaments from the filament container. These picker eyes comprise an opening which can be opened and closed by moving the cover tool from a first position into a second position during one working stroke.

A method for producing a toothbrush head, comprising: providing at least two filament containers, each comprising a supply of loose filaments that differ in at least one of their property selected from material, diameter, cross-section, shape, and presence of additives and/or coating; picking bristle tufts from the containers and arranging them in a perforation plate comprising holes shaped and distributed according to a desired bristle field of the brush head to be produced; arranging an energy source and the ends of the tufts in a contactless arrangement, wherein the ends of the tufts to be fused are at different distances from the energy source, and wherein the distance is adjusted according to the at least one property; applying energy to the ends of the tufts until fuse balls are formed thereon; transferring the tufts to a molding position, wherein a distance between at least one fuse ball and the front surface is different from the distance between the bottom edge of said fuse ball and the front surface in the fusing position; over-molding the fuse balls with molten plastic material thereby forming a cleaning element carrier; transferring the cleaning element carrier to a brush head mold and injecting molten plastic material into the brush head mold forming a toothbrush head, wherein the cleaning element carrier is over-molded thereby and the tufts are still located in the perforation plate.