Toothbrush Head

Abstract

A toothbrush head with a bristle support member on which a bristle zone with a plurality of bristle tufts is arranged. The bristle tufts include three differently inclined groups of bristle tufts of which a first group is arranged essentially perpendicular to the plane of the bristle support member, a second group is inclined in a direction transverse to the toothbrush head longitudinal axis towards a first side, and a third group is inclined in a direction transverse to the toothbrush head longitudinal axis towards an opposite second side, with the inclined bristle tufts of the second and third group being arranged in transverse rows on the bristle support member. In each transverse row of inclined bristle tufts, all the bristle tufts are inclined towards the same side, with the bristle inclined from the outside inwards.

1 - 17 . (canceled) 
   
   
       18 . A toothbrush head, comprising:
 (i) a bristle support member defining a plane and containing a longitudinal axis of the toothbrush head;   (ii) a bristle zone on the bristle support member;   (iii) a plurality of bristle tufts arranged in the bristle zone, the plurality comprising:
 (a) a first group of bristle tufts arranged substantially perpendicular to the plane of the bristle support member; 
 (b) a second group of bristle tufts arranged in transverse rows on the bristle support member, such that all of said bristle tufts are inclined from the outside inwards in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush head towards a first side of the toothbrush head; and 
 (c) a third group of bristle tufts arranged in transverse rows on the bristle support member, such that all of said bristle tufts are inclined from the outside inwards in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush head towards an opposite second side of the toothbrush head. 
   
   
   
       19 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein the bristle tufts in each transverse row of bristle tufts are arranged in a common plane in which the bristle zone is free from perpendicular and counter-inclined bristle tufts. 
   
   
       20 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein the bristle tufts in each transverse row of bristle tufts have the same degree of inclination. 
   
   
       21 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein the bristle tufts in each transverse row are inclined along the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush head. 
   
   
       22 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein the height of the bristle tufts of at least the second group or the third group exceeds the height of the bristle tufts of the first group. 
   
   
       23 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein the bristle tufts in any one transverse row are different in height. 
   
   
       24 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein, for any one transverse row, the height of the inclined bristle tufts with bristle heads near a center of the bristle zone exceeds the height of the inclined bristle tufts with bristle heads near an outer side of the bristle zone. 
   
   
       25 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein the heads of the inclined bristle tufts in any one transverse row form an approximately rectilinear contour downwardly sloping towards an outer side of the bristle zone. 
   
   
       26 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein the heads of the inclined bristle tufts of the second and third group define an approximately gable-roof-shaped contour with a longitudinal axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush head. 
   
   
       27 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein the bristle tufts of the second group are inclined from the second side to the first side of the toothbrush head and the bristle tufts of the third group are inclined from the first side to the second side of the toothbrush head, such that bristle tufts of the second group and ,bristle tufts of the first group overlap at least in part along the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush head. 
   
   
       28 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein a base area of the bristle zone is at least as large as a corresponding working area of the bristle zone. 
   
   
       29 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein the transverse rows of the second group alternate with the transverse rows of the third group along the direction of the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush head. 
   
   
       30 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein bristle tufts of the first group are arranged between the transverse rows of the second group and the transverse rows of the third group. 
   
   
       31 . The toothbrush head of  claim 30 , wherein bristle tufts of the first, second, and third groups are alternately arranged along the direction of the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush head. 
   
   
       32 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein the bristle tufts of the first group have a cross-section that differs from the cross-section of the bristle tufts of at least the second or third group. 
   
   
       33 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein all the bristle tufts of the first group have substantially the same cross-sectional shape. 
   
   
       34 . The toothbrush head of  claim 33 , wherein the cross-sectional shape is approximately circular. 
   
   
       35 . The toothbrush head of  claims 18 , wherein all the bristle tufts of the second and third groups have substantially the same cross-sectional shape. 
   
   
       36 . The toothbrush head of  claim 35 , wherein the cross-sectional shape is approximately rectangular, and wherein the longitudinal sides of the rectangle extend substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the transverse row in which the bristle tufts are arranged. 
   
   
       37 . The toothbrush head of  claim 18 , wherein the bristle tufts in the second and third groups are inclined relative to a perpendicular on the bristle support plane at an angle of about 5° to about 45°. 
   
   
       38 . The toothbrush head of  claim 37 , the bristle tufts in the second and third groups are inclined relative to the perpendicular on the bristle support plane at an angle of about 10° to about 30°. 
   
   
       39 . The toothbrush head of  claim 38 , the bristle tufts in the second and third groups are inclined relative to the perpendicular on the bristle support plane at an angle of about 15° to about 25°.