Oral hygiene implement and method of assembling an oral hygiene implement

Abstract

An oral hygiene implement, in particular a replacement brush head, that has a carrier assembly mounted at a housing part for movement relative to the housing part. The carrier assembly has at least two carriers arranged at a distance therebetween and an elongated, shaft-like connector element connected to the at least two carriers. The connector element has undercut sections at the locations where the carriers are connected to the connector element. The carriers are plastic-injection molded parts extending around the connector element so that the carriers are non-detachably connected to the connector element by a positive-fit connection. A method of assembling an oral hygiene implement is also provided.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An oral hygiene implement comprising a replacement brush head having a carrier assembly mounted at a housing part for movement relative to the housing part, wherein the carrier assembly comprises:
 at least two carriers arranged with a distance from each other; and   an elongated shaft-like connector element having a longitudinal axis and connected to the at least two carriers;   wherein the connector element has undercut sections provided at locations where the carriers are connected to the connector element, and wherein the carriers are plastic injection-molded parts extending around the connector element so that each of the carriers is non-detachably connected to the connector element by a positive fit connection.   
     
     
         2 . The oral hygiene implement in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the connector element is made from a metal rod and wherein the undercut sections comprise crimped or otherwise deformed portions of the connector element. 
     
     
         3 . The oral hygiene implement in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the carrier assembly has at least three carriers consecutively arranged with respect to the longitudinal axis with a distance between neighboring carriers. 
     
     
         4 . The oral hygiene implement in accordance with  claim 3 , wherein the distance between at least two neighboring carriers in the longitudinal direction is selected from the group consisting of a distance of less than about 5 mm, a distance of less than about 2 mm, a distance of at least 0.8 mm, and a distance of at least 0.5 mm. 
     
     
         5 . The oral hygiene implement in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein one of the carriers forms a front carrier arranged at a front region of the oral hygiene implement and the front carrier extends around an end of the connector element. 
     
     
         6 . The oral hygiene implement in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the carriers comprises at least one carrier cleaning element having an enlarged base section around which the injection-molded carrier extends. 
     
     
         7 . The oral hygiene implement in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the housing part has a cavity in which the carrier assembly is disposed. 
     
     
         8 . The oral hygiene implement in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein at least one housing cleaning element is mounted at the housing part and extends between two of the carriers, and wherein a width of the housing cleaning element is essentially equal to or slightly smaller than the distance between the two carriers. 
     
     
         9 . The oral hygiene implement in accordance with  claim 8 , wherein at least two housing cleaning elements are mounted at the housing part and extend between two of the carriers, and wherein the connector element extends between the two housing cleaning elements. 
     
     
         10 . The oral hygiene implement in accordance with  claim 1 , further comprising a closure element connected to the housing part and extending over a portion of the connector element, wherein the closure element forms at least a portion of a bearing for the connector element. 
     
     
         11 . The oral hygiene implement in accordance with  claim 10 , wherein at least one auxiliary cleaning element is mounted on the closure element, wherein the auxiliary cleaning element is an injection-molded element. 
     
     
         12 . A method of assembling an oral hygiene implement, the method comprising the steps of:
 providing a carrier assembly by injection-molding at least two carriers around undercut sections of a connector element so that each carrier forms a non-detachable positive-fit connection with the connector element and the carriers are arranged with a distance;   providing a housing part by a plastic injection-molding process, wherein the housing part has a cavity for receiving the carrier assembly;   mounting the carrier assembly at the housing part, such that the carrier assembly is borne for movement relative to the housing part.   
     
     
         13 . The method in accordance with  claim 12 , wherein the step of providing the housing part includes mounting at least one housing cleaning element at the housing part, and the step of mounting the carrier assembly includes pushing the housing cleaning element in between two of the carriers that are mutually adjacent. 
     
     
         14 . The method in accordance with  claim 12 , wherein the step of providing the housing part includes mounting at least two mutually adjacent housing cleaning elements at the housing part, and the step of mounting the carrier assembly includes moving a portion of the connector element in between the two housing cleaning elements. 
     
     
         15 . The method in accordance with  claim 12 , further comprising a step of connecting a closure element with the housing part by a method selected from the group consisting of gluing, welding, snap-fitting, and any combination thereof, so that the closure element covers a portion of the connector element. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the method includes a step of pushing the two housing cleaning elements apart from each other. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the closure element is forming at least a portion of a bearing for the connector element.