Hole perforation plate for manufacturing of a toothbrush head and part thereof

Abstract

A hole perforation plate has a front surface, a back surface, a thickness therebetween, and a plurality of holes, grouped into more than one arrangement of holes, wherein the more than one arrangement of holes can be identical or different compared to one another regarding the number of the holes, the shape of the holes, the size of the holes, the distance between the holes, the arrangement of the holes, and a combination thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A hole perforation plate for manufacturing a cleaning element carrier of a toothbrush having at least one protrusion located centrally at a front surface of the cleaning element carrier,
 the hole perforation plate comprising a front surface, a back surface, a thickness therebetween, and a plurality of holes grouped into a plurality of hole arrangements,   wherein the hole arrangements are separate from one another and are either identical to or different from one another with respect to a number of the holes, a shape of the holes, a size of the holes, a distance between the holes, an arrangement of the holes ( 70 ) within the hole arrangements, and any combination thereof,   wherein the front surface ( 61 ) of the hole perforation plate ( 60 ) comprises a central depression configured to form the at least one central protrusion located centrally at the front surface of the cleaning element carrier to be manufactured.   
     
     
         2 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of the hole arrangements includes from 1 to 60 holes. 
     
     
         3 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of the hole arrangements includes from 15 to 30 holes. 
     
     
         4 . The hole perforation plate of  claims 1 , wherein the holes are selected from the group consisting of through-holes structured and configured to receive bristle tufts and blind holes structured and configured to receive elastomeric cleaning elements. 
     
     
         5 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 1 , wherein the holes have shapes selected from the group consisting of a round shape, an oval shape, a half-round shape, a sickle shape, an elliptic shape, an elongate shape, an angled shape, a quadrangular shape, a trapezoidal shape, a pentagonal shape, a hexagonal shape, a heptagonal shape, an octagonal shape, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 1 , wherein each of the holes has a size of from 0.6 mm 2  to 3 mm 2 . 
     
     
         7 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 6 , wherein each of the holes has a size of from 1.0 mm 2  to 2.0 mm 2 . 
     
     
         8 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 1 , wherein a distance between adjacent holes in the hole perforation plate is from 0.2 mm to 2 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 8 , wherein the distance between adjacent holes in the hole perforation plate is from 0.5 mm to 1.2 mm. 
     
     
         10 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the hole perforation plate is from about 5 mm to about 20 mm. 
     
     
         11 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 10 , wherein the thickness of the hole perforation plate is from about 6 mm to about 14 mm. 
     
     
         12 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 1 , wherein the hole perforation plate is made of a material selected from the group consisting of metal, metal alloys, heat-resistant plastic, ceramic, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 1 , wherein the hole perforation plate comprises several layers made from different materials. 
     
     
         14 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 13 , wherein the several layers comprise at least a first layer made from a first material and a second layer made from a second material, wherein the first layer comprises the front surface of the hole perforation plate, and the second layer comprises the back surface of the hole perforation plate, and wherein the first material is more heat-resistant than the second material. 
     
     
         15 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 1 , wherein the holes of at least one of the plurality of hole arrangement are located at different levels of the hole perforation plate. 
     
     
         16 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 15 , wherein the front surface in an area of the at least one of the plurality of hole arrangement comprises a convex surface. 
     
     
         17 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of hole arrangements corresponds to a bristle field of a toothbrush head selected from the group consisting of a bristle field of a head of a manual toothbrush and a bristle field of a replacement brush head for an electric toothbrush. 
     
     
         18 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of hole arrangement has a shape selected from the group consisting of an elongated shape and a round shape. 
     
     
         19 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 1 , wherein the back surface of the hole perforation plate is combinable with a stopper plate. 
     
     
         20 . The hole perforation plate of  claim 19 , wherein the stopper plate has a surface selected from the group consisting of a flat surface and a surface comprising protrusions corresponding in form and shape to the hole arrangements.