EP2059143B1 - Toothbrush with inclined bristles and pointed bristles - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to brush heads for toothbrushes in which a part of the tufts is inclined and a part of the tufts is vertical.

Toothbrushes with a mixed stocking perpendicular to the bristle carrier towering tufts on the one hand and inclined, x-shaped crossing tufts on the other hand, with all the bristles are cylindrical, are from the EP-A-0 885 573 known. The Applicant of the present application sells three toothbrushes of this type in Europe under the names Elmex Inter X, Elmex Inter X sensitive and Elmex Inter X junior. These toothbrushes are distinguished from a brush with exclusively vertical or exclusively x-shaped crossed tufts by a good cleaning performance both in the tooth surfaces and in the interdental spaces.

Since more recent time, approximately from the EP-A-0 596 633 Also known as toothbrushes with so-called "pointed" bristles, only pointed bristles are present in vertical tufts. Sharpened bristles are more flexible than conventional bristles and therefore allow a gentler cleaning of the tooth surfaces with less risk of injury.

Object of the present invention was a further improvement of the brush heads for toothbrushes.

This object is achieved by a brush head for a toothbrush having a handle portion, a head portion and a bristle surface with bristle tufts inserted therein, wherein at least one of these bristle tufts is perpendicular to the bristle surface and at least one of these tufts is inclined, characterized in that the inclined Tufts consist of cylindrical bristles and that at least a portion of the vertically protruding tufts consist of sharpened bristles.

Preferred embodiments will be apparent from the dependent claims.

It has surprisingly been found that by means of such brush heads, the mesial / distal cleaning performance increases to the tooth surfaces and at the same time a gentler cleaning of the tooth surfaces is possible.

Short description of the figures

• FIG. 1 shows how to understand some of the sizes used in the present invention concerning the inclined and pointed bristle tufts.
• FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the inventive brush head.
• FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the arrangement of the Büschellöcher on the bristle carrier, in particular for the brush head according to FIG. 2 suitable is.
• FIG. 4 shows the measurements of mesial / distal cleaning performance, which were achieved with brush heads according to the invention.

The brush heads according to the invention comprise, in addition to at least one vertically protruding tuft of sharpened bristles, one or more inclined tufts.

The term "inclined" in the context of the present application means that an inclined tuft is inclined at an acute angle to an imaginary line perpendicular to the bristle face, this imaginary line passing through the center of the hole in the bristle carrier associated with said tuft. This acute angle may be about 1 to about 45 °, preferably about 1 ° to about 10 °, more preferably about 7 to about 9 °, and most preferably about 8 °. An inclined tuft can thus be inclined in the said acute angle about forward, backward or to one side. In particular, it may be preferred in one embodiment of the invention that those tufts that are at the edge of the bristle carrier, are projecting from the bristle carrier projecting at said acute angle outwards, allowing a better cleaning of the gums.

Preferably, however, "skewed" means that the tuft in question is skewed forward or backward, more preferably that all skewed tufts are skewed either forwardly or rearwardly. The term "tilted backwards" means in the context of the present application that a backward inclined Tuft seen in the longitudinal direction of the bristle carrier is inclined at an acute angle to the handle portion, and the term "slanted forward" means in the present application that a forwardly inclined tuft in the longitudinal direction of the bristle carrier inclined at an acute angle away from the handle portion is.

The brush head of the invention has a surface which may be flat or curved and which has the holes intended to receive the tufts. The bristle tufts protrude from this surface in the finished brush head. This surface is called a "bristle face".

The tufts protruding vertically from the bristle face consist at least in part of sharpened bristles. Within the scope of the application, "at least one part" is understood to mean that at least 50% and more preferably at least 80% of the bristle tips are preferably sharpened. Particularly preferably, all bristles are pointed in the vertically protruding tufts.

The tufts of the brush head according to the invention preferably have a circular cross section; Also preferably, they all then have the same diameter of the circular cross-sectional area.

The term "pointed bristle" is common in the art and refers to a bristle whose one end or both ends have been reduced in thickness by chemical etching (eg with sulfuric acid or caustic soda) or by mechanical sharpening so that the bristle becomes one towards its end towards tapering, receives approximately conical profile. If both ends of the bristle are treated in this way, one speaks of a "two-sided sharpened bristle", otherwise of a "one-sided sharpened bristle". Details of pointed bristle manufacturing techniques are described in various patent publications; it will be exemplary on the EP-A-1 234 525 , Korean Patent No. 130932 and the US-A-2004/0070258 pointed. Sharpened bristles suitable for the present invention are also available on the market, such as from the manufacturers Sogo, Hylon, Best Whasung, Cheil Jedang, Lion and Whessen.

Preferably, the pointed ends of the bristles taper towards their tapered end, rotationally symmetric about a central axis of the bristle. In this case, the sharpened bristles most preferably have a profile (ie a diameter of the body of revolution as a function of the distance from the pointed end) which corresponds approximately to the numerical values from one of the following Tables 1 to 5. In these tables, the average diameters of the bristles are listed as a function of the distance from the pointed end. The "diameter range" given in these tables is a typical standard deviation of the diameter determined from several copies of the bristle; this standard deviation may also be considered as a characteristic characterizing the range limits of the diameter of these five particularly preferred profiles according to the invention. Table 1 Distance from the pointed end [mm] 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8th 9 10 11 12 Diameter [mm] 0.019 0.066 0,107 0,147 0.172 0.183 0,190 0.195 0.197 0,199 0.201 0,203 0.202 Diameter range [+/- mm] 0.005 0,006 0,012 0.019 0,021 0,020 0.019 0,014 0,014 0,014 0,012 0.011 0,010 Distance from the pointed end [mm] 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8th 9 10 11 12 Diameter [mm] 0,017 0.086 0.140 0.172 0.185 0.192 0.198 0.201 0.204 0,205 0,205 0.208 0.209 Diameter range [+/- mm] 0.005 0,012 0,018 0,021 0,018 0,015 0,013 0,010 0.009 0,008 0,008 0,007 0,006 Distance from the pointed end [mm] 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8th 9 10 11 12 Diameter [mm] 0,014 0.058 0.096 0,127 0,151 0,170 0.183 0.191 0,199 0.202 0,206 0.208 0.209 Diameter range [+/- mm] 0.001 0,003 0.009 0.009 0.009 0,008 0,007 0,006 0,008 0.005 0,006 0.005 0,003 Distance from the pointed end [mm] 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8th 9 10 11 12 Diameter [mm] 0.0204 3.0691 0.112 0,137 0,150 0.156 0,159 0.162 0.163 0.164 0,165 0,165 0.166 Diameter range [+/- mm] 0,002 0,013 0,010 0.011 0.009 0.009 0,008 0,008 0,007 0,007 0,007 0,007 0,007 Distance from the pointed end [mm] 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8th 9 10 11 12 Diameter [mm] 0.015 ^. 0,050 0.084 0.113 0.132 0.148 0.158 0.166 0.173 0.176 0,180 0.183 0.184 Diameter range [+/- mm] 0,003 0,006 0,004 0.005 0.005 0,006 0,006 0,007 0.005 0.005 0,004 0,003 0,003

The non-tapered portion of the sharpened bristles, when these bristles are rotationally symmetric, may have a diameter of about 0.12 to 0.25, preferably about 0.17 to 0.20 mm.

Preferably, the tufts of the inventive brush head are arranged in transverse to its longitudinal transverse rows, in each transverse row either only forwardly inclined tufts with cylindrical bristles, or only backward inclined tufts with cylindrical bristles, or only perpendicular from the bristle surface protruding bristles with pointed and / or cylindrical bristles are present, wherein at least one transverse row of forward or backward inclined tufts and at least one transverse row of vertically protruding from the bristle surface tufts is present.

The cylindrical bristles preferably have a diameter of about 0.12 to about 0.25, preferably about 0.17 to about 0.19 mm.

The brush heads according to the invention preferably include a first and a second transverse row of vertically protruding tufts of sharpened bristles, these two rows being adjacent. The tufts of these two transverse rows are preferably arranged so that each a tuft of the first transverse row and a tuft of the second transverse row in pairs on an imaginary, parallel to the longitudinal direction of the brush head line and these two tufts on this line at a distance d of about 0th , 65 to about 0.95 mm, preferably about 0.7 to about 0.9 mm, and more preferably about 0.75 to about 0.85 mm apart. Preferably, the tufts of the first and second transverse rows have a height h _{a of} from about 10.0 to about 13.0 mm, preferably from about 11.3 to about 11.7 mm, and more preferably about 11.5 mm.

Rather preferably, the brush heads according to the invention also comprise one, preferably two double rows of tufts crossing over in an X-shaped manner. One of these double rows is adjacent to the above-mentioned first transverse row and the second double row is adjacent to the above-mentioned second transverse row. Each of these double rows consists of a transverse row of forward sloping tufts and a further transverse row of tucked backwards tufts. The tufts of one of these transverse rows are offset from the tufts of the other transverse row, so that each a tuft of one of these transverse rows and a tuft of the other of these transverse rows cross in pairs x-shaped. The distance d _x between the two transverse rows forming a double row is preferably about 0.7 to about 1.3 mm, more preferably about 0.9 to about 1.1 mm, and most preferably about 1 mm.

The inclined tufts may have a height h _s equal to or slightly higher than the height h _{a of} the tufts of the first and second transverse rows mentioned above. The height h _s is preferably about 10.5 to about 13.5 mm, more preferably about 11.5 to about 12.5 mm; more preferably, it is about 11.5 mm or about 12.5 mm. The height of an inclined tuft is the height, measured perpendicular to the bristle face, of the center of the brush surface of this bundle, which is preferably made flat by trimming and perpendicular to the central axis of the bundle.

If one or two double rows of tufts crossing over in an X-shape are present, the distance d _a between a double row of tufts crossing over in an x-shape and the adjacent first (or second) transverse row of vertically protruding tufts is preferably about 2.5 to about 3.5 mm, more preferably about 2.7 to about 3.3 mm, and most preferably about 3.0 mm.

When there are exactly two double rows of X-shaped crossed tufts, they are preferably at a distance _dxx in the longitudinal direction of about 8.5 to about 9.5 mm, more preferably about 8.7 to about 9.3 mm, and more preferably about 8.9 mm apart.

The brush head according to the invention can be seen in the longitudinal direction of the head part and viewed in the longitudinal direction of the handle part preferably further transverse rows of vertically protruding tufts of cylindrical and / or pointed bristles, preferably only from pointed bristles. If the brush head according to the invention has two double rows of tufts crossing over in an X-shape, it preferably has one (better two) of such further transverse rows adjacent to the double row lying closer to the handle part in the longitudinal direction towards the handle part; and he also preferably has seen in the longitudinal direction of the head part, adjacent to the second, closer to the headboard double row on one (better two) such other transverse rows.

If the inventive brush head adjacent to the lying closer to the handle part, formed from third and fourth rows of transverse double row in the longitudinal direction of the handle part seen a further (seventh) transverse row of vertically protruding tufts, and adjacent to the lying closer to the head part, formed from fifth and sixth transverse row double row seen in the longitudinal direction to the head part has a further (eighth) transverse row of vertically protruding tufts are so the seventh and eighth transverse rows preferably at a distance d _b of about 2.5 to about 3.5, more preferably about 2.7 to about 3.3 mm and more preferably about 3.0 mm from the lying closer to the handle portion double row or spaced from the lying closer to the headboard double row.

If the brush head according to the invention adjacent to the seventh transverse row in the longitudinal direction of the handle part has a further (ninth) transverse row of vertically protruding tufts, and seen adjacent to the eighth transverse row in the longitudinal direction to the head part has a further (tenth) transverse row of vertically protruding tufts Thus, the ninth row of transverse rows is preferably at a distance d _c of about 5.0 to about 6.0 mm, more preferably about 5.2 to about 5.8 mm, and most preferably about 5.5 mm from the closer to the handle portion Double row spaced; and the tenth transverse row is preferably at a distance d _{d of} from about 4.9 to about 5.9 mm, more preferably about 5. 2 to about 5.6 mm, and most preferably about 5.4 mm from the double row closer to the header spaced.

The heights h _b and h _{cd of} the tufts of the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth transverse rows are preferably about 10.0 to about 13.0 mm, more preferably about 11.0 to about 12.0 mm, and most preferably about 11.3 to about 11.7 mm. Particularly preferably, the heights h _b and h _{cd are} equal to the height h _{a of} the tufts the first and second transverse row.

For the heights h _a , h _b and h _{cd of} the vertically protruding tufts, it should be noted that they may be medium heights if these tufts contain or consist of pointed bristles, because they are preferably not trimmed and therefore the individual bristles are different Heights may have.

In the context of the present application, distances between two transverse rows of tufts are generally measured as the distance between two imaginary lines connecting the centers of the cross-sectional areas of the tufts of one transverse row or the centers of the cross-sectional areas of the tufts of the other transverse row. In order to determine the distance d between the preferably present first and second transverse rows of vertically protruding tufts of tapered bristles, the diameter of the tufts present in these two transverse rows are subtracted from the spacing of the transverse rows as determined above. The distance in the longitudinal direction of the brush head between a transverse row of vertically protruding tufts and a double row of x-shaped crossed tufts is the average of a) the distance between the transverse row in question and the transverse row forming the double row, and b) the distance between the questionable transverse row and the second transverse row forming the double row. This concerns the distances d _b , d _c and d _d . The distance d _xx between two double rows of x-shaped crossing tufts is the average of a) the distance between the forward inclined transverse row of the first double row and the obliquely inclined transverse row of the second Double row, and b) the distance between the rearward slanted transverse row of the first double row and the forward slanted transverse row of the second double row.

The pointed bristles may be made of any material commonly used for pointed toothbrush bristles. Preferably, the bristles are made of a polyester, in particular a poly (C ₂ -C ₈ ) alkylene terephthalate, wherein the (C ₂ -C ₈ ) alkylene is preferably unbranched. Rather preferred as bristle materials are polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate and polypentylene terephthalate; Particularly preferred is polybutylene terephthalate.

The cylindrical bristles may be made of any material commonly used for toothbrush bristles. The non-sharpened bristles are preferably made of a polyamide, in particular of a polyamide, which consists of a preferably unbranched (C ₂ -C ₈ ) -1, ω-diamine and a preferably unbranched (C ₄ -C ₁₄ ) -1, ω-dicarboxylic acid is made. Rather preferred as the bristle materials for the cylindrical bristles Polydimethylenadipinamid, Polytrimethylenadipinamid, Polytetramethylenadipinamid, Polypentamethylenadipinamid, Polyhexamethylenadipinamid, Polydimethylendodecanamid, Polytrimethylendodecanamid, Polytetramethylendodecanamid, Polypentamethylendodecanamid and Polyhexamethylendodecanamid. Particularly preferred is polyhexamethylenedodecanamide.

The inventive brush head can be used for a manual toothbrush or for an electric toothbrush. The attached on the brush head Bristles are set in motion either by hand movements, by motor drive or by sound waves.

The production of the brush heads according to the invention can be carried out analogously to the production of previously known brush heads.

To produce the tufts, one-sided or two-sided sharpened bristles may be used.

The holes of the bristle carrier, which serve to receive the tufts, may have previously been drilled at any angle α or β in the bristle carrier, preferably they can also be produced directly in the manufacture of the bristle carrier by injection molding using punch punches. The holes are preferably circular in cross section to allow the preferred circular tuft cross section.

If bilaterally tapered and cylindrical bristles are used mixed in any ratio for the vertically protruding tufts, the tuft is preferably anchored in a hole of the bristle carrier by means of an anchor plate or a loop. In this case, all the bristles of the forming tufts are bent U-shaped within the hole, so that both ends of each bristle protrude from the hole. The holes are usually not consistent here. The proportion of the pointed ends of the tuft here is just equal to the proportion of double-pointed bristles used.

If unilaterally tapered and cylindrical bristles are mixed in a vertically protruding tuft or bristles are used only on one side, the tuft can be anchored in the hole as described previously or produced by the known AFT (anchor-free tufting) process. In this method, the bristles are inserted into a support plate having through holes, and the bristles of each tuft are welded together at the back hole opening with each other by means of a heating punch. The bristles then protrude from the front hole opening of the carrier plate. The tufts provided with the tufts can then be poured or welded into a brush head. Details of this procedure are approximately in the EP-A-0 405 204 described. The proportion of the pointed ends in the tuft is in the production variant with anchoring equal to half of the proportion used unilaterally pointed bristles; when using the AFT method, it is just equal to this proportion used.

The inclined tufts, which contain only cylindrical bristles, are preferably trimmed according to the invention to a uniform height. The vertically protruding tufts, which may contain pointed or cylindrical, or pointed and cylindrical bristles, or contain only pointed bristles, are preferably not trimmed according to the invention. For the production of prototypes, the selective trimming of the tufts, which contain only non-sharpened bristles, can most easily be carried out with a small, pointed pair of scissors, for example a microscope scissors. In the standard scale, the steps of implanting the slanted tufts with cylindrical bristles, trimming and optionally rounding the bristles of said tufts, and finally planting said vertically protruding tufts, wholly or partially made up of sharpened bristles, in the order given in separate cascaded operations. The machinery and procedural details for each step are known to those skilled in the art.

In reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 preferred embodiments of the invention are written.

FIG. 1 shows first that brush heads according to the invention need not necessarily have the inclined tufts in the form of an X-shaped crossed arrangement; the slanted rows of tufts may also be present either slanted forward or backward.

A first particularly preferred embodiment of the brush head of the invention ( Figures 2 and 3 ) has a first and a second transverse row of vertically protruding tufts of tapered bristles. The distance d between them is about 0.8 mm. In the first and second transverse rows, the widths of the tufts in the transverse direction are about 2.9 mm and their height h _a about 11.5 mm. These two transverse rows are bordered by two double rows of oblique, x-shaped crosses of cylindrical bristles. The one double row closer to the grip part 11 is represented by a third transverse row of three bristle tufts inclined to the rear (represented by its foremost tuft 301) and a fourth transverse row of two tufts inclined forwardly (represented by it) foremost tuft 302). The other double row lying closer to the head part 12 is formed by a third transverse row of two tufts of bristles inclined backwards (represented by their foremost tuft 303) and a fourth transverse row of three tufts inclined forwardly (represented by their foremost tuft 304). The distance d _x , the two have a double row forming transverse rows in the longitudinal direction of the brush head from each other, each about 1 mm. The height h _{s of} the inclined tufts contained therein is about 11.5 mm, and the angles α and β, respectively, in which they are inclined forward and backward, are about + 8 ° and about -8 °, respectively (definitions of α and β according to FIG. 1 ). The distance d _a , the adjacent to the first transverse row double row to this first transverse row (or the second transverse row adjacent double row to this second double row), is about 3.2 mm. The distance d _xx between the two double rows is about 8.9 mm. Within the third, fourth, fifth and sixth transverse rows, which form the two double rows, the intervals between the tufts in the transverse direction are about 4.5 mm. At a distance d _b of about 3.0 mm from the first double row in the longitudinal direction of the brush head to the handle part 11, a seventh transverse row of four vertically rising from the brush body tufts with tapered bristles is arranged. At a distance d _b in the longitudinal direction of the brush head to the head portion 12 of about 3.0 mm from the second double row, an eighth transverse row of four vertically protruding tufts of tapered bristles is arranged. In this seventh and eighth transverse row, the widths of the tufts in the transverse direction are about 2.3 mm and the height h _{b of} the tufts about 11.5 mm. In the longitudinal direction of the brush head at a distance d _c to the handle part 11 out of about 5.5 mm to the first Double row is a ninth transverse row of three vertically protruding tufts of sharpened bristles. In the longitudinal direction of the brush head to the head portion 12 at a distance d _d of about 5.4 mm to the second double row, a tenth transverse row of three vertical tufts of tapered bristles is arranged, the middle tuft relative to the two outer tufts by about 0.9 mm is offset to the front (but this is not mandatory, it could also be all three tufts on a straight line). In the tenth transverse row, the distance between the two outer tufts from each other in the transverse direction is about 4.3 mm; the distance between one of the outer tufts and the middle, slightly forward tuft is about 2.2 mm in the transverse direction. If all tufts of the tenth transverse row were exactly in line, the transverse spacing between them would be about 2.2 mm. The height h _{cd of} the tufts of the ninth and tenth transverse rows is about 11.5 mm. This results in a stocking of a total of 32 tufts (10 tufts of non-tapered cylindrical bristles crossing x-shaped and 22 vertical tufts of sharpened bristles, all the vertical tufts having the same height). All bristles have a circular cross section over their entire length; the sharpened parts of the pointed bristles are thus rotational bodies. The diameter D _{n of} all cylindrical, not sharpened bristles and the maximum diameter D _{z of} all pointed bristles is about 0.18 mm. All tufts are of circular cross-section; the diameter of all tufts is about 1.7 mm.

FIG. 3 also shows as a horizontal dashed line the longitudinal direction of the brush head.

Analogous to the embodiment described above, further particularly preferred embodiments of the inventive brush head can be configured as described in the following Table 6. In these other embodiments, all numerical parameters that are not indicated are as in the first embodiment described above. The meaning of the variables in the column headers is the same as in the first embodiment described above. The columns "Besatz _b " and "Besatz _cd " indicate the type of bristles in the tufts of the seventh and eighth and the ninth and tenth transverse rows, respectively: "n" means "not pointed, cylindrical" and "z" means "pointed ". Table 6 No. h _a (mm) _hb (mm) h _cd (mm) Stocking _b Stocking _cd h _s (mm) D _n (mm) D _z (mm) 2 11.5 11.5 11.5 z z 12.5 0,175 0,175 3 11.3 11.3 12.0 z n 12.0 0,180 0,175 4 11.8 11.8 11.8 z n 12.5 0,175 0,175 5 11.3 11.5 12.0 n n 12.0 0.17 0.18 6 11.3 11.5 12.0 z z 11.5 0,175 0,175

In FIG. 4 are the mesial / distal cleaning performance, which were achieved with embodiments of the inventive brush head with horizontal, vertical or circular cleaning movement, compared to the corresponding cleaning performance of some previously known brush heads shown. In these tests, the teeth of a maxillary sextant model (with 3 molars, 2 prebend teeth and 1 incisor) were first stained black and then with a titanium dioxide paste (25g / v in 26% ethanol). white whitewashed. After a standardized brushing operation with the brush heads to be tested of 1 minute duration with 2.45 Newton contact force, the percentage of tooth surfaces freed from the titanium dioxide paste was determined. For horizontal cleaning, the standardized brushing process consisted of 60 reciprocating motions with an amplitude of 30 mm; in vertical cleaning it consisted of 60 up and down movements with an amplitude of 8 mm; and in the circular cleaning it consisted of 60 circles of radius 4 mm with 16 horizontal reciprocating movements with amplitude of 30 mm at the same time. For each brushhead type tested and each of the three cleaning tests, 4 pieces of the brushhead were tested on 4 maxillary sextants each.

In FIG. 4 the mesial / distal cleaning performance achieved is plotted as the sum of the horizontal, vertical and circular cleaning tests as a percentage of the cleaned tooth surface. Within each vertical bar, which represents a summed cleansing power, the proportion from the rotating test is hatched diagonally upwards; the proportion from the vertical test is hatched diagonally downwards, and the proportion from the horizontal test is not hatched. The on the x-axis of the FIG. 4 brush head types indicated were according to the following Table 7: Table 7 1 First embodiment of the invention, as described above 2 2nd embodiment of the invention, from the above Table 5 V1 Comparison brush head similar to FIG. 10 of FIG EP-A-0 855 573 ; all vertical bristles cylindrical with a diameter of 0.203 mm, all inclined bristles cylindrical with a diameter of 0.178 mm V2 like V1, but all bristle diameter 0.178 mm V3 Comparative brush head similar to 1, but all bristles (including those in the slanted tufts) pointed V4 Comparative brush head similar EP-A-0 596 633 ; Height of all bristles 11.5 mm V5 like V4, but height of all bristles 12.5 mm

From the FIG. 4 It can be seen that the brush heads 1 and 2 according to the invention are superior to all comparison brush heads in terms of mesial / distal cleaning performance, in particular when the head is rotating horizontally.

Claims (18)

1. A head for a toothbrush which has a handle part (11), a head part (12) and a bristle area with tufts of bristles (201, 202, 301, 302, 303, 304, 401, 402, 501, 502) inserted therein, wherein at least one of these tufts of bristles (201, 202, 401, 402, 501, 502) projects perpendicularly out of the bristle area and at least one of these tufts (301, 302, 303, 304) is inclined, characterized in that the inclined tufts of bristles (301, 302, 303, 304) comprise cylindrical bristles, and at least some of the tufts (201, 202, 401, 402, 501, 502) projecting perpendicularly comprise pointed bristles.
2. A brush head according to claim 1, characterized in that one inclined tuft is inclined towards the rear (301, 303) or towards the front (302, 304).
3. A brush head according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it transverse rows of tufts extending transversely to the longitudinal direction of the bristle area, wherein in each of these transverse rows either only tufts inclined towards the rear (301, 303), only tufts inclined towards the front (302, 304) or only tufts of bristles projecting perpendicularly (201, 202, 401, 402, 501, 502) are present.
4. A brush head according to claim 3, characterized in that it has a first and a second transverse row of perpendicularly projecting tufts (201, 202) of pointed bristles which are adjacent to each other, and wherein one tuft (201) of the first transverse row and one tuft (202) of the second transverse row are each arranged in pairs on an imaginary line parallel to the longitudinal direction of the brush head and they spaced on this line at a distance d of from 0.65 to 0.95 mm, preferably from 0.7 to 0.9 mm, and more preferably from 0.75 to 0.85 mm from each other.
5. A brush head according to claim 4, characterized in that the height h_a of the tufts of the first and second transverse rows amounts to from 10.0 to 13.0 mm, preferably to from 11.3 to 11.7 mm, and more preferably to approximately 11.5 mm.
6. A brush head according to claim 5, characterized in that it has a third transverse row of tufts (301) inclined towards the rear and a fourth transverse row - adjacent to this third transverse row in the direction of the handle part (11) at a distance d_x - of tufts (302) inclined towards the front and offset in the transverse direction with respect to the tufts (301) of the third transverse row; in such a way that the tufts of the third and fourth transverse rows form a double row of tufts crossing in the shape of an x; and wherein the third and fourth transverse rows are arranged closer at the handle part (11) than the first and second transverse rows.
7. A brush head according to claim 6, characterized in that it has a fifth transverse row of tufts (303) inclined towards the rear and a sixth transverse row - adjacent to this fifth transverse row in the direction of the handle part (11) at a distance d_x - of tufts (304) inclined towards the front and offset in the transverse direction with respect to the tufts (303) of the fifth transverse row; in such a way that the tufts of the fifth and sixth transverse rows form a double row of tufts crossing in the shape of an x; and wherein the fifth and sixth transverse rows are arranged closer at the head part (12) than the first and second transverse rows.
8. A brush head according to claim 7, characterized in that the double row formed by the third and fourth transverse rows and the double row formed by the fifth and sixth transverse rows are arranged at a distance d_xx from each other as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the brush head, the distance d_xx amounting to from 8.5 to 10.0 mm, preferably to from 8.7 to 9.3 and in a particularly preferred manner to approximately 8.9 mm.
9. A brush head according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that it has a seventh transverse row of tufts (401) projecting perpendicularly out of the bristle area, which is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the brush head towards the handle part (11) at a distance d_b from the double row formed by the third and fourth transverse rows, and an eighth transverse row of tufts (402) projecting perpendicularly out of the bristle area, which is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the brush carrier towards the head part (12) at a distance d_b from the double row formed by the fifth and sixth transverse rows, the distance d_b amounting to from 2.5 to 3.5 mm, preferably to from 2.7 to 3.3 and in a particularly preferred manner to approximately 3.0 mm.
10. A brush head according to claim 9, characterized in that the tufts of the seventh and eighth transverse rows comprise pointed bristles, and their height h_b amounts to from 10.0 to 13.0 mm, preferably to from 11.0 to 12.0 and more preferably to from approximately 11.3 to approximately 11.7 mm, and in a particularly preferred manner the height h_a is equal to the height h_b of the bristles of the first and second transverse rows.
11. A brush head according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that it has a ninth transverse row of tufts (501) projecting perpendicularly out of the bristle area, which is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the brush head towards the handle part (11) at a distance d_c from the aforesaid double row formed by the third and fourth transverse rows, and has a tenth transverse row of tufts of pointed bristles (502) projecting perpendicularly out of the bristle area, which is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the brush head towards the head part (12) at a distance d_d from the aforesaid double row formed by the fifth and sixth transverse rows, wherein the distance d_c is preferably from 5.0 to 6.0 mm, more preferably from 5.2 to 5.8 and in a particularly preferred manner approximately 5.5 mm, and the distance d_d is preferably from 4.9 to 5.9 mm, more preferably from 5.2 to 5.6 and in a particularly preferred manner approximately 5.4 mm.
12. A brush head according to claim 11, characterized in that the tufts (501, 502) of the ninth and tenth transverse rows comprise pointed bristles and have a height h_cd of from 10.0 to 13.0 mm, preferably of from 11.0 to 12.0 mm, and in a particularly preferred manner of from 11.3 to 11.7 mm, and it is particularly preferable for h_cd to be equal to h_a.
13. A brush head according to any one of claims 6 to 12, characterized in that the distance d_x amounts to from 0.7 to 1.3 mm, more preferably to from 0.9 to 1.1 mm, and in a particularly preferred manner to approximately 1.0 mm.
14. A brush head according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the height h_s of the inclined tufts (301, 302, 303, 304) amounts to from 10.5 to 13.5 mm, preferably to from 11.5 to 12.5 mm, and in a particularly preferred manner to approximately 11.5 mm or approximately 12.5 mm.
15. A brush head according to any one of claims 5 to 14, characterized in that the head part (12) has tufts which project only perpendicularly out of the bristle area and the bristles of which are of equal length and the height of which is equal to the height h_a of the tufts of the first and second transverse rows.
16. A brush head according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the inclined tufts are inclined towards the front by an angle α of from +1° to +45°, preferably of from +1° to +10°, more preferably of from +7° to +9°, and in a particularly preferred manner of approximately +8°, with respect to a line perpendicular to the bristle area; or they are inclined towards the rear by an angle of from -1° to -45°, preferably of from -1° to -10°, more preferably of from -7° to -9°, and in a particularly preferred manner of approximately -8°, with respect to a line perpendicular to the bristle area.
17. A brush head according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that all the pointed bristles consist of a poly(C₂-C₈)alkylene terephthalate, in particular of polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate or polypentylene terephthalate; and all the non-pointed bristles consist of a polyamide produced from a (C₂-C₈)-1,ω-diamine and a (C₄-C₁₄)-1,ω-dicarboxylic acid, in particular of polydimethyleneadipinamide, polytrimethyleneadipinamide, polytetramethyleneadipinamide, polypentamethyleneadipinamide, polyhexamethyleneadipinamide, polydimethylenedodecanamide, polytrimethylenedodecanamide, polytetramethylenedodecanamide, polypentamethylenedodecanamide or polyhexamethylenedodecanamide.
18. A toothbrush containing a brush head according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

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