Marching snare drumhead patch

Details Marching snare drumhead patch Marching snare drumhead patch

2000-02-22

2001-09-18

Hsieh, Shih-Yung (Department: 2837)

Music

Instruments

Drums

C084S402000, C084S41100A

Reexamination Certificate

active

06291753

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to musical instruments of the type classified as percussion instruments such as drums which are used in bands. More particularly, the invention relates to a sound altering patch for use on the playing surface of a drum.
Drums typically have a cylindrical drum shell with a membrane held in tension over at least one end of the shell. The membrane emits sound-producing vibrations when the outwardly facing, or playing surface of the membrane is struck with a drumstick, mallet or other beater. Many drums, such as snare and tom tom drums, are struck with hard sticks or mallets, producing a very sharp impact sound. The playing surfaces of such drums usually have uniform characteristics and produce a similar impact sound wherever the beater strikes the playing surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Briefly stated, the invention in a preferred form is a layer of plastic material adhesively bonded to the playing surface of a drumhead membrane to provide the musician with additional playing surfaces, each inducing different sound producing vibrations of the drumhead membrane when impacted by a beater.
In one embodiment, the invention takes the form of an adhesive backed, semi-circular plastic patch. One half of the patch has a series of equal-width, equally spaced diagonal slots while the other half has none. The patch functions to alter the vibrations of the drumhead membrane, and thus the sounds emitted by the drum in several ways. The addition of a layer to one portion of the membrane will remove some of the overtones usually produced by the drumhead membrane, decreasing sustain and maximizing articulation. In addition, when the solid portion of the patch is struck by a beater, the impact sound produced will be distinctly different from that produced by the playing surface of the drumhead membrane. The slotted portion of the patch gives the musician the opportunity to drag a beater over the slots, producing a sound similar to a percussion instrument known as a Guiro. Additionally, the patch will raise the fundamental pitch of the drumhead membrane wherever the patch is placed on the membrane.
A preferred form of the drumhead patch is constructed from a sheet of polycarbonate plastic having a thickness of about 10 to 20 mils laminated with a pressure sensitive adhesive layer of about 1 to 3 mils in thickness. The non-adhesive surface of the polycarbonate sheet preferably has what is known in the art as a velvet, or semi-matte surface texture. The laminate is then die or laser cut to shape. In general, the patch material should present a playing surface to the musician that will produce a different impact sound than the playing surface of the drumhead membrane.
The polycarbonate embodiment of the drumhead patch presents a harder playing surface to the musician than the playing surface of the drumhead membrane, producing a sharp impact sound when the drum is struck on the playing surface of the patch. The drumhead patch may be placed anywhere on the playing surface of a drum to produce a personalized instrument, suited to the particular needs or style of the musician.
An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved drumhead patch which adds playing areas to the previously uniform playing surface of a drumhead membrane, each additional playing area producing a different sound when impacted by a beater.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved drumhead patch, which may be applied to the playing surface of a drumhead membrane to alter the vibration characteristics of the membrane.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved drumhead patch which may be applied to the playing surface of a drumhead membrane to allow the production of a guiro sound effect by dragging a drumstick over slots formed in the patch.
A yet further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved drumhead patch which may be positioned by the musician to create a customized percussion instrument playing surface.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the description of the preferred embodiments, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 1495672 (1924-05-01), Cheney
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patent: 4056999 (1977-11-01), Bennett
patent: 4362080 (1982-12-01), DeArmas
patent: 4936410 (1990-06-01), Howell
patent: 4951541 (1990-08-01), McMillan
patent: 5864083 (1999-01-01), Caren
patent: 5986196 (1999-11-01), Behrenfeld
patent: 5998716 (1999-12-01), Marquez et al.

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