Music – Instruments – Drums
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-04
2004-02-03
Hsieh, Shih-Yung (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Drums
C084S41100A, C084S41100A
Reexamination Certificate
active
06686527
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drum tightening frame used in, for instance, bass drums, snare drums and marching drums and more particularly to a structure for mounting a tightening frame on a drum body.
2. Prior Art
In drums such as bass drums, snare drums, and marching drums, the drumheads are supported and tensioned by a plurality of head supporting and tensioning assemblies, and a specified tensile force is applied to the drumheads.
FIG. 5
shows a conventional snare drum (upside-down), and
FIG. 6
shows the essential portion of the head supporting and tensioning assembly of the drum.
The reference numeral
1
is a drum main body that is cylindrical and opened at both ends. The reference numeral
2
refers to drumheads (
2
a
and
2
b
), and
3
refers to a head supporting and tensioning assembly for the drumheads
2
.
The head supporting and tensioning assembly
3
is comprised of an annular head frame
5
, which is mounted on the external surface of the drum main body
1
, and an annular tightening frame (rim)
6
, which is likewise mounted on the external surface of the drum main body
1
. The head supporting and tensioning assembly
3
further includes a plurality of lugs
7
, which are fastened to the external surface of the drum main body
1
, and tightening bolts
8
, which connect the respective lugs
7
and the tightening frame
6
.
With the structure above, the drumheads
2
are adjusted, in other words, the tone color of the snare drum
10
is adjusted, by turning the tightening bolts
8
with a tuning key (not shown) so that the tightening frame
6
is pressed against the head frame
5
, thus moving the head frame
5
in the axial direction of the drum main body
1
.
In
FIGS. 5 and 6
, the reference numeral
2
a
refers to the drumhead on the front (or top) side,
2
b
refers to the drumhead on the back (or bottom) side of the drum, and
9
refers to snappies (acoustic wires) disposed on the back side drumhead
2
b
. In addition, the reference numeral
16
is a washer. A plurality of washers
16
are respectively disposed between the tightening bolts
8
and the tightening frame
6
.
Typically, the tightening frame
6
is made of a metal consisting of a molded product such as aluminum, etc., and it is formed so as to have an L-shaped cross section, as best seen from
FIG. 6
, so that the tightening frame
6
includes a cylindrical portion
6
A and a ring-form circular plate portion
6
B. The cylindrical portion
6
A has a diameter that is larger than the external diameter of the drum main body
1
but smaller than the external diameter of the head frame
5
. The ring-form circular plate portion
6
B is integrally formed with the cylindrical portion
6
A, and it circumferentially extends outward at the lower end (in
FIG. 6
) of the cylindrical portion
6
A.
A plurality of bolt attachment openings
11
are opened in the circular plate portion
6
B (only one opening
11
is shown in
FIG. 6
) so that they positionally correspond to the respective lugs
7
. Each bolt attachment opening
11
is typically round in shape, and its hole diameter is slightly larger than the external diameter of the shank
8
A of the tightening bolt
8
and is slightly smaller than the diameter of the head
8
B of the tightening bolt
8
. The shank
8
A has an externally threaded screw section
12
. The bolt attachment opening
11
can be of a slot type as shown in FIG.
7
. The slot type bolt attachment opening
11
extends along the external surface of the tightening frame
6
′ and has an arc-shape and opened at one end.
However, the above-described convention drum tightening frames
6
and
6
′ have problems.
In tightening frame
6
shown in
FIG. 6
, the heads
8
B of the tightening bolts
8
cannot pass through the bolt attachment openings
11
of a round shape (since the hole diameter of each bolt attachment opening
11
is smaller than the head
8
B). As a result, when the drumhead
2
is to be replaced, the tightening bolts
8
must be removed from the lugs
7
(more specifically, from the lug nuts
15
of the lugs
7
), and then the tightening frame
6
and head frame
5
are removed from the drum main body
1
. When the drumhead
2
is to be mounted, the head frame
5
and tightening frame
6
are first mounted on the drum main body
1
, after which the tightening bolts
8
are passed through the bolt attachment openings
11
and screwed into the lug nuts
15
of the lugs
7
, and then the tightening frame
6
and lugs
7
are connected by the tightening bolts
8
. Such attachment and removal of the tightening bolts
8
is, however, bothersome, since the number of the tightening bolts used is relative large. Thus, a considerable amount of time is required for attaching and replacing the drumhead
2
.
In the case of the tightening frame
6
′ shown in
FIG. 7
, the tightening frame
6
′ is turned by a specified angle so that all the tightening bolts
8
are positioned outside the slots
13
, and then the tightening frame
6
′ is removed from the tightening bolts
8
. Accordingly, there is no need to remove the tightening bolts
8
from the lugs
7
, and attachment and replacement of the drumheads
2
is easier than in the tightening frame
6
of FIG.
6
. The tightening frame
6
′ thus has a better drum handling characteristics. However, each one of bolt supporting portions
14
(that have a “J” shape when viewed from above as seen from
FIG. 7
) that form the outside edges of the slots
13
is in a cantilever supporting structure. Accordingly, the bolt supporting portions
14
tend to flex when the tightening bolts
8
are tightened, making it difficult to give a desired tension to the drumhead
2
. Especially in cases where high-tension tuning is performed, the bolt supporting portions
14
are more likely to bend or to be damaged, thus having problems in terms of strength.
Furthermore, in cases where washers
16
are respectively disposed between the heads
8
B of the tightening bolts
8
and the ring-form circular plate portion
6
B of the tightening frame
6
when the drumheads
2
are to be replaced, the tightening bolts
8
must be removed from the lugs
7
, and then the tightening frame
6
and head frame
5
are removed from the drum main body
1
.
More specifically, when one of the drumheads
2
is to be replaced, it is necessary to disengage the tightening bolts
8
from the lugs
7
and then to remove the tightening frame
6
and head frame
5
from the drum main body
1
. When, on the other hand, the drumhead
2
is to be mounted, it is necessary to mount the head frame
5
and tightening frame
6
on the drum main body
1
, pass the tightening bolts
8
through the bolt attachment openings
11
with washers
16
interposed and then screw the tightening bolt
8
to the lug nuts
15
of the lugs
7
so that the tightening frame
6
is pressed against the head frame
5
.
However, if the washers
16
slip off of the tightening bolts
8
and drop when the tightening bolts
8
are removed from the lug nuts
15
and pulled out of the bolt attachment openings
11
in the tightening frame
6
at the time of attachment or replacement of the drumhead
2
, the washers
16
are likely to be lost. In other words, the washers
16
would roll across the floor and enter small spaces between musical devices, furniture, etc. Accordingly, a careful attention is required in the attachment and removal of the tightening bolts
8
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention solves the above-described problems with conventional drums, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a drum tightening frame that allows easy attachment, stretching and removal of drumheads.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a drum tightening frame that maintains a sufficient strength even in the case of high-tension tuning and holds the drumheads with appropriate tension in a stable fashion.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a drum tightening frame that
Hsieh Shih-Yung
Koda & Androlia
Yamaha Corporation
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