Music – Instruments – Drums
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-24
2002-06-18
Dang, Khanh (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Drums
C084S41100A, C084S421000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06407322
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a percussion instrument, especially drums serving as a rhythm instrument, with a hollow form and at least one skin that is tightly stretched across the hollow form, with the tension of the skin being adjustable and correctable with a tensioning device which has the design of an inflatable tubular body that can affect the edge of the skin either directly or indirectly and which on the one hand rests against the edge of the support, which is filled with plastic material and rests against or on the hollow form, and on the other hand rests against a percussive ring.
Such percussion instruments are very common musical instruments. They are the most important rhythm instruments. Drums, which belong to the percussion instrument group, consist of a frame or a hollow form with one or two skins covering them tightly. The skins can be glued on, fastened with nails or flocks. If the skin is supposed to be adjustable or the tension changeable, the skins are usually tightened with a ring or screws or by tying them down. The drums are operated by hand or with so-called sticks. A collar, i.e. a ring-shaped elevation at the edge (percussive ring), is provided especially when using drumsticks in order to achieve certain effects. Apart from sound variations that can be achieved this way, the player of such a percussion instrument is largely dependent on the tightening of the skin. It has proven disadvantageous to tighten the skin or the setting ring representing the edge of the skin only in certain points such as with the above-mentioned screws, which rest against a support ring that runs generally around the hollow form's center. These screws must be secured appropriately on the upper edge, which rests on the skin setting edge, which represents a complex design. It is particularly disadvantageous that the appropriate tension can only be achieved with a relatively small number of areas relative to the periphery, even if the tensioning frame that rests on the skin setting ring can serve to some extent as a balancing element. It is clear however that in all these familiar designs the skin cannot vibrate freely, but rather is squeezed in the respective edge areas and exposed to such tension that this leads to above-mentioned disadvantages. From U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,785 we know about drums where a basically arrow-shaped ring made of resin or similar materials is placed on the upper hollow form edge. The skin can be tightened around this ring, however it can serve at the same time also as percussive ring. This familiar solution shows that the skin is tightened in only a few areas relative to the periphery. This is due to a solution that involves hook tension screws. U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,581 on the other hand describes drums that are also equipped with several clamps throughout the periphery, but on which a tubular body is arranged between the percussive ring and the edge of the skin that can be filled with either compressed air or fluids and can also be emptied again appropriately. This makes it possible for the first time to tighten the skin in such a way that it is evenly tensioned, independent of the respective tensioning devices. Apart from the fact that an appropriate percussive ring is still placed on the top, which can impair the skin's flexibility, a particularly disadvantageous feature is represented by the fact that the compressed air or fluids are fed on one end of the tubular body, but also have to exit in the same place. The filling process is performed similar to that of a balloon. Thus it takes a certain amount of time for the tubular body to fill, and then there is also the risk that one cannot assure that there is really an evenly distributed pressure throughout the tubular body relative to the periphery. This in turn leads to the disadvantage that an even tightening of the skin is not guaranteed. And finally another disadvantage is the fact that the overall pressure that has to be applied and thus the tensioning effect are extremely low due to the arrangement and the design of the tubular body. Since it is located between the percussive ring and the edge of the hollow form or the supporting edge that is assigned to this hollow form edge, it can apply only relatively low amounts of force onto the skin that is to be tightened.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is therefore based on the task of creating a percussion instrument on which the skin is always tightened evenly and sufficiently all the way around and can still vibrate optimally.
The task is resolved with the invention by designing the tubular body as a closed ring-shaped body that is integrated into the supporting edge.
The special design of the tubular body in the form of a closed ring-shaped body initially ensures that the tubular body expands or contracts appropriately over the entire edge of the skin so that even tensioning of the skin all the way around is guaranteed. Tensioning of the skin can also be safely achieved in the required areas because the tubular body or the closed ring-shaped body is integrated in the protective supporting edge. The supporting edge consists of an existing and familiar ring, made of aluminum or similar materials, into which an appropriate tubular body is now integrated instead of the plastic material. This allows the tubular body to expand or contract at the supporting edge so that it has a safe tightening or loosening effect on the edge of the skin all the way around.
A second useful version of the invention provides for the tubular body to simultaneously fasten the edge of the skin that is inserted into the U-shaped supporting edge. The edge of the skin can be placed into the U-shaped supporting edge and then the tubular body can be pressed in, with the latter being fastened when expanding the edge of the skin and ensuring that it not only remains tightened, but also remains seated safely in the U-shaped supporting edge. The skin itself is not influenced by the percussive ring or protruding ring so that it rests optimally on the edge of the hollow form and thus vibrates optimally. This results in the wealth of sounds desired by the percussionist and offers the opportunity of producing appropriate variations.
Both with regard to fastening the skin in the U-shaped supporting edge and with regard to resonance, it is beneficial if the tubular body and the skin are made of the same material, preferably a polyurethane resin (PUR) mass. Polyurethane is already being used today for skins so that the material as such is not new to percussionists, however its usage for fastening and connecting it to the tubular body, which is responsible for a tensioning of the skin, is.
Both from an assembly and from a performance point of view, it is particularly beneficial to design the tubular body and the skin as one component. During the manufacturing process of such a body, the connection for the compressed air hose or other connections can already be incorporated into the tubular body, and it would also be feasible to arrange a valve in this area in order to be able to release possibly exiting compressed air to the environment. Such a component can be mounted as described particularly easily because the tubular body can be placed simply into the U-shaped supporting edge so that the skin is fastened right away with the first expansion of the tubular body, while additional swelling of the tubular body then also appropriately tightens the skin as desired by the percussionist.
We also know of skins that consist of epoxy resins, which is a harder, less flexible material. Nevertheless, the necessary skin tensioning can be guaranteed if in accordance with the invention the skin consists of epoxy material and forms a unit with the tubular body, consisting of epoxy and PUR materials (hybrid). It would be feasible for the skin to consist of epoxy resin and the tubular body of the hybrid, but it would also be feasible to manufacture the tubular body only with PUR material, however this solution could cause problems when it comes to connecting it with th
Dang Khanh
Lockett Kim
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