Music – Instruments – Drums
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-12
2004-04-20
Hsieh, Shih-Yung (Department: 2837)
Music
Instruments
Drums
C084S416000, C084S453000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06723906
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective cases, in particular to a protective case for a musician's drums.
2. Description of Related Art
Many musicians travel from venue to venue to play their instruments. The great majority of these musicians must carry their own instruments to and from each show. One of the more difficult and time consuming instruments to carry is a drum set. In order to protect a set of drums during travel most musicians place their drums in some type of protective device.
There are currently two types of protective devices for drums available: road cases and soft bags. Road cases are heavy hard-shelled drum-shaped containers with lids and a thick foam lining. Soft bags are essentially a padded, enclosed cloth cylinder with a zipper extending around its circumference. Both of these devices function to adequately pad and protect drums in transit, but they also take up a large volume of space when they are not in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 501,318 discloses a typical related art drum case. The case consists of a two part hard shell which encloses a drum. These cases, unlike the present invention, are difficult to transport due to their size and weight and cannot be conveniently stored in a small area.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,084,719 shows a drum bag with a modified hard top and bottom. It is often difficult to place a drum in a drum bag due to the bags lack of structure. Also, drum bags cannot be rolled and conveniently stored.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,549 discloses an inclement weather drum cover which functions to enclose and protect a drum while not significantly reducing the playability of the drum. This drum cover, unlike the present invention, covers the entire drum, thus adding additional weight, and it cannot be rolled and conveniently stored.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The soft drum case is a flexible rectangular cover for transport and storage of a drum, the cover having a front, back, top, bottom and two opposing sides. The cover has front, back and middle layers. The front layer is made of a heavyweight, durable fabric, the middle layer is made of lightweight foam or padding, and the back layer is made of a durable fabric of lighter weight than the outer front layer.
When in use, the soft drum case is wrapped securely around the shell of a drum, with the back layer of the case coming into contact with the shell. The ends of the case overlap and are removably attached to one another with hook and loop fastening material. Drawstrings are sewn into sheathes along the top and bottom of the case. When the drawstrings are pulled, the portions of the top and bottom of the case that extend past the rims of the drum are drawn toward the center of each drum head, completing the formation of a protective case around the drum shell and rim. The shell and rim of a drum are the areas most likely to be scratched or damaged in transit.
When the soft drum case is not in use, one case, or several cases stacked one on top of the other, may be rolled starting at one end and rolling toward the other end. The rolled cases are then secured with hook and loop fasteners sewn onto the inner and outer layer of the case.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to adequately protect drums from the hazards of travel when in use and to occupy a minimum volume of space when not in use.
It is another object of this invention to provide a drum protection device that is lightweight and easy to transport.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a drum protection device that is adjustable to fit a variety of drum sizes.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 501318 (1893-07-01), Boulanger
patent: 1084719 (1914-01-01), Wanamaker
patent: 4927017 (1990-05-01), Easter
patent: 5117724 (1992-06-01), Gardner
patent: 5520462 (1996-05-01), Clark
patent: 6025549 (2000-02-01), Harris
patent: 6263610 (2001-07-01), Doubts, Jr.
Hsieh Shih-Yung
Litman Richard C.
LandOfFree
Soft drum case does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Soft drum case, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Soft drum case will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3223709