Drum set

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a drum set comprising a plurality of drums including a bass drum.

2. Prior Art

A drum set used in, for instance, jazz and rock band performances generally includes a 20-inch (or 22- or 18-inch) bass drum, a plurality of tom-toms set over the bass drum, a floor tom set on the left of the bass drum, high-hat cymbals set on the right, and a snare drum.

A problem with these conventional drum sets, however, is that each drum needs to be carried individually when the drum set is moved, and this makes the transportation of the drum set difficult. Another problem is that the drum set takes up quite a large floor space when the drums are stored next to each other. If they are stacked on top of each other, the stack becomes so high and unstable that there is a danger that the stack of the drums may topple.

One known means to solve this problem is a drum set in which a drum head is fixed over the opening on one side of the shell of the bass drum, and the opening on the other side is left open, so that the other smaller drums such as the tom-toms can be put in the shell of the bass drum through the opening. However, such a single-head bass drum has a performance range narrower than a double-headed bass drum; accordingly, the problem with this approach is that the drum set with such a buss drum cannot be used in performances with ordinary band compositions.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. S57-185487 discloses a practice drum set in which the other smaller drums are stored inside the bass drum. The problem here, however, is that this drum set is intended only for practice by beginners and cannot be used for ordinary performances because a sound-deadening pad is put on the back of the drum head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the problems encountered in the past, and the object of the present invention is to provide a drum set that can be used in ordinary performances and is also easy to transport and stows away in a compact fashion.

The above object is accomplished by a unique structure for a drum set comprising a bass drum and a plurality of other drums that fit within the shell of the bass drum, wherein the shell of the bass drum is made up of first and second shell segments separated in the axial direction of the shell and detachably coupled to each other, and a drum head is provided on the open end of each one of the shell segments so as to be on the opposite side from the open end of the coupling side. In this structure, each one of the shells may have air holes.

With the structure above, in the present invention, the bass drum, when assembled, can be used for ordinary performances because drum heads are installed at both ends; and when the two shell segments are separated, the other drums are stowed inside. The air holes improve sound escape and facilitate the vibration of the drum heads.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the drum set according to the present invention in its storage state;

FIG. 2

is a perspective view showing the two shell segments separated;

FIG. 3

is a perspective the drum set which is set up for a performance;

FIG. 4

is a perspective view showing a foot pedal attached to the shell of the bass drum;

FIG. 5

is a cross section of the main part of the bass drum; and

FIG. 6

is a cross section of the drum attachment fixture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As seen from the accompanying Figures, particularly from

FIGS. 3 and 4

, the drum set

1

according to the typical embodiment of the present invention comprises a bass drum

2

, two tom-toms

4

of different sizes and a snare drum

5

which are mounted to the bass drum

2

via drum attachment fixtures

3

, in addition to a foot pedal

6

.

The bass drum

2

comprises a shell

7

formed in a cylindrical shape from wood, fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP), metal, or the like. The shell

7

consists of first and second shell segments

8

and

9

that are split in the axial direction of the bass drum

2

and detachably coupled to each other. The internal space of the shell

7

forms a storage compartment

10

for stowing the drum attachment fixture

3

, tom-toms

4

and snare drum

5

. In other words, the shell

7

is long enough in the axial direction so as to accommodate the tom-toms

4

and snare drum

5

in a stacked fashion. The bass drum

2

is one with a diameter of 14 to 20 inches.

The first and second shell segments

8

and

9

have the same inside and outside diameters. They are fitted together at one end by an in-low structure and are separably coupled to each other by a plurality of clamp assemblies

11

attached on the outer surfaces. The open ends on the coupled side of the first and second shell segments

8

and

9

may have a variety of shapes; and a projection

13

and depression

14

combination as shown in

FIG. 5

is preferable so as to fit the segments together because with the projections

13

and depressions

14

the segments can be coupled without any rubbing. A drum head

15

is installed on the open end of each of the first and second shell segments

8

and

9

on the side opposite from the open ends where they are coupled together. The drum heads

15

are formed from a natural leather, synthetic resin film (such as a polyester resin or polycarbonate resin) or the like, and they are each supported and stretched at an even tension by a plurality of head support and stretching means

16

attached on the outer surface of the shell segments

8

and

9

. In the shown embodiment, the first and second shell segments

8

and

9

have different lengths (or depth in the axial direction). In other words, as seen from

FIG. 1

, the second shell segment

9

is longer (deeper) than the first shell segment

8

. Thus, the second segment

9

is used as a container for stowing the tom-toms

4

, snare drum

5

, and so on, and the first shell segment

8

is used as a lid.

As best seen from

FIG. 5

, the head support and stretching means

16

each comprises: an annular head frame

17

that supports the peripheral edge of the drum head

15

and is fitted to the outer surface of the open end of the shell

7

(or of the first segment

8

in FIG.

5

), an annular fastening frame (hereinafter referred to as a rim)

18

that is also fitted on the outer surface of the shell

7

so as to press on the head frame

17

, tightening bolts

20

that link the rim

18

to the shell

7

via lugs

19

, and other parts. The pressure that the rim

18

exerts on the head frame

17

is changed by turning the tightening bolt(s)

20

with a tuning key (not shown) so as to shift the rim

18

in the axial direction. The tension of the drum heads

15

, that is to say the timbre of the drum, can thus easily be changed. In addition, since the drum heads

15

can thus be tuned, the drum of the present invention can be played as an ordinary acoustic drum. The lugs

19

are attached to both the first and second shell segments

8

and

9

.

In addition, a plurality of air holes

21

are formed in the first shell segment

8

. These air holes

21

are or improving sound escape by allowing communication between the inside and outside of the shell

7

, and also facilitate the vibration of the drum heads

15

and make the drum easier to play.

Furthermore, two auxiliary legs

22

that stably support the shell

7

so as not to fall over are attached to portions on either side when the shell

7

is set up on the floor facing sideways. As best seen from

FIGS. 1 and 2

, the root portions of the auxiliary legs

22

are attached to leg support fixtures

23

fixed to the outer surface of the first shell segment

8

so as to be pivotal in the radial and axial directions of the shell

7

, and the auxiliary legs

22

are provided with rubber feet

24

at their distal ends. When not in use, these auxiliary legs

22

are brought to near the outer surface of the shell

7

and latched to the outer surface of the second shell segment

9

by latches

25

.

Furthermore, as seen from

FIG. 6

, attachment members

27

for attaching the drum attachment fixtures

3

are fixed by a plurality of bolts

28

and nuts

29

(only one shown in

FIG. 6

) to the outer surfaces of the first and second shell segments

8

and

9

. The attachment members

27

are located at the portions that are on top when the shell

7

is placed on the floor facing sideways. Each of the attachment members

27

is formed in the shape of a truncated cone from an aluminum alloy or the like, and it has an insertion hole

31

and a screw hole

33

. The insertion hole

31

is formed in the center of the distal end surface of the attachment member

27

so that the rod

30

of the drum attachment fixture

3

is inserted, and the screw hole

33

is formed in the peripheral wall of the attachment member

27

so that a wing bolt

32

for fixing the rod

30

to the attachment member

27

is inserted. Housed inside the attachment member

27

are a cylinder

34

through which the rod

30

is passed, a pressing plate

35

pressed against the outer periphery of the rod

30

by the wing bolt

32

, and a nut

36

that screw-engages the wing bolt

32

.

Each of the drum attachment fixtures

3

includes, in addition to the rod

30

, a ball joint

37

attached to the end of the rod

30

on the opposite side from the bass drum

2

. The ball joint

37

comprises a ball

38

, an enclosing member

39

having a spherical ball holder and enclosing the ball

38

so that the ball

38

can rotate by a specific angle in all directions, and a bolt

40

or the like that presses the ball

38

against the inner surface of the enclosing member

39

. A linking bar

41

is integrally projected from the ball

38

so as to be perpendicular to the rod

30

. This linking bar

41

supports a tom-tom

4

(or the snare drum

5

) by being inserted into an attachment member

43

attached to the outer surface of the shell

42

of the tom-tom

4

(or the snare

5

) and being fixed by a wing bolt

44

. Installed inside the attachment member

43

are a pressing plate

45

pressed against the linking bar

41

by the wing bolt

44

, and a nut

46

that screw-engages the wing bolt

44

. Furthermore, a projection

47

corresponding to the pressing plate

45

is integrally projected in the centerline direction from the inner peripheral surface of the attachment member

43

. Thus, the linking bar

41

is held between this projection

47

and the pressing plate

45

.

Furthermore, the outer surface of the second shell segment

9

is provided with a carrying handle

48

, and it is also provided with a height adjuster leg

50

to which the foot pedal

6

is attached. The handle

48

is gripped when the drummer or someone else transports the bass drum

2

. The height adjuster leg

50

is provided near the drum head of the second shell segment

9

; and together with the auxiliary legs

22

, the leg

50

keeps the drum head

15

elevated off the floor, which allows the struck portion of the drum head

15

(usually the approximate center) to be roughly aligned with the beater height of the foot pedal

6

.

As seen from

FIG. 4

, the foot pedal

6

comprises a rotating shaft

54

that has a rocker

53

, a supporting frame

55

that rotatably supports this rotating shaft

54

, a beater

57

attached to the rocker

53

via a beater rod

56

, a foot board

59

coupled to the rocker

53

via a timing belt

58

, a compression coil spring

60

that imparts a rotational tendency in the return direction to the rotating shaft

54

, and so on. The foot pedal

6

thus constructed is known in the past; and with the supporting frame

55

detachably attached to the height adjuster leg

50

, when the foot board

59

is depressed and the rotating shaft

54

is rotated against the compression coil spring

60

, the beater

57

pivots integrally with this action and strikes the drum head

15

, and when the pressure is removed from the foot board

59

, the force of the compression coil spring

60

causes the foot board

59

to rise and return to its original position.

In the drum set

1

of the present invention as described above, the shell

7

of the bass drum

2

consists of first and second shell segments

8

and

9

which are formed so that they are split in the axial direction, and the tom-toms

4

, snare drum

5

, and other components are stowed in a stacked fashion in the interior thereof. Thus, it is easy to carry the drum set. In particular, with the handle

48

, there will be no need for a casing for the drum set, thus making the drum set even easier to carry and enhancing transportability. In addition, since only enough room to store the bass drum

2

is needed to store the entire drum set, the drum set takes up less storage space; and since the tom-toms

4

, the snare drum

5

and other components are kept inside the bass drum

2

, there is no danger of losing them.

Moreover, since the bass drum

2

of the present invention is a double-head drum just as an ordinary acoustic drum, it can be used with no inconvenience whatsoever in band performances; and furthermore, it can be used as a single-head drum as well if the first and second shell segments

8

and

9

are separated.

When a cushioning material is interposed between the first and second shell segments

8

and

9

, the impact can be softened and damage to the shell segments can be prevented. Also, by designing the bass drum

2

big enough, accessories for the set can also be stored therein.

As described above, according to the present invention, the drum set can be used for ordinary performances; and it is easy to transport and stows away in a compact fashion.