Drum-mounted striker-type percussion attachment |
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申请号 | US10794970 | 申请日 | 2004-03-05 | 公开(公告)号 | US07148412B2 | 公开(公告)日 | 2006-12-12 |
申请人 | Peter Crane; | 发明人 | Peter Crane; | ||||
摘要 | A percussion attachment mounts onto the rim of an African hand drum, e.g., Jembe, so that the percussionist can play both the drum and the percussion device without having to pick up a drumstick or striker. The percussion attachment has a brace and a striker. The brace has transverse curved bar that rests rest atop the annular flange formed by the crown ring of the drum. Uprights, i.e., vertical legs affixed to the curved bar extend downward so a foot portion rests against the drum. A transverse pivot member is supported on the uprights above the curved bar at a position above the rim of the drum. A cowbell or other percussion device is supported on the brace. An elongated striker pivots on pivot member, with a handle and a striker tip. The tip moves in a vertical arc so that it can hit the cowbell when the percussionist slaps the striker handle. A spring can bias the striker to a neutral position. There can be more than one striker, and more than one percussion device. | ||||||
权利要求 | I claim: |
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说明书全文 | This invention relates to musical instruments, in particular to percussion instruments, and is more particularly directed to a percussion attachment that can be mounted on a hand-struck percussion instrument, such as a Jembe, Conga, Dunin, Bougarabou or other hand drum. African hand drums can produce a variety of sounds at various pitches, and have become popular for various musical effects. For that reason, it has been desired to increase the range of sounds that can be produced to broaden the musical effect of the drum. It is often desired for the percussionist to employ other struck percussion devices to produce other sounds. These can include cowbells, other bells, chimes or metal bars, wood blocks, claves, or plastic devices. By using an auxiliary percussion device or devices, the drummer can increase the effective sounds from a traditional gun-go-pa sound to include more metallic or brighter sounds, including dik, din, dang, dong, tik, kack, tock, gog, or the like. However, these devices such as bells, blocks, claves, or other struck percussion devices have to be played with a striker such as a drumstick or beater, so playing them requires the drummer to pick up the striker whereas the hand drum requires playing with the bare hand. Consequently, music for both hand drum and bells or blocks generally requires a second drummer to play the bells and blocks. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an auxiliary device to be used with a hand drum that permits the drummer to augment his or her playing with a striker-played percussion device such as a bell, chime, block, etc. It is another object to provide a percussion attachment that can be mounted onto a hand drum so that the associated percussion device can be played by slapping a handle portion of the striker. It is another object to provide a percussion attachment that can be easily mounted on an existing hand drum or other drum without special hardware and without driving mounting screws into the body of the drum. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a drum-mounted hand-slap striker-type percussion attachment mounts onto a drum of the type having a bowl portion, a head mounted across an open rim of the bowl portion, and head attachment means forming an annular flange around the bowl portion below its rim. In a typical African hand drum, the flange is formed by the crown ring and flesh ring around which the skin or head passes. The percussion attachment has a brace for mounting onto a side of the drum bowl portion. A transverse curved member rests upon the annular flange. An upright portion, i.e., at least one vertical leg, is affixed to the curved member and a portion of the upright portion extends downward to a foot portion that rests against a side of the drum. A transverse pivot member is supported above the curved portion at a position above the rim of the drum bowl portion. A support rod or bracket on the brace supports a cowbell, a chime, a wood block, or perhaps more than one percussion device at a position radially distal from said drum. An elongated striker, e.g., a rod or stick, is pivotally supported on the transverse pivot member. A handle portion is formed at a proximal end of the striker and a striker tip is formed at the distal end. The striker is movable about its pivot so that the striker tip is movable between a neutral position and a striking position contacting a surface of said percussion device. A pivot journal formed between the tip and the handle portion is pivotally journalled on the transverse pivot member of the brace; and a return mechanism, such as a return spring, biases the striker to its neutral position. In one preferred embodiment, the brace is formed of a pair of vertical uprights or leg members each affixed to the curved member at laterally spaced locations, and a crossbar at an upper end of the uprights that forms the transverse pivot member. In some embodiments, the there can be a first striker and a second striker that are pivotally mounted side by side on the crossbar. There may also be a second percussion device supported on the brace and positioned to be struck with a striker tip of said second striker. In some possible embodiments, the second percussion device may be located below the striker, so that slapping the striker results in a first sound when the striker hits the upper percussion device, and then a second sound when the striker tip drops to the second percussion device. The striker may be a rigid member in some embodiments, or may include a resilient flexible portion between the pivot journal and the striker tip, so that the striker is resiliently articulated. The above and many other objects, features, and advantages of this invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art from the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment, which is to be read in conjunction with the accompanying Drawing. With reference to the Drawing, A percussion attachment 30 according to one embodiment of this invention is shown in A support 44 extends up and outwards from one of the uprights 36, and a cow bell 46 is mounted upon this support 44. The cow bell is one of any number of struck percussion devices that could be mounted here, with some other percussion devices including chimes, blocks, and claves, to name a few. These devices may be metal, wood, or a synthetic material (plastic). A striker 50 is pivotally mounted upon the transverse bar 42. Here the striker 50 is an elongated member with a handle portion 52 at its proximal end, i.e., positioned over the drum head, and a striker tip 54 at its distal end, i.e., positioned to strike a suitable surface of the bell 46. The handle portion 52 is here in the form of a loop, but other handle types may be used. A pivot journal 56 is formed on the striker between the handle 52 and the tip 54, and is jounalled on the transverse crossbar 42 so that the striker tip 54 can move in a vertical arc between a lower neutral position (solid in As illustrated, the attachment is positioned with the arcuate bar 34 resting on the flange 26 (formed by the rings 20, 22), and with the feet 40 against the side of the drum body, and the strap or cinch 48 holding the brace in place. This places the handle 52 of the striker a short distance above one edge of the drum head 16 near the rim. The percussionist can play the drum in the normal fashion by striking the head with his or her hands, and then when required for the desired sound, he or she can slap the striker handle 52 to play the cow bell 46 (or other percussion device). Slapping the handle 52 moves the striker tip 54 quickly up to hit the cow bell 46, and then the tip 54 drops back to its neutral position. Of course, many different styles of braces or brackets, and other strikers may be employed without setting aside the main principles of this invention, and the percussion attachment can be used with a wide variety of drums in addition to the Jembe drum that is illustrated here. While the invention has been described in detail with respect to one preferred embodiment, it should be recognized that there are many alternative embodiments that would become apparent to persons of skill in the art. Many modifications and variations are possible which would not depart from the scope and spirit of this invention, as defined in the appended claims. |