GB2103859A

GB2103859A - A drum

Info

Publication number: GB2103859A
Application number: GB08124683A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Victor Leonard Bailey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1981-08-12
Filing date: 1981-08-12
Publication date: 1983-02-23

Abstract

A musical drum has a peripheral support 1 bounding an opening, a hollow resonator body 5 preferably of truncated conical or pyramidal shape carried by the support and disposed within the opening and having a first open end of greater cross-sectional area than a second end, and a taut drum skin 10 positioned at or adjacent to the first end of the resonator body. In a preferred construction, the drum skin is disposed across and against the first end of the resonator body and has a rim 11 attached to it, a clamp flange element 12 being seated against the rim, and adjustable tensioners 13 being arranged to act between the support and the clamp flange element to draw the drum skin taut against the resonator body. Padding may be positioned between the support and the resonator body. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION An improved muscial drum This invention relates to the art of construction of musical drums.

A conventional structure for musical drums comprises a hollow body, usuaily cylindrical, having a skin or head stretched taut over one or both ends. Where the skin is only applied at one end the other end has hitherto been left entirely open, or has been closed by a lower wall of the body.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of construction of drum which has the musical advantages of better tone colour, better harmonics, and better resonation than were possible hitherto with a comparatively simple construction, together with relative lower cost, lower weight and smaller bulk than current constructions.

According to the present invention a drum structure comprises a peripheral support bounding an opening, a resonator body which decreases in cross-sectional area from a first open end adjacent the support towards a second end, said body being coincident with the opening bounded by the support, and a taut drum skin positioned at or adjacent to the first end of the resonator body.

In this specification, the term "drum skin" means a sheet of any material conventionally used in the art, and includes plastics.

The resonator body is advantageously of truncated conical, pyramidal or other apexed polygonal form, and may have its generator wall linear, curved, stepped or any combination thereof. The generator wall may be continuous or may be gapped or slotted, e.g. radially.

Advantageously, the second end of the resonator body is open, and may have a radially inturned flange thereat.

The general angle of inclination of the generator wall of the resonator body may advantageously be from about 200 to about 700 and preferably within the range 250 to 500, and most preferably of the order of 400.

The resonator body is of a suitably "stiff" material, and may be resilient, and preferably is of metal, e.g. a spun sheet, or of plastics.

Advantageously, the drum skin is stretched over the first end of the resonator body, e.g. by tightening means arranged to act between the periphery of the drum skin and the resonator body.

The resonator body may be secured directly to but is preferably discrete from the peripheral support, but seated directly against the support or with the interpolation between them of a damping means adapted to avoid direct vibrationtransmission contact between the relatively stiff resonator body and the relatively stiff support.

Such damping means may be padding of flexible or resilient nature, e.g. fabric, resiliently compressible material such as rubber, sponge, or foamed plastics. The padding may be continuous or may be arranged as discrete elements spaced about the resonator body.

Means for tightening the drum skin may include the conventional rim attached to the drum skin per se, a clamp flange element seated against the rim, and adjustable tensioners acting between the clamp flange element and the support structure to draw the drum skin onto the open first end of the resonator body seated, via the padding, in the support structure.

Advantageously, the resonator body is supported in the support structure at or over a relatively narrow portion of its wall length, considered from end to end, say less than one eighth of the inclined length of its generator wall.

In order that the nature of the invention may be readily ascertained, an embodiment of drum constructed in accordance therewith is hereinafter particularly described, by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a central transverse axial section of the drum; Figure 2 is a plan view of the drum.

The drum shown in the drawings comprises a support structure in the form of an annular body 1 of sheet metal having an inclined flange 2 bounding a large central opening. A peripheral flange 3 provides additional strength.

On the flange 2 is disposed padding material 4, which may be circumferentially continuous or spaced at intervals. The padding is woven fabric or rubber sheet.

On the padding is supported a resonator body 5 having a generally frusto-conical shape with its side generator wall 6 stepped as at 7,7. The open upper end is bounded by a downturned flange 8, and the open lower end has an inturned flange. 9.

The stiff but resiliently deformable resonator body 5 is formed of sheet metal, e.g. as by spinning, or may be moulded or otherwise formed of plastics material, e.g. fibre glass.

Over the open upper end of the resonator body is stretched a conventional drum skin 10 secured to an annular rim 11. A clamping flange element 12 seats on the rim 11, and tightening screws 13 are engaged through lugs 14 of the flange element 12, at equiangular intervals, and through the body 1.

Tightening of the screws 1 3 causes the skin rim 11 to be puiled towards the body 1, and the skin 10 is drawn taut over the upper end of the resonator body 5 which is thereby pressed firmly against the padding 4.

Such a drum construction has desirable sound qualities of tone colour, harmonic content, and resonation, e.g. "rumble", and is of relatively small bulk and light weight.

Claims (Filed on 5 March 1982) 1. A musical drum comprising a peripheral support bounding an opening, a hollow resonator body carried by the support and disposed within the opening, said resonator body having first and second end considered in the direction passing

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION An improved muscial drum This invention relates to the art of construction of musical drums. A conventional structure for musical drums comprises a hollow body, usuaily cylindrical, having a skin or head stretched taut over one or both ends. Where the skin is only applied at one end the other end has hitherto been left entirely open, or has been closed by a lower wall of the body. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of construction of drum which has the musical advantages of better tone colour, better harmonics, and better resonation than were possible hitherto with a comparatively simple construction, together with relative lower cost, lower weight and smaller bulk than current constructions. According to the present invention a drum structure comprises a peripheral support bounding an opening, a resonator body which decreases in cross-sectional area from a first open end adjacent the support towards a second end, said body being coincident with the opening bounded by the support, and a taut drum skin positioned at or adjacent to the first end of the resonator body. In this specification, the term "drum skin" means a sheet of any material conventionally used in the art, and includes plastics. The resonator body is advantageously of truncated conical, pyramidal or other apexed polygonal form, and may have its generator wall linear, curved, stepped or any combination thereof. The generator wall may be continuous or may be gapped or slotted, e.g. radially. Advantageously, the second end of the resonator body is open, and may have a radially inturned flange thereat. The general angle of inclination of the generator wall of the resonator body may advantageously be from about 200 to about 700 and preferably within the range 250 to 500, and most preferably of the order of 400. The resonator body is of a suitably "stiff" material, and may be resilient, and preferably is of metal, e.g. a spun sheet, or of plastics. Advantageously, the drum skin is stretched over the first end of the resonator body, e.g. by tightening means arranged to act between the periphery of the drum skin and the resonator body. The resonator body may be secured directly to but is preferably discrete from the peripheral support, but seated directly against the support or with the interpolation between them of a damping means adapted to avoid direct vibrationtransmission contact between the relatively stiff resonator body and the relatively stiff support. Such damping means may be padding of flexible or resilient nature, e.g. fabric, resiliently compressible material such as rubber, sponge, or foamed plastics. The padding may be continuous or may be arranged as discrete elements spaced about the resonator body. Means for tightening the drum skin may include the conventional rim attached to the drum skin per se, a clamp flange element seated against the rim, and adjustable tensioners acting between the clamp flange element and the support structure to draw the drum skin onto the open first end of the resonator body seated, via the padding, in the support structure. Advantageously, the resonator body is supported in the support structure at or over a relatively narrow portion of its wall length, considered from end to end, say less than one eighth of the inclined length of its generator wall. In order that the nature of the invention may be readily ascertained, an embodiment of drum constructed in accordance therewith is hereinafter particularly described, by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the figures of the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a central transverse axial section of the drum; Figure 2 is a plan view of the drum. The drum shown in the drawings comprises a support structure in the form of an annular body 1 of sheet metal having an inclined flange 2 bounding a large central opening. A peripheral flange 3 provides additional strength. On the flange 2 is disposed padding material 4, which may be circumferentially continuous or spaced at intervals. The padding is woven fabric or rubber sheet. On the padding is supported a resonator body 5 having a generally frusto-conical shape with its side generator wall 6 stepped as at 7,7. The open upper end is bounded by a downturned flange 8, and the open lower end has an inturned flange. 9. The stiff but resiliently deformable resonator body 5 is formed of sheet metal, e.g. as by spinning, or may be moulded or otherwise formed of plastics material, e.g. fibre glass. Over the open upper end of the resonator body is stretched a conventional drum skin 10 secured to an annular rim 11. A clamping flange element 12 seats on the rim 11, and tightening screws 13 are engaged through lugs 14 of the flange element 12, at equiangular intervals, and through the body 1. Tightening of the screws 1 3 causes the skin rim 11 to be puiled towards the body 1, and the skin 10 is drawn taut over the upper end of the resonator body 5 which is thereby pressed firmly against the padding 4. Such a drum construction has desirable sound qualities of tone colour, harmonic content, and resonation, e.g. "rumble", and is of relatively small bulk and light weight. Claims (Filed on 5 March 1982)

1. A musical drum comprising a peripheral support bounding an opening, a hollow resonator body carried by the support and disposed within the opening, said resonator body having first and second end considered in the direction passing through the opening, said first end being open and being of greater cross-sectional area than said second end, and a taut drum skin positioned at or adjacent to said first end of the resonator body.

2. A musical drum, as claimed in claim 1, wherein said resonator body is truncated conical or pyramidal shape.

3. A musical drum, as claimed in either of claims 1 and 2, wherein the generator wall of said resonator body is apertured.

4. A musical drum, as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said second end of said resonator body is open.

5. A musical drum, as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said drum skin is disposed across said first end of said resonator body in contact therewith.

6. A musical drum as claimed in claim 5, wherein means for tightening the drum skin comprise a rim attached to the skin, a clamp flange element seated against said rim, and adjustable tensioning means acting between said clamp flange element and said support to draw the drum skin against said first end of the resonator body.

7. A musical drum, as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said resonator body is discrete from said support, and wherein vibration damping means are positioned between said resonator body and said support.

8. A musical drum substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.