US2893284A

US2893284A - Foot treadle device

Info

Publication number: US2893284A
Application number: US594594A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Lamar Washington
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-06-28
Filing date: 1956-06-28
Publication date: 1959-07-07
Anticipated expiration: 1976-07-07

Description

y 1959 L. WASHINGTON, JR 2,893,284

FOOT TREADLE DEVICE,

Filed June 28. 1956 IN V EN TOR. LAMAR WASHINGTON JR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent FOOT TREADLE DEVICE Lamar Washington, In, Natick, Mass.

Application June 28, 1956, Serial No. 594,594 2 Claims. 01. 84-422) the center behindand in other instances in front of the.

treadle platform. As a result it is necessary not only to utilize the muscles of the leg to lift or depress the toe or heel of the foot but also to move the entire leg in order to rock the treadle. Since the leg has appreciable weight, continued use of the muscles to lift or depress the leg over an extended period of time causes fatigue.

The foot treadle apparatus of the present invention makes it unnecessary to raise and lower the leg to operate the pedal. Instead, the construction of the present invention makes it possible to utilize only the natural rocking motion of the foot about the ankle. Since no part of the leg has to be raised and lowered the operator can rock the treadle or pedal over long periods of time without undue fatigue.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful foot treadle apparatus that operates by the natural rocking motion of the foot, so as to make possible operation over extended periods of time without undue fatigue.

More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide foot treadle apparatus whose effective center of rotation is about an axis above the treadle platform and preferably at or near the effective pivotal center of the ankle joint of the operator.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a foot treadle especially adapted for actuating percussion instruments such as a bass drum, which will enable the drummer to actuate the beater at high speed and with a minimum expenditure of energy.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention as embodied in a foot pedal for a bass drum,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the drum pedal.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view, partly in section and taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l.

The foot treadle apparatus comprises a base and a treadle platform 12. The base is in the form of a long narrow box having upstanding side walls that slope gradually downward from the front (left hand end as viewed in the drawings) to the rear. The treadle platform may likewise be of box-like configuration having side walls that overlap the sides of the base, with slight space to provide operating clearance.

The treadle platform is supported on the base with the top surface sloping at a comfortable angle for the foot of the operator, whose shoe 16 is indicated in dashed outline. Instead of conventional rocking movement about a fixed pivot, the treadle platform is mounted for bodily rocking motion about an effective center that is substantially above the treadle surface. In the preferred embodiment, the effective rocking center is caused to coin cide approximately with the pivotal center 18 of the ankle joint of the operator, represented in dashed outline.

To make possible the desired treadle motion, the platform 12 is mounted on the base 10 by means of

ballbearing guideways

22 and 24. These guideways are formed by pressing or stamping the side wall portions of base and treadle to form raceways for the ball bearings. These guideways preferably extend in an arcuate configuration in which both the forward pair 22 and the rear pair 24 have effective centers at or close to the ankle joint 18, which is substantially above the treadle platform. Accordingly, the forward guideways 22 have substantial downward slope from front to back, while the rear guideways 24 are more nearly horizontal, with actually a slight upward slope from front to rear (left to right as viewed in Fig. 2).

The ball-bearing guideways thus not only provide a smooth, substantially frictionless support for the treadle platform on the base, but in addition they provide a means for positively guiding the platform in the desired.

path. This path involves a rocking movement to the rear as the pedal is depressed at the toe end, the depressed position being indicated by the dashed outline of the treadle platform. It will be seen that only a simple rocking movement of the operators foot is required, with no appreciable movement of the leg. As a result, the motion is natural and does not require any such effort as is involved when the pivotal center is positioned close to the treadle, i.e., at the rear or heel end.

At the forward end of the base portion 10 is mounted a cross-shaft 30 which carries the upstanding arm 32 in which the rod 34 of the beater 36 is adjustably secured. The beater shaft 30 is rocked by means of a yoke-like link 38 connected to the treadle platform. At is treadle end, the link engages a pin 40 secured by screws 42 between the depending side walls of the platform. The walls of the base are slotted in an arcuate path to provide clearance for the pin 40. The forward end of the link is pivotally connected to the depending arm 44 on beater shaft 30 so that the shaft is rocked in clockwise direction upon depressing the toe.

To aid in controlling the action of the treadle and heater, springs 48, 5t}, and 52 are provided. Tension spring 48 extends from the cross pin 40 to a short upstanding arm 54 illustrated as integrally formed with arm 44 on the beater shaft 39.

Tension springs

56 and 52 extend in opposite directions from the underside of the treadle platform to an anchor block as adjustably secured in longitudinal slot 58 in the base it). By these springs the at-rest or neutral position of the treadle may be set to suit the particular user.

The treadle of the invention is adapted to be secured to the rim of a drum to maintain the apparatus in proper relation to the drum head. For this purpose the treadle is provided with fixed and movable jaws 66 and t2, the movable jaw being actuated by lever 64 which rotates eccentric shaft 66 through a partial revolution to raise and lower the arms 68 which extend downwardly to the jaw 62. With the jaws in open position, the treadle is brought to a position in which the rim of the drum adjacent the floor enters the opening between jaws, after which the lever 64 is rocked to clamp the jaws on the drum rim.

It is apparent that the drum treadle of the invention provides an effective and compact device. The positioning of the beater shaft at the forward end and below the treadle platform simplifies the connection from treadle to beater shaft, and at the same time permits a lowering of the overall height and the center of gravity. Also, the position of the beater shaft makes it possible for the heater to strike the drum head a direct rather than a glancing blow, since the axis of rotation is itself so close to the head. Furthermore, the position of the beater arm 32 is adjustable on the beater shaft to enable the desired position of the beater to be obtained relative to the treadle position. When the beater is removed from the beater arm, the device is extremely compact and easily packed. For still greater compactness, the beater arm 32 may be loosened and swung downwardly to a substantially horizontal position alongside the treadle.

It will also be noted that the treadle mechanism is effectively concealed and protected within the box-like structure of the treadle. The linkages and springs, the foot treadle guiding means, and even the beater shaft itself are below the treadle top and for the most part within the box-like base. As a consequence, the pedal is characterized by greatly improved stability over existing de vices, in spite of its compact size, which is but little larger in plan view than the average shoe. The novel mounting arrangement of treadle platform, in which arcuate rocking movement of the entire treadle platform is substituted for conventional pivoting, has been found to provide a marked improvement in operation, with corresponding reduction in fatigue. The rocking movement about the ankle joint as an effective center results in a natural movement of the foot so that high-speed precisely-timed actuation is readily attained. By way of comparison, actuation of the conventional pedal requires that the upper leg also be moved, oscillating about the hip joint. The mass so involved is appreciable, resulting in consequent fatigue of both the upper and lower leg muscles. In the new pedal, there is no action of raising and lowering the leg through pivoting about the heel; instead, the rocking takes place about the joint of the ankle, with only that joint involved and its relatively small muscles.

While the invention has been particularly described in terms of a treadle for bass drums, it is apparent that the apparatus is equally well adapted for other treadle-operated devices to be actuated or controlled by the foot, such as therapeutic apparatus for exercise of the foot and ankle, and such forms and embodiments shall be deemed to be comprehended within the invention in accordance with the terms of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A foot treadle device comprising a base, a relatively movable treadle having a platform on which the operators foot may be supported, and connections between the treadle and the base for supporting the treadle, there being independent supporting connections at the heel and Gil toe ends of the treadle, the connections at the heel end comprising rolling means below he platform for guiding the heel end of the treadle in a substantially horizontal forward and back motion relative to the base, and the connections at the toe end of the treadle having means for guiding the toe end of the treadle in smoothly continuous inclined path having a substantial vertical component of motion, and resilient means intermediate the treadle and the base urging the heel end of the platform forwardly and the toe end upwardly.

2. A foot treadle device for a drum, comprising a base having a transverse beater shaft adjacent the forward end, a drum beater carried by said shaft, a relatively movable treadle having a platform on which the operator's foot may be supported for actuation of the treadle by rocking motion of the foot, connections between the treadle and the base and disposed beneath the plane of the treadle platform for supporting the treadle thereon, there being independent supporting connections at the heel and toe ends of the treadle, the connections at the heel end of the treadle comprising rolling means below the treadle platform for guiding the heel end of the treadle in a substantially horizontal forward and back motion relative to the base, the connections at the toe end of the treadle having guiding means for causing the toe end of the treadle to. move in a smoothly continuous path which slopes upwardly in a forwardly direction and downwardly in a rearward direction relative to the base, resilient means for yieldingly positioning the treadle in a position intermediate the limits of its guided motion relative to the base, and connections between the treadle and the beater shaft for rocking said shaft upon actuation of the treadle along its guided path.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 112,162 Mills Feb. 28, 1871 211,283 Weaver Jan. 7, 1879 590,182 Bower Sept. 14, 1897 846,391 Bower Mar. 5, 1907 1,154,120 Kendrick Sept. 15, 1915 1,508,390 Gladstone et a1. Sept. 16, 1924 2,048,725 Bortimore July 28, 1936 2,063,741 Hilbard Dec. 8, 1936 2,139,010 Franks, Jr Dec. 6, 1938 2,628,507 Iuergens Feb. 17, 1952 2,670,028 Doty et al Feb. 23, 1954