US366355A - Half to paul sanguineti and john b - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) I 2 Sheets Sheet 1 W H. TRAVIS.

I ATTACHMENT FOR DRUMS. No. 366,355. Patented July 12, 1887.

\ lPrEl IlrrELll (No Model?) 7 I 2- Sheets-Sheet 2.

- H. TRAVIS ATTACHMENT FOR DRUMS.

No. 366,355. Patented Ju1 12, 1887.

q q i-fma ooeo nphur. Walhing'nn, o. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HENRY TRAVIS, OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO PAUL SANGUINETI AND JOHN B. DAVEGGI O, BOTH-OF SAME PLACE.

ATTACHMENT FOR DRUMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 366,355, dated July 12, 1887.

I Application filed February 5, 1887. Serial No. 226,691. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HENRY TRAVIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Jose, in the county of Santa Clara and State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Attachments for 1Drums, of which the following is a specifica- D.

My invention relates to attachments for IO drums; and it consists ina certain novel construction and combination of devices, fully set forth hereinafter and claimed.

The object of my invention is to provide a bell attachment for a drum in which the sound of the bell when struck will be clearer than is possible with the means now employed.

A further object of my invention is to provide means whereby the proper tapping of the bell may be effected with more certainty and a more perfect tone produced than is possible when the bell itself is struck with the drumstick.

A further object is to provide means whereby a bell may be struck a very rapid succession of strokes and the sound produced be either loud or subdued to suit the character of the piece and the wishes of the performer.

A further object of my invention is to provide a castanet attachment for a drum, which castanets may be sounded by the drumsticks or by the hand of the operator.

7 ,It is usual when a tapping sound is required in an orchestral production for the drummer to strike the side or the rim of the drum.

My castanet attachment will be found far superior to that method, in that the sound is clearer, more cracking, and also that the tapping can be more satisfactorily accomplished, as the top of the castanet can be more easily 4O struck than the rim of the drum.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ordinary snare-drum provided with my bell and castanet attachments. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same,

showing one of the bell attachments. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the castanet' attachment.

I Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 5 is a transverse section of same through the z t. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are detail views.

Referringto the drawings, in which similar letters denote corresponding parts in all the figures, A is a drum having the usual upper rim or hoop, B. I show two bell attachments,

O D, one of which, 0, is to be used to produce a loud sound, and the other, D, to be used 5 when it is desired to play very softly. The bells E E are suspended at the side of the drum by wire supports F F, which are rigidly secured at their upper ends to the plates G G, bolted to the rim of the drum, and are bent at right angles at their lower ends to form the posts H H for the support of the bells, the latter being secured in the usual manner to the posts H H. Thus the bells are suspended out of contact with the drum and will give a clear sound when struck.

The striking device for the bell E consists of a wire spring, K, having the ball or striker k on the free end, which ball or striker is sustained or suspended a short distance abovethe said bell. The wire spring K has a simplehalf-bend at L, and is then passed under a clip, I, bolted to a plate, M, and the extremity of the said wire is provided with a loop, Z, also bolted to the said plate M, which plate is then bolted or otherwise secured to the rinrB of the drum. r

N is a flat striking or contact surface rigidly secured to the top of the wire spring'K and adapted to be struck by the drumstick. It will be seen that when the surface N is struck the striker or ball will be driven against the bell in opposition to the action of the spring, which in this case is considerable. The action of the spring is very rapid, however, and the S5 striker or ball is returned to its normal position, ready to be operated as before.

The striking device for the bell E is identical with the device E, with the exception that instead of having the wire spring K made with a single half-turn it is made with two or more turns or coils, L, thus enabling the bell to be struck and rung by a lighter tap on the striking-surface N. Thus, by providing the drum with two bells,the performer is enabled 5 to play-either loudly or softly at will, and to change from one to the other as quickly and as often as desired.

ing above the rim of the drum.

a a are thin cushions or pads on the striking-surfaces to prevent the drumstiek from making a cracking sound when the said surfaces are struck by it.

My castanet attachment 1 consists of the ordinary shell-shaped members Q Q, having the projections or lugs q q. R is a plate se' cured to the upper side of the lug q of the shell Q, and has the depending ears r1 on either side of the lug Q, said ears being pro vided with the aligned openings 0" r.

S is a plate secured on the under side of the lug q of the shell Q, and has the verticallyproject-ing ears 8 5;, having aligned openings 8' s. A bolt or pin, T, is passed through the aligned openings r r s s, and pivotally secures the two shells together.

U are cars depending from the under side of the plate S and adapted to embrace the upper edge of the rim B. Said ears have aligned openings therein, and a bolt, a, passing through them and the rim I3, secures the castanets rigidly to the drum.

V V are spiral springs secured'on the pin or bolt T and adapted to normally hold the shells of the castanct apart.

\V is a thumb screw passing through a threaded opening in the rear of the plate R, and also through an opening in the ing (1, and bearing at the lower end in a socket, to, in the lug q. It will be seen that by manipulating the said thumbscrew the distance between the contact ends of the shells Q Q may be varied to suit the purpose and the taste of the performer. It is evident that if the upper shell (which is movable and held by the springs V V from contact with the rigid lower shell) is struck the peculiar cracking sound of the castanet will be produced, and as the upper shell, after being caused to strike the lower one, will instantly be drawn back by the said springs and caused to assume its normal position, the blows may be very rapidly repeated and produce a result utterly unattainable when the rim of the drum is struck by the sticks.

Thus I provide convenient means of ringing a bell and playing the castancts, and the result in both cases is better than can be attained by the ordinary methods.

The means which Iprovide for applying the bell places it entirely out of the way of the performer, the striking-surface Nonly be- This causes the device to have a very neat appearance, and enables the performer to produce much more satisfactory results.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-- 1. The combination, with the drum, of a bell suspended from and depending below the rim thereof, and a striking device consisting of a spring having one end secured to -a plate which is bolted to the rim of the drum, and having its other end arranged over the bell, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with a drum, of a bell depending from the rim of the same, and a striking device, said striking device consisting of a spriuguod bent or coiled at or near its center and having its ends extended approximately parallel with each other, one endbeing secured to a plate bolted to the rim of the drum and the other end being arranged over the bell and carrying a striker, substantiall y as set forth.

3. In combination with the drum, the castanet l,secured thereto and adapted to be operated by the stick or hand of the performer,

substantially as described.

4.. A drum having a castanet attachment comprising the shells Q, Q, pivoted together and adapted to be normally held apart by a spring, and adapted when struck to be brought in contact to give the peculiar sound of the castanet, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a castanet attachment for a drum, the shells Q Q and plate It on the upper shell, combined with the plate S on the lower shell, said plates It S being connected together by a pivot-bolt, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

6. In a castanct attachment for a drum, the shells having the lugs q g at the rear ends thereof, said lugs being pivoted together, substantially as described.

7. In a castanet attachment for a drum, the pivoted shells, combined with the depending ears U on the lower shell, adapted to clasp the rim of the drum and be secured thereon, substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

8. In a castanchthe shells Q Q, plates R S, secured thereon, and having ears 0' .3, through which passes the pivot-bolt T to secure the shells together, combined with the spiral springs V V, secured on the boltT, and adapted to normally hold the shells out ofcontact, sulr stantially as described.

9. In a castanet, the shells pivotally attached at a short distance from the rear end on a pin or bolt and normallyheld out ofcontact, combined with the thumb-screw IV, to regulate the distance between the striking or contact ends of the shells, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

In testimony thatI claim theloregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM HENRY TRAVIS.

Witnesses:

H. M; Emacs, L. DENAN.

Images