US795034A

US795034A - Drum.

Info

Publication number: US795034A
Application number: US23151204A
Authority: US
Inventors: George Harris
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1904-11-05
Filing date: 1904-11-05
Publication date: 1905-07-18
Anticipated expiration: 1922-07-18

Description

PATENTED JULY18, 1905.

G. HARRIS. DRUM. APPLICATION FILED Nov/s, 1904.

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PATENT OFFIQE.

GEORGE HARRIS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

DRUM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 795,034, dated July 18, 1905.

Application filed November 5, 1904. Serial No. 231,512.

To all whmn it may concern.- 7

Be it known that I, GEORGE HARRIS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing in the city and county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Drums, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements made in the construction of drums and other similar musical instruments that comprise a head of prepared skin stretched over a hoop or a cylindrical frame of wood or metal.

Theimprovements embrace a novel means or device for stretching and also for varying the tension of the skin of both heads of adouble drum bya single tension-screw; also, a novel fixing means for stretching the head in place; also, a novel construction and combination of body and rim, all as hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

The following description explains at length the manner in which I proceed to construct, apply, and carry out my said invention, the accompanying drawings being referred to by figures and letters.

Figure 1 represents in elevation a double drumwith my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a perspective .view of a segment or portion of the body and rim of the drum, showing the shape and relative position of the parts as they appear in section. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the step-bearings for the foot of the tension-screw. Fig. t is a front view of one of the semicircular saddleblocks that are fixed on the rim of the drum to carry the tension-cord. Fig. 5 is an edge View of the same block. Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section showing in detail the rim, the ring to which the edge of the skin is attached, and a portion of the shell or body of the drum. Fig. 7 is an elevation of the parts,on an enlarged scale, showing in detail a construction of thrustbearing for the screwshaft.

In describing the construction and application of the present improvements the parts of the drum are designated and referred to herein as the body a, the rim 5, the hoop d, the head 6, and the ring 7. Following the general construction of these instruments the body a is sometimes made of metal and sometimes of wood. The hoop (Z is usually made of wood. The rim bis a circular and continuous ring of metal with a horizontal flange 2 extending outwardly at right angles from the perpendicular outer face of the rim to seat on the end of the body a, and a similar flange 3 on the opposite side extending inward at right angles to the upright member of the rim furnishes a support for the grooved ringf. The parts of this rim and-their position with reference to the other parts will be understood from Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The skin a of the head being attached to a flat ring g is clamped between the outside flange 2 and the hoop (Z and is firmly held all around the edge by drawing and holding the hoop to a close seat upon the ring g by means of the lacing 4 and lacing-hooks 5 on the hoops at both ends of the drum. For better security in holding the skin under tension. it is wrapped around the ring g from the inside and brought over the front edge, so as to lie upon the top face of the ring, as seen inljjg. 2. This brings the skin between the ring g and the'hoop (Z, as well as between the ring and the flange 2, thereby affording a double hold on the skin at all points around the circle. The edge of the skin may also be glued to the ring for greater security. This means of attaching the skin to the body of the drum contributes to the production of an even and uniform tension of the head, for the reason that it holds the skin firmly at all points around the circumference. In connection with this clamping means the device for stretching and giving the required tension to the head is constructed and applied with a view to act on both heads at the same time, and by the simple movement of a tensionscrew it produces the required degree of tension on the skins of both heads. The construction and operation of this tension device will be readily understood from Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

A ring f, having a deep groove in its outer edge extending around the circumference, lies on the inner flange 3, by which it is'supported behind or within the rim I) in such position that the top face of the ring stands above the top edge of the rim and the bottom of the groove in the ring is about flush with the top edge of the rim. Supported in this position on the inside of the rim 6 and above the plane of the outer flange 2 the grooved ring raises the surface of the skin above the rim, so as to turn the marginal portion of the skin all around the circumference perpendicularly downward over the groove, when the edge of the skin'is clamped between the hoop and the flange 2, and by drawing into the groove a cord it the head is stretched and maintained under the required degree of tension. One end of the cord it is brought to the outside through a slit 6 in the hoop (Z and made fast to a block 7, and from that point the cord being laid around the circumference between the skin 0 and the inner face of the hoop 1/ it is carried through a slit 8 in the hoop to the outside, as seen in Fig. 1 on the left side of the figure, at the upper hoop. From the point 8 where it passes out from the upper hoop the cord /1/ is brought down to the lower hoop and is laid around the rim of the lower head by being carried in at the slit 10 and out at the slit 12 after passing entirely around the circumference of the head. The end of the cord is finally made fast to a block 7, [ixed on the body above the lower hoop. A quadrant-shaped block in with a grooved rim is fixed on the body of the drum in line with the slit (3, and similar grooved blocks m m m are fixed on the body in the required position in line with each slit to change the direction of the cord and carry it in a regular curve at right angles, or thereabout. The function of these blocks is to reduce the strain on the cord It at these points. It will be obvious that ordinary sheaves or small grooved wheels could be employed instead of these quadrantshaped blocks for the same purpose. The tension device located on the outside of the drum between these two points where the cord leads out through the hoops is composed of a screw-threaded rod or shaft s, mounted for rotation in stationary supports 13 14, and a traveling nutl, workingon the screw-tlweaded portion of the rod and l'laving a curved saddleqiiece 15 16 with a grooved top edge, in which is laid the cord In order to apply the pulling strain of the saddle-piece upon the cords in the proper direction, it is necessary to bring the cord over the top of the -saddle-piece from below on both sides of the line of the screwthre:u,led rod, and for that purpose a third block 1) is employed. This block is fastened to the shell or body on the side of the threaded rod s opposite to that where the grooved block on is located, and it is formed or provided with a semicircular rim, so as to turn the cord upward and bring it over the traveling nut in nearly a vertical direction from below.

\Vhile it is rotatable in its hearings on the side of the body, the screw-rod is held against moving longitudinally by a collar 18, situated below the socket-piece 13, and it is provided on the upper end with a square head 17 to take a key for turning it. The lower end of the rod is fitted to a bearing in a bracket 1%, secured to the shell (1 On being rotated the screw-rod (it acts on the traveling nut to set it up or down on the rod, with the effect to throw greater or less strain on the cord la, and thereby increase or reduce the tension on both heads at the same time by a simple turn of the screw-rod.

In connection with the tension device when applied to a large drum, such as a bass-drum, where the end thrust of the screw-rod in the bracket 14: is obviously much greater than in the case of a side drum, 1 provide a thrustbearing of novel character, in which the upward pressure of a spring-bearing operates to counteract the end pressure of the screwrod. The construction of this yielding bearing is clearly shown in Fig. '7 of the drawings. On the ln-aeket 14E beneath the hearing 20 a box 21 furnishes a guide for a movable block or nut 22 with a screw threaded socket, through which a screw-threml 23 on the lower portion of the screw-rod s is fitted to work. The thread 23 on that port-ion of the rod has a contrary pitch to the threaded portion on which the saddle-piece fi travels, one being a left-hand thread and the other a right-hand thread. The effect of this construction is to cause the lower block 2 to move on the rod in the opposite direction to the part tween the bearing-block 22 and the bottom of the box 21 a stiff coiled spring is interposed, so as to resist the movement of the block iilowl'lward in the box and by its reaction under compression to counteract the downward thrust of the screw-rod with increasing force or pressure in proportion as the thrust becomes greater under the movement of the screw-rod. The upward pressure of the coiled spring against the block 21 at such time will redueethe frictional resistance between the collar 215 on the screw-rod and the face of the fixed bearing 21).

Having thus descriln-ad my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. in a drum or like musical instrument, a body, a separable rim having an outer liange adapted to seat on the edge of the body and an inwardly-extending flange, a hoop, a ring interposed between the hoop and the outer flange of the rim, and to which the skin is attached all around the circumference of the head, a lacing adapted to hold the hoop to a seat on the said ring, a second ring having a groove extending into its outer edge circumferentially thereof, said grooved ring being interposed between the skin and the inner flange of the rim, a cord in line with said groove around the circumference of the ring and means for drawing up and maintaining tension on said cord.

2. In a drum or like musical instrument, a cylindrical body, a rim seated on the edge and separable from the body and having an inwardly extending flange, a hoop, a ring clamped between thehoop and the rim, a skin having its marginal edge wrapped around the ring a lacing adapted to hold the hoop in place on the ring, a ring of smaller diameter than the hoop and supported within it beneath the skin, said ring having a groove in the outer edge, a cord in line with said groove and extending circumferentially around the same against the skin, one end of the said cord being attached to a fixed point on the body and means for drawing up and maintaining tension of the cord.

3. In adrum or like musical instrument, the combination with a body, a skin head, and means for clamping the marginal edge of the skin all around the circumference; of a ring beneath the skin of the head having a grooved outer edge over which the skin is stretched, a cord extending around the circumference of the head in line with the'grooved edge of the ring, and means for drawing up and maintaining tension on the cord, comprising a screw-threaded rotatable shaft, a traveling nut thereon, a saddle-piece carried by the nut over which the cord is laid, and grooved blocks for changing the angular direction of the strain on said cord.

4. In a device for drawing up and maintaining tension on the skin of a drumhead or other like musical instrument the combination with a ring supported beneath the skin and having a grooved outer edge and means for clamping the marginal edge of the skin all around the circumference outside the grooved ring; of a cord extending around the circumference of said ring in line with the groove and exteriorly of the skin, and means for drawing up and maintaining tension on the cord, comprising a grooved stationary guide, a-screw-threaded rotatable shaft, a nut traveling on said shaft, and a saddle-piece on the nut over which the cord is carried from the stationary guide.

5. In a device for tightening a drumhead, the combination with a ring supported beneath the skin of the head and havinga groove in the outer edge and means for clamping the marginal edge of the skin outside the ring; of means for-drawing up and tightening the skin, comprising a screw-shaft having reversely threaded portions one above the other, a nut provided with a saddle-piece fitted to travel on one thread, a nut fitted to the other thread a fixed box for the nut in which it is adapted to move as the shaft is rotated a coiled spring between the nut and the end of the box and a tightening-cord extending around the grooved ring on the outside of the skin and in line with the groove and stationary cord-guides on the body of the drum arranged to carry the cord over the saddle-piece of the traveling nut.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE HARRIS.

Witnesses:

EDWARD E. OSBORN, M. REGNER.