This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-163268, filed on Aug. 28, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a drum mounting device, which is used to mount a drum such as a tom-tom to a bass drum or a stand, and to a drum.
A drum such as a tom-tom is played by striking the drum head with a stick. At this time, if the drum as a whole sways in correspondence with the direction in which the drum head is struck, the feeling of striking is improved and the sound quality and resonance of the drum are improved. Also, by restraining transmission of the vibration, which is caused by striking the drum head, from the shell to the holder or the stand, the sound quality and resonance of the drum are further improved.
The bracket disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,700 includes a rod clamping portion, two upper and lower vibration absorbing seat portions, plates, and bolts. The vibration absorbing seat portions are integrated with the rod clamping portion. The plates are each embedded in the corresponding one of the vibration absorbing seat portions. The bolts are each fixed to the corresponding one of the plates. The bracket is fixed by fastening a nut onto each of the bolts from the inner side of the shell in a state in which the two upper and lower vibration absorbing seat portions are held in tight contact with the outer circumferential surface of the shell.
The bracket disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,613,603 includes one of the lugs fixed to the outer circumferential surface of a shell, a rod clamping member mounted to the lug, and a vibration insulating member arranged between the lug and the rod clamping member. The vibration insulating member is configured by a first metal washer element and a second metal washer element. The first and second metal washer elements are engaged with a horizontal pin and a vertical pin, respectively. The horizontal pin and the vertical pin couple the lug and the rod clamping member to each other.
The bracket disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,980 includes an arcuate arm, which is mounted to metal parts separated apart on the outer circumferential surface of the shell and the upper hoop by means of a lug bolt. A plate portion, which has a rectangular shape as viewed from above, extends downward from the middle of the arm. A rectangular pillar-shaped connector, to which a rod is fixed, is fixed to the plate portion via a rubber member.
A bracket 70 shown in
However, neither the bracket disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,700 nor the bracket disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,158,980 is configured to sway the drum as a whole in correspondence with the striking direction in which the drum head is struck. That is, neither of these brackets is configured to control the vibrating direction of the drum to be the same as the striking direction. If a drum is mounted to a holder or a stand using such brackets, the position of the striking surface of the drum head cannot be stabilized at the time the player rolls the drum head. This hampers drum playing and swells the sound of the drum, thus deteriorating the sound quality of the drum.
In the bracket of U.S. Pat. No. 9,613,603, not only the horizontal sway of the drum is restricted by the first metal washer element, which is engaged with the horizontal pin, but also the vertical sway of the drum is restricted by the second metal washer element, which is engaged with the vertical pin. This hampers sway of the drum as a whole in every direction. As a result, the feeling of striking the drum and the sound quality and resonance of the drum are undesirable.
In contrast, if the drum is mounted to a holder or a stand using the bracket 70 of
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a drum mounting device and a drum that are capable of improving the feeling of striking the drum and the sound quality and resonance of the drum.
To achieve the foregoing objective and in accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, a drum mounting device for mounting a drum to an object of installation in which the drum is to be installed is provided. The drum mounting device includes a base, which is fixed to the drum, and a fixing member, which is joined to the base and is fixed to a pillar-shaped object arranged in the mount object. The base and the fixing member are coupled to each other to be pivotal relative to each other about a horizontal axis, which is perpendicular to an axis of a shell of the drum.
To achieve the foregoing objective and in accordance with a second aspect of the present disclosure, a drum is provided that includes a mounting device for mounting the drum in a mount object in which the drum is to be installed. The mounting device includes a base, which is fixed to the drum, and a fixing member, which is joined to the base and is fixed to a pillar-shaped object arranged in the mount object. The base and the fixing member are coupled to each other to be pivotal relative to each other about a horizontal axis, which is perpendicular to an axis of a shell of the drum.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.
The invention, together with objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description of the presently preferred embodiments together with the accompanying drawings in which:
A drum mounting device according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
As shown in
The drum D also includes a bracket 10 as a mounting device. The bracket 10 is a drum part independent of the lugs L and the lug bolts LB. Therefore, the bracket 10 is fixed at a position on the outer circumferential surface of the shell S that is separated from the lugs L and the lug bolts LB. The drum D is mounted to a bass drum or a stand, which serves as a mount object, by means of the bracket 10. At this time, the bracket 10 is fixed to a rod portion R of either a holder fixed to the bass drum or a drum stand. A memory lock ML is attached to the rod portion R, which is a pillar-shaped object, to memorize the mount position of the drum D.
With reference to
The bracket 10 also includes vibration absorbing members between the base 12 and the fixing member 13. The bracket 10 is thus configured to be capable of absorbing vibration caused by striking the drum D. The bracket 10 includes, as the vibration absorbing members, a cylindrical first vibration absorbing member 17 and two left and right second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R, each of which is substantially L-shaped. The hardness of the first vibration absorbing member 17 is lower than the hardness of each of the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R. Elastic material such as polyurethane, rubber, or elastomer is used for the first vibration absorbing member 17 and the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R.
The base 12 is shaped like a vertically elongated rectangular frame. The base 12 includes an upper portion 21, two pillar-shaped portions 22, and a lower portion 23. The upper portion 21 configures a coupling portion with respect to the fixing member 13. The pillar-shaped portions 22 extend downward from the upper portion 21. The lower portion 23 couples the lower ends of the two pillar-shaped portions 22 to each other. A threaded portion 21d and a threaded portion 23d, which project toward the inner side of the shell S, are formed in the upper portion 21 and the lower portion 23, respectively. The base 12 is fixed to the outer circumferential surface of the shell S by fastening bolts B, which extend through a pressing plate PB and the shell S from the inner side of the shell S, to the corresponding threaded portions 21d, 23d.
As illustrated in
With reference to
The fixing member 13 includes a main portion 31 and a lower portion 33. The main portion 31 configures a coupling portion with respect to the base 12 and a fixing portion with respect to the rod portion R of the holder or the stand. The lower portion 33 extends downward from the main portion 31. The fixing member 13 is formed such that the main portion 31 is joined to the upper portion 21 and the pillar-shaped portion 22 of the base 12 and that the lower portion 33 is joined to the lower portion 23 of the base 12. The fixing member 13 also has a recess 34, in which the memory lock ML mounted to the rod portion R can be arranged.
As shown in
With reference to
As shown in
The lower portion 33 has an attachment hole 33a, with which a front surface of the first vibration absorbing member 17 is held in contact. The attachment hole 33a is formed at the position corresponding to the attachment hole 23b of the base 12. Also, the lower portion 33, together with the outer surface of the lower part of the main portion 31, forms the recess 34, in which the memory lock ML is arranged.
The shaft 14 is joined to the base 12 and the fixing member 13 with the axis C1 extending horizontally. The shaft 14 is inserted through the insertion hole 21a and the attachment holes 21b of the base 12 and the two insertion holes 31b of the fixing member 13. As a result, the base 12 and the fixing member 13 are coupled to each other by the shaft 14 to be pivotal relative to each other about a horizontal axis. The horizontal axis, which is the axis of relative pivoting motion of the base 12 and the fixing member 13, thus coincides with the axis C1 of the shaft 14. The horizontal axis extends perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical shell S of the drum D, which is shown in
With reference to
In this state, the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R have the thick portions 18a, which are each attached to the corresponding attachment hole 21b of the base 12, as two left and right vibration absorbing portions that are separated apart in the axial direction of the shaft 14. Each of the thick portions 18a is arranged between the axis C1 of the shaft 14 and the base 12. Each of the thin portions 18b is arranged between the axis C1 of the shaft 14 and the fixing member 13 in a state in which a section of the thin portion 18b is held in tight contact with the outer surface of the base 12. On the other hand, the first vibration absorbing member 17 is located below the axis C1 of the shaft 14.
Referring to
The upper edge portion 12d of the base 12 is formed as a protrusion that has a substantially triangular cross section. The upper edge portion 13d of the fixing member 13 is also configured by a protrusion and is formed in correspondence with the upper edge portion 12d of the base 12. The upper edge portion 12d of the base 12 and the upper edge portion 13d of the fixing member 13 are separated apart at a certain distance to form, between the upper edge portion 12d and the upper edge portion 13d, space in which the upper edge portions 18d of the second vibration absorbing members 18R, 18L are arranged.
The bracket 10 has the restricting portion 50 and is configured such that the upper edge portion 12d of the base 12 and the upper edge portion 13d of the fixing member 13 become immovable after approaching each other and clamping the upper edge portions 18d of the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R. That is, the bracket 10 is configured to, by means of the restricting portion 50, restrict relative pivoting motion of the base 12 and the fixing member 13 about the axis C1 of the shaft 14 exceeding a predetermined amount.
An operation of the above-described bracket 10 will now be described with reference to
As illustrated in
The second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R are attached to the left and right sides of the base 12. In this state, the thick portions 18a are arranged between the axis C1 of the shaft 14 and the base 12. The thin portions 18b are arranged between the axis C1 of the shaft 14 and the fixing member 13. Further, the first vibration absorbing member 17 is, by being attached to the attachment hole 23b of the base 12, located below the axis C1 of the shaft 14. This arrangement allows the first vibration absorbing member 17 and the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R to absorb vibration caused by striking the drum D at the time the vibration is transmitted from the shell S to the bracket 10.
The present embodiment achieves the following advantages.
(1) The base 12 and the fixing member 13 are coupled to each other by the shaft 14 to be pivotal relative to each other about the horizontal axis, which is perpendicular to the axis of the shell S. When the drum D is played, this configuration enables vibration of the drum D as a whole about the horizontal axis in correspondence with the striking direction in which the drum D is struck. Also, in this case, the vibrating direction of the drum D is controlled to be the same as the striking direction of the drum D. The sound of the drum D is thus unlikely to swell. This improves the feeling of striking the drum D and the sound quality and resonance of the drum D, compared to a case in which the drum D is mounted using the conventional mounting device, which is incapable of controlling the vibrating direction of the drum D. Further, in this case, since the base 12 and the fixing member 13 are coupled to each other by the shaft 14 in the relatively pivotal manner, the drum D as a whole is allowed to reliably vibrate about the horizontal axis in correspondence with the striking direction in which the drum D is struck.
(2) The bracket 10 includes the first vibration absorbing member 17 and the two second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R between the base 12 and the fixing member 13. In this configuration, the first vibration absorbing member 17 and the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R, which are arranged between the base 12 and the fixing member 13, absorb vibration caused by striking the drum D and thus restrain transmission of the vibration from the drum D to the mount object such as a holder or a drum stand. The sound quality and resonance of the drum D are thus further improved.
(3) The horizontal axis, which is the axis of relative pivoting motion of the base 12 and the fixing member 13, is located in the upper portion of the base 12 and the upper portion of the fixing member 13. The first vibration absorbing member 17 is located below the axis C1 of the shaft 14. In this configuration, the position of the horizontal axis is set in the vicinity of the main portion 31 of the fixing member 13 and the upper portion 21 of the base 12. This facilitates relative pivoting motion of the base 12 and the fixing member 13 about the horizontal axis. As a result, the drum D is allowed to properly vibrate about the horizontal axis in correspondence with the striking direction in which the drum D is struck. Also, in this case, since the first vibration absorbing member 17 is located below the horizontal axis, the first vibration absorbing member 17 is mounted to a non-coupling portion between the base 12 and the fixing member 13. The first vibration absorbing member 17 is thus allowed to efficiently absorb vibration from the drum D.
(4) The second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R are attached to the left and right sides of the base 12. In this state, the thick portions 18a of the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R are arranged between the axis C1 of the shaft 14 and the base 12. The thin portions 18b of the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R are arranged between the axis C1 of the shaft 14 and the fixing member 13. In this configuration, not only is the first vibration absorbing member 17 located below the horizontal axis but also the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R are arranged both between the horizontal axis and the base 12 and between the horizontal axis and the fixing member 13. As a result, the bracket 10 as a whole is allowed to absorb vibration from the drum D. The vibration from the drum D is thus absorbed further efficiently.
(5) The first vibration absorbing member 17 and the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R are all made of elastic material. As a result, the vibration from the drum D is absorbed further efficiently. Also, the hardness of the first vibration absorbing member 17 is lower than the hardness of each second vibration absorbing member 18L, 18R. In this configuration, the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R, each of which has the relatively high hardness, are arranged in an upper portion of the bracket 10 while the first vibration absorbing member 17, which has the relatively low hardness, is arranged in a lower portion of the bracket 10. As a result, the relative pivoting motion of the base 12 and the fixing member 13 about the horizontal axis is further facilitated. This further facilitates adequate vibration of the drum D about the horizontal axis in correspondence with the striking direction in which the drum D is struck.
(6) The second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R have the thick portions 18a, which are attached to the attachment holes 21b of the base 12, as the two left and right vibration absorbing portions that are separated apart in the axial direction of the shaft 14. In this configuration, the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R, each of which has the relatively high hardness, have the two left and right vibration absorbing portions. This restricts vibration of the drum D when the drum D sways in a manner parallel to or inclined with respect to the horizontal axis. This allows the vibrating direction of the drum D to be controlled to be the same as the striking direction.
(7) The bracket 10 includes the restricting portion 50, which restricts relative pivoting motion of the base 12 and the fixing member 13 about the axis C1 of the shaft 14. The restricting portion 50 is configured such that the upper edge portion 12d of the base 12 and the upper edge portion 13d of the fixing member 13 become immovable after approaching each other and clamping the upper edge portions 18d of the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R. As a result, even when the fixing member 13 is hit from below by the rod portion R of a holder or a drum stand, the fixing member 13 does not pivot relative to the base 12. This facilitates the work for fixing the rod portion R to the fixing member 13 and work for mounting the drum D to the holder or the drum stand.
(8) The opening 31f is formed in a laterally elongated rectangular shape and extends in the opposite, left and right directions from the middle of the front wall of the main portion 31. In this configuration, the wing nut 16, together with the screw 15, is movable in the opposite, left and right directions from the middle of the front wall of the main portion 31. By changing the position of the wing nut 16 in this manner, the wing nut 16 can be selectively fastened and loosened from both the left side and the right side of the bracket 10.
The present embodiment may be modified as follows.
The shaft 14 may be omitted from the bracket 10. In this case, a coupling portion may be arranged in both the base 12 and the fixing member 13 to couple the base 12 and the fixing member 13 directly to each other in a relatively pivotal manner. For example, each of the coupling portions may be configured by a columnar projecting portion and a hole or recess or tubular portion, which pivotally holds the projecting portion.
Either the first vibration absorbing member 17 or the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R or all of the first and second vibration absorbing members 17, 18L, 18R may be omitted. The shapes, locations, number and the like of the vibration absorbing members may be changed as needed.
The hardness of the first vibration absorbing member 17 may be equal to the hardness of each second vibration absorbing member 18L, 18R.
The restricting portion 50 is configured by the upper edge portions 12d, 13d, 18d of the base 12, the fixing member 13, and the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R, which are located above the axis C1 of the shaft 14. Instead, the restricting portion 50 may be configured by portions of the base 12, the fixing member 13, and the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R that are located coaxially with the shaft 14. Alternatively, the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R may be omitted and the restricting portion 50 may be configured simply by the base 12 and the fixing member 13.
Elastic components such as various types of springs, instead of elastic material, may be used for the first vibration absorbing member 17 and the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R. Alternatively, the first vibration absorbing member 17 and the second vibration absorbing members 18L, 18R may be configured by combining various types of springs.
The bracket 10 of the present invention may be configured to be mounted to any desired portion of the drum D including a portion of the hoop L and a portion of any one of the lugs L, instead of a portion of the shell S of the drum D.
The bracket 10 of the present invention may be employed in any desired drum as long as the drum is fixed to the rod portion R.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2017-163268 | Aug 2017 | JP | national |