Resilient drumstick sleeve assembly

A resilient drumstick sleeve assembly comprises a drumstick and a resilient tubular polymeric sleeve fitted onto and covering the tapered neck section of the drumstick. The sleeve has a length of between about one inch to about seven inches and a thickness of between about 1/64 inch to about 1/8 inch and is provided with fluorescent coloration. The resilient drumstick sleeve assembly reduces drumstick breakage and provides the option of using the resilient sleeve to create new drumming sonics.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to percussion instruments, and particularly 
to drumsticks. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Drummers with an energetic drumming style such as rock band drummers have a 
tendency to break the tips off their drumsticks with great regularity. 
This arises because of gradual wear and chipping away of the drumstick as 
it hits against drum rims and cymbals. In addition, sudden cracking of the 
drumstick can be caused by a high velocity impact of the drumstick against 
a drumming surface. For example, a drummer in a heavy metal band may 
destroy as many as twenty drumsticks during the course of a single 
performance. 
It would be desirable if a drumstick's durability could be enhanced to 
lengthen the drumstick's operating life. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a resilient drumstick 
sleeve assembly that reduces premature wear and drumstick breakage. It is 
an object of the present invention to provide a resilient drumstick sleeve 
assembly that has desirable ornamental features. It is an object of the 
present invention to provide a resilient drumstick sleeve assembly that 
can be used to devise new and different percussion sonics. 
A resilient drumstick sleeve assembly in accordance with one technique of 
the invention comprises a drumstick and a resilient tubular sleeve fitted 
onto and covering a neck section of the drumstick. The drumstick has a 
cylindrical body at one end and a tip knob at a second end, and the neck 
section connects the cylindrical body to the tip knob. Preferably, the 
sleeve has a length of between about one inch to about seven inches, and 
most preferably, the sleeve has a length of between about one and one-half 
inches to about three inches. The sleeve preferably has a thickness of 
between about 1/64 inch to about 1/8 inch, and most preferably between 
about 1/32 inch to about 1/16 inch. 
The sleeve preferably comprises a polymeric material, and is preferably 
provided with a high visibility coloration such as fluorescent coloration. 
In one preferred embodiment the sleeve is tapered, with a narrower 
diameter end adjacent the tip knob of the drumstick and a wider diameter 
end adjacent the cylindrical body of the drumstick. The sleeve can have a 
length selected whereby the drumstick tip knob is uncovered by the sleeve, 
or in an alternative embodiment, the length of the sleeve is selected so 
that the sleeve extends over the second end of the drumstick whereby the 
drumstick tip knob is covered by the sleeve. 
The resilient drumstick sleeve assembly absorbs shock to reduce drumstick 
breakage. In addition, the resilient sleeve provides an alternative stick 
surface for a more muted drumming sound. 
Other objects, aspects and features of the present invention in addition to 
those mentioned above will be pointed out in detail or will be understood 
from the following detailed description provided in conjunction with the 
accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to FIGS. 1-2, a resilient drumstick sleeve assembly in 
accordance with the invention is shown generally as 10. Like elements are 
identically numbered in the drawings. Assembly 10 comprises a drumstick 12 
and a resilient sleeve 20. The drumstick 12 has a cylindrical body 14 at 
one end and a tip knob 16 at a second end, and a tapered neck section 18 
which connects the cylindrical body 14 to the tip knob 16. Tapered neck 
section 18 has a taper whereby the diameter of the neck section 18 
decreases along the axial length of the neck section 18 from the body 14 
to the tip knob 16. 
Sleeve 20 is a resilient tubular sleeve fitted onto and covering a tapered 
neck section 18 of the drumstick 12. As used herein, a "tubular sleeve" 
encompasses a sleeve having a generally cylindrical shape as well as a 
sleeve with a tapered, frusto-conical shape. The sleeve preferably does 
not cover the hand grip portions of the body 14. Preferably, sleeve 20 has 
a length of between about one inch to about seven inches, and most 
preferably, sleeve 20 has a length of between about one and one-half 
inches to about three inches. Sleeve 20 preferably has a thickness of 
between about 1/64 inch to about 1/8 inch, and most preferably between 
about 1/32 inch to about 1/16 inch. The thickness of sleeve 20 may be 
uniform, or it may vary. For example, the sleeve 20 may be provided with a 
lesser thickness adjacent the tip knob 16 and a greater thickness adjacent 
the body 14, as shown generally as 310 in FIG. 6. 
Sleeve 20 preferably comprises a polymeric material, and is preferably 
provided with a high visibility coloration such as fluorescent coloration. 
Alternatively, transparent, or black or solid or pastel colors may be 
used. Sleeve 20 is preferably a polypropylene, polyethylene, polyurethane, 
or a vinyl elastomer. The resiliency of the sleeve 20 may vary depending 
on the material selected. A varying durometer will give varying percussion 
sonics. Sleeve 20 may be manufactured by cutting a length of extruded 
tubular sleeve from a spool of such tubing. Sleeve 20 may also be 
manufactured by molding, such as dip molding, appropriately sized sleeve 
elements in appropriately shaped dies. Manufacturing with a molding method 
permits manufacture of sleeves of varying thickness as disclosed above and 
shown in FIG. 6. 
Referring now to FIG. 3, a preferred embodiment of the sleeve is shown as 
120. Sleeve 120 is tapered, with a narrower diameter end 121 for locating 
adjacent a tip knob of a drumstick and a wider diameter end 122 for 
locating adjacent a cylindrical body of a drumstick. 
Referring again to FIGS. 1-2, sleeve 20 has a length selected whereby the 
drumstick tip knob 16 is uncovered by the sleeve 20. In an alternative 
embodiment shown in FIGS. 4-5, the length of the sleeve 220 is selected so 
that the sleeve 220 extends over the end of the drumstick 212 whereby the 
drumstick tip knob 216 is covered by the sleeve 220. In such an embodiment 
the end of the tip may also be covered so that the sleeve 220 would be 
closed at one end. The sleeve length in such case may be selected to cover 
only the tip knob as shown as 410 in FIG. 7 or both the tip knob and the 
neck section. 
The resilient drumstick sleeves 20, 120 and 220 absorb shock to reduce 
drumstick breakage. In the event of breakage, the drumstick tip is 
prevented from uncontrolled travel away from the drummer. In addition, the 
resilient sleeve provides an alternative stick surface for a more muted 
drum or cymbal sound. For example, the resilient drumstick sleeve 
apparatus can be used in its sleeve area to create cymbal rolls with a 
smooth sound, or it can be used to create soft percussive sounds on the 
drum rim or on the beater head. This permits the creation of new drumming 
sonics. In addition, where the sleeve 220 covers the tip of the drumstick, 
a pair of the resilient drumstick sleeve apparati can be used for 
percussion practice on a tabletop or other hard surface without causing 
substantial damage to the surface. 
Having now described several embodiments in accordance with the invention, 
its advantages may be appreciated. Other embodiments and variations of the 
invention may be made without departing from the scope of the following 
claims.