# Patent

## Title
Hinged drumstick

## Abstract

A percussion instrument is disclosed that may include a body having a longitudinal axis extending from a butt end to a striking end thereof and at least one hole extending along a transverse axis through the thickness of the body; a grasping mechanism having a first grip plate at a first end thereof and a second grip plate at a second end thereof, and a shaft extending through the hole in the body; and a compliance mechanism disposed between the first and second grip plates, enabling the first and second grip plates to be brought closer together in response to a compressive force applied to the grasping mechanism.

## Background
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 12/610,670, filed Nov. 2, 2009, entitled “Hinged Drumstick” which application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/184,467, filed Jun. 5, 2009, entitled “Ruttenberg's Hinge Drumstick”, the entire disclosures of which applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to musical percussion instruments, and more particularly to drumsticks for playing percussion instruments.
Drumsticks typically include a butt end, a striking end, and an intermediate region located in between the butt end and the striking end along the length of the body of the drumstick. The intermediate region generally includes a balance point (fulcrum) about which the drumstick pivots when the tip or striking point of the drumstick rebounds from contact with a drum skin (i.e. a head).
The drumstick is generally held at or near the balance point during use, since gripping the stick at this point enables maximum motion of the stick as it strikes and then rebounds from the surface of a drum or other percussion device. When held too tightly there is too much friction, and the player inhibits the motion (rebound) of the drumstick. In order to properly train students learning to play percussion instruments, such as, for instance, a snare drum, it is helpful not only to aid the student in grasping the stick at the balance point, but to encourage gripping of the stick in the proper manner. The latter is of particular importance in learning a technique in which the stick is effectively hinged between the thumb and forefinger of the user's hand, and the last three fingers of the hand controlling the rate of movement of the stick are located underneath the drumstick to control the speed of motion.
Drumsticks have been devised which attempt to minimize friction which slows down the motion (rebound) of the drumstick, for example, by isolating of the body of the drumstick from the fingers with some resilient material which can be gripped with firmness and which will not completely inhibit free motion of the drumstick. Another approach has been to provide some form of locator at the balance point. However, such designs do not establish freedom from restraint in pivotal movement as the stick rebounds from the drum. Moreover, they do not facilitate grasping and control of the drumstick at the balance point, especially for the student learning the fingertip control method of playing drums.
Thus, it is a problem in the art that prior approaches to providing unrestrained pivotal motion of the drumstick do not also enable a user to exercise sufficient control over the drumstick.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect, the present invention is directed to a percussion instrument that may include a body having a longitudinal axis extending from a butt end to a striking end thereof and at least one hole extending along a transverse axis through the thickness of the body; a grasping mechanism having a first grip plate at a first end thereof and a second grip plate at a second end thereof, and a shaft extending through the hole in the body; and a compliance mechanism disposed between the first and second grip plates, enabling the first and second grip plates to be brought closer together in response to a compressive force applied to the grasping mechanism.
According to another aspect, the invention is directed to a percussion instrument that may include a body having a longitudinal axis extending from a butt end to a striking end thereof, at least one hole extending through a first crosswise hole through the diameter of the body, and a substantially cylindrical slot substantially centered on the crosswise hole; a pin extending through the crosswise hole through the body about which the body is able to rotate; and a disk located at least partially within the slot and rotatable about the pin.
Other aspects, features, advantages, etc. will become apparent to one skilled in the art when the description of the preferred embodiments of the invention herein is taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drumstick in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of a drumstick in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a drumstick in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a drumstick in accordance of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a more detailed sectional view of the drumstick of FIG. 4 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of a hinge coupled to a body of a drumstick in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7A is an elevational view of a hinge clip device suitable for attachment to a percussion instrument such as a drumstick in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7B is an elevational view of the hinge clip device of FIG. 7A attached to the body of a percussion instrument in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8A is a partially sectional view and partially elevational view of a percussion instrument including a body and a wheel assembly; and
FIG. 8B is an alternate view of the percussion instrument of FIG. 8A.



For the purposes of illustrating the various aspects of the invention, there are shown in the drawings forms that are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one having ordinary skill in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known features may be omitted or simplified so as not to obscure the present invention. Furthermore, reference in the specification to phrases such as “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of phrases such as “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drumstick 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The drumstick 10 of FIG. 1 may include body 100 and hinge 200. These features will be discussed in greater detail in connection with FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 shows body 100 and hinge 200 which may include hinge elements 202 and 204, and fastener 300. Fastener 300 may simply be a pin that is attachable to the hinge elements 202 and 204. Alternatively, fastener 300 may have a more complex geometry and a plurality of parts as discussed later herein.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of body 100 of drumstick 10. Body 100 may include holes 150, 152, and 154 and may be coupled to hinge elements 202 and 204. The location of hole 150 can only be shown indirectly as the nearest opening of hole 150 (in the view of FIG. 3) is obscured by hinge element 204. The distribution of holes 150, 152, and 154 preferably enables a user of drumstick 10 to select the most desirable pivot point along the length of body 100 at which to install hinge elements 202 and 204 forming fastener 300. Preferably, hinge elements 202 and 204 may be readily disconnected from one another, for example by unscrewing a threaded connection, and re-connected within a preferred hole among holes 150, 152, and 154.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of drumstick 10 in accordance of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows body 100 having holes 150, 152, and 154; fastener 300 inserted through hole 150; and hinge elements 202 and 204 having pads 212 and 214, respectively. Pads may be attached to their respective hinge elements to provide more desirable contact characteristics for a user of the drumstick 10. Alternatively, grip pads 212, 214 may be omitted, and each hinge element 202, 204 could be formed using a single integral part.
In this embodiment, hinge elements 202 and 204 may be readily disconnected from one another and then re-attached within a different one of three available holes 150, 152, 154. This disconnection and reconnection of hinge elements 202 and 204 may be achieved by unscrewing one of the threaded connections securing hinge elements 202, 204 together (see FIG. 5), and then re-connecting the two parts together in a different hole, selected from holes 150, 152, and 154. While a threaded connection is shown in FIG. 5, the present invention is not limited to this connection means. Other means of connecting two rods together may be practiced, such as a press fit, friction fit, etc. Moreover, while three holes are shown in FIGS. 3-4, it will be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, body 100 may include fewer or more than three holes.
FIG. 5 is a more detailed schematic sectional view of the percussion instrument 10 of FIG. 4 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Percussion instrument 10 is preferably a drumstick but is not limited to this embodiment. Percussion instrument 10 may be any one of a number of other possible percussion instruments, including for instance, a Timpani stick.
Drumstick 10 of FIG. 5 may include body 100 and hinge 200. Hinge 200 may include hinge elements 202 and 204, set screw 310, and/or O-rings 330 and 332. Body 100 may be a conventional drumstick body that is preferably made of wood, though other materials may be employed. Body 100 may include flat portions 162, 162, 166, and 168 that are machined on a portion of body 100 that contacts O-rings 330 and 332 to maximize the surface area of contact between body 100 and the O-rings 330 and 332.
Hinge element 202 may include disk portion 222, shaft 320, open radius area (deflection recess) 336 for flexing hinge element 202 upon the application of force thereto, and groove 334 for housing O-ring 330. Similarly, hinge element 204 may include disk portion 224, shaft 326, deflection recess 346, and groove 344 for housing O-ring 332.
Fastener 300 may include shafts 320 and 324 of hinge elements 202 and 204 respectively. Fastener 300 may further include set screw 310 that may be disposed between shafts 320 and 324. Shafts 320 and 324 may include threaded regions 322 and 326, respectively, for engaging suitable portions of set screw 310. In other embodiments, shafts 320 and 324 may be configured to be capable of being directly screwed together without any need for an intervening set screw. Moreover, other mechanical attachment means may be provided for coupling shaft 320 of hinge element 202 and shaft 324 of hinge element 204.
Herein, the term “grasping mechanism” may refer to one or more parts included within hinge 200. The disk portions 222, 224 of hinge elements 202 and 204, respectively, may be referred to herein as grip plates. It will be appreciated that grip plates 222, 224 may, but need not be, disk shaped.
Hinge elements 202, 204 may be made of any desired material such as but not limited to wood, plastic, metal, polytetrafluoroethylene, or any combination of the foregoing. Shafts 320 324 may be made of the same materials as disk portions 222 and 224, or alternatively may be made of metal to strengthen the threaded connection with set screw 310. Set screw 310 is preferably made of metal, such as steel or aluminum. Alternatively, set screw 310 could be made of any other desirable material such as any of various plastics. O-rings 332 and 334 are preferably made of a suitably selected rubber. However, other materials may be used for O-rings 332, 334 if desired, such as, but not limited to plastic. Disk portions 222, 224 may be made of plastic, metal, or any other suitable material. While illustrated as disk-shaped, disk portions 222, 224 are not limited to having a disk-shaped geometry.
O-rings 330, 332 are disclosed herein as a mechanism for providing a “braking” function for the relative motion between body 100 and hinge elements 202 and 204. However, the present invention is not limited to the use of O-rings for this purpose, and other braking materials, which may be compressible materials, may be employed. Braking materials however are not limited to being compressible materials. Any material suitable for creating effective braking friction when brought into contact with the body 100 of drumstick 10 may be employed including but not limited to rubber, leather, one or more plastics of various types, wood, and/or metal. In other alternative embodiments, a combination of one or more of the foregoing materials may be employed.
In this section, the attachment means among the various parts are discussed. The disk portion 222 and shaft portion 320 of hinge element 202 may be two separate parts that are joined together. Alternatively, they form a single integral part. In one embodiment, portions 202 and 320 of hinge element 202 may be rotationally fixed with respect to one another. In other embodiments, shaft 320 may be capable of rotating freely with respect to disk portion 222. Arrangements analogous to the above may be applied to the connection between disk portion 224 and shaft portion 324 of hinge element 204.
Hinge elements 202 and 204 may be joined together by first attaching set screw 310 to the threaded portion 322 of shaft 320 of hinge element 202, and inserting the shaft portion 320 of hinge element 202 into hole 150 within body 100. Thereafter, the threaded portion 326 of shaft 324 of hinge element 324 may be threaded onto the free end of set screw 310. Once attached onto their respective ends of set screw 310, hinge elements 202 and 204 may be turned with respect to one another to secure a final attachment between the two parts. In another approach, the above process may be repeated in reverse, with the set screw 310 being first attached to hinge element 204, and hinge element 202 being threaded onto the assembly of set screw 310 and hinge element 204 within the interior of hole 150 of body 100.
Having described the individual parts, the materials the parts may be made of, and the interconnections between the parts, it remains to describe the operation of a preferred embodiment of the drumstick 10 of FIG. 5. Once fully assembled, and with no external force applied to force hinge elements 202 and 204 together, the body 100 of drumstick 10 is preferably pivotally mobile with respect to fastener 300 without any hindrance. A user may pick up drumstick 10 and hold it using disk portions (grip plates) 222 and 224 of hinge elements 202 and 204, respectively.
The user preferably initially holds the grip plates 222, 224 so as to apply force substantially at the center of the grip plates 222, 224 and thereby avoid deflecting the periphery of plates 222, 224 toward the o-rings 330, 332. In this manner, using the initial grasping position, body 100 is preferably freely pivotally mobile with respect to fastener 300, thereby enabling the desirable free rotational motion of body 100 for both learning and performing purposes.
Another benefit of using O-rings 330 and 332 is to prevent an undesirable clicking sound upon the impact of the striking end of drumstick 10, or other type of percussion instrument, with a drum skin, or other percussion surface. The possibility of a clicking sound upon impact of the drumstick with a drum skin arises from the presence of the apparatus of hinge 200 within and near body 100. An impact between body 100 and any portion of hinge 200 may produce the undesired clicking sound. The placement of O-rings 330 and 332 in the locations shown in FIG. 5 preferably operates to massively reduce and/or eliminate the undesired clicking sound by cushioning any undesired impact between hinge elements 202, 204 and body 100. It is noted that devices other than O-rings 330 and 332 may be employed to prevent the undesired impact between parts of hinge 200 and body 100.
When a user of drumstick 10 wishes to limit the rotational speed and/or the angular displacement of body 100 with respect to fastener 300, the user may shift the location of the compressive holding force on grip plates 222, 224 so as to deflect the edges of grip plates 222 and 224 about deflection recesses 334 and 344 respectively, and in turn cause O-rings 330 and 332 to impinge on body 100 of drumstick 10, which thereby operates to hinder the rotational motion of body 100 with respect to fastener 300. In this manner, the rotational speed and/or the angular motion range of body 100 with respect to fastener 300 may be controlled as a function of the location and magnitude of the compressive force applied by the user to the respective grip plates 222, 224. Moreover, the extent and location of the applied force is under the control of the user of drumstick 10, thereby enabling the user to either allow unimpeded pivotal motion of drumstick 10 or to controllably dampen the motion of drumstick 10 in response to the compressive force applied by the user.
Another approach to enabling braking of the motion of body 100 with respect to hinge elements 202 and 204 is shown in FIG. 6. More specifically, an alternative approach to enabling the lateral (i.e. transverse-axis) compliance of hinge 200 in response to a compressive force so that O-rings 330 and 332 and can be moved toward body 100 to provide the desired braking function for the motion of body 100 with respect to hinge elements 202 and 204. Herein, the term “compliance device” may refer to the one or more springs 410, 420 of FIG. 6, or any other mechanism that is operable to enable disk portions 222 and 224 to move closer together in response to a compressive force applied thereto.
Accordingly, in FIG. 6, the deflection recesses 336, 346 may be omitted as shown. Instead, springs 410 and/or 420 may be employed to enable spring-loaded transverse-axis relative movement between disk portion 402 and disk portion 404. We turn now to the operation of the drumstick 10 of FIG. 6. When free motion of body 100 with respect to hinge 200 (including disk portions 202, 204) is desired, a user preferably holds disk portions 222, 224 with a compressive force sufficiently small so that O-rings 330, 332 do not impart any significant frictional braking force against body 100 of drumstick 10. When a user wishes to control the pivotal speed and/or extent of pivotal motion of body 100 with respect to disk portions 222, 224, the user may hold disk portions 222 and 224 with a compressive force sufficient to move these two parts towards one another and thereby bring O-rings 330, 332 into contact with body 100, thereby imparting a frictional braking force to body 100. Thereafter, the braking effect may adjusted by the user by adjusting the amount of compressive force used to hold disk portions 222 and 224. If desired, the compliance features of FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 could be combined within a single embodiment. Thus, one or both of springs 410, 420 could be included along with one or more of deflection recesses 336, 346.
While the above embodiments involves using O-rings 330, 332 as the entity making frictional contact with body 100, i.e. as the “braking material,” the present invention is not limited to the use of O-rings. Other materials having other shapes may be employed either in addition to, or in place of, O-rings 330, 332. Other materials for the frictional contact device (i.e. the role of O-rings 330, 332 in FIG. 6) may include but are not limited to plastic, rubber, wood, fiberglass, metal, or any combination of the foregoing. In still other embodiments, the presence of a braking material separate from disk portions 222 and 224 could be omitted entirely. Where such separate braking material is omitted, friction between the internal surfaces of disk portions 202, 204 themselves and the body 100 could be used to brake and/or control the motion of body 100 with respect to the disk portions 222 and 224.
While two springs 410, 420 are shown in FIG. 6, it will be appreciated that three or more springs could be employed. Moreover, the invention may be practiced using only a single spring. Moreover, the one or more springs providing the needed compliance need not be located as springs 410 and 420 are shown in FIG. 6. Compliant devices, such as springs, could be located at any point that would allow disk portions 222 and 224 move closer together upon the application of compressive force between these two parts.
In one embodiment, a detent mechanism (not shown) could be employed along the structural path from disk portion 222 and 224 to establish a threshold force level below which disk portions 222 and 224 would not move closer together. At compressive force levels above the detent-mechanism compressive-force threshold, the compressive force would begin to force disk portions 222 and 224 together and initiate the braking function discussed above.
One or more embodiments of the present provide the benefits of enabling the player to visualize and feel the rebound; enabling the player to visualize and feel how a loose grip can benefit playing; enabling the player to work on velocity strokes, facilitating the whipping motion of the Moeller Technique; promoting finger technique for the Timpani technique; forcing the player to hold the stick in the correct manner by gripping the pads between the thumb and index finger; and/or allowing the player to have control of the stick by squeezing the pads for more technical playing such as for double strokes and buzz rolls.
In alternative embodiments, the following variations could be practiced to benefit various embodiments of the invention: (1) the use of different hole diameters; (2) the use of different hole locations; (3) the use of a different size or type of stick; (4) the use of a different drum stick tip (wood or nylon); (5) the use of a timpani stick; (6) a variation in the diameter of the portion of fastener 300 extending though hole 150; (7) the use of a different diameter (or shape) of the disk portions 222, 224 of the hinge elements 202, 204; and/or (8) the use of different means of securing together the shaft portions 320, 324 that engage one another within hole 150.
FIG. 7A is an elevational view of a hinge clip device 700 suitable for attachment to a percussion instrument 10 such as a drumstick in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7B is an elevational view of the hinge clip device 700 of FIG. 7A attached to the body of a percussion instrument 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Hinge clip device 700 may include handle 704, saddle 702, flaps 710, 712, pads 706A and 706B. Further, portions of saddle 702 inward of, and adjacent to, each of pads 706A and 706B preferably include pin-shaped protrusions 708A, 708B extending inwardly from flaps 710 and 712. The pin-shaped protrusions 708A, 708B are preferably located at corresponding positions on the inner surfaces of flaps 710 and 712, respectively, which protrusions combine to form an axis of rotation about which body 100 may rotate once a user applies compressive force to the outer surfaces of pads 706A and 706B. Saddle 702, which preferably includes flaps 710 and 712, is preferably a single, integral part. But, in alternative embodiments saddle 702 could be made from a plurality of parts that are appropriately joined together.
Saddle 702 is preferably a deformable member made of a material with an initial spring bias toward a position narrower than the diameter of body 100 to which it is intended to be attached, but with flap portions 710 and 712 capable of being forced apart to enable saddle 702 to be mounted onto a percussion-instrument body 100. Handle 704 may be attached (either removably or permanently) to saddle 702 using one or more of: glue, welding, screws, clips, clamps. Saddle 702 may be made of plastic, metal, fiberglass, or any other material capable of providing the needed spring action. Pads 706A and 706B may be made of any substantially solid material including but not limited to plastic, wood, and/or metal.
Protrusions 708A/708B may be made of metal, plastic, or other material suitable for creating a pivot point on body 100 when brought into contact with body 100. Protrusions 708A, 708B may have any shape suitable for engaging body 100 at a point, thereby allowing body 100 to pivot around this point. Protrusions 708A, 708B may be triangular-shaped as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. However, alternatively, protrusions 708A, 708B could have the shape of pins, or other shape suitable for engaging body 100 in a manner that allows body 100 to rotate with respect to saddle 702. Pads 706A/706B and protrusions 708A/708B may be affixed to flaps 710, 712 by any suitable means including but not limited to glue, welding, screws, clips, clamps, etc. Alternatively, pads 706A and 706B may be rotatably attached to saddle 702. In this alternative embodiment, body 100 and saddle 702 could rotate with respect to pads 706A and 706B, with the resulting rotation axis of the body 100 with respect to pads 706A/706B being determined by the rotation axis of each of pads 706A and 706B. In this alternative embodiment, protrusions 708A and 708B could be omitted.
Device 700 may be employed to provide a mechanism for grasping a percussion instrument such as a drumstick that enables the instrument to pivot freely about an axis defined by the location of the protrusions 708A/708B into body 100 from pads 706A and 706B. The benefits of such rotation of body 100 were discussed earlier in this disclosure and are therefore not repeated here. Moreover, the embodiment of FIG. 7 enables a user to readily attach clip device 700 onto a drumstick body 100 and remove it from body 100 at will, in contrast to other designs in which the handle assembly that allows rotational movement is essentially permanently installed to the body 100.
Saddle 702 is preferably springingly biased toward a position suitable for grasping the outer diameter of body 100, but compliant enough to allow flaps 710, 712 to be pushed apart as saddle 702 is pushed onto the outer diameter of body 100. Clip device 700 is shown alone, and without any force being imparted thereto in FIG. 7A. FIG. 7B shows clip device 700 mounted onto body 100 of percussion instrument 10. Once clip device 700 is mounted onto body 100, a user may hold instrument 10 using pads 706A and 706B and allow the body 100 to rotate about an axis defined the locations of protrusions 708A, 708B. However, in alternative embodiments, one or both of protrusions 708A, 708B may be omitted.
FIG. 8A is a partially sectional view and partially elevational view of a percussion instrument 850 including a body 100 and a wheel assembly 800; and FIG. 8B is an alternate view of the percussion instrument of FIG. 8A.
Percussion instrument 850 provides a wheel assembly (also referred to herein as a “handle”) 800 that provides a comfortable and convenient gripping surface for a user holding percussion instrument 850. In this embodiment, percussion instrument 850 includes wheel assembly 800 that rotates about the same or substantially the same axis as the percussion instrument 850 itself. This approach preferably provides a more comfortable grip on percussion instrument 850 by a user thereof.
Percussion instrument 850 may include body 100, which includes slot 110, and wheel assembly 800. Wheel assembly 800 may include pin 802, wheel (disk) 810, caps 812 and 814 (also referred to herein as “pads”), and screws 822 and 824 binding holding caps 812 and 814, respectively, to wheel 810. Disk 800 bears against, and rotates about, pin 802 and rotates within slot 110 in body 100. Pin 802, and therefore the axis of rotation of body 100, is preferably located closer to the butt end of body 100 than to the striking end thereof. As best shown in FIG. 8B, pin 802 preferably extends through a crosswise (i.e. a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of body 100) hole within body 100.
Body 100 may be made of wood, plastic, or any other suitable material. Disk 800 may be made of plastic, wood, metal or any other suitable material. Caps 812, 814 may be made of metal, plastic, wood, or any other suitable material. Screws 822, 824 may be made of metal or plastic, or other suitable material.
In an embodiment, a user may use percussion instrument 850 for percussion purposes by grasping disk 810 by placing a thumb of one hand on cap 814 of wheel assembly 800 and one or more other fingers of the same hand on cap 812. Preferably, a user moves the entire percussion instrument 850 toward a percussion skin or other percussion surface while holding caps 812 and 814 of wheel 810. The motion of the longer portion of body 100, located between pin 802 and the striking end of body 100 (which may be toward the left, in the view of FIG. 8), around the axis of pin 802 moves the striking end (to the left in FIG. 8) of percussion instrument 850 toward a percussion surface for creating a percussion sound. As the longer portion of body 100 moves toward the percussion surface (not shown), the body 100 rotates (counterclockwise in the view of FIG. 8A) about to pin 802 and with respect to disk 800 which is preferably being held by the user.
As best shown in FIG. 8A, the flat portions of caps 812 and 814 may operate as limits on the angular range of rotation of body 100 with respect to wheel 810. However, in other embodiments, these limits may be altered as needed according to the requirements for a particular percussion instrument 850.
Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

## Claims

1. A percussion instrument comprising:
a body having a longitudinal axis extending from a butt end to a striking end thereof;
a clamp mounted to the body, the clamp having first and second protrusions for engaging the outer surface of the body at first and second points on the outer surface, respectively; and
at least one pad rotatably attached to an exterior of the clamp such that the at least one pad operates to rotate and/or swivel on the clamp.

2. The percussion instrument of claim 1 wherein the first and second protrusions are coupled to first and second flaps of the clamp using means selected from the group consisting of: glue, welding; clips; clamps; and connection through the clamp such that the first and second protrusions are connected to a respective pad of the at least one pad.

3. The percussion instrument of claim 1 wherein the first and second protrusions extend only a portion of the way into first and second sides of the body.

4. The percussion instrument of claim 1, wherein: (i) the clamp further comprises two flaps springingly biased toward an initial position; and (ii) the at least one pad is rotatably attached to an exterior of at least one of the two flaps.

5. The percussion instrument of claim 4, wherein the at least one pad comprises at least two pads including a first pad being rotatably attached to an exterior of the first flap and a second pad being rotatably attached to an exterior of the second flap.

6. The percussion instrument of claim 5, wherein the at least two pads at least one of:
(i) are spaced away from each other;
(ii) are located substantially diametrically opposite to one another about the exterior of the two flaps;
(iii) extend substantially parallel to each other; and
(iv) extend substantially transversely to the percussion instrument.

7. The percussion instrument of claim 1, wherein the body further includes at least one recess or opening in communication with the body, the at least one recess or opening: (i) extending substantially along a transverse axis of the body through the thickness thereof; and (ii) operating to receive at least one of the first protrusion and the second protrusion of the clamp therein such that the clamp mounts to the body.

8. A mechanism for grasping a percussion instrument comprising:
a deformable member having two flaps springingly biased toward an initial position; and
at least one pad rotatably attached to an exterior of each of the flaps of the deformable member such that the at least one pad operates to rotate and/or swivel on the deformable member, wherein the deformable member is configured to be attachable to a body of a percussion instrument.

9. The mechanism of claim 8 further comprising:
a protrusion extending inward from an inner surface of each said flap and suitable for engaging an outer surface of a body of a percussion instrument.

10. The mechanism of claim 9 wherein the protrusions operate to define an axis of rotation about which a percussion instrument may rotate, upon being located within the grasping mechanism.

11. The mechanism of claim 10, wherein the body of the percussion instrument further includes at least one recess or opening in communication with the body, the at least one recess or opening: (i) extending substantially along a transverse axis of the body through the thickness thereof; and (ii) operating to receive at least one of the protrusions extending inwardly from the inner surface of each of the flaps therein such that the deformable member mounts to the body.

12. The mechanism of claim 8, wherein the at least one pad comprises at least two pads including a first pad being rotatably attached to an exterior of the first flap and a second pad being rotatably attached to an exterior of the second flap.

13. The mechanism of claim 12, wherein the at least two pads at least one of:
(i) are spaced away from each other;
(ii) are located substantially diametrically opposite to one another about the exterior of the two flaps;
(iii) extend substantially parallel to each other; and
(iv) extend substantially transversely to the percussion instrument.

14. A percussion instrument comprising:
a body having a longitudinal axis extending from a butt end to a striking end thereof, at least one hole extending through a first crosswise hole through the diameter of the body, and a substantially cylindrical slot substantially centered on the crosswise hole;
a pin extending through the crosswise hole through the body about which the body is able to rotate; and
a disk located at least partially within the slot and rotatable about the pin, the disk having at least one substantially flat surface disposed on a periphery of the disk.

15. The percussion instrument of claim 14 further comprising at least one pad coupled to at least one of the at least one substantially flat surface of the disk and the periphery of the disk, thereby forming a wheel assembly.

16. The percussion instrument of claim 14 further comprising:
two pads coupled to at least one of the at least one substantially flat surface of the disk and the periphery of the disk and located substantially diametrically opposite one another about the periphery of the disk, thereby forming a wheel assembly.

17. The percussion instrument of claim 16 further comprising:
at least one screw binding each pad to the disk.

18. The percussion instrument of claim 16 wherein the wheel assembly operates to provide grasping surfaces for a user to hold and control the percussion instrument.

19. A percussion instrument comprising:
a body having a longitudinal axis extending from a butt end to a striking end thereof and at least one hole extending along a transverse axis of the body through the thickness thereof;
a grasping mechanism having a first grip plate at a first end thereof and a second grip plate at a second end thereof, and a fastener extending from the first grip plate through the hole in the body to the second grip plate,
wherein the fastener includes a first shaft connected to the first grip plate, a second shaft connected to the second grip plate, and a screw located between the first and second shafts, the screw operates to attach the first shaft to the second shaft and the screw having a shaft or body that operates to be disposed or positioned within the first shaft of the fastener and the second shaft of the fastener.

20. The percussion instrument of claim 19 wherein first and second portions of the screw engage threaded regions on the first shaft of the fastener and the second shaft of the fastener, respectively.

21. The percussion instrument of claim 19 comprising first and second O-rings located between an outside surface of the body and the inside surfaces of the first and second grip plates, respectively.

22. The percussion instrument of claim 19, wherein the screw comprises a set screw, and first and second portions of the set screw engage threaded regions on the first shaft of the fastener and second shaft of the fastener, respectively.

23. A percussion instrument comprising:
a body having a longitudinal axis extending from a butt end to a striking end thereof, at least one hole extending through a first crosswise hole through the diameter of the body, and a substantially cylindrical slot substantially centered on the crosswise hole;
a pin extending through the crosswise hole through the body about which the body is able to rotate;
a disk located at least partially within the slot and rotatable about the pin; and
at least one pad coupled to a periphery of the disk.