Abstract:
A shell for a drum adapted to have at least one drum head fixedly secured thereto, includes at least one sidewall, a height and a plurality of flared vertical slots. The shell is comprised of a plurality of staves spaced from one another to create flared slots. The staves are of rectangular cross section. Each of the flared slots may be extends in length a major portion of the height of the drum shell. The flared slots may be non-linear or horizontally directed. Filler elements may be located within at least one of the slots.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/111,898, filed Nov. 6, 2008, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference into this application. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to musical instruments and, more particularly, to vented drum shells and method for constructing same. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     In constructing drum shells, it is known to introduce openings through the drum shell, known as vents, in order to facilitate the escape of air and sound waves and to increase the volume from the drum. By decreasing the air pressure more quickly, the escape of air vents also facilitates the sympathetic vibration of the bottom drum head with the top drum head, thereby increasing the responsiveness and perceived volume of the drum. Traditional vents have been created by drilling or cutting holes into the side of a finished drum, or by constructing a split drum having separate top and bottom sections. These methods cause venting to be horizontal and/or irregular with respect to the grain of the wood which can form the shell and with respect to the sound waves created by the striking and resonance of the drum heads, which sound waves travel vertically within the column of the drum shell. 
     Known drum shells include those taught in: Sectionalized Musical Drum, U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,437, issued to Fred D. Hinger on Nov. 17, 1981, Drum With Modulated Acoustic Air Vent, issued to Randall L. May on Aug. 9, 2005, and Drum and Drum Body Formed From Adhered, Solid Blocks Of Wood issued to Keith A. Plikuhn on Jun. 11, 1985. 
     It would be desirable to have drum shells that provide improved venting throughout the air column within the shell, thereby further lessening sound wave phase cancellation while improving volume and response of the drum, and preserving the resonance of the shell material. 
     It would be desirable to have drum shell that could be constructed from pure wood, without the need for additional materials typically used in ply wood construction. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A new drum shell and drum is provided. The new drum shell design provides a unique sound and tonality. The inventive drum shell has a plurality of vertical vents, running substantial vertical length of the drum shell, which function to increase the volume and responsiveness of the drum by reducing air pressure throughout the vertical column inside the drum. One advantage of the new drum shell design is that it allows for the use of pure wood regardless of the desired thickness. The pure wood is not altered by other materials which are necessary in traditional drum shells to avoid cracking. 
     Traditional drums are created using a 2 and 3 layer plywood, which are molded to create a circle. The present invention is preferably constructed from a plurality of rectangular shaped vertical staves that are placed and secured in a circular pattern; the staves are spaced apart from each other to create vertical air vents in the drum shell between each stave. The vertical air vents allow for the release of compression and produce a distinctive resonance non typical of standard drum shell design. In addition to the acoustical advantages, the vertical air vents, rectangular wood pieces, and other components create an attractive and distinctive appearance. 
     A method of constructing a drum shell having a plurality of vertical vents is also provided. Other aspects of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the disclosure provided herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be described in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals designate like elements. The skilled artisan will understand that the drawings, described below, are for illustration purposes only. The drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present teachings in any way. 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric side view, showing a preferred embodiment of the stave-construction vertically vented drum shell of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric side view showing a partially assembled drum shell of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a side elevation view of a single stave of the drum shell of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a rear view of a stave taken along Line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view taken along Line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view taken along Line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A vented drum shell  10  of a drum  1  is described. The vents of the drum shell  10  are substantially vertically oriented. As used herein, the vertical orientation of the vented drum shell  10  refers to the direction between the two opposing areas of the drum shell  10  receiving the drum heads  5 . Similarly, the vertical dimensions refer to dimensions going in the direction from one drum head  5  to the other drum head  5 . Therefore, with respect to certain drums, such as a bass drum, vertical vents  16  as described in detail below may visually appear to be horizontal when the drum  1  is set up to be played; however, as used herein, such vents are still vertical vents  16 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , vertical sections of staves  12  are arranged to form the circular shell of the drum shell  1 . The material used in forming the staves  12  is preferably wood, such as red oak, maple, walnut, birch or any other kind of wood. However, other material may be used such as plastic, metal or composite or any other material from which staves  12  can be formed. A typical shell will have from about  10  to about  40  staves, although shells  1  may be constructed with any number of staves  12 . The number of staves  12  will depend on certain factors such as the horizontal length of the staves  12  and the desired circumference of the finished shell  10 . In one preferred embodiment, the number of staves  12  used is seventeen. 
     The plurality of staves  12  that make up the drum shell  1  are connected or secured to their adjacent staves  12  in a circular pattern. Although connected or secured, the staves  12  are not sealed together but rather are slightly separated or spaced apart from each other in order to form a vertical slot or vent  16  between each adjacent stave  12 . In the preferred embodiment, staves  12  are separated by triangular wedges positioned between adjacent staves  12 . In particular two triangular wedges  14 —one arranged at or near the top of the staves  12  and one arranged at or near the bottom of the staves  12  are employed. Triangular wedges are preferably made of wood but other hard materials may be used so long as they supply enough support for the finished shell. 
     A partially constructed shell  10  without a drum head  5  is shown in  FIG. 2 . The staves  12  are preferably glued to the wedges  14 . Even more preferably, glue is applied to the wedge  14  and the staves are then secured to the wedge. The wedges  14  and staves  12  are pre-cut at the correct angles so that when all the staves  12  and wedges are assembled, a tight circle (i.e. the shell  10 ) is formed. Wedges  14  and staves  12  are preferably sanded smooth in order to ensure an airtight fit where the wedges  14  and staves  12  are in contact. 
     Once the shell  10  is completely assembled, the finished drum  1  is assembled using assembly techniques typically used with traditional shells. For example, drum lugs are attached to the drum shell via screws; tension rods attach drum the rim to drum lugs and the drum rim secures drum head to the actual shell. 
     Other means of separating or connecting the plurality of staves  12  may be used; non-limiting examples of which include non-triangular shaped separators, such as plugs, and separators that located at positions other than the top and bottom of the adjacent staves  12 . For example, the wedges may be placed at various locations along the vertical vent so long as the vertical vent is not sealed. 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate two different views of a single stave  12  used in the invention. In the preferred embodiment, the stave  12  is rectangular in shape from the top view (best illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6  for the cross-sectional view of the staves  12 ) with the four sides of the staves  12  at right angles to each adjacent face of the same stave  12 . The four sides or faces of the stave  12  are referenced as follows according to their position in the assembled drum shell  10 . The stave  12  has an inner face  22  that faces the inside of the assembled drum shell  10 , an outer face  24  that faces the outside of the drum shell, and two sides  26   a  and  26   b  that face adjacent staves  12  in an assembled drum shell  10 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the top portion  36  and the bottom portion  38  of each stave  12 , positioned above and below the center portion  33  respectively, of the inner face  22 , is angled or beveled inwardly with respect to the center portion  33  to create a bearing edge for contacting the drum heads. Preferably, the top portion  36  and bottom portion  38  of the stave  12  retains a ledge or lip  28  that is not angled. The ledge  28  preferably extends inwardly from the outer face  24  at about a right angle and supports the drum head  5 . Both the angle of the cut of the top portion  36  and bottom portion can be varied and will change the sound of the drum. Additionally the width of the ledge or lip  28  can be increased or decreased. 
       FIG. 5  shows a reduced sectional view taken along Line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 1 . This figure shows staves  12  having faces  22 ,  24 , and  26   a  and  26   b  at right angles to each other and arranged in conjunction with triangular wedges  14  to form the circular drum shell  10  of a preferred embodiment. In one preferred embodiment the triangular wedges  14  protrude into the inner diameter of the drum shell  10 , thereby adding support for the drum head, increasing head tension, and increasing the sensitivity of the drum head in response to striking by the drummer. In an alternate embodiment the triangular wedges  14  may alternatively be formed, cut, shaved, sanded off or otherwise trimmed or truncated to be arranged flush with the inner and/or outer faces of the adjoining staves  12 . The wedges  14  are secured to the staves preferably using wood glue and braced or clamped together until the glue dries. Other methods of securing or attaching the wedges to the staves may be used. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , by combining the triangular wedges  14  with the right-angle staves  12 , a vertical slot or vent  16  (“slot” and “vent” are used interchangeably unless otherwise noted) is created between adjacent staves  12 . The vents  16  are arranged substantially vertically within the drum shell  10 .  FIG. 5  shows a cross section view of the assembled shell  10  with the wedges  14  in place;  FIG. 6  shows the cross-sectional view of the shell with the staves  12  in place without showing the wedges  14 . As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the vertical vents  16  in the preferred embodiment are triangular shaped as a result of the rectangular shaped staves  12  and the triangular shaped wedges  14 . A vertex  42  of the triangular vent  16  points toward the inner circumference of the drum shell  10  and the corresponding base  44  toward the outer circumference of the drum shell  10 .  FIG. 6  also shows a close up view of two adjacent staves illustrating that the adjacent staves  12  are not in contact but are positioned quite close together. For example, at the vertex, the side  26   a  and  26   b  may spaced apart from about 0.1 mm to about ¼ inch and may even be in light contact but will not be sealed. The exact spacing varies depending on size of assembled shell  10  and the desired tonality. 
     The adjacent staves  12  are positioned at an angle θ to each other thereby creating a triangular shape along the sides  26   a  and  26   b . As the sides  26   a  and  26   b  of the two adjacent staves are the same dimensions, a vent  16  in the shape of an isosceles triangle is formed. However, in alternate embodiments, the shapes of the staves  12  from the top view need not be rectangular or even at right angles. For one example, the staves  12  may be trapezoidal in shape in which the outer sides  24  are longer (or shorter) than the inner sides, thereby creating a vent with a triangle with a different vertex angle θ (and wider or narrower flared vent). For another example, the outer face  24  or inner face  22 , or both can be curved as opposed to straight. 
     The degree of flaring of the vertical vents  16  can be varied by changing the angle θ of the vents  16 . This can be manipulated a variety of ways. For example, the number of staves  12  can be increased without changing the circumference thereby lowering the angle θ between adjacent staves (or alternatively decreased thereby increasing the angle θ). The cross-sectional shape of the staves  12  can be changed from right angles to larger angles for increased flaring or smaller angles for decreased flaring. While it is preferred that the wedges  14  are positioned at or near the top and bottom, the wedges  14  can be positioned in other locations. In addition, the vents  16  can have filler elements located inside them. Filler elements can provide additional strength to the drum but the vent cannot be entirely sealed. 
     This triangular vent  16  serves to increase the volume of the drum by acting as a horn, thereby projecting the sound of the drum outward. The vertical vent  16  further serves to facilitate the escape of air from the drum throughout the drum shell  10 , thereby preserving the sympathetic resonance of the opposing heads and reducing sound wave phase cancellation inside the drum. Alternative embodiments may include trapezoidal staves  12  in which the outer face of the stave  12  is larger than the inner face, combined with wedges  14  that cause the alignment of the staves  12  to create the vertical vents  16 . The preferred angle for the angle θ 18 to 30 degrees, but may vary depending on shell size but the angle may be greater or smaller depending on the number of staves used. 
     In another alternative embodiment, the vertical vents  16  may be cut or routed at equal intervals into a non-stave drum shell  10  such as a steam-bent, solid drum shell  10 , or ply construction drum shell  10 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the vertical vents  16 , have a height that extends substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the drum shell  10 . The vertical vents  16  have sidewalls which, in the preferred embodiment, are created by the sides  26   a  and  26   b  of two adjacent staves  12 . Therefore, the vertical vents  14  of the preferred embodiment extend in a substantially linear direction as the sides  26   a  and  26   b  are planar and are at right angles to the top  28  surface that secures the drumhead  5 . 
     In alternative embodiments, the vertical vents, the stave arrangement and the wedge shape and arrangement may all be varied while still producing a drum shell with vertical vents. For example, the vertical vents  14  may be non-linear and/or non-planar as a result of changing the dimensions of the staves  12 . Similarly, the cross section of the vents may be changed to a different shape. Non-limiting examples of alternative embodiments include vents  16  that extend vertically (i.e. from one drum head to the other) but not in a direction that is perpendicular to the drumhead, such as serpentine, wave, or diagonal in direction. For another example, otherwise irregularly shaped vertical vents may be included such as those formed by cutting or routing of a solid drum shell. 
     The stave arrangement may also be altered. For one example, the shell may be constructed of two sets of small staves set on top of each other to create a shell a larger shell. The vertical vents from each shell may be stacked in line or staggered such that the vents do not line up. For another example, the staves may be arranged in a double shell inlay pattern in which two thin stave shells are made and one shell is set inside the larger shell. 
     It should be further understood that the dimensions shown in  FIGS. 1-5  are illustrative and not to scale and the invention is not limited to those exact dimensions. 
     While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific examples thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. 
     Method for Constructing a Stave Drum 
     The following method is one method for constructing a stave drum shell in accordance with the invention. The process starts by drawing a diagram of a circle of desired size (e.g. 10 inch, 12 inch, 22 inch—inner circumference). A drum head may be used as a guide or alternatively a drawing tool or CAD program may be used. The diagram is utilized as a guide and template in the construction of the drum shell. 
     The depth, width and length of each cut rectangular piece (stave) vary depending on the desired dimensions of the assembled drum shell. Using the diagram as a guide, the width and depth is drawn on the inside of circle diagram. The amount of rectangular pieces of wood and angle wedges needed is identified from the drawing, and the pieces are cut. 
     When all cut rectangular pieces are complete, angle wedges are cut from the top and bottom of each individual piece. Wedges cut from rectangular pieces are cut in such a way to create a lip or ledge to support the drumhead. The angle will also allow sound waves to resonate though air compression vents/wood to create unique sound and release air compression inside of drum and the specific angle chosen can be varied to produce different sounds. Sides of rectangular pieces should be sanded to create a tight fit between the rectangular pieces and the wedge to which it is being secured. It is important to have a tight fit between the staves and the wedges as a loose or uneven fit can alter or distort the sound quality escaping through the vents. 
     Using the diagram as a guide, place two staves together at the required angle. Insert angle wedges on the outer top and bottom of rectangular pieces with glue. A level and canters square are used to square up the components accurately. Tightly secure pieces for proper bonding and allow drying time. Repeat this process for the entire circumference to create the shell of the drum. Circumference should reflect original desired size of diagram. Filler may be used in air compression vents for stronger bond and to alter sound/tonality. 
     Any portion of the wedges exposed around entire outer shell (top and bottom) can be removed using a saw or other removal tool. Wedges exposed on top inner shell may be removed or cut/sanded on an angle so as not to negatively effect the application of the drum head. Alternatively, the top wedge sections may also be left in place to create added tension and response on the drum head. Removal and or sanding of wedges can alter sound or tonality of drum so that should be considered prior to doing either. 
     The entire exterior of the assembled drum shell can be sanded to create a circular top and bottom of shell. Top and bottom “rims” can be created by sanding towards the inside of drum to create a “lip” or rounded edge. Top and bottom rim should be level to ensure that the drum head properly sits and seals against the lip. Improper sealing of the drum head negatively affects sound and tonality, compression and stick response on drumhead. 
     Holes may be drilled through shell for the desired placement of drum hardware. Optionally, the drum may be finished with fine grit sanding and application of desired staining and lacquer. Additionally, engraving or carving may also be applied as art for appearance purposes. 
     While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific examples thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. For example, in other embodiments, any number of vertically spaced apart wedges can be provided within a vent  16  or slot  16 . For example, a single wedge  14  extending the entire vertical length of the slot  16  can be used. Additionally, a number of horizontally adjacent wedges  17  can be located in the slots.