Abstract:
The present invention provides a swivelable sleeve for a drumstick. The swivelable sleeve is slideably attachable to a drumstick so that it changes an ordinary drumstick into a drumstick that has a pivot point. The pivot point permits the percussionist using the drumstick to reduce the friction between his/hers fingers/hands and the drumstick itself. The swivelable sleeve provides a removable frictionless point for gripping the drumstick so as to enhance the movement of the drumstick when used by a percussionist.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a swivelable sleeve that fits on a drumstick, comprising an essentially frictionless fulcrum that enables a percussionist to manipulate the drumstick with greater speed and precision than conventional drumsticks. In addition since the sleeve is removable from the drumstick, it can be positioned at any position on the drumstick that is most comfortable for the percussionist or may be removed from the drumstick all together. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     It is well known in the art that numerous improvements have been made to drumsticks since their creation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,143 issued to Irwin H. Brochstein, discloses a drumstick with a hollow portion that provides a means for producing a mellow tone quality, not otherwise present when the drumstick is used on a percussion surface. 
     Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,260 issued to Anthony F. LaLonde, describes a drumstick incorporating an adjustable center of gravity for optimum balance. This drumstick contains a hollow interior containing an elongated threaded spindle that extends nearly the entire length of the drumstick. Adjustably mounted on the spindle are one or more weights that can be repositioned on the spindle to effectively adjust the balance of the drumstick. 
     Still another patent directed to the improvement of a drumstick is U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,566 issued to David J. Hughlett et al. that discloses a rotationally balanced drumstick. This patent discloses a drumstick having a weight, preferably a heavy weight such as a lead weight, inserted into a hole at the butt portion of the drumstick that is fixed in place. The fixed weight provides rotational balance to the drumstick. 
     Still yet another patent directed to an improvement to a drumstick is U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,768 issued to Donald J. Swift that discloses a multipurpose drum ball joint simulator. This patent describes a drumstick having a rubber or other elastic material ball mounted on the stick&#39;s shaft so as to provide a ball grip that fits in the palm of the percussionist&#39;s hand. This ball grip provides additional grip to the stick and thus enhances the performance of the stick. 
     While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a swivelable sleeve having a means for frictionless movement that can be positioned on a drumstick so as to enable the percussionist to move the drumstick in his/her hands with less friction. In fact, the addition of weights, spindles and ball grips actually increase the friction between the hand of the percussionist and the drumstick and thus decrease the speed in which a percussionist can achieve using that drumstick. 
     In these respects, the swivelable sleeve of the present invention departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily designed to reduce the friction between the fingers/hands of the percussionist and the drumstick. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a swivelable sleeve for a drumstick. The swivelable sleeve comprises a tubular shaft having a bore elongatively positioned throughout. The bore of the tubular shaft has a diameter large enough to slidably fit onto a standard drumstick. The sleeve is designed to fit the drumstick tightly so as not to slip when the drumsticks strike the surface of the drums. The sleeve also has first and second pivot knobs each of which has a front portion. The first and second pivot knobs are swivelably attached to the tubular shaft by first and second pivot means. The first and second pivot means terminate at a concentric wall defining the bore so as not to interfere with slipping the bore of the swivelable sleeve onto a drumstick. 
     The swivelable sleeve for the drumstick may have first and second knobs that may rotate 360° in an axis that is essentially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the tubular shaft. 
     The pivot point in the swivelable sleeve can be two pin shaped members that are attached to the first and second knobs independently. The first pin extends from the outside surface of the first knob, through the first knob and through the wall of the swivelable sleeve terminating at the surface of the concentric wall defining the bore. The second pin extends from the outside surface of the second knob in the same fashion as in the first knob. The second knob is positioned 180 degrees from the first attachment on the outer surface of the swivelable sleeve. The first and second pins have a circular cross-section. 
     This connection permits the swivelable sleeve to be attached to a drumstick. Once attached to the drumstick, the swivelable sleeve enables a percussionist to move the drumsticks about the pivot points so that the first end of elongated tubular body of the drumstick moves in an opposite direction of the front portion of the swivelable sleeve. In other words, when the front portion of the swivelable sleeve moves above the longitudinal axis of the elongated tubular body of the drumstick, the first end of the swivelable sleeve moves below the longitudinal axis of the elongated tubular body of the drumstick. Accordingly, when the front portion of the pivot means of the swivelable sleeve moves below the longitudinal axis of the elongated tubular body of the drumstick, the first end of the swivelable sleeve moves above the longitudinal axis of the elongated tubular body of the drumstick. 
     A rapid succession of these positions, i.e., above the longitudinal axis of the elongated tubular body to below the longitudinal axis of the elongated tubular body, allows the percussionist to move the drumstick in a rapid movement with reduced or no friction between the fingers/hands of the percussionist and the drumsticks. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, the swivelable sleeve further comprises an expandable cuff member mounted on the tubular shaft. The expandable cuff member is used to secure the swivelable sleeve to the drumstick. The fact that the cuff is expandable allows the percussionist to slide the sleeve up and down the drumstick to a comfortable position regardless of the diameter of the drumstick. Once the sleeve is positioned at a desired point, the expandable cuff is locked so as to tightly secure the sleeve to the drumstick. 
     In another embodiment, the expandable cuff of the swivelable sleeve comprises a lever that adjusts the diameter of said expandable cuff so that when the swivelable sleeve is slid onto a drumstick to a desired position the lever is adjusted to tightly close the cuff about the drumstick. Once closed the swivelable sleeve holds tightly in place. 
     In another embodiment the swivelable sleeve is made of rubber, plastic, metal mesh or a synthetic material having a memory. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1A is a longitudinal view the swivelable sleeve wherein the front portion is in the up position. 
     FIG. 1B is a longitudinal view the swivelable sleeve wherein the front portion is in the down position. 
     FIG. 2A is a cross section of the swivelable sleeve. 
     FIG. 2B is a longitudinal cross section of the swivelable sleeve. 
     FIG. 3A is a longitudinal view the swivelable sleeve having expandable cuff. 
     FIG. 3B is a cross section of the expandable cuff. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the accompanying figures, FIG. 1A illustrates a swivelable sleeve  10  for a drumstick incorporating one embodiment of the present invention. The swivelable sleeve  10  has an elongated tubular body with a front portion  30  and a rear portion  40  located at opposite longitudinal ends of the elongated tubular body. 
     An integral part of the swivelable sleeve  10  of the present invention is a pivot means. The pivot means comprises a first pivot pin  60  and a second pivot pin  80 . The first and second pivot pins are attached to the concentric wall  50  of the swivelable sleeve  10  at positions that are 180 degrees from one another when measured along the surface of the swivelable sleeve. The pivot pins have a circular cross section and move freely in the hole bored in the concentric wall of the swivelable sleeve  10  (not shown). 
     Attached to the first pivot pin  60  is a first pivot knob  20 . The first pivot pin goes through the concentric wall  50  of the swivelable sleeve  10  where it terminates at a pivot head  65  (shown in FIG.  2 A). The pivot head  65  is recessed into the concentric wall  50  so that it does not interfere with the slidability of the swivelable sleeve on to a drumstick. 
     Attached to the second pivot pin  80  is the second pivot knob  70 . The second pivot pin  80  and pivot knob  70  are attached the same way as the first pivot pin  60  and pivot knob  20  are attached to the swivelable sleeve. The first and second pivot knobs can be circular, elongated or any other ergonomic configuration. 
     The above embodiments of the present invention provide a swivelable sleeve that when slid on to and attached to a drumstick, enables a percussionist to firmly grip the drumsticks, but at the same time reduces the friction between the percussionist&#39;s fingers/hands and the drumsticks. When a percussionist&#39;s grips a standard drumstick without the swivelable sleeve, a fulcrum is created, i.e., a pivoting point. However, in order to maintain control of the drumstick while playing, the percussionist must grip the drumstick firmly in his/hers fingers/hands. This creates friction between the fingers/hands of the percussionist and the drumsticks and that reduces movement of the drumsticks. 
     The swivelable sleeve of the present invention provides a mechanism that enables the percussionist to firmly grip the drumstick in his/hers hands so as to maintain control of the drumstick but at the same time reduce the friction between the drumstick and the fingers/hands of the percussionist. When the percussionist grips the first and second pivot knobs of the swivelable sleeve in his/her hands, these pivot knobs pivot in a seesaw motion about the axis of the pivot pins to which they are attached. This motion is smooth and frictionless. As the front portion  30  of the swivelable sleeve moves in the downward direction, the first end of the drumstick to which the sleeve is attached moves in the upward direction. Accordingly, as the front portion  30  of the swivelable sleeve moves in the upward direction, the first end of the drumstick moves in the downward direction. 
     A rapid repetition of the seesaw motion of the pivot means enables the percussionist to increase the speed in which he/she moves the drumsticks while maintaining a firm grip on the drumsticks. 
     FIG. 1B shows all of the elements shown in FIG. 1A, except the front portion  30  of the swivelable sleeve  10  is tilted in the downward position and therefore the first end of the drumstick to which it is attached would be tilted in the downward direction, thus illustrating the see-saw movement explained above. 
     FIG. 2A illustrates a cross section of the swivelable sleeve of FIGS. 1A and 1B. In this figure, first and second pivot knobs  20  and  70  are attached to the concentric wall  50  of the swivelable sleeve  10  by first and second pivot pins  60  and  80 . The first pivot knob  20  is attached to the concentric wall  50  by the first pivot pin  60 . The first pivot pin  60  has an inside head  65  that is positioned in the recessed cavity in the concentric wall  50  so as not to come in contact with the drumstick once it is inserted into the swivelable sleeve. This arrangement is important to allow for easy attachment of the swivelable sleeve to the drumstick. 
     On the opposite side of the swivelable sleeve (180 decrees away) the second pivot knob is attached to the swivelable sleeve. The second pivot knob  70  is attached to the sleeve by pivot pin  80 . As with the first pivot pin, the second pivot pin  80  has a pivot head  85  that is positioned in the recessed cavity in the concentric wall  50 . 
     The concentric wall  50  defining the bore in which a drumstick is inserted, may be lined with Teflon® or a Teflon®-like material so as to allow for easy attachment of the swivelable sleeve to the drumstick. Likewise, the hole of the concentric wall in which the first and second pivot pins extend through, may also be lined with Teflon® or a Teflon®-like material so as to allow for frictionless motion between the pivot pins and the swivelable sleeve. Teflon® or a Teflon®-like material may be used between the pivot knobs and outer wall  50 . 
     In another embodiment, the hole in the concentric wall in which the first and second pivot pins extend through may be lined with a plurality of ball bearing units that are axially retained and concentrically connected to the pivot pins  60  and  80  so as to reduce the friction between the pivot pins and the surface of the concentric wall of the hole. 
     FIG. 2B is a longitudinal cross-section of the swivelable sleeve showing the concentric wall with the inside head of the first pivot pin recessed within the concentric wall. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, the swivelable sleeve is equipped with an expandable cuff as shown in FIG.  3 A. FIG. 3A shows a swivelable sleeve  100  having a first pivot knob  120  attached to the sleeve by a pivot pin  160  and a second pivot knob and pin (not shown) that is attached to the swivelable sleeve 180 degrees away. At the front and rear of the swivelable sleeve are expandable cuffs  105  and  140 . The front expandable cuff  105  has a lever  110  that adjusts the expandable cuff and a slide  175  that allows the expandable cuff to expand and contract. A second expandable cuff  150  may be positioned at the rear of the swivelable sleeve  140  for added stationability. 
     When the expandable cuffs are in the open position, the swivelable sleeve can be slid onto the drumstick and positioned at a desired place. Once the sleeve is positioned at a desired place, the levers of the expandable cuffs can be closed so as to press the cuffs tightly against the surface of the drumstick. Once the levers are closed the swivelable sleeve is securely attached to the drumstick, the drumstick is converted in to a drumstick having a frictionless pivot point. 
     FIG. 3A shows the front expandable cuff of FIG. 3A in an enlarged view. The front expandable cuff  105  has a lever  110  that can be pushed back to open the expandable cuff. When in the open position the cuff has a larger opening than when in the closed position therefore allowing a drumstick to be easily positioned in the swivelable sleeve. When the lever is closed and the opening of the expandable cuff is reduced, the lever is locked in place by snap lock  125 . Snap lock  125  can be attached to the expandable cuff by a hinge so that it can be moved forward and positioned over the lever to prevent the lever from opening. In the alternative, the snap lock can be attached to a slide that allows the snap lock to push forward into a position that the lever can be locked in place. When the lever is to be placed into the opened position, the snap lock can be slid back to a position where it does not touch the lever. 
     The swivelable sleeve described herein can be made from synthetic materials capable of memory, rubber or rubber-like materials or any other material that is able to tightly fit onto a drumstick. For example, the swivelable sleeve can be made of rubber, neoprene, polyurethane or other strong material with a memory. 
     In connection with the various forms of the invention shown here, it is readily visualized that numerous modifications to the concept herein disclosed, may be adopted without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth.