Abstract:
Disclosed is a tuning system for tuning a hand percussion instrument having a head and a shell. The tuning system comprises a rim, the rim secured to the head of the instrument, the rim comprising at least one receptacle, the receptacle positioned at outer periphery of the rim such that the receptacle body is below the plane of the rim, a side plate assembly, the side plate assembly secured to the shell of the instrument, a tuning rod, the tuning rod having a first end secured to the receptacle for varying the tension on the head, and the tuning rod having a second end secured to the side plate assembly.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The conga is a tall, narrow, single-headed musical drum. Although ultimately derived from African drums made from hollowed logs, the Cuban conga is staved, like a barrel. Most modern congas have a staved wooden or fiberglass shell, and a screw-tensioned drumhead. They are usually played in sets of two to four with the fingers and palms of the hand. 
     The tuning system on a conga drum generally requires a musician to tune the drum from the side of the drum.  FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary prior art tuning system for a conga drum  10 . The conga drum  10  includes a drum shell  12 , an open playing end  14 , and a skin  16  that is affixed to a ring  20 . The ring  20  is secured to the drum shell  12  by a collection of prior art tuning assemblies  40 , such that the skin is drawn across the open playing end  14 . A collection of side plates  18  are distributed about the periphery of the drum shell  12 . 
     Each of the prior art tuning assemblies  40  includes a threaded tuning hook  42 . The upper portion of threaded tuning hook is inserted through holes in the ring  20 , and the threaded lower portion is passed through an opening in the side plate  18 . A nut  44  is threaded onto the threaded lower portion of the threaded tuning hook  42 . The nut is generally tightened using a tool such as a box end wrench. As nuts  44  are tightened, the threaded tuning hooks  42 , and in turn the ring  20 , are drawn downward causing the skin  16  to be tunably stretched across the open playing end  14 . The arrangement of the threaded tuning hooks  42  and the nuts  44  typically require the musician to tune the drum from its side. In many cases, the space needed to tune the drum may require a percussionist to remove the conga drum from its stand which may be time consuming or inconvenient, especially during a performance. The musician may also have to rotate the drum in order to reach all the tuning points. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present invention relates to a tuning system for a hand percussion instrument. In first aspect of a tuning system for tuning a hand percussion instrument having a head and a shell, the tuning system comprises a rim, the rim secured to the head of the instrument, the rim comprising at least one receptacle, the receptacle secured at outer periphery of the rim such that the receptacle body is below the plane of the rim, a side plate assembly, the side plate assembly secured to the shell of the instrument, a tuning rod, the tuning rod having a first end received by the receptacle for varying the tension on the head, and the tuning rod having a second end received by the side plate assembly. 
     Implementations any, all, or none of the following features. The side plate assembly can comprise a base plate, the base plate having a receiving portion that extends perpendicular to the shell, and a nut, the nut receiving the second end of the tuning rod to secure the tuning rod to the receiving portion. The tuning nut may be movable within the receiving portion so that the tuning rod may align vertically while secured to the receptacle and the receiving portion. The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a prior art hand drum tuning assembly. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an example top-tuning hand drum. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an example top-tuning hand drum rim. 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of an example top-tuning hand drum tuning assembly. 
     
    
    
     Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 2  illustrates an example top-tuning hand drum  100  of the present invention. In some embodiments, the hand drum  100  can be a conga drum, a djembe, a straight walled drum, a bongo drum, or other drum that is generally played by tapping or striking the instrument directly with the hands. The hand drum  100  includes a shell  102  that is generally cylindrical and hollow, with an open playing end  104  that is located at what is generally considered to be the top of the hand drum  100 . The open playing end  104  is covered by a skin  106  that is affixed to a rim  120 . The skin  106  is tunably stretched and held in place over the open playing end  104  by a collection of tuning assemblies  140 . In general, the tuning assemblies  140  provide a percussionist with a mechanism for tuning the hand drum  100  from the top rather than from the sides of the shell  102 . As such, the musician may tune the drum without having to turn the drum, lift it out of its basket, or remove it from its stand. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the example rim  120 . The preferred embodiment described below incorporates a modified Comfort Curve II steel rim available from the Latin Percussion Division of KMC Music, Inc., located in Garfield, N.J. The features of the Comfort Curve II rim are described U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,136, which is incorporated by reference. The modified rim  120  includes a circular ring section  122  and a collection of receptacle assemblies  124  distributed about the outer periphery of the ring section  122 . The receptacle assemblies  124  are affixed to the ring section  122  by welding or another suitable process such that the receptacle assemblies  124  are located below the plane of the ring section  122 . In other words, the receptacle assemblies  124  are located away from the open playing end  104  of the hand drum  100  as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . As such, the receptacles do not interfere with the hand position of the musician. This provides the musician with greater comfort and extended playability. 
     Each of the receptacle assemblies  124  includes a backing section  126 , two side sections  128 , and a bottom section  130 . The backing section  126  joins the ring section  122  along an upper edge of the backing section  126 . The left and right edges of the backing section  126  are joined to back edges of the two side sections  128  at substantially right angles, such that the side sections  128  are substantially parallel to each other radiate outward from the center of the rim  120 . The bottom edges of the side sections  128  and the backing section  126  are joined to three edges of the bottom section  130  such that the bottom section  130  is held in a plane that is substantially parallel to the plane of the ring section  122 . Formed in the bottom section  130  is a hole  132 , through with the shaft of a tuning rod may be passed, as will be discussed further in the description of  FIG. 4 . 
     In some embodiments, the radially outward edges of the two side sections  128  may formed as a partial arc that substantially extends the slope of the ring section  122 . In some embodiments, the two side sections  128  may provide protection for the percussionist. For example, by forming the outward edges of the side sections  128  in a smooth curve, the percussionist may be protected from hitting his or her had directly on the bottom section  130  and causing possible discomfort or injury. 
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged view of the hand drum  100  wherein one of the tuning assemblies  140  is shown in an exploded view to better illustrate its components. Although all the tuning assemblies  140  have substantially identical construction, for the sake of clarity of the illustration only the components shown in the exploded view are numbered. 
     Each of the tuning assemblies  140  includes a side plate assembly  150 . The side plate assembly  150  includes a base plate  152  affixed to the outer periphery of the shell  102  by bolts  154 , adhesives, or other forms of fasteners. A receiving portion  156  extends outward, substantially normal to the base plate  152 . The receiving portion  156  includes a hole  158  oriented substantially vertically with reference to the shell  102 . 
     A bumper  160  made of a soft or compliant material (e.g., rubber, plastic, foam, wood) substantially covers the receiving portion  156 . In some implementations, the bumper  160  may protect the receiving portion  156  from damage, may protect the percussionist from being injured if he were to bump into the receiving portion  156 , and/or prevent the hand drum  100  from bumping into and damaging other objects. 
     The tuning assembly includes a threaded tuning rod  170  that is used to secure the rim  120  to the side plate assembly  150  and tune the hand drum  100 . The threaded tuning rod is passed through a washer  172  and the hole  132 . A nut  174  is passed through the hole  158  and is held in place by bumper  160 . The threaded tuning rod  170  is threaded through the nut  174 . In doing so, the head of the threaded tuning rod  170  and the washer  172  are drawn downward against the bottom section  130 , while the nut  174  is drawn upward against the receiving portion  156 . 
     As the threaded tuning rod  170  is tightened, a tensile force is created along the length of the bolt  170 . In some embodiments, the nut  174  can move (float) within the receiving portion  156  such that the threaded tuning rod  170  may align itself vertically while secured to the receptacle assembly  124  and the receiving portion  156 . For example, by allowing the nut  174  to move, the forces created within the threaded tuning rod  170  may be substantially tensile in nature with substantially no bending moments being imparted. In addition, the floating nut allows the side plate assembly to be mounted at the same height relative to the head of the drum regardless of the diameter of the shell of the drum. 
     In some embodiments, the heads of the threaded tuning rods  170  can be formed such that they are able to receive and be torqued by common hand-held tools (e.g., nut drivers, socket wrenches, hex keys, TORX wrenches, Robertson drivers, screwdrivers). For example, a percussionist may use a hardware store variety nut driver to engage the top end of the threaded tuning rod and adjust the tension between the rim  120  and the side plate assembly  150 . In some implementations, by selectively torquing the threaded tuning rods  170 , the rim  120  may adjustably stretch the skin  106  over the open playing end  104 , thereby providing the percussionist with a way to tune the hand drum  100  from the top, rather than from the sides. 
     A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, although the top-tuning system has been described with respect to a conga drum, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that this tuning-system may be used with other hand percussion instruments. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.