Patent Publication Number: US-7723592-B1

Title: Drum spur extension apparatus

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention generally relates to a drum spur extension apparatus. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Bass drums are known in the art and are widely used by musicians all over the world. Bass drums are typically used with foot pedal assemblies which comprise a hammer or beater that strikes the drumhead of the bass drum when a user depresses a foot pedal. Typical foot-operated pedals for use with bass drums are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,637, entitled “Foot Pedal for A Drum”, issued to Shigenaga, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,808, entitled “Foot Operated Bass Drum Pedal”, issued to Smith. It is imperative that the bass drum is in the correct or desired position so the hammer strikes the drumhead at the desired location. Lifts devices have been developed to position the bass drum in the desired position. Such devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,874 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2006/0005689. Another such device is disclosed in commonly owned and copending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/805,922, entitled “Drum Lift”. These devices are located under the rear portion of the bass drum and raise the position of the drum beating spot to a desired height. Bass drums also include a spur which is typically adjustable and located toward the front area of the base drum. Specifically, the spur is slidably disposed within a spur mount attached to the drum and has a first portion within the spur mount and/or the interior of the bass drum, and a second portion that extends from the spur mount and contacts the surface, e.g. floor, upon which the bass drum is positioned. The spur can be pulled outward to increase the length of the portion of the spur that extends from the spur mount so as to raise the front portion of the bass drum. The spur can also be pushed inward so as to reduce the portion of the spur that extends from the mount thereby lowering the height of the front portion of the bass drum. However, early model bass drum spurs and some current bass drum spurs are limited in that they cannot raise the front portion of the bass drum to the appropriate height when certain types of drum lifts are used with the bass drum. Thus, in some instances, the drum will be at an awkward slant while the player is playing the bass drum. Such a slant in the bass drum&#39;s position could have a degrading effect on the sound produced by the drum. 
     What is needed a drum spur extension device that addresses the foregoing problems. 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a drum spur extension apparatus. The drum spur extension apparatus comprises an elongate member having a predetermined length, a longitudinally extending axis and a longitudinally extending inner bore that is sized for receiving a drum spur. The elongate member has a closed end and an open end which defines an opening in communication with the longitudinally extending inner bore. 
     In one embodiment, the drum spur extension apparatus comprises a tip member that is attached to the closed end of the elongate member. In one embodiment, the tip member has an inner bore sized to frictionally receive the closed end of the elongate member. 
     Further, embodiments, features and advantages of the present invention are disclosed in the ensuing description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be more readily understandable from a consideration of the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a bass drum with an existing drum spur; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view, in perspective, of a drum spur extension apparatus in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the drum spur extension apparatus of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the drum spur extension apparatus of  FIG. 2  completely assembled; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded view of a drum spur extension apparatus in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a top plan view of the drum spur extension apparatus of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the drum spur extension apparatus of  FIG. 6  completely assembled; 
         FIG. 9  is an elevation view, partially in cross-section, of a drum spur extension apparatus in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded view, partially in cross-section, showing how the drum spur extension apparatus of  FIG. 9  is connected to a pre-existing drum spur; 
         FIG. 11  is a side view, in elevation, of a drum spur extension apparatus in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 12  is a top plan view of the drum spur extension apparatus of  FIG. 11 ; and 
         FIG. 13  is a side view of a bass drum using the drum spur extension apparatus of  FIG. 11 . 
     
    
    
     BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown bass drum  10  which has a rear portion  12  and a front portion  14 . Drum lift  16  is positioned under rear portion  12 . Drum lift  16  could be almost any type of drum lift such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,874 and co-pending and commonly owned U.S. application Ser. No. 11/805,922, entitled “Drum Lift”. Bass drum  10  includes drum spur device  18  which includes mount  20  and spur  22 . Spur  22  is slidably positioned within mount  20  and is held in a particular position by lug  24  that is engaged with mount  20 . Spur  22  has a lower portion  26  that has a tip  27 . Tip  27  contacts the surface  28  (e.g. floor, carpet, etc.) upon which bass drum  10  is positioned. As shown in  FIG. 1 , bass drum  10  is tilted an awkward angle since spur  22  is not long enough to raise front portion  14  to the appropriate height so as to position bass drum  10  at a substantially level orientation. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , there is shown drum spur extension apparatus  50  in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. For purposes of brevity, the phrase “drum spur extension apparatus”, which refers to the present invention, shall be referred to herein as “spur extension”. Spur extension  50  comprises elongate member  51 . Elongate member  51  comprises section  52  and section  54 . Section  52  is generally cylindrical in shape and has inner bore  56  and opening  58 . Opening  58  is in communication with bore  56 . Bore  56  has diameter D 1  that provides bore  56  with a size for receiving end portion  26  of existing spur  22  (see  FIG. 1 ). Section  52  has outer diameter D 2  that is sufficient to provide sufficient structural integrity to spur extension  50 . It is to be understood that inner diameter D 1  and outer diameter D 2  may be varied depending on the size of existing spur  22  of bass drum  10  as well as the materials from which spur extension  50  is made. Section  54  comprises a generally tapered portion  60  that extends to tip  62 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  4  and  5 , in a preferred embodiment, spur extension  50  includes tip portion  70  that is mounted to section  54  of spur extension  50 . Tip portion  70  is hollow and has opening  72  that is in communication with interior of tip portion  70 . The interior of tip portion  70  is sized to frictionally receive section  54 . The degree of friction prevents tip portion  70  from sliding off of section  54 . The bottom  73  of tip portion  70  contacts surface  28  upon which the base drum is located (see  FIG. 1 ). 
     Sections  52  and  54  may be fabricated from a variety of materials, e.g. metal, plastic, resin, composite materials, etc. Tip portion  70  can be fabricated from suitable materials, e.g. plastic, rubber, etc. The length L 1  (see  FIG. 2 ) of spur extension  50  may be varied depending upon the length of the existing spur  22  (see  FIG. 1 ). 
     In order to attach spur extension  50  to spur  22  (see  FIG. 1 ), the user grasps spur extension  50  and inserts pre-existing spur  22  of bass drum  10  into bore  56  of section  52 . If necessary, the user may use lug  24  to make fine adjustments to the length of the portion of spur  22  that extends from mount  20  in order to ensure the bass drum  10  is substantially level. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 6 ,  7  and  8 , there is shown spur extension  100  in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Spur extension  100  comprises elongate member  102 . Elongate member  102  is substantially cylindrical in shape and has inner bore  104  and end portion  106 . In one embodiment, end portion  106  has bevelled end  107 . Elongate member  102  has opening  108  that is in communication with bore  104 . Bore  104  has a diameter D 3  that provides bore  104  with a size for receiving a portion of drum spur  22 . Outer diameter D 4  is sufficient to provide spur extension  100  with sufficient structural integrity. It is to be understood that inner diameter D 3  and outer diameter D 4  may be varied depending on the size of spur  22  and the materials from which spur extension  100  is made. In one embodiment, spur extension  100  includes tip  110 . Tip  110  has bottom portion  111  that contacts the floor or surface (e.g. surface  28  shown in  FIG. 1 ) upon which the bass drum is positioned. Tip  110  has an interior region  112  that is sized to receive end portion  106  of elongate member  102 . Interior region  112  is specifically sized so as to create a frictional relationship between end portion  106  and the interior walls  113  extending about interior region  112  so as to prevent tip  110  from falling off end portion  106 . Tip  110  can be fabricated from a variety of materials, e.g. rubber, plastic, resin, metal, etc. In a preferred embodiment, tip  110  is made from a material that would provide friction when it contacted the surface upon which the base drum was positioned. 
     In order to attach spur extension  100  to spur  22  (see  FIG. 1 ), the user grasps spur extension  100  and inserts pre-existing spur  22  of bass drum  10  into bore  104  of section  102 . If necessary, the user may use lug  24  to make fine adjustments to the length of the portion of spur  22  that extends from mount  20  in order to ensure the bass drum  10  is substantially level. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 9 and 10 , there is shown spur extension  200  in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Spur extension  200  comprises upper section  202 , intermediate section  204  and lower section  206 . Upper section  202  has an inner bore  208  and opening  210  which is in communication with inner bore  208 . Upper section  202  has internal threads  212  that extend about inner bore  208 . Intermediate section  204  has an outer diameter that is less than the outer diameter of upper section  202 . Intermediate section  204  includes external threads  213 , the purpose of which is discussed in the ensuing description. Spur extension  200  is configured to be used with drum spur  250  that is part of a bass drum. A portion of drum spur  250  is shown in  FIG. 10 . Drum spur  250  comprises section  252  and lower section  254 . Lower section  254  extends to tip  256 . Section  252  includes external threads  258 . In order to attach drum spur  250  to spur extension  200 , tip  256  and a portion of section  252  is inserted into inner bore  208  of spur extension  200 . A user then rotates spur extension  200  so that external threads  258  of drum spur  250  engage internal threads  212 . The user continues to rotate spur extension apparatus  200  until it can no longer be rotated. As shown in  FIG. 9 , inner bore  208  has a lower portion  270  that has a shape that matches lower portion  254  of drum spur  250 . In a preferred embodiment, spur extension  200  includes tip cover member  260 . Tip cover member  260  has inner bore  262 , opening  263  and internal threads  264  that extend about inner bore  262 . In order to attach tip cover member  260  to lower section  206  of spur extension  200 , a user inserts lower section  206  into opening  263  and inner bore  262  of tip cover member  260  and then rotates tip cover member  260  so that external threads  213  of intermediate section  204  engage internal threads  264  of tip cover member  260 . The user continues to rotate tip cover member  260  until it cannot rotate further. 
     As with the previous embodiments of the present invention, spur extension  200  can be fabricated from any one of a variety of materials, e.g. plastic, metal, composite materials, rubber, resin, etc. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 11 and 12 , there is shown spur extension apparatus  300  in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention. Spur extension  300  comprises elongate member  302  that has upper section  304 , intermediate or shaft section  306  and lower portion  308 . Lower portion  308  extends to tip  310 . Upper section  304  comprises rim  312  and lug or screw  314  that is threadedly engaged to rim  312 . Spur extension  300  includes internal bore  316  that extends throughout upper section  304  and intermediate section  306 . Internal bore  316  is sized to receive a portion of an existing drum spur. Rim  312  has an opening  317  (see  FIG. 12 ) that is in communication with internal bore  316 . Lug  314  can rotate in one direction which causes a portion of lug  314  to extend into internal bore  316 . Lug  314  can also rotate in an opposite direction that causes the aforesaid portion of lug  314  to be withdrawn from internal bore  316  so that no portion of lug  314  extends into bore  316 . In one embodiment, tip cover  318  is removably attached to tip  310  and a portion of lower portion  308 . Tip cover  318  is configured to have an internal bore  319  that is sized to frictional receive tip  310 . In order to removably attached spur extension  300  to an existing drum spur, the user positions the tip of the existing drum spur into opening  317  of spur extension  300  and then slides spur extension  300  upon the shaft of the existing drum spur (e.g. spur  22  in  FIG. 1 ). When spur extension  300  is at a desired position upon the shaft of the drum spur, the use then tightens lug  314  so that the lug  314  contacts the portion of the drum spur that is within rim  312  thereby preventing movement of spur extension  300  with respect to the drum spur. Thus, lug  314  prevents spur extension  300  from sliding off of the drum spur. A hand tool, such as a drum key, small wrench or pliers, can be used to tighten lug  314 . In an alternate embodiment, lug  314  is replaced by a wing nut or any other suitable fastening device that, when screwed into rim  312 , prevents movement of spur extension  300  with respect to the drum spur, thereby preventing spur extension  300  from sliding off of the drum spur. 
     As with the previous embodiments of the present invention, spur extension  300  can be fabricated from any one of a variety of materials, e.g. plastic, metal, composite materials, rubber, resin, etc. 
     Referring to  FIG. 13 , there is shown bass drum  500  which has rear portion  502  and front portion  504 . Drum lift  16  is positioned under rear portion  502 . Drum lift  16  is shown in  FIG. 1  and was described in the foregoing description. Bass drum  500  includes spur device  501  which comprises mount  502 , spur  504  and lug  506 . Spur extension  300  is removably mounted to spur  504 . Specifically, a portion of spur  504  is disposed within bore  316  of spur extension  300  and lug  314  is tightened so as to prevent spur extension  300  from sliding off of spur  504 . The user can make adjustments to the combined length of spur  504  and spur extension  300  by adjusting how much of the spur  504  is to be positioned within bore  316 . For example, the overall combined length of spur  504  and spur extension  300  can be decreased by positioning more of spur  504  in internal bore  316 . The overall combined length of spur  504  and spur extension  300  can be increased by reducing the portion of spur  504  that is located within internal bore  316 . As shown in  FIG. 13 , spur extension  300  is adjusted so that bass drum  500  is substantially level. 
     In an alternate embodiment, spur extension  50  is modified so that section  52  includes a rim section and lug similar to rim  312  and lug  314 , respectively, shown in  FIG. 12 . 
     The present invention provides a spur extension apparatus that can be used to arrange or position a bass drum so that the bass drum is substantially level when the bass drum is used with a drum lift. The spur extension of the present invention can be used with a variety of existing bass drum spurs. The spur extension of the present invention is portable, easily stored and easy to use. The spur extension of the present invention can be fabricated from a variety of materials. The size of the drum spur extension of the present invention can be varied to suit various sizes of pre-existing drum spurs, as well as the actual height adjustment required to set a bass drum at a level orientation when a drum lift is used with the bass drum. 
     It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the illustrations described and shown herein, which are deemed to be merely illustrative of the best modes of carrying out the invention, and which are susceptible of modification of form, size, and arrangement of parts and details of operation. Rather, the invention is intended to encompass all such modifications which are within the spirit and scope as defined by the claims.