Patent Publication Number: US-2015059555-A1

Title: Portable cajon hitting assembly

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a drum hitting assembly and particularly to a cajon hitting assembly. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A cajon looks like a stool which can be sat by people and hit at various locations to generate different sounds, and thus is desirable for impromptu performance. The cajon is constructed like an empty wooden chest with a round hole perforated on the back side as a sound outlet. At the front of the wooden chest, there is a snare installed therein to generate timbre like a snare drum. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1 , in order to facilitate hitting convenience and enhance versatility, a cajon can be used to serve as an ancillary hitting device. A conventional cajon comprises a foot pedal  1 , a first upright stand  2 , a wire tube  3 , a second upright stand  4 , a hitter  5  and a holding rack  6 . The holding rack  6  holds a cajon  7 . The second upright stand  4  has a turnable axle  8 . The hitter  5  is fastened to the axle  8  and faces the cajon  7 . The wire tube  3  is threaded by a drawing wire (not shown in the drawing) inside that has one end connected to the hitter  5  and another end connected to the foot pedal  1 . The foot pedal  1  is located on the first upright stand  2 . Stepping on the foot pedal  1 , the drawing wire can be drawn to drive the axle  8  to turn, and thereby drive the hitter  5  to hit the cajon  7 . 
     The cajon hitting assembly can increase the versatility of hitting the cajon  7  to further enhance appeal of performances. Through the drawing wire threading through the wire tube  3 , the position of the foot pedal  1  can be adjusted as desired to suit user&#39;s use requirements. The movement generated by the downward stepping on the foot pedal  1  directly draws the drawing wire to move that in turn drives the hitter  5  to turn. However, the moving displacement of the drawing wire is relatively small, and the torsional force being generated also is inadequate, and the foot pedal often feels like being jammed when stepped. All these leave a lot to be desired during hitting of the cajon  7 . 
     To remedy the aforesaid problems of insufficient wire drawing displacement and deficiency in the generated torsional force, another type of conventional cajon has been developed as shown in  FIG. 2 . It comprises a first upright stand  9 , a first bracing bar  10 , a second upright stand  11 , a second bracing bar  12 , a foot pedal  13 , a wire tube  14 , a hitter  15  and a holding rack  16 . The first upright stand  9  has a turnable first axle  17  located thereon. The first bracing bar  10  has one end fastened to the first axle  17 . The second upright stand  11  has a turnable second axle  18  located thereon. The second bracing bar  12  has one end fastened to the second axle  18 . The foot pedal  13  can drive the first axle  17  to turn. 
     The wire tube  14  is threaded by a drawing wire  19  which has a start end and a distal end, and has two ends fastened respectively to the first upright stand  9  and second upright stand  11 . The start end of the drawing wire  19  is fastened to the first bracing bar  10  and spaced from the first axle  17  at a first distance. The distal end of the drawing wire  19  is fastened to the second bracing bar  12  and spaced from the second axle  18  at a second distance. The hitter  15  is fastened to the second axle  18 . 
     By means of the structure set forth above, the relative positions of the first bracing bar  10 , the second bracing bar  12  and the drawing wire  19 , and a lever action being formed, the drawing wire  19  can draw the first axle  17  and second axle  18  to turn at an optimal angle, and thereby increase the instantaneous torsional force to enhance smoothness when the foot pedal is stepped. 
     However, the aforesaid conventional structure involves a great number of components and thus is difficult to assemble. Moreover, the first upright stand  9  and second upright stand  11  are bulky in size, and hence are difficult to store and carry around. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary object of the present invention is to provide a portable cajon hitting assembly to offer smoother foot treading during hitting of a cajon and make carrying around easier. 
     To achieve the foregoing object, the portable cajon hitting assembly according to the invention aims to hit a cajon and to be carried around easily. It comprises an upright stand, a wire tube, a foot pedal, an upright plank, a bracing bar, a hitter and a holding rack. The wire tube is threaded by a drawing wire which has a start end and a distal end. The foot pedal is fixedly mounted on the upright stand and connected to the start end of the drawing wire through a chain to move the drawing wire. The upright plank has a turnable axle. The bracing bar has two ends fastened respectively to the axle and the distal end of the drawing wire. The hitter is fastened to the axle. The holding rack is fastened to the upright plank to clamp and hold the cajon. 
     Thus, when the foot pedal is treaded to move the hitter to hit the cajon, the relative positions of the bracing bar and drawing wire are at a right angle. As a result, the drawing wire can draw the axle to turn at an optimal angle. Moreover, through a lever action, the instantaneous torsional force can be increased to enhance stepping smoothness. The invention is simpler in structure and can be packed in an elongate shape to facilitate storing, and also can be easily held in a handbag to be carried around conveniently, thus can better meet use requirements. 
     The foregoing, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following embodiment and detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment serves merely for illustrative purpose and is not the limitation of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the structure of a conventional technique. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the structure of another conventional technique. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of the invention in a use condition. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view of the invention in a stored condition. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  5 , the present invention aims to provide a portable cajon hitting assembly to hit a cajon  90 . It comprises an upright stand  20 , a wire tube  30 , a foot pedal  40 , an upright plank  50 , a bracing bar  60 , a hitter  70  and a holding rack  80 . The wire tube  30  is threaded by a drawing wire  31  which has a start end  311  and a distal end  312 . The foot pedal  40  is fixedly mounted on the upright stand  20  and connected to the start end  311  of the drawing wire  31  through a chain  41  to move the drawing wire  31 . The foot pedal  40  is run through by two elevation adjustment screws  42  to aid the foot pedal  40  to be steadily rested on a floor. 
     The upright plank  50  has a turnable axle  51 . The axle  51  is extended downwards to form a gripping bar  52 . The upright plank  50  and gripping bar  52  are bridged by an elastic element  53 . The bracing bar  60  has two ends fastened respectively to the axle  51  and the distal end  312  of the drawing wire  31 . The hitter  70  is fastened to the axle  51 . The holding rack  80  is fastened to the upright plank  50  to clamp and hold the cajon  90 . 
     The upright plank  50  also can have a support bar  54 . The wire tube  30  has two ends fastened respectively to the support bar  54  and upright stand  20 . The support bar  54  can have an oriented hole  541  to hold the wire tube  30 . The oriented hole  541  faces the bracing bar  60  to allow the drawing wire  31  to draw the bracing bar  60  at a vertical angle. 
     In addition, the holding rack  80  can have a support plate  81  rested on the floor and a movable plate  82  fastened to the upright plank  50 . The movable plate  82  can slide against the support plate  81 . The support plate  81  also can be fastened to at least one transverse support board  85  and can be screwed by an adjustment element  83  which has a distal end turnable and latched on the movable plate  82 . The movable plate  82  and support plate  81  have respectively a protrusive portion  84  opposing each other to clamp the cajon  90 . Hence by turning the adjustment element  83 , the position of the movable plate  82  can be changed to suit the cajon  90  with different sizes. 
     Thus, with the bracing bar and drawing wire positioned at a right angle relative to each other, when the foot pedal is treaded to move the hitter to hit the cajon, the drawing wire can be drawn to turn the axle at an optimal angle, and also increase the instantaneous torsional force through a lever action to enhance smoothness of the foot pedal during treading. The invention is simpler in structure and packed in an elongate shape, hence can facilitate storing and also can be held in a handbag conveniently to make carrying around easier, thereby can better meet use requirements.