Patent Publication Number: US-2006005689-A1

Title: Pedal coupling device and bass drum

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a coupling device for coupling a pedal device to a bass drum, and to a bass drum.  
      A bass drum includes a cylindrical body, a pair of heads, and a pair of hoops. The heads are disk-shaped and close the openings of the body. The hoops are annular and are fitted to the outer circumference of the ends of the body to tighten the heads to the body. The bass drum is placed on the floor such that the axis of the body extends along a supporting surface, i.e., the floor surface. A player plays the bass drum by hitting one of the heads with a beater.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,489 discloses a pedal device for a bass drum. The pedal device includes a foot pedal, which operates a beater during a performance, and a clamp. The pedal device is mounted to the bass drum by holding the lower portion of a hoop with the clamp from the player&#39;s side of the drum.  
      Vibration of the body caused by hitting the bass drum with the beater during a performance is easily transmitted to the floor via the clamp. Therefore, part of the vibration energy from the body is absorbed by the floor, and the vibration energy of the body is reduced. In this case, the original sound of the bass drum is not obtained.  
      Furthermore, since the hoop is directly held by the clamp, the hoop may be damaged. In addition, due to the striking or hitting force of the beater when hitting one of the heads with the beater, part of the hoop held by the clamp may be deformed or tightening of the head by the hoop may be loosened. Therefore, the tightening state of the head may be changed thereby changing the sound quality of the bass drum or the head may become untuned.  
      Also, since the clamp holds the annular hoop, the foot pedal of the pedal device mounted to the bass drum is easily inclined with respect to the floor surface. Furthermore, in a case where the bass drum is placed to incline toward the player, when the player depresses the foot pedal, part of the hoop held by the clamp receives downward force in a concentrated manner. Therefore, problems such as the reduction of vibration energy of the body, which spoils the original sound of the bass drum, and deformation of part of the hoop held by the clamp become more significant.  
      To solve these problems, U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,874 discloses a bass drum  100  provided with a pedal device without a hoop being held by a clamp (see  FIG. 7 ). As shown in  FIG. 7 , the body  101  of the bass drum  100  is located on a floor surface  102   a  in a state where the body  101  is supported by a pedal holding device  102 . The pedal holding device  102  is formed by a pair of rear legs  104  and a front leg  105 , which support the body  101 , and a support member  106 , which integrally couples and supports the legs  104 ,  105 . Vibration absorption bodies  107 ,  108  made of rubber material are provided at the distal ends of the rear legs  104  and the front leg  105 . A pedal device  103  is coupled to the pedal holding device  102 . The legs  104 ,  105  prevent the bass drum  100  from directly contacting the floor surface  102   a , and the vibration absorption bodies  107 ,  108  suppress transmission of vibration of the body  101  to the floor. Therefore, the original sound of the bass drum  100  is supposed to be obtained with the pedal holding device  102 .  
      However, the pedal holding device  102  has the following problems.  
      Since the pedal holding device  102  is formed by coupling the front leg  105  to the rear legs  104  with the support member  106 , the structure is complicated. Furthermore, when storing or carrying the bass drum  100  after separating the pedal device  103  from the pedal holding device  102 , the pedal holding device  102  projects sideways from the body  101  by a large amount. Therefore, it is difficult to store or carry the bass drum  100 .  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a pedal coupling device that does not spoil the original sound of a bass drum and is suitable for storing and carrying, and to provide a bass drum equipped with such a pedal coupling device.  
      To achieve the foregoing and other objectives and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, a pedal coupling device for coupling a bass drum to a pedal device is provided. The bass drum has a body and a pair of heads attached to the body. The bass drum is for placement on a supporting surface, with the pedal device being for rotating a beater by depression of a foot pedal to hit one of the heads of the bass drum. The pedal coupling device includes a body, a base, and a shaft. The body holding frame holds the body of the bass drum. The base is placed on the supporting surface and coupled to the pedal device. The shaft couples the body holding frame to the base to be rotatable relative to each other.  
      The present invention also provides a bass drum for placement on a supporting surface. The bass drum includes a body, a pair of rear legs, a pair of heads attached to the body, a pedal device including a beater and a foot pedal that rotates the beater by depression of the foot pedal to hit one of the heads, and a pedal coupling device for coupling the pedal device to the bass drum. The bass drum further includes a pair of rear legs, which project from the bass drum and support the body. The pedal coupling device includes a body holding frame, a base, and a shaft. The body holding frame holds the body of the bass drum in cooperation with the pair of rear legs. The base is placed on the supporting and is coupled to the pedal device. The shaft couples the body holding frame to the base to be rotatable relative to each other.  
      Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The invention, together with objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description of the presently preferred embodiments together with the accompanying drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a side view illustrating a bass drum according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating the pedal coupling device;  
       FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view illustrating the pedal coupling device;  
       FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 4 ;  
       FIG. 6  is a side view illustrating the pedal coupling device; and  
       FIG. 7  is a side view illustrating a conventional bass drum. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      A pedal coupling device  12  and a bass drum  1  according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 1-6 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 1 , the bass drum  1  includes a cylindrical body  2 . The bass drum  1  is placed on a supporting surface, which is a floor surface  1   a  in this embodiment, such that the axis of the body  2  extends along the floor surface  1   a . The front opening of the body  2  is closed by a disk-like front head  3  and the rear opening of the body  2  is closed by a disk-like rear head  4 . An annular front hoop  5  is fitted to the outer circumference of the front end of the body  2 . The front hoop  5  tightens the front head  3  to the body  2 . An annular rear hoop  6  is fitted to the outer circumference of the rear end of the body  2 . The rear hoop  6  tightens the rear head  4  to the body  2 .  
      The bass drum  1  is supported at three points by a pair of rear legs  11  located at the rear portion of the body  2  and the pedal coupling device  12  located below the front portion of the body  2  in a state where the bass drum  1  is apart from the floor surface  1   a . The proximal end of each rear leg  11  is inserted in the body  2  via a bracket  13  attached to the body  2 . Each rear leg  11  is secured to the body  2  by fastening a fastening bolt  14  screwed to the bracket  13 . The setting posture of the bass drum  1  is adjustable by changing the length of the rear legs  11  to be inserted in the body  2 . That is, the inclination angle of the body  2  with respect to the floor surface  1   a  is variable by changing the length of the rear legs  11  to be inserted in the body  2 . A rubber cushion  15  is attached to the distal end of each rear leg  11 .  
      A pedal device  16  is located in front of the bass drum  1 . The pedal device  16  includes a clamp  17 , which is formed of a holding member  18 , a columnar support base  19 , and a fastening bolt  21  screwed to the holding member  18 . The holding member  18  is located on the columnar support base  19 . The holding member  18  is vertically rotatable about an axis O, which is substantially parallel to the floor surface  1   a . When the fastening bolt  21  is tightened, the rear end of the holding member  18  rotates downward. The clamp  17  sandwiches the upper and lower surfaces of a joint portion  44  located at the front end of the pedal coupling device  12  with the holding member  18  that is rotated downward and the columnar support base  19 . The tightening state of the pedal coupling device  12  is adjustable by changing the tightening amount of the fastening bolt  21 .  
      A base plate  22  extends from the front end of the clamp  17 . A heel portion  23  is attached to the front end of the base plate  22 . Two columnar supports  25  are located on the columnar support base  19 . A horizontally extending rotary shaft  26  is supported between the upper portions of the columnar supports  25 . The rotary shaft  26  rotatably supports a beater  27 . The front end of a foot pedal  24  is attached to the heel portion  23 . The foot pedal  24  is rotatable about its proximal end. The beater  27  is coupled to the distal end of the foot pedal  24  via a chain member  28 . When a player depresses the foot pedal  24 , the beater  27  rotates about the rotary shaft  26  and hits the front head  3  as shown by the chain double-dashed line in  FIG. 1 . The bass drum  1  is played in this manner.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the pedal coupling device  12  is formed of a body holding frame  31 , which holds the body  2  of the bass drum  1 , a base  32 , which is located on the floor surface  1   a  and is coupled to the pedal device  16 , and a shaft, which is a bolt  33  in this embodiment. The bolt  33  couples the base  32  and the body holding frame  31  to be rotatable relative to each other. The body holding frame  31  and the base  32  are made of sheet steel.  
      The body holding frame  31  is formed into an inverted U-shape and includes a rectangular plate-like mounting portion  34  and a pair of coupling portions  35 ,  36 , which extend downward from both longitudinal ends of the mounting portion  34 . A pair of tabs  38  project from the longitudinal ends of the mounting portion  34  extending along the longitudinal direction of the mounting portion  34 . The mounting portion  34  and the tabs  38  curve in accordance with the outer circumferential surface of the body  2 . A hole  37  is formed in each tab  38 . A bolt  41  is inserted into each hole  37  from below when attaching the pedal coupling device  12  to the body  2 . The coupling portions  35 ,  36  are formed into a semi-elliptical annular shape. At the distal end of each coupling portion  35 ,  36 , a shaft bore  42 ,  43  into which the bolt  33  is inserted is respectively formed. The mounting portion  34  is separate from the bolt  33 .  
      The base  32  includes a rectangular bottom surface portion  45 , which extends along the front and rear direction, and a pair of side surface portions  46 ,  47 , which extend upward from both lateral ends of the bottom surface portion  45 . The joint portion  44 , which is sandwiched by the clamp  17  of the pedal device  16 , is formed at the front end of the bottom surface portion  45 . The joint portion  44  is formed by a pair of flat portions  44   a  located at the lateral ends of the bottom surface portion  45  and an inclined portion  44   b  located between the flat portions  44   a . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the inclined portion  44   b  is formed by causing the bottom surface portion  45  to slightly project upward by pressing. The inclined portion  44   b  is inclined such that the front end of the inclined portion  44   b  is the highest. Therefore, the joint portion  44  becomes thicker toward the front end, that is, toward the clamp  17 . The thickness of the joint portion  44  refers to the distance between the upper surface of the inclined portion  44   b  and the lower surface of the flat portion  44   a . More specifically, the distance t 1  between the upper surface of the rear end of the inclined portion  44   b  and the lower surface of the rear end of the flat portion  44   a  is shorter than the distance t 2  between the upper surface of the front end of the inclined portion  44   b  and the lower surface of the front end of the flat portion  44   a . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the joint portion  44  is entirely sandwiched by the clamp  17 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 3 , at the rear end of each side surface portion  46 ,  47 , a shaft bore  48 ,  49  into which the bolt  33  is inserted is respectively formed. A bore  56  is formed at the rear end of the bottom surface portion  45  and a bore  57  is formed at the front end of the bottom surface portion  45 .  
      A front leg  51  is located on the lower surface of the bottom surface portion  45  corresponding to the bore  56 . The front leg  51  contacts the floor surface  1   a  to support the front portion of the bass drum  1  with the floor surface  1   a . The front leg  51  is formed into a columnar shape with rubber material. A securing bore  61  having a circular cross-section is formed at the center of the front leg  51  as shown in  FIG. 5 . The securing bore  61  extends in the vertical direction through the front leg  51 . The inner diameter of the upper portion of the securing bore  61  is set smaller than the inner diameter of the lower portion of the securing bore  61 . A flat washer  62 , a spring washer  63 , and a hexagonal nut  64  are sequentially inserted in the securing bore  61  from below. A bolt  54  is inserted in the securing bore  61  via the bore  56  from above the bottom surface portion  45 . The bolt  54  is screwed to the hexagonal nut  64  via the washers  62 ,  63  so that the front leg  51  is secured to the bottom surface portion  45 .  
      Two shock absorbing members  52 ,  53  are located at a position of the bottom surface portion  45  corresponding to the bore  57  to sandwich the upper and lower surfaces of the bottom surface portion  45 . The shock absorbing member  52  is formed of rubber material into a columnar shape and is located on the upper surface of the bottom surface portion  45 . A securing bore  66  having a circular cross-section is formed at the center of the shock absorbing member  52 . The securing bore  66  extends in the vertical direction through the shock absorbing member  52 . The inner diameter of the upper portion of the securing bore  66  is set greater than the inner diameter of the lower portion of the securing bore  66 . A flat washer  68 , a spring washer  69 , and a hexagonal nut  71  are sequentially inserted in the securing bore  66  from above.  
      The shock absorbing member  53  is formed of rubber material into a columnar shape and is located on the lower surface of the bottom surface portion  45 . A securing bore  67  having a circular cross-section is formed at the center of the shock absorbing member  53 . The securing bore  67  extends in the vertical direction through the shock absorbing member  53 . The inner diameter of the upper portion of the securing bore  67  is set smaller than the inner diameter of the lower portion of the securing bore  67 . A flat washer  72  is inserted in the securing bore  67  from below. A bolt  55  is inserted in the securing bore  66  via the securing bore  67  and the bore  57  from below the shock absorbing member  53 . The bolt  55  is screwed to the hexagonal nut  71  via the washers  68 ,  69 ,  72  so that the shock absorbing members  52 ,  53  are secured to the bottom surface portion  45 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 4 , the coupling portions  35 ,  36  are arranged to cover the side surface portions  46 ,  47  from the outside. Sleeves  81 ,  82  are located between the coupling portions  35 ,  36  and the side surface portions  46 ,  47 , respectively. As shown in  FIG. 3 , a flat washer  83  is located outward of the coupling portion  35 . On the other hand, a flat washer  84 , a spring washer  85 , and a hexagonal cap nut  86  are located outward of the coupling portion  36  in this order from the coupling portion  36 . After the bolt  33  is inserted in the shaft bores  42 ,  48  via the washer  83 , the bolt  33  is inserted in the shaft bores  49 ,  43  and further screwed to the hexagonal cap nut  86  via the washers  84 ,  85 . Accordingly, the body holding frame  31  is coupled to the base  32 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 4 , the internal width W 1  of the body holding frame  31  is wider than the external width W 2  of the base  32  by the thickness of the sleeves  81 ,  82 . The body holding frame  31  is coupled to the base  32  with moderate tightening. The body holding frame  31  and the base  32  are rotatable relative to each other while being supported by the bolt  33 . Since the base  32  rotates with moderate resistance due to the moderate tightening, the base  32  stops at any angular position and can be maintained at that position. Furthermore, in a state where the body holding frame  31  is secured to the drum  1 , the base  32  is rotatable among a coupling position at which the base  32  is coupled to the pedal device  16  as shown by a solid line in  FIG. 6 , a storing position at which the shock absorbing member  53  abuts against the body  2  as shown by a chain double-dashed line in  FIG. 6 , and a position at which the shock absorbing member  52  abuts against the front hoop  5  as shown by a dashed line in  FIG. 6 .  
      As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a securing plate  87  is located at a position in the body  2  of the bass drum  1  corresponding to the mounting portion  34 . The securing plate  87  is formed into a rectangular shape with rounded corners. The securing plate  87  curves in accordance with the inner circumferential surface of the body  2 . Holes  88  are formed at portions of the securing plate  87  corresponding to the holes  37  of the tabs  38 . Holes  2   a  are formed at portions of the body  2  corresponding to the holes  37 ,  88 . A pair of flat washers  89 , a pair of spring washers  91 , and a pair of hexagonal nuts  92  are sequentially provided on the securing plate  87  corresponding to the pair of holes  88 . Bolts  41 , which are inserted in the holes  37  from below the tabs  38 , are inserted in the holes  2   a ,  88  and are further screwed to the hexagonal nuts  92  via the flat washers  89  and the spring washers  91 , respectively. Accordingly, the pedal coupling device  12  is secured to the body  2 .  
      The pedal device  16  is detachable from the pedal coupling device  12  by releasing the joint portion  44  from the clamp  17  by loosening the fastening bolt  21  of the clamp  17 . When storing or carrying the bass drum  1 , after separating the pedal device  16  from the pedal coupling device  12 , the base  32  is rotated rearward from the coupling position to the storing position. Further, the two rear legs  11  are detached from the body  2  by loosening the fastening bolts  14 . At this time, the shock absorbing member  53  abuts against the body  2 , thereby preventing the base  32  from contacting and damaging the body  2 .  
      Furthermore, if the base  32  is rotated forward to the position shown by the dashed line in  FIG. 6  when the pedal device  16  is separated from the pedal coupling device  12 , the shock absorbing member  52  of the base  32  abuts against the front hoop  5 . Therefore, the base  32  is prevented from contacting and damaging the front hoop  5 . In the same manner, when the rear portion of the bass drum  1  is lifted while the bass drum  1  is supported on the floor surface  1   a , the shock absorbing member  52  of the base  32  abuts against the front hoop  5 , thereby preventing the base  32  from contacting and damaging the front hoop  5 .  
      The preferred embodiment provides the following advantages.  
      (1) The body holding frame  31  and the base  32  are coupled to rotate relative to each other with the bolt  33 . Therefore, the body  2 , to which the pedal coupling device  12  is attached, is rotatable about the bolt  33 . The rear portion of the bass drum  1  is slightly lifted so that the bass drum  1  is tilted forward, that is, toward the player to prevent the bass drum  1  from moving rearward due to hitting force of the beater  27 . According to the pedal coupling device  12  of the preferred embodiment, the inclination angle of the bass drum  1  is easily changed by varying the length of the rear legs  11  to be inserted in the body  2 . Furthermore, the beating spot of the beater  27  on the front head  3  and the stroke of the beater  27  are easily adjusted in accordance with the inclination angle of the bass drum  1 .  
      (2) In a state where the body holding frame  31  is secured to the drum  1 , the base  32  is rotatable between the coupling position and the storing position. Furthermore, the base  32  that is rotated to the storing position is maintained at the storing position with the moderate tightening. Rotating the base  32  to the storing position when storing or carrying the bass drum  1  enables compact storage of the pedal coupling device  12 . Thus, the pedal coupling device  12  is suitable for storing and carrying the bass drum  1 .  
      (3) The rubber cushions  15  are attached to the distal ends of the rear legs  11  and the front legs  51  are made of rubber material. This prevents part of vibration of the body  2  from being transmitted to the floor during a performance and vibration energy of the body  2  from being reduced. As a result, the original sound of the bass drum  1  is easily obtained.  
      (4) The pedal coupling device  12  is secured to the body  2  without clamping the hoop  5  and is coupled to the pedal device  16 . Therefore, vibration of the body  2  is prevented from being transmitted to the floor via the clamp  17 , and the hoop  5  is prevented from being damaged by clamping. Furthermore, the hoop  5  is prevented from being deformed by the hitting force of the beater  27 . This prevents the sound of the bass drum  1  from being changed or the head  3  from becoming untuned due to deformation of the hoop  5 .  
      In addition to preventing the hoop  5  from being deformed even when there is repeated hitting with the beater  27 , the pedal device  16  is stably mounted to the bass drum  1  as compared to the conventional pedal device, which is mounted to the bass drum  1  by clamping the hoop  5 .  
      (5) The joint portion  44  becomes thicker toward the clamp  17  and is entirely sandwiched by the clamp  17 . Therefore, when the bass drum  1  is pressed rearward by the hitting force of the beater  27 , the front end of the joint portion  44  engages with the clamp  17 . Thus, as compared to a case where the front end and the rear end are formed to have the same thickness, the joint portion  44  prevents the bass drum  1  from moving rearward due to the hitting force of the beater  27 . This prevents the pedal coupling device  12  from being separated from the pedal device  16  during a performance. Furthermore, the clamp  17  is prevented from being disengaged from the joint portion  44  in an unexpected manner without further providing a structure for preventing the clamp  17  from being disengaged from the joint portion  44 , for example, without providing antislip asperities on the surface of the joint portion  44 .  
      (6) The inclined portion  44   b  of the joint portion  44  is formed by pressing the bottom surface portion  45 . Therefore, another member does not need to be added to the bottom surface portion  45  to form the inclined portion  44   b . This facilitates the formation of the inclined portion  44   b.    
      (7) The body holding frame  31  is coupled to the base  32  with the bolt  33  and the hexagonal cap nut  86 . Therefore, according to the pedal coupling device  12 , the body holding frame  31  is easily exchanged with another body holding frame having a different distance between the mounting portion  34  and the shaft bores  42 ,  43  by releasing the bolt  33  from the hexagonal cap nut  86 . Thus, the lift amount of the bass drum  1 , that is, the distance between the body  2  and the floor surface  1   a  is easily changed.  
      (8) The shock absorbing members  52 ,  53  are secured to the bottom surface portion  45  of the base  32 . Therefore, when rotating the base  32 , the hoop  5  and the body  2  are prevented from being damaged by the base  32  in an unexpected manner.  
      The above embodiment may be modified as follows.  
      The bolt  33  may be omitted. Instead, a shaft may be formed by a pair of engaging projections provided on the inner surfaces of the coupling portions  35 ,  36  and a pair of engaging recesses provided on the outer surfaces of the side surface portions  46 ,  47 . The engaging recesses are then engaged with the engaging projections. In this case, washers may be attached to the engaging projections before the engaging projections are engaged with the engaging recesses as required.  
      The body holding frame  31  and the base  32  may be coupled with a pair of bolts. That is, a bolt may be inserted in the shaft bores  42 ,  48  and another bolt may be inserted in the shaft bores  43 ,  49 .  
      The shape of the mounting portion  34  may be changed to, for example, a disk-like shape. The mounting portion  34  may also be divided into two at the center. Furthermore, an elastic body such as a rubber sheet may be provided on the upper surface of the mounting portion  34 . Furthermore, the mounting portion  34  may be omitted. In this case, the tabs  38  project from the coupling portions  35 ,  36  and function also as the mounting portion  34 . These changes are made taking into consideration the necessity for the body holding frame  31  to have the strength to hold the body  2  and the resonance of the body  2  and the body holding frame  31 .  
      The shape of the coupling portions  35 ,  36  may be a semicircle. The distance between the mounting portion  34  and the shaft bores  42 ,  43  may be changed as required.  
      The distance between the mounting portion  34  and the bolt  33  may be designed to be variable using the coupling portions  35 ,  36 . For example, each coupling portion  35 ,  36  may be formed by two overlapping plate members. A slit is then formed in each plate member to extend in the vertical direction. A bolt is inserted through the slits of the overlapping plate members and a nut is screwed to the bolt. In this case, the distance between the mounting portion  34  and the bolt  33  is changed by changing the position of the bolt to be inserted in the slits.  
      The shock absorbing member  53  may be omitted. In this case, the securing position of the front leg  51  on the bottom surface portion  45  may be changed such that the front leg  51  functions also as the shock absorbing member  53 .  
      The height of the front leg  51  and the shock absorbing members  52 ,  53  may be changed. The front leg  51  and the shock absorbing members  52 ,  53  may be formed of elastic material other than rubber material.  
      Antislip asperities may be formed on the surface of the joint portion  44 . In this case, the clamp  17  is further reliably prevented from being disengaged from the joint portion  44  in an unexpected manner.  
      Therefore, the present examples and embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalence of the appended claims.