Abstract:
A cosmetic skin covering for a musical instrument carrier is disclosed. The cosmetic covering provides the advantages of allowing carriers to be fabricated in only one color, and prior to shipment applying the cosmetic skin to the external surface to provide customization for each consumer. Some bands may have carriers of different colors, and the skins can be applied all carries used by the band to provide a uniform appearance of the band members. The cosmetic skins are removable and or repositionable on the carrier to allow for changes, alteration, upgrade or variation of the carrier with minimal cost. The skin may be printed with a single color, multi-color pattern, school logo insignia or other indicia.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus for carrying percussion instruments, with temporary cosmetic skins covering all or some of the carrier to allow for customization, uniformity and a reduction in inventory. More particularly, the present invention relates to a temporary cosmetic covering skin that can be placed on the front of the instrument carrier, shoulder straps, back member, other visible areas and parts of a musical instrument to provide for customizing the carrier and or musical instrument without requiring each carrier to be custom fabricated in the desired color or theme.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Prior art discloses many examples of apparatus for supporting percussion instruments, and other prior art patents disclose protective or covering skins but none providing the combination of features disclosed and claimed herein.  
         [0003]     Ogle et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,578 discloses a process for manufacturing a protective skin for resurfacing reusable beverage containers. The process involves measuring the container and making a skin that can be wrapped around the beverage container. This patent is not intended for covering musical instruments carriers, nor does it provide the customization that allows schools or bands to have a uniform appearance.  
         [0004]     Richards U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,303 discloses a removable display surface cover for beverage containers. This patent requires an adhesive or Velcro pad to keep the removable surface on the beverage container. This patent is not intended for covering musical instrument carriers, nor does it provide the customization that allows schools or bands to have a uniform appearance.  
         [0005]     Web sites visionskins.com, miamiskins.com and others disclose skins for handheld consumer products such as MP3 players, cell phones and PDA&#39;s. These skins are sold to customize the products to differentiate one product from another. While these products are for skins that cover small consumer products, they are not intended for use with instrument carriers, nor are they intended to cover musical instruments. They are also sold to customize each handheld product, and are not intended to cover a quantity of products to make them all appear uniform.  
         [0006]     La Flame U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,683 discloses a carrier for percussion instruments having an abdominal plate connected at one end of a unitary frame partly encircling the wearer at the waist and having an upstanding rear portion pivotally connected to a back pressure plate. Shoulder bars are connected to the back pressure plate, and wrap about shoulders and support straps connect to the abdominal plate, which has suitable fixtures for attachment of various percussion instruments. This invention does not disclose a cosmetic skin or covering that can change the appearance of external portions of the carrier.  
         [0007]     May U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,691,492, 6,028,257, 6,323,407, 6,329,583 and 6,403,869 disclose various hardware for supporting percussion instruments and drums. The carriers disclosed in these patents cover vest type, T-bar and tubular constructed carrier that are constructed with surfaces that are molded or formed with a single color. These patents don&#39;t disclose covering a section of the carrier with a removable skin covering, but all of them could benefit from the skin covering disclosed herein.  
         [0008]     The prior art discloses many examples of apparatus for supporting percussion instruments, removable or skin coverings, but none provide the combination of these two features as disclosed and claimed.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     One of the objects of the instrument carrier with skins is to provide a new and improved carrier that allows for the carrier to be easily customized for bands such that the carriers can all have a similar appearance and or color scheme.  
         [0010]     Another object of the instrument carrier with skins is to provide a colored or custom skin covering for musical instrument carriers that have been pre-cut to fit the various parts of the carrier. These pre-cut parts can include coverings for the belly plate, back member, shoulder straps, clamps and tubes.  
         [0011]     Another object is to provide skins that are available in basic colors, patterns as well as making the skins available as full custom markings with a logo, slogan or design. This allows the basic carrier to take on new visual appearance with minimal cost to the user.  
         [0012]     Another object is to provide skin material that can be temporarily installed, repositioned and removed without leaving an adhesive residue. The skin is made from a resilient conforming material that can be easily placed and spread over the surface of a carrier and it will conform to the shape of the carrier. Air bubbles that are trapped under the material can be easily pushed out to provide a smooth skin covering. Due to the adhesive used to bond the skin to the carrier, the skin can be removed and repositioned if placement of the skin on the carrier is not ideal.  
         [0013]     Another object carrier with skin coverings is to provide skins for an instrument carrier that can also be used with musical instruments. Additional or supplemental skin covering material can be provided for covering a portion of a musical instrument. This could ideally be used with instruments with large semi-flat or curved surfaces such as drums. The skin on the musical instrument carrier and the skin on the musical instrument can be the same, complimentary or contrasting colors. A further advantage of placing a skin on a natural wood instrument is for improved humidity and moisture resistance with minimal effect on the sonic properties of the instrument.  
         [0014]     Another object of the skin covering is the ability to modify the appearance of older carriers such they have a new or uniform appearance with newer carriers. In addition to the ability to upgrade or make the carriers appear more consistent, carriers can all be fabricated in a single color, and when an order is placed for a custom colored instrument carrier, the skin of the desired color can be added to the carrier to allow for custom colored carriers as they are being packaged for shipment.  
         [0015]     Still another object of the instrument carrier with skin is to provide the skin with material that can glow in the dark, reflect light, change, color, and or contain lights to add additional visual appearance to the carriers.  
         [0016]     Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a vest type carrier shown with removable skin coverings on the carrier.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of a T-bar type carrier shown with removable skin coverings on the carrier.  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is an isometric view of a tubular construction type carrier shown with removable skin coverings on the carrier.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is an isometric view of a vest type carrier with adjustable shoulder and back members with removable skin coverings.  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is an isometric view of a drum with a skin on the drum head and on the shell of the drum.  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is an isometric view of a belly plate label that is used with the carrier shown in  FIG. 2  showing one embodiment of construction of the skin.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0023]      FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a vest type carrier shown with removable skin coverings. This figure shows a vest or harness-type supporting member or carrier  1  for percussion instruments which comprises a vest portion  10 , shoulder straps  20  and back bar  30 . A removable and repositionable skin  18  is shown covering the majority of the front surface of the vest  10 . Removable and repositionable skins  28  is shown covering the outer surface of the shoulder straps  20 . Back bar  30  is removably secured to shoulder straps  20  by screws or bolts  31 . Where desired, back bar  30  may be fixed as by welding or the like. A removable and repositionable skin  38  is shown covering the rear facing surface of the back member  30 . Vest portion  10  is removably secured to shoulder straps  20  by screws or bolts  21  and has a pair of J-rod receptacles  40  secured by screws or bolts  42 . J-rods  50  are supported in receptacles  40  and secured in position by T-bolts or set screws  44 . Shoulder straps  20  have pads  25  to cushion the load of the instruments carried by carrier  1 .  
         [0024]     The materials of construction used in this carrier are very important for achieving the desired result. The vest portion  10  is preferably a strong, light-weight composite material such as Fiberglas®. Back bar  30  and shoulder straps  20  are rigid and made of a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium. Some prior art vests of this type have been of a one-piece Fiberglas®. construction. There were incidents of failure of the shoulder straps from repeated flexing. The metal shoulder straps do not fail in flexure and also have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated. The vest portion  10  can be of a single size and separate shoulder straps  20  of differing radii for small, medium, large or extra large size. The cushions  25  are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets. Cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film. A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to backing strip to enclose separate blocks. The blocks are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded. It should be noted that shoulder straps  20  may be made adjustable as in  FIG. 3 . J-rod supports may be made adjustable by loosening the set screws  44  and sliding the J-rods  50  in the clamps  40 . The skins are used to provide a temporary covering of the carrier. The temporary covering provides the benefit of allowing the carriers to provide a uniform appearance. It can also be used with a logo, slogan, school colors or other indicia that unifies the members wearing the carrier. Another advantage of the skin covering is to reduce the inventory of carriers in a variety of colors and styles. Using the skins, carriers can all be fabricated in a single color, and the skins can be added as the carriers are shipped, or the skins can be shipped separately and applied by the band members.  
         [0025]     Operation  
         [0026]     The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier  1  is worn by the musician with the shoulder straps  20  positioned over the shoulders and the vest  10  supported against his abdomen. Pads  25  on shoulder straps  20  cushion the load of the instruments carried by carrier  1 . Pads may also be used in padding back bar  30  or vest belly plate portion  10 .  
         [0027]     Vest  1  may have suitable padding over its inner surface, as needed, to avoid discomfort from the bolts or screws  21  used to assemble the straps to the vest or bolts or screws  42  used to assemble receptacles  40  on the vest. Back bar  30  may be removed or omitted for the convenience of drummers who prefer an open back as in some prior art drum carriers. J-rods  50  are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening set screws  44 . The short outer ends of the J-rods are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.  
         [0028]     Marching T-Bar Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments  
         [0029]     Referring to  FIG. 2  showing an isometric view of a T-bar type carrier  100  shown with removable skin coverings for percussion instruments which comprises a belly plate  110 , vertical bar  112 , upper horizontal bar  114 , shoulder straps  120  and back bar  130 . Back bar  130  is removably secured to shoulder straps  120  by screws or bolts  131 . Where desired, back bar  130  may be fixed as by welding or the like. Upper horizontal bar  114  is removably secured to shoulder straps  120  by screws or bolts. Upper horizontal bar  114  is removably secured to the upper end of vertical bar  112  by screws or bolts.  
         [0030]     A removable and repositionable skin  108  is shown covering the majority of the front surface of the vertical member  112 . Skin material  118  is shown covering the front surface of the belly plate  110 . Two removable and repositionable skins  117  are shown covering the front surface of the horizontal member  114 . Two removable and repositionable skin  128  are shown covering the outer surface of the shoulder straps  120 . A removable and repositionable skin  138  is shown covering the visible outer surface of the back member  130 . Skin material  152  is shown wrapped around parts of the J-rods.  150 .  
         [0031]     Belly plate  110  is removably secured to the lower end of vertical bar  112  by screws or bolts. A pair of J-rod receptacles  140  are secured on belly plate  110  by screws or bolts or the like. J-rods  150  are supported in receptacles  140  and secured in position by T-bolts  144 . Shoulder straps  120  have pads  125  to cushion the load of the instruments carried by T-bar carrier  100 . Pads may further be used in padding back bar  130  or vest belly plate portion  110 .  
         [0032]     The materials of construction used in this carrier  100  are very important for achieving the desired result. The belly plate  110 , vertical bar  112 , upper horizontal bar  114 , shoulder straps  120  and back bar  130  are rigid and made of a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium. The metal shoulder straps have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated. The sub-assembly of the belly plate  110 , vertical bar  112 , upper horizontal bar  114  can be of a single size and separate shoulder straps  120  of differing radii used for small, medium, large or extra large size. The cushions  125  are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets. The cushions are fabricated from one or separate blocks that are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded. It should be noted that shoulder straps  120  may be made adjustable as shown and described in  FIG. 3  as well as other May patents and patent applications. The skins are used to provide a temporary covering of the carrier. The temporary covering provides the benefit of allowing the carriers to provide a uniform appearance. It can also be used with a logo, slogan, school colors or other indicia that unifies the members wearing the carrier. Another advantage of the skin covering is to reduce the inventory of carriers in a variety of colors and styles. Using the skins, carriers can all be fabricated in a single color, and the skins can be added as the carriers are shipped, or the skins can be shipped separately and applied by the band members.  
         [0033]     Operation  
         [0034]     The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier  100  is worn by the musician with the shoulder straps  120  positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate  110  supported against his abdomen. Pads  125  on shoulder straps  120  cushion the load of the instruments carried by carrier  100 . Belly plate  110  and back bar  130  may have suitable padding over inner surfaces, as needed, to avoid discomfort from the bolts or screws  130  used to assemble the straps to the upper horizontal bar  114  or bolts or screws used to assemble belly plate  110  to vertical bar  112 . J-rods  150  are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening T-bolts  144 . The short outer ends of the J-rods are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.  
         [0035]      FIG. 3  is an isometric view of a tubular construction type carrier shown with removable skin coverings on the carrier  200 . This figure shows a tubular carrier with a hinge connection located in the front of the carrier. Lower  202  and upper  206  vertical supporting rods or tubes. Lower rod or tube  202  is U-shaped with parallel portions  203  and  204  supporting belly plate  210 . Upper rod or tube  206  is U-shaped with legs  207  and  208  having out-turned portions  205  and  209  supporting rigid shoulder straps  220  and back bar  230 . Back bar  230  may be removably secured to shoulder straps  220  or may be fixed as by welding or the like. Shoulder straps  220 , and back bar  230  have cushions  225 ,  226  and  227 . The cushions are of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets and are shown in more detail in issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,257. The cushions have a backing strip of polyvinyl plastic film. A thin sheet of polyvinyl film encloses blocks of closed pore plastic (e.g., polystyrene or polyurethane) foam and is sealed to the backing strip to enclose separate blocks which are separately compressible and provide more comfort to the wearer of the carrier when fully loaded. Belly plate  210  is removably secured on the lower ends  203  and  204  of vertical rod or tube  202  by clamping receptacles  240 . J-rod receptacles  250  are secured on belly plate  210  in slots  215  by screws, bolts, or the like. J-rods  250  are secured in receptacles  240  by bolts  242 . The upper, out-turned ends  205  and  209  of supporting rod or tube  206  are supported in clamping receptacles  223  on shoulder straps  220 . A clamp  217  holds rods or tubes  202  and  206  in an articulated relation to permit angular flexing.  
         [0036]     A removable and repositionable skins  218  is shown covering the majority of the front surface of the belly plate member  210 . Two removable and repositionable skin  228  are shown covering the outer surface of the shoulder straps  220 . Skin material  252  is shown wrapped around parts of the tubes. Skin material  253  is shown covering the connecting member  217  that connects the upper tube  206  and the lower tube  202 .  
         [0037]     The materials of construction used in this carrier  200  are very important for achieving the desired result. The belly plate  210 , supporting rods or tubes  202  and  206 , shoulder straps  220  and back bar  230  are rigid and made of a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium. The metal shoulder straps have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated.  
         [0038]     Operation  
         [0039]     The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier  200  is worn by the musician with the shoulder straps  220  positioned over the shoulders and the belly plate  210  supported against the abdomen. J-rods  250  are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening bolts  242 . The short outer ends of the J-rods  250  are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.  
         [0040]     The carrier is adjustable to the comfort of the wearer and also to fit different sized instruments. Clamp-receptacles  223  permit pivotal, lateral and angular adjustment of shoulder straps  220  on the out-turned ends  205  and  209  of rod or tube  206 . Clamp-receptacles  240  permit vertical sliding adjustment of rod or tube  202 . Slots  215  in belly plate  210  allow lateral adjustment of clamp-receptacles  240  and angular adjustment of J-rods  250  supported therein.  
         [0041]     The skins are used to provide a temporary covering of the carrier. The temporary covering provides the benefit of allowing the carriers to provide a uniform appearance. It can also be used with a logo, slogan, school colors or other indicia that unifies the members wearing the carrier. Another advantage of the skin covering is to reduce the inventory of carriers in a variety of colors and styles. Using the skins, carriers can all be fabricated in a single color, and the skins can be added as the carriers are shipped, or the skins can be shipped separately and applied by the band members.  
         [0042]     Adjustable Marching Vest Support for Drums and Other Percussion Instruments  
         [0043]     Referring to  FIG. 4  that shows an isometric view of a vest type carrier  300  with adjustable shoulder and back members with removable skin coverings. The carrier for percussion instruments comprises a vest portion  310 , shoulder straps  320  and back bar  330 . Back bar  330  is removably secured to shoulder straps  320  by screws or bolts  325  and has padding  327 . Vest portion  310  is adjustably and removably secured to shoulder straps  320  by screws or bolts  321  which extend through elongated slots  322  which permits adjustment of the straps  320  relative to vest portion  310 . Shoulder straps  320  have pads  329  to cushion the load of the instruments carried by carrier  300 .  
         [0044]     Vest portion  310  has a pair of J-rod receptacles  340  secured by screws or bolts  347 . J-rods  350  are supported in receptacles  340  and secured in position by square head bolts  346  which may be operated by a drum key (not shown). Receptacles  340  are cast or extruded and have an open edge portion which can flex to clamp J-rods  350  adjustably. Receptacles  340  have an inner surface that is polygonal, in this case, hexagonal, in section which provides a plurality (in this case five) of surfaces which clamp the surface of the J-rods  350 . This is a superior clamping arrangement to set screws that provide only one or two point clamping contact. Holes in the base of each receptacle are used for mounting by means of bolts or screws or the like. Aligned holes receive clamping screws  347  which operate on adjustment to clamp or to release the J-rod  350 .  
         [0045]     A removable and repositionable skins  318  is shown covering the majority of the front surface of the belly plate member  310 . Two removable and repositionable skin  328  are shown covering a strip on the outer surface of the shoulder straps  320 . Skin material  352  is shown wrapped around parts of the tubes. Skin material  338  is shown covering the back member  330  that connects across the shoulder straps  320 . A removable and repositionable skins  342  is shown covering the outer portion of the clamps  340 .  
         [0046]     The materials of construction used in this carrier  300  are very important for achieving the desired result. The vest portion  310  is preferably a strong, light-weight composite material such as Fiberglas®. Back bar  330  and shoulder straps  320  are rigid and made of a light metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium. Some prior art vests of this type have been of a one-piece Fiberglas®. construction. There were incidents of failure of the shoulder straps from repeated flexing. The metal shoulder straps do not fail in flexure and also have the advantage that different sizes are readily accommodated. The vest portion  310  can be of a single size and separate shoulder straps  320  of differing radii for small, medium, large or extra large size may be used or the straps  320  may be adjustable is in the additional embodiments described below. The cushions  327  and  329  may be of a type used to pad the interior of football and other sports helmets as previously described.  
         [0047]     Operation  
         [0048]     The operation of this carrier should be apparent but will be described briefly for clarity. The carrier  300  is worn by the musician with the shoulder straps  320  positioned over the shoulders and the vest  310  supported against his abdomen. Pads  329  on shoulder straps  320  and back bar  327  cushion the load of the instruments carried by carrier  300 . The straps  320  are adjustable by means of slots  322  and screws  321  and the J-rods  350  are adjustable in position by means of receptacles  340  and adjustment screws  342 .  
         [0049]     Vest  310  may have suitable padding  311  over its inner surface, as needed, at the belly plate or at suitable locations to avoid discomfort from the bolts or screws  321  used to assemble the straps to the vest or bolts or screws  347  used to assemble receptacles  340  on the vest. J-rods  350  are inserted in position and secured in place by tightening set screws  346 . The short outer ends of the J-rods are inserted into the J-rod receptacles on the percussion instrument being carried, e.g., drums (single or array), cymbals, xylophone, marimba, or the like.  
         [0050]     The skins are used to provide a temporary covering of the carrier. The temporary covering provides the benefit of allowing the carriers to provide a uniform appearance. It can also be used with a logo, slogan, school colors or other indicia that unifies the members wearing the carrier. Another advantage of the skin covering is to reduce the inventory of carriers in a variety of colors and styles. Using the skins, carriers can all be fabricated in a single color, and the skins can be added as the carriers are shipped, or the skins can be shipped separately and applied by the band members.  
         [0051]      FIG. 5  shows an isometric view of a drum with skins on the drum head and the shell of the drum. In this view, the drum has drumheads  444  on opposite sides secured by drum clamps  445  to rim  446 . Adaptor plates or fixtures of various types can be used to secure the drum to the carrier. Adapter that are suitable for this purpose are disclosed in prior May patents and applications. One skin is shown on the drum head  410 . While placing a skin on the drum head may change the sound or sonic properties of the drum slightly, in some cases the cosmetic requirement may be more important than the sound. A second skin  420  is shown wrapped around the drum shell. The skins may be the same color patter or have the same indicia as the skin on the carrier to further provide a uniform appearance to the band. The skin may also provide the benefit of reducing the humidity effects on the drum by providing an additional sealant to a wooden drum.  
         [0052]      FIG. 6  is an isometric view of a belly plate label that is used with the carrier shown in  FIG. 2  showing one embodiment of construction of the skin. In the preferred embodiment, the skin starts with a base material that is suitable thick that it does not tear, yet is stretchable. Material  500  that are suitable for this purpose are manufactured by Avery and others and can be found in white, clear, or colors. In the referred embodiment the material is made from a clear or transparent vinyl. The material  500  is then back or sub-surface printed with the color, logo, insignia or other indicia  520 . An adhesive  530  with low adhesive properties is applied to the back surface of the label. Adhesives that are suitable for this purpose are available by 3M and others. A release liner  540  is applied to the adhesive. The required shape is then die-cut to match each of the parts of the carrier or instrument. Additional material can be made available for use on other locations such as a hat or shoes. It is also contemplated that a portion of the label material can be left un-printed and the owner&#39;s name can be placed under the window of the skin. As an alternate embodiment the skin can be printed on the top surface of the skin. When the printing is performed on the top surface of the skin the printing is more susceptible to damage. Other embodiments of the skin are contemplated such as using printing material that changes color based upon temperature, angle of viewing, holographic images and lighting systems placed in or under the skin. The properties of the adhesive are important because it allows the skin to be moved or re-positioned on the carrier or musical instrument without leaving an adhesive residue. The skins can easily be installed on older carriers and instruments to provide a newer appearance.  
         [0053]     Thus, specific embodiments and applications for a removable cosmetic skin for an instrument carrier that allows for customization of each carrier as well as unity for a group of carriers have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.