Patent ID: 8476515

Claim:
A locking mechanism for a musical percussion instrument comprising a pair of upper and lower cymbals, wherein the lower cymbal is fixedly mounted on a tubular support, and the upper cymbal can be raised or lowered by means of a foot-operated control rod extending within the tubular support, the locking mechanism comprising: a magnetic clutch mechanism mountable on the control rod for releasably bringing said upper cymbal into engagement with the control rod, and wherein the magnetic clutch mechanism includes respective first and second mating surfaces which in their normal position are engaged with each other by magnetic attraction, said mating surfaces being tiltable relative to each other; and wherein said clutch mechanism includes a trip member operable upon actuation to tilt at least one of said mating surfaces so as to at least partially separate mating surfaces and thereby break the engagement and allow said upper cymbal to fall onto said lower cymbal.