US716437A - Pedal and beater attachment for bass drums. - Google Patents

Description

Patented Dec. 23, I902.

A. F. LANGENOHL'. PEDAL AND BEATEB ATTACHMENT FOB BASS DRUMS.

(Application filed I'm. 13, 1902.)

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UNTTE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUST F. LANGENOHL, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

PEDAL AND BEATER ATTACHMENT FOR BASS DRUMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 716,437, dated December 23, 1902.

Application filed January 13, 1902- Serial No. 89,571. (No model.)

To all whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUST F. LANGENOHL, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Pedal and BeaterAttachments for Bass Drums, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the pedal and beater attachments for a bass drum and combined cymbal, and has for its object to regulate and improve the tone of the drum and cymbal and to enable the parts to be quickly applied to and adjusted or removed from the drum, as desired.

The invention consists in features of novelty, as hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, whereon Figure 1 is a front end elevation of a bass drum having my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2, a top plan thereof; Fig. 3, afrontview, to enlarged scale, of the lever, having the drum and cymbal beaters, with its fulcrum and attachment to the drum, (broken away;) Fig. 4, a top plan of the same as seen in Fig. 2, enlarged; Fig. 5, a side view thereof omitting the cymbal-beater and its appendages; Fig. 6, a front view, to enlarged scale, of the cymbal-holder, with its attachment to the drum, (broken away,) as seen in Fig. 1; Fig. 7, a cross-section thereof on line 77 in Fig. 6; Fig. 8, a top plan of the same; and Fig. 9, a cross-sectionithrough the holder on line 9 9 in Fig. 6, showing the attachment of the cymbal (broken away) thereto.

Like letters and numerals of reference denote like parts in all the figures.

D represents a bass drum having the usual heads 1, shell 2, hoops 3 3, and drum-rods 4:. The drum D is supported in the upright position of the heads 1 at a suitable distance from the floor by legs a, which incline downward and outward from the drum D and are formed at the top with jaws 5, which straddle the outer edge portions of the hoops 3 3 and are preferably removably secured thereto by set-screws 5, the lower ends of the legs ct bearing on the floor, whereby the ordinary wood support for the drum is dispensed with and the tone of the drum improved.

1) represents the pedal, which is preferably made in two parts-to wit, the sole part 6 and the heel part 7hinged together to form the complete pedal on the bent free end circular portions of two opposite rods or brackets 8, one on each side of the sole part 6, each rod Sbeing hinged at its other end, adjacent to the drum D, to a holder 9, having a jaw 9', which straddles the bottom edge portion of the hoop 3 and is removably secured thereto by a set-screw 10, whereby the rods 8, between which in the operation of the drum D the sole part 6 of the pedal 1) plays, can be extended with the latter and heel part 7 into a horizontal position or turned up out of the way toward the drum-head 1 when not in use. The pedal 17 is connected by a cord or chain 11 in the usual manner to a lever c of the first order, which is preferablypivoted on a pin 12, between the sides or branches of a bifurcated fulcrum 13, the pin 12 passing through the said sides and lever c and having at one end a head 12, which bears against the corresponding side of the fulcrum 13,whileits other end is screw-th readed into the other side of the fulcrum 13,Whereby on turning the pin 12 byits head 12 the sides ofthe fulcrum 13 are more or less constrained toward each other, and thereby take up any undue lateral play of the lever c on its pin 12 for maintaining a steady and uniform movement of the lever c in the plane of its vibration. Each side of the fulcrum 13 is preferably formed with a jaw 13, which straddles the upper edge portion of the front hoop 3 and is removably secured thereto by a set-screw 14, whereby the lever c, with its fulcrum 13, can be quickly attached to any part, circumferentially, of the hoop 3 without the necessityof drilling holes therethrough, as in the ordinary construction; or, if desired, the fulcrum 13 may be otherwise formed and the lever c pivoted thereto in any suitable manner.

On the lower arm 15 of the lover a, which is preferably circular in cross-section, is fitted the drum-beater d, which is preferably adapted to slide along the arm 15 and may be secured thereto at any desired point, according to the size of the drum D, by a sleeve 16, which surrounds and is movable along the arm 15 and secured thereto bya set-screw 17, the upper end of the sleeve 16 bearing against the lower end of the beater d. The beater d may be of ordinary construction and material, but preferably egg-shaped, composed of a central core 18, of some suitable light and solid material, such as wood, having an envelop19 of felt,which is overlaid with chamois leather 20 or other suitable material, whereby a soft resonant blow is produced on the drum-head 1.

From the upper side or branch of a jaw 21, which straddles and is removably secured by a set-screw 22 to the outer edge portion of the rear hoop 3', opposite to the lever 0, projects part way across the drum D, directly toward the lever c in the plane of its vibration, a preferably-circular rod 23, having its free end adjacent to the upper arm 24 of the lever c, which projects above the front hoop 3 and is connected bya spiral spring 25 to a sleeve 26, which surrounds and is adapted to be moved along the rod 23, to which it is secured at any desired point by a set-screw 27. By this means the initial angle or position of the lever c relatively to the drum-head 1 can be varied for producing a quicker action of the drumbeater d, and thereby improving the tone of the drum and enabling the piano and fortissimo notes to be more easily obtained than by the present construction, in which the lever is set by its spring in one position only.

'6 is the cymbal-holder, which consists of a lug or bracket 28, having a jaw 29, which straddles the outer edge portion of the hoop 3 and is removably secured thereto by a setscrew 30. The stem 31, which depends from the lug 28, is formed at its upper end with a circular shank 32, having a shoulder 33 and rotatably adjustable within a corresponding hole formed through the lug 28, the shoulder 33 hearing against the under side of the lug 28. The stem 31 is secured to the lug 28 by a set-screw 34, which engages in a correspondingly-threaded hole in the upper end of the shank 32 and is formed with a shoulder 35, which when turned home by the action of the screw 34 against the top of the lug 2 tightens the shoulder 33 and stem 31 to the lug 28. The cymbal f issecured to the lower free end of the stem 31 by a set-screw 36, which passes through a central hole in the cymbal f and engages in a threaded hole in the face 37 of the stem 31, a washer 38 being placed around the screw 36, between its shoulder 39 and the cymbalfand between the latter and the face 37. By this construction the holder 6, with the cymbal f, can be attached to any part circumferentially of the hoop 3, and by the swivel movement of the stem 31 in the lug 28 the cymbalfcan be adjusted to any angle or position relatively to the drumhead 1.

The cymbal-beater g is pivoted on and radially adjustable to the lever c, and consists, preferably, of an arm 40, formed at one end with a hub 41, which surrounds and is adapted to be moved along the arm 15 of the lever 0, between its fulcrum and the drum-beater d, the arm 40 projecting from the hub 41 at,

the arm 15, the sleeve 44 being secured to the latter at anydesired point by a set-screw 45. Above the hub 41,at a suitable distance therefrom, is a second sleeve 46, which is also movable along the arm 15 and may be secured thereto at any desired point by a set-screw 47. Surrounding the arm 15, between the sleeve 46 and the hub 41, is a spiral spring 48, which normally presses upon and holds the hub 41 with its teeth 43 in engagement with the teeth 43 of the sleeve 44. By this construction on raising the hub 41 until its teeth 43 are out of engagement with the teeth 43 of the sleeve 44 and adjusting the cymbal-beater g to its desired position radially to the lever c and relatively to the cymbalf the hub 41 is then lowered, so that its teeth 43 rengage with the teeth 43, in which position the hub 41 and cymbal-beater g will be firmly held by the pressure of the spring 48 against the hub 41. By this means also the cymbal-beater g can be turned around the arm 15 out of engagement with the cymbalfand held in that position when the drum is used Without the cymbal.

hat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a bass drum, of a lever having its fulcrum attached to the drum, one arm of the lever having the dru m-beater,a rod fixed at one end to the drum and extending therefrom toward the lever in the plane of its vibration, a sleeve surrounding and movable along the said rod, a spring connecting the sleeve to the other arm of the lever, means for fixing the sleeve to the said rod, and a cord connecting the lever to a pedal having its holder attached to the drum, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a bass drum, of a lever having its fulcrum removably secured to the drum, one arm of the lever having the drum-beater, a rod removably secured at one end to the drum and extending therefrom toward the lever in the plane of its vibration, a sleeve surrounding, and movable along the said rod, a spring connecting the sleeve to the other arm of the lever, means for securing the sleeve to the said rod, and a cord connecting the lever to a pedal having its holder removably secured to the drum, substantially as described.

3. The combination witha bass drum, of a lever, a bifurcated fulcrum straddling the le- Ver and attached to the drum, a pin passing through one side of the said fulcrum and through the lever, the said pin having a head bearing against the said side, and having a screw-threaded end portion engaging in the IIO other side of the fulcrum, one arm of the lever having the drum-beater, a spring connecting the otherarm of the lever to the drum, a suitable pedal, a holder for the pedal, the said holder being attached to the drum, and a cord connecting the pedal to the lever, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination with a bass drum, of two opposite rods hinged at one'end respectively to the drum, and a pedal made in two parts hinged to each other on, and between the other ends of the said rods, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a bass drum, of a lever havingits fulcrum attached to the drum, adru m-beateradapted to slide along thelever, a sleeve surrounding and movable along the lever into engagement with the said beater, and means for fixing the sleeve to the lever, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a bass drum and cymbal, of aleverhaving its fulcrum attached to the drum and having the drum-beater, a spring connecting the lever to the drum, a suitable pedal, a holder for the pedal, the said holder being attached to the drum, a cord connecting the pedal to the lever, a cymbal-beater having an arm pivoted on, and radially adjustable to the lever, the said arm having a hub surrounding, and movable along the lever, teeth on the said hub, two sleeves surrounding, and movable along the lever, one of the said sleeves having teeth adapted to engage the teeth of the hub, a spring between the hub and the other sleeve, and means for fixing the said sleeves to the lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AUGUST F. LANGENOHL.

Witnesses:

G. L. BELFRY, EDW'ARD W. FURRELL.

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