Bass Drum Striking Attachment Partial Fixation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional bass drums with vibration-absorbing members attached to the entire drumhead surface suffer from impaired movability, resulting in muffled sounds and damage to the drumhead, which prevents the generation of clear attack sounds necessary for effective rhythm and performance.

Innovation Solution

A bass drum design where a striking surface attachment is partially fixed to the drumhead, specifically with a lower stiffness and higher specific gravity material, allowing for deep bass sound reinforcement while maintaining clear attack, and featuring a front head with an air vent to enhance sound decay.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a vibration-absorbing member is attached to the entire surface of the drumhead, then deep bass sound is emphasized, but the movability of the drumhead is impaired resulting in muffled sounds

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedeep bass soundVSAvoidmovability of drumhead
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The vibration-absorbing member is segmented into multiple independent portions rather than being a single continuous attachment. Each portion is independently attached to the drumhead at different locations, allowing different regions of the drumhead to maintain varying degrees of freedom and movability while still providing vibration absorption across the surface.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different portions of the vibration-absorbing member are attached to different locations on the drumhead, creating local variations in vibration absorption characteristics. This allows the drumhead to have enhanced bass response in certain areas while maintaining natural vibration and attack characteristics in other areas.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If a rubber sheet is used as the vibration-absorbing member and fixed to the entire drumhead surface, then deep bass sound is provided, but the drumhead suffers significant damage preventing clear attack sounds

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedeep bass soundVSAvoiddrumhead integrity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The rubber sheet vibration-absorbing member is divided into multiple portions that are separately attached to the drumhead. This segmentation reduces the total adhesive bonding area and distributes the stress more evenly, preventing the significant damage that would occur with a single large attachment while still providing effective vibration absorption for deep bass sound.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If the entire surface of the vibration-absorbing member is fixed to the drumhead, then deep bass sound is achieved, but attack sound becomes muffled due to impaired drumhead movement

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedeep bass soundVSAvoidmuffled attack sound
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

By dividing the vibration-absorbing member into multiple portions attached at different locations, the drumhead retains natural movement capability in the central and unattached regions. This allows the drumhead to respond sharply to initial strikes producing clear attack sounds, while the attached portions provide vibration absorption to enhance bass response.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of attaching the vibration-absorbing member to the entire drumhead surface, only specific portions are attached. This partial action provides sufficient vibration absorption to enhance bass sound while leaving enough of the drumhead surface free to vibrate naturally and produce clear attack sounds.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The bass drum achieves a balance of deep bass sound and clear attack, maintaining durability and sound quality similar to conventional drums, with the ability to selectively adjust attachments for varying performance needs.

Implementation Method 1

a striking surface attachment which is placed on a reverse side of the drumhead and wherein at least a part of an outer area of the striking surface attachment is fixed to the drumhead as a fixing portion without fixing a central area of the striking surface attachment to the drumhead

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectVibration: Vibration

Implementation Method 2

featuring a front head with an air vent to enhance sound decay

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectAir pressure equalization: Pressure Gradient

Data Source

PatentEP2709099B1Bass drum
Publication Date: 2020.05.20 YAMAHA CORP
  • EP2709099B1 patent drawingFigure 1(a)~1(b)
  • EP2709099B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2709099B1 patent drawingFigure 4(a)~4(c)

AI summary

A bass drum 10 has a hollow cylindrical shell 11, a drumhead 12 mounted on an opening end of the shell 11 to form a striking surface, and a striking surface attachment 13 provided on the reverse side of the drumhead 12. The striking surface attachment 13 is formed of an elastic sheet. At least a part of an outer area of the striking surface attachment 13 is fixed to the drumhead 12 and a central area of the striking surface attachment 13 is not fixed to the drumhead 12. As a result, the bass drum 10 can generate a struck sound having both deep bass sound and clear attack.