Tuning device for rimless drums

A tunable, rimless drum usable by a drummer to control pitch comprising:

• a drum head including a supporting frame and a membrane, said membrane having an obverse batter face, a reverse face and an outer periphery, said frame being fixed to and encompassing said outer periphery of said membrane;
• a tuning band having a central axis, said band positioned within said frame and against said reverse face of said membrane, said tuning band including a multiplicity of notches spaced along said band;
• a multiplicity of tuning assemblies engaging said tuning band and said frame, each said assembly including:
• a housing;
• frame retention means on said housing to engage said frame;
• force applying means on said housing contacting said tuning band and including a lever pivotably mounted to said housing and engaging and fitting within said notch of said tuning band to prevent lateral movement of said tuning band relative to said lever, thereby assuring minimal pitch variation after tuning of the drum;
• and
• said tuning assemblies cooperating with one another to force said tuning band toward said frame to thereby stretch said membrane between said band and said frame to selectively change the pitch of said drum head in response to actuation of said force applying means by the drummer.

A rimless drum tuning device actuatable by a drummer and usable with a rimless drum consisting of a head having a membrane with obverse and reverse faces lying substantially within a plane and a supporting frame fixed to and encompassing the membrane and having an inside, outside and upper and lower edges, to permit controlled tuning of the drum head pitch, comprising:

• a tuning band having a lower edge and a central axis and positionable within the frame and against the reverse face of the membrane;
• a multiplicity of tuning assemblies engaging said tuning band, each said assembly including:
• a frame engaging yoke member constructed and arranged to closely restrain the upper edge and inside lower edge of the supporting frame against movement toward said central axis of said band and movement away from said central axis of said band, respectively;
• force applying means movably connected with said yoke member and contacting said tuning band to selectively move said band relative to said assembly and toward the membrane to vary the pitch of the drum head;
• and
• said tuning assemblies cooperating with one another to force said tuning band against the reverse face of the membrane to thereby raise the pitch of the drum head in response to actuation of said force applying means by the drummer.

A tunable, rimless drum usable on a stand by a drummer comprising:

• a drum head including a supporting frame and a membrane lying substantially within a plane, said membrane having an obverse batter face, a reverse face and an outer periphery, said frame having upper and lower edges, an inside and outside, and being fixed to and encompassing said outer periphery of said membrane;
• a tuning band having a central axis and positioned within said frame and against said reverse face of said membrane;
• a multiplicity of tuning assemblies engaging said tuning band and said frame, each said assembly including:
• frame retention means engaging and retaining said frame;
• force applying means contacting said tuning band and including a threaded rod having a rod head at one end thereof, said rod head being positioned adjacent said outside of said frame and above said lower edge of said frame and rotatable by the drummer from above said plane of said membrane so as to permit the drummer to have both visual and direct physical access to said rod head for rapid and convenient tuning rotation of said rod head;
• and
• said tuning assemblies cooperating with one another to move said tuning band relative to said frame to thereby stretch said membrane between said band and said frame to change the pitch of said drum head in response to actuation of said force applying means by the drummer.

A tunable, rimless drum usable by a drummer to tune the drum pitch comprising:

• a drum head including a supporting frame and a membrane said membrane having an obverse batter face, a reverse face and an outer periphery, and said frame being fixed to and encompassing said outer periphery of said membrane;
• a tuning band having a central axis, said band positioned within said frame and against said reverse face of said membrane;
• a multiplicity of tuning assemblies engaging said tuning band and said frame, each said assembly including:
• a housing;
• frame retention means on said housing to engage said frame;
• force applying means on said housing contacting said tuning band and including a lever pivotably mounted to said housing and having a notch engaging and restraining said tuning band to prevent radial movement of said band toward or away from said tuning band axis to prevent movement of the tuning band due to excessive drumming vibration and thereby retain said band at a predetermined spacing from said frame and maintain a substantially unchanging force on said membrane so as to avoid unwanted pitch loss;
• and
• said tuning assemblies cooperating with one another to force said tuning band toward said frame to thereby stretch said membrane between said band and said frame to collectively change the pitch of said drum head in response to actuation of said force applying means by the drummer.