Fret lighting device

• US 10,403,167 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2018
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Edge Tech Labs, LLC
• Original Assignee: Edge Tech Labs, LLC
• Inventors: Borko, Brandon, Tolly, John, Masavage, Shaun
• Primary Examiner(s): Lockett, Kimberly R
• Application Number:
  US15/958,571
• Publication Number:
  US 20180308380A1
• Time in Patent Office: 501 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/023 Electrically operated
• CPC Class Codes: G10D 1/02 Bowed or rubbed string instruments, e.g. violins or hurdy-gurdies
• CPC Class Codes: G10D 1/05 with fret boards or fingerboards
• CPC Class Codes: G10D 1/08 Guitars
• CPC Class Codes: G10D 1/085 Mechanical design of electric guitars
• CPC Class Codes: G10D 3/06 Necks; Fingerboards, e.g. fret boards
• CPC Class Codes: G10D 3/22 Material for manufacturing stringed musical instruments; Treatment of the material
• CPC Class Codes: G10G 1/02 Chord or note indicators, fixed or adjustable, for keyboard of fingerboards
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0016 Means for indicating which keys, frets or strings are to be actuated, e.g. using lights or leds
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/051 Fret indicator, e.g. for playing guidance on a string instrument or string instrument emulator

Abstract

A learning device assembly for a stringed instrument includes one or more light strip members, at least one light element in the one or more light strips, a connecting member electrically connected to the one or more light strip members, a controller electrically connected to the connecting member and configured to electrically drive the at least one light element in the one or more light strip members and a computing device communicatively coupled to the controller, the computing device configured to be programmed with or more music arrangements and enable the controller to illuminate one or more of the at least one light element in the one or more light strip members to enable a playing of one or more music arrangements on the stringed instrument.

Claims

1. A learning device assembly for a stringed instrument, comprising:

one or more light strip members that are configured to be removably attached to an exterior facing surface of a fret board of the stringed instrument;

at least one light element in the one or more light strips;

one or more micro-controllers, wherein individual ones of the one or more micro-controller are electrically connected to a corresponding end of a respective one of the one or more light strip members;

a flexible circuit board connecting strip member electrically connected to the one or more micro-controllers, the flexible circuit board connecting strip member being removably attached to an external surface of the stringed instrument along a length of a side of a neck of the stringed instrument;

a controller electrically connected to an end of the flexible circuit board connecting strip member away from an other end of the flexible circuit board strip member electrically connected to the one or more micro-controllers and configured to electrically drive the one or more micro-controllers to drive the at least one light element in the one or more light strip members; and

a computing device communicatively coupled to the controller, the computing device configured to be programmed with one or more music arrangements and enable the controller to cause the one or more micro-controllers to illuminate individual ones of the at least one light element in the respective ones of the one or more light strip members according to a particular one of the one or more music arrangements.

2. The learning device assembly according to claim 1 wherein the at least one light element comprise comprises a Light Emitting Diode (LED).

3. The learning device assembly according to claim 1 wherein the computing device is a mobile communication device that is running an application that is configured to control an illumination of the at least one light element in one or more light strip members according to the particular one of the one or more music arrangements.

4. The learning device assembly according to claim 1 wherein the at least one light element is disposed on one side of the one or more light strip members and an other side of the one or more light strip members comprises an adhesive.

5. The learning device assembly according to claim 1 wherein the one or more light strip members are removably connected to the connecting member.

6. The learning device assembly according to claim 1, wherein the one or more light strip members are configured to be removably disposed on the exterior facing surface of the fret board adjacent to, and horizontally aligned relative to, a fret member of the stringed instrument.

7. The learning device assembly according to claim 6, wherein a number of the one or more light strip members corresponds to a number of frets on the stringed instrument.

8. The learning device assembly according to claim 1 where a light element of the at least one light element is aligned with a respective string of the stringed instrument.

9. The learning device assembly according to claim 8 wherein a number of light elements in a light strip member corresponds to a number of strings of the stringed instrument.

10. The learning device assembly according to claim 1, wherein the at least one microcontroller is configured to drive a respective light element based on non-transitory computer readable instructions received from the controller.

11. The learning device assembly according to claim 10, wherein the at least one microcontroller is configured to illuminate different ones of the at least one light element at different times and for different time periods based on the non-transitory computer readable instructions received from the controller.

12. The learning device assembly according to claim 1, wherein the stringed instrument is selected from the group consisting of a guitar, bass guitar or ukulele.

13. The learning device assembly according to claim 1, wherein the flexible printed circuit board connecting member is configured to wrap at least partially around an exterior facing surface of a neck member of the stringed instrument including a surface radius of a top side of a neck of the stringed instrument.

14. The learning device assembly according to claim 13, wherein the flexible printed circuit board connecting member is arranged perpendicular relative to the one or more light strip members.

15. The learning device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to cause an illumination of different light elements of the at least one light element that correspond to different strings of the string musical instrument as programmed by the mobile application on the computing device and guide the user as to pressing of the different strings to play different chords.

16. The learning device according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to cause an illumination of different light elements of the at least one light element corresponding to one or more of musical instruction or light effects based on programming instructions received from the computing device.

17. The learning device according to claim 1, wherein illumination of the individual ones of the at least one light element follows a pattern that is provided by the computing device.

18. The learning device assembly according to claim 1 where a light element of the at least one light element is configured to be variably positioned relative to a string of the instrument.