Special effects control for portable musical instrument
First Claim
1. In combination:
- a portable musical instrument having audio-frequency vibration-sensing means responsive to sound-indicating vibrations from said instrument for converting said vibrations into sound-indicating electrical signals;
communication means for communicating said sound-indicating signals to remote audio amplifier means adapted for connection to loudspeaker means;
user-operable first alteration means affixed to said instrument and operable over a range of states for altering said sound-indicating signals over a corresponding range of signal alterations;
generating means associated with said instrument for generating a range of status-indicating electrical signal conditions indicative of the chosen state of said first alteration means;
visual display means adapted for placement remote from said instrument for providing a readily visible indication at the remote location from where the operator is playing the instrument and powered by a source remote from said instrument for producing a plurality of different display conditions; and
display control means responsive to said status-indicating signal conditions for selectively actuating said display means to produce a display condition indicative of said chosen state of operation of said instrument.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A portable musical instrument and associated therewith a radio frequency transmitter for broadcasting to a remote receiver and audio amplifier the sounds generated by the instrument. The user-operated controls vary the sound level sent by the transmitter, vary the mixing of sound levels from pickup groups such as neck and bridge groups of an electrical guitar, and provide control signals for controlling a sound processing unit such as a reverberator associated with the audio power amplifier system. The immediate status of the gain and fader settings is relayed as an ultrasonic modulation on the portable transmitter to actuate unique display conditions in a delay element actuated from the fixed receiver to provide to the user an indication of the status of his settings. Low battery conditions in the transmitter battery unit cause unique signal conditions to be sent to the receiver, resulting in a readily visible warning display configuration. The currently selected mode, e.g., reverberation mode of an associated audio signal processor is also characterized by the unique readily visible display. System control in the portable unit is under microprocessor control, the microprocessor going to a dormant power-conserving mode when changes in instrument status or audio processor mode selection is not being commanded. A low state in the lithium battery in the transmitter system microprocessor results in a unique signal condition being transmitted to the remote unit to provide a corresponding display to warn the user of incipient battery failure.
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Citations
45 Claims
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1. In combination:
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a portable musical instrument having audio-frequency vibration-sensing means responsive to sound-indicating vibrations from said instrument for converting said vibrations into sound-indicating electrical signals; communication means for communicating said sound-indicating signals to remote audio amplifier means adapted for connection to loudspeaker means; user-operable first alteration means affixed to said instrument and operable over a range of states for altering said sound-indicating signals over a corresponding range of signal alterations; generating means associated with said instrument for generating a range of status-indicating electrical signal conditions indicative of the chosen state of said first alteration means; visual display means adapted for placement remote from said instrument for providing a readily visible indication at the remote location from where the operator is playing the instrument and powered by a source remote from said instrument for producing a plurality of different display conditions; and display control means responsive to said status-indicating signal conditions for selectively actuating said display means to produce a display condition indicative of said chosen state of operation of said instrument. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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2. In combination:
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a portable musical instrument having audio-frequency vibration-sensing means responsive to sound-indicating vibrations from said instrument for converting said vibrations into sound-indicating electrical signals, said vibration-sensing means including at least two vibration sensors, each sensor responding to the vibration sensed thereat and producing a corresponding sound-indicating electrical signal condition; user-operable first alteration means affixed to said instrument and operable over a range of states for altering said sound-indicating signals over a corresponding range of signal alterations and including user-operable volume control means operable over a range of states for varying the strength of the sum of said sound-indicating electrical signal conditions and user-operable fader means operable over a range of states for controllably adjusting the relative strengths of said corresponding sound-indicating signal conditions; communication means for communicating said sound-indicating signals to remote audio amplifier means adapted for connection to loudspeaker means; generating means associated with said instrument for generating a range of status-indicating electrical signal conditions indicative of the chosen states of said volume control means and said fader control means; visual display means adapted for placement remote from said instrument for providing a readily visible indication at the remote location from where the operator is playing the instrument and powered by a source remote from said instrument for producing a plurality of different status-indicating display conditions; and display control means responsive to said status-indicating signal conditions for selectively actuating said display means to produce unique display conditions indicative of the state of said volume control means and said fader control means. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28)
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3. A portable musical instrument comprising:
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audio-frequency vibration-sensing means responsive to sound-indicating vibrations from said instrument for converting said vibrations into sound-indicating electrical signals; communication means for communicating said sound-indicating signals to remote audio amplifier means adapted for connection to loudspeaker means; user-operable volume control means affixed to said instrument and operable over a range of states to vary the strength of said sound-indicating signals; generating means affixed to said instrument for generating a range of status-indicating electrical signal conditions indicative of the chosen state of said volume control means; and user-operable command scenting means affixed to said instrument for selectively generating signal-altering commands for transmission via said communication means to audio processing means remote from said instrument and adapted for connection to said amplifier means and operable among a plurality of sound-altering modes for altering the audio signals sent to said loudspeaker means in a plurality of ways responsively to receipt of said signal-altering commands. - View Dependent Claims (5)
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4. A portable musical instrument comprising:
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audio-frequency vibration-sensing means responsive to sound-indicating vibrations from said instrument for converting said vibrations into sound-indicating electrical signals; communication means for communicating said sound-indicating signals to remote audio amplifier means adapted for connection to loudspeaker means; user-operable first alteration means affixed to said instrument and operable over a range of states for altering said sound-indicating signals over a corresponding range of signal alterations; generating means affixed to said instrument for generating a range of status-indicating electrical signal conditions indicative of the chosen state of said first alteration means; and user-operable command selecting means affixed to said instrument and operatively controlling said generating means for selectively generating signal-altering commands for transmission via said communication means to audio processing means adapted for connection to said amplifier means for altering the audio signals sent to said loudspeaker means in a plurality of ways responsively to receipt of said signal-altering commands. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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38. In combination:
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a portable musical instrument having audio-frequency vibration-sensing means responsive to sound-indicating vibrations from said instrument for converting said vibrations into sound-indicating electrical signals; cordless transmitter means affixed to said instrument for communicating said sound-indicating signals to remote receiver means adapted for connection to loudspeaker means; terminal and support means adapted for connection to and support of first battery means on said instrument for supplying power to said transmitter means; generating means affixed to said instrument and responsive to the voltage produced by said first battery means for generating a voltage-status-indicating electrical signal condition indicative of a battery voltage below a given level for transmission by said transmitter; visual display means adapted for placement remote from said instrument and powered by a source remote from said instrument for producing a plurality of different display conditions; and display control means associated with said receiver means for operating said display means to produce a unique low-voltage-indicating display condition responsively to receipt of said voltage-status-indicating signal condition by said receiver means. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41)
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42. In combination:
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a portable musical instrument having audio-frequency vibration-sensing means responsive to sound-indicating vibrations from said instrument for converting said vibrations into sound-indicating electrical signals; cordless transmitter means affixed to said instrument for communicating said sound-indicating signals to remote receiver means adapted for connection to loudspeaker means; terminal and support means adapted for connection to and support of first battery means on said instrument for supplying power to said generating means; user-operable first alteration means affixed to said instrument and operable over a range of states for altering said sound-indicating signals over a corresponding range of signal alterations; generating means associated with said instrument for generating a range of status-indicating electrical signal conditions indicative of the chosen state of said first alteration means; detecting means associated with said generating means and responsive to the voltage produced by said battery for generating a voltage-status-indicating electrical signal condition indicative of a battery voltage below a given level for transmission by said transmitter; visual display means adapted for placement remote from said instrument to be visible to the operator and powered by a source remote from said instrument for producing a plurality of different display conditions; and display control means associated with said receiver means and including means responsive to said status-indicating signal conditions for selectively actuating said display means to produce a display condition indicative of said chosen setting. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45)
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Specification