Sound effect pedal

• US 8,525,015 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2011
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Timothy D. Armstrong
• Original Assignee: Timothy D. Armstrong
• Inventors: Armstrong, Timothy D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Warren, David S.
• Application Number:
  US13/068,893
• Publication Number:
  US 20120297963A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: 846/44, 846/70, 847/21, 847/46, 381 61- 63, 381/118
• US Class Current: 84/746
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0091 Means for obtaining special acoustic effects combined with modulation G10H1/043
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/348 Switches actuated by parts of the body other than fingers

Abstract

A DC battery powered sound effect pedal housing with sound effect circuitry mounted therein and a battery terminal connector for being connected to battery terminals for powering the circuitry, a base and an adapter frame removably mounted intermediate the housing and the base with the adapter having said frame and an adapter power cord mounted to frame for transmitting DC power to the battery terminal connector whereby a conventional DC battery power sound effect pedal is converted to one being powered from an online AC power source without physically changing the base and housing. A convention power cord is used be powered from an AC power source to provide a DC power output that is plugged into the jack of the adapter power cord.

Claims

1. An adaptor for modifying a string instrument effect pedal for modifying the sound output from a string instrument, comprising a pedal base, a pedal housing mountable to the base, the housing having sound effect circuitry mounted therein and a battery terminal connector connected to the circuitry for transmitting power thereto, and an adapter that includes an adapter frame mountable to be inserted between the base and housing and an adapter power cord mounted to the adapter frame for transmitting DC power to the battery terminal connector, the power cord having a power inlet jack.

2. The adaptor of claim 1 wherein each of the housing, the base and adapter frame has corner portions with more than one of the corner portions having a bore extended through, each bore of the base being aligned with a corresponding bore in each of the adapter frame and housing and a screw extending through each set of aligned bores of the housing, base and adapter frame for removably retaining the housing, base and adapter frame in an assembled condition.

3. The adaptor of claim 2 wherein the housing has a top wall and bottom edges that are in substantially in a common plane that is parallel to the top wall, the adapter frame has opposite walls that are trapezoidal and have top edges that are substantially in a common plane which is parallel to the top wall and abuttable against the housing bottom edges and bottom edges that abut against the base that are in a substantially common plane that is at angle to the plane of the top wall, the screws are extended through the bores of the base and the adapter frame and threaded into the bores of the housing, the adapter frame bores being of a sufficiently larger diameter than the maximum diameter of the housing bores to permit the screws extending at a slightly different angles than when the base is directly mounted to the base without the frame extended between.

4. The adaptor of claim 1 the adapter frame has a front wall, the cord has a DC power jack mountable by the adapter frame, an adapter connector connectable to the battery terminal connector for transmitting power thereto and a cable electrically the power jack to the adapter connector.

5. The adaptor of claim 4 wherein the frame has a front wall, the front wall has an upward opening slot and there is a jack mount mountable in the slot for mounting the jack to the adapter frame.

6. The adaptor of claim 4 wherein the each of the base, the housing and adapter frame is generally rectangular, the adapter frame has a rear wall that is of small height than the front wall and side walls that are of a generally trapezoidal shape that extend between and joined to the front and rear walls.

7. The adaptor of claim 4 wherein the housing has side walls, an inlet jack mounted to one of the housing side walls, connected to the circuitry and adapted for being connected to an electrical guitar to receive an input from the guitar and an output jack mounted to one of the housing side walls, connected to the circuitry and adapted for being connected to an amplifier for transmitting the output of the circuitry to an amplifier.

8. An apparatus for converting a DC battery powered sound effect pedal to an AC powered pedal without physically modifying the DC power pedal which has a base and a bottom opening, a housing removably mounted to the base and having a bottom edge, sound effect circuitry mounted in the housing, a battery terminal connector connectable to a battery for powering the circuitry, a string instrument input jack mounted to the housing and connected to the circuitry, an amplifier output jack mounted to the housing and connected to the circuitry and a switch operatively connected to the circuitry for selectively varying the sound at the output jack, an adapter removably mounted between the base and the housing and having a perimetric frame opening for mounting to each of the base and the open end of the housing, and an adapter power cord mounted to the adapter frame for transmitting DC power to the battery terminal connector, the power cord having a power inlet jack.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the adapter power cord is mounted to the adapter frame by having an inlet jack mount mounting inlet jack, the adpater frame having a jack mount slot for removably mounting the jack mount to have the inlet jack opening exterior of the adapter housing and the power cord has a connector for transmitting power to the battery terminal connector and leads extending within the adapter frame for connecting the inlet jack to the cord connector.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein there are screws for securing the housing, base and adapter frame to one another in an assembled relationship with the adapter frame between the housing and base, each of the housing, base and adapter housing is generally rectangular and have corner portions with bores extended therethrough that are aligned with one another for having screws extended therethrough and are alignable for having the base secured directly to the housing by shorter length screws than those for securing the housing, base and adapter frame to one another.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein one of the adapter frame and housing has alignment notches and the other has alignment flanges, one of the base and adapter frame has an alignment notch and the other has an alignment flange, the flanges and notches being provided to facilitate assembling the housing, base and adapter frame to one another.