The field of the disclosure relates generally to the use of a standard electronic module in electric stringed musical instruments, such as an electric guitar. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a standard electronic module constructed of a battery component, digital signal processor/printed circuit board, shield box, and printed circuit board wire harness which is fitted into a cavity in an electronic stringed musical instrument body.
As electrical stringed musical instruments become more sophisticated, the electronics of the instruments are controlled largely by computer processors. These processors allow instruments to mimic the tonality, loudness, reverberation and timbre of almost any electronic component. Unlike the electric stringed musical instruments of the past, where changes of on-board electronics were largely the only method of changing the sound of a particular instrument, computerized electronics can allow changes of the sound of an instrument without changing out the electronics or buying a new instrument. However, changing computerized processors of electrical stringed instruments generally requires technical assistance that is costly and time-consuming, or a level of technical expertise beyond that of most musicians.
Therefore, a need exists for a standard electronics module for providing simple and rapid electronic exchange, wherein such a module could be placed into a cavity formed in the instrument body and provide control of all of the electric stringed musical instrument electronics.
In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed toward a standard electronic module for an electric stringed musical instrument comprising a shield box; a main printed circuit board within the shield box, wherein the main printed circuit board comprises at least one connecting mate, further wherein the connecting mate allows electrical connection of the main printed circuit board to a connector printed circuit board; and a battery compartment connected with the shield box, wherein the standard electronic module fits into an integral module cavity within the main body of the electric stringed musical instrument.
The standard electronic module allows different electronic packages to be used in a single electric stringed musical instrument without rewiring the electronics or changing other hardware, such as switches or pickups. This allows a user to quickly change or update the electronics of a specific electric stringed musical instrument without having to purchase anything beyond an updated main printed circuit board or main printed circuit board plus shield box.
Consistent with yet a further aspect of the disclosure, a guitar with the disclosed standard electronic module is claimed.
a and 8b are plan views of the battery compartment of the standard electronic module.
Before describing the exemplary embodiments in detail, it is to be understood that the embodiments are not limited to particular apparatuses or methods, as the apparatuses and methods can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which an embodiment pertains. Many methods and materials similar, modified, or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice of the current embodiments without undue experimentation.
As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” can include plural referents unless the content clearly indicates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component” can include a combination of two or more components.
Exemplary embodiments of the standard electronic module will now be explained with reference to the figures. This description is provided in order to assist in the understanding of the invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the embodiments shown in the figures or described below.
Module cavity 108 is shown in further detail in
Module cavity 108 includes a floor 110 and at least one lateral wall 112 within main guitar body 102. In exemplary embodiments, floor 110 of module cavity 108 has at least one projection 114 (demonstrated in the alternative module cavity of
Connector PCB 126 fits into module cavity 108 as demonstrated by
Standard electronic module 107 containing main PCB 130 is shown removed from the electric stringed musical instrument main body 102 in
As demonstrated in
In some embodiments, cavity adapter 109, such as the one shown in
Cavity adapter 109 further includes at least one opening 117 for receiving a fastener to secure connector PCB 126 to cavity adapter 109 and also at least one opening 119 for receiving a fastener to secure cavity adapter 109 to floor 110 of module cavity 108. The embodiment demonstrated in
As illustrated in
Connecting mate 156 connects main PCB 130 with connector PCB 126. The embodiment of
Battery compartment 160 is positioned on recessed upper edge 120 of module cavity 108 in the embodiment in
Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Exemplary embodiments may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration.
From the above discussion, one skilled in the art can ascertain the essential characteristics of the invention, and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the embodiments to adapt to various uses and conditions. Thus, various modifications of the embodiments, in addition to those shown and described herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. Such modifications are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.
This Application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/407,769, filed Oct. 28, 2010, and PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2011/058451, filed Oct. 28, 2011, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2011/058451 | 10/28/2011 | WO | 00 | 6/21/2013 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2012/058631 | 5/3/2012 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3483303 | Warner | Dec 1969 | A |
3742113 | Cohen | Jun 1973 | A |
4152671 | Tuma et al. | May 1979 | A |
4186641 | Dorfman | Feb 1980 | A |
4215796 | Johnston et al. | Aug 1980 | A |
4425831 | Lipman | Jan 1984 | A |
4472994 | Armstrong | Sep 1984 | A |
4539886 | Hoffart | Sep 1985 | A |
4711149 | Starr | Dec 1987 | A |
4765219 | Alm | Aug 1988 | A |
4829432 | Hershberger et al. | May 1989 | A |
4922382 | Hobbins | May 1990 | A |
4948923 | Suzuki | Aug 1990 | A |
5052269 | Young, Jr. | Oct 1991 | A |
5189241 | Nakamura | Feb 1993 | A |
5353201 | Maeda | Oct 1994 | A |
5391833 | Clement | Feb 1995 | A |
H1503 | Threadgill | Dec 1995 | H |
5483423 | Lewis et al. | Jan 1996 | A |
5656876 | Radley et al. | Aug 1997 | A |
5696669 | Bassler et al. | Dec 1997 | A |
6043422 | Chapman | Mar 2000 | A |
6049468 | Learmonth | Apr 2000 | A |
6088231 | Fajardo | Jul 2000 | A |
6169666 | Venant | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6191950 | Cox et al. | Feb 2001 | B1 |
6323418 | Tiburtius et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6336367 | Raisanen | Jan 2002 | B1 |
6418036 | Rodrigues | Jul 2002 | B1 |
6439927 | Peter et al. | Aug 2002 | B1 |
6674652 | Forte et al. | Jan 2004 | B2 |
6800800 | Giordano et al. | Oct 2004 | B1 |
6822161 | Komatsu et al. | Nov 2004 | B2 |
7005573 | Lionetta et al. | Feb 2006 | B2 |
7105731 | Riedl | Sep 2006 | B1 |
7197149 | Mita et al. | Mar 2007 | B1 |
7256343 | Brubaker et al. | Aug 2007 | B2 |
7442881 | Chien | Oct 2008 | B1 |
7476798 | Beller et al. | Jan 2009 | B1 |
7643310 | Long | Jan 2010 | B2 |
7709749 | Meier | May 2010 | B2 |
7916500 | Shi et al. | Mar 2011 | B2 |
8039764 | Yang | Oct 2011 | B2 |
8149594 | Nishihata | Apr 2012 | B2 |
8169786 | Mangaroo | May 2012 | B2 |
RE43519 | Gnecco et al. | Jul 2012 | E |
8213182 | Aoki et al. | Jul 2012 | B2 |
8294043 | Munoz et al. | Oct 2012 | B2 |
8455750 | Severson | Jun 2013 | B1 |
8614389 | Wallace et al. | Dec 2013 | B2 |
20010002877 | Alina et al. | Jun 2001 | A1 |
20020104670 | Marmel | Aug 2002 | A1 |
20040074380 | Fishman | Apr 2004 | A1 |
20050088835 | Beihoff et al. | Apr 2005 | A9 |
20060086518 | Kawaguchi et al. | Apr 2006 | A1 |
20060174753 | Aisenbrey | Aug 2006 | A1 |
20060217792 | Hussein et al. | Sep 2006 | A1 |
20080245561 | Meier | Oct 2008 | A1 |
20090032300 | Joshi | Feb 2009 | A1 |
20090120682 | Ohtsuji et al. | May 2009 | A1 |
20090211800 | Tsao et al. | Aug 2009 | A1 |
20110255250 | Dinh et al. | Oct 2011 | A1 |
20120281386 | Kim | Nov 2012 | A1 |
20120298414 | Park | Nov 2012 | A1 |
20130201623 | Ellis | Aug 2013 | A1 |
20130284510 | Lo et al. | Oct 2013 | A1 |
20130298751 | Juszkiewicz | Nov 2013 | A1 |
20130308284 | Ou | Nov 2013 | A1 |
20130329381 | Huang et al. | Dec 2013 | A1 |
20140060290 | Wallace et al. | Mar 2014 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20130298751 A1 | Nov 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61407769 | Oct 2010 | US |