The disclosed invention relates to a pedalboard design for the storage, transportation, and use of musical instrument effect pedals.
Many musicians, especially guitarists and bassists, use effect pedal units to modify the sound of their instrument. These effect pedal units (often referred to as ‘effect pedals’ or simply ‘pedals’) are usually activated via a foot-accessible switch in order to leave the musician's arms free to play their instrument. Musicians often use a variety of effect pedals to change the sound of their instrument frequently during a performance. A greater variety of pedals provides more creative choice for the musician but also presents new problems, as the pedals must be connected and organized in a manner that supports their use and often must be transported to various locations.
Pedalboards allow musicians to organize their effect pedals by mounting them to a common surface which can be transported as a single unit. Pedalboards can be as simple as a single board of wood. However, various patents exist (especially in the United States) which describe pedalboard designs more suited to their purpose, notably:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,023B1, John Chandler
U.S. Pat. No. 6,538,185B1, Michael K. Stratton
U.S. Pat. No. 9,659,553B1, Eddie Lawrence
U.S. Pat. No. 9,997,149B2, ChristianRichard Trifilio
U.S. Pa t. No. 10,163,430B2, Danny Ray Jashyn
These designs, along with others, have aimed to improve the ease of use and organization of guitar effect pedals. Although transporting pedals is simplified by using a pedalboard, moving a large collection of pedals can become a cumbersome process. Since pedals must be reached by a musician's foot during use, they are generally arranged as a two dimensional grid on a more or less flat pedalboard. During situations where space is limited (e.g. travel, especially as carry-on luggage) it would be preferable to store the pedals as a vertical stack of such grids which better utilizes vertical space, as seen in larger guitar pedal “racks”. Unfortunately, many of the pedals are not easily accessible in this arrangement. A preferable solution would be a pedalboard which is able to store pedals efficiently upon vertically stacked platforms but which is also easily repositionable into an arrangement which allows for access to the pedals stored on each platform.
Lawrence (U.S. Pat. No. 9,659,553B1) describes an arrangement which accomplishes some of these goals with a sliding drawer design as well as an optional fold-down front wall. While a drawer design allows for a one-dimensional displacement between the pedal platforms, the height of the upper platform remains fixed. A preferable solution would use a mechanism which allows for changes in the height and angle of the upper platform depending on its position either for storage or use. This way a user does not have to compromise between optimal space efficiency and ergonomic use.
The bottom of the pedalboard is flat and unornamented.
The invention describes a pedalboard which allows for the compact storage and transportation of guitar effect pedals while being easily repositionable to an alternate orientation which is less compact but more suited to the ergonomic use of said pedals. The pedals rest on two or more platforms which are positioned above one another while being stored, and then positioned offset from one another during use. Transitions between these positions are accomplished by joining the platforms to each other with pivotable rocker arms, forming a four-bar linkage. Advantageously, the separate pedalboard orientations for storage and use can each be optimized for their respective roles by using appropriate rocker arm lengths, joint locations, and stopping positions.
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The front rocker 112 may be removably attached to the upper platform 106 by a joint 120 allowing the upper platform 106 to become temporarily detached from the front rocker 112 in order to tilt upwards and reveal the lower platform 108 or the underside of the upper platform 106. This connection may be made by a spring latch, a magnetic latch, or any other suitable latch. The connection point 120 may be extended below the upper platform 106 in a fashion similar to the rear deck extension 116 as necessary to produce the desired mechanics of the four-bar linkage.
In the embodiment shown, the lower platform 108 has fixed side walls 104 which act as extensions of the lower platform 108 and provides a suitable pivoting joint location 118 with the front rocker 112. There is also a front wall 102 which provides structural stability and, along with the side walls 104 and back wall 110, acts as a protective case which encloses the effect pedals mounted on the lower platform 108. Some or all of these walls may be omitted from other embodiments of the pedalboard.
The back wall 110 and the underside of the upper platform 106 may be treated as additional mounting surfaces for suitably sized effect pedals or accessories. In the embodiment shown, the back wall 110 is a component of the four-bar linkage and as such, any pedals or accessories mounted to the back wall 110 will change in orientation as the pedalboard transitions between positions. In the case of power supply units this is particularly advantageous, as the increased physical distance between the power supply unit and other pedals or accessories can reduce unwanted electromagnetic interference from the power supply unit. In the case where the power supply unit is mounted to the underside of the upper platform 106, a similar advantage is achieved due to the increase in physical distance between the power supply unit and the pedals mounted to the lower platform 108 while the pedalboard is in an open position.
The open orientation of the back wall 110 also provides access for power cables and signal cables to pass into the pedalboard when in an open position (as seen in
In order to prevent unintended transitions between pedalboard positions a locking mechanism may be employed which temporarily attaches components of the linkage together in a fashion which inhibits motion. For example, a latch might be employed which joins the back wall 110 to the side wall 104.
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