Abstract:
The combination of an illuminated microphone stand with a foot controlled operation board has a capability of adjusting at least one light in the illuminated microphone and facilitating a performance, as well as maintaining the integrity of the lighting system Incorporated with the illuminated microphone stand.

Description:
This invention relates to an illuminated microphone stand, more particularly, to an illuminated microphone stand which is controlled by a foot controlled board and offers flexibility in use. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In the performing arts, there are various levels of musical performers and a variety of acts ranging from novice to touring or recording professionals. These acts often require special well-coordinated lighting effects to enhance their performance. 
     At the professional level, these segments are usually well rehearsed in advance and often controlled by a lighting technician that works side by side with the sound man in the back of the venue, or even off stage out of sight. These rehearsals are very expensive as the acts are paying their technicians and for rehearsal space. Furthermore, these segments usually address the bigger aspects of the lighting show and these lighting routines do not offer the performers an opportunity to be spontaneous with using the lights as a part of their expression. 
     Using smaller lighting effects to enhance the larger aspects of the show can be very difficult to coordinate. Therefore, it may be desirable to have the necessary equipment to provide a unique effect to achieve the desired presentation. 
     To that end, it is useful for the musician or performer (regardless of career level) to have “real time” control and access to a special effect lighting system, which will not interfere with the musical performance but will allow flexibility and security for the act. If that lighting system can additionally illuminate the desired musical score, and add a dynamic visual level while providing a secure, yet flexible stand for the microphone; this will be a great performance tool and provide a clear advantage for the performer. 
     Positioning of the light or microphone system is also critical. The light system must be conveniently located, yet not obtrusive. The light system may be required to illuminate the desired music, while at the same time being available for decorative entertainment. 
     Microphone stands are often considered necessary evils on stage as they are not attractive but cumbersome in fitting around music stands, props, drum sets (kits), other instruments and stage devices. Their main function has always been to simple hold the microphones in the desired location for vocal and capture sound coming from non-amplified instruments. To have a device that can achieve the above, yet be visually attractive will be a great advantage to the performer. 
     Microphone stands must have the ability to be adjusted to accommodate and hold a specific placement location. They also must have the flexibility to be redirected and to permit removal of the microphone itself for each user and or instrument as desired. 
     In some situations, this may be hard to achieve. Therefore a microphone (boom) arm is generally mounted on top of the main support post. Also, the microphone stand may have to fit under, or in between other types of stands, risers and staging. To accomplish this setup a tripod or round base may be used to support the main post, microphone, and possible a boom arm. Any adjustments made before or during a performance must not interfere with the main lighting system or the use of the microphone itself. 
     Such a device must support the microphone; the vertical post; possible boom arm, and yet be adjustable when needed. It must be adaptable to the situation and allow the artist the ability to remove the microphone from the stand easily during a performance. 
     Adding the benefits of a visual effect lighting system on to the microphone stand allows for greater visual, stage expression as part of the entertainment experience and may also serve as a tool for a performer to read music, scripts and the like. It also can be controlled by the performer to provide the desired effect to help create a mood. The light system offers a great number of light variations, and control thereof involving color, duration, sequencing, or other desired functions. Using such effects will be another tool for an entertainment production. However, this combination is difficult to achieve. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Among the many objectives of this invention is the provision of an illuminated microphone stand with a foot controlled board. 
     A further objective of this invention is the provision of an illuminated microphone stand, which provides adjustability and versatility. 
     Yet a further objective of this invention is the provision of an illuminated microphone stand, which forms part of a light show. 
     A still further objective of this invention is the provision of an illuminated microphone stand, which provides different light options for the performance. 
     Another objective of this invention is the provision of an illuminated microphone stand, which is strong. 
     Yet another objective of this invention is the provision of an illuminated microphone stand, which is durable. 
     Still another objective of this invention is the provision of a foot operated control panel which allows the user to control the lights for illuminated microphone stand. 
     Also, an objective of this invention is the provision of a foot control board to vary the function of the lights for illuminated microphone stand. 
     These and other objectives of the invention (which other objectives become clear by consideration of the specification, claims and drawings as a whole) are met by providing an illuminated microphone stand with a foot board control mechanism or foot controlled board, which has the capability of adjusting at least one light in the illuminated microphone stand during performances, as well as maintaining the integrity of the lighting system Incorporated with the illuminated microphone stand. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts a perspective view of the microphone stand  170  with weighted support base  104 . 
         FIG. 2  depicts a perspective view of the microphone stand  170  of this invention with a tripod base  102 . 
         FIG. 3  depicts an exploded, perspective view of the microphone stand  170  having a support base  120  with the upper shaft assembly  116  and using either tripod base  102  or weighted base  140 . 
         FIG. 4  depicts an exploded, perspective view of boom microphone arm  150  for microphone stand  170 . 
         FIG. 5  depicts a front perspective view of the foot controlled board  200 . 
         FIG. 6  depicts a top, plan view of the foot controlled board  200  for microphone stand  170 . 
         FIG. 7  depicts the rear plan view of the foot controlled board  200  for microphone stand  170 . 
         FIG. 8  depicts an end plan view of the foot controlled board  200  for microphone stand  170 . 
         FIG. 9  depicts a wiring diagram for foot controlled board  200 . 
         FIG. 10  depicts a block diagram of the microphone stand  170  with the foot controlled board  200 . 
     
    
    
     Throughout the figures of the drawings, where the same part appears in more than one figure of the drawings, the same number is applied thereto. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments of the invention that are illustrated in accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same or similar reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts or steps. The drawings are in simplified form and are not to precise scale. For purposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms such as top, bottom, left, right, up, over, above, below, beneath, rear, and front, may be used with respect to the drawings. These and similar to directional terms are not to be construed to limit the scope of the invention in any manner. The words attach, connect, couple, and similar terms with their inflectional morphemes do not necessarily denote direct or intermediate connections, but may also include connections through mediate elements or devices. 
     In accordance with the present invention, a microphone stand is designed to be fully functional, allowing the user to adjust the stand to a desired position, just as with any conventional microphone stand. Preferably, it has a height adjustment from about 0.9 meter (about 36 inches) to about two meters (about 80 inches) and points there between. This microphone stand can be illuminated for either one of decoration, functionality or entertainment, as well as other uses. Typical lights are light emitting diodes (LED). 
     The key to the incorporation of LED technology and the practicality of a conventional fully operational microphone stand is in the design supporting the lighting system. Key components such as the support base with the upper shaft and the guide pin allow the stand height to be adjusted while at the same time protecting the delicate LED components and the wiring from twisting, binding, and tearing. 
     The coiled wire used in the upper shaft and the boom arm is also critical to the success in this design. It allows the wires to supply the upper components by acting like an extension spring. As the upper shaft is raised, the coiled wire extends. As the upper shaft is lowered, the coiled wire contracts or relaxes into its normal position, similar to a phone cord. 
     The upper shaft is held into its adjusted or desired place by the use of a rubber compression seal. As the adjuster is loosened, less compression is placed on the seal allowing the upper shaft to move freely. When tightened, the compression seal is compressed, maintaining the users adjustment. The rubber seal is important because it allows for the compression to be transferred to the upper shaft and hold the same in a desired position without defacing or distorting the shaft. 
     The boom arm can be adjusted 180 degrees vertically, and 90 degrees horizontally along with other points therebetween, without stressing the wiring to the boom arm. The boom arm can be extended on the user side, up to 25 centimeters (up to about 9 inches) to accommodate the depth from the stand for the user of the microphone stand. 
     With  FIG. 1 , microphone stand  170  has a weighted base  140  which replaces the tripod  102  of  FIG. 2 . A locking coupler  121  is positioned on support base  120  oppositely disposed from tripod base  102  and adjacent to upper shaft assembly  116 . 
     Adding now to  FIG. 2  to the consideration, microphone stand  170  has a tripod base  102 . The support base  118  is secured to the tripod base  102 . The upper shaft assembly  116  is in a male to female relationship with the support base  118 . Around support base  118  is a flexible lighting strip  107 . The flexible lighting strip  107  can be any suitable strip, but preferred is a red and green and blue light emitting diodes (RGB LED) strips. The upper shaft assembly  116  has a locking coupler  121  which positions the upper shaft assembly  116  relative to support base  120 . The locking coupler  121  is used to loosen and tighten the upper shaft assembly  116  to the support base  120 , so that height adjustment can be maintained. 
       FIG. 2  also utilizes a microphone clip  101 , oppositely disposed from the support base  100 . Microphone clip  101  can receive a suitable microphone  112  ( FIG. 10 ) as desired. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , boom arm assembly  150  can be inserted between support base  100  and the microphone clip  101 , in order to allow for further adjustments by the user. The microphone clip  101  is then attached to boom arm assembly  150 . Thus, the microphone stand  170  can have more flexibility with the boom arm assembly  150 . 
     Turning now to  FIG. 3 , the structure of the microphone stand  170  becomes clear. The upper shaft assembly  116  is positioned relative to the support base  120  for the upper shaft assembly  116 . Next to the microphone clip  101  is a locking device  102  on a spring pin  103  to cooperate with threaded member  105  on tubing  106 . Inside tubing  106  is wrapped with flexible lighting strips  107  and covered with clear tubing  104  for protection of the lighting strips  107 . Bushing  108 , on tubing  106  and oppositely disposed from microphone clip  101 , secures lighting strips  107  to coil  109 , to facilitate use of lighting strips on upper shaft assembly  116 . 
     The locking device  102  may be a suitably sized locking nut to adjust the position of the upper shaft assembly  116 . The spring pin  103  assists with the upper shaft assembly  116 . Upper clear tubing  104  is preferably a polycarbonate tube to protect lighting strips  107  on inside tubing  106 . Inside tubing  106  is preferable a black steel tubing, around which lighting strips  107  are wrapped. Coil  109  is preferably a spring style cable or large gauge wiring to facilitate use of the lighting strip  107 . 
     Within inside tubing  106  is inserted a support tube  110 . Support tube  110  has a stop bushing  111  at the base thereof to assist with the positioning of the upper shaft assembly  116 . A roll pin  113  is at the other end of support tube  110 , oppositely disposed from the stop bushing  111 . The roll pin  113  is preferably a spring style roll pin  113  to prevent movement of the upper shaft assembly  116  once installed. Thus, the purpose of this component is to prevent the upper shaft assembly  116  from turning independently from the support base  120 , thereby protecting the internal wiring of lighting strips  108 . Guide pin  126  slides vertically in this channel or key way  114  so that the microphone stand  170  can be adjusted for height. 
     Between the support base  120  and the upper shaft assembly  116  is a locking coupler  121 . Locking coupler  121  loosens and tightens the support base  120  to the upper shaft assembly  116 , so that height adjustment can be maintained. Locking coupler  121  cooperates with compression seal  122 , so that as locking coupler  121  is loosened, less pressure is applied to this compression seal  122 , so that the height of stand  170  can be adjusted or maintained. 
     Support base  120  includes lower stand body  123  to house the internal components of the microphone stand  170 . Support base  120  is wrapped in lighting strips  108 . Lower stand body  123  has lighting strips  107  wrapped therearound with outer wiring harness  124 . Outer wiring harness  124  connects to lighting strip  107  at coil  109 , and then ultimately combines with four pin connector  134  at the base of the support base  120 . 
     Lower clear tubing  125  fits over lower stand body  123 . Preferably, lower clear tubing  125  is made of polycarbonate and protects the LED components in lighting strip  107 . Guide pin  126  is used to guide the upper portion of the microphone  112  along a keyway  114  in the support tube  110  to prevent wiring failures, especially with regard to any uncontrolled movement between the upper shaft assembly  116  and the support base  120 . 
     Support base  120  includes an upper shaft guide  127 . Preferably upper shaft guide  127  is a solid galvanized rod. Upper shaft threading  128  is at the base of upper shaft guide  127 , and permits attachment thereof to tripod base  102  or weighted base  140  with the use of adapter  129 , to assemble the lower stand body  123  to the upper shaft guide  127 . The upper shaft guide  127  passes in threaded relation through this adapter  128  and terminates at the tripod base  102  or weighted base  140  as desired. 
     Tripod base  102  may be fixed, or may include pivoting tripod legs  131  that pivot to fold for storage. For aesthetics or surface protection, each tripod leg  131  may have a protective foot  132  on the end thereof. Protective foot  132  may be rubber, plastic or other appropriate material. 
     With tripod base  102 , mounting foot  135  participates in joining the same support base  120 . Mounting foot  135  supports fastener  133  in four pin connector  134 . The four pin connector  134  includes a four pin XLR female connector and wire harness, terminates at a DIN style four pin connector  136  to attach to like a connector coming from upper shaft assembly  116  and support base  120 . 
     With weighted base  140 , mounting foot  135  participates in the same fashion as tripod base  102 . Weighted base  140  includes an access aperture  141  for wiring harness from support base  120  to enter weighted base  140 . 
     Adding  FIG. 4  to the consideration, microphone clip  101  may be secured to boom arm assembly  150  to allow for further adjustments by the user. At one end of the boom arm assembly  150  is extension tube  151  to receive microphone clip  101  in threaded relation therewith. A collar  152  fits on extension tube  151  to join the same to the boom arm assembly  150 . Thumbscrew  153  is in threaded relation with collar  152  to tighten or position the same on the extension tub  151 . 
     Boom arm clear tube  154  fits over lighting strip  107 , which is wrapped around boom arm base tube  156 . Boom arm threads  155  on the end of boom arm base tube  156  receive collar  152  in a male to female relationship. A boom arm adapter  158  cooperates with carriage bolt  157  and washer  159  to attach boom arm assembly  150  to microphone stand  100 . Carriage bolt  157  permits either a fastening or an adjusting of the angle of the boom arm assembly  150 . Washer  159  can be rubber or any other suitable material, which can prevent slippage of boom arm assembly  150 . 
     Also in the boom arm assembly  150  is a wire harness  160 . Wire harness  160  lead from the boom arm assembly  150  and connect with the microphone stand  100 . A washer  161  cooperates with adjustment lever  162  to fasten or adjust the position of boom arm assembly  150 . Adjustment lever  162  can also incorporate at least one locking nut to fasten to the carriage bolt  157 . Lower boom clear tube  163  covers lighting strip  107 . Lower boom clear tube  163  is preferably polycarbonate. A weighted sleeve  164  inserted in lower boom clear tube  163  can balance the boom stand assembly  150  when a microphone  112  is placed on the microphone clip  101  on the microphone stand  170 . Mounting sleeve  165  allows the boom arm assembly  150  to be attached microphone stand  170 . 
     Now adding  FIG. 5 ,  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 7 ,  FIG. 8 , and  FIG. 9  to the consideration, the function of foot controlled board  200  is clarified. An access aperture  201  permits sensitivity adjustment due to a potentiometer  227 . An audio triggered input is activated to adjust the sensitivity. The potentiometer  227  is located on the circuit panel circuit panel  228  used to control adjustment. 
     A mode switch  202  switches the foot controlled board  200  between two forms of operation. One form allows the user to use the foot control board to operate the functions of the lights, while the other mode allows for an audio trigger input as well as remote control functions. Speed control switches  203  allow for the speed in certain lighting scenes to change. Module one indicator  204  permits the user to see in what mode the scene is transitioning. Color module  205  allows for the lights to flash in various sequences of color, speed and intensity, which can be controlled. A standard power switch  206  turns the foot controlled board  200  on or off as desired. 
     Module two indicator  207  permits the user to see what scene is transitioning in that mode. Intensity adjustment  208  permits brightness to be adjusted by module one indicator  204  and module two indicator  207   208 . Intensity or brightness can be adjusted with these two switches. Blackout function  209  allows for the foot controlled board  200  and its functions to stay on, while the lighting for the microphone stand  170  is temporarily shut off. 
     Accessories  210  can also be controlled from the foot controlled board  200 . Such accessories  210  include fog machines, lights flashing machines or other accessories of a similar nature to be controlled by the user. Switch controls  211  permit pre-programmed functions such as various color changes without transitions. For example, the colors jump from one to the next. 
     A fog enabler  212  allows the user to preset the control of any accessory  210  as a fog machine to be used simultaneously with the lighting show. Once the fog enabler  212  is activated, the user can press any of the scene change switches, and the fog machine is activated as well at the same time. Each color preferably has its own switch. Typically, white lighting switch  213 , purple lighting switch  214 , blue—green lighting switch  215 , blue lighting switch  216 , pre-programmed switch controls  217  (which functions with as automatic color changes with various transitions), green lighting switch  218 , yellow lighting switch  219 , orange lighting switch  220  and red lighting switch  221 . Preprogrammed switch control  222  provide such functions as desired. For example, fading color changes, where the colors fade from one color to the next color can be accomplished with preprogram switch control  222 . 
     A four pin output jack  223  can permit the foot controlled board  200  to be attached to the lighted microphone stand  170 . Preferably, output jack  223  is a four pin XLR output jack which receives an 84 pin XLR cable to attach to the lighted microphone stand  170 . 
     Also, an input jack  224  can allow any audio device to trigger audio input control of the foot controlled board  200 . Accessory output  225  permits the foot controlled board  200  to operate accessories  210  such as fog machines, to enhance the lighting effect. Optionally, a standard electrical cord  226  may be used to provide power the foot controlled board  200 . The cord  226  may be a standard three terminal input for 120 volt alternating current electric cord. Cord  226  can removable for ease of storage. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 10 , microphone stand  170  includes lighting strips  107  mounted thereon. Foot controlled board  200  operates the microphone stand  170  and specifically the lighting strips  107  as desired, by a connection through either tripod base  102  or weighted base  140 . Microphone  112  may be attached directly to microphone stand  170  to boom arm assembly  150 . Boom arm assembly  150  can be positioned between microphone stand base  170  and microphone  112 . 
     This application—taken as a whole with the abstract, specification, claims, and drawings being combined—provides sufficient information for a person having ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention as disclosed and claimed herein. Any measures necessary to practice this invention are well within the skill of a person having ordinary skill in this art after that person has made a careful study of this disclosure. 
     Because of this disclosure and solely because of this disclosure, modification of this method and device can become clear to a person having ordinary skill in this particular art. Such modifications are clearly covered by this disclosure.