Year: 1888

page_text: I LEMUEL MELLETT of Newton, County of Middlesex, in the State of Massachusetts,
one of the United States of America, Electrician do hereby declaro the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement
This invention relates to telephones and his for its object to provide a telephone by
which human speech or other sounds may be transmitted without the employment of
an electric or magnetic current, my improved telephone, hereinafter desiginted by
me as the pulsion telephone, being simple in construction and most effective in
operation, it being capable of transmitting speech and other sounds greater distance
and in a more distinct manner than has been heretofore possible without the use of an
electric or magnetic current
In accordance with my invention I employ a suitable diaphragm preferably of metal
and a series of vibrators located in a chamber at the rear or behind the diaphragm,
the said vibrators being composed of metallic springs, musical reeds or strings, or
other metallic devices capable of vibration
My improved telephone constructed as above described may be used both as a
transmitter and as a receiver, their diaphragms being joined by a suitable wire
or connection, which wire may be uninsulated
The wire or other connection Joining the diaphragm is rendered taut in the
immediate vicinity of the instruments, but if desired the greater portion of the said
wire may be slack and frequently grounded, the said wire when subst inti illy short
being preferably grounded to reduce resonance
In practice two instruments will preferably be used on line, but if desired the
instrument at the receiving end may be dispensed with and the wire at that end of the
line connected to any suitable form of receiver, such for instance as a disc or plate of
wood, iron or other material
My invention therefore consists essentially in a telephone instrument, of a shell or
case having a chamber a³, a diaphragm and a wire or connection joined directly to the
said diaphragm, combined with a series of vibrators in said chambers, substantially as
will be described
Other features of my invention will be pointed out in the claim at the end of this

page_text: Fig 1 is rear view of one form of telephone instrument embodying my invention,
the cap being removed to show the interior of the chamber
Fig 2 transverse section of the instrument represented in Fig 1 on line a
Fig 3 sectional detail showing the form of chamber preferred by me
Fig 4 rear view of a modified form of instrument with the cup removed
2
Fig 5 a transverse section of the instrument represented in Fig 4 on line a¹—'
Figs 6, 7 and 8 rear views of modified forms of vibrators
Fig 9
transverse section of the instrument with the vibrator substantially such is
shown in Fig 7
Figs 10 and 11 details to be referred to
The shell or case of the instrument shown in Figs 2 and 3, as composed of a body a
and cup a secured together in any suitable or usual manner, the sud body being
concaved to form within the shell or casc a chamber a², muy and preferably will be
mide of wood, the sud body being provided with a substantially central hole or
orifice a through which the line wica is extended
The cap a provided with the usual opening 6 to form the mouth piece of the
instrument has secured to it, is horen shown, preferably metallic diaphragm 61
which spans the opening b, the sud diaphragm having connected to it the line wire a*
as heruin shown by preferably met illic button b² hiving its eye inserted through an
opening in the diaphragm and to which the line wire is fastened, as shown in
Fig 2
The chamber a³ contains witlun it a number of vibrators c shown in Figs 1 and 2,
as spiril springs, which are herein shown as clamped to an annulir ring by
washers secured thereto by screw c inserted through the washers, ring and 2
diaphragm into the cap, but if desired the said springs may be secured to the
body a
The vibrators c intensify the effect of the vibrating diaphragm upon the line wire
and give to the instrument capabilities hitherto unknown The vibrating springs
may be of varying sizes to vibrate to different tones Instead of making the vibrators a
of spiral springs, they may be made as spring tongues shown in Fig 6, representing
the successive notes of the scale and arranged to vibrate with any tones harmonizing
with them severally, or the sud vibrators may be musical strings of varying lengths,
see Fig 7, stretched across the chamber under tension 15 in 1 harp or piano and
vibrating in harmony with their corresponding notes when the diaphragm is vibrated
by any tone or sound, or the sud vibrators may be made as single spring, see
Fig 8, coiled as in the so called cathedral gongs for fine clocks, one or more of the
vibrators such as shown in Figs 6, 7 and 8, being in metallic connection with the
diaphragm
The line wire at near the instrument is put under sufficient or proper tension, but
it is not requisite to the successful transmission of speech that the whole line should
be taut as the main portion of the line wire may be slack and run on or under ground,
or under water
The line wire may have the proper tension imparted to it by means of short guy
wires d attached to the line wire near the instrument and secured to any suitable
support shown in Fig 10 as a post d³, the remaining portion of the line wire being
slack and grounded or it may come in contact with trees or buildings without losing
its power of transmitting speech, and the said wire if desired may be wound about
the limb of a tree and then turned at a right angle thereto as shown in Fig 11,
the coils of wire about the said limb of the tree being preferably separated a slight
distance from each other, to reinforce the line and increase its efficiency of transmission
when the wire is turned it a right angle therefrom
As shown in Fig 11, the line wire is tapped and a number of branch wires d
attached thereto, whereby the same message may be transmitted simultaneously to
several points

page_text: If desired the chamber a³ may have connected with it one or more preferably
flexible tubes or pipes f which extend into the room in which the instrument is located
and the said tubes may have ear pieces attached to them by means of which the
operator may hear and talk through the line without changing the position of his
head, the sounds reproduced from the rear surface of the diaphragm being thus
utilized
I prefer to construct the shell or case substantially as shown in Fig 2, but I do not
desire to limit my invention to this particular_construction, as the same may be
variously modified, for instance, as shown in Fig 5, wherein the cap constitutes
nearly the entire shell, it being closed by the body a shown as a plate
So also I do not desire to limit my invention to the use of any particular number of
vibrators
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
1 In a telephone instrument, a shell or case having a chamber a³, a diaphragm
and a wire or connection joined directly to the said diaphragm, combined with a
series of vibrators in said chamber, substantially as described
2-In a telephone instrument, a shell or case having a mouth piece b¹, a
diaphragm b, combined with one or more vibrators within said shell or case, sub-
stantially as and for the purpose specified
3-The combination with a transmitting and receiving instrument, each composed
of a shell or case having a chamber and provided with a diaphragm and with vibrators
within sud chamber, of wire or connection joined to the diaphragms of said
instruments, substantially as described
4-In a telephonic apparatus the combination or arrangement and use of parts
operating for transmission of sounds substantially as herein described and shown
T
1000
WM BROOKES & SON,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London,
Agents for the Applicant