Antiseptic Appliance for Sound-transmitter Mouth-pieces
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Oct., 1899-Accepted, 2nd Dec., 1899
Antiseptic Appliance for Sound-transmitter Mouth-pieces.
Communicated by THE ANTISEPTIC APPLIANCE COMPANY. of Los Angeles, in
the County of Los Angeles, State of California, United States of America,
Manufacturer of and Dealer in Antiseptic Appliances.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.J.M.E., Agent for Patent Solicitors,
6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in the County
of Lancaster. 118, New Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, and
322, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby
declare 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 devices by means of which to keep telephone and
other sound-transmitter mouth-pieces perfectly clean and to prevent their
becoming a means of spreading contagious diseases.
The objects of the invention are:
To provide superior means for affording protection against the transmission
of infectious and other diseases through the medium of mouth-pieces of sound-
transmitters, such for instance as the mouth-pieces of telephones and speaking-
tubes;
To provide means for catching all impurities which may be blown into the
mouth-piece by the user and to hold such impurities out of the way of any
danger of infection to any user and to prevent the impurities from coming
into contact with the mouth-piece the whole to be readily removed from the
mouth-piece and destroyed; being of such an inexpensive character that frequent
renewals will be acceptable from an economic point of view as well as from
hygienic considerations;
To acccomplish these objects without interfering with the perfect trans-
mission of sound through the mouth-piece.
The invention is capable of being carried out in various forms, and in the
preferred form it is designed to prevent the possibility of any germs or impuri-
ties from the mouth of the user from coming into contact with any permanent
portion or attachment pertaining to the mouth-piece which is presented
toward the mouth of the speaker. The preferred form is especially adapted for
being removed and renewed with great facility and with extreme economy.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention in several of the modes
in which it can be applied.
Figure I is a perspective view of a sound-transmitter mouth-piece provided
with the invention in place in its preferred form.
Fig. II is an exaggerated axial section of the front portion of Fig. I.
Fig. III is a like section of a modified form provided with a reinforcement
at the bottom and also at the rim or edge of the cup.
Fig. IV is an axial section of the invention in place in a still further

page_text: modified form in which a ring of absorbent material is provided near the
bottom of the cup.
Fig. V is a front elevation of the form shown in Fig. IV, excepting that the
reinforced margin is omitted and the cup is secured in the mouth-piece by a
ring provided with hooks to hook over the rim of the mouth-piece.
Fig. VI is an axial section of a protecting-cup with reinforced bottom and
fastened in the mouth-piece with a ring having spring hooks.
Fig. VII shows the cup without reinforced bottom, and fastened in the
mouth-piece by the ring with spring hooks.
The invention comprises, in a sound-transmitter mouth-piece, a detachable
cup formed of antiseptic gauze and inserted into the mouthpiece to form a
receptacle in the mouth-piece with its bottom transverse said mouth-piece and
forming a shield inside the same.
In
In the several views a indicates the sound-transmitter mouth-piece.
Figs. I and II b indicates the detachable cup formed of antiseptic gauze
returned upon itself at the edge c of said cup to form a channel to fit upon and
chamber the rim of the mouth-piece. In Fig. III d indicates the cup formed
of antiseptic gauze with reinforcement c at the edge of said cup; said cup
being returned upon itself at the edge to chamber the rim of the mouthpiece.
The cup is also provided at its bottom with a reinforcing sheet f of antiseptic
gauze. This reinforcement is designed as an additional protection for the
diaphragm of the mouth-piece.
In Fig. IV g indicates a cup formed of antiseptic gauze. h indicates an
absorbent ring of porous material, such as felt, saturated with a suitable anti-
septic substance and inserted in the cup, and i indicates a retainer, being a
circular piece of antiseptic gauze over the antiseptic ring h. e indicates a
reinforcing member at the rim of the cup the same as shown at e in Fig. III.
The absorbent ring h may be used or omitted as desired. It is ordinarily
deemed unnecessary to use the absorbent ring.
The cup of antiseptic gauze may be made without the returned rim c which
forms the channel for the rim of the mouth-piece and in such case an ordinary
retaining ring of sheet metal shown in Figs. V, VI and VII, may be applied
to hold the cup in the mouth-piece. Retaining hooks are provided to spring
over the mouth-piece to retain the ring in place.
The gauze cup forms a receptacle inside the mouth-piece, and the antiseptic
gauze bottom of said cup forms a screen inside the mouth-piece extending
transverse the mouth-piece at a distance from the rim of the mouth-piece,
thereby forming a protection for the interior of the mouth-piece and also for
the telephone-diaphragm to prevent any foreign particles from being injected
into the mouth-piece beyond the bottom of the cup. The cup is thus designed
to perfectly protect the mouth-piece and the telephone-diaphragm, and also to
destroy the germs which may come into contact with the cup, and to hold them
out of the way of the user. In this relation an object which is attained by
the invention is perfect protection accomplished with extreme simplicity and
cheapness so that while the cup may be allowed to remain in the mouth-piece
and will serve as a protection therefor for any desired length of time and may
be effective as an antiseptic for a number of days, still the simplicity and
cheapness of the device is such that it may, without objection as to cost or con-
venience, be renewed every day or oftener if deemed necessary. If not removed,
the foreign matters which may have been injected into the cup are held in
the least objectionable manner so that there is no danger of coming into
contact with, or endangering any person who may subsequently use or approach
the mouth-piece of the telephone. The effectiveness of this invention does
not depend upon any odors or effluvia which arises from the disinfectant to
perform the disinfecting office, but an antiseptic gauze-cup is provided which
prevents the retention of any living germs. The germs which are thrown into
the mouth-piece are acted upon by the antiseptic contained in the antiseptic

page_text: gauze. The invention is to be distinguished from any of the devices in which
it is proposed to retain a body of fluid antiseptic, for the reason that such
devices are more cumbersome and expensive than would serve the purposes of
simplicity and economy above stated."
The invention is also to be distinguished from any device comprising a
diaphragm extending across the rim of the mouth-piece; for in such appliances
the impurities blown from the mouth are intercepted outside the mouth-piece
and are liable to adhere to the diaphragm and be there held in position close
in front of the lips of the user of the mouth-piece and without any protection
to prevent the lips from coming into contact with such impurities. In such
appliances it is necessary that the antiseptic substance shall not be allowed to
become innocuous, otherwise the diaphragm becomes a manace by holding the
impurities, microbes and bacilli closer to the lips than would be the case if the
diaphragm were dispensed with. By this invention any such difficulty is
avoided, and in case the gauze-cup were to remain in place so long as to lose
its antiseptic qualities; the impurities, &c., will be held inside the cup out of
the way of the lips until the cup is removed.
It is ordinarily deemed best to use the cup without a metal retaining ring,
and in order to do this the antiseptic gauze is returned upon itself at the
edge of the cup as clearly shown in Figs. II, III, IV, to form a continuous
channel to fit upon and protect the rim of the mouth-piece. The edge of said
channel is preferably slightly further inturned toward the walls of the cup to
clasp the flaring edge of the mouth-piece as indicated at c in Figure III.
Preferably the gauze is reinforced at the edge to give greater stiffness and
greater permanency to the clasp. This reinforcement may be by an applica-
tion of glue or gum which will become stiff when dried, or a reinforcement of
antiseptic gauze or cloth or any other suitable material may be applied for
this purpose at the rim. m indicates the transverse bottom of the cup which
forms a shield across the mouth-piece and inside the mouth-piece to protect
the interior of the mouth-piece.
In manufacturing my newly invented antiseptic device the antiseptic gauze
will first be stamped or pressed in dies or molds into a tapering form to fit
within the tapering mouth-piece and the edge of the gauze will be turned back
to form the channel. The dies or molds with which the pressure is applied
will preferably be heated and the antiseptic gauze will preferably be suffi-
ciently damp from the solution with which it has been treated to cause the
gauze to set neatly under the pressure of the dies or molds to form a conical
cup to fit into the mouth-piece.
Where the cup is reinforced at its rim by gum, glue or paste, the rein-
forcing substance may be applied to the rim while the cup is in the
mold;
and after the same is sufficiently dried, the rim may be forced down
upon the female member of the die or mold, and pressed inward to fit it to the
required form.
In case the cup is reinforced at the rim by a piece of separate material as
at e in Fig. III, such material is preferably formed in a ring which is placed
upon the outside of the cup and pressed into form with the main portion of
the cup, its outer edge extending to the edge of the cup; and the rim of the
cup is then turned back upon itself the same as above described. The rein-
forcing portion will preferably be attached to the main portion by starch,
glue or gum.
In practical use the cup will be inserted into the mouth-piece and pushed
home to embrace the rim of the mouth-piece within the channel at the rim of
the cup.
The rim of the cup thus forms a complete protection for the rim
of the mouth-piece while the inserted portion of the cup protects the interior
of the mouth-piece, thus preventing any possible chance for any germs or
impurities to lodge upon the rim or interior of the mouth-piece; and such
germs as may be blown into the cup will be immediately destroyed by the

page_text: antiseptic substance of the gauze, so long as its antiseptic qualities are active.
If left until they become inactive, the impurities will still be held inside the
cup and therefore away from the lips of the user of the mouth-piece, and
ready to be instantly removed without inconvenience.
When it is desired to renew the antiseptic qualities, this can be instantly
done by removing the cup which is in the mouth-piece and replacing it with
new.
The antiseptic substances with which the gauze may be treated are well
known in the art, but preferably the gauze is treated with a solution of cor-
rosive sublimate one to one thousand parts. In addition to this the following
well known antiseptics are preferably introduced, viz. Formaldehyde, thymol,
menthol, gum camphor, oil of cinnamon, carbolic acid, and oil of eucalyptus.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated
to me by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. In a sound-transmitter mouth-piece, a detachable cup formed of antiseptic
gauze and inserted into the mouth-piece to form a receptacle in the mouth-
piece with its bottom transverse said mouth-piece and forming a shield inside
the same.
2. In a sound-transmitter mouth-piece, a detachable cup formed of antiseptic
gauze and inserted into the mouth-piece to form a receptacle in the mouth-
piece with its bottom transverse the mouth-piece and forming a shield inside
the same and a ring of felt at the bottom of said cup.
3. A detachable lining for a sound-transmitter mouth-piece consisting of a
cup formed of antiseptic gauze; a ring of porous material saturated with a
suitable antiseptic substance inserted in the cup; and a retainer of antiseptic
gauze over the ring.
4. An antiseptic device for sound-transmitter mouth-pieces comprising a cup
formed of antiseptic gauze returned upon itself at the edge of said cup to form
a channel to fit upon and chamber the rim of the mouth-piece.
5. An antiseptic device for sound-transmitter mouth-pieces comprising a cup
formed of antiseptic gauze with reinforcement at the edge of said cup and
said cup being returned upon itself at the edge to chamber the rim of the mouth-
piece, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
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