US3887771A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Telephone adapter
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1974-03-04
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Granted: 1975-06-03
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Expires: 1994-03-04
Abstract
Abstract A telephone adapter provides high acoustic amplification for sound to be transmitted over a telephone. A horn of the ''''exponential'''' type having an odd number of sound passages including an even number of re-entrant passages, a relatively large area mouth and gradual taper is used to acoustically amplify the transmitted sound with minimum added distortion and with minimum added background noise and to effectively transfer the amplified sound to a telephone handset at a position removed from the horn mouth. Walls within the horn form sound passages of gradually decreasing cross-section which extend from the mouth to the tail of the horn, where an easy connect/disconnect acoustic coupling with the microphone of the telephone handset is provided. The tail of the horn is provided with an acoustical coupler which is shaped to transfer the amplified sound to the microphone of the telephone handset with minimum loss. This acoustic coupling is established when the telephone handset is in place on the telephone adapter. A conventional earphone transducer, an audio amplifier, and a loudspeaker in its separate housing are used to make audible the sound received via the telephone earphone.
Inventors
- 👤 Abram N Spanel
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 16:01
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04M; H04M15/00; H04M15/28; H04M15/30; H04M1/00; H04M1/02; H04M1/21; H04M1/215; H04M1/2155; H04M1/64; H04M1/65; H04M1/656
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
137 words
An adapter for a telephone permitting its hands-free use, comprising: an exponential re-entrant horn having walls forming sound passages, said horn decreasing in acoustical cross-section from its mouth towards its tail portion; a coupling end connecting with said tail portion to provide acoustic coupling with the telephone microphone; a housing within which said horn is mounted, said mouth of said horn opening through a first part of said housing, and said coupling end opening through a second part of said housing substantially removed from said first part and outside the perimeter of said horn mouth, the area of said mouth being larger than the area of said coupling end, producing acoustic amplification between said mouth and said coupling end; and means for making audible communications received by the telephone earphone including speaker means external of said housing.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
137 words
An adapter for a telephone permitting its hands-free use, comprising: an exponential re-entrant horn having walls forming sound passages, said horn decreasing in acoustical cross-section from its mouth towards its tail portion; a coupling end connecting with said tail portion to provide acoustic coupling with the telephone microphone; a housing within which said horn is mounted, said mouth of said horn opening through a first part of said housing, and said coupling end opening through a second part of said housing substantially removed from said first part and outside the perimeter of said horn mouth, the area of said mouth being larger than the area of said coupling end, producing acoustic amplification between said mouth and said coupling end; and means for making audible communications received by the telephone earphone including speaker means external of said housing.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
137 words
An adapter for a telephone permitting its hands-free use, comprising: an exponential re-entrant horn having walls forming sound passages, said horn decreasing in acoustical cross-section from its mouth towards its tail portion; a coupling end connecting with said tail portion to provide acoustic coupling with the telephone microphone; a housing within which said horn is mounted, said mouth of said horn opening through a first part of said housing, and said coupling end opening through a second part of said housing substantially removed from said first part and outside the perimeter of said horn mouth, the area of said mouth being larger than the area of said coupling end, producing acoustic amplification between said mouth and said coupling end; and means for making audible communications received by the telephone earphone including speaker means external of said housing.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
137 words
An adapter for a telephone permitting its hands-free use, comprising: an exponential re-entrant horn having walls forming sound passages, said horn decreasing in acoustical cross-section from its mouth towards its tail portion; a coupling end connecting with said tail portion to provide acoustic coupling with the telephone microphone; a housing within which said horn is mounted, said mouth of said horn opening through a first part of said housing, and said coupling end opening through a second part of said housing substantially removed from said first part and outside the perimeter of said horn mouth, the area of said mouth being larger than the area of said coupling end, producing acoustic amplification between said mouth and said coupling end; and means for making audible communications received by the telephone earphone including speaker means external of said housing.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
The adapter recited in claim 1 wherein said housing has an open side substantially coextensive with said mouth of said horn.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
20 words
The adapter recited in claim 1 wherein said walls of said horn define an even number of re-entrant sound passages.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
The adapter recited in claim 1 further comprising a display which indicates the elapsed time of a telephone call.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
The adapter of claim 4 wherein said display comprises: an elongated dial adjacent said housing; a timing means which can be actuated at the beginning of a telephone conversaTion; and pointer means responsive to said timing means which indicates the elapsed time of the telephone conversation.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
45 words
The adapter recited in claim 5 wherein said timing means is a mechanical spring actuated timer which generates sound of less than a predetermined level thereby not being annoying to a user of the adapter nor being annoyingly transmitted over the telephone via the adapter.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
The adapter recited in claim 5 wherein said timing means is a timer of the AC synchronous motor type.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
28 words
The adapter recited in claim 7 including a magnetic shield placed between said motor and an earphone transducer to reduce unwanted ''''hum'''' to a predetermined suitable low level.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
77 words
The adapter recited in claim 1 in which said means for making audible communications received by the telephone earphone includes: an earphone transducer which, via electromagnetic coupling with the telephone earphone generates an electrical audio signal corresponding to the received communication; an audio amplifier, said audio signal being amplified in said audio amplifier; and a speaker connected to the output of said audio amplifier to generate an amplified sound corresponding to that generated by the telephone earphone.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
100 words
The adapter recited in claim 9 further comprising: a recorder jack to which said audio signal is connected, said jack output audio signal being suitable for connection to a conventional magnetic tape recorder; a beeper switch at the recorder jack which actuates the beeper when a jack plug is placed in the jack; and an audio beeper which when actuated induces periodic ''''beeps'''' into the audio amplifier of predetermined intensity sufficient to be clearly heard by all participants of the telephone conversation being conveyed by the adapter, said audio beeper when desired, being activated by closure of said beeper switch.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
39 words
The adapter recited in claim 1 wherein the exponential re-entrant horn has a mouth with an acoustical area of at least 15 square inches, and has an axial acoustical length at least 1.3 times its maximum mouth entrance dimensions.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
21 words
The adapter recited in claim 1 wherein said mouth of said horn opens through a substantially vertical plane of said housing.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
119 words
An adapter for a telephone permitting its hands-free use, comprising: an exponential type horn having walls forming an even number of re-entrant sound passages, said horn decreasing in acoustical cross-section from its mouth towards its tail portion; structure including a coupling end to provide acoustic coupling with the telephone microphone, the area of said mouth being larger than the area of said coupling end, producing acoustic amplification between said mouth and said coupling end; a housing within which said horn is mounted, said coupling end opening through a part of said housing removed and outside the perimeter of said horn mouth; and means for making audible communications received by the telephone earphone including speaker means external of said housing.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
119 words
An adapter for a telephone permitting its hands-free use, comprising: an exponential type horn having walls forming an even number of re-entrant sound passages, said horn decreasing in acoustical cross-section from its mouth towards its tail portion; structure including a coupling end to provide acoustic coupling with the telephone microphone, the area of said mouth being larger than the area of said coupling end, producing acoustic amplification between said mouth and said coupling end; a housing within which said horn is mounted, said coupling end opening through a part of said housing removed and outside the perimeter of said horn mouth; and means for making audible communications received by the telephone earphone including speaker means external of said housing.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
21 words
The adapter recited in claim 13 wherein said housing has an open side substantially coextensive with said mouth of said horn.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-06-02 | 1978-12-02 | 1979-06-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-06-02 | 1982-12-02 | 1983-06-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-06-02 | 1986-12-02 | 1987-06-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |