PHONE

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History

Credit for inventing the electric telephone remains in dispute. Antonio Meucci , Johann Philipp Reis , Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray , amongst others, have all been credited with the invention .

 

The early history of the telephone is a confusing morass of claim and counterclaim, which was not clarified by the huge mass of lawsuits which hoped to resolve the patent claims of individuals. The Bell and Edison patents, however were forensically victorious and commercially decisive.

Further information: Invention of the telephone  and  Elisha Gray and Alexander Bell Controversy

edit Early development

The following is a brief summary of the history of the development of the telephone:

 

• 1872—Elisha Gray establishes Western Electric Manufacturing Company.
• 1 July 1875 —Bell uses a bi-directional "gallows" telephone that was able to transmit "voicelike sounds" but not clear speech. Both the transmitter and the receiver were identical membrane electromagnet instruments.
• 1875— Thomas Edison experiments with acoustic telegraphy and in November builds an electro-dynamic receiver but does not exploit it.
• 6 April 1875 —Bell's U.S. Patent 161,739 "Transmitter & Receiver for Electric Telegraphs" is granted, outlining the concept of multiplexed frequencies.
• 11 February 1876 —Elisha Gray invents a liquid transmitter for use with a telephone but does not build one.
• 7 March 1876 —Bell's U.S. patent 174,465 for the telephone is granted.
• 10 March 1876 —Bell transmits speech "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you." using a liquid transmitter and an electromagnetic receiver.
• 30 January 1877 —Bell's U.S. patent 186,787 is granted for an electro-magnetic telephone using permanent magnets, iron diaphragms, and a call bell.

27 April 1877 —Edison files for a patent on a carbon (graphite) transmitter. The patent 474,230 was granted 3 May 1892 , after a 15 year delay because of litigation. Edison was granted patent 222,390 for a carbon granules transmitter in 1879