LOL! He did file a patent ... A patent for basically two cans connected by a string wire.
Electromagnetic Telephone:
“Meucci studied the principles of electromagnetic voice transmission for many years and was able to transmit his voice through wires in 1856. He installed a telephone-like device within his house in order to communicate with his wife who was ill at the time.[6] Some of Meucci’s notes written in 1857 describe the basic principle of electromagnetic voice transmission or in other words, the telephone:
Consiste in un diaframma vibrante e in un magnete elettrizzato da un filo a spirale che lo avvolge. Vibrando, il diaframma altera la corrente del magnete. Queste alterazioni di corrente, trasmesse all’altro capo del filo, imprimono analoghe vibrazioni al diaframma ricevente e riproducono la parola.
Translated:
It consists of a vibrating diaphragm and an electrified magnet with a spiral wire that wraps around it. The vibrating diaphragm alters the current of the magnet. These alterations of current, transmitted to the other end of the wire, create analogous vibrations of the receiving diaphragm and reproduce the word.
Meucci devised an electromagnetic telephone as a way of connecting his second-floor bedroom to his basement laboratory, and thus being able to communicate with his wife.[11] Between 1856 and 1870, Meucci developed more than 30 different kinds of telephones on the basis of this prototype.
A postage stamp was produced in Italy in 2003 that featured a portrait of Meucci.[12] Around 1858, artist Nestore Corradi sketched Meucci’s communication concept. His drawing was used to accompany the stamp in a commemorative publication of the Italian Postal and Telegraph Society.[12]
Meucci intended to develop his prototype but did not have the financial means to keep his company afloat in order to finance his invention. His candle factory went bankrupt and Meucci was forced to unsuccessfully seek funds from rich Italian families. In 1860, he asked his friend Enrico Bandelari to look for Italian capitalists willing to finance his project. However, military expeditions led by Garibaldi in Italy had made the political situation in that country too unstable for anybody to invest.[9] “
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Meucci