Telephone hanger for hospital bed

Claim 1

In combination, a one-piece telephone instrument and a hospital room telephone support for supporting said one-piece telephone instrument from a hospital bed rail assembly of the type that has upper and lower horizontal rails spaced a predetermined distance apart; the telephone instrument comprising an elongated housing having on one surface thereof an earpiece, a mouthpiece, and a hook switch which, when depressed, places the instrument in an on-hook condition and when released places the instrument in an off-hook condition, and the telephone support comprising a bracket for mounting onto the bed rail assembly, which includes a rear wall in the form of an elongated strip, upper hook means at a top edge thereof extending over the upper rail from a rear side of the rear wall, and lower hook means at a bottom edge of the rear flange extending under the lower rail from the rear side of side rear wall. a supporting shelf extending outward from a front surface of the rear wall; and a pair of retaining members disposed on opposite side edges of said rear wall and reaching forward therefrom, each having a front flange that extends towards the opposite retaining member, the rear wall and the retaining members being formed of a resilient, semi-rigid material with the front flanges being angled towards said rear wall, said rear wall and said retaining members defining a retaining channel for holding the telephone instrument, the instrument being slideably removable from and insertable into said channel to rest on said support shelf with said angled-inward front flanges yieldably urging said instrument against said rear wall so that said hook switch is held depressed against said rear wall when said instrument is retained in said channel and resting on said support shelf.