Bed side rail holding bracket

A mounting bracket for supporting a shelf for holding drinking cups or the like includes a housing having a clamping slot at the top for clamping about an upper longitudinally extending rail of a bed side rail, and a clamping slot facing toward the bed in a block carried by an arm for clamping about a lower longitudinally extending rail of the bed rail. The arm is telescopically positioned within a slideway formed in the housing so as to be adjustable relative to the housing. The arm includes a multiplicity of teeth to provide positive stops for the arm as it is moved relative to the housing. A stop member at the top of the arm prevents the arm from being pulled out of the housing. The shelf is slidably removeably attached within a groove at the wall of the housing facing remotely from the bed so that shelves for holding various items can be carried selectively by the bracket.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a mounting bracket adapted for attachment to a 
bed for holding various items, and more particularly to a mounting bracket 
adapted to be selectively attached to the side rails of hospital beds or 
the like for holding various objects for use by a bedridden person. 
The specialized beds used in hospitals, nursing homes and convalescent 
facilities have side rails that can be raised to preclude a bedridden 
person from falling out and can be lowered to permit the person to exit 
when necessary. Although articles such as glasses or cups of fluid and 
other items desired by a bedridden person may be placed on a table or 
stand adjacent the bed, the side rails on such beds when in the raised 
position prevent a bedridden person, especially one who is infirm, from 
reaching over the rail to remove the item from the table. Thus, it is 
desirable to have the ability to mount such items and other sundry items 
at a location more convenient to such person. 
The side rails on such beds have at least a pair of longitudinally 
extending rails fastened to slideably mounted uprights at the head and 
foot ends of the bed and the rails have become convenient mounting 
locations for a number of bed rail supported brackets. For example, in 
Nilson U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,772 a urinal holder has a pair of arcuate hooks 
conforming to the diameter of the upper bed rail supported by a respective 
spring so that the hook can be disposed about the upper rail, and has a 
lower arcuate hook adjustably carried on the rear of the holder for 
positioning about the adjacent lower rail. In DeLong U.S. Pat. No. 
4,357,881, a tray support having a pair of arcuate hooks which mount about 
an upper rail carries a pivotably mounted telescoping arm having a lower 
arcuate hook for clamping about a lower bed rail. In Pruente et al. U.S. 
Pat. No. 4,432,522 a telephone support has an arcuate hook which snaps 
onto the upper bed rail and includes a downwardly extending bent hook 
which merely engages one of the lower rails and is held in position by 
capture thereof at the edge of the mattress. In Hamm U.S. Pat. No. 
4,431,154 a telephone holder has an arcuate hook member for grasping the 
upper rail with the bottom of the holder merely abutting a pair of upright 
rails extending between the longitudinal rails. In Jenssen U.S. Pat. No. 
3,340,826 a bed tray includes a movable arcuate hook which can mount about 
the upper bed rail while a downwardly extending portion of the tray merely 
abuts a pair of other longitudinally extending bed rails. Other known 
prior art wherein a bracket for clamping onto to spaced apart rails for 
supporting a member comprise Christine et al where a support member has an 
arcuate slot for clamping onto an upper rail and a lower slot for clamping 
about a lower rail, the support member being a dispensing rack for 
pourable materials. Other patents located during a prior art search 
conducted prior to the filing of the instant application include: Rose 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,219,158; Beabberl U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,840; Maffei U.S. 
Pat. No. 4,410,158; Winckler U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,673; and Waddell et al 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,113, which except for Babberl have various means for 
attaching objects to a bed. 
The limitations of the known prior art are apparent. Except for Nilson and 
DeLong none of the known prior art has an adjustable feature for taking 
into consideration the varying space between the longitudinally extending 
rails of the bed side rails. Each of these patents, however, are limited 
to the mounting of specific devices such as either a urinal or a tray 
holder. Additionally, the adjustable feature in each of these patents 
requires a wingnut to be tightened to position the member properly, and 
both require the use of metallic material thereby resulting in relatively 
expensive manufacturing costs. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Consequently, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a 
mounting bracket which is readily attached to the side rails of a bed for 
holding a multitude of objects so that the objects are assessable to a 
bedridden person. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a universal 
mounting bracket adapted to be attached between a pair of spaced apart 
longitudinally extending rails of the side rail of hospital beds and the 
like having various spacing between said rails, the bracket carrying an 
item supporting shelf. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive 
universal mounting bracket for attachment to a pair of spaced apart 
longitudinally extending rails of the side rails of hospital beds and the 
like, and of wheel chairs and walkers used by disabled persons, the 
bracket having a first clamp for grasping an upper one of the rails and an 
adjustably mounted second clap for securely grasping a lower one of the 
rails, and carrying selectively removable shelves that hold various items. 
Accordingly, the present invention provides a mounting bracket having a 
housing including an arcuate clamping slot at the top thereof for clamping 
about a first longitudinally extending rail of a bed side rail, at least a 
portion of the interior of the housing being hollow and having an opening 
at the bottom thereof for receiving an arm adjustably positionable at one 
end within a slideway in the hollow and having an arcuate clamping slot 
disposed at the other end for clamping about a second longitudinally 
extending rail of the bed side rail spaced below the first rail. The 
housing includes a wall facing away from the side rail having a groove 
forming a slideway for securely receiving a removable shelf adapted to 
hold various items for ready access by a person within the bed. 
In the preferred form of the invention the clamping slot on the arm opens 
toward the bed rail so that the mounting bracket may be clamped about the 
upper rail and pivoted so that the arm clamping slot may readily receive 
the lower rail. The arm adjacent the upper end includes a protuberance for 
locking it within the housing, while a multiplicity of detents spaced 
along the arm cooperate with a wall of the housing facing the opening to 
provide positive stops for the arm in selected positions. In the preferred 
embodiment the shelf is configured for holding a drinking cup or glass. 
Additionally, the mounting bracket may be readily mounted on the rails of 
a wheel chair or a walker for holding drinking cups or the like. The 
mounting bracket may be readily constructed by molding all of the elements 
thereof from plastic so that manufacturing costs may be minimized.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a hospital or similar 
type bed 10 which typically has a pair of side rails 12, only one of which 
is illustrated, the side rails having at least a pair of longitudinally 
extending rails 14, 16 spaced apart one above the other. The rails 14, 16 
are integral with or otherwise fixedly attached to uprights 18, 20 at the 
head end and foot end of the bed respectively, and these uprights are 
conventionally slidably mounted for vertical movement so that the side 
rails 12 may be positioned in a raised position, as illustrated, to permit 
a patient from accidentally falling out of the bed, or a lowered position 
so that the patient may exit the bed. Since bedridden patients, especially 
those who may be infirm, find it difficult to reach over to a night stand 
or the like (not illustrated) to obtain a required article such as a cup 
of water, the present invention provides a mounting bracket, generally 
indicated at 22, for holding such an item conveniently located for the 
patient. 
As best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the mounting bracket 22 of the 
present invention comprises a housing 24 preferably in the general form of 
a rectangular block having front and rear walls 26, 28 respectively 
connected together by integral side walls 30, 32. Formed at the upper end 
of the housing is an arcuate slot 34 which opens at the top between spaced 
limbs 36, 38 extending from the front and rear walls 26, 28 respectively, 
the upper ends of the limbs being adapted for snugly receiving the rail 14 
therebetween while the remainder of the slot formed by the limbs and the 
top wall 40 of the housing has a substantially circular configuration 
corresponding to the cross sectional shape of the rail. The housing 24 is 
preferably molded from a synthetic plastic material such as polystyrene or 
similar material and the limbs 36, 38, which are spaced apart by an amount 
smaller than the diameter of the slot 34 may thus flex to permit the rail 
14 to enter into the slot 34. 
Formed at the bottom end of the housing 24 is a bottom wall 42 having a 
substantially rectangular shaped slot 44 opening into a substantially 
hollow interior 46 of the housing for reasons hereinafter made clear. 
Thus, the housing preferably is molded as two parts such that half of the 
front, rear, top and bottom walls 26, 28, 40, and 42 respectively and thus 
half of the slot 34, together with one side wall 30 or 32 is molded as a 
unit with a core forming the respective half of the hollow, and the two 
halves are subsequently secured together by bonding or the like. To ensure 
a substantial clamping surface the slot 34 extends the entire width of the 
front and rear walls 26, 28, and the slot extends at least between the 
interior surfaces of the side walls 30, 32. 
Received within the hollow 46 of the housing 24 through the slot 44 is the 
upper end 48 of an elongated arm 50 preferably having a width in the 
longitudinal direction of the rails 14, 16, substantially equal to the 
length of the slot 44, and having a thickness between front and rear walls 
52, 54 substantially equal to the width of the slot 44. Preferably, as 
illustrated, the slot 44 extends from the rear wall 28 to a spaced edge of 
the bottom wall 42, and a rib 55 extends from each side wall 30, 32 at the 
location of the edge. Thus, the rear wall 28 together with the ribs 55 
provide a slideway for the arm 50. The arm 50 is also molded from 
synthetic plastic material, preferably the same material as the housing 
24, and is formed with an enlarged body 56 at its lower end. The body 56 
preferably has a width substantially equal to that of the front and rear 
walls 24, 26 and has a depth between the surface of a front wall 58 and 
rear surfaces 60, 62 substantially equal to that of the housing 24 between 
the outer surfaces of the front and rear walls 26, 28, the surfaces 60, 62 
being the free ends of respective spaced apart limbs 64, 66. The body 56 
has an arcuate slot 68 similar in shape and size to the slot 34 but facing 
rearwardly. Thus, the limbs 64, 66 form the open end of the slot and are 
adapted to snugly receive the rail 16 while the remainder of the slot 68 
has a substantially circular configuration corresponding to the cross 
sectional configuration of the rail 16, the limbs flexing to permit the 
rail to be received within the circular portion. 
Adjacent the upper end 48 of the arm 50, preferably at the front 52, is a 
protuberance 70, illustrated in FIG. 3, which acts as a stop and extends 
so that the distance from the rear wall 54 to the front of the 
protuberance 70 is greater than the width of the slot 44. Thus, once the 
arm is positioned within the hollow 46 of the housing 24 and the two 
halves of the housing are secured together, the arm 50 is locked within 
the housing and cannot readily be pulled out through the slot 44. Also 
formed on the arm 50, preferably on the front wall 52, is a multiplicity 
of small teeth or ribs 72 which act as detents to provide positive 
stopping locations for the arm as it is slidably extended from the 
interior of the housing 24. These detents 72 extend slightly beyond the 
front wall 52 and preferably are spaced apart slightly more than the 
thickness of the bottom wall of the housing 24 so that a substantial 
number of closely spaced apart positive stops are provided as the arm 50 
is adjusted so that the spacing between the rail receiving arcuate slots 
34 and 68 may accommodate varying spacings between rails 14 and 16 of the 
various hospital type beds in service. 
Formed in and extending the width of the front wall 26 of the housing 24 is 
an elongated groove 74 which is readily molded within an internally 
extending bulbous ridge 76 of the wall 26. The groove 74 preferably has a 
circular cross section for ease of manufacture and opens at the front. A 
shelf 78 having an insert in the form of an elongated rod shaped bulbous 
rear end 80 is adapted to be slidably received within the groove74 in 
mortise and tenon fashion. The remainder of the shelf may be of any 
convenient configuration for supporting various items, but in the 
preferred embodiment the shelf includes an annular or ring portion 82 
extending forwardly from the body of the shelf remote from the end 80, the 
ring 82 being adapted to receive a drinking cup 84 or the like. Thus, a 
patient or other bedridden person may readily remove the cup 84 and 
partake of its contents. Shelves having other forms for holding toilet 
articles and other items may readily be substituted for the cup holding 
shelf disclosed, or shelves holding combinations of such items may be 
utilized as long as the shelf has a connecting means for mating with the 
slot 74. Alternatively, the housing 24 may have a male member received 
within a female member of the shelf, but that would require that the shelf 
be thicker thereby increasing the cost of the various shelves. 
To use the mounting bracket of the present invention, the housing 24 is 
positioned adjacent the upper rail 14 and pushed so that the rail 14 is 
received within the slot 34. The housing is then pivoted downwardly and 
the arm 50 is adjusted to position the slot 68 in the body 56 at the end 
of the arm adjacent the lower rail 16. The arm is then merely pushed 
toward the rail until the rail 16 is received within the slot 68. The 
shelf may be pre-attached to the housing 24 or may be slidably positioned 
thereon after the mounting bracket has been connected to the rails. When 
the side rail 12 is lowered the bracket too is lowered and need not be 
removed except when desired. Because of the construction of the bracket of 
the present invention, not only can it be mounted on a bed having side 
rails, but it can also be mounted on the rails of a wheel chair and on the 
rails of a walker used by disabled persons. Thus, it has a great degree of 
versatility and the present invention is not limited to hospital beds but 
encompasses other devices having side rails with spaced apart upper and 
lower rails. 
Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggest 
themselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understood 
that the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of the 
invention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to be 
construed as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications which 
do not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to be included 
within the scope of the appended claims.