Patent Publication Number: US-11019860-B1

Title: Hospital gown

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present non-provisional patent application is based upon Provisional Application No. 62/289,002 filed Jan. 29, 2016, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference and the priority of which is hereby claimed. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a hospital gown system and more particularly pertains to maintaining privacy of a patient at all times while allowing access by a health care provider to various body parts of the patient. The maintaining privacy and allowing access is done in a safe, professional, modest, and economical manner. 
     Description of the Prior Art 
     The use of hospital gowns of known designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, hospital gowns of known designs and configurations previously devised and utilized for the purpose of maintaining a patient&#39;s privacy and allowing access by health care providers are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. 
     While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, they do not describe a hospital gown that allows maintaining privacy of a patient at all times while allowing access by a health care provider to various body parts of the patient. The maintaining privacy and allowing access is done in a safe, professional, modest, and economical manner. 
     In this respect, the hospital gown according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of maintaining privacy of a patient at all times while allowing access by a health care provider to various body parts of the patient. The maintaining privacy and allowing access is done in a safe, professional, modest, and economical manner. 
     Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved hospital gown which can be used for maintaining privacy of a patient at all times while allowing access by a health care provider to various body parts of the patient. The maintaining privacy and allowing access is done in a safe, professional, modest, and economical manner. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of hospital gowns of known designs and configurations now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved hospital gown. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved hospital gown and method which has all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages. 
     To attain this, the present invention from a broad perspective essentially comprises a garment. First provided is a gown formed with a front, a back, a left side, a right side, a left lateral arm opening, and a right lateral arm opening. Next a plurality of flaps are provided. Each flap is formed in an inverted U-shaped configuration with a lower horizontal section coupled to the gown. The gown has a plurality of openings. Each of the openings is positioned beneath one of the flaps. Fixed hook and loop fasteners are around each of the openings. Separable hook and loop fasteners on each flap are adapted to couple and uncouple with respect to associated fixed hook and loop fasteners. The flaps are adapted to be lowered to provide for use by a care giver when administering to a patient. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached. 
     In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hospital gown system which has all of the advantages of the prior art hospital gowns of known designs and configurations and none of the disadvantages. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hospital gown which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. 
     It is further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hospital gown which is of durable and reliable constructions. 
     An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved hospital gown which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such hospital gown economically available to the buying public. 
     Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hospital gown for maintaining privacy of a patient at all times while allowing access by a health care provider to various body parts of the patient. The maintaining privacy and allowing access is done in a safe, professional, modest, and economical manner. 
     These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
     For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevational view of a hospital gown constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged showing of the left mid-chest flap, the flap being partially open. 
         FIG. 3  is an enlarged showing of the central mid-chest pocket, the flap being partially open. 
         FIG. 4  is a rear elevational view of the hospital gown shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of the left side opening taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a rear elevational view of a hospital gown constructed in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a rear elevational view of the hospital gown illustrated in  FIG. 6  but with the back open. 
     
    
    
     The same reference numerals refer to the same parts throughout the various Figures. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIG. 1  thereof, the preferred embodiment of the new and improved hospital gown embodying the principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     The present invention, the hospital gown  10  is comprised of a plurality of components. Such components in their broadest context include a gown and a plurality of flaps. Such components are individually configured and correlated with respect to each other so as to attain the desired objective. 
     From a specific standpoint, the present invention is a garment  10  for maintaining privacy of a patient at all times while allowing access by a health care provider to various body parts of the patient. In the preferred embodiment, first provided is a hospital gown  14 . The gown is formed with a front  16 , a back  18 , a left side  20 , and a right side  22 . The gown is of a one piece construction with a head opening  26  above, a leg opening  28  below, a left lateral arm opening and sleeve  30 , and a right lateral arm opening and sleeve  32 . Cords  27  are provided at the back of the head opening to secure the garment in position while being worn. In the preferred embodiment, the gown is a pull over garment. 
     Next provided are a left mid-chest flap  36  and a right mid-chest flap  38 . Also provided are an enlarged abdominal flap  40  located below the left mid-chest flap and the right mid-chest flap. Next provided is a central pocket flap  42  between the left mid-chest flap and the right mid-chest flap. Next, a rear pocket flap  44  is provided. A tab  45  extends upwardly on each flap to facilitate opening and closing the flaps. Each flap is formed in an inverted U-shaped configuration with a lower horizontal section  46  coupled to the gown. The gown has openings  48 ,  50 ,  52 ,  54  positioned respectively beneath the left mid-chest flap and the right mid-chest flap, and the abdominal flap, and the central pocket flap, and the rear pocket flap respectively. The central pocket flap and the rear pocket flap are adapted to removably receive telemetry and other devices in association with providing medical care to the patient. Fixed hook and loop fasteners  58  in an inverted U-shaped configuration are provided around each opening. Separable hook and loop fasteners  60  in an inverted U-shaped configuration are provided around each flap and are adapted to couple and uncouple with respect to an associated fixed hook and loop fastener. The flaps are adapted to be lowered providing for use by the care giver when administering to the patient. 
     Lastly, a left passageway  64  is provided on the left side of the gown and a right passageway  66  is provided on the right side of the gown. Each passageway is located beneath the abdominal flap for use by the care giver when administering to the patient. 
     An alternate embodiment of the garment  100  is shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . In this embodiment, the back of the gown is an open wrap-around back formed of a left rear region  104  with a left edge  106  and a right rear region  108  with a right edge  110 . A left interior string  114  and a left exterior string  116  are provided. Also provided are a right interior string  118  and a right exterior string  120 . An aperture extends through the gown above each string. Each string is adapted to be fed through an associated one of the apertures to tie the gown in a closed orientation when worn by the patient. 
     In another embodiment, the left mid-chest flap, the right mid-chest flap, the enlarged abdominal flap located below the left mid-chest flap and the right mid-chest flap, and the central pocket flap located between the left mid-chest flap and the right mid-chest flap are provided. In this embodiment the rear pocket flap is not included. 
     As to the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.