Patent Publication Number: US-4547907-A

Title: Patient&#39;s gown

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is directed to garments in the form of gowns which are worn by patients in medical facilities, and more particularly to such gowns which are light in weight, comfortable to wear, easy to put on and take off, and which provide for easy access to the torsos of the patients wearing the gowns, i.e., for examinations and for carrying out various treatments such as the connection to the patients of the necessary external medical equipment. 
     2. The Prior Art 
     Light-weight gowns for use by patients in hospitals, nursing homes, medical clinics, doctors&#39; offices, etc., are well known. These gowns, which are often made of cotton, are comfortable to wear and easy to put on and take off. 
     For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,036 to Cater a gown for use by a patient in a hospital is disclosed which is light in weight, comfortable to wear, easy to put on and take off, and which provides a certain degree of access to the torso of the person wearing the gown. This gown, which is openable along one side, is made by connecting together, e.g. by stitching, three separately prepared pieces of material (e.g. cotton). These material pieces, called blanks, include a configured blank which forms the front and rear body portions of the ultimately produced gown, and two generally triangularly shaped blanks which form the opposite right and left sleeves of the gown. A multiplicity of fasteners, i.e., snap fasteners or ties, are attached to the interconnected blanks at various locations along their sides which provide the side opening for the gown so as to enable the gown to be closed once put on by the wearer. 
     Although the gown disclosed in Cater provides certain advantageous features, because it is constructed from three separately configured blanks and because it clearly requires the use of so many fasteners (at least nine), it is somewhat time consuming to construct and thus more expensive to produce than is desirable, and it is not entirely easy to put on and take off. In addition, it does not provide sufficiently quick access to the torso of the wearer in an emergency, i.e., if all the fasteners thereon are connected, as is optimally desirable. 
     Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gown which can be worn by a patient in a medical facility and which will not only suitably cover the wearer, but which will be light in weight, comfortable to wear, easy to put on and take off, and which will be constructed to provide for exceptionally quick and easy access to the torso of the wearer by medical personnel. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a gown which is both simple and inexpensive to make. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a gown which is reversible. 
     It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method for making such a gown. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     According to the present invention, a gown which satisfies all of the foregoing objects can be made by suitably modifying a single pattern consisting of a homogeneous piece of pliable material, this material being suitably fabricated (e.g. cut) from a homogeneous sheet of the pliable material, such that after no more than three fastening means have been attached thereto, the pliable material can be folded along a transverse center line to provide a gown form, and the gown form can be connected (e.g. stitched) along one side so as to form the gown. Because the gown is made from only a single pattern consisting of a homogeneous piece of pliable material and will utilize no more than three fastening means which are located at at least two critical points along the side of the gown, one of the fastening means including a closure loop, the gown will be very easy and inexpensive to make and will provide exceptionally quick and easy access to the torso of the person wearing the gown. 
     A more complete understanding of the present invention will be achieved by reference to the attached drawings, taken in conjunction with the following discussion. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the drawings, 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a gown constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the gown being shown worn by an adult male, 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of a pattern which can be used to make the gown in FIG. 1, 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of the pattern of FIG. 2, shown on an enlarged scale and with certain parts broken away, which has been modified to include a closure loop and closure ties which are part of the gown in FIG. 1, and 
     FIGS. 4 and 5 are front and side elevational views of a gown constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, the gown being shown worn by an infant. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     One embodiment of a gown according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, the gown being sufficiently large that it can be worn by an adult (as indicated). The gown, generally labeled as 10, includes a front body part 11, a rear body part 12, a right sleeve part 13 and a left sleeve part 14. The sides of the front and rear body parts 11 and 12 below right sleeve part 13 are connected as are the lower sides of the right sleeve part 13, whereas the sides below the left sleeve part 14 are not, thus providing part of the opening along the left side of the gown which allows the gown to be put on by the wearer. The remainder of the opening is provided by a slit which extends from a point below the left sleeve part 14 (i.e., at the underarm) to the collar 15, which is formed by an opening between the sleeve parts 13 and 14. Three fastening means 16, 17 and 18 are located along the side opening of the gown, the fastening means 16 being located at the collar 15, the fastening means 17 being located along the side of the gown just below the left sleeve part 14 (i.e., at the underarm), and the fastening means 18 being located along the side of the gown between the fastening means 17 and the bottom of the gown, preferably at a point expected to be coincident with the waistline of the person wearing the gown. The various elements which make up the fastening means 16, 17 and 18 will be discussed in greater detail below. 
     FIG. 2 shows a single pattern which can be used to make the gown in FIG. 1. The pattern is composed of a single homogeneous piece of pliable material 20, e.g., a textile fabric such as cotton or polyester, or a suitable plastic material, which is itself fabricated (e.g. cut) from a homogeneous sheet of the pliable material (not shown), to form an elongated main portion 21 and projection portions 22 and 23 which respectively extend away from the opposite sides of the main portion 21. The main portion 21, which is substantially symmetrical about both a transverse center line X and a longitudinal center line Y, includes opposite ends 21a and 21b which are generally straight and parallel and opposite side portions 21c, 21d, 21e and 21f which converge to some extent towards one another as they extend inwardly from the ends 21a and 21b. The projection portions 22 and 23, which are generally rectangular in shape and are located so as to be essentially symmetrical about the transverse center line X, include opposite sides 22a, 22b, 23a, 23b and ends 22c, 23c. The points where the sides 23a and 23b intersect with the side portions 21d and 21f of the main portion 21 are shown as intersection points A and B. 
     The main portion 21 of the material 20 includes an elliptical opening at its center, the longitudinal center line of the elliptical opening being coincident with the transverse center line X, so as to form a collar 15, as well as slit S which extends from the elliptical opening (see intersection point C at collar 15) to intersection point A. 
     FIG. 3 shows the pattern of FIG. 2 after it has been modified to include the elements of the fastening means 16, 17 and 18. More specifically, strips 30 and 32 have been attached (e.g. stitched) along the sides of the material 20 which define the slit S, each of these strips being sufficiently long that their ends provide closure ties 31 and 33 at intersection point A, these ties helping to provide the elements of fastening means 17. A closure loop 34 has been attached (e.g. stitched) to the material 20 at intersection point B to provide the other element of fastening means 17. In addition, a strip 35 has been attached (e.g. stitched) to the material 20 at the collar 15 (note: it does not extend across the slit S), the strip 35 being sufficiently long that its ends provide closure ties 36 and 37 at intersection point C, these ties providing the elements of the fastening means 16 on the gown 10 in FIG. 1. Finally closure ties 38 and 39 have been attached (e.g. stitched) to the material 20 at suitable corresponding points along side portions 21d and 21f, these closures ties providing fastening means 18. 
     The gown shown in FIG. 1 is thereafter made from the modified pattern shown in FIG. 3 by folding the material 20 about its transverse center line X to provide a gown form, and then continuously connecting (e.g. stitching) the side portion 21c of the main portion 21 to the side portion 21e and the side 22a of the projection portion 22 to the side 22b (thus forming the right sleeve part 13 as shown in FIG. 1) as a flat-fell seam. In addition, in order to protect the gown from tearing, all the remaining ends and sides of the material 20 can be hemmed or reinforced in some similar fashion. 
     With respect to the foregoing, the folded main portion 21 will provide the front and rear body parts 11 and 12 as shown in FIG. 1, the projection portion 22 will form the right sleeve part 13 and the projection portion 23 will form the left sleeve part 14. The closure ties 31 and 33, as well as the closure loop 34, will be located just below the left sleeve part 14. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, a second embodiment of gown 40 according to the present invention is shown which is much smaller in size than the one shown in FIG. 1 and is adaptable to be worn by an infant (as indicated). The shape of the pattern used to form this gown embodiment will be identical to that shown in FIG. 2 (although much smaller in size) and the pattern will be similarly modified to the condition shown in FIG. 3, except that the closure ties 38 and 39 (i.e. fastening means 18) will be omitted since the side of the gown 40 will be so short in length that this additional fastening means will be unnecessary. Thereafter the modified pattern will be folded to form the gown form as noted above and finally connected along its right side to form the gown 40. 
     With either embodiment of the gown according to the invention, the wearer will put the gown on by extending his or her right arm through the right sleeve part 13 and then place the left sleeve part 14 over his or her left shoulder, after which he or she (or an attendant) will (1) tie together the closure ties 36 and 37, (2) extend the closure tie 31 upwardly through the loop 34 and tie it to the closure tie 33 (or alternately extend the closure tie 33 downwardly through the loop 34 and tie it to the closure tie 31), and, if present, (3) tie together the closure ties 38 and 39. 
     It will be clear that various changes in the gown embodiments described could be made and still provide a product which would fall within the scope of the appended claims.