Abstract:
A hospital patient garment constituted of upper and lower garment panels that the patient assumes a position interposed between front and rear portions of the panels by wearing same and, thusly worn, concomitantly achieves alignment of edges for attachment to each other contributing to unassisted or minimal assistance in practicing a dressing-up use of the garment.

Description:
The present invention relates generally to improvements in a garment for a patient during a hospital stay, the improvements more particularly enabling the patient to dress her/him self in the garment without the assistance of a nurse, family member or the like, all as will be better understood as the description proceeds. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As known from common experience the civilian attire of an individual checking into a hospital or like facility is replaced by a hospital-issued garment which in use does little more than serve as a bodily covering, and, in practice, especially for a female patient, does not serve her modesty requirements, is difficult to put on without assistance, and has other drawbacks. 
     Prior patents, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,535 for “Garment For Use In Health Care Situations” issued to Dye et al. on Mar. 24, 1992 and by U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,279 for “Surgical Garment For A Patient” issued to Elting et al. on Mar. 30, 1999, to mention an exemplary few, address the shortcomings of hospital-issued garments, but fail to overcome their shortcomings, except for embodying a more stylish appearance and providing a more effective bodily covering satisfying the modesty of the wearer. What is lacking in the &#39;535, &#39;279 patents and all other known patented patient garments, is a construction which contributes to the dressing-up use of the garment by the patient without the assistance of another. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the foregoing and other shortcomings of the prior art, and particularly the providing of an unassisted dressing-up mode of use of the patient garment. 
     More particularly, it is an object to provide upper torso and lower torso cooperating garments in which the edges thereof delimiting their arm and leg coverings are in alignment as a consequence of being worn on the person, thereby obviating an assisted alignment as heretofore required because an upper torso and lower torso garment component was each provided in two parts and assistance was required in urging same in closing movement upon the patient. The aligned edges are releasably attached to each other to complete the construction of garment sleeves and trousers, and unattached to provide access to the patient&#39;s arms and legs for medical procedures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
       The description of the invention which follows, together with the accompanying drawings should not be construed as limiting the invention to the example shown and described, because those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains will be able to devise other forms thereof within the ambit of the appended claims. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a patient with minimal assistance using the dressing method of the present invention shown wearing the garment, also of a construction according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view, in the flat, of the upper torso garment component; 
         FIG. 3  is a like plan view, in the flat, but of the lower torso garment component; 
         FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view illustrating details of the within inventive dressing method; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates the unassisted upper torso-adorning method step using the upper torso garment component of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a partial perspective view illustrating access to the patient in the upper torso garment component; 
         FIG. 7 , similar to  FIG. 5 , illustrates the minimal assisted use of the garment component of  FIG. 3 , but of the within inventive method step as applied to the lower torso garment component; and 
         FIG. 8  is similar to  FIG. 7 , illustrating details of the method step of  FIG. 7 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Shown in the drawings is a garment, generally designated  10 , of fabric material that is intended primarily for a hospital patient  12 , characterized in that the manner in which it is constructed enables the patient  12  to dress her/him self without assistance, or with minimal assistance. Also, and particularly for a female patient, the garment  10  is a bodily covering serving modesty requirements, while for an attending doctor or caregiver, the covering is not at the expense of preventing access to the patient&#39;s arms, legs and the like for medical procedures, all as will be better understood as the description proceeds. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the garment  10  is die cut in the flat into an upper torso panel  14  having cooperating left arm extensions  16  and  18  and right arm extensions  20  and  22 , cooperating upper torso front panel  24  and upper torso back panel  26 , a left shoulder covering  28  and right shoulder covering  30  each interconnected between the panels  24  and  26 , and edges  32  bounding a neck opening  34 . 
     To the same end, the garment  10  is also die cut in the flat into a lower torso panel  36  having cooperating left leg coverings  38  and  40 , right leg coverings  42  and  44 , cooperating front or stomach covering  46  and rear or buttock covering  48 , each of said leg coverings  38 ,  40 ,  42  and  44  interconnected at locations individually and collectively designated  50 , and edges  52  bounding a left dressing opening  54  and a right dressing opening  56 . 
     The plural edges delimiting the aforesaid noted panels and extensions are individually and collectively designated  58  and are the sites of sewn attachment therealong of cooperating strips of hook and loop fasteners, individually and collectively designated  60 , the utility of which strips  60  will soon be apparent. 
     The unassisted dressing of the patient  10  using the die cut blanks  14  and  36  is best understood from  FIGS. 5 and 7 . The patient  10  places her/his head  62  through the neck opening  34  sized appropriately, and places in alignment the front and rear panels  24 ,  26  resulting from their condition of being depending from the shoulder coverings  28 ,  30 , said alignment concomitantly facilitating the alignment of the strips  60  for temporarily completing the covering by the garment  10  about the patient&#39;s arms  64  and  66  and upper torso  68 . 
     Next, the die cut blank  36  is placed flat on a surface, such as a bed  70 , and the patient  10  positions her/his buttocks  72  on what is to be the buttocks covering  48  and projects her/his legs  74  and  76  through the leg dressing openings  54  and  56 . 
     The patient  10  aligns the interconnected leg coverings  40 ,  42  and  42 ,  44  in superposed relation, a chore readily achieved because of their interconnection at attachment locations  50  and said alignment concomitantly aligns the strips  60  for temporarily completing the covering of the legs  74  and  76  and length portions of the stomach and buttocks coverings  46  and  48 . 
     It is contemplated that the attachment of the strips  60  to each other to complete the covering of encircled anatomy of the patient  10  only be of a temporary nature as noted because a medical procedure may require access to the patient&#39;s arm  64 , for example, for intravenous feeding, or to the patient&#39;s leg  74 , for example, for examination, in which instance the needed access is readily provided by unattaching the appropriate strips  60 . 
     While the patient garment and dress-up method of the within invention herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the detail of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.