US3557385A - Hospital gown - Google Patents

Abstract

A HOSPITAL GOWN IS FORMED WITH WING-LIKE PORTIONS WHICH ARE VERY LOOSELY ARRANGED AND DRAPED ABOUT THE ARMS OF THE PATIENT ALLOWING QUICK AND EASY ACCESS TO THE PATIENT''S CHEST AND ARMS WITHOUT EXPOSING THE PATIENT OR NECESSITATING CUTTING AND TEARING OF THE GOWN.

Description

Jan 1971 J. M. HENDRICKSON 3, 57,

HOSPITAL GOWN Filed Aug. 28, 1968 lNVENTOR JANE M. HENDRICKSON MW %;%,W

ATTYS United States Patent Ofiice Patented Jan. 26, 1971 3,557,385 HOSPITAL GOWN Jane M. Hendrickson, 426 Countryside Drive, Wheaten, Ill. 60187 Filed Aug. 28, 1968, Ser. No. 756,038 Int. Cl. A4111 9/00 U.S. Cl. 2-114 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hospital gown is formed with wing-like portions which are very loosely arranged and draped about the arms of the patient allowing quick and easy access to the patients chest and arms without exposing the patient or necessitating cutting and tearing of the gown.

This invention relates to garments and, more particularly, to gowns worn by patients in hospitals.

Commonly used hospital gowns are formed with conventional sleeves which interfere with access to a patients chest or upper arm by a doctor or nurse. As a result, the sleeves are often torn or cut to provide quick access to the chest or arms of patients who are in intensive care and post-surgical rooms. It will be appreciated that such sleeves interfere with the taking of blood pressure, venous pressure, intravenous feedings, blood transfusions, checking of drains or the changing of dressings, particularly when the patient is comatose. Also when changing gowns on patients who are being restrained with wrist cuffs, it is sometimes necessary to cut the gown off the patient.

Other shortcomings of the conventional hospital gown are that it is usually difficult for one person to put the gown on a comatose patient. Also, many gowns are open in the back exposing the patients back which feels cold. Also, patients complain that the gowns become twisted under the patients back and feel uncomfortable.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved hospital gown which is formed without the conventional sleeves, yet covers the patient and affords easy access for nursing services or examination by the doctor.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a hospital gown, when opened, and showing the preferred embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a rear view of a patient wearing the gown of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, for purposes of illustration the invention is embodied in a hospital gown 11 which, very generally, is formed with a front portion or panel 13, a pair of wing portions or panels 15 joined to the front panel (in lieu of the conventional sleeves) and a pair of back panels 17. Means such as ties may be provided for securing the gown about the patient. Preferably, the wing panels 15 are so large that upper and outer portions thereof, as shown in FIG. 1, serve as falls" 19 (FIG. 2) which, when the gown is worn, fall across the back of the patient to keep the back covered. Also, sufficient material is provided in the wings 19 to drape loosely across the upper arm of the patient so that, upon lifting of the wing, observation or nursing services may be readily provided to the patients arm, upper shoulders or chest.

The gown 11 is particularly useful for patients who are undergoing intensive care or post-surgical care and are lying fiat, are comatose and have attached tubes, drains, dressings, restraints or other equipment which must be serviced by a nurse or inspected by a doctor. Heretofore, in such situations, it has been the practice that the patient either be exposed, which is particularly undesirable from the standpoint of comfort of the patient, or else the sleeve of the hospital gown was cut or torn to provide suitable access to the desired area of the arm or chest. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the patients arms and chest are amply covered as the wings 15 are formed sufficiently long that outer curved edges 21 on the wings 15 extend to approximately the elbow of the person when the wing panels are draped over the patients arms. Additionally, the wing panels have falls 19 which extend to cover a portion of the patients back, preferably with the upper or outer edges 23 of the wings abutting or slightly overlapping, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The very generous amount of material provided for the wing panels 15 allows a doctor or nurse to lift a wing and thereby form a large tunnel-like opening giving access to the patients chest and arm, although from the front the patients breasts will still be covered and will not be exposed to others.

Unlike many conventional hospital gowns, the gown 15 may be easily applied to a comatose patient by one person who merely lays the front panel 13 over the patient and ties a pair of upper ties 25 about the patients neck and then drapes the wing panels 15 about the patients arms. The falls 19 and back panels 17 may then be tucked under the patient. It is usually possible to secure opposite ends of the lower back panel ties 27 about the patients waist. If desired, a further pair of ties 29 may be provided at the juncture of the bottom of the wing panels 15 and the top, inner edges of the back panels 17, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The ties 29 may be tied to the ties 27 in a crossed manner. That is, the tie 29 on the right side of the gown will be tied to the tie 27 on the leftside of the gown, and the left tie 29 will be tied to the right tie 27.

Where the gown 11 is to be used on persons who are not comatose, securing means in the form of a single snap fastener having a projecting half or portion 44 and a receiving half or portion 45 for the projecting portion 45 may be provided along the edge 21 of the wing panels. In this instance, the respective halves of the snap fastener are secured by stitches to the inner side of the edge 21 of the wing panel. The wing panels still drape over the patients arms and the snap fastener may be easily undone. The wing panels still function dilferently then a conventional sleeve.

To provide an inexpensive and commercially competitive gown, the gown 11 can be constructed with a relatively few number of panels and simple Flat Fell seams, as will be described. For instance, the illustrated gown may be made from approximately 2 yards of 40 inch material and 2% yards of 1 inch cotton twill tape which is used about the neck portion of the gown and for the respective ties 25 and 27. By way of example only and not for purposes of limitation, the dimensions of the preferred gown 11 will be given. The wing panels 15 are approximately 12 inches along the upper or inner edges 23; the outer curved edges of the wing panels are particularly wide and full and, in this instance, are 40 inches as measured along the curved edge 21 from a point 30 at the upper edges to the point at the back panels at the location of the ties 29. Preferably, the snap fastener half 44 is located about 16 inches from the point 30 and about 17 inches from the other snap fastner half 45. Along an inside seam 33 joining the wing panels to the front panel 13, the illustrated wing panels 15 are, in this example, about 16 inches in length. Along the other edge of a collar 36 for the gown, the preferred wing panels 15 measure approximately 4 inches as measured along the curve. In the preferred example of the invention, the collar 36 is formed by a small arcuately shaped panel 37 joined to the wing panels and to the front panel 13 at the seam 35. The outer edge of the collar is hemmed with a soft cotton twill tape 39, the opposite ends of which extend beyond the collar to form the ties 25.

In this example, the front panel 13 is approximately 10 inches along its upper edge at the collar tape 39 and extends down about 37 inches to a bottom hem 41. The illustrated back panels 17 are rectangular in shape and are about approximately 10 inches in width and about 30 inches in length along a seam 43 at which they are joined to the lower and outer edges of the front panel 13. The back panels 17 preferabl may be wrapped about to enclose the buttocks of the patient when the ties 27 are tied. Thus, the patient is covered from the waist down so that the patient may be moved in a wheel chair or allowed to walk about in the gown without being exposed. Additionally, the manner of mending the gown 11 is greatly simplified as the gown is an open, fiat garment thereby providing easy access to all areas thereof for mending.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the hospital gown is particularly suited for facilitating examination of the patient or for providing access for nursing care without the necessity for tearing the hospital gown at the location of the conventional sleeves of the prior art hospital gowns. The gown is made of relatively few and simple panels and ties so as to be commercially competitive from a cost standpoint. The gown is comfortable and is extremely simple to apply to a comatose patient.

While a preferred embodiment has been shown and described, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention by such disclosure but. rather, it is intended to cover all modifications and alternate constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

1. A hospital patients gown comprising in planar condition an arcuate collar having a central portion and side portions terminating in upwardly and inwardly facing ends, an elongated front panel having an upper portion. a waistline and a lower portion, said upper portion having an upper edge joined to said central portion of said arcuate collar and downwardly and outwardly extending concave side edges terminating on each side at points defining said waistline, said lower portion having straight side edges extending vertically from said points and being of a width and length sufiicient to cover the front and side portions of the patients lower torso and thighs, a pair of rectangular rear panels joined to said gown only at said lower portion of said front panel along the side edges thereof and extending outwardly from said lower portion side edges a distance sufficient to allow the respective free ends thereof to fold about and cover the remaining portions of the patients lower torso and thighs, a pair of wing panels formed separately from said front panel and joined to said front panel at seams along said side edges of said front panel upper portion and to said arcuate collar side portions, said wing panels having upper free edges extending upwardly and outwardly from the ends of said color side portions a distance approximating the distance from said collar to said waistline, said wing panels having an outwardly curved edge extending downwardly from the outward end of said upper free edges to said waistline terminating points, said curved edges having a pair of spaced releasable fasteners whereby said wing panels may be positioned across a wearers shoulders, cover and fasten about the wearers upper arms and cover the wearers back with said upper free edges in an overlapped condition, cooperating securement means at the upper free ends of said rear panels and at said waistline terminating points for securing the garment at the waist of a wearer, and securement means at the ends of said arcuated collar for securing the garment at the neck of the wearer.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,229,270 6/19l7 Howard 2-88 1,3l6.364 9/1919 Howard 2-88 1,358,852 11/1920 Howard 2-88 2,808,591 10/1957 Grant 2-88 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,198,128 6/l959 France 2-48 582,390 11/1946 Great Britain 2-48 RICHARD J. SCANLAN, IR., Primary Examiner us. (:1. X.R. 2-43.74

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