DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] As depicted in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the hospital gown of this invention is a short-sleeved single-piece garment having a lapel collar. The garment is shown with three hook and loop fasteners in front and four hook and loop fasteners in back. The number of fasteners in the back can be varied depending on the size of the garment to be made. I contemplate that gowns in accordance with this invention will be made in nine different sizes, three for children, three for adult females and three for adult males. Obviously, the garments for children can contain even fewer than the depicted number of fasteners, provided that the fasteners are suitably positioned so that maximum concealment of the body while the gown is being worn is possible, consistent with the needs of hospital staff to open the gown for medical and other purposes. The gowns can be made of fabric or paper, or any other suitable material for hospital gowns.

[0008] Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the gown 10 is divided into a first half 14 and a second half 16 by means of a vertical slit extending from the bottom hemline 19 on the front side of the gown 10, through the top neck opening 12 and extending down the back side of the gown 10 to a point above the bottom hemline 19. The area between the terminus of the vertical slit and the bottom hemline 19, on the backside of the gown 10, defines a seam 18 that joins the first half and the second half of the gown 10. Further, armholes 11 may be included in the gown 10. To securely close the gown 10 in a manner that provides easy access to the patient's body to medical personnel, the vertical slit may be closed with fastening devices such as “Velco”, i.e., hook and loop fastening strips that are detachably attached to one another. Other fastening devices such as buttons, snaps, and hook and eye devices are suitable for use as well.

[0009] As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the fasteners on the male gown are located at approximately the middle of the chest, the navel and slightly below the pubic area, so that there will be maximum coverage. Likewise, the fasteners shown on the back of the gown are located just below the neck, in the middle of the back, just above the buttocks and just below the buttocks in order to provide maximum concealment while the gown is closed. One or more of the fasteners may be omitted or moved if desired by the user. Making the gown in one piece makes it easier to keep the back of the gown closed and thus to avoid embarrassing exposure of the buttocks and other portions of the back. The hook and loop fastener strips shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B can be of the same length or of different lengths, depending upon the order of the end user. It is preferred that the hook and loop fastener strips on the front of the garment of FIG. 1A be approximately one inch in length, while the fasteners for the back should be approximately four inches in length for maximum security.

[0010] The hospital gowns of FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B are sized more appropriately for women and may have flaring at the hips and tucking at the waist in order to provide a more comfortable conformity of the garment to the shape of the patient, as desired. It is, of course, within the scope of the invention not to include any such tapering. As depicted in the drawings, the female garment has fasteners slightly above the breasts, at approximately navel height and just below the pubic area in order to provide maximum privacy on the front of the garment while allowing for opening of the garment by disengaging of all or fewer than all of the fastening strips for medical and other purposes.

[0011] The back views shown in FIGS. 2B and 3B demonstrate that the bottom end of the opening of the gown in back is approximately eight inches above the bottom hem of the garment, so that the bottom of the back opening of the garment comes approximately half-way between the buttocks and the knees of the wearer. As depicted in FIGS. 2B and 3B, the hook and loop fasteners are shown as being located just below the collar, in the middle of the back, just above the buttocks and just below the buttocks. FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B show an upright or mandarin collar, although the lapel-type collar shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B may also be used on the female gowns according to this invention. Other collar styles as will be readily apparent to persons skilled in this art may also be employed.

[0012] An advantage of this invention is that the substrate materials for the gowns may be easily printed or otherwise patterned prior to fabrication. For example, children's gowns may be mint or pink in color and may be illustrated with toys or the like. Female gowns may be pink with appropriate pictures for women thereon, while the male gowns may be colored light blue or other appropriate colors for males and have appropriate pictures on them such as golf clubs, footballs and the like. The process for printing these patterns and colors may be carried out on computer driven, wide-format ink jet printers readily available in the market for printing designs and patterns in six to eight colors. Once the material for making the gowns has been appropriately printed, the material for the gowns may be die-stamped for each size and type, the arms machine sewn thereon and the hook and loop fastener strips can be placed by machine in accordance with usual manufacturing practices in the garment industry.

[0013] It should be apparent from the above disclosure that this invention provides an easy way for hospitals and other such institutions to provide garments for their patients to wear which make their hospital or other institutional stays more pleasant. The use of appropriately placed fasteners on the front and back of the garments, coupled with the closure of the rear of the garment for a distance above the lower hem, produce a garment which is easy to manufacture, and thus inexpensive, while being appreciated by patients. It is well known that happy patients make fewer complaints about their hospital stays, enjoy more uneventful convalescences and lodge fewer complaints and claims against hospitals and other institutions.