Patent Application
20220095720
The present invention relates generally to gown with pleated opening for discrete elimination of urine and method of manufacture. More so, the present invention relates to a gown that provides privacy and dignity to the wearer; especially while eliminating urine through the penis. The gown has a gown body with an open posterior side that can be closed with a fastener, such as ties, clips, buttons, and the like. The gown has an opposing anterior side defined by a central section, which is approximately aligned with the penis when the gown is donned. The groin section forms a vertical slit that is sized and dimensioned to enable the wearer to easily egress and ingress the penis for elimination of urine. The slit is visibly not obvious when viewed from the front of the gown body because of one or more pleats that selectively cover the slit. The pleats are integral with the gown, formed from the extra loose fabric from the gown.
The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon.
Typically, a hospital gown has a body made of flexible material, with the edges defining a neckline and a hemline, and the body including panels of width sufficient to span the region of a patient's body between intersections of its coronal plane. The gown has arm openings adjacent the neckline, and two pairs of securing ties.
Generally, hospital gowns are well known for providing wearers with a mere modicum of personal modesty and warmth. A typical gown is made from a single panel of cloth having armhole openings, which may or may not have sewn-in sleeves, and two rear flaps which meet and are tied behind the wearer with little or no overlap.
In many instances, the changing of a urinary catheter, performing of a manual bladder washout and flexible cystoscopy is conducted with the patient normally on a patient bed, occasionally a trolley and rarely an operating table. Male patients are in the supine position, females supine but with legs bent and apart with ankles together.
Other proposals have involved hospital gowns that facilitate the elimination of urine. The problem with these gowns is that they do not cover the opening to the groin and crotch region of the body. Also, the covering is not always ornamental, such as using pleats, for example. Even though the above cited gowns meet some of the needs of the market, a gown with pleated opening for discrete elimination of urine and method of manufacture, is still desired.
Illustrative embodiments of the disclosure are generally directed to a gown with pleated opening for discrete elimination of urine and method of manufacture. The gown provides privacy and dignity to the wearer of a gown while eliminating urine through the penis. The gown has a gown body with an open posterior side that can be closed with a fastener, such as ties, clips, buttons, and the like. The gown has an opposing anterior side defined by a central section, which is approximately aligned with the penis when the gown is donned. The groin section forms a vertical slit that is sized and dimensioned to enable the wearer to easily egress and ingress a urine bottle, a urinary catheter, or the penis for elimination of urine. The slit is visibly not obvious when viewed from the front of the gown body because of one or more pleats that selectively cover the slit. The pleats are integral with the gown, formed along the longitudinal of the slit from the extra loose fabric from the central section.
In one aspect, the gown with pleated opening for discrete elimination of urine, comprises:
In another aspect, the gown body is defined by a pair of sleeves extending from the outer surface, the sleeves providing communication with the inner surface and adapted for placement of the wearer's arms therethrough.
In another aspect, the gown body is defined by a woven sheet-like resilient material.
In another aspect, the woven sheet-like resilient material comprises cotton.
In another aspect, the gown body is defined by a nonwoven sheet-like resilient material.
In another aspect, the nonwoven sheet-like resilient material comprises a disposable polymer.
In another aspect, the gown body is defined a neckline adapted to align with the wearer's neck and an opposing hem adapted to orient to the wearer's feet.
In another aspect, the neckline is about 21″ from the pleats.
In another aspect, the gown further comprises at least one fastener disposed along the length of the side edges.
In another aspect, the fastener includes at least one of the following: a twill tie, a button, a hook and loop fastener, a clip, and a magnet.
In another aspect, the slit is oriented along the longitudinal of the gown body.
In another aspect, the slit is about 8″ long.
In another aspect, the slit is sized and dimensioned to receive a urine bottle or a urinary catheter.
In another aspect, the pleats form along the longitudinal of the slit, and terminate at opposing ends of the slit.
In another aspect, the gown body comprises a hospital gown.
One objective of the present invention is to provide a gown that forms a concealable slit for elimination of urine.
Another objective is to form ornamental pleats along the longitudinal of the slit for concealment thereof.
Yet another objective is to utilize the extra loose fabric of the gown body to form the pleats.
An exemplary objective is to provide an anterior side of the gown body having opposing side edges for easy ingress and egress of the gown body.
Additional objectives are to provide an inexpensive to manufacture hospital gown with pleated opening for discrete elimination of urine.
Other systems, devices, methods, features, and advantages will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims and drawings.
The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views of the drawings.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “rear,” “right,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
A gown 100 with pleated opening for discrete elimination of urine and method 900 of manufacture is referenced in
As
The gown 100 comprises a gown body 102, which is a sheet-like, resilient material. Gown body 102 is sized, cut, and assembled to form the final gown 100, which is adapted to at least partially cover a wearer 118. Gown body 102 may have different dimensions, depending on the final size and style of the gown 100. In some embodiments, gown body 102 is fabricated from a woven sheet-like material, such as cotton, polyester, or cotton blend fabrics. However, in other embodiments, gown body 102 is fabricated from a nonwoven sheet-like material, such as a disposable polymer, or a medical grade plastic or rubber.
Gown body 102 has an inner surface 400 that faces the wearer 118, and an opposing outer surface 110 that faces outwardly from the wearer 118. Inner surface 400 engages the wearer 118, and thus may have a comfortable lining or fabrication. Outer surface 110 is the visible side of the gown body 102 when donned. As illustrated in
In some embodiments, gown body 102 may be manufactured to create a pair of sleeves 104a, 104b that extend from the outer surface 110, and that provide communication with the inner surface 400. Sleeves 104a-b are adapted for placement of the wearer's arms therethrough. Sleeves 104a-b may be short, mid-length, or long, depending on the style of the gown body 102. In yet other embodiments, gown body 102 has a neckline 106 that aligns with the wearer's neck and an opposing hem 108 adapted to orient to the wearer's feet; when the gown body 102 is donned by the wearer 118. In one non-limiting embodiment, neckline 106 is about 21″ from the pleats 114, described below. Looking back at
Looking now at
Turning now to the front of gown 100, the gown body 102 has an anterior side 112, shown in
Groin section 116 of the anterior side 112 has, within its perimeters, a formed slit 200. As illustrated in
Thus, the slit 200 enables a urine bottle 202, a urinary catheter, and the penis itself, to easily egress and ingress therethrough. For example,
Groin section 116, and specifically the loose, resilient material of groin section 116, is gathered into a plurality of successive pleats 114. As referenced in
As illustrated in
In one alternative embodiment, slit and pleats form at posterior side of gown body. Thus, excrement has an opening to be eliminated. In another alternative embodiment, pleats are detachable from groin section of gown body. Thus, different styles and sizes of pleats can be fastened to gown body for covering the slit.
The method 900 may further comprise a Step 904 of cutting, from the sheet-like resilient material, the dimensions for a gown body. A Step 906 includes forming a posterior side having opposing parallel side edges, the posterior side being adapted for covering the wearer's posterior sections when the gown body is donned by the wearer. In some embodiments, a Step 908 comprises forming an anterior side having a groin section, the anterior side being adapted for covering the wearer's anterior sections and the groin section being adapted for at least partially covering the wearer's penis when the gown body is donned by the wearer. A Step 910 includes joining the posterior and anterior sides together. This junction of the sides can be through stitching, welding, adhesives, or detachable fasteners.
As
Although the process-flow diagrams show a specific order of executing the process steps, the order of executing the steps may be changed relative to the order shown in certain embodiments. Also, two or more blocks shown in succession may be executed concurrently or with partial concurrence in some embodiments. Certain steps may also be omitted from the process-flow diagrams for the sake of brevity. In some embodiments, some or all the process steps shown in the process-flow diagrams can be combined into a single process.
These and other advantages of the invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following written specification, claims and appended drawings.
Because many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalence.
