TITLE OF THE INVENTION Undergarment Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to undergarments used for surgical, hospital 5 and nursing situations, and more particularly to a partially disposable undergarment which provides more dignity to the wearer than conventional hospital gowns. The typical reusable cloth hospital gown provided during a hospital stay and in some nursing situations is typically open at the back for ease in the donning and o doffing of such articles of clothing by staff. However, the rear opening nature of these gowns seems to have thrown dignity to the wind in many circumstances of use to the great embarrassment and loss of dignity of the wearer. Another need not well met in a hospital, or nursing use environment is with respect to providing a diaper-type function for adult wearers and patients which5 deals efficiently and effectively with inadvertent or accidental urination and/or bowel elimination. Of further concern is the wear and tear experienced by healthcare personnel in lifting patients to assist them into existing shorts, pajamas or scrublike pants. o Description of Related Art A number of prior art teachings have attempted to deal with the situation of adequate diaper-like structure with regard to adult wearers as follows: U.S. Patent 4,018,226 ssued to Korgemets U.S. Patent 4,145,763 ssued to Abrams, et al.5 U.S. Patent 4,327,448 ssued to Lunt U.S. Patent 4,555,245 ssued to Armbruster U.S. Patent 4,644,945 ssued to Thorner U.S. Patent 4,651 ,353 ssued to W alden U.S. Patent 4,745,636 ssued to Lunt0 U.S. Patent 5,435,014 ssued to oretz, et al. U.S. Patent 5,522,809 ssued to Larsonneur U.S. Patent 5,853,405 ssued to Suprise U.S. Patent 5,983,392 ssued to Dutka
U.S. Patent 6,092,242 ssued to Niedermeyer U.S. Patent 6,142,983 ssued to Suprise et al. U.S. Patent 6,240,563 ssued to Niedermeyer U.S. Patent 6,289,519 ssued to Murakami, et al. U.S. Patent 6,293,936 ssued to Otsubo U.S. Patent 6,293,937 ssued to Matsushita et al. U.S. Patent 6,308,339 ssued to Murakami et al. U.S. Patent 6,406,469 ssued to Brain et al. U.S. Patent 6,458,116 ssued to Matsushita U.S. Patent 6,475,201 ssued to Saito et al. U.S. Patent 6,497,694 ssued to Rosch et al. U.S. Patent 6,516,473 ssued to Saito U.S. Patent 6,539,554 ssued to Portela U.S. Patent 6,579,273 ssued to Dupuy The present invention not only provides an undergarment which improves upon the shortcomings of the conventional fabric gowns which are open along the back of the wearer, but also deals with the function of inadvertent or accidental elimination by providing an undergarment which is partially reusable or launderable and partially disposable. The outer cloth member is fabricated of materials similar to that used for conventional hospital gowns and is thereby reusable after being soiled by laundering or other cleaning means. The inner member is multi-layered and is disposable after being soiled. The multi-layer structure collects and traps urine and fecal matter for convenient detachment from its releasably engaged position against the inner surface of the outer member after removal from the wearer. Both the inner and outer garments fold flat and can be easily applied to the patient by rolling instead of lifting, preventing possible injury to medical staff. This invention is directed to a partially disposable undergarment for surgical, hospital and nursing home use comprising a reusable single-layer cloth outer member and a multiple layer disposable absorbent inner member releasably attachable against an inner surface of the outer member. The side margins of the outer member front and rear panels are releasably attachable together to form a reusable outer portion of the undergarment. The inner member is preferably similar in shape and size to the outer member and also includes a front panel and
a rear panel and having side margins and elastic waist margins and a narrow central crotch portion therebetween. The side margins of the inner member front and rear panels are dependently releasably attachable in generally coextensive alignment to corresponding side margins of the outer member front and rear 5 panels. The inner member is formed having a liquid pervious top sheet positionable against a wearer, a liquid impervious back sheet positionable against the inner surface of the outer member and a liquid absorbent core disposed between and generally coextensive with said top and back sheets whereby, when the undergarment is soiled, the outer and inner members are releasably separable o for disposal of the inner member and laundering or cleaning of the outer member. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a partially disposable undergarment for use in surgical, hospital and nursing home environments. It is another object of this invention to provide an undergarment which better maintains the dignity of a wearer in hospital, surgical and nursing home5 environments. Yet another object of this invention is to provide a hospital, nursing or surgical environment undergarment which includes an outer member which is reusable by laundering and a releasably attachable inner member which is disposable after being soiled by the wearer. 0 Yet another object of this invention is to provide hospital undergarments which maintains patient dignity in its outer appearance while providing an adequate disposable inner diaper-like aspect. In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with reference to the 5 accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of the outer surface of the outer member in the flat showing the stretchable margins depicted in phantom. Figure 2 is a schematic view similar to Figure 1 of the inside surface thereof. Figures 1A and 2A show alternate attaching means between the side o margins of the outer garment. Figure 3 is a schematic plan view of the outside surface of the disposable inner multi-layered member of the invention.
Figure 4 is a schematic partially broken view similar to that of Figure 3 depicting the multi-layer structure thereof as seen from the inside surface thereof. Figure 5 is a simplistic schematic view of a cross section of the undergarment in its assembled, in-use configuration. Referring now to the drawings, the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown generally at numeral 10 in Figure 5. The reusable outer member 12 of the invention 10 is shown generally in Figures 1 and 2 while the disposable multi- layered inner member 70 is shown in detail in Figures 4 and 5. Turning particularly to Figures 1 and 2, the outer member 12 is formed of reusable, launderable fabric material such cotton or other fabric material utilized in conventional hospital gowns. The outer member 12 includes a back panel 14 having side margins 26 and 30 and a front panel 16 having its own side margins 38 and 40 and an interconnecting narrow central crotch portion along seam line 18. The back panel 14 is formed in three sections connected along the longitudinal seam lines as shown which extend between the elastic waist margin 22 and the leg opening margins 32 and 34. The waistband 20 is made stretchable or elastic into the position shown in phantom by conventional pretensioned elastic members sewn therewithin. The front panel 16 also includes an elastic waist margin 48 having an elastic band portion 36 and side margins 38 and 40 extending to let opening margins 42 and 44 to form leg openings 140 and 142 in Figure 5 in cooperation with leg opening margins 32 and 34. The extensibility of the waistband 36 is also shown in phantom. For male patients, a fly 46 formed in the conventional way with overlapping material is also provided within the central longitudinal area of the front panel 16 extending downwardly from the waistband 36 as shown. Mating hook and loop strips along the side margins 26 and 30 of the back panel 14 are provided at 24 and 28, respectively. The other portion of this two-part mating hook and loop arrangement is attached at 56 and 58 along the side margins 38 and 40 of the front panel 16. By this arrangement, as also seen in Figure 5, the side margins 26/38 and 30/40 of the back and front panels 14 and 16, respectively, are releasably attachable in overlapping fashion one to another.
An alternate embodiment of the side margin attaching means is shown in Figures 1A and 2A. The outer member 12" formed as above described includes a series of snap halves 150 attached in spaced relationship along side margins 26' and 30' of the back panel 14" while front panel 16' includes the mating halves 152 of the two-part snap members along side margins 38' and 40". This arrangmeent of mating snap halves will come together and generally have the same functional and structural appearance as shown in Figure 5 previously described. Referring now particularly to Figures 3 and 4, the details of the inner member 70 are there shown. The rear panel 72a and the front panel 72b are formed of a single multi-layered sheet 72. The rear panel 72a includes side margins 78 and 86, while the front panel 72b includes side margins 106 and 110. One half of releasable hook and loop strips are attached along the side margins 78, 88, 106, and 110 at 80, 88, 108 and 112, respectively. A waistband strip 76 of one part of the two part releasable hook and loop arrangement is also attached along the waistline margin 74 of the rear panel 72a. All of the perimeter margins of the inner member 70 except along side margins 106 and 110 are provided with an elastic member shown typically at 82 in broken view and extending at 84, 90, 92, 96, 100, 104 and 116 adjacent the corresponding margins 74, 86, 91, 94, 98, 102 and 114, respectively, as shown. These elastic members provide the resiliency of the corresponding margins of the inner member 70 for stretching thereof into the positions shown in phantom. Note, however, that an economy version of the invention envisions draw strips as a substitute for elastic waistbands. The disposable inner member 70 is structured of a multi-layer arrangement wherein coextensive liquid pervious top sheet 134, coextensive liquid impervious back sheet 132 and a liquid absorbent core 130 all of which are seamed together along common margins as shown are provided. The liquid pervious top sheet 134 is typically positioned against the wearer's skin while the liquid impervious sheet 132 is positioned against the inner surface of the outer member 12. Releasable attachment between the inner and outer members 70 and 12, respectively is effected by the interengagement of the two-part mating hook or loop strips 76, 78, 88, 108 and 112 against the corresponding aligned mating strips 54,
50, 52, 56 and 58, respectively of the outer member 12 as seen in Figure 2. Again, two part snaps may be used as a substitute. Thereafter, as also seen in Figure 5, the releasably connected inner and outer members 70 and 12, respectively, are attached along their generally common side margins and the releasable attaching strips 50/56 and 52/58 of the outer member 12 and attaching strips 108 and 112 of the inner member 70 which, as seen in Figure 5, are releasably attachable with lesser attaching strength to the inner side margin surfaces of the fabric material of the outer member 12 itself. It is well known that the hook piling of the two part attaching arrangement will self- adhere to more fibrous cotton and synthetic fabric with a lesser strength attaching force, but nonetheless in this preferred embodiment, of sufficient strength to effect this attachment in cooperation with the strength between attaching strips 28/58 and 24/56. Additional mating attaching strips are provided at 60 and 118 across the fly area 46 and the mating uninterrupted surface of the back panel 72b, especially useful for female patients who obviously have no need for using the fly opening 46. Note that these mating attaching strips 60 and 118 obviate the need for additional attachment between the inner surface of waistband 36 and the outer surface of the front panel 72b along front waistband margin 114. Note further that the length of front panel 72b is shorter than that of front panel 16 or 16" for economy as the front waist margins 114 and 48 are preferably not co-linear. While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in what are conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be afforded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent apparatus and articles.