Maternity medical cape

Abstract

A medical cape includes a left-front side and a right-front side with the left-front side adaptively and removably attachable to the right-front side. A back-side includes a central placket between a left-back side and a right-back side such that a disconnected section of the left-back side and a disconnected section the right-back side overlap. The left-front side includes a left-front-shoulder removably attachable to a left-back shoulder section of the left-back side. The right-front side includes right-front-shoulder section attachable to a right-back-shoulder section of the right-back side. A portion of a front-left edge of the left-front side is permanently attached to a portion of back-left edge of the left-back side at a left-torso seam, and a portion of a front-right edge of the right-front side is permanently attached to a portion of a right-back edge of the right-back side at a right-torso seam.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The present disclosure claims priority to co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 653,256, filed on May 30, 2024, and entitled “MATERNITY HOSPITAL CAPE,” the contents of which are incorporated in full by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of medical garments. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to medical capes or gowns providing improved utility for a pregnant person and / or for medical procedures involving the mammary glands.BACKGROUND

[0003] Current medical / maternity capes provided to patients are useful for expediating medical examinations and procedures in a variety of medical contexts. Given the plethora possible medical procedures, current medical cape designs are agnostic to both the patient and the type of medical procedure to be performed. Current medical gowns may be one-size-fits-all or provided in a limited number of sizes (e.g., small, medium, large, etc.) to provide a minimum level of comfort and access from a bottom opening of the medical cape, although fully removing prior medical capes / gowns is often required. It should be appreciated that specialized capes for maternity patients are not currently used or supplied by hospitals, medical providers, and the like.

[0004] Current medical capes do not provide improved utility for pregnant patients, especially those at or near full term. Even if different sizes of medical capes are available, a medical cape for a large individual (e.g., taller or having a BMI more than average) does not fit a full-term, pregnant patient well. Current medical capes also do not provide improved utility for mammogram procedures and the like.

[0005] Furthermore, the existing medical capes do not provide privacy for the patient during procedures related to pregnancy and / or involving the mammary glands. For example, current medical capes do not provide easy access and discretion while nursing. Rather, current medical capes may provide easy access to the breasts for breast feeding, but this access necessarily exposes intimate areas of the patient. Thus, many nursing patients may feel uncomfortable nursing in front of others and even feel the need to relocate to a more private area or lock the room, which may not be allowed, recommended, feasible, or the like.

[0006] Current medical capes do not allow for increasing skin-to-skin contact between mothers and infants generally and particularly while breast feeding. To increase the degree of skin contact with prior medical capes, the medical cape or portions thereof typically require removal, which further reduces patient privacy.

[0007] As such, a need exists in the art for medical capes that overcome the above limitations.

[0008] This background is provided as an illustrative contextual environment only. It will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the systems and methods of the present disclosure may be implemented in other contextual environments as well.SUMMARY

[0009] Therefore, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide medical, maternity, and / or mammogram capes and associated methods of manufacture that overcome the limitations of the known art.

[0010] To achieve the foregoing and other objects and advantages, in one aspect, the present subject matter is directed to a medical cape including a left-front side and a right-front side with the left-front side adaptively and removably attachable to the right-front side. A back-side includes a central placket between a left-back side and a right-back side such that a disconnected section of the left-back side and a disconnected section the right-back side overlap. The left-front side includes a left-front-shoulder removably attachable to a left-back shoulder section of the left-back side. The right-front side includes right-front-shoulder section attachable to a right-back-shoulder section of the right-back side. A portion of a front-left edge of the left-front side is permanently attached to a portion of back-left edge of the left-back side at a left-torso seam, and a portion of a front-right edge of the right-front side is permanently attached to a portion of a right-back edge of the right-back side at a right-torso seam.

[0011] In at least one embodiment, the left-front side and the right-front side may be sized to accommodate a maternity patient at full-term when the left-front side is removably attached to the right-front side. In additional or alternative embodiments, when the maternity patient wears the medical cape, the left-front side may be capable of being adaptively attached to the right-front side such that the front side covers any private parts of the maternity patient while a belly of the maternity patient is exposed. In additional or alternative embodiments, when the maternity patient wears the medical cape, the left-front side may be capable of being adaptively attached to the right-front side such that a newborn can be placed beneath either of the left-front side or the right-front side to breast feed while the medical cape covers any private parts of the maternity patient.

[0012] Additionally or alternatively, the left-front side may be removably attachable to the right-front side via a connection device selected from the group consisting of snap fasteners, snap tape, buttons, hook-and-eye closure, ties, and / or hook-and-loop fastener. Additionally or alternatively, the left-front shoulder section of the left-front side may be removably attachable to the left-back shoulder section of the left-back side via a connection device selected from the group consisting of snap fasteners, snap tape, buttons, hook-and-eye closure, ties, and / or hook-and-loop fastener. In an additional or alternative embodiment, the left-front shoulder may be removably attachable to the left-back shoulder section of the left-back side via a connection device selected from the group consisting of snap fasteners, snap tape, buttons, hook-and-eye closure, ties, and / or hook-and-loop fastener. In some such embodiments, an overlap between the left-front shoulder and the left-back shoulder may be approximately 1 inch to 1.5 inches. Additionally or alternatively, the right-front shoulder of the right-front side may be attachable to the right-back shoulder section of the right-back side via a right-shoulder seam. In a further or alternative embodiments, the right-front shoulder of the right-front side may be removably attachable to the right-back shoulder section of the right-back side via a connection device selected from the group consisting of snap fasteners, snap tape, buttons, hook-and-eye closure, ties, and / or hook-and-loop fastener.

[0013] In an additional or alternative embodiment, the left-torso seam may end about 6 inches to about 18 inches above a bottom of the left-front side. In some such embodiments, the left-torso seam may end about 12 inches above a bottom of the left-front side. Additionally or alternatively, the right-torso seam may end about 6 inches to about 18 inches above a bottom of the right-front side. In some such embodiments, the right-torso seam may end about 12 inches above a bottom of the right-front side. Additionally or alternatively, an overlap of the left-front side and the right-front side may extend from a right edge of the left-front side to a left edge of the right-front side. In some such embodiments, the overlap of the left-front side and the right-front side may be about 2 inches to 12 inches. Additionally or alternatively, the overlap of the left-front side and the right-front side may be about 2 inches to 10 inches. Additionally or alternatively, the overlap of the left-front side and the right-front side may be about 2 inches to 8 inches.

[0014] In an additional or alternative embodiment, the medical cape may further include extended sleeves, and a distance between a bottom of a left-sleeve opening and the left-torso seam and a bottom of a right-sleeve opening and the right-torso seam may range from 0.5 inches to 12 inches. Additionally or alternatively, the distance between the bottom of a left-sleeve opening and the left-torso seam and the bottom of a right-sleeve opening and the right-torso seam may range from 0.5 inches to 10 inches. Additionally or alternatively, the distance between the bottom of a left-sleeve opening and the left-torso seam and the bottom of a right-sleeve opening and the right-torso seam may range from 0.5 inches to 6 inches. Additionally or alternatively, the distance between the bottom of a left-sleeve opening and the left-torso seam and the bottom of a right-sleeve opening and the right-torso seam may range from 1 inch to 12 inches. Additionally or alternatively, the distance between the bottom of a left-sleeve opening and the left-torso seam and the bottom of a right-sleeve opening and the right-torso seam may range from 1 inch to 10 inches. Additionally or alternatively, the distance between the bottom of a left-sleeve opening and the left-torso seam and the bottom of a right-sleeve opening and the right-torso seam may range from 1 inch to 6 inches.

[0015] In some further or alternative configurations, the medical cape may include a collar. In some such embodiments, a finished length, as measured from a left-back edge of the collar to a bottom of the left-back side, ranges from 40 inches to 60 inches, such as 40 inches to 55 inches, such as 45 inches to 60 inches. Additionally or alternatively, the finished length may range from 45 inches to 55 inches. In an alternative embodiment, the finished length may range from 20 inches to 30 inches. In at least one embodiment, the finished length may be approximately 24 inches.

[0016] In additional or alternative embodiments, a width of the central placket may range from 1 inch to 4 inches, such as 1 inch to 3 inches, such as 1 inch to 2 inches. Additionally or alternatively, the width of the central placket may range from 1.5 to 4 inches. Additionally or alternatively, the width of the central placket may range from 1.5 to 3 inches, such as 1.5 inches to 2 inches. Additionally or alternatively, a material forming the medical cape may include one or more of cotton, polyester, or a cotton-polyester blend.

[0017] In an additional or alternative aspect, the present subject matter is directed to a process for making a medical cape. The process includes obtaining fabric and cutting a right-front side, a right-back side, a left-front side, and a left-back side from the fabric. The process further includes cutting a left-shoulder overlap closure strip, a front overlap closure strip, and a back overlap closure strip from the fabric. The process further includes applying snaps to each of the left-shoulder overlap closure strip, the front overlap closure strip, the back overlap closure strip, a left-back shoulder section of the left-back side, the right-front side, and the left-back side. An element of the process includes serging a neckline and armholes by press folding approximately ⅜ inch down and top stitching. The process also includes sewing the right-front side to the right-back side at a right side and the left-front side to the left-back side at a left side, leaving slits at a bottom of each of the left side and the right side.

[0018] Embodiments of the invention can include one or more or any combination of the above features and configurations.

[0019] Additional features, aspects, and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description of illustrative embodiments that follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing the invention as described herein. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description present various embodiments of the invention and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the companying drawings, in which:

[0021] FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic front view of an exemplary embodiment of a medical cape, in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter;

[0022] FIG. 1B illustrates a schematic back view of the exemplary embodiment of the medical cape of FIG. 1A, in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter;

[0023] FIG. 2A illustrates a schematic front view of an exemplary embodiment of a medical cape, in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter;

[0024] FIG. 2B illustrates a schematic back view of the exemplary embodiment of the medical cape of FIG. 2A, in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter; and

[0025] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic logic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of method or process for manufacturing a medical cape, in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter.

[0026] It will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that aspects of illustrated embodiments may be used in any desired combinations, without limitation. Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features or elements of the present invention.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. However, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the representative embodiments set forth herein. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. It is envisioned that other embodiments may perform similar functions and / or achieve similar results. Any and all such equivalent embodiments and examples are within the scope of the present invention and are intended to be covered by the appended claims.

[0028] The exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be both thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention and enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make, use, and practice the invention. The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations.

[0029] The terms “coupled,”“fixed,”“attached to,”“communicatively coupled to,”“operatively coupled to,” and the like refer to both direct coupling, fixing, attaching, communicatively coupling, and operatively coupling as well as indirect coupling, fixing, attaching, communicatively coupling, and operatively coupling through one or more intermediate components or features, unless otherwise specified herein. “Communicatively coupled to” and “operatively coupled to” can refer to physically and / or electrically related components.

[0030] As used herein, the terms “first”, “second”, and “third” may be used interchangeably to distinguish one component from another and are not intended to signify location or importance of the individual components. The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0031] Approximating language, as used herein throughout the specification and claims, is applied to modify any quantitative representation that could permissibly vary without resulting in a change in the basic function to which it is related. Accordingly, a value modified by a term or terms, such as “about”, “approximately”, and “substantially”, are not to be limited to the precise value specified. In at least some instances, the approximating language may correspond to the precision of an instrument for measuring the value, or the precision of the methods or machines for constructing or manufacturing the components and / or systems. For example, the approximating language may refer to being within a 1, 2, 4, 10, 15, or 20 percent margin.

[0032] It is to be understood that the mention of one or more method steps does not preclude the presence of additional method steps before or after the combined recited steps or intervening method steps between those steps expressly identified. Moreover, the lettering of method steps or ingredients is a conventional means for identifying discrete activities or ingredients and the recited lettering can be arranged in any sequence, unless otherwise indicated.

[0033] As used herein, the term “and / or”, when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing compounds A, B, “and / or” C, the composition may contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination.

[0034] Here and throughout the specification and claims, range limitations are combined and interchanged, such ranges are identified and include all the sub-ranges contained therein unless context or language indicates otherwise. For example, all ranges disclosed herein are inclusive of the endpoints, and the endpoints are independently combinable with each other.

[0035] Referring now generally to FIGS. 1-2, schematic diagrams of exemplary embodiments of medical capes are illustrated in accordance with aspects of the present subject matter. More particularly, FIGS. 1A-1B illustrate an embodiment of a medical cape 100 configured as a maternity cape 10, and FIGS. 2A-2B illustrate an embodiment of a medical cape 100 configured as a mammogram cape 110. It should be appreciated that maternity capes 10 may also be suitable for use during a mammogram or other procedure involving the mammary glands, and the mammogram cape 110 may also be suitable for using during medical procedures related to pregnancy. Thus, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the following description related to the maternity cape 10 may be equally applicable to the mammogram cape 110 and vice versa. Furthermore, a suitable medical cape 100 may be configured to include any of the features described below with respect to the exemplary maternity cape 10 and / or the exemplary mammogram cape 110, individually or in combination.

[0036] Embodiments of the medical cape 100 and associated methods described herein may generally provide more room in the belly for pregnant patients, especially those at or near full-term. It should be appreciated that the medical capes 100 described herein may provide more room in the belly area while maintaining a slimmer / smaller fit in areas that do not grow larger during pregnancy, e.g., the shoulders. However, it should be appreciated that the medical capes 100 described herein may also have sizing options to accommodate different shoulder widths and / or heights of patients, as is well known in the art. Furthermore, such medical capes 100 are automatically not longer to accommodate taller patients, like some current large or extra-large size medical capes, if different sizes are even available. The medical capes 100 described herein also generally provide improved or easier access to the belly region of the patient without unnecessary sacrificing the patient's privacy. For instance, embodiments of the maternity cape 10 may be optionally opened at the front (e.g., near the bottom) by releasing temporary fasteners (e.g., snaps, hook-and-loop fasteners, zippers, buttons, or the like) to provide access to the patient's belly while leaving the breasts of the patient and other private areas covered. Additionally or alternatively, the belly area may be left partially or mostly uncovered, see, e.g., the exemplary embodiments of the mammogram cape 110.

[0037] Embodiments of the medical cape 100 described herein further provide improved utility by allowing access to the individual breast regions for breast feeding or examination while leaving other areas of the patient's body covered. In some embodiments, temporary closures provided at a front of the medical gown 100 (e.g., near the top) may allow for access to the breast for breast feeding without exposing the patient's breasts at all. For example, one or more temporary closures may be opened allowing an infant's head to be inserted within the medical cape 100 while still covering the breast and / or the infant's head latched to the breast in question. Additionally or alternatively, temporary closures provide at the shoulder may be opened to expose the breast for breast feeding or medical examination. In such use, only a single breast must be exposed while the rest of the patient's body may remain covered.

[0038] FIG. 1A illustrates the front of a non-limiting embodiment of the maternity cape 10 of the present invention. The front of the maternity cape 10 may be made up of a left-front side 12 and a right-front side 14, whereby the terms “left” and “right” are used to denote the left and right sides of the garment from the perspective of the person wearing the maternity cape 10. The maternity cape 10 may include a torso portion 16 with a bottom opening 18 where the wearer's feet and portions of the wearer's legs can extend through the torso portion 16. The maternity cape 10 may include a left-front sleeve 20 with a left sleeve opening 22 and right-front sleeve 24 with a right sleeve opening 26. A wearer can extend her hands and a portion of her arms through the left sleeve opening 22 and the right sleeve opening 26. Also, the maternity cape 10 may include a front collar 28 with a neck opening 30 where the wearer's head and portions of the wearer's neck can extend through the neck opening 30. In order for maternity cape 10 to provide comfort and privacy for a women in late term pregnancy, both before and during active labor, or while nursing a newborn, the maternity cape 10 is generally oversized in the front. The left-front side 12 may overlap the right-front side 14. The overlap region 32 is shown between the left-front band 34 and the left-front edge 36 of the right-front side 14, which is covered by the left-front side 12.

[0039] The left-front side 12 may be removably attachable to the right-front side 14 along left-front band 34, front collar 28, and within the overlap region 32. The left-front side 12 is shown as being removably attachable to the right-front side 14 using snaps 38 (only one snap labeled with a reference character in each of FIGS. 1A-1B for clarity). Some embodiments of snaps 38 comprise a ball portion and a socket portion. However, snaps 38 and / or snaps 138, as used herein, may additionally or alternatively include any of the temporary fasteners, as described herein. In some exemplary embodiments, each snap 38 used to removably attach the left-front side 12 to the right-front side 14 (i.e., used to close or open the front of the maternity cape 10) may have a portion connected to the left-front side 12 (i.e., near front collar 28, in the overlap section 32, and along left-front band 34) and a corresponding portion (not shown) connected to the right-front side 14 (i.e., near front collar 28, in the overlap section 32, and along right-front band (not shown). The snaps 38 along the front left band 34 may be widely spaced to allow ready access for an infant to the wearer's breasts for feeding while maintaining privacy. They may also be widely spaced to allow access to the wearer's belly, for example to monitor a fetal heartbeat, without exposing more than the belly (i.e., improves discretion). One skilled in the art will recognize that, for example, portions of individual snaps can be sown onto left front side 12 and right-front side 14, and that alternatively, the two corresponding pieces of snap tape can be sown onto left front side 12 and right-front side 14.

[0040] The left-front shoulder band 40 may be permanently attached to the left-front side 12 as shown in FIG. 1A and may be removably attachable to the left-back side (not shown). When the left-front shoulder band 40 is detached from the left-back side (not shown), the top of the left-front side 12 can be folded down to allow for medical access for such things as an EKG. In FIG. 1A, similar to the left-front band 34, the left-front shoulder band 40 may be removably attachable with a series of snaps 38. Each snap 38 on the left-front shoulder band 40 may have a portion connected to the left-front shoulder band 40 and a portion connected to the left-back shoulder band (not shown, underneath the left-front shoulder band).

[0041] Considering FIGS. 1A and 1B together, the left-front side 12 may be permanently attached to the left-back side 42 from the bottom of the left sleeve opening 22 downward to the top of the left slit 44. Correspondingly, the right-front side 14 may be permanently attached to the right-back side 46 from the bottom of right sleeve opening 26 downward to the top of the right split 48.

[0042] FIG. 1B illustrates the back of the non-limiting embodiment of the maternity cape 10 shown in FIG. 1A. The maternity cape 10 may include the left-back side 42, the right-back side 46, a left-back sleeve 50 with the left sleeve opening 22, a right-back sleeve 52 with the right sleeve opening 26, and a back collar 56 with the neck opening 30. The left-back side 42 and right-back side 46 may be connected using placket 58 (i.e., an opening where one side of the opening lies over the other side) for enhanced privacy. The left-back side 42 and the right-back side 46 may overlap and may be permanently attached to each other from the back collar 56 downward to the transition 60. In FIG. 2B, the right-back side band 62 below the transition 60 is on top of the left-back side band (not shown). A minimal number of snaps 38 can be used to removably attach the right-back side band 62 to the left-back side band (not shown). This design allows for ready access to meet medical needs, such as administering an epidural. The design also allows for discretion as walking during labor is beneficial and the overlap allows the wearer's backside to remain covered.

[0043] The left-back shoulder band (not shown as it is under the attached left-front shoulder band 40) may be permanently attached to the left-back side 42 and may be removably attachable to the left-front shoulder band 40. In FIG. 1B, similar to the right-back band 62, the left-back shoulder 50 and left-front shoulder 20 may be removably attachable with a series of snaps 38. Each snap 38 on the left-front shoulder band 40 may have a portion connected to the left-front shoulder band 40 and a portion connected to the left-back shoulder band (not shown).

[0044] FIG. 2A illustrates the front of a non-limiting embodiment of the mammogram cape 110 of the present invention. The front of the mammogram cape 110 may be made up of a left-front side 112 and a right-front side 114, whereby the terms “left” and “right” are used to denote the left and right sides of the garment from the perspective of the person wearing the maternity cape 110. The mammogram cape 110 may include a torso portion 116 with a bottom opening 118 where the wearer's feet, the wearer's legs, and a portion of the wearer's torso can extend through the torso portion 116. The mammogram cape 110 may include a left-front sleeve 120 with a left sleeve opening 122 and right-front sleeve 124 with a right sleeve opening 126. A wearer can extend her hands and a portion of her arms through the left sleeve opening 122 and the right sleeve opening 126. Also, the mammogram cape 110 may include a front collar 128 with a neck opening 130 where the wearer's head and portions of the wearer's neck can extend through the neck opening 130. In order for the mammogram cape 110 to provide comfort and privacy for a women having a mammogram, the mammogram cape 110 may be oversized in the front. The left-front side 112 may overlap the right-front side 114. The overlap region 132 is shown between the left-front band 134 and the left-front edge 136 of the right-front side 114, which is covered by the left-front side 112.

[0045] The left-front side 112 may be removably attachable to the right-front side 114 along left-front band 134, front collar 128, and within the overlap region 132. The left-front side 112 is shown as being removably attachable to the right-front side 114 using snaps 138. Snaps 138 may include a ball portion and a socket portion or any suitable temporary fastener, as described herein. Therefore, each snap 138 used to removably attach the left-front side 112 to the right-front side 114 (i.e., used to close or open the front of the mammogram cape 110) may have a portion connected to the left-front side 112 (i.e., near front collar 128, in the overlap section 132, and along left-front band 134) and a corresponding portion (not shown) connected to the right-front side 114 (i.e., near front collar 128, in the overlap section 132, and along right-front band (not shown). The snaps 138 along the front left band 134 may be widely spaced.

[0046] The left-front shoulder band 140 may be permanently attached to the left-front side 112 as shown in FIG. 2A and may be removably attachable to the left-back side (not shown). When the left-front shoulder band 140 is detached from the left-back side (not shown), the top of the left-front side 112 can be folded down to allow for medical access for such things as an EKG. In FIG. 2A, similar to the left-front band 134, the left-front shoulder band 140 may be removably attachable with a series of snaps 138. Each snap 138 on the left-front shoulder band 140 may have a portion connected to the left-front shoulder band 140 and a portion connected to the left-back shoulder band (not shown, underneath the left-front shoulder band 140).

[0047] Considering FIGS. 2A and 2B together, the left-front side 112 may be permanently attached to the left-back side 142 from the bottom of the left sleeve opening 122 downward to the bottom of left-back side 142. Correspondingly, the right-front side 114 may be permanently attached to the right-back side 146 from the bottom of right sleeve opening 126 downward to the bottom of back right side 146.

[0048] FIG. 2B illustrates the back of the non-limiting embodiment of the mammogram cape 110 shown in FIG. 2A. The mammogram cape 110 may include the left-back side 142, the right-back side 146, a left-back sleeve 150 with the left sleeve opening 122, a right-back sleeve 152 with the right sleeve opening 126, and a back collar 156 with the neck opening 130. The left-back side 142 and right-back side 146 may be connected using placket 158 (i.e., an opening where one side of the opening lies over the other side) for enhanced privacy. The left-back side 142 and the right-back side 146 may overlap and / or may be permanently attached to each other from the back collar 156 downward to the transition 160. In FIG. 2B, the right-back side band 162 below the transition 160 is on top of the left-back side band (not shown). A minimal number of snaps 138 can be used to removably attach the right-back side band 162 to the left-back side band (not shown).

[0049] The left-back shoulder band (not shown as it is under the attached left-front shoulder band 140) may be permanently attached to the left-back side 142 and may be removably attachable to the left-front shoulder band 140. In FIG. 2B, similar to the right-back band 162, the left-back shoulder 150 and left-front shoulder 120 may be removably attachable with a series of snaps 138. Each snap 138 on the left-front shoulder band 140 may have a portion connected to the left-front shoulder band 140 and a portion connected to the left-back shoulder band (not shown).

[0050] FIGS. 2A and 2B show an embodiment of a mammogram cape with extended sleeves. In an embodiment with extended sleeves, left sleeve opening 126 may attach to left-front side 112 and left-back side 142 via left sleeve extension 164a, and right sleeve opening 122 may attach to right-front side 116 and right-back side 146 via right sleeve extension 164b.

[0051] In some aspects, the arm holes may be sized to make it easy to get the mammogram medical cape 110 on and off.

[0052] Referring now to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic logic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of process / method elements, one or more of which may be implemented in a process / method for manufacturing a suitable medical cape. For example, one or more elements of a process / method (method 300) may be utilized to produce a medical gown 100, a maternity cape 10, and / or a mammogram cape 110, as described herein. However, it should be appreciated that method 300 may be utilized in the production of any other similar or suitably configured medical cape.

[0053] In some embodiments and as shown, the method 300 may include obtaining fabric (method element 302). The method 300 may additionally or alternatively include cutting a right-front side, a right-back side, a left-front side, and a left-back side from the fabric (method element 304). The method 300 may further include cutting a left-shoulder overlap closure strip, a front overlap closure strip, and a back overlap closure strip (method element 306). The method 300 optionally includes applying snaps to each of the left-shoulder overlap closure strip, the front overlap closure strip, the back overlap closure strip, a left-back shoulder section of the left-back side, the right-front side, and the left-back side (method element 308). In some embodiments, a neckline and armholes may be serged by press folding approximately ⅜ inch down and top stitching (method element 310). The method 300 may also include sewing the right-front side to the right-back side at a right side and the left-front side to the left-back side at a left side, leaving slits at a bottom of each of the left side and the right side (method element 312). For example and as shown in FIG. 1a, sewing the sides of the medical cape 100 may include a sewing a seam from an upper ¼ inch inseam from the arm pit (upper pivot 39a) down, such as by 12 and ⅝ inches, to split at the right split 48 (e.g., at lower pivot 39b). The same process may be utilized for the right side and / or for the mammogram cape 110. It should be appreciated that embodiments of the mammogram cape 110 without the lower slit may not include / utilize the lower pivot 39b. However, other embodiments of the mammogram cape 110 may utilize the same process and / or also define the side slits like the maternity cape 10.

[0054] Although the present disclosure is illustrated and described with reference to embodiments and examples thereof, it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that other embodiments and examples may perform similar functions and / or achieve like results. All such equivalent embodiments and examples are within the scope of the present disclosure, are contemplated thereby, and are intended to be covered by the following, non-limiting Claims for all purposes.

Claims

1. A medical cape comprising:a front side comprising a left-front side and a right-front side, wherein the left-front side is adaptively and removably attachable to the right-front side;a back-side comprising a central placket between a left-back side and a right-back side, wherein a disconnected section of the left-back side and a disconnected section the right-back side overlap;a left-front-shoulder section of the left-front side removably attachable to a left-back shoulder section of the left-back side; anda right-front-shoulder section of the right-front side attachable to a right-back-shoulder section of the right-back side,wherein a portion of a front-left edge of the left-front side is permanently attached to a portion of back-left edge of the left-back side at a left-torso seam and a portion of a front-right edge of the right-front side is permanently attached to a portion of a right-back edge of the right-back side at a right-torso seam.

2. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein the left-front side is removably attachable to the right-front side via a connection device selected from the group consisting of snap fasteners, snap tape, buttons, hook-and-eye closure, ties, and / or hook-and-loop fastener.

3. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein the left-front shoulder section of the left-front side is removably attachable to the left-back shoulder section of the left-back side via a connection device selected from the group consisting of snap fasteners, snap tape, buttons, hook-and-eye closure, ties, and / or hook-and-loop fastener.

4. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein the left-front shoulder is removably attachable to the left-back shoulder section of the left-back side via a connection device selected from the group consisting of snap fasteners, snap tape, buttons, hook-and-eye closure, ties, and / or hook-and-loop fastener, and an overlap between the left-front shoulder and the left-back shoulder is approximately 1 inch to 1.5 inches.

5. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein the right-front shoulder of the right-front side is attachable to the right-back shoulder section of the right-back side via a right-shoulder seam.

6. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein the right-front shoulder of the right-front side is removably attachable to the right-back shoulder section of the right-back side via a connection device selected from the group consisting of snap fasteners, snap tape, buttons, hook-and-eye closure, ties, and / or hook-and-loop fastener.

7. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein the left-torso seam ends about 6 inches to about 18 inches above a bottom of the left-front side.

8. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein the right-torso seam ends about 6 inches to about 18 inches above a bottom of the right-front side.

9. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein an overlap of the left-front side and the right-front side extends from a right edge of the left-front side to a left edge of the right-front side, and wherein the overlap of the left-front side and the right-front side is about 2 inches to 12 inches.

10. The medical cape of claim 1, further comprising:extended sleeves, wherein a distance between a bottom of a left-sleeve opening and the left-torso seam and a bottom of a right-sleeve opening and the right-torso seam ranges from 0.5 inches to 12 inches.

11. The medical cape of claim 10, wherein the distance between the bottom of a left-sleeve opening and the left-torso seam and the bottom of a right-sleeve opening and the right-torso seam ranges from 1 inch to 6 inches.

12. The medical cape of claim 1, further comprising:a collar, wherein a finished length, as measured from a left-back edge of the collar to a bottom of the left-back side, ranges from 40 inches to 60 inches.

13. The medical cape of claim 12, wherein the finished length ranges from 45 inches to 55 inches.

14. The medical cape of claim 1, further comprising:a collar, wherein a finished length, as measured from a left-back edge of the collar to a bottom of the left-back side, ranges from 20 inches to 30 inches.

15. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein a width of the central placket ranges from 1 inch to 4 inches.

16. The medical cape of claim 15, wherein the width of the central placket ranges from or from 1.5 inches to 3 inches.

17. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein a material forming the medical cape comprises at least one of cotton, polyester, or a cotton-polyester blend.

18. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein the left-front side and the right-front side are sized to accommodate a maternity patient at full-term when the left-front side is removably attached to the right-front side, andwherein, when the maternity patient wears the medical cape, the left-front side is capable of being adaptively attached to the right-front side such that the front side covers any private parts of the maternity patient while a belly of the maternity patient is exposed.

19. The medical cape of claim 1, wherein the left-front side and the right-front side are sized to accommodate a maternity patient at full-term when the left-front side is removably attached to the right-front side, andwherein, when the maternity patient wears the medical cape, the left-front side is capable of being adaptively attached to the right-front side such that a newborn can be placed beneath either of the left-front side or the right-front side to breast feed while the medical cape covers any private parts of the maternity patient.

20. A process for making a medical cape, the process comprisingobtaining fabric;cutting a right-front side, a right-back side, a left-front side, and a left-back side from the fabric;cutting a left-shoulder overlap closure strip, a front overlap closure strip, and a back overlap closure strip from the fabric;applying snaps to each of the left-shoulder overlap closure strip, the front overlap closure strip, the back overlap closure strip, a left-back shoulder section of the left-back side, the right-front side, and the left-back side;serging a neckline and armholes by press folding approximately ⅜ inch down and top stitching; andsewing the right-front side to the right-back side at a right side and the left-front side to the left-back side at a left side, leaving slits at a bottom of each of the left side and the right side.

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