DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/15/2026 has been entered.
An amendment was filed on 01/15/2026. Claims 1, 12, 18 have been amended. Currently, claims 1-4, 8-12, 14-18, and 21-22 are pending and are being examined on the merits.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed on 01/15/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response to the applicant’s arguments that VanRijswijk cannot be seen to disclose or suggest an entirety of the elasticized leg cuffs are spaced from and positioned wholly outboard of the proximal attachment portions of the containment flaps, since the gasketing cuff is bonded to the barrier cuff by the same proximal securement member, the examiner respectfully disagrees.
One cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). In this instance, St. Louis already teaches that an entirety of the elasticized leg cuffs are spaced from and positioned wholly outboard of the proximal attachment portions of the containment flaps (see annotated fig. 4 below). VanRijswijk merely teaches the limitation that the leg cuffs and the containment flaps being distinct materials.
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Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-4, 8-10, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over St. Louis (US 5993433) in view of Surushe (US 20160270973) and further in view of VanRijswijck (US 6120488).
Regarding claim 1, St. Louis discloses an absorbent article having a front waist region (12), a crotch region (16), and a rear waist region (14) (fig. 1, front waistband portion 12, back waistband portion 14, and intermediate portion 16, also alternatively see annotated fig. 1 below) comprising:
a chassis comprising: a bodyside liner (28), an outer cover (30), and an absorbent body (32) disposed between the bodyside liner (28) and the outer cover (30) (fig. 1, topsheet layer 28, backsheet layer 30, and absorbent body structure 32 sandwiched between the two); and
a first pair of elasticized laminates (142) attached to the chassis to form elasticized leg cuffs (142) (fig. 1, elasticized leg gusset sections 142 with extending elastomeric member 138), each of the first pair of elasticized laminates comprising:
a laminate material (176) comprising a fold (188) to form a laminate material top layer and a laminate material bottom layer; (fig. 4, nonwoven fabric layer 176 serves as a laminate material creating the top layer and bottom layer from the first folding line 188), the folded leg cuff materials each having a proximal edge and a distal edge with the fold forming the distal edge (fig. 4, distal edge near folding line 188, and proximal edge defined at the end of the material near gusset perimeter bond 130)
and an elastomeric member (138) disposed between the laminate material top layer and the laminate material bottom layer (fig. 4, elastic member 138 of the leg gusset section 142), wherein each of the first pair of elasticized laminates (68) is attached to the chassis such that the fold (188) comprises an outermost longitudinal edge of the article throughout the crotch region (fig. 4, fold 188 of leg gusset section 142 forms the outermost edge, and fig. 1 shows the leg gusset section 142 through the crotch region),
further comprising a second pair of elasticized laminates (68) attached to the chassis to form elasticized containment flaps (fig. 4, elastomeric member 68 within containment flap 144), each of the second pair of elasticized laminates comprising:
a containment flap material (63) comprising a fold (189) to form a containment flap material top layer and a containment flap material bottom layer (fig. 4, fabric layer region 63 of containment flap section 144 forming top and bottom layer through second fold line 189), the folded containment flap material each having a proximal edge and a distal edge with the fold forming the proximal edge (fig. 4, containment flap with a proximal edge at fold 189, and distal edge near element 64) and
an elastomeric member (68) disposed between the containment flap material top layer and the containment flap material bottom layer (fig. 4, elastomeric members 68 between the layers of fabric layer region 63)
wherein each of the longitudinally extending containment flaps (144) comprise a projection portion (66) un-coupled to the chassis (fig. 4, movable edge portion 66 of the containment flap section 144 not coupled to the chassis) and a base portion coupled to the chassis (fig. 4, base portion attached to chassis via gusset attachment 172), wherein the base portion has a proximal end portion (64) which defines a transition between the projection (66) portion and the base portion (fig. 4, fixed edge 64 as the proximal end portion transitioning between the base portion and the projection portion,
wherein an entirety of the elasticized leg cuffs are spaced from and positioned wholly outboard of the proximal attachment portions of the containment flaps (see annotate ed fig. 4 below)
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St. Louis is silent to wherein the fold and the elastomeric member of each of the elasticized laminates extend in a curving manner throughout the crotch region, wherein the base portions of the containment flaps cover at least a portion of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates.
However, Surushe teaches an absorbent article (abstract) wherein the base portions (73) of the containment flaps (71) cover at least a portion of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates (74) (fig. 8, inner cuff 71 with inner cuff material edge 73 covering portion of outer cuff material edge 76 through cuff separation bond 45, paragraph 0068. NOTE: the base portion of Surushe is attached to the chassis through attachment bonds 43, 44 and cuff separation bond 45). This creates a gasketing system pocket (47)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that the base portions of the containment flaps cover at least a portion of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates, as taught and suggested by Surushe, for the purpose of providing a suitable structure that creates a pocket for containment of fluid in the leg gasketing system before it can leak (see Surushe, paragraph 0078).
St. Louis is silent to wherein the fold and the elastomeric member of each of the elasticized laminates extend in a curving manner throughout the crotch region.
However, St. Louis teaches that the elastic members (138) may be applied in a rectilinear or curvilinear arrangement (col. 10, lines 26-50, “The elastic members may comprise a single strand of elastic material, or may comprise several parallel or non-parallel strands of elastic material, and the elastic members may be applied in a rectilinear or curvilinear arrangement.”), and wherein the gusset flaps (19) as a whole can be curvilinear (col. 5, lines 33-38, “With respect to each other, the gusset-flaps can be arranged to be parallel or non-parallel to each other, and each individual gusset-flap can be straight and/or curvilinear.”). The gusset flaps (19) further go through the crotch region.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St Louis such that the fold and the elastomeric member of each of the elasticized laminates extend in a curving manner throughout the crotch region for the purpose of providing a desired fit and appearance (col. 10, lines 51-63).
St. Louis does not teach wherein the containment flap material is distinct from the leg cuff material.
However, VanRijswijck teaches an absorbent article (abstract) wherein a containment flap material (56) is distinct from a leg cuff material (fig. 3, material for gasketing cuffs 56 distinct from barrier cuffs 62). This appears to be a comparable structure to wherein the containment flap material is not distinct from the leg cuff material, as shown in fig. 7.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that the containment flap material is distinct from the leg cuff material, as taught by VanRijswijck, as both means of constructing the two structures appear to be art-recognized equivalents, wherein one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to substitute one structure for another.
Regarding claim 2, St. Louis discloses wherein the elastomeric members (138) of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates are disposed laterally outboard of longitudinal side edges of the chassis (fig. 4, elastic members 138 attached laterally outboard of the chassis via the connection defined by gusset attachment 172).
Regarding claim 3, St. Louis is silent to wherein an apex of curvature of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is disposed in the crotch region of the absorbent article.
However, St. Louis teaches that the curved elastics can be inwardly bowed toward the longitudinal centerline of the diaper, and that they may or may not be configured or positioned symmetrically relative to the lateral centerline (col. 10, lines 51-63).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that an apex of curvature of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is disposed in the crotch region of the absorbent article, for the purpose of providing a desired fit and appearance (col. 10, lines 51-63).
Regarding claim 4, St. Louis discloses wherein an apex of curvature of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is disposed in the front waist region of the absorbent article.
However, St. Louis teaches that the curved elastics can be inwardly bowed toward the longitudinal centerline of the diaper, and that they may or may not be configured or positioned symmetrically relative to the lateral centerline (col. 10, lines 51-63). Further, the length-wise center of the elastics may be offset toward the front waistband (col. 10, lines 51-63), thus suggesting that the apex of the curvature may be placed in the front waist region, especially as defined in the annotated figure above.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that an apex of curvature of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is disposed in the front waist region of the absorbent article, for the purpose of providing a suitable structure that grants a desired fit and appearance (col. 10, lines 51-63).
Regarding claim 8, St Louis discloses the absorbent article further comprising:
wherein each of the second pair of elasticized laminates (68) forming the elasticized containment flaps (144) is attached to the chassis (fig. 4, containment flap section 144 attached to the chassis via gusset attachment 172)
St. Louis is silent to wherein the second pair of elasticized laminates forming the elasticized containment flaps extends in a curving manner.
However, St. Louis teaches that the elastics involved may be curved and be inwardly bound (col. 10, lines 51-63), and wherein the gusset flap as a whole can be curvilinear (col. 5, lines 33-38, “With respect to each other, the gusset-flaps can be arranged to be parallel or non-parallel to each other, and each individual gusset-flap can be straight and/or curvilinear.”),
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that that each of the second pair of elasticized laminates forming the elasticized containment flaps extends in a curving manner for the purpose of providing a desired fit and appearance (col. 10, lines 51-63).
Regarding claim 9, St. Louis is silent to wherein an apex of curvature of each of the second pair of elasticized laminates forming the elasticized containment flaps is disposed within the crotch region.
However, St. Louis teaches wherein elastics situated around the leg can be curved (col. 10, lines 26-50, “The elastic members, such as elastomeric members 110, 118, 138, and 68… may be applied in a rectilinear or curvilinear arrangement), and that the curvature of elastics may be positioned symmetrically relative to the lateral centerline of the diaper (col. 10, lines 51-63).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that the apex of curvature of each of the second pair of elasticized laminates forming the elasticized containment flaps is disposed within the crotch region for the purpose of providing a desired fit and appearance (col. 10, lines 51-63).
Regarding claim 10, St. Louis is silent wherein an apex of curvature of each of the second pair of elasticized laminates forming the elasticized containment flaps is disposed within the rear waist region.
However, St. Louis teaches an absorbent article (abstract) wherein elastics situated around the leg, in particular the elastics (68) within the second pair of elasticized laminates (144) can be curved (col. 10, lines 26-50, “The elastic members, such as elastomeric members 110, 118, 138, and 68… may be applied in a rectilinear or curvilinear arrangement). Further, the curved elastics may also be offset toward the rear waistband of the diaper (col. 10, lines 51-63, “the curvature of the elastics may or may not be configured or positioned symmetrically relative to the lateral centerline of the diaper… the length-wise center of the elastics may be offset by a selected distance toward either the front or rear waistband of the diaper to provide desired fit and appearance”). Further, the length-wise center of the elastics may be offset toward the rear waistband (col. 10, lines 51-63), thus suggesting that the apex of the curvature may be placed in the front waist region, especially as defined in the annotated figure above.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that an apex of curvature of each of the second pair of elasticized laminates forming the elasticized containment flaps is disposed within the rear waist region for the purpose of providing a desired fit and appearance (col. 10, lines 51-63).
Regarding claim 21, St. Louis discloses wherein the elasticized containment flaps (144) extend between front waist region and the rear waist region in substantially straight manner (fig. 1, containment flap section 144 in a straight line between front and rear of chassis).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over St. Louis in view Surushe and VanRijswijck, and further in view of Van Gompel (US 6264641).
Regarding claim 11, St. Louis is silent to wherein an apex of curvature of each of the second pair of elasticized laminates forming the elasticized containment flaps is disposed at a different longitudinal location within the absorbent article than the apex of curvature of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates forming the elasticized leg cuffs.
However, Van Gompel teaches wherein an apex of curvature of the first pair of elasticized laminates is offset away from the centerline (col. 23, lines 64-67, col. 24, lines 1-11, “The curved elastics may have an inwardly bowed and outwardly bowed, reflex-type of curvature, and the length-wise center of the elastics may optionally be offset by a selected distance toward either the front or rear waistband of the diaper to provide desired fit and appearance.”), and wherein the containment flaps are substantially symmetrically placed on each side of the lengthwise, longitudinal centerline of the diaper (col. 25, lines 47-67, “The containment flaps are typically positioned laterally inboard from leg elastics 34, and substantially symmetrically placed on each side of the lengthwise, longitudinal centerline of the diaper.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that an apex of curvature of each to the second pair of elasticized laminates forming the elasticized containment flaps is disposed at a different longitudinal location within the absorbent article than the apex of curvature of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates forming the elasticized leg cuffs, as taught and suggested by Van Gompel, for the purpose of providing a desired fit and appearance (see Van Gompel, col. 23, lines 64-67, col. 24, lines 1-11).
Claims 12, 14-17 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyamoto (US 20030120248) in view of St. Louis, and further in view of VanRijswijck.
Regarding claim 12, Miyamoto discloses an absorbent article (abstract) having a front waist (12) region, a crotch region (16), and a rear waist region (14), comprising:
a chassis comprising:
a bodyside liner (30), an outer cover (32), and an absorbent body (34) disposed between the bodyside liner and the outer cover (fig. 2, backsheet 32, topsheet 30, and absorbent core 34); and
a first pair of elasticized laminates attached to the chassis to form elasticized leg cuffs (fig. 2, gasket cuff 70 as a first pair of laminates, labeled as part of elasticized outer leg cuff 42, paragraph 0025), each of the first pair of elasticized laminates comprising:
a leg cuff laminate material comprising a fold (80) to form a leg cuff laminate material top layer and a laminate material bottom layer (fig. 2, fold formed at longitudinal side edge 22 at second folding line 80, forming an upper layer and lower layer of material);
a first group of one or more elastomeric members (46) disposed between the laminate material top layer and the laminate material bottom layer (fig. 2, elastic material 46, either the first two elastics on the left or all 4 elastics); and
wherein each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is attached to the chassis such that the fold comprises an outermost longitudinal edge of the article throughout the crotch region (fig. 1, secondary fold 80 makes up the outermost longitudinal edge of the article),
a second pair of elasticized laminates (52) attached to the chassis to form longitudinally extending elasticized containment flaps (fig. 2, containment flaps denoted as barrier leg cuffs 52, extending in a longitudinal direction), each of the second pair of elasticized laminates comprising:
a containment flap material comprising a fold to form a containment flap top layer and a containment flap bottom layer (fig. 2, fold at the tip of cuff 52 to form a top and bottom layer), the folded containment flap materials each having a proximal edge and a distal edge with the fold forming the proximal edge (fig. 2, proximal edge 62 and another edge at the tip of cuff 52. As best understood by the instant specification, proximal refers to the direction towards the center of the article, i.e. proximal edge 62 serves as the distal edge, and the edge at the tip of cuff 52 as the fold serves as the proximal edge).
an elastomeric member disposed between the containment flap top layer and the containment flap bottom layer (fig. 2, barrier leg cuff 52 has an elastomeric member similar to element 46)
wherein each of the longitudinally extending containment flaps comprise a projection portion un-coupled to the chassis and a base portion coupled to the chassis (fig. 2, projection portion near the edge near element 52, base portion near proximal edge 66), wherein the base portion has a proximal attachment portion which defines a transition between the projection portion and the base portion (fig. 2, attachment portion near proximal edge 66 has an attachment portion to transition to the projection portion near element 52)
wherein an entirety of the elasticized leg cuffs are space from and positioned wholly outboard of the proximal attachment portions of the containment flaps (see annotated fig. 2 below)
and wherein the fold is disposed laterally outboard of longitudinal side edges of the chassis along its entire length (fig. 1, fold 80 is outboard of the chassis through the entire length of 80, also see fig. 2).
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Miyamoto does not teach wherein each of the first pair of elasticized laminates extends in a curving manner at least throughout the crotch region, and wherein the containment flap is made from a distinct material from the leg material.
However, St. Louis teaches that the elastic members (138) may be applied in a rectilinear or curvilinear arrangement (col. 10, lines 26-50, “The elastic members may comprise a single strand of elastic material, or may comprise several parallel or non-parallel strands of elastic material, and the elastic members may be applied in a rectilinear or curvilinear arrangement.”), and wherein the gusset flaps (19) as a whole can be curvilinear (col. 5, lines 33-38, “With respect to each other, the gusset-flaps can be arranged to be parallel or non-parallel to each other, and each individual gusset-flap can be straight and/or curvilinear.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in Miyamoto such that each of the first pair of elasticized laminates extends in a curving manner at least throughout the crotch region, as suggested by St. Louis, since St. Louis appears to teach that having curved elastics versus straight elastics are known equivalents in the art (see St. Louis, col. 10, lines 51-63).
Miyamoto does not teach wherein the containment flap is made from a distinct material from the leg material.
However, VanRijswijck teaches an absorbent article (abstract) wherein a containment flap material (56) is distinct from a leg cuff material (fig. 3, material for gasketing cuffs 56 distinct from barrier cuffs 62). This appears to be a comparable structure to wherein the containment flap material is not distinct from the leg cuff material, as shown in fig. 7.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that the containment flap material is distinct from the leg cuff material, as taught by VanRijswijck, as both means of constructing the two structures appear to be art-recognized equivalents, wherein one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to substitute one structure for another.
Regarding claim 14, Miyamoto is silent to wherein each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is attached to the chassis along a longitudinally extending, straight bond line disposed between the first group of the one or more elastomeric members and the second group of one or more elastomeric members
St. Louis discloses wherein each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is attached to the chassis along a longitudinally extending, straight bond line (130) (col. 19, lines 52-67, “The gusset perimeter bond can be substantially straight, or can be curved to substantially follow the terminal edges of the topsheet and/or backsheet layers.) disposed between the first group of the one or more elastomeric members and the second group of one or more elastomeric members (fig. 4, gusset perimeter bond 130 between the elastomeric members 68 and 138).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in Miyamoto such that each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is attached to the chassis along a longitudinally extending, straight bond line disposed between the first group of the one or more elastomeric members and the second group of one or more elastomeric members, as taught by St. Louis, for the purpose of providing a suitable structure that is known to attach the two structures to the chassis (see St. Louis, col. 19, lines 52-67).
Regarding claim 15, Miyamoto is silent to wherein each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is attached to the chassis along a longitudinally extending, curved bond line disposed between the first group of one or more elastomeric members and the second group of one or more elastomeric members.
However, St. Louis teaches wherein each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is attached to the chassis along a longitudinally extend, curved bond line (130) (col. 19, lines 52-67, “The gusset perimeter bond can be substantially straight, or can be curved to substantially follow the terminal edges of the topsheet and/or backsheet layers) disposed between the first group of one or more elastomeric members and the second group of one or more elastomeric members (fig. 4, gusset perimeter bond 130 between the elastomeric members 68 and 138).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in Miyamoto such that each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is attached to the chassis along a longitudinally extending, curved bond line disposed between the first group of one or more elastomeric members and the second group of one or more elastomeric members as taught by St. Louis, for the purpose of providing a suitable structure that is known to attach the two structures to the chassis (see St. Louis, col. 19, lines 52-67).
Regarding claim 16, Miyamoto is silent to wherein the curvature of the bond line attaching the first pair of elasticized laminates to the chassis matches the curvature of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates.
However, St. Louis teaches wherein the first pair of elasticized laminates can also be curved (col. 10, lines 51-63). Moreover, when the first pair of elasticized laminates and bond line (130) are not curved, as shown in fig. 1, they are parallel with each other (i.e., their curvature [or lack thereof] matches each other).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that the curvature of the bond line attaching the first pair of elasticized laminates to the chassis matches the curvature of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates for the purpose of providing a suitable bond line that properly attaches the first pair of elasticized laminates through its entire perimeter.
Regarding claim 17, Miyamoto St is silent to wherein an apex of curvature of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is disposed in the crotch region of the absorbent article.
However, St. Louis teaches that the curved elastics can be inwardly bowed toward the longitudinal centerline of the diaper, and that they may or may not be configured or positioned symmetrically relative to the lateral centerline (col. 10, lines 51-63).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that an apex of curvature of each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is disposed in the crotch region of the absorbent article, for the purpose of providing a desired fit and appearance (col. 10, lines 51-63).
Regarding claim 22, Miyamoto discloses wherein at least one of the first group of one or more elastomeric members (46) is disposed laterally outboard of longitudinal side edges of the chassis along its entire length (fig. 2 shows an elastic member 46 at the distal end of gasket cuff 70/fold 80, and fold 80 is outboard of the longitudinal side edges along the entire length.
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over St. Louis in view of VanRijswijck
Regarding claim 18, St. Louis discloses an absorbent article having a front waist region (12), a crotch region (16), and a rear waist region (14) comprising:
a bodyside liner (28)
an outer cover (30)
an absorbent body (32) disposed between the bodyside liner (28) and the outer cover (30) (fig. 1, topsheet layer 28, backsheet layer 30, and absorbent body structure 32 sandwiched between the two), and
a first pair of elasticized laminates (144) attached to the chassis to form longitudinally extending elasticized containment flaps (fig. 4, containment flap section 144 formed with laminate and elastics 68), each of the first pair of elasticized laminates comprising:
a containment flap material (176) having a first side edge (189) and a second side edge (64) (fig. 4, fabric layer 76 has two side edges 64 and 189), at least one of the first side edge (189) and the second side edge (164) being a folded edge (fig. 4, fold 189 of fabric layer 176), and
an elastomeric member (fig. 4, elastomeric member 138),
wherein each of the elasticized containment flaps are attached to the chassis along a longitudinally extending bond line (figs. 1 and 4 show the containment flaps being attached via attachment 172).
a second pair of elasticized laminates attached to the chassis to form elasticized leg cuffs (fig. 4, multiple elastomeric members 138 forming leg cuffs, “The leg gusset section 142 of each gusset-flap 19 is configured to extend beyond and past the concave side edge contours 15 of the backsheet layer 30 to provide an elasticizing leg cuff in at least the intermediate portion of the article”), each of the second pair of elasticized laminates comprising:
a leg cuff material comprising a fold to form a leg cuff material top layer and a leg cuff material bottom layer (fig. 4, two layers of material formed by fold 188), the folded leg cuff materials each having a proximal edge and a distal edge with the fold forming the distal edge (fig. 4, proximal edge defined by material near bond 130, and distal edge defined by fold 188), and
an elastomeric member disposed between the leg cuff material top layer and the leg cuff material bottom layer (fig. 4, elastomeric member 138),
wherein an entirety of the elasticized leg cuffs are spaced from and positioned wholly outboard of the longitudinally extending bond line (see annotated fig. 4 below),
wherein each of the first pair of elasticized laminates is attached to the chassis such that the fold (189) comprises an outermost longitudinal edge of the article through the crotch region (fig. 1 shows the fold extending through the crotch region)
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St. Louis is silent to wherein the first and second side edges and the elastomeric member extend in a curved manner along at least a portion of their length, and wherein each of the elasticized containment flaps are attached to the chassis along a longitudinally extending, curved bond line, each of the curved bond lines curving toward a longitudinal centerline of the article, and wherein the leg cuffs are spaced from and outboard of the longitudinally extending curved bond line.
However, St. Louis teaches that the elastic members (138) may be applied in a rectilinear or curvilinear arrangement (col. 10, lines 26-50, “The elastic members may comprise a single strand of elastic material, or may comprise several parallel or non-parallel strands of elastic material, and the elastic members may be applied in a rectilinear or curvilinear arrangement.”), and wherein the gusset flaps (19) as a whole can be curvilinear (col. 5, lines 33-38, “With respect to each other, the gusset-flaps can be arranged to be parallel or non-parallel to each other, and each individual gusset-flap can be straight and/or curvilinear.”). Moreover, gusset attachment 172 is described to be formed in a U-shape (col. 19, lines 20-26, “In the shown arrangements, for example, the leg gusset attachment 172 can have a generally U-shape configuration, with the bottom of the U-shape extending generally longitudinally and the two arms of the U-shape extending generally laterally.”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that the first and second side edges and the elastomeric member extend in a curved manner along at least a portion of their length for the purpose of providing a suitable structure that grants a desired fit and appearance (col. 10, lines 51-63).
St. Louis is silent to wherein each of the curved bond lines curve toward a longitudinal centerline of the article, wherein the leg cuffs are spaced from and outboard of the longitudinally extending curved bond line.
However, St. Louis teaches wherein the curved elastics can be inwardly bowed toward the longitudinal centerline of the diaper (col. 10, lines 51-63, “In addition, elastics may be generally straight or optionally curved. For example, the curved elastics can be inwardly bowed toward the longitudinal centerline of the diaper”). Moreover, in Figure 1, wherein the elastomeric members are arranged in a straight line, the guest perimeter bond (130) is also straight, and the disclosure notes that the gusset perimeter bond can be curved to substantially follow the terminal edges of the topsheet and/or backsheet layers, and can be coterminous with the laterally terminal edges of the topsheet and backsheet layers (col. 19, lines 52-67, and col. 20, lines 1-3). As such, there is at least a suggestion to have the curved bond lines also curve toward a longitudinal centerline of the article.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that the curved bond lines curve toward a longitudinal centerline of the article, wherein the leg cuffs are spaced from and outboard of the longitudinally extending curved bond line, for the purpose of providing a suitable structure that better conforms to the shape of the rest of the article.
St. Lous does not teach wherein the leg cuff material is distinct from the containment flap material.
However, VanRijswijck teaches an absorbent article (abstract) wherein a containment flap material (56) is distinct from a leg cuff material (fig. 3, material for gasketing cuffs 56 distinct from barrier cuffs 62). This appears to be a comparable structure to wherein the containment flap material is not distinct from the leg cuff material, as shown in fig. 7.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device disclosed in St. Louis such that the containment flap material is distinct from the leg cuff material, as taught by VanRijswijck, as both means of constructing the two structures appear to be art-recognized equivalents, wherein one of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to substitute one structure for another.
Conclusion
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/Brandon W. Levy/Examiner, Art Unit 3781