Appeal No. 97-2597
Application 08/176,056
Boland, the primary reference, pertains to a stretchable
disposable absorbent undergarment. With reference to Figures
6A and 7, the Boland undergarment comprises a outer cover 12
having a stretchability of from about 20% to about 200% in the
cross-body direction 41 (column 8, lines 46-50). The outer
cover is configured to have front 28 and rear 30 panels
separated from one another by a crotch section 16. Superposed
on the bodyside surface of the front and rear panels and the
crotch section is an absorbent structure 32. The absorbent
structure comprises a liquid-permeable bodyside liner 34, a
liquid-impermeable barrier 36, and an absorbent core 30
disposed therebetween. Proxmire, the secondary reference,
discloses a stretchable disposable absorbent undergarment that
is similar to Boland’s undergarment. For example, compare
Figures 6A and 7 of Boland with Figures 10A and 11 of
Proxmire.2
2With respect to the outer cover 12 of Proxmire’s
undergarment, we appreciate that Proxmire at column 22, line
42 through column 23, line 2, incorporates by reference the
disclosure of US application Serial No. 919,901 to Kieffer
(now U.S. Patent No. 5,299,695) and indicates that the outer
cover may also be made of the resiliently stretchable material
disclosed in the Kieffer patent.
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