Appeal No. 1998-2817
Application No. 08/455,366
The appellants have grouped claims 1, 3 through 7, 9
through 13, 15 through 19, 21 through 26 and 28 through 36 as
standing or falling together. See brief, p. 3. In accordance
with 37 CFR
§ 1.192(c)(7), we have selected claim 1 as the representative
claim and will decide this ground of rejection on the basis of
that claim.
The examiner describes Ales as disclosing the invention
substantially as claimed, including a closed-loop elastic
waist system for a disposable panty for infants and adults.
See answer, p. 5. The examiner also describes Ales as
teaching, at col. 13, ll. 51-57, the same materials as the
appellants for the elastic member, including natural rubber.
Id. The examiner acknowledges that Ales is silent as to the
maximum magnitude of decay over the first three cycles.
The examiner describes (answer, pp. 6 and 7) Weil as
teaching that
. . . elastic materials in an elastic waist system
undergoing sustained stress/strain (extension/con-
traction) have diminishing forces with time (i.e. elastic
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