Appeal No. 2000-0855
Application No. 08/597,377
which are attached to the diaper by welding. We find support
for claim 25 on page 12 of the appellants’ specification which
teaches that
elastic devices 111, 112 are secured within the fold 116 by
ultrasonic welding.
Proxmire discloses an elastic band 104 affixed along the
waist margin of a diaper and further including elastic devices
102 which are attached along the leg margins of a diaper (see
Fig. 2). Proxmire also teaches that the elastic devices 102
can be attached to the diaper by autogenous bonding. See col.
12, ll. 35-40. According to Proxmire, ultrasonic or thermal
bonding
are examples of autogenous bonding. See col. 9, l. 68 - col.
10. l. 2 and col. 15, ll. 22-23. The term “weld,” as it is
ordinarily understood and as used in the appellants’
specification, is certainly broad enough to encompass an
ultrasonic or thermal bond.3 Thus, the appellants’ argument
3 Webster’s II New Riverside University Dictionary (Riverside Publishing
Co., 1982) defines "weld" as "1. To join (metals) by applying heat, sometimes
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