Appeal No. 2006-1769
Application No. 09/784,292
the leg edge when the first and second side panels are in a laid flat
configuration. Rather, the side panels (40) of Kuen ‘162 each have
waist and leg edges that are parallel in the laid flat configuration.
(Examiner’s Answer, p. 6). Although Kuen ‘162 discloses that the
material of the region (50) of each side panel (40) may be rectangular
in shape, the examiner notes that the reference further teaches, “other
shapes are also possible.” (Examiner’s Answer, p. 6; see also Kuen
‘162, col. 5, lines 59-63).
The examiner turned to Keuhn, Jr. and Sauer for disclosure of
certain “other shapes” for the side panels. With respect to Keuhn, Jr.,
the examiner pointed to the embodiment of Figure 6 which shows a
side panel (64) formed from or attached to the backing sheet 24 of
chassis (62) in which the portion of side panel (64) extending from
chassis (62) has a curved leg edge that would be nonparallel to the
panel waist edge in a laid flat configuration. (Examiner’s Answer,
page 6). The examiner further relies on Keuhn, Jr. to show that panel
members that are releasably connected on both ends (as shown in
Figure 1) and panel members that are permanently connected to the
back waist region but releasably connected to the front waist region
(as shown in Figure 6) are interchangeable. (Examiner’s Answer, p.
6).
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