Appeal No. 2006-1769
Application No. 09/784,292
applicants’ side panels extend from a wearer’s hips down to the
wearer’s legs to allow the leg openings to conform about a wearer’s
legs. (Appellants’ Brief, p. 5). The appellants argue that there is no
motivation in Kuen ‘162 to modify the leg edge of the strap members
to conform about a wearer’s legs.
With regard to the appellants’ argument that there is no
motivation in Kuen ‘162 to modify the leg edge of the strap members
to conform about a wearer’s legs, we find that no such showing of
motivation is required to reject the independent claims because none
of claims 1, 21, and 34 require the leg edge of the panel member to
conform about a wearer’s legs. Rather, claims 1 and 21 recite that the
side panels combined with the chassis define first and second leg
openings.1 We find that the strap members (40) of Kuen ‘162 combine
with the chassis (22) to define a waist opening and first and second
leg openings. (See Kuen ‘162, Figure 1).
We also disagree with the appellants’ position that because the
strap members (40) in Kuen ‘162 rest on a wearer’s hips, the leg end
edge of the strap members does not extend down to a wearer’s legs.
We determine the scope of the claims in patent applications “not
solely
1 Claim 34 requires only that the chassis partially define a waist opening and first
and second leg openings. The side panels of claim 34 each include a substrate
with mating fastening components that extend from the waist opening to their
respective leg openings.
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