The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 18, 1999
Filed:
Oct. 16, 1997
Daniel Richard Laux, Appleton, WI (US);
Lynn Carol Brud, Appleton, WI (US);
Barbara Ann Gossen, Oshkosh, WI (US);
Eric Donald Johnson, Larsen, WI (US);
Cynthia Helen Nordness, Oshkosh, WI (US);
Deborah Lynn Proxmire, Larsen, WI (US);
Mark Louis Robinson, Appleton, WI (US);
Paula Mary Sosalla, Appleton, WI (US);
Robert Alan Stevens, Appleton, WI (US);
Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc., Neenah, WI (US);
Abstract
An absorbent article has a longitudinal length dimension, a lateral cross dimension, a front waistband portion, a back waistband portion and an intermediate portion which interconnects the front and back waistband portions. The article includes a backsheet layer having a pair of laterally opposed side margins, with each side margin having an outwardly concave, terminal side edge contour located at appointed leg opening regions in an intermediate portion of each of the side margins. Each concave side edge contour has a selected longitudinal extent along the length dimension of the article. A liquid permeable topsheet layer is connected in superposed relation to the backsheet layer, and an absorbent body is sandwiched between the topsheet layer and the backsheet layer. A separate, elasticized and gathered leg gusset is connected to the article along each of the appointed leg opening regions, and each leg gusset is configured to extend beyond and to bridge between opposed, spaced-apart portions of an associated one of the concave side edge contours of the backsheet layer.