10.30.07
A disposable wearing article with a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction orthogonal to each other was issued a patent. The article comprises a front waist region, a rear waist region and a crotch region. Each of the regions has a pair of side edges opposed to each other in the transverse direction and opposite inner and outer surfaces. The inner surface is adapted to face a wearer’s skin in use and the outer surface is adapted to face away from the wearer’s skin in use. Connector sheet strips are attached to one of the front and rear waist regions in a vicinity of the associated side edges. Elastic members are attached in a stretched state to one waist region so as to be contractible in the transverse direction.
One waist region is formed with gathers and undulates in the transverse direction between the side edges under contraction of the elastic members. Each of the connector sheet strips respectively comprises a proximal section fixed to the inner surface of the waist region in the vicinity of one of the associated side edges. A flap section is moveable between a first position where the flap section extends in the transverse direction inward from the proximal section and a second position where the flap section extends in the transverse direction outward from the proximal section. The flap section has a surface that is opposed to the inner surface of the one waist region when the flap section is in the first position. A fastening element is provided on the surface of the flap section and is releasably engageable with the outer surface of the other waist region. The one waist region has zones immediately adjacent to bonding sites where the proximal sections of the connector sheet strips are bonded to the respective side edges of the waist region. The zones are located inboard of the adjacent bonding sites and are formed with the gathers. A flexural rigidity of each flap section as measured in the transverse direction is higher than that of the one waist region as measured in the zones.