Case No. IP-2015-000205

16.As appears from that part of claim 1 just before the characterising portion, the side panel consists of (i) an inner material layer, (ii) an outer material layer and (iii) a stretchable material layer in between. The side panel includes a plurality of vent sites. The specification uses the terms ‘vent site’ and ‘bond site’ interchangeably. In fact, the specification is full of interchangeable terms which, to the extent necessary, I will identify. 17.The side panels can be extensions of the front and back regions of the diaper. Those front and back regions also consist of three layers, described in the specification as the topsheet, the backsheet and an absorbent layer disposed between them. The topsheet is on the inside of the garment when worn, i.e. contacting the wearer, with the backsheet on the outside. The inner layer of the side panels is of the same material as and can be an extension of the topsheet. Likewise the outer layer of the side panels is the same as and can be an extension of the backsheet. Frequently in the specification, including in the context of the side panels, ‘topsheet’ is used to mean the inner layer and ‘backsheet’ to mean the outer layer. 18.The side panels are distinctive in that between the two layers there is the stretchable member, sometimes also referred to as the stretchable layer, stretchable material layer, elastic member, elastic layer and possibly other names. 19.Moving on to the characterising portion of claim 1, at each vent site the outer and inner layers are joined by ultrasonic bonding through the stretchable layer between them. This is described at paragraph 12 of the Patent: “[0012] … At the vent sites, an outer material layer of the ear portion (e.g., an extension of the backsheet) is bonded with an inner material layer of the ear portion (e.g., an extension of the topsheet). As a result of a bonding process … vent sites are created which include a hole(s) or aperture(s) through the stretchable material layer and through which air is passable.” 20.The ultrasonic bonding joins the inner and outer layers and also creates holes, at the sites of bonding, so that air can pass from one side of the panel to the other. Construction 21.There are two other passages in the specification in which the ultrasonic bonding and its result are mentioned. One is paragraph 55: “[0055] In any of the above bonding processes, the topsheet 16 is mechanically bonded to the backsheet 18 at localized bond sites or bond points 100, at which the topsheet 16 and backsheet 18 are joined together through the stretchable member 46 (see FIGS. 6 and 7). An ultrasonic bonding process is employed to bond the topsheet 16 and the backsheet 18, through the stretchable member 46. Employment of this bonding process, creates holes or apertures at the bond sites 100 and through the stretchable member 46. These holes or apertures at the bond sites 100 provide breathability or air permeability to the ear regions 26a, 26b (see also FIG. 6). More particularly, the holes at the bond sites 100 are created as a result of the selection of materials for the topsheet 16, backsheet 18 and stretchable member 46, and use of the ultrasonic bonding process. In this process, the non-woven materials (i.e., topsheet 16 and backsheet 18) requires substantially more energy to bond than the material selected for the elastic member 46 (i.e., a polymeric material). Accordingly, the level of ultrasonic bonding that is sufficient to bond the non-woven materials also causes the material for the elastic member 46 to fracture and/or disintegrate. As a result, the two non-woven layers bond together, but trap the polymeric material of the elastic member 46 therewith. Further, the hole that is blown or created through the elastic member 46 is larger than the bond site, and the two non-woven layers bond with each other through the center of the hole.” 22.There is also paragraph 67, although it does not add much: “[0067] … As described previously, energy from the preferred bonding process creates a hole in the stretchable member and allows for the topsheet material and the backsheet material to bond therethrough. This also creates a vent at the bond site through which air may pass.”