Patent ID: 7419480

Claim:
A disposable diaper having a front waist region, a rear waist region and a crotch region extending in a longitudinal direction of the diaper between said waist regions, said disposable diaper comprising: an inner surface adapted to contact a wearer's skin, an outer surface adapted to contact the wearer's undergarment, a body fluid absorbent core interposed between said inner and outer surfaces, and a pair of elastic barrier cuffs extending from said crotch region into said front and rear waist regions and adapted to be raised up from said inner surface, each of said barrier cuffs comprising first and second sheet strips provided separately of each other, said first and second sheet strips respectively comprising bottom side edges fixed to said inner surface in said front and rear waist regions as well as in said crotch region, and top side edges free of direct attachment to said inner surface at least in said crotch region, wherein said bottom side edge of said first sheet strip is inwardly spaced, in a transverse direction of the diaper, from said bottom side edge of said second sheet strip, said top side edges of said first and second sheet strips are disposed inboard of the respective bottom side edges, and one of said top side edges is spaced inwardly in the transverse direction from the other, the top side edge of said second sheet strip is provided with an elastic member extending in the longitudinal direction and bonded in stretched state thereto, and said first and second sheet strips are directly bonded to each other in vicinities of the top side edges thereof; wherein the top side edge of the second sheet strip along which the elastic member is bonded is moveable independently of the top side edge of the first sheet strip; the first sheet strip has a first section defined between a bonding site, where said first sheet strip and said second sheet strip are directly bonded to each other, and the top side edge of the first sheet strip; the second sheet strip has a second section defined between said bonding site and said elastic member bonded along the top side edge of the second sheet strip; and a width of said first section as measured in the transverse direction is smaller than that of the second section, whereby said top side edge of said second sheet strip extends inward in the transverse direction beyond said top side edge of said first sheet strip.