Patent ID: 7666174

Claim:
A disposable diaper having a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction, comprising: a liquid-pervious topsheet facing a wearer's skin; a liquid-impervious backsheet facing away from the wearer's skin; a liquid-absorbent core interposed between said top- and backsheets; a front waist region; a rear waist region; a crotch region extending between said front and rear waist regions; a liquid-absorbent zone being formed in said front and rear waist regions and said crotch region; a pair of elasticized side flaps lying outside transversely opposite side edges of said liquid-absorbent zone; said liquid-absorbent zone in said crotch region exclusively having: a first section, having a length, a width and a depth, the length of which is greater than its width and which length extends across said crotch region at a longitudinal middle thereof in the transverse direction, a pair of second sections, each having a length, a width and a depth, the length of each said second sections extending from transversely opposite ends of the length of said first section toward at least one of said front and rear waist regions in the longitudinal direction, a third section, located in a U-shaped region defined by the length of said first section in the transverse direction of said disposable diaper and the lengths of said second sections in the longitudinal direction of said disposable diaper, and a pair of fourth sections extending on a transverse outside of each of said second sections in the longitudinal direction; wherein said first and second sections are formed from said top sheet and said back sheet except said core and said third and fourth sections are formed from said top sheet and said back sheet and said core, so that each stiffness of said first and second sections is lower than that of said third and fourth sections; wherein said distal portion of said third section slopes downward as viewed in a thickness direction of the diaper; and wherein at least said fourth sections are provided with stretchably elastic members which contractibly extend in the longitudinal direction.