Patent ID: 8790326

Claim:
A wearable article, comprising: an integrally-formed, highly extensible fastening member formed of a laminate of web materials and comprising a proximal portion attached to the article along a line of attachment parallel to a longitudinal axis, the fastening member extending laterally away from the article from a line of attachment along a stretch direction transverse to said line of attachment and ending at an outboard end, the fastening member further comprising: a laterally extensible zone disposed between the line of attachment and the outboard end the laterally extensible zone being bounded by an inboard extensible zone extent line at or outboard of, and parallel to, the line of attachment, and an outboard extensible zone extent line parallel to the line of attachment and inboard of the outboard end, a first longitudinally outermost edge beginning at the inboard extensible zone extent line and ending at the outboard end, having a first edge profile; a second longitudinally outmost edge opposite the first longitudinally outermost edge and beginning at the inboard extensible zone extent line and ending at the outboard end, having a second edge profile; and a fastener zone disposed outboard of said outboard extensible zone extent line and bounded by an inboard fastener zone extent line parallel to the line of attachment and lying outboard of said outboard extensible zone extent line, and an outboard fastener zone extent line parallel to the line of attachment and lying outboard of said inboard fastener zone extent line, said fastener zone comprising a fastener disposed between said inboard and outboard fastener zone extent lines, and having first and second inboard fastener zone corners at the respective intersections of said inboard fastener zone extent line and said first and second edge profiles, said fastener zone having a Stiffness of at least about 1,500 N/m; wherein said fastening member has an acting width (WA) measured from said outboard fastener zone extent line to said inboard extensible zone extent line; said acting width is bounded by longitudinal lines W 0 colinear with said outboard fastener zone extent line and W 100 colinear with said inboard extensible zone extent line, and said acting width may be divided into four equal portions by longitudinal lines W 25 at 25% of said acting width and relatively proximate to line W 0 , W 50 at 50% of said acting width, and W 75 at 75% of said acting width and relatively proximate to line W 100 ; and at least one of said longitudinally outermost lateral edges defines an inflection point approximately between lines W 25 and W 50 .