Appeal No. 2003-1725 Application No. 09/357,645 Page 11 pages 10-20. We start with the Group IV claims comprising claims 1-4, 6, 7 and 25. Claims 1-4, 6, 7 and 25 Since claims 1-4, 6, 7 and 25 have been grouped as standing or falling together, we select independent claim 1 as the representative claim on which we shall decide this appeal with respect to this grouping of claims. See 37 CFR § 1.192(c)(7) (2001). Claim 1 is directed to a flexible tube occluder comprising an occluding member and a force actuator that is arranged to bend the occluding member from a first configuration to a second configuration. A tube occluder encompassed by representative claim 1 is depicted in appellants’ drawing figures 12(e) and 12(f). As appellants note at page 2 of the supplemental brief, element or spring plate 1152 depicted in figures 12(e) and 12(f) is an example of an occluding member included within the scope of representative claim 1. Furthermore, as set forth at page 3 of the supplemental brief, inflatable bladder 1182 as shown in those same drawing figures is a force actuator within the scope of representative claim 1. The occluding member of appealed claim 1 is required to have the property of being essentially non-compliant to forces appliedPage: Previous 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007