Patent ID: 7497416

Claim:
A safety valve device for an inflatable apparatus comprising: a body having a central opening; a manual seal assembly connected to the body and having a knob rotatably mounted on the body and having an annular sidewall; multiple inclined compression ridges formed on the knob and each inclined compression ridge having an outer flat surface; and multiple inlets defined through the annular sidewall and communicating with the central opening; and a seal mounted slidably between the knob and the body and having an annular sealing lip extending out from the seal, so that the sealing lip selectively engages hermetically with the body to seal the central opening; a spring connected to the seal, biasing the seal to open the central opening in the body; and multiple inclined compression ridges formed on the seal, corresponding to and engaging the compression ridges on the knob and each inclined compression ridge having an outer flat surface, wherein rotation of the knob changes the engagement between the compression ridges of the knob and the seal and causes the seal to slide and selectively close the central opening; wherein when the outer flat surfaces of the inclined compression ridges on the knob and the seal abut each other, the seal closes the central opening to prevent fluid from flowing in sequence from ambient, through a peripheral edge of the seal, to the central opening of the body, and into the inflatable apparatus.