Patent ID: 7182093

Claim:
A pressure relief valve for relieving air pressure from a passenger compartment of a vehicle, the pressure relief valve comprising: a base having a central portion and a peripheral portion, a plurality of openings extending through the base; a plurality of flaps for closing the openings of the base, each flap being associated with at least one opening of the plurality of openings and including opposite surfaces against which air pressure acts, an inner end of each flap connected with the central portion of the base and an outer end of each flap being movable relative to the central portion of the base and the other flaps in response to differential air pressure acting on the opposite surfaces for enabling airflow through the at least one associated opening, wherein the inner ends of the plurality of flaps collectively form an undivided center portion of a flexible closure member, the outer ends of the plurality of flaps being separated from one another by slots, the slots enable movement of the outer end of each flap relative to the outer end of adjacent flaps, the flexible closure member being formed from a single sheet of material; and a connector on the base configured to secure the pressure relief valve to the vehicle, wherein the connector is a rim that is molded onto the peripheral portion of the base, the rim including structure for securing the pressure relief valve to the vehicle.