Floating Lifter Pressure Relief Valve

In combination with an inflatable evacuation slide comprising a plurality of inflatable support tubes adapted to be deployed from an elevated supporting surface to a lower supporting surface, a pressure relief valve attached to an opening in at least one of said plurality of inflatable support tubes, said pressure relief valve comprising:

• a valve body having a inlet aperture opening into said one of said plurality of inflatable support tubes and a exhaust aperture for venting outside said valve body, the inlet aperture including a valve seat;
• a poppet comprising a valve stem having a first end and a second end having a first valve member attached thereto, said first valve member having a front face for sealingly engaging said valve seat, said poppet being moveable axially along an axis of said valve stem from a closed position in which said first valve member sealing engages said valve seat to an open position in which said first valve member is displaced axially away from said valve seat;
• a valve spring urging said poppet into said closed position;
• a lifter member slidingly engaging said first end of said valve stem, said lifter member having a front face and being movable from a first position in which said front face contacts said exhaust aperture, to a second position in which said lifter member is spaced apart from said exhaust aperture and engages a stop member on the first end of the valve stem, said lifter member further moveable to a third position in which said lifter member presses against the stop member and displaces said valve stem axially away from said valve seat.