Dashpot for damping a closing movement of a hinged closure member

A hydraulically damped actuator for damping a closing movement of a closure system having a support and a closure member that are hingedly connected to each other, wherein the hydraulically damped actuator comprises a dashpot comprising:

• a housing;
• a closed cylinder cavity formed within the housing and being filled with hydraulic fluid;
• a piston within said housing so as to divide the closed cylinder cavity into a high pressure compartment and a low pressure compartment, the piston being slideable with respect to the housing between two extreme positions in a sliding direction;
• a one-way fluid passage provided in the piston and allowing fluid flow from the low pressure compartment to the high pressure compartment when said closure member is being opened;
• a first restricted fluid passage provided in the housing and connecting the high pressure compartment and the low pressure compartment and determining a closing speed of the closing movement of the closure system;
• and
• a compensation mechanism configured for compensating temperature-induced viscosity changes in said hydraulic fluid, the compensation mechanism comprising:
• a second restricted fluid passage provided in the housing and connecting the high pressure compartment and the low pressure compartment and having a narrowest cross-sectional area, wherein a location at which the second restricted fluid passage has its narrowest cross-sectional area determines a hypothetical plane, which hypothetical planes has a normal direction;
• and
• a needle valve positioned at least partially inside the second restricted fluid passage and comprising:
• an elongated body extending between a first end fixed to the housing and a second end opposite the first end, wherein a length of the elongated body is temperature dependent;
• and
• a tip positioned at the second end of the elongated body near said location at which the second restricted fluid passage has its narrowest cross-sectional area, wherein a projection of the tip onto said hypothetical plane along said normal direction forms a two-dimensional shape which does not fully cover said narrowest cross-sectional area.