Dampening cylinder incorporting stop valve

A dampening cylinder, comprising:

• a cylindrical housing having first and second ends and an inner surface defining a cavity in the housing for receiving a fluid therein;
• a piston slidably extending through the cavity in the housing;
• a flange projecting from the piston and positioned within the cavity so as to divide the cavity in the housing into first and second portions, the flange terminating at a radially outer edge which forms a slidable interface with the inner surface of the housing;
• a first conduit having a first end communicating with the first portion of the cavity in the housing and a second end;
• a second conduit having a first end communicating with the second portion of the cavity in the housing and a second end;
• and
• a control valve structure disposed between the first and second conduits for controlling the flow of fluid between the first and second portions of the cavity in the housing, the control valve structure includes first and second flow control valves in series between the first and second conduits;
• and
• an emergency stop valve in fluid communication with the fluid flow between the first and second portions of the cavity in the housing and being movable between a first open position for allowing slidable movement of the piston within the housing and a closed position for preventing slidable movement of the piston in the housing.

A dampening cylinder, comprising:

• a cylindrical housing having first and second ends and an inner surface defining a cavity in the housing for receiving a fluid therein;
• a piston slidably extending through the cavity in the housing;
• a flange projecting from the piston and positioned within the cavity so as to divide the cavity in the housing into first and second portions, the flange terminating at a radially outer edge which forms a slidable interface with the inner surface of the housing;
• first and second flow control valves for controlling the flow of fluid between the first and second portions of the cavity in the housing, each flow control valve including a flow regulator having a plurality of user selectable discrete settings for controlling the flow rate therethrough;
• an emergency stop valve in fluid communication with the fluid flow between the first and second portions of the cavity in the housing and being movable between a first open position for allowing the flow of fluid between the first and second portions of the cavity in the housing and a closed position for preventing the flow of fluid between the first and second portions of the cavity in the housing;
• and
• a handle operative connected to the emergency stop valve for allowing a user to move the emergency stop valve between the open and closed positions.