Patent ID: 8123262

Claim:
A damping assembly for disposition within a housing of a latch assembly to slow rotation of a forkbolt rotatably disposed within the latch assembly as the forkbolt rotates between an over-travel position and a latched position when latching a door of a vehicle, said damping assembly comprising: a first fluid region having a first volume and configured to hold a fluid; a second fluid region having a second volume and configured to hold a fluid; a piston slidably disposed within one of said fluid regions and configured to change each of said volumes to displace fluid from one of said fluid regions to the other of said fluid regions; a check valve interconnecting said first fluid region and said second fluid region and configured to allow unidirectional flow of said fluid from said first fluid region to said second fluid region as said piston moves to decrease said first volume and increase said second volume; a restriction passage fluidly connecting said first fluid region and said second fluid region; wherein said restriction passage is configured to restrict flow of said fluid from said second fluid region to said first fluid region as said piston moves to increase said first volume and decrease said second volume; and an engagement mechanism operatively connected to said piston and configured to engage the forkbolt as the forkbolt rotates between the over-travel position such that rotation of said forkbolt is slowed as said piston moves to increase said first volume and decrease said second volume.