Soft recoil system
AssigneeMandus Group LLC
InventorsKenneth Wynes, Gary Bowrey
Life of this patent
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Abstract
One embodiment of a gun configured with the soft recoil system comprises a plurality of recoiling parts that initially moves in the direction of the projectile being fired before moving in a direction opposite to that of a projectile during the firing of the round. The soft recoil system throttles the movement of the recoiling parts such that the energy expended during the firing of the round is spread over a longer time period and a longer distance than would normally occur. The soft recoil system stores at least a portion of the energy transferred to the recoiling parts and the user may selectively release at least a part of that portion of energy to offset the energy imparted to the gun during the firing of the next round.
Claims16
A soft recoil system for mitigating a force of firing a round, the soft recoil system comprising:
- a. a hydraulic cylinder cooperatively engaged with a gun barrel, the hydraulic cylinder comprising:
- i. an outer cylinder;
- ii. an inner cylinder rigidly mounted within the outer cylinder, wherein the inner cylinder includes a group of unobstructed passages formed through the inner cylinder, the group of unobstructed passages having a first unobstructed passage with a first width and a second unobstructed passage with a second width that is different from the first width;
- iii. a recoil piston positioned within the inner cylinder, wherein the soft recoil system is slideable along a stroke length with respect to the inner cylinder along a portion of the inner cylinder, the group of unobstructed passages arranged along the stroke length;
- iv. an elongated recoil rod having a first end portion cooperatively engaged with the gun barrel and a second end cooperatively engaged with the recoil piston;
- b. a recuperator having a floating piston positioned therein, wherein the floating piston defines a first recuperator chamber and a second recuperator chamber, wherein the hydraulic cylinder and the second recuperator chamber are in fluid communication with one another;
- and
- c. a fluid occupying a portion of the inner cylinder, the outer cylinder, and the second recuperator chamber, wherein the soft recoil system captures a portion of an energy imparted to the gun barrel after the firing of the round by allowing the recoil piston to displace a first volume of the fluid from the inner cylinder into the outer cylinder through the group of unobstructed passages, and wherein the group of unobstructed passages cooperate to throttle a rate at which the recoil piston displaces the first volume of the fluid.
A method for conserving energy expended during a firing of a round in a gun using a soft recoil system, the method comprising the steps of:
- a. operably engaging a piston slideably positioned in an inner cylinder of a first fluid chamber of a soft recoil system with the gun such that the piston may move linearly along a stroke length with respect to the first fluid chamber;
- b. using the piston to displace a first volume of a fluid positioned in the inner cylinder in response to the firing of the round;
- c. throttling a rate at which the piston displaces the first volume of the fluid using a group of unobstructed passages formed through the inner cylinder and arranged along the stroke length, the group of unobstructed passages having a first unobstructed passage with a first width and a second unobstructed passage with a second width that is different from the first width;
- d. capturing a first portion of an energy required to displace the first volume of the fluid and,
- e. releasing at least a part of the first portion of the energy required to displace the first volume of the fluid such that the at least a part of the first portion of the energy causes the piston to move with respect to the first fluid chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.