Soft recoil system

A soft recoil system for mitigating the force of firing a round, said recoil system comprising:

• a. a hydraulic cylinder cooperatively engaged with a gun barrel, said hydraulic cylinder comprising:
• i. an outer cylinder;
• ii. an inner cylinder rigidly mounted within said outer cylinder, wherein said inner cylinder includes a fluid passage formed therein to allow fluid communication between said inner and outer cylinders;
• iii. a recoil piston positioned within said inner cylinder, wherein said recoil system is slideable with respect to said inner cylinder along a portion of said inner cylinder;
• iv. an elongated recoil rod having a first end portion cooperatively engaged with said gun barrel and a second end cooperatively engaged with said recoil piston;
• b. a recuperator having a floating piston positioned therein, wherein said floating piston defines a first recuperator chamber and a second recuperator chamber, wherein said hydraulic cylinder and said second recuperator chamber are in fluid communication with one another.

A latch mechanism comprising:

• a. a housing having a plurality of apertures formed therein;
• b. a latch assembly pivotally engaged with said housing at a first aperture of said plurality of apertures, wherein said latch assembly comprises:
• i. a latch body;
• ii. a plunger slideably engaged with said latch body;
• c. a crank pivotally engaged with said housing at a second aperture of said plurality of apertures;
• d. a link having a first and second end, wherein said link first end is pivotally engaged with said latch assembly and said link second end is pivotally engaged with said crank, wherein said link is curved in shape, and wherein said latch assembly, said crank, and said link are configured such that the axis of rotation of said crank with respect to said housing may be positioned below a line connecting the axis of rotation of said link with respect to said crank and the axis of rotation of said link with respect to said latch assembly.

A method for conserving the energy expended during the firing of a round in a gun using a soft recoil system, said method comprising the steps of:

• a. operably engaging a piston slideably positioned in a first fluid chamber of a soft recoil system with said gun such that said piston may move linearly with respect to said first fluid chamber;
• b. using said piston to displace a first volume of said fluid positioned in said first fluid chamber in response to the firing of said round;
• c. throttling the rate at which said piston displaces said first volume of said fluid;
• d. capturing a first portion of the energy required to displace said first volume of said fluid;
• and,
• e. releasing at least a part of said first portion of the energy required to displace said first volume of said fluid such that said at least a part of said first portion of the energy causes said piston to move with respect to said first fluid chamber.