Muzzle switch for an electromagnetic launcher
US4864911A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 30, 1988 |
| Grant date | Sep 12, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 30, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01H33/002
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A muzzle switch connected to the rails of an electromagnetic launcher to divert post-launch rail current into a dump resistor or other load and to prevent arcing at the muzzle. The switch includes shorting members electrically connected to the launcher rails together with a flexible washer-like ring which surrounds the rails and is in close proximity to the shorting members. Part of the rail current is diverted through the ring and when a current carrying armature which propels a payload along the rails passes the switch the interaction of the magnetic field produced by the rail current and current in the ring forces the ring against the shorting members, thus closing the switch as the armature leaves the rails.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.