Channel gun magnetic launcher
US7614393B1 · kind B1 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 27, 2008 |
| Grant date | Nov 10, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 27, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF41B6/006
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An electromagnetic launcher comprising, an electric power supply, a conductive, stationary guide operatively connected to the power supply and forming a flowpath for current from the power supply, and a non-conductive projectile disposed adjacent to the guide and which is accelerated along the guide when current flows through the guide. The guide includes a plurality of conductive rails disposed in spaced, substantially parallel relation to each other, a plurality of conductive rungs interconnecting the rails and disposed in spaced relation to each other along the rails, and normally-open switches operatively associated with the rungs for selectively permitting current flow through different ones of the rungs. The projectile includes a main body and a magnet supported by the main body such that the magnet faces the guide with a small gap therebetween. The switches are passively activated only when they are disposed within a magnetic field of the projectile, such that the switches are sequentially activated as the projectile moves along the guide and create an electromagnetic pushing Lorentz force which continuously accelerates the projectile along the guide substantially in a direc…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.