Patent ID: 8677878

Claim:
A propulsion circuit in an electromagnetic munition launcher that is capable of launching a munition, the propulsion circuit comprising: a first coil that is dimensioned and arranged to inductively couple to a second coil in an armature circuit that is associated with the munition; a high-energy capacitor; a diode having an anode that is dimensioned and arranged to electrically couple to the high-energy capacitor and having a cathode that is dimensioned and arranged to electrically couple to a first terminal of the first coil; and a plurality of switches for actuating a plurality of states of the propulsion circuit, the plurality of states comprising: a drive state that is actuated when a first switch is in a closed position and a second switch is in the closed position, wherein the high-energy capacitor discharges and a first flow of electric current through the first coil inductively couples the first coil to the second coil; a recovery state that follows the drive state, and that is actuated when a third switch is in the closed position while the first and second switches are in an open position, thereby recharging the high-energy capacitor at least in part; and a charging state that is actuated when a fourth switch is in the closed position while the first, second, and third switches are in the open position and no current flows through the first coil, thereby charging the high-energy capacitor from a power source; wherein the recovery state that follows the drive state limits a rise in the temperature of the first coil as compared to the rise in the absence of the recovery state, wherein the rise results from a residual energy arising from the drive state.