Patent ID: 7349193

Claim:
A method of operating a solenoid comprising the steps of: a) applying a voltage across said solenoid sufficient to cause a current of a first magnitude to flow through said solenoid; b) stopping the application of said voltage and conducting the flyback energy in said solenoid onto a capacitor to transfer charge to said capacitor until said current through said solenoid is at a second magnitude; c) reapplying said voltage across said solenoid to cause said current to become said first magnitude while isolating said capacitor such that said charge in said capacitor is essentially maintained; d) repeating steps b) and c) at least once; and e) applying said charge to said solenoid to cause said current through said solenoid to reach a third magnitude, which is greater than either of the first or the second magnitudes, wherein step d) is repeated such that steps a)-d) and the at least one repetition of step d) occur within a charging mode of said capacitor, wherein said charging mode has a predetermined time duration.