Patent ID: 8468928

Claim:
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, and wherein said first recuperator chamber is filled with a compressible gas such that the volume of said second recuperator chamber increases by an amount approximately equal to said volume of said compressible gas; c. a fluid occupying a portion of said inner cylinder, said outer cylinder, and said second recuperator chamber, wherein said soft recoil system captures a portion of the energy imparted to said gun barrel after the firing of a round by allowing said recoil piston to displace a first volume of said fluid from said inner cylinder into said outer cylinder through said fluid passage; d. a partition cooperatively engaged with a portion of the exterior of said inner cylinder and a portion of the interior of said outer cylinder, wherein said partition supports said inner cylinder within said outer cylinder, wherein said partition is formed with a port therein, and wherein said partition defines a forward outer chamber and a rear outer chamber; and, e. a check valve slideably engaged with a portion of said inner cylinder adjacent said partition, wherein said check valve allows said fluid in said rear outer chamber to flow through said check valve into said forward outer chamber but prevents said fluid in said forward outer chamber from flowing through said check valve into said rear outer chamber.