Patent Abstract:
A combined blow gun and projectile wherein the blowgun includes an elongated tubular component, a mouth piece, at least one sensor, and a visual indicator for projectile speed. The kit is simple and provides a method of qualitatively evaluating breath force whether for sport or for medical purposes.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    This disclosure relates generally to toys for children and more particularly to blowguns and peak flow meters. 
         [0002]    A projectile, a small spherical object, is loaded into one end of a blowgun or peashooter and blown forcefully through by the user. This is a competitive sport especially for children and it would be useful to develop an improved version of the device. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    One embodiment is an apparatus comprising an elongated tubular component, a mouth piece connected to the tubular component for application of air pressure, a generally spherical projectile concentric to the tubular component, at least one sensor attached to the tubular component, and a visual indicator connected to the sensor(s) providing a visual indication of speed of the projectile travelling through the tubular component. 
         [0004]    Another embodiment is a method comprising obtaining an apparatus comprising an elongated tubular component, a mouth piece, a generally spherical projectile, and a velocity sensor configured to sense the velocity of the projectile traveling through the tubular component. The method also includes blowing through and ejecting the projectile and reading the projectile velocity output on a display. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a first embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an apparatus with a form of indicators; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a cutaway view along the length of the apparatus depicted in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an indicator; 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a cutaway view along the length of the apparatus depicted in  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a front view of a generic schematic version of the apparatus; 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  is a side view of a generic schematic version of the apparatus; 
           [0012]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of an indicator; 
           [0013]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of an indicator; 
           [0014]      FIG. 10  is a cutaway view along the length of another embodiment of the apparatus; 
           [0015]      FIG. 11  is a view of a gripping portion of another embodiment of the apparatus; 
           [0016]      FIG. 12  is a block diagram of electronic components in the apparatus; 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    One embodiment described herein is a blowgun and projectile combination wherein a sensor and display combination tracks the speed of an impelled object. In embodiments, the blowgun is primarily made of a plastic safe for children to interact and play with. In embodiments, the projectile is primarily a sphere created from any range of materials including plastic, foam, rubber, or wood. The combination is low cost and offers use as either a children&#39;s toy or a fun alternative form of a peak flow meter for young children. 
         [0018]    The embodiments of a blowgun described here are configured to display the speed of projectiles impelled through the tube by the force of breath. The speed may be displayed in a variety of forms in order to give the user a way to quantitatively measure their skill. In embodiments, the user can directly measure and display the velocity of projectile going through the blowgun, allowing data to be acquired from use. This can be used as a toy by children in a competitive nature. Another use is in order to measure breathing for asthmatic children who need to measure out medication accordingly. 
         [0019]    Referring to the drawings,  FIG. 1  shows apparatus  110 . The rendering is not to scale. For clarity, a cutaway of the front portion of the apparatus is shown. The tube  12  has a thin wall with a hollow inside surface  16 . A flanged opening  40  may facilitate use as a mouth opening. Indicator display  20  may be placed upon tube  12 . 
         [0020]    Projectile  30  has a diameter slightly smaller than the inside wall  12  to allow easy movement. Projectile  30  is preferably not much smaller than inside wall  12  to prevent blown air from escaping. The tube and projectile can be packaged as a kit. 
         [0021]    Now referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , apparatus  210  incorporates a device configured to sense velocity for the indicator display  20 . On one side of tube  12  break beam emitters  52  and  62  are mounted. The emitters  52  and  62  emit a form of light or laser  54  and  64 . The receivers  50  and  60  are mounted on the other side of tube  12  and detect emitted waves. An electronic timing device in receivers  50  and  60  relays information to through wires  70  and  80 . Processed information is displayed through display  20 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the break beams  54  emit through the middle of tube  20  in order for projectile  30  to pass through and break beams  54  and  64 . 
         [0022]    Now referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , apparatus  310  shows an alternate method of sensing and indication. A protrusion  90  in tube  12  allows for movement of a moveable vane  120 , and optionally at least one additional moveable vane  115 , connected to a rotating axle  100 . As air is impelled through tube  12 , the vanes  120  and  115  rotate axle  100  thereby rotating indicator arrow  22 . Axle  100  runs entirely through tube  12  to the outer side. Indicator arrow  22  moves along indicator display  24  displaying the speed corresponding to the force used to blow and rotate vane  115 . 
         [0023]    Now referring to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the generic schematic  410  shows inside diameter  16  of tube  412  and length  14  with dimensions optimized for allowing a projectile to propel through by use of breath. Length  14  and diameter  16  may vary accordingly to projectile type and use case. In embodiments, a length  14  to diameter  16  ratio can be in the range of about 5:1 to about 20:1, or about 10:1 to about 15:1. In embodiments, the length to diameter ratio is about 12:1. 
         [0024]    Various features and embodiments that can be incorporated into the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1-5  are illustrated in  FIGS. 8-11 .  FIG. 8  shows an alternate form of indicating for apparatus  510 . Tube  12  holds the LED  26  on display  20  according to markings  24  placed linearly to correspond to speed output. In  FIG. 9 , apparatus  610  is used to show tube  12  in a configuration utilizing frustoconical mouthpiece  40 . The mouthpiece  40  can refer to a built-in feature as part of tube  12  or as a separate piece attached to the tube by other means. In  FIG. 10  apparatus  710  is shown in a cutaway view to illustrate the use of integrating a safety stopper  130  into tube  12 . Stopper  130  is a way to prevent a projectile from falling back in towards the user. In  FIG. 11 , apparatus  810  has molded gripping features  140  built into tube  12  to allow easy grasp and use while impelling breath. 
         [0025]      FIG. 12  illustrates a block diagram  910  of components that may be present in the apparatus. The components in diagram  910  may be embodied by hardware and/or software components in the system. Components may include a processor or processors  930 , input structure  920 , power source  940 , memory  950 , display  960 , and I/O ports  970 . Input structure  920  includes a sensor array to detect the projectile&#39;s travel. The power source  940  can be a small battery that can provide the required power to the rest of the system. The memory  950  can the electronic component that allows for the temporary or permanent storage of data about the projectile&#39;s speed. The display  960  correlates to forms of display as mentioned in other embodiments. I/O ports  970  embody the communication methods between the computing components. 
         [0026]    In embodiments, a method of using the apparatus includes using the force of breath through the mouthpiece to propel the projectile and determining the velocity of the projectile by looking at the indicator. 
         [0027]    In embodiments, the tube has a length in the range of about 4 inches to about 18 inches. In embodiments, the tube has an inner diameter of the range of about ¼ inch to about 2 inches. The tube typically has a thickness of about ⅛ inch to about ¼ inch. In embodiments, the apparatus is typically made of a thermoplastic material, a thermoset material, or wood. In embodiments, the projectile is typically made of a thermoplastic material, a thermoset material, foam, or wood. In embodiments, the projectile is in a weight range allowing human breath to impel the projectile a sufficient distance. 
         [0028]    Although the present apparatus has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions would be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the description should not be limited to the description of the versions contained herein. A number of alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art, which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5