Device for producing high speed air projectiles or pulses

Abstract

An assembly for producing air projectiles. The assembly includes a driver with an attached converging nozzle. The driver includes a flexible diaphragm and is responsive to an electrical control signal to displace the flexible diaphragm from a first position to a second position. In one embodiment, the driver is an audio speaker driver such as a woofer and the diaphragm is a speaker cone or diaphragm. The nozzle has an inner bore or chamber that converges from a first size at a first end proximate to the driver to a second, smaller size at a second distal end. The second end of the nozzle may include a planar muzzle extending perpendicular to a central axis of the bore and including an outlet smaller than the diaphragm diameter. The driver has a rapid response to control signals such as less than about 20 milliseconds to produce a projectile at the muzzle.

1 . An air projectile assembly, comprising:
 a driver with a flexible diaphragm and means responsive to an electrical control signal to displace the flexible diaphragm from a first position to a second position; and   a nozzle connected to the driver having an inner bore that converges from a first size at a first end proximate to the flexible diaphragm to a second, smaller size at a second end distal to the flexible diaphragm.   
   
   
       2 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the second end comprises a planar muzzle extending perpendicular to a central axis of the nozzle bore, the planar muzzle comprising an outlet with an area at less than about one third of an area of the diaphragm. 
   
   
       3 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the second end comprises a circular outlet having a diameter less than about one half a diameter of the diaphragm as measured across an opening of the driver adjacent the nozzle. 
   
   
       4 . The assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the diaphragm diameter is less than about 24 inches and the circular outlet diameter is selected from the range of about 0.25 to about 12 inches. 
   
   
       5 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the means responsive to the electrical control signal displaces the flexible diaphragm to the second position in less than about 100 milliseconds. 
   
   
       6 . The assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the means responsive to the electrical control signal displaces the flexible diaphragm to the second position in less than about 20 milliseconds and the first position is 0.5 to 4 inches from the second position. 
   
   
       7 . The assembly of  claim 5 , wherein the means response to the electrical control signal comprises an audio speaker driver and the flexible diaphragm comprises a cone of the audio speaker driver. 
   
   
       8 . The assembly of  claim 7 , wherein the assembly further comprises a power amplifier providing the electrical control signal at a power level within a power rating range of the audio speaker driver, the audio speaker driver comprising a woofer. 
   
   
       9 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the bore converges from the first end to the second end with a slope or convergence angle of less than about 20 degrees. 
   
   
       10 . The assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the nozzle has a length selected from the range of about 50 percent of a diameter of the flexible diaphragm to about 150 percent of the diameter of the flexible diaphragm. 
   
   
       11 . An apparatus for discharging air projectiles, comprising:
 a driver comprising a flexible membrane and responsive to an electrical signal to move the membrane from a first position to a second position in less than about 100 milliseconds; and   a nozzle attached to the driver such that the movement of the membrane causes air in an inner chamber of the nozzle to be displaced, the nozzle further comprising a muzzle distal to the driver with an outlet through which an air projectile is discharged in response to the air being displaced in the inner chamber by the membrane.   
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the electrical signal is an audio signal with a duration of less than about 20 milliseconds and the driver comprises an audio speaker driver with a forward throw that moves the membrane from the first position to the second position in less than about 20 milliseconds. 
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the nozzle is a converging nozzle with a convergence angle of less than about 20 degrees. 
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the membrane has an outer diameter and the nozzle has a length selected from the range of about 50 percent of the membrane outer diameter to about 150 percent of the membrane outer diameter. 
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein outlet is circular with a diameter selected from the range of 10 to 30 percent of the membrane outer diameter. 
   
   
       16 . A system for selectively generating an air projectile that travels into a target environment, comprising:
 an air projectile assembly comprising a power amplifier for amplifying electrical control signals, a driver with a flexible membrane responding to the amplified electrical control signals by moving a central portion of the membrane to displace a volume of air in contact with the membrane, and a converging nozzle with a chamber containing the displaced volume of air and with a muzzle having an opening smaller than a diameter of the flexible membrane directed toward the target environment; and   a controller selectively transmitting the electrical control signals in response to triggering events to the power amplifier, whereby air projectiles are expelled from the muzzle opening based on each of the electrical control signals.   
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the driver is an audio speaker driver and the electrical control signals comprise audio signals. 
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein at least some of the electrical control signals differ in configuration and duration and wherein the air projectiles produced by the air projectile assembly vary for differing ones of the electrical control signals. 
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the controller transmits successive ones of the electrical control signals with a time between transmittal below a predefined time period such that corresponding successive ones of the air projectiles are discharged along differing target lines from the muzzle opening into the target environment. 
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the triggering events comprise occurrences in a video game, wherein at least one of the expelled air projectiles follows a target line toward a guest or object in the target environment, and wherein the guest or object is greater than 5 feet away and the at least one of the expelled air projectiles reaches the guest or object in less than about one second. 
   
   
       21 . An apparatus for discharging gas projectiles, comprising:
 a manifold with a side walls defining an inner chamber, wherein a discharge opening is provided in one of the side walls providing a passage for gas to and from the inner chamber; and   two or more drivers mounted on the side walls of the manifold comprising a flexible membrane and a mechanism for moving the membrane from a first position to a second position in response to a control signal to displace a volume of the gas in the inner chamber and discharge a projectile formed of the gas from the discharge opening.   
   
   
       22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the drivers comprise loudspeakers and the control signal comprises an audio signal. 
   
   
       23 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , further comprising a mechanism for adjusting a size of the discharge opening in response to a control signal. 
   
   
       24 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the manifold comprises an additional discharge opening in one of the side walls. 
   
   
       25 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the second position of the membrane is more proximate to the inner chamber than the first position. 
   
   
       26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the mechanism moves the membrane from the first to the second position in less than about 20 milliseconds and the second position is at least about 0.5 inches from the first position. 
   
   
       27 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the manifold comprises six of the side walls and the inner chamber is generally cubic in shape and wherein the apparatus comprises at least 3 of the drivers mounted on the side walls.