US Patent 7874942 Ball toss toy

A portable lightweight ball toss toy comprises a tube, a wind sock and an air supply adapted to direct air through the tube and support a ball in a hover mode at an open end of the wind sock. The toy can include a ball supply adapted to hold at least one ball, a controller adapted to control the air supply to propel the ball from the open end of the tube in various modes including (a) a hover mode in which the ball hovers at the open end of the wind sock, (b) a toss mode in which the ball is propelled vertically out of the tube by one or more distances and/or (c) a pitch mode in which a ball is lobbed in a horizontal direction.