IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,516,649
Granted Patent B2
US 12,516,649 · App. 17/677,573 · Granted Jan 6, 2026

Interchangeable intake manifold assemblies with interchangeable flare housings

Inventor: Dan Joseph Becker (Davie, FL)
Assignee: Velossa Tech Engineering Inc.
F02M35/10262B60K13/02B60Q1/442B60R19/52F02M35/10124F02M35/10144F02M35/10321F02M35/10327F02M35/10347F02M35/161
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,516,649
App. No.
17/677,573
Granted
Jan 6, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

In one aspect, an apparatus may include a base member being defined by an aperture configured to receive and engage an automobile intake box, the base member being further defined by a perimeter surrounding the aperture and having at least one fastener or aperture configured to receive a fastener dimensioned to avoid disturbing the automobile intake box; a base member fixedly attached to the base member, the base member having a first end opening and a second end opening, the base member having an interior cavity configured to direct air into the automobile intake box from the second end opening to the first end opening through the interior cavity; and an interchangeable bell housing removably secured to the second end opening of the base member, the interchangeable flare housing having a plurality of types of shaped cross sections on at least one plane.

Claims (47)

1 . An interchangeable intake assembly, comprising:

a base member being defined by an aperture configured to receive and engage an automobile intake box, the base member being further defined by a perimeter surrounding the aperture and having at least one fastener or aperture configured to receive a fastener dimensioned to avoid disturbing the automobile intake box,

the base member having a first end opening and a second end opening, the base member having an interior cavity configured to direct air into the automobile intake box from the second end opening to the first end opening through the interior cavity; and

a plurality of interchangeable candidate flare housings, wherein each of the plurality of interchangeable candidate flare housing has a unique shape, and wherein each candidate flare housing is configured to be interchangeably and removably secured to the second end opening of the base member.

2 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing is removably secured to the second end opening of the base member by at least one of the following:

a through-bolt, and

a through-rivet.

3 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing is removably secured to the second end opening of the base member by at least one set screw.

4 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing is removably secured to the second end opening of the base member by a set of magnets.

5 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing is removably secured to the second end opening of the base member by a non-permanent adhesive.

6 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing is removably secured to the second end opening of the base member by a bolted flange.

7 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing is removably secured to the second end opening of the base member by threading, wherein the second end opening of the base member is configured to threadably engage the at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing by screwing it thereon.

8 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing is removably secured to the second end opening of the base member by a hook and groove snap fit mechanism.

9 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing is removably secured to the second end opening of the base member by a hook-and-loop fastener, wherein the hook-and-loop fastener is configured to be secured to a latch disposed on an outer surface of the at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing.

10 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing includes an LED unit within an interior region.

11 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing comprises at least one of the following:

a substantially frustoconical shape,

a substantially frustopyramidal shape,

a substantially box shape,

a substantially frustopolyhedrical shape,

a substantially asymmetrical frustopolyhedrical shape,

a substantially frustooctagonal-pyramidal shape, or

a substantially asymmetrical frustooctagonal-pyramidal shape.

12 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing has a substantially frustopyramidal shape, and wherein the second end opening of the base member comprises a single cavity.

13 . An interchangeable intake assembly, comprising:

a base member being defined by an aperture configured to receive and engage an automobile intake box, the base member being further defined by a perimeter surrounding the aperture and having at least one fastener or aperture configured to receive a fastener dimensioned to avoid disturbing the automobile intake box,

wherein the base member having a first end opening and a second end opening, the base member having an interior cavity configured to direct air into the automobile intake box from the second end opening to the first end opening through the interior cavity; and

a plurality of interchangeable candidate flare housings, each of the interchangeable candidate flare housings being removably secured to the second end opening of the base member, each of the interchangeable candidate flare housings comprising a unique shape selected from at least one of the following:

a substantially frustoconical shape,

a substantially frustopyramidal shape,

a substantially frustocylindrical shape,

a substantially box shape,

a substantially frustopolyhedrical shape,

a substantially asymmetrical frustopolyhedrical shape,

a substantially frustooctagonal-pyramidal shape, or

a substantially asymmetrical frustooctagonal-pyramidal shape.

14 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 13 , wherein the base member is dimensioned to support the secured interchangeable candidate flare housing to be visible external to an automobile.

15 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 13 , wherein at least one interchangeable candidate flare housing has an LED unit within a region interior to an outer surface of the interchangeable candidate flare housing effective to illuminate substantially all of the interchangeable flare housing.

16 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 13 , having a clamshell arrangement that comprises a first member and a second member that are secured together by a fastener.

17 . An interchangeable intake assembly, comprising:

a base member being defined by an aperture configured to receive and engage an automobile intake airbox, the aperture comprising at least four rounded corners, the base member being further defined by a perimeter surrounding the aperture and having two or more fasteners or apertures configured to receive fastener dimensioned to avoid disturbing the automobile intake airbox, the base member being formed of a rigid material;

a gooseneck member fixedly attached to the base member, the gooseneck member having a first end opening and a second end opening, the first end opening being in fluid communication with the aperture, the gooseneck member having an interior cavity configured to direct air into the automobile intake airbox from the second end opening to the first end opening through the interior cavity;

a plurality of interchangeable candidate bell housings, each candidate bell housing having a unique shape and being configured to receive air through a forward automotive intake grille arranged in front of the interchangeable candidate bell housing such that the interchangeable bell housing is visible through the forward automotive intake grille; and

wherein at least one of the plurality of interchangeable candidate bell housings comprises an LED unit, and wherein each interchangeable candidate bell housing is configured to be removably secured to the second end opening of the gooseneck member.

18 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 17 , further comprising at least one female coupling unit on a side of the base member and at least one male coupling unit on a side of each interchangeable candidate bell housing.

19 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 17 , wherein the LED unit is electrically coupled to a braking system.

20 . The interchangeable intake assembly of claim 17 , wherein the LED unit is within a region interior to an outer surface of the interchangeable bell housing effective to illuminate all or substantially all of the interchangeable bell housing.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 16, 2022
From: BECKER, DAN JOSEPH
To: VELOSSA TECH ENGINEERING INC.
Reel/Frame 062119/0918 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 22, 2022
From: BECKER, DAN JOSEPH
To: VELOSSA TECH ENGINEERING INC.
Reel/Frame 059067/0702 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation PCTUS2021026465 · Apr 8, 2021
Related Publication 20220324319A1 · Oct 13, 2022
References Cited (100)
US 3485252A · Brown · 1969 [cited by applicant]
US 3987862A · Lidstone · 1976 [cited by applicant]
US 4157902A · Tokar · 1979 [cited by applicant]
US 4310028A · Kennedy · 1982 [cited by examiner]
US 4366878A · Warf · 1983 [cited by applicant]
US 4463711A · Yoshioka · 1984 [cited by examiner]
US 4610326A · Kirchweger et al. · 1986 [cited by applicant]
US 4782912A · Wandless · 1988 [cited by examiner]
US 5069298A · Titus · 1991 [cited by applicant]
US 5147430A · Kidd · 1992 [cited by applicant]
US 5195484A · Knapp · 1993 [cited by applicant]
US 5251712A · Hayashi et al. · 1993 [cited by applicant]
US 5609298A · Hyslop · 1997 [cited by applicant]
US 5722358A · Fuesser et al. · 1998 [cited by applicant]
US 5794733A · Stosel · 1998 [cited by examiner]
US 5878715A · Hernandez · 1999 [cited by examiner]
US 6540802B2 · Trautmann · 2003 [cited by examiner]
US 6698539B2 · Decuir · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 6902595B2 · Darnell · 2005 [cited by examiner]
US 7021263B1 · Agnew · 2006 [cited by examiner]
US 7114476B1 · Wimmer · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 7614379B2 · Now · 2009 [cited by examiner]
US D637205S · Luxon et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US D642199S · Luxon et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 7997246B2 · Now · 2011 [cited by examiner]
US 8127878B2 · Teraguchi · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 8181729B2 · Hiramatsu et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8277548B2 · Kleinfeld et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 8919315B2 · Borghi · 2014 [cited by examiner]
US 8960347B2 · Bennett · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 9234484B2 · Lewington · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 9574790B2 · Hasegawa et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 10167825B1 · Dane · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 10364780B2 · Doveri · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 10393076B1 · Freeman · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 10428773B1 · Bennett · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US D905117S · Bennett et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 11135538B2 · Niakan et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 12180916B2 · Becker · 2024 [cited by examiner]
US 20010013675A1 · Nakagawa et al. · 2001 [cited by applicant]
US 20040094111A1 · Concialdi · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20040134461A1 · Bishop · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20040139708A1 · Giacinto · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20050072393A1 · Now · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20050215191A1 · Kino · 2005 [cited by examiner]
US 20060185639A1 · Rosenbaum · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060278192A1 · Now · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20100032220A1 · Ohira · 2010 [cited by examiner]
US 20100147243A1 · Stec · 2010 [cited by examiner]
US 20120190290A1 · Niakan · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 20150197149A1 · Hudlund et al. · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20170072785A1 · Cho · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170216754A1 · Ingham · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170260939A1 · Williams · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170313236A1 · McGowen · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20180051859A1 · Scervo · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20180258890A1 · Takamura et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20180274502A1 · Tani · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20180363603A1 · Itagaki · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 20190388819A1 · Niakan et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 20190388820A1 · Niakan · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20200001219A1 · Niakan et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200080523A1 · Driant · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200132027A1 · Bennett et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200263641A1 · Blanks · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20210033049A1 · Ohno · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20210148312A1 · Kober · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20210246855A1 · Becker · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20220324319A1 · Becker · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 20230035209A1 · Zope et al. · 2023 [cited by applicant]
US 20250137425A1 · Becker · 2025 [cited by applicant]
DE 10358382A1 · 2005 [cited by examiner]
DE 102005040850A1 · 2007 [cited by applicant]
EP 0867608A2 · 1998 [cited by applicant]
EP 2103511B1 · 2010 [cited by applicant]
FR 2933045A1 · 2010 [cited by applicant]
JP 6072074B2 · 2017 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2010065952A1 · 2010 [cited by examiner]
WO 2021163711A1 · 2021 [cited by applicant]
Great Britain Examination Report mailed Aug. 14, 2023 cited in Application No. GB2211571.1, 5 pgs. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Non-Final Office Action dated Sep. 6, 2023 cited in U.S. Appl. No. 16/785,609, 20 pgs. [cited by applicant]
Chinese Second Office Action dated Sep. 21, 2022 cited in Application No. 202220245512.4, 7 pgs [cited by applicant]
Generation 4 Interchangeable Big Mouth | Flare/Inlet Only, https://web.archive.org/web/20201126061651/https://www.velossatechdesign.com/products/generation-4-interchangeable-big-mouth-flare-inlet-only, Nov. 26, 2020, 3 … [cited by applicant]
How to Install Big Mouth Ram Air Intake Ford Focus RS, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwPBelbTamY. Blake's Garage, Accessed Jan. 3, 2023, published on May 30, 2017 (Intvw Summ dtd Jan. 9, 2023). [cited by applicant]
Ford Focus Big Mount Intake Snorkel Install !. Https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV3E-IeEu4. Cameron Alford. Accessed Jan. 3, 2023, published on Nov. 12, 2019 (Intvw Summ dtd Jan. 9, 2023). [cited by applicant]
U.S. Non-Final Office Action dated Jan. 23, 2023 cited in U.S. Appl. No. 16/785,609, 41 pgs. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Non-Final Office Action (Updated) dated Feb. 1, 2023 cited in U.S. Appl. No. 16/785,609, 34 pgs. [cited by applicant]
U.S. Non-Final Office Action dated Sep. 21, 2021 cited in U.S. Appl. No. 16/785,609, 31 pgs. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Nov. 17, 2021 cited in PCT Application No. PCT/US21/26465, 22 pgs. [cited by applicant]
Video: Velossa Tech Gen 4 Released/Sneak Peak Veloster N Big Mouth With Exchangeable Flares, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBsfgLQCa6Q, Feb. 12, 2021, 3 pgs. [cited by applicant]
Generation 4 Interchangeable Big Mouth | Flare/Inlet Only, https://web.archive.org/web/20201126061651/https://www.elossatechdesign.com/products/generation-4-interchangeable-big-mouth-flare-inlet-only, Nov. 26, 2020, 3 p… [cited by applicant]
Video: Focus ST Velossa Tech Big Mouth Install, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MfC6K9doZA, Feb. 19, 2017, 3 pgs. [cited by applicant]
Related Design U.S. Appl. No. 29/817,918, filed Dec. 6, 2021, Inventor: Dan Joseph Becker. [cited by applicant]
Related Design U.S. Appl. No. 29/817,920, filed Dec. 6, 2021, Inventor: Dan Joseph Becker. [cited by applicant]
Related Design U.S. Appl. No. 29/817,923, filed Dec. 6, 2021, Inventor: Dan Joseph Becker. [cited by applicant]
Related Design U.S. Appl. No. 29/817,926, filed Dec. 6, 2021, Inventor: Dan Joseph Becker. [cited by applicant]
Related Design U.S. Appl. No. 29/817,931, filed Dec. 6, 2021, Inventor: Dan Joseph Becker. [cited by applicant]
Related Chinese Divisional Application No. 2022202455124 filed Jan. 29, 2022, Inventor: Dan Joseph Becker (English copy attached). [cited by applicant]
Chinese First Office Action dated Jun. 2, 2022 cited in Application No. 202220245512.4, 6 pgs. [cited by applicant]
International Preliminary Report on Patentability dated Aug. 18, 2022 cited in PCT Application No. PCT/US21/26465, 18 pgs. [cited by applicant]