There's very few man made devices that I've found to be perfect, or without any need for improvement. ICE inlets are no different. The Benz ones are severely compromised by the CIS/E systems, not because the concept is flawed, but because of the physical size of the systems.
It appears to me that development has ceased in favor of forced induction, which is like using a sledge hammer to drive a nail. My design still uses the fundamental principles but is quite different to the early styles and current concepts. It is adaptable to ANY engine hence the plan to apply for patent/s.
The main hurdles I face are the basic lack of space between the heads and an attempt to keep it all under the bonnet.
Makes sense.
My experience of patents in the software industry is that they are only valuable if you're going to aggressively defend them, and to aggressively defend them you're going to need very deep pockets.
I've just gone through the process of registering one in the United states, Australia and europe and its probably cost around $50-100k all up. This does not include any litigation, just going through the process, responding to objections, having them drafted legally. The particular patent I am referring to has been a four year process.
Granted the company I work for uses a fairly expensive law firm to do the legal work but even so.
The other value patents have is when you're selling B2B in high value (7+ figure) sales, it can help to have the patent to charge a premium price. This does not really apply to B2C as consumers don't care.
