Youth inventor applying for patent on car show enhancement
He says he’s not an inventor, and as a college student, likely he knows the meaning of the word.
Nevertheless, Austin L., 18, has a patent application pending and a contract with Invent-Tech.
Austin might admit to being a car show buff. A gadget he’s invented and wants to win manufacturer’s contracts is designed to aid car exhibitors. It has something t do with wheels.
His guide along the road to a patent, Invention Technologies Inc. of Coral Gables, Fla., refers to Austin’s device, which he dreamed up last spring, as “ingenious.” Austin agrees only guardedly.
“I think it’s ingenious because it’s never been done before,” Austin said.
Austin has conceived of a specific modification any owner can make to a vehicle’s wheel system.
“It’s kind of an invention for car shows,” Austin said. “It makes cars look more aggressive in their stance.”
Invent-Tech also is counseling Austin not to say what his idea consists of, or to allow photos that give away the concept.
“It’s one of those modifications that not everyone can use,’ Austin said. “It’s going to need an application for every make and model.
A 2004 graduate of a local high school, Austin is currently enrolled in psychology at a community college and is employed at a local supermarket.
His idea came not in some intense brainstorm over solving a problem, but instead in a casual, spare-time fancy brought on during an activity Austin does for amusement - looking at cars he admires.
“I was just sitting in a parking lot, looking at a couple of cars I liked - one was an Escalade - and thinking how to make them look better, from a front-end view,” Austin said. “I don’t really consider myself an inventor. I brought up the idea to my brothers, Asher and Asa, and they didn’t think it would work.”
But what do brothers know?
Austin rounded up some considerably more-expert opinions.
One of them was from Invent-Tech.
“I submitted it, and they were kind of shocked,” Austin said. “They chose to work on my project.”
By early summer, an application was on file with the US Patent Office. An Invent-Tech spokesman said the approval process is lengthy.
“I’ve seen it take anywhere from six months to a couple of years,” he said.
Under his contract, Austin’s idea is referred to as “Wheel Wedge-Wheel Plowing.”
The spokesman and Austin were leery of saying much about just how the terms refer. The spokesman said he envisions a product selling “anywhere that’s a custom shop, a speed shop, a specialty shop.”
Austin said he’s prepared for some vigorous marketing work when and if his patent comes through. Because of the make-and-model specificity of putting his idea to use, a number of manufacturers could get involved he said.
“You have to get their attention, going to trade shows, doing mailers,” Austin said. “If they’re interested, we’ll work with manufacturers.