Filter housing assembly for transportation vehicles

A filter housing assembly for preventing foreign matter ingestion and inhibition of air flow into portions of an automotive vehicle, the assembly comprising:

• a filter housing member adapted to house a filter, the filter housing member having an upper peripheral wall, the upper peripheral wall having two stop members disposed at an angle to the upper peripheral wall, the two stop member being spaced at two opposite ends of the filter housing member, and
• a lower interior planar peripheral edge disposed inwardly at an angle from the upper peripheral wall, the lower interior planar peripheral edge defining an inner perimeter shelf for supporting the air filter, an intermediary portion angled and extending downwardly away from the upper peripheral wall,
• a bottom portion having:
• a screen integrally disposed within the bottom portion,
• a removable air filter,
• a bottom opening, the bottom opening having an interior portion for sealably attaching to the screen,
• a lower planar surface, the lower planar surface being integrally formed with the intermediary portion and being spaced below the inner perimeter shelf, wherein the bottom opening is disposed within the lower planar surface, and
• a lower extended wall extending vertically downwardly from the lower planar surface and surrounding the bottom opening;
• a filter housing cover having a top planar surface, the top planar surface having a flared opening disposed therewithin, a deflector portion, and a ridge portion, wherein the reflector portion and the ridge portion cooperate to deflect and channel water around the filter housing assembly, wherein the filter housing member and the filter housing cover are adapted to releasably snap-fit together;
• means for attaching the assembly to a receptacle member of an automotive vehicle;
• and
• means for releasably attaching the filter housing member to the filter housing cover.

A method of using a filter housing assembly for preventing foreign matter ingestion and inhibition of air flow into portions of an automotive vehicle, comprising the steps of:

• providing a releasable snap-fit together filter housing assembly, the filter housing assembly having a filter housing member and a filter housing cover;
• disposing a removable air filter within the filter housing assembly, the removable air filter being capable of filtering carbon monoxide and odors;
• positioning the filter housing assembly within an automotive vehicle by clipping the assembly to a complementary shaped receptacle member of an automotive vehicle;
• and
• replacing the removable air filter disposed within the filter housing assembly by releasing associated compliant clips attached to the filter housing member and the filter housing cover with a replacement removable filter when the removable filter is blocked by foreign matter.