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I would find a non disclosure agreement form, find a law professor at the best university in your area and see if you can sit with him and find out your options. Of course not before having him sign. Universities are a great resource for stuff like this.
I have created a very innovative high capacity transport system that I believe to be a new concept.
How do I (without having very much money of my own):
Protect the idea (cannot afford a patent lawyer or search)
Raise the capital to develop the actual models and prototypes (see lack of money)
Attract big investors to actually build a transcontinental system.
I am thinking big on this one.
Good posts on protecting your concept. That should be first. Regarding funding, be prepared to share a big portion of the proceeds - in some form, whether as partner in the endeavour, major stockholder, etc. Investors are not going to take a big risk with capital to make you money without getting a big piece of the action.
Check out Angel Investors, local politicians, Chamber of Commerce, etc. to see level of support.
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I don't think the patent should be too much of an issue. The problem I foresee with what you want to do is getting the capital for the prototype. I have a deal I am putting together that involves a new hybrid vehicle technology. The client needs $3mm, the deal is solid (client has patents, offers from major car companies to buy the patents, an international platform to launch the prototype, etc.) except for the fact that the money is needed to complete the prototype. I am having a little difficulty finding investors that want to invest that kind of money into an intangible. Once the prototype is completed you should have no problem attracting investors, especially if you have contracts in place. If you'd like I can talk to some of my people and see what kind of appetite there is for something like this. Let me know.
As another poster said, securing the patent shouldn't be difficult. What is difficult, providing your idea has merit and commercial potential, is protecting your patent. Just because you have a patent doesn't mean squat. A larger, better-capitalized producer with greater engineering talent can simply copy your idea, make a few changes to it, and resubmit it for a new patent. And they probably have the ability to get it to market faster. If you do a little research on patents you'll find that manufacturers have to reapply every time they make a small modification to their orginal design.
I can find a patent search website.
I think a very small scale model will prove the concept.
There may be a short distance market for the technology.
I'll share when I have some chance of getting a return off this idea.
Well I looked up the technology and, sad to say, I was not the first to consider this concept. The only difference between my system and the other proposals is sheer size. My idea was for a really high capacity system designed to haul freight.
Looks like I'll keep designing just for grins. I may build a small scale model for my own pleasure.
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