He gave away his concept, and had nothing of value for himself. It is important for you not to use nor disclose your invention before a patent application has been filed. It may destroy any rights you have abroad. You can click on the Patent Page of the Patent Forum to get free information. More information is needed before determination of what your needs are can be made.
Patents are expensive.
Patents are expensive and don't necessarily make money. They are, in fact usually not that difficult to get even using a legitimate Patent Lawyer. You need protection focused on your needs. Recently a client came to me complaing that he was regularly seeing his invention in use. A reading of his patent, gotten by a legitimate patent attorney, showed that what he saw was referred to in his patent, but not covered by the patent claims.