The acual patent may only be about $250, but be prepared to dish out about $8-$10,000 for your patent attorney to research and file it for you. You will never be able to do the research yourself. It would take years to learn how to properly research and then more years to do the research. You realize there are millions of patents out there. And it is a VERY long process to acquire one. That is why you will see "patent pending" on products that are released to the public that haven't gotten their offical patent back yet. There are attorney's that specialize in only patents and trademarks. Because once you get the patent, then you must register your trademark as well. So you must first find a good patent attorney and get your quotes. But be prepared for the large price tag. If you believe in your product, then it would be worth it.

Hope this helps.