Jimmy now had a lot of time on his hands, using work patrols to familiarize himself with the various routes and the location of stores and then using his rest time to purchase the equipment he needed.

After two weeks, Jimmy finally assembled the first functional light bar in his apartment. The light bar was only half the length of a normal police light, but since it served as a prototype, it was enough that it was fully functional, and he could plan to expand its length or design later on.

The light bar was fastened with a metal plate, and the front cover consisted of five detachable plastic lenses, alternating red and blue.

The LEDs used were single 0.25-watt bulbs, wired in series with four bulbs to form one light ring, which were then assembled into a square light. Five of these square lights were arranged in parallel, corresponding to the five detachable plastic lenses of the police light.

As for the microcontroller, it was coded part-time by someone for 500 US dollars and had only three functions: 2-second temporary power-up, 1-second strobe power-up, and alternating power-up.

These three functions respectively executed the conventional alternating red and blue police lights, the strobe alternating red and blue lights, and sequential activation indicating direction from left to right—all common features of later police lights.

The external power source was a car battery, which was then connected to a buck-boost rectifier circuit to control the voltage at 5V, powering both the microcontroller and the LEDs.

After passing the full functionality test, Jimmy started to ponder over the patent matters.

In the United States, applying for a patent can be both very easy and very difficult. The easy part is simply finding the right patent lawyer, who can guide you through every step of the process and submit the necessary materials for you to wait. The difficult part is finding that right patent lawyer.

Professional ethics can be very subjective at times, and in the United States, there are plenty of unscrupulous lawyers who could take your information and sell it to someone else. These people, with their extensive networks, might then preemptively file for the patent, leaving you with nothing.

This scenario is quite common, and often, applying for a patent means taking on high risks.

Jimmy didn't go directly to a lawyer but instead, taking advantage of his holiday, brought his prototype to the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Jimmy parked his car and asked students for directions until he located the dean's office of the law school and went straight there. For someone who had never attended college in either his past or present life, walking on a university campus and seeing people of his age or younger always stirred up a sense of envy within him, but alas, days past are past.

Jimmy arrived at the administration building and asked the reception about the location of the dean's office. However, as he had no appointment, he had to wait at the reception desk for a while. Then, an administrative staff member led him to the dean of the law school, Philip Linton.

"Hello, Mr. Yang, please take a seat."

"Hello, Dean Linton, I'm Jimmy Yang, an officer from the Plaskey County police. I've come unannounced today not because there's a case to deal with, but to seek your assistance."

"Please go ahead," said Dean Linton without leaving Jimmy hanging. Since he had let Jimmy come in, he was certainly going to hear him out.

"After graduating from high school, I joined the police academy and eventually became a police officer, then returned to the Plaskey County police force.

During my time as a police officer, I had some ideas for improving police equipment, but after making the prototype, I didn't know how to apply for a patent and trademark for my product.

By chance, I learned about the Law School Clinic Certification Program, where law students under the supervision of their instructors help individuals like myself or small businesses with insufficient resources apply for patents and trademarks for their inventions, free of charge.

Dean Linton, I hope to have this opportunity. As a young officer, I don't have the financial means to satisfy those lawyers out there, and I have no family or anyone else to pay for it on my behalf.

I'm also reluctant to just find any lawyer to deal with it. As you know, professional ethics don't always restrain everyone."

Jimmy laid out his needs and intentions in one breath, which to many might seem too direct, but this was actually his only chance to persuade Dean Linton – once rejected, the likelihood of getting help from the law school would be nearly non-existent.

"Oh, child, I understand what you're saying," Dean Linton paused. "The USPTO does indeed have a Law School Clinic Certification Program, but unfortunately, Bowen School of Law is not on the program's list. I'm sorry if you came for that, as I must disappoint you."

Jimmy felt a darkness before his eyes; he had thought his luck had turned when he heard about the program, only to find out the program did not include the University of Arkansas's law school.

"Thank you for seeing me, Dean Linton. Goodbye."

After sitting in a daze for a moment, Jimmy stood up to shake hands with the dean, ready to leave.

"Hold on a moment, Mr. Yang. May I ask about your invention? It doesn't need to be in detail."

"Of course." Jimmy sat back down on the couch.

"I have some concerns about the police lights currently in use by the station. They're prone to malfunction, have a limited visible range, and insufficient brightness, among many other issues. So, I redesigned the police light system, and I've already made a prototype. The new light is smaller, brighter, and also has directional capabilities that the old lights didn't have."

"That sounds very promising. Did you make it yourself? All alone?"

"Yes, I bought the materials and spent a lot of time making it during my leave, after many failures."

"Okay, Mr. Yang, could you leave me a business card? I will notify you if there's good news."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it, Dean Linton." Jimmy took out his police business card, as he hadn't made a personal one, always carrying the county police's card in his pocket.

"I won't take any more of your time. I will go back and wait for the news. Goodbye, Dean Linton."

Jimmy left the administration building and drove home.

Today there had been a surprise. When he earlier heard that the Bowen School was not on the list, his heart sank, but Dean Linton's words had given him new hope.

Although he hadn't said it explicitly, Dean Linton had indicated his willingness to have his students help Jimmy with the patent and trademark applications for free.

Of course, these decisions couldn't be made on the spot, and Dean Linton certainly had other considerations that required consultation, but for Jimmy, there was now a very good chance of getting the help he needed.

Applying for a patent in the United States involves not only the patent fee and documentation costs, among others, but also paying a significant attorney fee to the law firm. For Jimmy, who had only been working for a few months, all these expenses were beyond his means, with patent and trademark fees alone amounting to thousands of dollars.