A patent does not make you money, it makes the design public. If someone uses the patent to make the device, you are the one that finds them, takes them to court, and proves they infringed. Big pockets needed for that....
I know, I totally don't agree with the way the patent system is set up. It is full of damned if you do and damned if you don't scenarios. A patent does make it "less" likely that someone would infringe, but does not stop them any more than a red light stops a car.
