Probably because nobody here has ever applied for a patent. Just like every other young geek, I have followed patent law debates and various high-profile suits but never applied for one myself, so I only have some vague theoretical knowledge.
The only part I can answer for sure is your question about “unobvious.” There is no standard, but the burden of proof is on the company manufacturing your product to prove that it was obvious. IOW, when you sue them they have to prove that it was obvious to the point that it occured to them on their own without having looked at your designs.
If you have specific questions along the way, I recommend you try onstartups.stackexchange.com. The stackexchange model is great for getting good answers quickly and they have sites for a lot of different topics.