The USPTO reached another patent milestone on April 7 by issuing patent no. 9,000,000 to inventor Matthew Carroll of Florida. Mr. Carroll’s invention is a system for collecting and conditioning rainwater from a car’s windshield and channeling it to the vehicle’s windshield washer reservoir.

Patent no. 8,000,000 was issued on August 17, 2011, slightly less than four years ago. See the Patent Milestones page for other milestones in U.S. patent history.