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The Economic Times
The Economic Times
National
Team Global

In 1967, Robert Kearns patented a windshield wiper that paused between sweeps; Ford later used the idea and paid him $10.2 million in 1990

Ford United States

Think about the last time you were in a car on a rainy day. The wipers went back and forth, stopped, and went back and forth again. But behind that little pause is a big story. The Smithsonian Archives Center’s guide to the Robert W. Kearns Papers states that Kearns invented and patented an electronic windshield wiper system with intermittent operation in 1967, U.S. Patent 3,351,836. His story tells us much about ideas, credit, and patience.

A small pause with a big idea

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