ROCKFORD — A chill in his machine shop business helped a longtime inventor come up with an idea to warm up windshield wiper blades.

The result: A patented product Johnnie Jones hopes will also heat up business for his small machine shop.

Jones, owner of Rockford-based Accra-Wire Controls Inc., recently began marketing Heated Wiper Blades, which he bills as the first patented heated beam blade. The product is the result of years of research and plenty of trial and error, he said.

It took several years to come up with a method of installing a heating element in spring-loaded beam wiper blades — a frameless style common on newer vehicles. The result draws a small amount of power after a car is started to warm the blades, making them more effective at wiping away snow and ice.

The goal: Safer rides in cold weather.

“It took a lot of tenacious trials and testing,” Jones said.

Blades are thin and difficult to work with. The wiring and parts need to meet standards such as operating at minus-40 degrees.

Last year, Jones said he tested the product on Michigan Department of Transportation, Kent County, Spartan Chassis and UPS fleets. The results were promising.

The blades are hooked to a sensor that fits under the hood and connects to the fuse box. They turn on automatically when the car starts if the temperature is 40 or colder.

The time it takes to warm up the blades is about the same as a defroster, Jones said. The heating element stays on in the cold, even if the blades are not in use, to avoid snow and ice buildup. The power requirements are minimal — the heating element draws no more than 1.5 amps, less than one brake light.

The benefit of the product is not just thawing the blade after the vehicle has sat in snow or ice, but a more flexible, effective blade while in use.

Laboratory testing showed the blades heat to 50 degrees in minus-40 air. Warmer temperatures allow warmer blades.

Jones has high hopes for the product, with potential sales he thinks could be in the millions of dollars.

He has set aside 4,300 square feet at the Accra-Wire building, hiring three employees to make some of the parts and assemble the products under the Heated Wiper Blades banner.

He recently began selling the blades to Hoekstra Truck Equipment, 260 36th St SE, for use on buses. He also sells to other companies for use on semi-tractors, municipal vehicles and buses. He is trying to get them into auto parts stores.

The system costs $130 to $200 for a pair and all the equipment, plus the cost of installation. Replacement blades are about $30.

Jones, 67, said he is starting to make money on the product, helping recoup research and development costs.

The inspiration for the product? Necessity.

Jones came up with the product when sales in his machine-making shop dropped substantially because businesses have been finding used items. Accra-Wire, which makes de-reelers and other wire/tension instruments, once employed 28 but dropped to five.

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