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His dad was Robert Kearns, and he
invented intermittent windshield wipers in 1964. He then spent the
next 22 years of his life battling the big automakers in one
infringement battle after another. Robert Kearns had fought these
battles on the merit of principle rather than for money, as he once
turned down a settlement offer of $22 million from Ford and
Chrysler.
The e-mail that Dennis sent me read, in part: "Thanks for
noticing it was about principle. My dad wasn't in it to make money,
he wanted to make jobs and have a factory producing his patented
devices."
I spoke with Dennis Kearns recently; the remainder of this story
is based on our conversation.
Invention Mysteries: How did your dad get the idea for
intermittent windshield wipers?
Kearns: He got his idea on his wedding night in 1953, when a
champagne cork struck him in the left eye, which eventually went
blind. The blinking of his eye led him to wonder if he could make
windshield wipers that worked the same way -- so they would move at
intervals instead of in a constant back-and-forth motion.
He was working in the biomechanics lab at Wayne State University
while getting his Ph.D., studying how things like the human eye
work. While working on his thesis, his teacher suggested that he
come up with a less costly topic than his original plan, which was
for a huge digital computer. So he went to work on developing
intermittent windshield wipers, having patterned the concept after
his blinking eye.
Invention Mysteries: Tell me about your dad's struggles with the
big automakers.
Kearns: The law firm that first represented Dad switched over to
Chrysler's side, right after the judge had sold his land to Chrysler
for their world headquarters. He was one of the top 10 wealthiest
judges in the country at the time (they later switched judges).
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Invention Mysteries: Did your dad invent anything in addition to
intermittent windshield wipers?
Kearns: Yes, he was consulting with the Treasury Department in
the early 1970s to design a better system for printing money,
because the plates were wearing out too fast. He didn't get a patent
on the process, but he kept the cost of making a dollar down! He has
notebooks full of other ideas and concepts.
Invention Mysteries: How old were you when your dad invented the
intermittent windshield wipers? What was it like growing up with an
inventor in the house?
Kearns: I was 10 years old at the time, and having a dad as an
inventor was no different to us than what other kids experienced. He
was a member of the Office of Strategic Services, which was the
forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency, during World War II.
He had a high enough IQ that when he went into the armed forces at
age 17, all the armed forces branches wanted him; they fought over
him, really.
(End of interview)
Toward the end of my conversation with Dennis Kearns, he told me
that his family had just negotiated movie rights for the story, so
we might see it on the big screen in a couple of years.
[Paul Niemann]
Paul Niemann may be reached at niemann7@aol.com. You can learn
more about Invention Mysteries by visiting the official
Invention Mysteries website.
Copyright Paul Niemann 2006
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