The History of Invention of Cartable Lighting Tower
Who invented the first conveyable lighting tower?
This depends largely on your definition of a lighting tower. A detailed definition might include something as straightforward as a candle or primitive torch placed on a tall mast to cast light over an enormous area, such a device has likely been in use since the Stone Age.
In more current history it’s un-clear as to when the modern lighting tower was invented. Researching patent applications reveals that machines not dissimilar to today’s lighting towers were being designed in the 1930s.
A patent from 1932 shows what might be the 1st machine of its kind filed in US patent 1934576 and is named as a Portable floodlighting unit for airfields.
The patent describes a frame with 4 wheels at each corner ( allowing the machine to be towed ), a generator powered by an engine and one massive electrical lamp at each end of the car. The machine is meant to be used to provide on-demand lighting of alternative landing sites at airfields on occasions when the main landing areas are out of use due to adverse weather conditions.
More recently in 1980 a US patent 4181929 was filed for a Portable illuminating tower that illustrates a much more close resemblance to current day lighting towers.
The US patent 4181929 describes a cartable lighting tower composed from a base frame ( which contains an engine and generator ) and a vertical, extending, hydraulic mast with 2 electric lamps at the upper end. The unit does not permit towing but instead is lightweight and compact enough to be simply transported. The design also includes jack legs that are now common place on all lighting towers to ensure stability in gusty winds.
This is quite a significant development in the history of the lighting tower as this patent mostly forms the basis of most modern day lighting towers which contain similar elements like a base that stores the engine and generator together with an extending hydraulic mast that supports the luminaries.
The subsequent patent was filed later on in the same year of 1980 but was for an answer to provide more intensive illumination. The US patent 4220981 describes a frame with four wheels to hold the generator and engine and 2 folding telescopic masts at opposite corners of the framework that each hold a cluster of electric lamps. The design also allows for the masts to be revolved enabling finer control of the area of illumination. By offering two masts the light tower also allows for illumination over nearly every side of the machine. This isn’t like prior light towers which sometimes offer illumination on only one side of the machine.
Since 1980 substantial progress has been made by lighting tower manufacturers. Although the final design has varied tiny from those seen in the 1980s many improvements have been made to make lighting towers easier to use and more environmentally friendly.
The Hylite lighting tower from Taylor Construction Plant includes Adjustabeam technology which permits the user to adjust the direction of each lamp from the ground. The TCP Hylite also has a flexible frame design which permits just about any generator to be used to power the light heads.
The TCP Ecolite lighting tower has also broken new ground by utilising highly economical lamps to reduce fuel consumption significantly, which is especially timely seeing as global warming is becoming a more and more prevalent concern.
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