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. An extensive definition could include something as easy as a candle or primitive torch placed on a tall mast to cast light over a big area, such a device has likely been in use since the Stone Age.
In more up to date history it’s un-clear as to when the modern lighting tower was invented. Researching patent applications suggests that machines not dissimilar to today’s lighting towers were being designed in the 1930s.
A patent from 1932 shows what could be the first machine of its kind filed in US patent 1934576 and is named as a transportable floodlighting unit for airfields.
The patent describes a framework with 4 wheels at each corner ( permitting the machine to be towed ), a generator powered by an engine and one giant electrical lamp at every end of the auto. The machine is designed 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 because of inclement weather conditions.
More lately in 1980 a US patent 4181929 was filed for a Portable illuminating tower that illustrates a much closer resemblance to current day lighting towers.
The US patent 4181929 describes a cartable lighting tower consisting of a base frame ( which has an engine and generator ) and a vertical, extending, hydraulic mast with 2 electrical lamps at the upper end. The unit doesn’t permit towing but instead is lightweight and compact enough to be easily transported. The design also includes jack legs that are now common place on all lighting towers to ensure stability in strong winds.
This is quite a big development in the history of the lighting tower as this patent mostly forms the root of most present 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 following patent was filed later on in the same year of 1980 but was for a solution to provide more in depth illumination. The US patent 4220981 describes a chassis with 4 wheels to hold the generator and engine and 2 folding telescopic masts at opposite corners of the framework that each hold a cluster of electrical lamps. The design also permits for the masts to be rotated enabling finer control of the area of illumination. By offering 2 masts the light tower also allows for illumination over nearly every side of the machine. This is not like previous light towers which generally offer illumination on only one side of the machine.
Since 1980 considerable progress has been made by lighting tower makers. Though the overall design has sundry little from those seen in the 1980s many enhancements have been made to make lighting towers easier to use and more green.
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 allows virtually any generator to be used to power the light heads.
The TCP Ecolite lighting tower has additionally damaged new ground by using highly cost-effective lamps to reduce fuel consumption dramatically, which is especially timely seeing as global warming is beginning to become a more and more common concern.
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