The History of Invention of Cartable Lighting Tower
Who invented the 1st conveyable lighting tower?
This depends mostly on your definition of a lighting tower. A broad definition could include something as straightforward as a candle or primitive torch placed on a tall mast to cast light over a large area, such a device has probably 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 reveals that machines not dissimilar to today’s lighting towers were being designed in the 1930s.
A patent from 1932 shows what could be the 1st machine of its kind filed in US patent 1934576 and is named as a movable 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 large 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 because of adverse weather conditions.
More recently in 1980 a US patent 4181929 was filed for a Portable illuminating tower that illustrates a much nearer similarity to present day lighting towers.
The US patent 4181929 describes a conveyable lighting tower composed of a base frame ( which contains an engine and generator ) and a vertical, extending, hydraulic mast with two 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 guarantee stability in gusty winds.
This is kind of a significant 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 such as a base that stores the engine and generator along with an extending hydraulic mast that supports the luminaries.
The next 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 chassis with 4 wheels to hold the generator and engine and two folding telescopic masts at opposite corners of the chassis that each hold a cluster of electric lamps. The design also permits 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 virtually every side of the machine. This is not like prior light towers which sometimes offer illumination on just one side of the machine.
Since 1980 substantial progress has been manufactured by lighting tower makers. Although the final design has varied small from those seen in the 1980s many enhancements have been made to make lighting towers simpler to use and more ecologically 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 additionally broken new ground by utilising intensely cheap lamps to reduce fuel consumption dramatically, which is very timely seeing as global warming is beginning to become a more and more prevalent concern.
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