The History of Creation of Cartable Lighting Tower
Who invented the first conveyable lighting tower?
This depends principally on your definition of a lighting tower. A broad definition might include something as straightforward as a candle or primitive torch placed on a tall mast to cast light over a big area, such a device has doubtless 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 1st machine of its kind filed in US patent 1934576 and is named as a transportable floodlighting unit for airfields.
The patent describes a frame with four wheels at every corner ( permitting 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 airports on occasions when the main landing areas are out of use due to adverse weather conditions.
More lately in 1980 a US patent 4181929 was filed for a Portable illuminating tower that illustrates a much closer resemblance to modern day lighting towers.
The US patent 4181929 describes a portable lighting tower composed of a base frame ( which has 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 light 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 gusty winds.
This is kind of a significant development in the history of the lighting tower as this patent principally forms the foundation of most present day lighting towers which contain similar elements such as a base that stores the engine and generator 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 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 over the area of illumination. By offering two masts the light tower also allows for illumination over just about all sides of the machine. This is unlike prior light towers which generally offer illumination on just one side of the machine.
Since 1980 considerable progress has been made by lighting tower makers. Though the final design has varied small from those seen in the 1980s many improvements have been made to make lighting towers easier to use and more ecologically friendly.
The Hylite lighting tower from Taylor Construction Plant includes Adjustabeam technology which allows the user to adjust the direction of each lamp from the ground. The TCP Hylite also has a flexible chassis design which allows just about any generator to be used to power the light heads.
The TCP Ecolite lighting tower in addition has damaged new ground by exploiting extremely cheap lamps to reduce fuel consumption significantly, which is particularly timely seeing as global warming is beginning to become a more and more prevalent concern.
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