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 could include something as easy as a candle or primitive torch placed on a tall mast to cast light over an enormous area, such a device has probably been used 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 indicates that machines not dissimilar to today’s lighting towers were being designed in the 1930s.
A patent from 1932 shows what might be the first machine of its kind filed in US patent 1934576 and is named as a Portable floodlighting unit for airports.
The patent describes a chassis with four wheels at each corner ( permitting the machine to be towed ), a generator powered by an engine and one large electrical lamp at every end of the auto. 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 because of adverse weather conditions.
More lately in 1980 a US patent 4181929 was filed for a Portable illuminating tower that illustrates a much closer similarity to present day lighting towers.
The US patent 4181929 describes a conveyable lighting tower consisting of a base frame ( which has an engine and generator ) and a vertical, extending, hydraulic mast with 2 electric lamps at the higher end. The unit does not 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 high winds.
This is reasonably a significant development in the history of the lighting tower as this patent mostly forms the root of most current 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 next patent was filed later on in the same year of 1980 but was for a solution to provide more intensive illumination. The US patent 4220981 describes a chassis with four wheels to hold the generator and engine and 2 folding telescopic masts at opposite corners of the chassis that each hold a cluster of electrical 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 all sides of the machine. This isn’t like prior light towers which sometimes offer illumination on only 1 side of the machine.
Since 1980 considerable progress has been made by lighting tower manufacturers. Though the final design has varied small from those seen in the 1980s many improvements have been made to make lighting towers simpler to use and more green.
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 virtually any generator to be used to power the light heads.
The TCP Ecolite lighting tower in addition has damaged new ground by using highly cost-effective lamps to reduce fuel consumption significantly, which is very timely seeing as global warming is becoming a more and more prevalent concern.
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