The History of Invention of Portable Lighting Tower
Who invented the first cartable lighting tower?
This depends mostly on your definition of a lighting tower. An extensive definition might 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 doubtless been used since the Stone Age.
In more recent 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 1st machine of its kind filed in US patent 1934576 and is named as a Portable floodlighting unit for airports.
The patent describes a framework with four wheels at each corner ( allowing 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 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 recently in 1980 a US patent 4181929 was filed for a Portable illuminating tower that illustrates a much more close resemblance to modern 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 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 guarantee stability in strong winds.
This is quite a significant development in the history of the lighting tower as this patent principally forms the basis of most present day lighting towers which contain similar elements such as a base that stores the engine and generator together 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 extensive illumination. The US patent 4220981 describes a framework with 4 wheels to hold the generator and engine and 2 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 over 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 generally offer illumination on just one side of the machine.
Since 1980 substantial progress has been manufactured by lighting tower makers. Although the overall design has sundry small from those seen in the 1980s many enhancements 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 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 particularly timely seeing as global warming is beginning to become a more and more common concern.
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