Street Light Technical Information Willis Lamm   STREET LIGHTS: Patents from 1934 through 1935

Patents are an effective way to understand the development of street lighting in the United States. In this section I have posted patents as I located them. (Early patents are difficult to locate as they were not cross-indexed.) All patents are listed in order of their filing dates. Click on the patent number or thumbnail to view the entire patent.

As the 1930s progressed designers continued to produce ideas that were both improvements in applying light and reducing glare, and employing detailed ornamentation.

Patent No. 2040690 Filing date: January 19, 1934 Patent date: May 12, 1936 Title: Street Lighting Unit Inventor: Cromwell A. B. Halvorson Assignee: General Electric Co. Claims: Improved slipfitter side mount porcelain luminaire. (GE Form 72.)
Patent No. 2068781 Filing date: March 5, 1934 Patent date: January 26, 1937 Title: Reflector Inventor: Rudolf Wendel Claims: Glass reflector to direct light.
Patent No. 2066631 Filing date: April 5, 1934 Patent date: January 5, 1937 Title: Street Lighting Fixture of the Indirect Type Inventor: Jean L. Le Gorre Assignee: Pennsylvania Globe Co. Claims: Indirect lighting design to minimize glare.
Patent No. 2038815 Filing date: July 28, 1934 Patent date: April 28, 1936 Title: Lamp Bowl Retainer and the Like Inventor: George E. Wendt Claims: Spring loaded retainer for refractor bowls that reduces breakage from vibration.
Patent No. 2017716 Filing date: August 24, 1934 Patent date: October 15, 1935 Title: Sodium Luminair Inventor: Cromwell A. B. Halvorson Assignee: General Electric Co. Claims: High output sodium vapor luminaire. (These lamps were originally installed on the Golden Gate Bridge.)
Patent No. 2066973 Filing date: September 27, 1934 Patent date: January 5, 1937 Title: Lighting Unit Inventor: Cromwell A. B. Halvorson Assignee: General Electric Co. Claims: Combination incandescent and mercury vapor luminaire. (Incandescent used for color correction and to raise the operating temperature of the mercury vapor lamp.)
Patent No. 2071108 Filing date: November 21, 1934 Patent date: February 16, 1937 Title: Lighting Fixture Inventor: Chester W. Brown Assignee: Line Material Co. Claims: Improved decorative support for canopy of post mounted luminaires.
Patent No. 2089693 Filing date: December 13, 1934 Patent date: August 10, 1937 Title: Luminair Inventor: Solomon English Assignee: Holophane Co. Claims: Prismatic panels for luminaires.
Patent No. 2050364 Filing date: December 18, 1934 Patent date: August 11, 1936 Title: Series Lamp Socket Inventor: James F. Morton Assignee: Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co. Claims: Resettable magnetic cutout socket.
Patent No. 2137089 Filing date: March 8, 1935 Patent date: August 11, 1936 Title: Lighting Fixture Inventor: Samuel B. Kraut and Harry J. Chase Assignee: Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Co. Claims: Reflector luminaire for mercury vapor and sodium vapor lamps.
Patent No. 2063095 Filing date: March 11, 1935 Patent date: December 8, 1936 Title: Street Lamp Inventor: George B. Heath and George F. Heath Claims: Improved lamp base mount for post acorn luminaire.
Patent No. 2099034 Filing date: April 25, 1935 Patent date: November 16, 1937 Title: Refractor Inventor: Thomas W. Rolph Claims: Improved prismatic design for bowl (gumball) refractors.
Patent No. 2117862 Filing date: May 2, 1935 Patent date: May 17, 1938 Title: Street Lighting Fixture Inventor: Alwin G. Steinmeyer Assignee: Line Material Co. Claims: Improved support system for post mount refractor bowls.
Patent No. 2124807 Filing date: August 30, 1935 Patent date: July 26, 1938 Title: Light Sensitive Apparatus Inventor: Wesley B. Wells Assignee: Union Switch and Signal Co. Claims: Photoelectric device that turns lights on at dangerous crossings upon detection of headlamps, such as from a train.
Patent No. 2140646 Filing date: October 4, 1935 Patent date: December 20, 1938 Title: Reflector for Street and Highway Lighting Inventor: Percival H. Mitchell Claims: Admiral's hat reflector.
Patent No. 2097298 Filing date: October 24, 1935 Patent date: October 26, 1937 Title: Method for Manufacturing Electrical Cut-outs Inventor: George J. Meyers, Jr. Assignee: General Electric Co. Claims: Improved reliability in voltage for cutouts.
Patent No. 2141942 Filing date: November 20, 1935 Patent date: December 27, 1938 Title: Photoelectric Relay Inventor: Chauncey G. Suits Assignee: General Electric Co. Claims: Low impedence photoelectric relay design.
Patent No. 2196548 (France Filing Date: November 25, 1935) US Filing date: November 19, 1936 Patent date: April 9, 1940 Title: Highway Lighting Apparatus Inventor: Merry Cohu and Alfred Trequigneaux Assignee: Anciens Etablissements Saunier Duval Frisquet Claims: Horizontal low glare roadway luminaire.

Continue to 1936 - 1937

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Please note: This index is a work in progress. If you notice an error or are aware of something that is missing, please feel free to Email me. Thanks!