Street Light Technical Information Willis Lamm   STREET LIGHTS: Patents from 1970 Through 1974

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.

The 1970s saw a trend toward full cutoff luminaires and there also was a push toward high level, high intensity interchange lighting.

Patent No. 3651320 Filing date: June 1, 1970 Patent date: March 21, 1972 Title: Lighting Fixtures Inventor: Martin Lawrence Lasker Assignee: Moldcast Manufacturing Co. Claims: Reduced glare indirect luminaire designs.
Patent No. 3800138 (Original filing date January 4, 1970, then refiled) Filing date: July 27, 1972 Patent date: March 26, 1974 Title: Positive Prismatic Light Shield Inventor: Jan Shadwick Assignee: Holophane Co. Claims: Bucket with improved refractive properties.
Patent No. 3704906 Filing date: September 14, 1970 Patent date: December 5, 1972 Title: Latch Device Inventor: Jonathan C. Ambercrombie Assignee: General Electric Co. Claims: Improved cobrahead latch.
Patent No. 3654453 Filing date: October 2, 1970 Patent date: April 4, 1972 Title: Luminaire Inventor: Edward R. Jablonski Assignee: McGraw-Edison Co. Claims: Hingable and removable deck containing independently hinged refractor.
Patent No. 3654514 Filing date: October 12, 1970 Patent date: April 4, 1972 Title: Solid-State Photocontrol Apparatus for Lighting Loads Inventor: George A. Kappenhagen Assignee: Western Electric Corp. Claims: Improved photocontrol with more stable light sensitivity.
Patent No. 3662164 Filing date: November 18, 1970 Patent date: May 9, 1972 Title: Luminaire Ballast Bracket Inventor: David L. Wood Assignee: General Electric Co. Claims: Improved cobrahead ballast mount and heat sink.
Patent No. 3660650 Filing date: February 12, 1971 Patent date: May 2, 1972 Title: Luminaire Mountin Assembly and Mounting Method Inventor: Harold A. Van Dusen, Jr. Assignee: McGraw-Edison Co. Claims: High elevation interchange type lighting system.
Patent No. 3740545 Filing date: September 17, 1971 Patent date: June 19, 1973 Title: Luminaire Inventor: John S. Franklin and Samuel L. Baldwin Assignee: General Electric Co. Claims: Adjustable direction highway luminaire.
Patent No. 3766375 Filing date: November 29, 1971 Patent date: October 16, 1973 Title: Interchange and Area Lighting Luminaire Inventor: Warren H. Edman and James W. Patryak Assignee: Holophane Co. Claims: High elevation interchange type lighting system.
Patent No. 3761781 Filing date: March 20, 1972 Patent date: September 25, 1973 Title: Power-Pad Unit for Luminaires Inventor: John Richard Dean Claims: Removable power pad for cobrahead ballast and electronic components.
Patent No. 3786248 Filing date: May 15, 1972 Patent date: January 15, 1974 Title: Luminaire Inventor: John R. Brass Claims: Box type full cutoff luminaire with bubble pattern reflector.
Patent No. 3746854 Filing date: May 30, 1972 Patent date: July 17, 1973 Title: Tangent Plane Light Reflector Luminaire Inventor: John R. Brass Claims: Box type full cutoff luminaire with tangent plane reflector.
Patent No. 3836767 Filing date: February 26, 1973 Patent date: September 17, 1974 Title: Lighting Fixtures Inventor: Martin Lawrence Lasker Assignee: Moldcast Manufacturing Co. Claims: Reduced glare low level post mount luminaire.
Patent No. 3857030 Filing date: July 19, 1973 Patent date: December 24, 1974 Title: Reflector for Light Fixtures Inventor: Marie Henri Hubert Adam Assignee: L'Eclairage Technique Claims: Multi-plane reflector for full cutoff cobrahead luminaires.
Patent No. 3893000 Filing date: September 17, 1973 Patent date: July 1, 1975 Title: Highway Lighting System Inventor: John Francis Guercio Claims: Street light system that activates upon approach of vehicles.
Patent No. 3918751 Filing date: September 20, 1974 Patent date: November 11, 1975 Title: Latch Device Inventor: Walter R. Blake Claims: Improved latch for box type luminaires.

Continue to 1975-1979

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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!