Shovel lifting system and method

Abstract

A method of lifting a shovel having a car-body including endless tracks, and an upper part supported by the car-body, the method includes: disposing a rear lifting system under a rear section of the upper part; disposing a front central lifting system under a front section of the upper part, the front central lifting system having a width less than a distance between the endless tracks; and lifting the upper part of the shovel by applying a lifting force to the rear section of the upper part with the rear lifting system and by applying a lifting force to the front section of the upper part with the front central lifting system.

1 . A method of lifting a shovel having a car-body including endless tracks, and an upper part supported by the car-body, the method comprising:
 disposing a rear lifting system under a rear section of the upper part;   disposing a front central lifting system under a front section of the upper part, the front central lifting system having a width less than a distance between the endless tracks; and   lifting the upper part of the shovel by applying a lifting force to the rear section of the upper part with the rear lifting system and by applying a lifting force to the front section of the upper part with the front central lifting system.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the disposing of the front central lifting system under the front section includes abutting the front central lifting system against pivot attachments of the upper part, the pivot attachments used to pivotally connect front attachments to the upper part. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the front attachments include actuators pivotably connected to the pivot attachments for moving the front attachments, the method comprising disconnecting lower ends of the actuators of the front attachments from the pivot attachments. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising disconnecting front attachments from the upper part and mounting jigs to pivot attachments configured to pivotally connect front attachments to the upper part. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the jigs include base plates and webs protruding transversally to the base plates, the method comprising:
 aligning the webs with apertures of pivot attachments;   inserting pins into apertures of the webs and the apertures of the pivot attachments; and   applying the lifting force to the front section of the upper part with the front central lifting system via the base plates of the jigs.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the jigs are extender jigs each including sides interconnected via a bottom plate and a top plate and defining apertures, the sides protruding transversally from the bottom plate and the top plate, the method comprising:
 aligning the apertures of the sides of the jigs with apertures of the pivot attachments;   inserting pins into the apertures of the sides and the apertures of the pivot attachments; and   applying the lifting force to the front section of the upper part with the front central lifting system via the bottom plates of the jigs and counteracting a moment exerted by the lifting force on the jigs by abutting the bottom plates against a part of the upper part.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 rotating the car-body relative to the upper part until the endless tracks are extending transversally to the front attachments;   after the lifting the upper part of the shovel, removing the car-body via a space defined between the rear lifting system and the front central lifting system.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the front central lifting system includes a head, a foot for engaging a ground, and one or more actuators, the head engaged to the foot via the one or more actuators, the one or more actuators being extensible in length. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising a top beam disposed over the head, the top beam having a width selected to overlap pivot attachments provided on the upper part and configured for connecting front attachments to the upper part, the method comprising abutting the top beam to the pivot attachments. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the front central lifting system further includes outriggers having a collapsed configuration and an extended configuration, the outriggers defining feet, a distance between the feet increasing from the collapsed configuration to the extended configuration, the method comprising extending the outriggers from the collapsed configuration to the extended configuration. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the lifting of the upper part of the shovel includes lifting the upper part while keeping a bucket of front attachments against a ground. 
     
     
         12 . An assembly, comprising:
 a shovel having a car-body including endless tracks, and an upper part supported by the car-body; and   a lifting system for lifting at least the upper part of the shovel, the lifting system having:
 a rear lifting system comprising first and second rear lifting units comprising one or more actuators, and disposed underneath a rear section of the upper part; and 
 a front central lifting system located forward of the rear lifting system, the front central lifting system having a head engaged to pivot attachments of the upper part of the shovel, the pivot attachments configured for connecting front attachments to the upper part, a foot for engaging a ground, and one or more actuators engaged to both of the head and the foot, the one or more actuators operable to move the head relative to the foot. 
   
     
     
         13 . The assembly of  claim 12 , comprising a top beam disposed over the head, the top beam abutting the pivot attachments of the upper part. 
     
     
         14 . The assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the front central lifting system is intersected by a center line of the shovel. 
     
     
         15 . The assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the front central lifting system has a width that is less than a distance between tracks of the car-body. 
     
     
         16 . The assembly of  claim 12 , comprising jigs, each of the jigs mounted to a respective one of the pivot attachments, the head of the front central lifting system in abutment against the jigs. 
     
     
         17 . The assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the jigs include base plates and webs protruding transversally to the base plates, the webs defining apertures, pins inserted to both of the apertures of the webs and into apertures of the pivot attachments, the base plate configured to be engaged by the front central lifting system. 
     
     
         18 . The assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the jigs are extender jigs including sides interconnected via a bottom plate and a top plate and defining apertures, the sides protruding transversally from the bottom plate and the top plate, pins inserted through both of the apertures of the sides and into apertures of the pivot attachments, the front central lifting system abutting the bottom plates of the jigs, the bottom plates of the jigs configured for abutting a part of the upper part for counteracting a moment generated by the front central lifting system about the pins. 
     
     
         19 . The assembly of  claim 12 , comprising outriggers having feet configured to increase a contact area between the front central lifting system and the ground, the outriggers have a collapsed configuration and an extended configuration, in the collapsed configuration, the feet are located proximate or overlap the foot, in the extended configuration, the feet may be spaced apart from one another and offset from the foot to increase the contact area with the ground. 
     
     
         20 . The assembly of  claim 12 , comprising a beam disposed on top of the first and second rear lifting units and underneath a rear section of the upper part, the first and second rear lifting units spaced apart from one another by a distance greater than a width of the car-body.