Patent ID: 7472009

Claim:
Method of monitoring a load condition of a dragline ( 1 ) or an electric shovel, the dragline comprising a boom ( 4 ), a bucket ( 8 ), a hoist rope ( 10 ) from which the bucket is suspended from the boom, and a drag rope ( 18 ) for dragging the bucket, the boom extending substantially along a boom axis (BA) in its normal, unstressed state, characterised in that it comprises the steps of: using technical means ( 26 , 28 ; 42 ; 46 ; 48 ; 60 - 70 ; 76 , 80 ; 82 ; GPS 1 -GPS 3 ; 96 , 98 ) to produce alignment data indicative of lateral alignment, with respect to a plane containing the boom axis (BA), of at least one of the following dragline components: i) the hoist rope ( 10 ), ii) the drag rope ( 18 ), iii) the boom ( 4 ), iv) the bucket ( 8 ), and determining the lateral alignment.