Patent ID: 8800707

Claim:
A method for moving an object having a plurality of air bearings on a bottom portion thereof onto an object support structure stationed on a floor, the object support structure being built to support the object at an elevation higher than the floor elevation, the method comprising: (a) placing a plurality of mobile support modules or a plurality of stacks of mobile support modules on the floor, each mobile support module comprising an air bearing on a bottom portion thereof; (b) arranging the object and the mobile support modules so that the object sits on top of and is fully supported by the plurality of mobile support modules, the heights of the mobile support modules or stacks thereof being such that the object is supported at an elevation whereat the bottom portion of the object is generally vertically aligned with a support surface of the object support structure, and the mobile support modules being positioned underneath the air bearings on the bottom portion of the object; (c) moving the plurality of mobile support modules along the floor until a first mobile support module is adjacent to a first portion of the object support structure; (d) latching the first mobile support module to the object support structure; (e) activating a first air bearing on the bottom portion of the object that has the first mobile support module underneath it; and (f) moving the mobile support modules which are not adjacent to the object support structure further along the floor until a second mobile support module is adjacent to a second portion of the object support structure or is adjacent to the first mobile support module, the first air bearing on the bottom portion of the object being moved onto the object support structure as the object is moved along with the further moved mobile support modules.