Ammunition and explosives – Igniting devices and systems – Ignition or detonation circuit
Patent
1997-05-07
1999-04-13
Jordan, Charles T.
Ammunition and explosives
Igniting devices and systems
Ignition or detonation circuit
102217, F24C 1540
Patent
active
058941037
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to detonation means and has particular application to so-called "multi-shock" blasting wherein a plurality of detonators are detonated in accordance with a desired programme.
In multi-shock blasting up to 250, and often more, detonators are arranged for detonation by a firing signal from a control unit and, for reasons well known in the art, it is the practise to arrange the detonators in separate groups, each group having its detonators spread over the blasting site, and to fire all the detonators in each separate group simultaneously with a time delay between the groups of detonators.
In one conventional method for effecting electrical detonation of a plurality of detonators in a multi-shock blasting arrangement each detonator, or each separate group of detonators, is provided with a delay element, which may be pyrotechnic or electrical, and on receipt of a firing signal from the control unit all the delay elements are initiated and, as the delay element for each detonator or group of detonators runs its course, the detonator(s) associated with that delay element are detonated. As stated above it is usual in multi-shot firing arrangements for different detonators to have different time delay element, so that the pattern of explosives follows the desired pattern but this usually means that the person setting the detonators in position on the blasting site must carry a number of different detonators, with different delay devices, and the different delay detonators must be kept separate from all other detonators, which raises problems on the site in the storage of a multiplicity of different time delay detonators.
Further, the person setting the detonator must be extremely careful that they do not include a detonator with an incorrect time delay in one of the groups of detonators as this could lead to the group not detonating simultaneously, which could lead to serious problems in the desired effect of the detonation.
The problem of marking detonators, has in the past, been limited to marking all the detonators in a firing system, that is to say in systems which rarely exceed 500 detonators. With such a system all the detonators not used in the system must be destroyed, or rearranged for use in a subsequent system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,047 discloses a detonation system in which a number of electrical detonators can be programmed with a unique identification number and delay time by means of a user operable firing console. A command from the firing console includes a unit identification code which is used to address or designate a specific integrated delay detonator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,438 discloses apparatus for timing and initiating a multi-shot blast comprising a programming tool for individually programming a plurality of electronic detonator arrangements with delay time data in which data is loaded from a master computer into a transportable programming tool and is subsequently loaded from the programming tool into each detonator arrangement in turn.
The present invention seeks to provide a firing circuit wherein each detonator circuit has a coding individual thereto and wherein the chances of two detonator circuits in the firing circuit having the same coding are remote if not totally avoided.
According to the present invention there is provided a detonator firing circuit comprising a control unit and a plurality of detonator circuits, each including at least one detonator, linked to said control unit to receive signals therefrom, wherein each detonator circuit has a code individual thereto and positively identifying that detonator circuit, the identification code is one of a substantial multiplicity of codes in a set, and the control unit can communicate information to a particular detonator circuit by identifying the detonator circuit with the identification code individual to that detonator circuit, characterised in that the identification code of each detonator circuit is supplied to said control unit via a portable device upon which the delay for each detonator circuit can b
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patent: 5014622 (1991-05-01), Jullian
patent: 5038682 (1991-08-01), Marsden
patent: 5117756 (1992-06-01), Goffin, II
patent: 5214236 (1993-05-01), Murphy et al.
patent: 5295438 (1994-03-01), Hill et al.
Definition for "portable"; Webster's II New Riverside Dictionary, p. 916, 1994.
Hatorex AG
Jordan Charles T.
Montgomery Christopher K.
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