Positional blasting system
First Claim
1. A blasting system for selectively detonating a plurality of charges located in a plurality of boreholes at a blasting site, comprising:
- a blasting controller;
a plurality of detonators operatively connected to the blasting controller, each of the detonators associated with and adapted to discharge a selected number of charges, the detonators located in the boreholes;
a handheld programming unit adapted to communicate blasting information to the detonators, to store the communicated blasting information and to transfer the stored blasting information to the blasting controller; and
a positional device incorporated with the handheld unit and adapted to cooperate with the handheld unit to automatically determine blasting information for communication to at least one detonator based on at least one of the following;
a) movement of the device to said at least one detonator; and
b) positional data associated with the location of said at least one detonator, whereby the use of automatically determined blasting information facilitates accurate communication of the blasting information to said at least one detonator and to the blasting controller, to help achieve a desired blasting sequence.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A blasting system facilitates the actuation of a plurality of programmable detonators according to a desired blasting pattern, to cause the discharge of a plurality of associated charges, by downloading to the detonators blasting information that can be automatically determined by a portable handheld unit that incorporates a positional detecting device, such as a GPS device. The blasting information for any given detonator can be determined by the handheld unit as a function of the distance and the direction of the movement of the unit to the detonator, and/or by the actual GPS location while at the site of the detonator. This automatic determination of blasting information, and particularly the delay times, based on the movement of the unit to the detonator, eliminates error prone human calculations of the delay times needed for multiple detonators at a blasting site. This simplifies the operations and procedures needed for achieving a desired blasting pattern, without sacrificing safety or quality.
143 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A blasting system for selectively detonating a plurality of charges located in a plurality of boreholes at a blasting site, comprising:
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a blasting controller;
a plurality of detonators operatively connected to the blasting controller, each of the detonators associated with and adapted to discharge a selected number of charges, the detonators located in the boreholes;
a handheld programming unit adapted to communicate blasting information to the detonators, to store the communicated blasting information and to transfer the stored blasting information to the blasting controller; and
a positional device incorporated with the handheld unit and adapted to cooperate with the handheld unit to automatically determine blasting information for communication to at least one detonator based on at least one of the following;
a) movement of the device to said at least one detonator; and
b) positional data associated with the location of said at least one detonator, whereby the use of automatically determined blasting information facilitates accurate communication of the blasting information to said at least one detonator and to the blasting controller, to help achieve a desired blasting sequence. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A program product comprising:
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a program resident on a programming unit configured to download blasting information to a detonator located at a blasting site, wherein the program automatically determines at least some of the blasting information based on movement of the programming unit in a direction toward and a distance to the actual location of the detonator; and
a signal bearing medium bearing the first program. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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Specification