US 12,264,906 B2
Firing method for a set of electronic detonators and associated electronic detonator
Lionel Biard, Grenoble (FR)
Assigned to COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES, Paris (FR); and DAVEY BICKFIRD, Hery (FR)
Appl. No. 17/413,811
Filed by Commissariat A L'Energie Atomique et Aux Energies Alternatives, Paris (FR); and DAVEY BICKFORD, Hery (FR)
PCT Filed Dec. 17, 2019, PCT No. PCT/FR2019/053118
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 14, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/128300, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 25, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 1873012 (FR), filed on Dec. 17, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0018644 A1, Jan. 20, 2022
Int. Cl. F42D 1/055 (2006.01)
CPC F42D 1/055 (2013.01) 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A firing method for a set of electronic detonators, each electronic detonator having an associated firing delay (tdelay), the method comprising:
determining a communication quality between a plurality of reception devices and an emission device for emitting a sequence of firing commands, wherein the sequence comprises at least two firing commands;
before any firing commands of the sequence of firing commands are emitted by the emission device, determining a set of characteristics relative to the sequence of firing commands, wherein the set of characteristics comprises synchronization data relative to the sequence of firing commands, a number of firing commands in the sequence of firing commands, and modulation parameters used on emission of the firing commands of the sequence of firing commands, wherein the synchronization data enables a determination of synchronization periods respectively associated with each of the firing commands of the sequence, and wherein the number of the firing commands in the sequence of firing commands and the modulation parameters are each determined based on the determined communication quality between the plurality of reception devices and the emission device;
after determining the set of characteristics, receiving, by at least one of the plurality of reception devices associated with one or more of the electronic detonators, at least one of the number of the firing commands in the sequence, the at least one of the number of firing commands emitted according to the modulation parameters;
performing a countdown of a synchronization period associated with the received firing command starting from an instant of receiving the received firing command; performing a countdown of the associated firing delay (tdelay) associated with each said electronic detonator starting from a synchronization instant corresponding to an instant at which the countdown of the synchronization period is finalized; and firing each said electronic detonator when the countdown of the associated firing delay is finalized.