Inflatable devices for suspending explosives in boreholes
OwnerDaniel F. Fitzgibbon, Jr.inventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Inflatable devices configured for supporting explosives particularly in vertical boreholes of widely varying diameter. The inflatable devices of the invention can be used in the pre-splitting and blast removal of earth formations by suspending explosives in both pre-splitting and production boreholes. Plugging of such boreholes is accomplished through the use of the present inflatable devices which are formed of flexible polymeric material and which stretch to seal boreholes and to exert forces against borehole walls sufficient to support heavy columns of explosives and/or stemming at desirable borehole locations. The present inflatable devices are restrained into a pre-splitting configuration and inflated to a configuration capable of supporting explosives and/or stemming within a borehole.
Claims17
A device capable of being inflated in a borehole formed vertically or essentially vertically in the earth prior to initiation of blasting within the borehole, the device acting to suspend a column of stemming material or explosive material within the borehole, comprising:
- a flexible body member capable of inflation within the borehole;
- valve means carried by the body member for connection to a source of inflating fluid and through which the body member is filled with said fluid to expand the body member into engagement with walls of the borehole;
- and,
- resilient means disposed about the body member for exerting a restraining force on said body member to cause said body member to assume a compact configuration thereby to facilitate insertion of the device into the borehole and for releasing the body member on inflation to allow the body member to extend into contact with walls of the borehole and to transfer pressure from said fluid to the walls of the borehole, the pressure being adequate to provide an essentially vertical force component direct against the stemming material or explosive material to support said material at a desired location within the borehole, the resilient means expanding with the flexible body member.
A device capable of being inflated in a borehole formed vertically or essentially vertically in the earth prior to initiation of blasting within the borehole, the device acting to suspend a column of stemming material or explosive material within the borehole, comprising:
- a flexible body member capable of inflation within the borehole;
- means carried by the body member for inflating said body member with fluid to expand the body member into engagement with walls of the borehole;
- and,
- resilient means disposed about the body member for exerting a restraining force on said body member to cause said body member to assume a compact configuration thereby to facilitate insertion of the device into the borehole and for releasing the body member on inflation by the inflating means to allow the body member to extend into contact with walls of the borehole and to transfer pressure from said fluid to the walls of the borehole, the pressure being adequate to provide an essentially vertical force component directed against the stemming material or explosive material to support said material at a desired location within the borehole, the resilient means expanding with the flexible body member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.