Process and apparatus for chronologically staggered initiation of

Abstract

For the chronologically staggered initiation of a plurality of electronic explosive delay detonators connected together with a blasting detonating machine, a signal current produced in each explosive detonator by signals sent by the blasting detonating machine, for example an impulse sequence, is integrated up in order to establish the delay time and, for carrying out of the delay, is integrated anew or integrated down to equality of the integrals or of the starting values. According to the invention, the integrating up begins in all explosive detonators simultaneously, with the end of the integrating up being controlled by signals from the blasting detonating machine. This end and accordingly the time period can be the same for all explosive charge detonators, while the two signal currents are possibly the same with the relative differences of the delay times being determined by the ratio of the signal currents which are different with setting and subsequent carrying out of the delay, or the end points of the integrations up or are different for each detonator. For increasing the safety, before the setting of the delay time, an impulse sequence with determined form is sent out from the blasting detonating machine and checked in each electronic explosive detonator so that the setting of false delay values by spurious signals is avoided. An energy storer in each explosive detonator is charged up only after successful checking of the impulse sequence at a value sufficient for initiation of the detonation.