AU2013100029A4 - Retaining device for an initiating system product - Google Patents

Abstract

C:\NRPortbi\DCC\E,1L\4857103_i.DOCX- 1/01/2013 A retaining device for retaining an initiating system product at or near a blast hole, 5 wherein the retaining device is in the form of an elongated peg having a lower end portion adapted for securing the peg relative to the blast hole, and a holder located above the lower end portion for holding the initiating system product to the peg. Figure 1

Description

C:\NRPortbl\DCC\EJL\4857103_I.DOCX- 1/01/2013 RETAINING DEVICE FOR AN INITIATING SYSTEM PRODUCT Field of the Invention 5 The invention relates to a device for retaining an initiating system product at or near a place of deployment, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to a simplified and cost-effective device for securely and visibly retaining a plurality of initiating system products, together with associated leads, at or near blast holes in mining operations. 10 Background of the Invention In open cut or underground mining operations, a drill pattern is typically designed for a blasting site based on a number of parameters which may include rock type/density, 15 spacings between blast holes, borehole depth and diameter for a predetermined explosive material, and where required, blast hole orientation and angles. The drill pattern may then be surveyed and pegged out by a drilling team, with a peg being placed for each blast hole. Each peg is tagged and provided with a unique blast hole number. The blast holes are then drilled in accordance with the drill pattern and records are kept to detail each blast hole 20 number and the respective hole depth. During the explosives loading process in mining, initiating explosives products, such as detonators and boosters, are placed at a blast hole collar prior to their assembly and deployment down the blast hole. These products are robust and safe to handle in everyday 25 use, however they typically contain molecular explosives and can be initiated by intense impact friction or heat. The leads used to connect the down hole components to the surface components can also pose a safety hazard if they are not retained and allowed to fall into the path of on-bench equipment. 30 A number of serious incidents have occurred on mine sites where vehicles have come in contact with, and damaged initiating system (IS) products in the vicinity of the C:\NRPotbl\DCC\EJL\4857103 1.DOCX- 1/01/2013 -2 blast hole collar. In other incidents, IS products have been found on the bench of the hole (after loading has finished) as a result of burial in the drill cuttings. This poses a safety and a security hazard. 5 The applicant's own Australian Patent No. 2010101113, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a device which has resulted in a reduction in the number of incidents involving interaction between on-bench vehicles and initiating explosives products. A number of incidents have since occurred following deployment of initiating explosives products down holes where vehicles have come in 10 contact with the surface leads of these products posing an initiation hazard due to impact, friction or entanglement (tensile stress). Examples of the present invention seek to eliminate or at least lessen these hazards by securely retaining IS products and any associated leads to the device close to the blast 15 hole collar, preventing loss and burial, providing high visibility, and reducing the potential for accidents involving vehicles inadvertently interacting with the IS products by providing a relatively simple and cost-effective means of securing the product leads at the blast hole collar. 20 Summary of the Invention In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a retaining device for retaining an initiating system product at or near a blast hole, wherein the retaining device is in the form of an elongated peg having a lower end portion adapted for 25 securing the peg relative to the blast hole, and a holder located above the lower end portion for holding the initiating system product to the peg. Preferably, the holder includes a recess formed integrally within the peg. 30 Preferably, the peg has a Y-shaped cross-section formed by three radial portions. More preferably, the peg has a plurality of holders for holding a plurality of initiating C:\NRIortbl\DCC\EJL\4857103 I.DOCX-l 1/01/2013 -3 system products, each of the holders includes a recess, and each recess is formed in a corner of two of said radial portions. In a preferred form, each holder includes a strap for fastening the respective 5 initiating system product in the recess. More preferably, the strap is mounted generally transversely of the peg. Even more preferably, the transverse strap is elastic. Preferably, the peg includes openings for feeding the strap through the radial portions. More preferably, the strap is an endless strap. Even more preferably, the 10 openings open to outer edges of the radial portions to allow insertion/removal of the endless strap. In a preferred form, the retaining device includes a second holder displaced longitudinally along the peg relative to the first holder. More preferably, the second holder 15 includes a slot. Even more preferably, the slot is formed as a longitudinal slot in one of the radial portions forming a corner in which a recess of said second holder is located. Preferably, the second holder has a strap mounted longitudinally of the peg to enable a spool to be retained by the second holder, with one side of the spool held by the 20 slot and an opposite side of the spool held by the longitudinal strap. More preferably, the longitudinal strap is endless. Even more preferably, the second holder has an upper pin and a lower pin for hooking the endless strap. Preferably, the lower end portion has a tapered end to facilitate insertion of the peg 25 into ground material for securing the peg relative to the blast hole. In a preferred form, the lower end portion is adapted for insertion in an adapter collar for securing the peg relative to the blast hole.

C:\NRPotbl\DCC\EJL\4857103 _ DOCX-I 1/01/2013 -4 Preferably, the peg includes one or more retaining cavities for retaining signal tube/wire. More preferably, each of the radial portions includes a retaining cavity having an opening along an outer edge of the radial portion. 5 It is preferred that the holders are arranged to hold the initiating system products in locations evenly distributed about the peg to balance the peg. Preferably, the peg is made of high visibility material. 10 In a preferred form, the peg is of unitary construction. Preferably, the peg is moulded from plastic. Brief Description of the Drawings 15 The invention is described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a retaining device in accordance with an example 20 of the present invention, shown without an initiating system product attached thereto; Figure 2 is a detailed perspective view of an upper portion of the retaining device of Figure 1, shown retaining a plurality of boosters; 25 Figure 3 is a detailed view of the upper portion of the retaining device, shown retaining a spool; Figure 4 is a detailed view of an upper portion of the retaining device, shown retaining windings; and 30 C:\NRPorIbl\DCC\EJlL\4857103_I.DOCX- 1/01/2013 -5 Figure 5 is a detailed view of an upper portion of the retaining device, showing a signal tube/lead retained thereto. Detailed Description 5 In large open pit mining operations, blast hole pegs are placed in a drill cuttings cone at the blast hole collar. Plain wooden pegs are used to identify blast holes by means of an alphanumeric labelling system, to indicate hole depths and other information, and to act as a means of securing down lines during the explosives loading process. 10 The applicant has identified that it would be advantageous for there to be provided a product which safely secures initiating system products, such as detonators and boosters, at a mining blast hole. In particular, the applicant has identified that it would be beneficial for there to be provided a retaining device which is able to securely retain the initiating 15 system products for a blast hole, together with associated leads, by way of combining the retaining device and the blast hole peg. The retaining device may solve or at least alleviate problems associated with initiating system products at blast holes by securely retaining the products relative to the blast hole in a highly visible manner. 20 Accordingly, with reference to Figures 1 to 5, there is shown a retaining device 10 in accordance with an example of the present invention. Advantageously, the retaining device 10 is incorporated into the structure of a unitary peg, which also serves to secure associated leads of initiating system products in addition to the initiating system products themselves. 25 More specifically, Figure 1 shows a retaining device 10 for retaining an initiating system product 12 at or near a blast hole. The retaining device 10 is in the form of an elongated peg 14 having a lower end portion 16 which is adapted for securing the peg 14 relative to the blast hole. The retaining device also includes a holder 18 located above the 30 lower end portion 16 for holding the initiating system product 12 (see Figure 2) to the peg 14.

C:\NRI'ortbl\DCC\EJL\4857103_1.DOCX- 1/01/2013 -6 As can be seen in Figure 1, the holder 18 includes a recess 20 formed integrally within the structure of the peg 14. The peg 14 has a Y-shaped cross-section formed by three radial portions 22 which intersect at a centre of the peg 14 to produce a shape similar 5 to that of a tri-stake or star-picket. The peg 14 has a plurality of holders 18 for holding a plurality of initiating system products 12, as shown in Figure 2. Each of the holders 18 includes a recess 20, and each recess 20 is formed in a corner 24 of two of said radial portions 22. In particular, with regard to Figure 2, the peg 14 is shown with a pair of initiating system products 12 held to the recesses 20 of the peg 14. Each of the initiating 10 system products 12 is in the form of a booster 26. As the specific example shown in the drawings has three radial portions 22 separated at intervals of 120 degrees, the peg 14 has three recesses 20 and is capable of holding three initiating system products 12. In alternative examples, the retaining device 10 may be arranged to have a maximum number of initiating system products which is either more or less than three. 15 Each holder 18 includes a strap 28 for fastening the respective initiating system product 12 in the recess 20. The strap 28 is mounted generally transversely of the peg 14, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The transverse strap 28 may be elastic such that it is able to be stretched from its relaxed state shown in Figure 1 to its stretched state in Figure 2 20 wherein the strap 28 is stretched around the boosters 26 so as to tension the boosters 26 into the recesses 20. The peg 40 includes openings 30 for feeding the strap 28 through the radial portions 22. In the example shown in the drawings, the strap 28 is endless, and the 25 openings 30 open to outer edges of the radial portions 22 to allow insertion and removal of the endless strap 28. Turning to Figure 3, the retaining device 10 may also include a second holder 32 displaced longitudinally along the peg 14 relative to the first holder 18. In particular, when 30 the retaining device 10 is upright, the second holder 32 is located downwardly and adjacent to the first holder 18. With reference to Figure 1 and Figure 3, the second holder 32 C:\NRPortbl\DCC\EJL\4857103_I.DOCX-1 1/01/2013 -7 includes a slot 34 which is formed as a longitudinal slot in one of the radial portions 22 forming a corner 24 in which a recess 20 of the second holder 32 is located. The second holder 32 has a strap 36 mounted longitudinally of the peg 14 to enable a spool 38 (see Figure 3) to be retained by the second holder 32, with one side of the spool 38 held by the 5 slot 34 and an opposite side of the spool 38 held by the longitudinal strap 36. The strap 36 may be endless, and the second holder 32 may be provided with an upper pin 40 and a lower pin 42 for hooking the endless strap 36. Advantageously, the configuration of the second holder 32 allows one-handed operation whereby an operator is able to engage or disengage the spool 38 relative to the retaining device 10 with only one hand. More 10 specifically, one-handed engagement of the spool 38 relative to the retaining device 10 is achieved by first hooking one side of the spool 38 behind the strap 36, stretching the strap 36 by moving the spool 38 outwardly, then by engaging the other side of the spool 38 with the slot 34 so that the resilience in the strap 36 biases the spool 38 into the slot 34. 15 With reference to Figure 4, there is shown an alternative use of the second holder 32 wherein an alternative form of initiating system product lead is retained between the peg 14 and the strap 36. More specifically, whereas Figure 3 shows a spool of a lead being retained by the retaining device 10, Figure 4 shows an F80/F100 winding 44 being retained. Turning to Figure 5, the peg 14 includes three retaining cavities 46 for retaining 20 signal leads (tubing/wire) to the peg 14, thereby retaining the leads in an orderly and predictable manner to assist in avoiding accidents with on-bench vehicles. In the example shown, each of the radial portions 22 includes a retaining cavity 46 having an opening along an outer edge of the radial portion 22. In this way, the lead 48 is able to be easily and conveniently hooked into a convenient one of the retaining cavities 46, as required. 25 With reference to Figures 1 to 5, various other features of the preferred example of the retaining device 10 are apparent. In particular, as can be seen in Figure 1, the lower end portion 16 has a tapered end to facilitate insertion of the peg 14 into ground material for securing the peg 14 relative to the blast hole. Alternatively, the lower end portion 16 30 may be adapted for insertion in an adapter collar for securing the peg 14 relative to the blast hole. The holders 18 may be arranged to hold the initiating system products 12 in C \NRPorIbI\DCC\EJL\4857103 _ .DOCX- 1/01/2013 locations evenly distributed about the peg 14 to balance the peg 14. The peg 14 may be made of high visibility material, and may be formed of unitary construction, for example by being moulded from plastic. 5 Accordingly, the retaining device 10 as disclosed is able to be secured into the drill cuttings or bare ground adjacent to each blast hole. The device is also able to accept an adapter collar/flange to be fitted to the base of the peg 14 which will allow it to be placed inside the top of the blast hole for applications where the ground surface prohibits pegs from penetrating the ground (ie. rocky ground). The products and downline leads will still 10 be retained above the ground, as only the lower portion of the peg 14 would enter the hole with the adapter collar limiting this and providing stability to hold the peg vertical. The top of the peg 14 may be arranged with a robust and flat surface to facilitate driving the peg 14 into place with the use of a hammer or mallet. 15 The straps may be formed of flexible rubber that expands around the boosters and signal tube or EBS cable products. The recesses 20 may be suitable for retaining boosters in either 150 gram or 400 gram sizes. 20 The vertical straps 36 may be situated on each of the faces of the peg 14 such that therc is one per product to be retained. The purpose of the straps 36 is to manage the signal tube or EBS cable products prior to deployment as well as retaining and managing the leads post deployment. In both cases, the leads will be held at the blast hole collar and elevated off the ground. The design of the strap will allow for the spools to be inserted and 25 removed single handedly, providing greater efficiency and workflow. The retaining device 10 will provide three locking locations (locking slots) where the signal tube can be locked to the device, eliminating the need for the tube to be tied or knotted to the peg 14. Locking the tube to the device will provide positive retention for the 30 signal tube and will allow for quick and easy visual identification of slumping holes as the peg will angle towards the hole as the slumping action drags the signal tube inwardly.

C:\NRPortbI\DCC\EJL\4857103_ .DOCX- 11/01/2013 -9 The retaining device 10 may have two rectangular faces located near the top of the peg 14 on which identifying markings, such as the hole number, can be recorded with a permanent marker. Prior to firing, the devices will be removed and collected for reuse. 5 Advantageously, the retaining device 10 may replace wooden pegs in coal mining operations providing additional protection for initiating systems through the entire life cycle of operation, for example deployment and tail retention, It is also advantageous that the cornbiiation of the retaining device 10 and peg 14 in a single unit may be cost 10 effective, and, more specifically, may be less expensive to manufacture than separate retaining devices and wooden pegs. The retaining device 10 may be formed from Wood Plastic Composite which is a composite material including approximately 60% wood and 40% plastic. The material may be biodegradable such that it breaks down over time, which may be an advantage for mining customers. 15 While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art that various changes in form and detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope 20 of the invention. Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments. The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an 25 acknowledgment or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates. Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context 30 requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" and "comprisinig", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group C:\N\RI'oitbl\DCC\EJL\4857103_I.DOCX- 1/01/2013 - 10 of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

Claims (25)

1. A retaining device for retaining an initiating system product at or near a blast hole, wherein the retaining device is in the form of an elongated peg having a lower end 5 portion adapted for securing the peg relative to the blast hole, and a holder located above the lower end portion for holding the initiating system product to the peg.

2. A retaining device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the holder includes a recess formed integrally within the peg. 10

3. A retaining device as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the peg has a Y shaped cross-section formed by three radial portions.

4. A retaining device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the peg has a plurality of holders 15 for holding a plurality of initiating system products, each of the holders includes a recess, and each recess is formed in a corner of two of said radial portions.

5. A retaining device as claimed in claim 4, wherein each holder includes a strap for fastening the respective initiating system product in the recess. 20

6. A retaining device as claimed in claim 5, wherein the strap is mounted generally transversely of the peg.

7. A retaining device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the transverse strap is elastic. 25

8. A retaining device as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the peg includes openings for feeding the strap through the radial portions.

9. A retaining device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the strap is an endless strap. 30 C\NRPIortl\DCC\EJL\4857103_I.DOCX- 1/01/2013 - 12

10. A retaining device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the openings open to outer edges of the radial portions to allow insertion/removal of the endless strap.

11. A retaining device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10, including a second 5 holder displaced longitudinally along the peg relative to the first holder.

12. A retaining device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the second holder includes a slot. 10

13. A retaining device as claimed in claim 12 when dependent on claim 3, wherein the slot is formed as a longitudinal slot in one of the radial portions forming a corner in which a recess of said second holder is located.

14. A retaining device as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the second 15 holder has a strap mounted longitudinally of the peg to enable a spool to be retained by the second holder, with one side of the spool held by the slot and an opposite side of the spool held by the longitudinal strap.

15. A retaining device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the longitudinal strap is endless. 20

16. A retaining device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the second holder has an upper pin and a lower pin for hooking the endless strap.

17. A retaining device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the lower end 25 portion has a tapered end to facilitate insertion of the peg into ground material for securing the peg relative to the blast hole.

18. A retaining device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the lower end portion is adapted for insertion in an adapter collar for securing the peg relative to 30 the blast hole. C:\NRPolbl\DCC\EJL\4857103_1.DOCX- 11/01/2013 - 13

19. A retaining device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the peg includes one or more retaining cavities for retaining signal tube/wire.

20. A retaining device as claimed in claim 19, wherein each of the radial portions 5 includes a retaining cavity having an opening along an outer edge of the radial portion.

21. A retaining device as claimed in any one of claims I to 20, wherein the holders are arranged to hold the initiating system products in locations evenly distributed about 10 the peg to balance the peg.

22. A retaining device as claimed in any one of claims I to 21, wherein the peg is made of high visibility material. 1.5

23. A retaining device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein the peg is of unitary construction.

24. A retaining device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 23, wherein the peg is moulded from plastic. 20

25. A retaining device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.