Method and system for controlling the delay time of electronic detonators

Abstract

This invention provides a method and system for controlling the delay time of electronic detonators, comprising: configuring delay values ​​for each electronic detonator via an initiator; sending delay time calibration commands to all electronic detonators and calculating the total duration of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration commands to obtain T0; calculating T1 based on T0; upon receiving the delay initiation command, the electronic detonator calculates and writes the value to a delay timer based on T1, and decrements the timer; after the delay timer of the electronic detonator reaches zero, writing the value of T1mod div to the delay timer and decrementing the timer; and detonating the electronic detonator after the delay timer reaches zero. This invention uses a frequency-division clock to compensate for the delay time error caused by the delay, thus solving the problem of amplified delay time error caused by using only a frequency-division clock.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention pertains to, specifically, relates to, a method for controlling the delay time of an ultra-low-power, high-precision electronic detonator that can be calibrated in the field. Background Technology

[0002] The delayed detonation technology of electronic detonators is a core control method in blasting engineering and mining. It enables highly complex operations such as directional blasting and layered mining by precisely controlling the detonation time interval.

[0003] Currently, with the expansion of engineering scale and diversification of scenarios, traditional mechanical detonators are gradually being replaced by electronic detonators. The latter rely on digital circuits and microprocessors, which can achieve millisecond or even microsecond-level delay accuracy, while also supporting remote network control.

[0004] Specifically, in existing technologies, delay calibration is mostly based on clock signals or external crystal oscillators; for example, the internal clock of a detonator is calibrated using a standard square wave or command sequence to meet the time synchronization requirements of different scenarios.

[0005] However, electronic detonators need to operate stably for a long time in complex electromagnetic environments and extreme temperature conditions, which places higher demands on the anti-interference ability, power consumption and ease of operation of the delay control system.

[0006] Patent document CN111895868A discloses a fast, high-precision delay method for electronic detonators. It uses a first and second instruction approach for on-site calibration of the delay time, but its calibration accuracy is lower than the standard square wave method of this patent, and its implementation is also slightly more complex. Furthermore, its delay time is timed using a single-precision clock, making it impossible to simultaneously achieve high precision and low power consumption.

[0007] Patent document CN101655339A discloses a delay time setting process for an electronic detonator initiation device, which uses a clock calibration command to calibrate the delay time. However, the method requires clock calibration to be performed on all networked detonators one by one, making the operation process complex.

[0008] Patent document CN114264204A discloses a control system and its setting method based on electronic detonator time delay. This system includes a setting system comprising a setting page module, a data storage module, a data input module one, a data input module two, and a quick delay processing module. The control terminal of the data storage module is connected to the data processing module, and the two output lines of the data storage module are respectively equipped with control module one and control module two. This solution uses a single-precision clock for timing the delay time, which cannot simultaneously achieve high precision and low power consumption.

[0009] This problem urgently needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0010] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the purpose of this invention is to provide a method and system for controlling the delay time of electronic detonators.

[0011] A method for controlling the delay time of an electronic detonator according to the present invention includes:

[0012] Programming steps: Configure delay values ​​for each electronic detonator one by one using the detonator;

[0013] Calibration steps: Send a delay time calibration command to all the electronic detonators, and calculate the total duration of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration command, and then obtain the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the total duration, abbreviated as T0; based on T0, calculate the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the delay time target value specified by the delay value, abbreviated as T1;

[0014] Delay step: Upon receiving the delayed detonation command, the electronic detonator calculates based on T1. Will Write to the delay timer and decrement the timer; symbol This indicates rounding down; div represents the clock division factor.

[0015] Compensation step: After the delay timer of the electronic detonator reaches zero, the value of T1 mod div is written into the delay timer, and the timer is decremented; the symbol mod represents the modulo operation;

[0016] Detonation procedure: The electronic detonator is detonated after the delay timer reaches zero.

[0017] Preferably, in the programming step, the delay value ranges from 0 to 100,000,000 microseconds.

[0018] Preferably, in the calibration step, the delay time calibration instruction carries a CRC checksum byte;

[0019] The mathematical expression for T0 is:

[0020]

[0021] Where T0 represents the number of base clock cycles corresponding to the total duration, C represents the total duration of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration command, and the value of C is an integer power of 2, ranging from 30,000 to 1,048,576 microseconds; the duty cycle of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration command is 50%; t0 represents the period of the base clock signal generated by the clock oscillator of the electronic detonator, ranging from 0.1 to 33 microseconds; symbol Indicates rounding down;

[0022] The mathematical expression for T1 is:

[0023]

[0024] Where T1 represents the base clock cycle number corresponding to the delay value, and D represents the delay value.

[0025] Preferably, the clock oscillator of the electronic detonator generates a basic clock signal with a period of t0; the basic clock signal is divided to generate a frequency-divided clock signal; the period of the frequency-divided clock signal is div×t0;

[0026] In the delay step, the delay time is written into the delay timer, and the delay timer is driven to decrement by the frequency division clock signal.

[0027] Preferably, in the compensation step, the value of T1 mod div is written into the delay timer, and the delay timer is driven to decrement by the basic clock signal generated by the clock oscillator of the electronic detonator; the value of div is 30 to 512.

[0028] An electronic detonator delay time control system according to the present invention includes:

[0029] Programming module: Configure delay values ​​for each electronic detonator individually via the initiator;

[0030] Calibration module: Sends delay time calibration command to all the electronic detonators, and calculates the total duration of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration command, and then obtains the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the total duration, abbreviated as T0; Based on T0, calculates the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the delay time target value specified by the delay value, abbreviated as T1;

[0031] Delay module: Upon receiving a delayed detonation command, the electronic detonator calculates based on T1... Will Write to the delay timer and decrement the timer; symbol This indicates rounding down; div represents the clock division factor.

[0032] Compensation module: After the delay timer of the electronic detonator reaches zero, the value of T1 mod div is written into the delay timer, and the timer is decremented; the symbol mod represents the modulo operation;

[0033] Detonation module: The electronic detonator is detonated after the delay timer reaches zero.

[0034] Preferably, in the programming module, the delay value ranges from 0 to 100,000,000 microseconds.

[0035] Preferably, in the calibration module, the delay time calibration instruction carries a CRC checksum byte;

[0036] The mathematical expression for T0 is:

[0037]

[0038] Where T0 represents the number of base clock cycles corresponding to the total duration, C represents the total duration of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration command, and the value of C is an integer power of 2, ranging from 30,000 to 1,048,576 microseconds; the duty cycle of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration command is 50%; t0 represents the period of the base clock signal generated by the clock oscillator of the electronic detonator, ranging from 0.1 to 33 microseconds; symbol Indicates rounding down;

[0039] The mathematical expression for T1 is:

[0040]

[0041] Where T1 represents the base clock cycle number corresponding to the delay value, and D represents the delay value.

[0042] Preferably, the clock oscillator of the electronic detonator generates a basic clock signal with a period of t0; the basic clock signal is divided to generate a frequency-divided clock signal; the period of the frequency-divided clock signal is div×t0;

[0043] In the delay module, the delay time is written into the delay timer, and the delay timer is driven to decrement by a frequency division clock signal.

[0044] Preferably, in the compensation module, the value of T1 mod div is written into the delay timer, and the delay timer is driven to decrement by the basic clock signal generated by the clock oscillator of the electronic detonator; the value of div is 30 to 512.

[0045] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0046] 1. This invention solves the problem of inaccurate delay time caused by environmental factors leading to deviations in the internal clock of electronic detonators by using a specially designed delay time calibration command to measure and calculate the number of internal clock cycles corresponding to the target delay time value at the detonation site.

[0047] 2. By using a frequency-divided clock signal for the first-stage delay step, this invention significantly reduces the power consumption of the electronic detonator chip during the delay process, and solves the problem of short effective delay time caused by the large energy consumption of the electronic detonator chip during the delay process under limited capacitor energy storage.

[0048] 3. This invention uses a base clock signal for the second-stage compensation step to compensate for the delay time error caused by using a frequency-divided clock, thus solving the problem of amplified delay time error caused by using only a frequency-divided clock. Attached Figure Description

[0049] Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0050] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the delay time control method provided by the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0051] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. These embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the invention in any way. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several changes and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention. These all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0052] This invention uses a specially designed broadcast calibration command to calibrate the delay time at the detonation site, eliminating deviations in the internal clock oscillator of the electronic detonator caused by environmental factors. Through a specially designed calibration calculation method and a two-stage delay mechanism, it can significantly reduce power consumption during the delay process while maintaining high-precision delay time.

[0053] This invention provides an ultra-low power, high-precision electronic detonator delay time control method that can be calibrated in the field. The applicable electronic detonator requires an internal clock oscillator. This clock oscillator generates a fundamental clock signal for delay time calibration and high-precision delay. The period of this fundamental clock signal is t0.

[0054] The ultra-low power consumption refers to the ability to reduce the dynamic power consumption in the delay steps that account for the majority of the total delay time to 1 / div of the power consumption when using the base clock for delay. The high precision refers to the ability to control the absolute error of the total delay time within one base clock cycle even when using a low-precision frequency divider clock in the delay steps that account for the majority of the total delay time.

[0055] Specifically, the value of t0 varies depending on the application of different models of electronic detonators, ranging from 0.1 microseconds to 33 microseconds. In one embodiment of the present invention, the value of t0 is 5 microseconds.

[0056] The base clock signal is divided to generate a divided clock for low-power delay. The period of this divided clock is div×t0; div represents the clock division factor; the value of div varies depending on the required low-power target, and should generally be between 30 and 512. In one embodiment of this patent, the value of div is 256.

[0057] The present invention provides an ultra-low power, high-precision electronic detonator delay time control method that can be calibrated on-site, namely, an electronic detonator delay time control method, as shown in the appendix. Figure 1 As shown, it includes:

[0058] Step 1: On-site programming steps. The detonator sends a delay value D to each electronic detonator in the network one by one. D is a target delay time value in microseconds. Its lower limit is 0, and the upper limit varies depending on the application of different models of electronic detonators. It is usually no more than 100,000,000 microseconds. In one embodiment of the present invention, the upper limit is 16,777,216 microseconds.

[0059] Step 2: Broadcast Calibration Procedure. The detonator broadcasts a delay time calibration command to all electronic detonators in the network. The delay time calibration command includes a reference square wave with a total duration of C in microseconds. To ensure reliable reception by the chip in a highly interference-prone bus environment, the delay time calibration command must include a CRC checksum byte; execution is only permitted if the checksum passes. Furthermore, the reference square wave must be a square wave with a 50% duty cycle to minimize transmission error.

[0060] The specific value of C varies depending on the application of different models of electronic detonators. It should satisfy the condition that t0 ÷ C is less than the minimum proportional error to be achieved, and the length of C should not be too long to avoid affecting on-site network communication. Furthermore, for ease of calculation within the chip, as a preferred example, the value of C is an integer power of 2, and its range is greater than or equal to 30,000 microseconds and less than or equal to 1,048,576 microseconds. In one embodiment of the invention, the value of C is 131,072 microseconds.

[0061] Specifically, the value of C is pre-programmed in the electronic detonator chip.

[0062] When each electronic detonator receives a delay time calibration command, the total duration of the reference square wave within it is timed using the base clock signal to obtain the base clock cycle number T0 corresponding to that total duration. Because the counting result of small-scale digital circuits can only be rounded up, in practice... Then, each electronic detonator is calculated. The value of T1 is the number of base clock cycles corresponding to the target delay time specified by the delay value D.

[0063] Step 3: Low-power delay step, also known as the delay step. After the detonator controls all electronic detonators in the network to complete other necessary steps before detonation, it broadcasts a delayed detonation command to all electronic detonators in the network.

[0064] Each time an electronic detonator receives a delayed detonation command, The value is written into the delay timer, and the delay timer is driven to decrement using a frequency-divided clock signal. This is the number of clock cycles corresponding to T1.

[0065] Power consumption is achieved by using a frequency-divided clock. The dynamic power consumption of digital circuits is proportional to the frequency. For example, in the embodiment, when div is 256, if only dynamic power consumption is considered, the power consumption of the delay stage in step 3 is 1 / 256 of the power consumption of the delay stage in step 4.

[0066] Step 4: High-precision delay step, i.e., compensation step. After the delay timer of each electronic detonator counts to 0 in step 3, the value of T1 mod div is written into the delay timer, and the delay timer is driven by the base clock signal to count down.

[0067] Step 5: Detonation Step. After the delay timer of each electronic detonator counts to 0 in step 4, the electronic detonator chip controls the detonator to detonate.

[0068] Specifically, step 4 compensates for the error generated when calculating the clock count in step 3.

[0069] Currently, complex dividers cannot be configured in chips based on simple digital circuit designs because the area of ​​a divider with decimals is larger than the entire chip. Therefore, the actual result of division is rounding, which means that the division itself loses precision.

[0070] The compensation refers to using T1 mod div to compensate for the precision lost when T1 ÷ div.

[0071] This invention adds a floor sign to both division expressions.

[0072] For example, if T1 is 10086 and div is 256, then the actual delay time for step 3 is... When using a frequency-divided clock for delay, the actual delay time is 39 × (256 × t0) = 9984 × t0, resulting in a delay time error of 102 × t0. Therefore, the high-precision delay in step 4 is further compensated by using the base clock to delay by 10086 mod 256 = 102 beats.

[0073] In one embodiment of the present invention, t0 is 5 microseconds, div is 256, and C is 131,072 microseconds. For cases where the target delay time is greater than 10 seconds, over 99.99% of the delay process uses a 1 / 256 frequency divider clock, resulting in a power consumption reduction of over 90% compared to using the base clock throughout the process. Furthermore, the upper limit of the proportional error in the delay time is t0 ÷ C, and the upper limit of the absolute error is t0, with a total error not exceeding 0.01%.

[0074] In this embodiment, if D is 16,123,456 microseconds, then the counted T0 is 26215, and the calculated T1 is 3,224,765. Therefore, the delay in step 3... The time is 12,596 divided clock cycles, which translates to an absolute time of 12,596 × t0 × div = 16,122,880 microseconds; the delay T1 mod div time in step 4 is 189 base clock cycles, which translates to an absolute time of 945 microseconds. Specifically, the mod symbol represents the modulo operation.

[0075] The total delay time for steps 3 and 4 is 16,123,825 microseconds. The error between this delay and D can be calculated as: (16,123,825 - 16,123,456) ÷ 16,123,456 = 0.0023%.

[0076] The total delay time of 16,122,880 ÷ 16,123,825 = 99.9941% uses a 1 / 256 frequency divider clock, which significantly reduces power consumption compared to using the base clock throughout.

[0077] In this embodiment, if D is 123,456 microseconds, then the counted T0 is 26,215 and the calculated T1 is 24,691.

[0078] Specifically, the postponement in step 3 The time is divided by 96 clock cycles, which translates to 96 × t0 × div = 122,880 microseconds in absolute time. The delay T1 mod div in step 4 is 115 base clock cycles, which translates to 575 microseconds in absolute time. The total delay time for steps 3 and 4 is 123,455 microseconds, and the error between this delay and D is (123,455 - 123,456) ÷ 123,456 = -0.0008%.

[0079] By comparison, if step 4 were not used to compensate for the delay error in step 3, the total delay time would be 122,880 microseconds, and the error between it and D would be (122,880-123,456)÷123,456=-0.4666%. Obviously, the error with compensation is significantly reduced compared to the case without compensation.

[0080] The present invention also provides an electronic detonator delay time control system, which can be implemented by executing the process steps of the electronic detonator delay time control method. That is, those skilled in the art can understand the electronic detonator delay time control method as a preferred embodiment of the electronic detonator delay time control system.

[0081] An electronic detonator delay time control system according to the present invention includes:

[0082] Programming module: Configure delay values ​​for each electronic detonator individually via the initiator;

[0083] Calibration module: Sends delay time calibration command to all the electronic detonators, and calculates the total duration of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration command, and then obtains the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the total duration, abbreviated as T0; Based on T0, calculates the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the delay time target value specified by the delay value, abbreviated as T1;

[0084] Delay module: Upon receiving a delayed detonation command, the electronic detonator calculates based on T1... Will Write to the delay timer and decrement the timer; symbol This indicates rounding down; div represents the clock division factor.

[0085] Compensation module: After the delay timer of the electronic detonator reaches zero, the value of T1 mod div is written into the delay timer, and the timer is decremented; the symbol mod represents the modulo operation;

[0086] Detonation module: The electronic detonator is detonated after the delay timer reaches zero.

[0087] Those skilled in the art will understand that, besides implementing the system and its various devices, modules, and units provided by this invention in the form of purely computer-readable program code, the same functions can be achieved entirely through logical programming of the method steps, making the system and its various devices, modules, and units of this invention function in the form of logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits, programmable logic controllers, and embedded microcontrollers. Therefore, the system and its various devices, modules, and units provided by this invention can be considered as a hardware component, and the devices, modules, and units included therein for implementing various functions can also be considered as structures within the hardware component; alternatively, the devices, modules, and units for implementing various functions can be considered as both software modules implementing the method and structures within the hardware component.

[0088] Specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the essence of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

Claims

1. A method for controlling the delay time of an electronic detonator, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: a programming step: configuring a delay value to each electronic detonator through the initiator; a calibration step: sending a delay time calibration instruction to all the electronic detonators, and calculating the total duration of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration instruction, and then obtaining the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the total duration, which is referred to as T0; according to T0, the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the target value of the delay time specified by the delay value is calculated, which is referred to as T1; Delay step: the electronic detonator receives a delay initiation command, based on the T1, calculates Write into the delay timer and decrement the timer; the symbol represents rounding down; div represents the clock division multiple; a compensation step: after the delay timer of the electronic detonator is zeroed, the value of T1 mod div is written into the delay timer, and the delay timer is decremented; the symbol mod represents the modulo operation; an initiation step: after the delay timer of the electronic detonator is zeroed, the electronic detonator is initiated.

2. The electronic detonator delay time control method according to claim 1, characterized by, In the programming step, the range of the delay value is 0-100,000,000 microseconds.

3. The electronic detonator delay time control method according to claim 1, characterized by, In the calibration step, the delay time calibration instruction carries a CRC check byte; the mathematical expression of T0 is: Wherein, T0 represents the total duration corresponding to the number of basic clock cycles, C represents the total duration of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration instruction, the value of C is an integer power of 2, and the value range is 30,000-1,048,576 microseconds; wherein, the duty cycle of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration instruction is 50%; t0 represents the period of the basic clock signal generated by the clock oscillator of the electronic detonator, and the value range is 0.1-33 microseconds; the symbol represents rounding down; the mathematical expression of T1 is: wherein T1 represents the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the delay value, and D represents the delay value.

4. The electronic detonator delay time control method of claim 1, wherein, The clock oscillator of the electronic detonator generates a basic clock signal with a period of t0; the basic clock signal is divided to generate a divided clock signal; the period of the divided clock signal is div×t0; In the delay step, the delay time is written into the delay timer, and the delay timer is driven by the divided clock signal to decrement.

5. The electronic detonator delay time control method of claim 1, wherein, In the compensation step, the value of T1 mod div is written into the delay timer, and the delay timer is driven by the basic clock signal generated by the clock oscillator of the electronic detonator to decrement; the value of div is 30-512.

6. An electronic delay time control system, characterized in that, The method comprises the following steps: a programming module: configuring a delay value to each electronic detonator through the initiator; a calibration module: sending a delay time calibration instruction to all the electronic detonators, and calculating the total duration of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration instruction, and then obtaining the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the total duration, which is referred to as T0; according to T0, the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the target value of the delay time specified by the delay value is calculated, which is referred to as T1; Delay module: the electronic detonator receives the delay initiation instruction, and calculates based on the T1 Write the delay timer, and decrement the timer; symbol Write the delay timer, and decrement the timer; symbol Indicates rounding down; div indicates the clock division multiple; a compensation module: after the delay timer of the electronic detonator is zeroed, the value of T1 mod div is written into the delay timer, and the delay timer is decremented; the symbol mod represents the modulo operation; an initiation module: after the delay timer of the electronic detonator is zeroed, the electronic detonator is initiated.

7. The electronic detonator delay time control system of claim 6, wherein, In the programming module, the range of the delay value is 0-100,000,000 microseconds.

8. The electronic detonator delay time control system of claim 6, wherein, In the calibration module, the delay time calibration instruction carries a CRC check byte; the mathematical expression of T0 is: Wherein, T0 represents the total duration corresponding to the number of basic clock cycles, C represents the total duration of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration instruction, the value of C is an integer power of 2, and the value range is 30,000-1,048,576 microseconds; wherein, the duty cycle of the reference square wave of the delay time calibration instruction is 50%; t0 represents the period of the basic clock signal generated by the clock oscillator of the electronic detonator, and the value range is 0.1-33 microseconds; the symbol represents rounding down; the mathematical expression of T1 is: wherein T1 represents the number of basic clock cycles corresponding to the delay value, and D represents the delay value.

9. The electronic detonator delay time control system of claim 6, wherein, The clock oscillator of the electronic detonator generates a basic clock signal with a period of t0; the basic clock signal is divided to generate a divided clock signal; the period of the divided clock signal is div×t0; In the delay module, the delay time is written into a delay timer, and the delay timer is driven to count down by a frequency-divided clock signal.

10. The electronic detonator delay time control system of claim 6, wherein, In the compensation module, the value of T1mod div is written into a delay timer, and the delay timer is driven to count down by a basic clock signal generated by a clock oscillator of the electronic detonator; the value of div is 30-512.

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