Method of excavating rock, ore and the like by blasting and means for use in said method

Claim 1

A MEMBER FOR HOLDING A PLURALITY CYLINDRICAL EXPLOSIVE CHARGES AND MAINTAINING THE CHARGES IN AXIALLY ALIGNED CONDITION AND IN PREDETERMINED AXIALLY SPACED RELATIONSHIP, SAID CHARGES BEING INTENDED FOR INSERTION INTO A BORE HOLE IN THE MATERIAL TO BE EXCAVATED, SAID MEMBER COMPRISING A THIN-WALLED CYLINDRICAL TUBE FABRICATED OF MATERIAL HAVING THE RESILIENCE CHARACTERISTICS OF POLYVINYL CHLORIDE, SAID TUBE HAVING A LONGITUDINAL OPENING SMALLER IN WIDTH THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID TUBE EXTENDING THE FULL LENGTH OF THE TUBE THROUGH WHICH INDIVIDUAL EXPLOSIVE CHARGES MAY BE FORCED INTO SAID TUBE, THE SMALLEST INTERNAL DIAMETER OF SAID TUBE NORMALLY BEING AT MOST EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF THE INDIVIDUAL CHARGES WHICH ARE USED WITH THE TUBE, THE LOGITUDINAL MARGINS OF SAID TUBE ON EITHER SIDE OF SAID OPENING DEFINING OUTWARDLY FLARING FLANGES GIVING SAID TUBE THE CROSS-SECTIONAL SHAPE OF THE CAPITAL GREEK LETTER "OMEGA", AND AFTER THE EXPLOSIVEFILLED TUBE HAS BEEN INSERTED INTO THE BORE HOLE, SAID FLANGES TOGETHER WITH A CIRCUMFERENTIAL PORTION OF THE BODY OF SAID TUBE ENGAGING THE WALLS OF THE BORE HOLE SO AS TO FRICTIONALLY MAINTAIN SAID TUBE AT ANY DEPTH WITHIN THE BORE HOLE.