Patent ID: 8540072

Claim:
A detonating cord apparatus used to ignite a shaped charge perforator in a perforating gun in the oil and natural gas industry, comprising: a detonating cord wound in a single plane into a flat spiral, in such a manner so as to enable the detonating cord to be subjected to X-ray examination without unwinding the detonating cord, thereby enabling a determination of whether the detonating cord contains or does not contain a type of defect known to lead to failure of the detonating cord; a spacing cord in contact with and extending in parallel to the detonating cord; wherein the detonating cord and the spacing cord in contact with and extending in parallel to the detonating cord are wound together in a single plane into a flat spiral, and wherein the spacing cord separates, at least in part, at least two individual laps of the wound detonating cord from one another; a packaging enveloping the detonating cord; and a base plate, upon which the detonating cord is wound, wherein the packaging includes a vacuum bag, within which the detonating cord is disposed, and wherein the vacuum bag is attached to the base plate.