Patent ID: 7331291

Claim:
A self-supporting air tube for blasting in a blasting hole, comprising: an elongated air bladder configured to have a diameter smaller than a diameter of the blasting hole; a pair of support wings configured to extend from an outside surface of the air bladder to a wall of the blasting hole, the support wings positioned symmetrically with respect to a longitudinal axis of the air bladder, wherein the air bladder is substantially in the center portion of the blasting hole while the support wings are adapted for contacting on the wall of the blasting hole, wherein the air bladder is configured to be spaced from the wall of the blasting hole by a width of the support wings, wherein the width of each support wing is identical to the diameter of the air bladder; and an inlet attached to an upper fusion-welded portion of the air bladder to inject air into the air bladder, wherein, when the air bladder is inflated, a total diameter of the air tube is smaller than the diameter of the blasting hole, and wherein the air tube is configured to be inserted into the blasting hole and self-supported on the wall of the blasting hole.