[ 0016 ] fig1 provides an illustration of a typical shaped charge , indicated generally as 1 , used for perforating a well casing . typical shaped charges for use in perforating guns are discussed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 724 , 767 to astatine issued feb . 16 , 1988 ; u . s . pat . no . 5 , 413 , 048 to warner et al . issued may 9 , 1995 ; u . s . pat . no . 4 , 669 , 384 to chawla et al . issued jun . 2 , 1987 ; and again in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 597 , 974 to voreck , jr . et al . issued jan . 28 , 1997 . each of the above mentioned disclosures are incorporated by reference into this specification . a typical shaped charge 1 includes a case 10 , a main body of explosive material 12 , which in the past has been , for example , rdx , hmx , pyx , or hns packed against the inner wall of the case 10 , a primer 13 disposed adjacent the main body of explosive 12 that is adapted to detonate the main body of explosive 12 when the primer 13 is detonated , and a liner 14 lining the primer 13 and the main body of explosive material 12 . the liner 14 acts to maintain the shape of the explosive to assure proper propagation of the detonation . a detonating cord 20 contacts the case 10 of the shaped charge 1 at a point nearest the apex of the liner 14 of the charge . when a detonation wave propagates within the detonating cord 20 , the detonation wave will detonate the primer 13 . when the primer 13 is detonated , the detonation of the primer 13 will further detonate the main body of explosive 12 of the charge 1 . in response to the detonation of the main body of explosive 12 , the liner 14 will form a jet that will propagate along a longitudinal axis of the shaped charge 1 . the jet will perforate a formation penetrated by the wellbore . one or more shaped charges 1 are housed within a loading tube 22 for transport . the loading tube 22 can house the shaped charges 1 at desired orientations , or in a linear fashion . a jacket 24 is used to both secure the shaped charges 1 to the loading tube 22 and to maintain the orientation of the shaped charges 1 . once the loading tube 22 is ready for delivery downhole , a hollow carrier 30 is used to carry the loading tube 22 and housed shaped charges 1 . in one conventional use shown in fig2 and 3 , the shaped charges 1 and jackets 24 are inserted into the loading tube 22 until the jackets 24 shoulder against the loading tube shoulders 23 . once all of the shaped charges 1 are secured , the loading tube 22 is inserted into the interior of the hollow carrier 30 . the hollow carrier 30 then transports the shaped charges 1 downhole to the desired depth of perforation . it should be noted that the above description of the convention shaped charges 1 is intended for illustration only and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention . the present invention is equally applicable for use in alternate shaped charges and carriers . for example , the present invention can be used with equal applicability with jacket - less shaped charges . [ 0021 ] fig4 illustrates one embodiment of the pre - fragmented shaped charge , indicated generally as 40 , of the present invention . slots , or grooves , 42 are cut into the charge case 44 to weaken the case 44 according to a certain pattern or design . upon detonation of the pre - fragmented shaped charge 40 , the case material is subject to explosion forces and will undergo stretching in its hoop direction . because the slots 42 are cut in the axial direction orthogonal to the hoop stretching , the slots 42 define weakening lines along the stretching direction . as a result , the charge case 44 will fracture along these lines of weakness . in this manner , the pre - fragmented shaped charge 40 can be used to control the size and shape of the debris generated by the charge case 44 during perforating operations . the slots 42 in the pre - fragmented shaped charge 40 can also be used to channel the explosion energy in certain directions . such channeling of explosive energy improves the survivability of the gun carrier 30 . as shown in fig5 - 7 , the pre - fragmented shaped charge 40 can be designed with any number of slots 42 . as examples , fig5 displays a charge case 44 having 6 slots 42 , fig6 displays a charge case 44 having 2 slots 42 , and fig7 displays a charge case 44 having 4 slots 42 . it should be understood that any number of slots 42 can be cut into the charge case 44 depending upon the application . because the distance between the slots 42 controls the size of the generated debris , for applications in which it is desired to make the debris larger than the exit hole in the hollow carrier 30 ( shown in fig3 ), the pre - fragmented shaped charge 40 may have fewer slots 42 . conversely , when it is desired to make the debris very small , such as when the shaped charge 40 is used for spiral or strip guns , the charge case 44 may have many slots 42 . in addition to variances in the number of slots 42 , the slots 42 cut into the charge case 44 can be of multiple shapes and sizes . fig8 and 9 illustrate two example slot 42 designs . in fig8 the slot 42 cut into the wall of the case 44 is a v - notch groove , while in fig9 the slot 42 cut into the wall of the case 44 is a u - notch groove . the shape and depth of the slot 42 controls the timing of the breakup of the charge case 44 . another embodiment of the pre - fragmented shaped charge 40 is illustrated in fig1 . in this embodiment , the slots 42 are cut on the internal surface of the charge case 40 . yet another embodiment of the pre - fragmented shaped charge 40 is illustrated in fig1 . in this embodiment , the slots 42 are oriented circumferentially around the charge case 40 . the circumferential slots 42 can be internal or external . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such are intended to be included within the scope of the following non - limiting claims .