Nylon pelleting process

Claim 1

PROCESS FOR PELLETING NYLON WHICH COMPRISES EXTRUDING MOLTEN, FILAMENT-FORMING, MOLECULARLY ORIENTABLE NYLON, AT A TEMPERATURE IN THE MELT OF AT LEAST ABOUT THE FLOW TEMPERATURE, INTO A WATER QUENCH BATH IN THE FORM OF A PLURALITY OF SEPARATE, PERALLEL, GENERALLY CIRCULAR RODS OF AVERAGE DIAMETER ABOUT 0.02 TO ABOUT 0.2 INCH, WITH DRAWING THE RODS FROM SAID BATH WHEN COOLED TO AVERAGE TEMPERATURE NOT ABOVE ABOUT THE FLOW TEMPERATURE LESS 15*C. AND NOT BELOW ABOUT 110*C., GUIDING SAID WITHDRAWN RODS TOWARD A FORWARDING DEVICE WHILE CONTACTING THE RODS WITH GASEOUS DRYING MEDIUM, GATHERING SAID RODS INTO SIDE-BY-SIDE CONTACT BY USE OF A GUIDE AT A POINT IN THEIR TRAVEL THROUGH THE QUENCH BATH AND UP TO THE FORWARDING DEVICE WHEN THEIR AVERAGE SURFACE TEMPERATURE IS BELOW THE TACKY POINT AT WHICH THEY ADHERE TO THE GUIDE AND WHILE THEY REMAIN SUFFICIENTLY HOT TO ADHERE TOGETHER ALONG LINES WHERE MUTUAL CONTACT IS MAINTAINED FORMING A RIBBON IN WHICH THE INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY OF THE RODS IS PRESERVED AND WHICH WHEN COOL IS SEPARABLE INTO CONSTITUENT RODS BY A SHARP TWIST, AFTER THE RIBBON THUS FORMED IS DRY ON THE SURFACE, PASSING IT THROUGH THE FORWARDING DEVICE UNDER SUBSTANTIALLY NON-ORIENTING TENSION AND AT SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF AT LEAST ABOUT 40*C., AND SHEARING OFF IN TRANSVERSE SUCCESSION THE ENDS OF THE RODS, AS THE RIBBON ADVANCES BEYOND THE FORWARDING DEVICE, AT AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF THE RESULTING PELLETS NOT ABOVE ABOUT 110*C., SIMULTANEOUSLY BREAKING ADHESIONS BETWEEN THE ENDS OF THE RODS, AS THEY ARE SHEARED OFF, BY TWISTING EFFECT OF THE CUTTING STROKE ON THE ADVANCING RIBBON, THEREBY PRODUCING GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL PELLETS.