Method of collecting protein filaments

Claim 1

IN A METHOD OF CONTINUOUSLY FORMING DISCRETE ELONGATED PROTEIN FILAMENTS FROM PROTEINACEOUS MATERIAL WHEREIN AN AQUEOUS SLURRY OF THE PROTEINACEOUS MATERIAL IS FORMED HAVING A PROTEINACEOUS SOLIDS CONTENT OF BETWEEN ABOUT 0.5 AND 35 PERCENT BY WEIGHT, THE DISCRETE ELONGATED FILAMENTS BEING FORMED BY CONTINUOUSLY CONDUCTING THE SLURRY UNDER PRESSURE THROUGH A HEAT EXCHANGE ZONE AND IN SAID ZONE HEATING THE SLURRY TO A TEMPERATURE WHICH IS ABOVE 240*F. BUT WHICH IS LESS THAN THAT WHICH WILL DEGRADE THE PROTEIN, WHEREBY THE PROTEIN IS SUBJECTED TO SUCH TEMPERATURE FOR A SUFFICIENT PERIOD OF TIME SO THAT ELONGATED TENDER FILAMENTS ARE THEREAFTER SEPARATED FROM THE REMAINING CONSTITUENTS OF THE SLURRY AND THE HEATED SLURRY IS CONTINUOUSLY REMOVED FROM SAID ZONE THROUGH A BACK PRESSURE CREATING ORIFICE WHEREBY THE ELONGATED FILAMENTS AND REMAINING CONSTITUENTS OF THE SLURRY ARE DISCHARGED INTO A COLLECTING ZONE AND IN THE COLLECTING ZONE THE DISCRETE FILAMENTS ARE SEPARATED FROM THE REMAINING CONSTITUENTS OF THE SLURRU, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: CONTROLLING THE DISCHARGE OF SAID FILAMENTS INTO THE COLLECTING ZONE BY CONFINING THE STREAM OF SAID FILAMENTS BEING DISCHARGED FROM SAID ORIFICE INTO THE COLLECTING ZONE TO WITHIN A TOTAL ANGLE OF OF BETWEEN ABOUT 4 AND 90* SAID ANGLE BEING MEASURED FROM AN AXIS THROUGH THE CENTER OF SAID ORIFICE, IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN DISCRETENESS OF THE FILAMENTS IN SAID COLLECTING ZONE.