Sheet diverter for signature collation and method thereof

A sheet diverter, adapted for cooperative association with a cutter in a pinless folder assembly for a high speed printing press wherein a ribbon is cut into a plurality of individual signatures destined for serially deflected parallel collation from a diverter path to a desired one of a plurality of collation paths to sytematize the order of said signatures, comprising:

• (a) a pair of eccentric diverter rolls journalled for rotation and coincident lateral translation in a diverter plane;
• (b) a diverter wedge having a generally triangular shape with first and second diversion surface tapering away from an apex directed generally toward said diverter rolls;
• (c) first and second diverter belts circulating in separate endless loops through said sheet diverter, lying in generally face-to-face engagement along a diverter path and diverging from a point intermediate said diverter rolls and said diverter wedge along distinct collation paths;
• (d) first and second collator belts circulating in separate endless loops, one of each lying in generally face-to-face engagement with one of said diverter belts along said collation paths;
• (e) primary signature control means upstream of said diverter rolls, comprising a soft nip capturing said diverter belts along said diverter path;
• and
• (f) first and second secondary signature control means downstream of said diverter wedge, each comprising a soft nip capturing one of said diverter belts and an associated one of said collator belts along a collation path.

A method for collating signatures delivered from a high speed printing press, comprising the steps of:

• (a) delivering a signature to an oscillating diverter guide means translating over a reciprocable path in a plane having a component generally normal to the path of said signature;
• (b) guiding the leading edge of said signature laterally into contact with a diverter means;
• and,
• (c) directing said signature along said diverter means into a collation path.