Cutting and collating sheets of paper

A cutting and collating machine comprises a first series of slitting rollers on common axes, means for interrupting the slitting action of these rollers and means for timing the interruption with the feeding of a sheet perpendicularly to their axes to cause the sheet to receive a plurality of slits extending in spaced relationship parallel to a first pair of opposite edges of the sheet and with all the slits starting and ending short of the other pair of opposite edges of the sheet, means for feeding the sheet at right-angles to the slits to a second series of slitting rollers on common axes at right-angles to the axes of the first series of slitting rollers, with the end slitting rollers of the second series aligned with the ends of the slits made by the first series of slitting rollers, drive means for both series of slitting rollers, a conveyor having a forwarding run between leading and return drums respectively adjacent to and remote from the second series of slitting rollers, the forwarding run being at a level below that at which each sheet is fed to the second series of slitting rollers and aligned with the feed means so as to be able to receive one end row of cut pieces of a sheet in line astern, guide means along the forwarding run at or towards the side of the conveyor remote from the remaining rows of cut pieces of sheet, means for driving the conveyor at a speed not less than the peripheral speed of the second series of slitting rollers, transverse feed means for those remaining rows of cut pieces in a plane parallel to and above the plane for the forwarding run of the conveyor but not above the plane of the pieces at the second series of slitting rollers, the direction of feed of the transverse feed means being convergent with the forwarding run of the conveyor in the direction of movement of the latter, drive means for the transverse feed means at a speed such that each row of cut pieces therefrom is deposited in alignment on top of the row of cut pieces on the forwarding run of the conveyor, and a substantially stationary support adjacent to the return drum of the conveyor and below the level of the forwarding run so as to receive therefrom the batches of cut pieces of sheet in succession, together with transfer devices between the second series of slitting rollers on the one hand and the leading drum of the conveyor and the transverse feed means on the other hand, with at least one transfer device aligned within each path of pieces leaving the second series of slitting rollers, with side gaps between the transfer devices within adjacent piece paths, and end gaps between the second series of slitting rollers and the transfer devices.