Device for the transverse cutting of at least one web in a folding apparatus

A device for the selective extraction of at least one web in a folding apparatus comprising:

• a cutting blade cylinder;
• a collecting cylinder opposite to said cutting blade cylinder and cooperating with said cutting blade cylinder at a point of cylinder cooperation to define a cylinder nip at said point of cylinder cooperation;
• at least one cutting blade carried by said cutting blade cylinder and being useable with said collecting cylinder to transversely cut the web into signatures at said cylinder nip;
• an exit nip for said collecting cylinder, said exit nip being located after, in a direction of rotation of said collecting cylinder, said cylinder nip and before a transfer point for signatures cut from the web by said at least one cutting blade cylinder and said collecting cylinder;
• means selectively retracting said at least one cutting blade inside a circumferential surface of said cutting blade cylinder at said cylinder nip during cessation of cutting of the web into signatures;
• point needles on said collecting cylinder, said point needles being selectively engageable with a leading end of the web at said cylinder nip;
• and
• a point needle control system for selectively retracting said point needles out of engagement with the leading end of the web and inside a circumferential surface of said collecting cylinder before said cylinder nip, and for retaining said point needles retracted inside said collecting cylinder at said collecting cylinder nip and at said cylinder exit nip, to release a leading end of at least one web from said collecting cylinder at said cylinder exit nip after said cylinder nip defined by said cutting blade cylinder and said collecting cylinder and before said transfer point, said point needles retraction at said cylinder nip occurring at the same time as the retraction of the at least one blade such that lengths of web are extracted from the folding apparatus prior to being folded.