Conveyor system with diverting track network

A conveyor sorter and method of laterally displacing articles for diverting articles from a conveying surface includes providing a plurality of movable pushers that are associated with the conveying surface and adapted to move transversely across the conveying surface. A plurality of diverting rails are configured to guide selected ones of the movable pushers across the conveying surface. A plurality of diverters are adapted to selectively divert at least one movable pusher to the diverting tracks when activated into a diverting state. The diverting tracks may include segments that are oriented at different angles with respect to the direction of movement of the conveying surface. This causes selected pusher shoes to be laterally displaced at a first rate during an initial portion of the travel and at a second rate during a subsequent portion of the travel.