Railway switch

Claim 1

A SWITCHING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY SYSTEMS IN WHICH THE VEHICLES ARE EQUIPPED WITH CARRIER WHEELS MOUNTED ON PNEUMATIC TIRES AND WITH GUIDE MEANS SUCH AS WHEELS GENERALLY BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY HORIZONTAL PROVIDED PREFERABLY WITH TIRES, MOUNTED ON THE FRAME OR ON EACH BOGIE TRUCK OF THE VEHICLE AND ENGAGING LATERAL GUIDING SURFACES EXTENDING AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE WHEEL-SUPPORTING SURFACES AND PARALLEL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE ROLLING SURFACE, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A MOVABLE MEMBER ADAPTED TO PIVOT ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS SITUATED AT THE POINT OF CROSSING OF THE INNER GUIDING TRACKS OF THE DIRECT LINE AND OF THE BRANCH LINE, MEANS FOR LOCKING SAID MOVABLE MEMBER IN TWO END POSITIONS, ONE END POSITION CORRESPONDING TO THE PASSAGE TO THE DIRECT LINE, THE OTHER TO THE BRANCH LINE, SAID MOVABLE MEMBER CONSISTING IN TURN OF AT LEAST TWO ELEMENTS IN LONGITUDINAL RELATIVE ALIGNMENT, THE SECOND ELEMENT PIVOTING IN RELATION TO THE FIRST ELEMENT ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS, EACH ONE OF THESE ELEMENTS BEING BOUND LATERALLY BY A PLANE VERTICAL FACE ON THE SIDE OF THE DIRECT LINE AND BY A CURVED VERTICAL FACE HAVING A CURVATURE CORRESPONDING TO THE CURVATURE OF THE BRANCH LINE, ON THE SIDE OF THE BRANCH LINE, AND MEANS FOR INTERCONNECTING THESE TWO ELEMENTS WHEREBY, IN EACH ONE OF THE END POSITIONS IN WHICH THEY CAN BE LOCKED, WHICH CORRESPOND TO THE DIRECT LINE AND TO THE BRANCH LINE RESPECTIVELY, THE OUTER VERTICAL SURFACE OF THE SECOND ELEMENT LIES AGAINST THE OUTER GUIDING TRACK OF THE INOPERATIVE LINE, AND THE INNER VERTICAL SURFACES OF THE TWO ELEMENTS ARE IN LONGITUDINAL ALIGNMENT WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH THE INNER GUIDING TRACK OF THE OPERATIVE LINE.