On board switching apparatus for trackless air cushion vehicle

Claim 1

A switching system for trackless air bearing vehicles comprising; a main guideway section having a substantially flat top surface with a reaction rail extending upwardly from its top surface, a pair of branch guideway sections each having a substantially flat top surface with a reaction rail extending upwardly from its top surface, said main guideway section being longitudinally spaced from said pair of branch guideways, a switch guideway section having a substantially flat top surface positioned with one of its ends adjacent one end of said main guideway and with its opposite end adjacent one of the ends of each of said pair of branch guideways, channel means formed in the top surface of said main guideway section, said pair of branch guideway sections, and said switch guideway sections, said channel means being laterally offset from said reaction rails, said channel means having a switch insertion section, a wall discrimination section, a locking section, and a switch junction section with them aligned in the same order that they are enumerated, a trackless air bearing vehicle having means on its under surface for guidingly receiving an upwardly extending reaction rail and also a retractable switch mechanism mounted on the under surface of said vehicle with said switch mechanism being laterally offset from said means for guidingly receiving an upwardly extending reaction rail, and said retractable switch mechanism comprising air bearing means which when lowered ride in said channel means to guide said vehicle through the switching system, said air bearing means being positioned in close proximity to the vertical walls of said channel means whereby when air is supplied under pressure to the orifices adjacent one of said vertical walls, the air bearing means is drawn toward that wall of said channel means causing said air bearing vehicle to be switched to a predetermined branch guideway.