Patent ID: 8511622

Claim:
A derailment detection method for a vehicle that is guided by a guidance system including at least one guide member interacting with a railhead of a rail for guiding the vehicle, the method comprising: providing a clamp with a bottom jaw that, in a closed position, closely and contactlessly surrounds the railhead of the rail; opening the bottom jaw of the clamp, the opening being caused by an at least partial movement of the railhead to outside the jaw in an event of a loss of interaction between the guide member and the railhead of the rail; providing at least one switch with two configurations including a nominal configuration and a warning configuration; mechanically transmitting the opening of the jaw to the at least one switch, wherein the nominal configuration of the switch corresponds to the closed position of the clamp when a rail position is correct, and the warning configuration is caused by the mechanical transmission of the opening of the jaw to the switch; and when the switch is in the warning configuration, actuating at least one safety system of the guided vehicle with the switch.