Chain switching device

A chain gear for shifting a driving chain to engage a selected one of a number of chain wheels associated with a driven vehicle shaft, comprising a lever gear including an articulated lever, a guide piece, first and second joint blocks and operating means for moving said articulated lever with respect to said guide piece, said first joint block being arranged to be fixed to a frame member of the vehicle with which the driven shaft is associated and said second joint block being arranged to be connected to a chain mover element for moving the chain mover element to shift the chain into engagement with the selected one of the chain wheels when said operating means are actuated, said guide piece having a first stub axle at each of two opposite ends thereof, said first stub axles extending parallel to each other, said articulated lever having a second stub axle at each of two opposite ends thereof, said second stub axles extending parallel to each other, said first and second joint blocks each having a first recess for receiving a corresponding first stub axle to form first and second joints and a second recess extending parallel to said first recess for receiving a corresponding second stub axle to form third and fourth joints, two of said total of four first and second recesses being elongated in the transverse cross-section for permitting a sliding movement of the respective stub axles, and a fastening member extending centrally through both said guide piece and said articulated lever, said fastening member being parallel to said first and second stub axles for connecting said articulated lever and said guide piece together for relative pivotal movement to form a fifth joint so that said first and second joint blocks are arranged intermediate said articulated lever and said guide piece in the direction of the pivot axes of said joints.