Sun_and_planet_gear
Sun and planet gear
Type of gear used in early beam engines
The sun and planet gear is a method of converting reciprocating motion to rotary motion and was used in the first rotative beam engines.
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It was invented by the Scottish engineer William Murdoch, an employee of Boulton and Watt, but was patented by James Watt in October 1781. [1] It was invented to bypass the patent on the crank, already held by James Pickard.[2] It played an important part in the development of devices for rotation in the Industrial Revolution.[citation needed]