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Sun-and-planet gearing from James Watt’s patent of 1781

1781 patent; published 1854

Engraving of a beam end linked by a rod to a toothed wheel that meshes with another toothed wheel fixed inside a large flywheel, with a separate drawing of the linking bar. — After James Watt’s patent drawing; engraved for J. P. Muirhead, The Origin and Progress of the Mechanical Inventions of James Watt (1854), 1781 patent; published 1854. Reproduced in E. S. Ferguson, Kinematics of Mechanisms from the Time of Watt (Smithsonian, 1962), fig. 7e, via Project Gutenberg · Public domain · Select the picture to zoom and pan.

The sun-and-planet gear from Watt’s patent no. 1306 of 25 October 1781, one of five ways he proposed to turn a wheel without using a plain crank. The Library of Birmingham credits its invention to William Murdoch.

About this picture

Title: Sun-and-planet gearing from James Watt’s patent of 1781
Date: 1781 patent; published 1854
Location: Location to be confirmed
Photographer / creator: After James Watt’s patent drawing; engraved for J. P. Muirhead, The Origin and Progress of the Mechanical Inventions of James Watt (1854)
Source: Reproduced in E. S. Ferguson, Kinematics of Mechanisms from the Time of Watt (Smithsonian, 1962), fig. 7e, via Project Gutenberg
Copyright / credit: After James Watt’s patent drawing; engraved for J. P. Muirhead, The Origin and Progress of the Mechanical Inventions of James Watt (1854), 1781 patent; published 1854. Reproduced in E. S. Ferguson, Kinematics of Mechanisms from the Time of Watt (Smithsonian, 1962), fig. 7e, via Project Gutenberg · Public domain
Licence: Public domain

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