Planetimer

Planetimer - is a kind of mechanical watches with a movement containing multi-stage nested planetary gearings, particularly, consisting of gear bearings to be used as an indication system based on decorated satellites or carriers.
It’s driven by a mainspring, which must be wound periodically, and used an escapement as a regulator in case of mechanical watches or driven by electrical motor and used a quartz resonator as a regulator in case of electro-mechanical watches. To indicate the time and to transfer the torque from mainspring to the escapement mainly used aforesaid nested planetary gearings.
This mechanical and quartz-mechanical watches were developed and patented by Sergiy Sheyko.
Mechanism specifics
As many analogue mechanical watches, they are consist of at least a housing part, rotation drive and a gearing system which includes nested coaxial planetary gearings, some of them being double-row with at least one satellite gear per each of them.
The mechanism arrangement is specified by joining of certain sun or ring gears to housing parts, and possible additional fixation of: satellite gear axes on carriers and/or carrier axes, sun or ring gears with housing parts or with other coaxial gears. Direct application of planetary gearings as a basis of indication system by movable gears or carriers substantially simplifies the mechanism, leads to possibility of optimal arrangement with drive, power source and control system. Usage of mostly bearing gears and/or herringbone gears in the gearing system improves kinematic relations due to simplified suspension, thus enabling maximum rolling engagement, as well as due to beveled adjacent end faces on teeth and rollers, mechanism efficiency is increased.
As evident, the total indication system looks actually alike from both sides, therefore, it may be used for countdown by observing from another side or in case of reverse drive to be used with different gradation and/or decoration from both sides. In such case housing parts adjacent to indication gearing system may be made transparent.
Satellite, sun and ring gears and carriers may be directly used as indicators or as their basis for subsequent fashion: engraving, incrustation, faceting or decoration with hands, enamel, gems, etc. For the more accurate indication, the engagements parameters may be so selected that, for the instance, centers of satellite gears performe one orbital cycle along with several full spinning revolutions, so direction indicators installed at the center of satellite gears allow to determine the fractions of the measured values. Also, a dial may be made in the form of digits figures and/or scale marks on the surface of at least one housing part, to which fixed sun and/or ring gears also belong.
As the mechanism mostly comprises nested planetary gearings, the space in its center and at periphery remains free and for mainly clockwork arrangement, it is most feasible to place, within planetary gearing system center of power source or of inertial generator in case of electro-mechanical watch, or of winding and setting mode rotary barrel with mainspring inside in case of mechanical watch. In case of electro-mechanical watch, it is reasonable to locate within watch rim-case or within bracelet a control system electronic module, mechanism drive and power source. Power source may be a power cell or a storage battery.
Quartz-mechanical planetary watches
An example of electro-mechanical watch wherein gear mechanism counting seconds, minutes, hours and week days is implemented in the form of nested single- and double-row planetary gearings with indication by satellite gears is shown on the picture.
This mechanism is entirely composed by bearing gears. It consists of four concentric nested double-row planetary gearings with pairwise joined movable ring and sun gears. Kinematically, in radial direction it represents the engagement in series of: weekly gearing, daily gearing, hourly gearing and minute gearing; the last in turn by crown gear on sun gear is engaged with driver and suspension bearing gears. The central sun gear is joined to barrel, whereas three other sun gears - directly with watch glass. In the center of planetary gearing system, within cylindrical barrel with removable lid is placed the power source. Protective disk glasses are fixed on the barrel and on the watch case forming a single housing part. Within the watch case are arranged the bear gearing suspension with drive, control buttons and quartz generator with control system.
For duo face implementation and for the time setting mode realization the drive reversibility may be used for mechanism operation in both directions along with increased drive speed capabilities.
At the center of planetary gearing system in barrel instead of power source, a generator may be installed with inertial sector for charging of power source. In this case, power source may be arranged in watch case or in bracelet.
Mechanical planetary watches
A mechanical resonance-tourbillon watch wherein gear mechanism counting seconds, minutes, hours and week days is implemented in the form of nested planetary gearings with indication by satellite gears is shown on the picture.
On watch case are fixed circular glasses with bearing bushings inside in which the cylindrical barrel rotates implementing slider bearing. This barrel has mainspring power reserve visualization glasses. The inner end of mainspring is fixed on barrel arbor, herewith the outer end of it is joined to sun gear of beveled planetary gearing. This planetary gearing has ratchet-lever lock mechanism on its carrier and performing the differential for mainspring double side winding possibility along with continuous watch operation with reducing torque from mainspring to nested planetary gearing up to escapement(s) mounted on carrier of minute planetary gearing.
The winding of this watch is performed by bilateral rotation of aforesaid barrel. Time setting mode is effected by the torque more than winding force and caused by accelerated rotation of satellite gears of hourly gearing with ensuing reduction in the daily and weekly gearings. The time setting principle is based on sliding of joining between minute and hourly gearings, what additionally serves as safety for mainspring and escapement overloading.

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