偏心遊星歯車機構 (Eccentric Planetary Gear Mechanism) 

Looks like it will destroy itself in a couple of hours runtime.

The gear track needs to be ever so slightly elliptical at the point where the gears align to prevent that binding of the gear box. You could also make the center gear slightly ovular to achieve the same effect

Looks like a critically malfunctioning (broken) mechanism.

Wild. I wonder if this has ever or will ever be used in something practical?

You can do better, brother.