Guinness® Collectors Club

The double doors in the lower middle part of the clock tower now begin to open slowly. As the doors open, the Toucans are revealed, performing their ballet around the Guinness Time Tree.

The doors are operated by a motor driving a leadscrew, the nut on which operates the upper and lower chains, driving sprockets which run freely on vertical shafts at the two sides of the compartment.

The upper sprocket on one side and the lower one on the other are provided with crank arms, which operate the door hinges through connecting links. The mechanism for the Toucans incorporates a turntable operated by chain and sprockets from a worm-geared motor and the bird figures are supported by rods working freely in vertical guides. The rods have rollers at the lower end, resting on a cam track, so that the birds move up and down, simulating a hopping motion as they move round.