Patent ID: 8522927

Claim:
An elevator installation comprising: an elevator car movable along one or more car guide rails; a crossbeam attached to an upper end of at least one of the car guide rails; a counterweight movable along one or more counterweight guide rails; a drive unit including a drive motor, a shaft driven by the drive motor, and a brake coupled to the drive shaft, wherein the drive unit is mounted on a support platform having a support member, the support platform being mounted to an upper end of one of the car guide rails, wherein the drive unit is mounted on a generally horizontal top surface of the support member, the support platform further comprising a rear wall and a pair of opposing sidewalls extending downward from the support member, the support member, the rear wall and the sidewalls forming a three-dimensional support structure below the drive unit and positioned generally above the crossbeam, wherein each sidewall is formed with a linear taper, with a greater width at an upper end of the sidewall in relation to a width at a lower end of the sidewall; and said shaft having at least two drive zone portions, each drive zone portion located on a respective opposite side of at least one of the car guide rails attached to the crossbeam and operable to engage a driving element coupled to the elevator car and the counterweight.