Patent ID: 6955245

Claim:
A method of operating an elevator installation with at least three adjacently situated vertical elevator hoistways and a plurality of individually driven elevator cars movable in the hoistways, the two outwardly situated hoistways having access openings which lie in one vertical plane, and the centrally situated hoistway having crossing-points which allow movement of the elevator cars between adjacent ones of the hoistways, comprising the steps of: a. ready one of the elevator cars in one of the two outwardly situated hoistways in response to a call for an upward trip; b. ready one of the elevator cars in another of the two outwardly situated hoistways in response to a call for a downward trip; c. execute a transfer of an empty one of the elevator cars from one of the two outwardly situated hoistways to the centrally situated hoistway to park the empty elevator car in the centrally situated hoistway; and d. in response to service requirements, ready in the centrally situated elevator hoistway in waiting positions in the vicinity of the crossing-points empty ones of the elevator cars for rapid transfer to one of the outwardly situated hoistways to perform said step a. or said step b.