Patent ID: 7661513

Claim:
An elevator system including a lower elevator car, an upper elevator car, a counterweight, a first drive for driving the lower elevator car, a second drive for driving the upper elevator car, two parallelly extending guide rails which lie in a region of a vertical first center plane and between which the lower elevator car and the upper elevator car are guided, and a support means for the elevator cars and the counterweight, comprising: a first support means strand of the support means with a first end and a second end; and a second support means strand of the support means with a first end and a second end, said first and second ends of said first and second support means strands each being fastened to one of the lower elevator car and the upper elevator car at first through fourth fastening points, wherein the lower elevator car is suspended on a first side of the vertical first center plane and on a first side of a vertical second center plane oriented perpendicularly to the vertical first center plane at said first end of said first support means strand and on a second side of the vertical first center plane and a second side of the vertical second center plane at said first end of said second support means strand, and wherein the upper elevator car is suspended on the first side of the vertical first center plane and the second side of the vertical second center plane at said second end of said first support means strand and on the second side of the vertical first center plane and the first side of the vertical second center plane at said second end of said second support means strand, wherein said first support means and said second support means cross above the upper elevator car.