I am currently doing some research about elevators driven by flat belts. There seem to be a few patents regarding the use of flat belts for elevator suspension means. I found patents US8157058and WO2003086931-A3 which seem to prevent other companies building elevators driven with flat belts. But I cant find for how long the patents are valid and if the patent can be prolonged.
The patents belongs to Otis, but Schindler made a deal so they can also build belt driven elevators. The strange thing is other companies (Orona and Sodimas) are building elevators driven by belts in the EU. I hope someone can answer if its legal to build belt driven elevators in the EU with the Contitech Poly Rope for example.
