An elevator typically comprises an elevator car and a counterweight, which are vertically movable in a hoistway. These elevator units are interconnected by first ropes (later referred to as suspension ropes or upper ropes) that suspend these elevator units on opposite sides of rope wheels mounted higher than the elevator units. Additionally, the elevator may need to be provided with second ropes between the elevator car and the counterweight, which second ropes hang from the elevator car and the counterweight (later also referred to the lower ropes). This type of arrangement is normally used to provide compensation for the weight of the hoisting ropes and/or to provide some other function of the elevator such as a so called tie-down-function of the elevator.
In prior art, elevator ropes have been installed by first providing a reel and thereafter guiding the ropes to pass around the rope wheels. In the field of elevators, ropes typically comprise load bearing members made of twisted wires or equivalents. This type of ropes are typically irreversibly flexible such that after the rope has been bent into a curve, it does not reverse back to its original form by itself. This results largely from internal friction and twisted structure of the rope. Also such ropes have been proposed, which are rod-like and take a straight form when in rest state. A this kind of rope is presented in patent publication WO2009090299 A1. This kind of ropes are relatively rigid, but elastically bendable, whereby the rope self-reverses back to a straight form from bent form in rest state after all bending directed to it ceases. In general, ropes which tend to reverse back to straight form are difficult to handle. This type of ropes have now been noticed to cause special challenges in the installation process.
The above mentioned challenges regarding handling and installing of rigid ropes has been further noticed to be particularly relevant when roping elevators where the guidance by the rope wheels is not strong. It has been noted, that one such solution where the installation is particularly challenging, is where the ropes are belt-like and guided by cambered circumference of the rope wheel(s), as this type of guidance requires a long contact as well as firm pressure between the rope wheel and the rope.