Patent ID: 7422410

Claim:
A lift attachment for a tractor provided with a three-point hitch having two parallel draft arms with rearwardly extending ends and an upper pivoted arm mounted above and between the draft arms comprising: a laterally extending bottom beam; a first and second open face channel guides each having one end secured to the bottom beam, the channel guides secured to the bottom beam in spaced apart and opposing relation and extending in an upward direction with the open faces of the channel guides facing one another; a laterally extending upper brace member secured to the upper free ends of the channel guides; a slide assembly movable between an upper position and a lower position, the slide assembly positioned between the first and second channel guides; the slide assembly further having an upper beam with a first and a second end; a first slide member mounted to the first end of the upper beam and sized to fit within the open face of the first channel member for slidable movement within the channel guide and a second slide member mounted to the second end of the upper beam and sized to fit within the open face of the second channel guide for slidable movement within the second channel guide; at least one tine mounted to the upper beam of the slide assembly, a double acting hydraulic cylinder, having an extendable piston, connected between the bottom beam and the upper beam of the slide assembly whereby when the piston is extended, the slide assembly is moved vertically upwardly within the channel guides and when the piston is retracted, the slide assembly is moved vertically downwardly within the channel guides; a pair of hydraulic hoses connected to the double acting hydraulic cylinder for providing a fluid path for hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic cylinder to either extend the piston or retract the piston; an electrically actuated solenoid connected in the fluid path provided by the pair of hydraulic hoses for controlling the direction of fluid flow through the hydraulic hoses; electrical control means for actuating the electrical solenoid to either extend the piston or retract the piston; means for connecting the bottom beam to the rearward ends of the two parallel draft arms of the three-point hitch; and means for connecting the upper pivoted arm of the three-point hitch to a mounting plate above the bottom beam and below the upper brace member.