Lift apparatus for lifting heavy loads

A lift apparatus (10, 20) for lifting heavy loads, particularly a lift platform, comprising a plurality of cylinder-piston assemblies (F1-F4, K1-K4) arranged in pairs, with each of the cylinder-piston assemblies (F1-F4, K1-K4) comprising at least one hydraulic medium supply and at least one part of the cylinder-piston assemblies (K1-K4) additionally including a hydraulic medium drain, and with each of the pair of assemblies comprising one of the cylinder-piston assemblies (K1-K4), operated as a command assembly connected with a pressure connection of at least one hydraulic pump (31), and the respectively other of the cylinder-piston assemblies (F1-F4) being operated as a response assembly, with a hydraulic medium supply thereto being connected to the hydraulic medium drain of the one of the cylinder-piston assemblies (K1-K4) operated as a command assembly,

• characterized in that
• at least three pairs of assemblies are provided and the pairs of assemblies hydraulically cooperate with each other in a serial circuit, the hydraulic medium drain of the command assembly (K1, K2, K3) of the upstream pair of assemblies is connected to the hydraulic medium supply of the response assembly (F2, F3, F4) of the next downstream pair of assemblies, and the hydraulic medium drain of the command assembly (K4) of the last pair of assemblies is connected to the hydraulic medium supply of the response assembly (K1) of the first pair of assemblies.