A salt spreader for distributing a material includes a bucket including a front surface, a rear surface, and first and second side surfaces. The front and rear surfaces tend toward one another at a base of the bucket, and the bucket includes first and second ejection ports in the base. The salt spreader further includes a separator positioned in a center of the bucket parallel to the first and second side surfaces, and first and second covers within the bucket extending downwardly from the first and second side surfaces, respectively, toward the separator.

A blade for removing snow from a road surface comprising a shield oriented to deflect the snow, a cutting edge carried on the bottom part of the shield and adjacent to a road surface when in use, and at least one fluid circuit comprising a nozzle for spreading a de-icing liquid, wherein at least the nozzle is carried by the shield or by the cutting edge to spread at least part of the de-icing liquid on the snow in an area in front of and/or beneath said cutting edge while said cutting edge compresses a layer of snow that remains on the road surface during its passage.

The invention is directed to a sidewalk drop spreader for winter services, which is mountable on a vehicle and includes a hopper. The hopper includes a pair of spaced-apart side walls, each one of which extends parallel to the other one of the side walls, a front wall extending between the side walls, and a rear wall extending between the side walls and being spaced apart from the front wall. The hopper also includes a bottom, which in turn includes a rotatable rotor and a compression roller that extend parallel to one another between said the side walls. An agitation system includes a motor mounted to the hopper, which actuates movement of a selected one of the side walls, front wall, and rear wall.

A material spreading system may include a tote and a spreader attachable to a loading machine. The spreader may include a frame, an inlet, a lift arm, and a discharge mechanism configured to selectively discharge the material onto the ground. The tote may include a container having a plurality of walls enclosing an internal volume for storing a material. An opening may be formed in one of the plurality of walls and communicate with the internal volume. The tote may additionally include a lift arm engaging surface configured to engage the lift arm and permit the lift arm to manipulate the tote. The tote may also include a closure member at least partially covering the opening and configured to selectively permit transfer of the material from the container to the inlet of the spreader in response to the material exerting a force on the closure member.

Snow melting devices in accordance with embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In one embodiment, a snow-melting device for melting snow and defrosting ice, may consist of a wireless transceiver module, a precipitation sensor configured to capture precipitation data from an environment, a first temperature sensor configured to capture environment temperature data, a container configured to hold melting water, where the container contains a water boiler, a release valve, and a second temperature sensor configured to capture melting water temperature data, and a processor. The processor may be operatively connected to the wireless transceiver module, the precipitation sensor, the temperature sensor, and the container, and execute a program stored in memory cause the snow-melting device to transmit a release signal to the valve when the precipitation data is above a precipitation threshold and the environmental temperature data is below the environmental temperature threshold.

A spreader assembly may include a hopper configured for receiving a spreadable material, a removable cartridge configured for sliding engagement with the hopper and having a material transportation mechanism configured for receiving the spreadable material from the hopper, and a spreader configured for receiving the spreadable material from the material transportation mechanism and spreading the spreadable material onto a target surface. One of the hopper and the cartridge may include a roller having a roller surface, and the other of the hopper and the cartridge may include a bearing surface configured for rolling engagement with the roller surface.

A system and method herein relate to vehicle control by adjusting a torque distribution of the vehicle. The system includes a first motor configured to provide a torque to a first wheel, and a delivery system configured to controllably apply a traction control compound to a route on which the first wheel is configured to travel. The system also includes a controller circuit having one or more processors. The controller circuit is configured to control the delivery system to apply the traction control compound to the route based on a monitored temperature of the first motor.

A method of operating a deicing system remotely, including connecting a control for the deicing system with the deicing system. When the control and the deicing system are connected, the method includes providing functionality for controlling operation of the deicing system, including control of application rates, and managing workflow and operation including job tracking.

A snow removal assembly for removing snow from a driveway includes a vehicle that has a cab and a plurality of wheels. The vehicle has a pair of doors each hingedly attached to the cab and each of the doors pivots vertically on the cab when the doors are opened. A snow plow is movably attached to the vehicle thereby facilitating the snow plow to push snow from a driveway when the vehicle is driven on the roadway. Additionally, the snow plow is positionable at a variety of angles on the vehicle thereby facilitating the snow plow to push the snow in a chosen direction on the driveway. A salt spreader is attached to the vehicle and the salt spreader contains granular salt. The salt spreader releases the granular salt onto the driveway when the salt spreader is turned on to inhibit the formation of ice on the driveway.

A spreader comprises a hopper for containing sand, salt or other granular material to be spread upon snow or ice on paved surfaces, the hopper being adapted to be installed in or on a bed of a truck, the hopper having a trough, a shaftless auger positioned in the trough, an auger motor for driving the auger, a spinner positioned at one end of the auger for slinging the granular material upon the snow or ice, a spinner motor for driving the spinner, and at least one keeper supported by the trough and extending over the auger for retaining the auger in place during operation and thereby reducing flexure of the auger and resulting loss of efficiency of material transport by the auger during operation of the spreader.