An apparatus and a method are provided for a material spreader controller to meter particulate material flowing out of a discharge outlet of a hopper. The material spreader controller is comprised of a housing that receives a control cable from the discharge outlet. A control lever operatively coupled with the control cable may be pulled by a practitioner to adjust the discharge outlet from a completely closed position to an adjusted open position. A control knob enables the practitioner to selectively limit operation of the control lever. Upon turning the control knob, the practitioner may select a degree to which pulling the control lever opens the discharge outlet, thereby limiting the adjusted open position of the discharge outlet. The control knob may be indexed to indicate the position of the control knob relative to a selection indicator on the housing.

An apparatus, for distributing granular material stored in a container having an outlet, includes a housing comprising a bracket mountable to the container and a vane hingedly connected to a side of said central bracket. The housing has means for fixably positioning the vane relative to the bracket to adjust an angle of the vane relative to the bracket. The central bracket is configured to support a power source having a driving shaft extending along an axis aligned with the bracket, a spreader plate coupled to the shaft for rotation therewith, and a return spring around the shaft and between the spreader plate and the power source. When ON, the power source drives the shaft causing the spreader plate to rotate and translate along the shaft axis between a closed and open position. When the power source is OFF, the return spring biases the spreader plate in the closed position.

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 particulate dispersing apparatus is provided that includes a vessel configured to contain particulate material having a ridge circumferencing an inside of the vessel, an insert having a similar shape as the vessel and when inserted into the vessel adapted to engage and removably attach to the ridge, and a dispersing mechanism that disperses the particulate material.

A vehicle mounted spreader for spreading materials such as sand, salt, or other granular chemicals onto snow and ice covered paved surfaces comprises a material container for containing the material to be spread, a liquid container for containing liquid with which to pre-wet the material, a spinner for spreading the pre-wet material, an auger for conveying the material to the spinner, a liquid applicator for applying liquid to the material to pre-wet the material, and a paddle mixer mounted to an end of the auger adjacent the liquid applicator for mixing the liquid and the material.

A spreading apparatus (10) for spreading granular and/or pulverulent material such as grain, salt, fertiliser and the like is disclosed. The apparatus (10) includes a hopper (11) having a discharge aperture (12), a vibration unit (17) arranged for agitating material within the hopper (11), circuitry (22) arranged for supplying power from a power source to one or more material handling components of the spreading apparatus (11), monitoring the power drawn by the one or more material handling components and controlling operation of the vibration unit (17) in dependence upon said power. In various embodiments, the material handling components may include one or more of: a spreading disk (15) arranged for distributing material received from the discharge aperture (12); an auger (18) extending through the discharge aperture (12); and/or a conveyer belt arranged for conveying material from the discharge aperture to the spreading disk (15). A method for spreading granular and/or pulverulent material is also disclosed.

A hand-held spreader is provided having a base with a mechanism for spreading particulate material response to turning a hand crank. The base is universally attachable to hoppers of different types which provide particulate material to the base for spreading. Different types of hoppers when attached to the base can adapt the spreader to spread different particulate material, such as of seed or salt. Teeth may be provided along upper edge of the hopper for use in scooping up particulate material into the hopper. Another type of hopper which can be attached to the base has a closed top end to provide a sealed container of particulate material, and has a sealing member releasable from the hopper to allow flow of particulate material from the hopper to the attached base.

An apparatus for depositing associated materials, including but not limited to salt or sand, onto a surface includes a material spreader hopper, a conveyor to convey associated material in the hopper toward an opening at one end of the hopper; a feed gate adapted to selectively close the opening, an extension and a spreader adapted as described herein, to mount to the extension.

A material spreading system including a spreader and a tote, and related methods, are disclosed. The spreader may include a frame attachable to a loading machine such as a skid loader, an inlet for receiving a material, one or more connector members, and a discharge mechanism configured to selectively discharge the material onto the ground. The tote may include a container for storing the material and one or more connector members. The connector members of the tote may be configured to matingly engage the connector members of the spreader such that an opening in the container aligns with the inlet of the spreader. Accordingly, the material in the container may be transferred from the container to the spreader. Furthermore, the material spreading system may be used in various application including those involving the spread of granular and/or liquid de-icing material over the ground.

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.