Patent ID: 8814012

Claim:
A material spreader for use with an excavator, the excavator including a boom having a universal mounting portion configured to receive at least one of a plurality of attachments, the material spreader comprising: a hopper configured to hold a bulk material, the hopper including a plurality of side walls and a top wall coupled to and extending to each of the plurality of side walls, the plurality of side walls including a first side wall, a second side wall opposite the first side wall, a third side wall, and a fourth side wall opposite the third side wall, the first and second side walls being parallel to each other, the third and fourth side walls being non-parallel, the hopper including a mounting bracket configured to mount to the universal mounting portion of the excavator and a material inlet configured to receive the bulk material from an external supply source, the mounting bracket being coupled to the top wall of the hopper; a feeder mounted to the hopper, the feeder having an inlet for receiving the bulk material from the hopper and an outlet for dispensing the bulk material to a target area during a spreading operation; a motor mounted to the hopper and coupled to the feeder, the motor being configured to drive the feeder based on controls received from a user interface of the excavator; and a supply hose fixedly coupled to the material inlet of the hopper, the supply hose being configured to transfer the bulk material from the external supply source to the material inlet of the hopper during the spreading operation by the material spreader, the material inlet being positioned at a top portion of the first side wall.