Surface cleaning apparatus with damp cleaning

Abstract

A surface cleaning apparatus such as a vacuum cleaner includes a suction source, a recovery container, and a base assembly with at least one agitator that can be dampened to provide damp cleaning. More specifically a fluid delivery system including at least one cleaning pad can be carried by the base assembly to provide damp cleaning.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A vacuum cleaner, comprising:
 a base assembly including a suction nozzle and a fluid delivery system adapted to provide damp cleaning with a fluid supply container located on the base assembly;   a hand-held portion having a hand grip and a suction source in fluid communication with the suction nozzle and configured for generating a working airstream; and   a working air path from the suction nozzle to an air outlet in the hand-held portion and including the suction source.   
     
     
         2 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1  wherein the fluid delivery system comprises at least one agitator fluidly coupled to the fluid supply container, and wherein the agitator is adapted to provide damp cleaning. 
     
     
         3 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 2  wherein the agitator is a cleaning pad. 
     
     
         4 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 2  wherein the agitator is operably coupled to a power source and the agitator is at least one of rotatable or spinning. 
     
     
         5 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 2  wherein the fluid delivery system further comprises a distributor provided to supply fluid to the agitator and a flow control system adapted to control a flow to the distributor from the fluid supply container at a flow rate of 30 ml per minute or less. 
     
     
         6 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 5  wherein the flow control system further comprises an actuator and at least one of a pump or a flow control valve operably coupled to the actuator. 
     
     
         7 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 6  wherein the actuator is located on the base assembly. 
     
     
         8 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1  wherein the fluid supply container is less than 500 ml in volume. 
     
     
         9 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1  wherein the working air path is at least partially defined by a wand operably coupled between the base assembly and the hand-held portion. 
     
     
         10 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 9 , further comprising a swivel joint moveably coupling a lower end of the wand to the base assembly. 
     
     
         11 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 9  wherein the hand-held portion further comprises a debris removal assembly including a recovery container provided in fluid communication with the suction source, which includes a motor/fan assembly operably coupled to the debris removal assembly to form a hand-carriable unit. 
     
     
         12 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 11  wherein the hand grip extends away from at least one of the motor/fan assembly or the recovery container to define a handle opening and wherein the hand grip is adapted to be gripped by a user. 
     
     
         13 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 11 , further comprising a pre-motor filter assembly mounted to the hand-held portion and defining a portion of the working air path, the pre-motor filter assembly comprising at least one pre-motor filter received within a filter chamber at an upper end of the recovery container. 
     
     
         14 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 11  wherein the debris removal assembly comprises a cyclonic separator chamber for separating contaminants from the working air path and a collection chamber for receiving contaminants separated in the cyclonic separator chamber, the collection chamber defined at least in part by the recovery container. 
     
     
         15 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1  wherein the base assembly further comprises an agitator chamber at the suction nozzle and a removable brushroll selectively located therein and wherein the fluid delivery system supplies a fluid thereto during operation at a flow rate of 30 ml per minute or less. 
     
     
         16 . A surface cleaning system, comprising:
 a first removable base assembly including a suction nozzle and a fluid delivery system adapted to provide a flow rate of 30 ml per minute or below to provide damp cleaning;   a hand-held portion having a hand grip, a recovery container with a collector axis defined through a center thereof, and a suction source in fluid communication with the suction nozzle and the recovery container and configured for generating a working airstream; and   a wand operably coupled to the hand-held portion and selectively coupled to the first removable base assembly, the wand defining at least a portion of a working air path extending from the suction nozzle to an air outlet in the hand-held portion and including the suction source.   
     
     
         17 . The surface cleaning system of  claim 16 , further comprising a second removable base assembly including a second suction nozzle and wherein the first removable base assembly and the second removable base assembly are interchangeable. 
     
     
         18 . The surface cleaning system of  claim 16  wherein a wand axis is defined through a center of the wand and wherein the wand axis and the collector axis are parallel and wherein the suction source includes a motor/fan assembly operably coupled to the recovery container to form a single, hand-carriable unit and the motor/fan assembly defines a motor axis that is parallel to the wand axis and the collector axis. 
     
     
         19 . The surface cleaning system of  claim 16  wherein a grip axis is defined through a center of the hand grip and forms an acute angle with respect to the collector axis. 
     
     
         20 . The surface cleaning system of  claim 19 , further comprising a battery pack located on the hand-held portion and wherein a battery axis is defined through the center of the battery pack and intersects the grip axis at an orthogonal angle.