Vacuum cleaner with small area extraction

Abstract

A vacuum cleaner includes a vacuum collection system for sucking up debris from a surface to be cleaned, a fluid delivery system for delivering a cleaning fluid to the surface to be cleaned, and a recovery system for removing spent cleaning fluid and debris from the surface to be cleaned. The fluid delivery and recovery systems can be particularly configured for small area extraction, such as in treating spots and stains on a carpet.

1 . A vacuum cleaner, comprising:
 an upright body;   a base operably coupled to the upright body and including a dry suction nozzle and adapted for movement along a surface to be cleaned;   a wet extraction module selectively operably couplable and removable from the base, the wet extraction module including a wet suction nozzle; and   a suction source at least selectively fluidly coupled to the dry suction nozzle and the wet suction nozzle via a fluid recovery pathway.   
     
     
         2 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1  wherein the wet extraction module further comprises a wet recovery tank that can be removably mounted on the base. 
     
     
         3 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 2  wherein the wet suction nozzle and the wet recovery tank are sealingly fit together as a unitary module. 
     
     
         4 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 3  wherein the wet suction nozzle and the wet recovery tank are configured to removably mount within a recessed pocket ( 96 ) within the base. 
     
     
         5 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 2  wherein the wet suction nozzle is positioned on top of and in front of the dry suction nozzle. 
     
     
         6 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 5  wherein the wet suction nozzle extends less than a full width of the dry suction nozzle. 
     
     
         7 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 2 , further comprising a shut off mechanism provided with the wet recovery tank to block air flow or shut off the suction source when liquid in the wet recovery tank reaches a predetermined full level. 
     
     
         8 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , further comprising an air flow diverter assembly located within the fluid recovery pathway and mounted for selectively diverting working air flow through either of the wet suction nozzle or the dry suction nozzle. 
     
     
         9 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 8  wherein the air flow diverter assembly is a barrel diverter. 
     
     
         10 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 8 , further comprising a recovery tank having a recovery tank inlet and wherein the air flow diverter assembly is provided downstream from the wet suction nozzle and the dry suction nozzle and upstream from the recovery tank. 
     
     
         11 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 10 , further comprising a supply tank fluidly connected to a fluid distributor provided on the base. 
     
     
         12 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 11 , further comprising a handle extending from the upright body and further comprising an actuator located on the handle for selectively actuating a pump to distribute liquid from the supply tank to the fluid distributor onto the surface to be cleaned. 
     
     
         13 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 12 , further comprising a selectively operable air leak in fluid communication with the fluid distributor or a conduit between the supply tank and the fluid distributor. 
     
     
         14 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 11 , further comprising a target light provided on the base, the target light configured to illuminate an area in front of the wet suction nozzle and at least partially wetted by the fluid distributor. 
     
     
         15 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 10  wherein the recovery tank is a combination wet/dry recovery tank including a wet debris inlet, a dry debris inlet, an internal sleeve partitioned into a dry collection chamber and a liquid collection chamber, and a single exhaust outlet. 
     
     
         16 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 15  wherein the wet suction nozzle is positioned on top of and in front of the dry suction nozzle and wherein the wet suction nozzle extends less than a full width of the dry suction nozzle. 
     
     
         17 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , further comprising an actuator operably coupled to the wet suction nozzle and configured to move at least a portion of the wet suction nozzle away from the surface to be cleaned. 
     
     
         18 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , further comprising a mode selector operably coupled to a controller, the controller configured to operate one of a pump function, suction level, brush speed, nozzle position, and/or target light activation based on a mode selected by a user utilizing the mode selector. 
     
     
         19 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , further comprising a target light operable to provide an illumination area on the surface to be cleaned. 
     
     
         20 . The vacuum cleaner of  claim 1 , further comprising base lighting provided at a front of the base and substantially along a full width of the base wherein the base lighting can be illuminated in sub-portions less than a full width of the base.