Abstract:
A portable surface cleaning apparatus having a floor-traveling base module and an upright handle pivotally mounted to the base module, a liquid dispensing system including a dispensing nozzle associated with the base module and fluidly connected to a fluid supply chamber, a fluid recovery system including a suction nozzle associated with the base module and fluidly connected to a vacuum source and a recovery chamber, a window in the base module, and an illumination source behind the window for illuminating an area underneath and in front of the base module.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/188,575, filed Mar. 10, 2000, and is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/753,349, filed Jan. 2, 2001, which is a continuationin-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/112,527, filed Jul. 8, 1998, entitled UPRIGHT EXTRACTION CLEANING MACHINE, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,587, issued Jan. 2, 2001, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/075,924, filed on Feb. 25, 1998, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/052,021, filed on Jul. 9, 1997.  
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    This invention relates to an extraction cleaning machine. In one of its aspects, the invention relates to an upright extraction cleaning machine with floor illumination. In another of its aspects, the invention relates to an upright extraction cleaning machine with suction nozzle illumination. In another of its aspects, the invention relates to an upright extraction cleaning machine with agitation chamber transparency and illumination.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0005]    Upright extraction cleaning machines have been used for removing dirt from surfaces such as carpeting, upholstery, drapes and the like. The known extraction cleaning machines can be in the form of a canister-type unit as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,720 to Blase et al. or an upright unit as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,977 to McAllise et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,665 to Fitzwater.  
           [0006]    A transparent suction nozzle in an extraction cleaner is disclosed in U.S. Design Pat. No. D345,830 to Furcron et al. as well as Fitzwater &#39;665. U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,271 to Sepke discloses a window for viewing a rotatable brush in an upright vacuum cleaner. Vacuum cleaners having an illumination source mounted external to the floor-traveling head are also known for illuminating an area of the floor in front of the vacuum cleaner.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    According to the invention, a portable surface cleaning apparatus comprises a base module for movement along a surface; an upright handle pivotally attached to the base module; a liquid dispensing system comprising a liquid dispensing nozzle associated with the base module for applying liquid to a surface to be cleaned; a fluid supply chamber for holding a supply of cleaning fluid; a fluid supply conduit fluidly connected to the fluid supply chamber and to the dispensing nozzle for supplying liquid to the dispensing nozzle; a fluid recovery system comprising: a fluid recovery chamber; a suction nozzle associated with the base module; a working air conduit extending between the recovery chamber and the suction nozzle; and a vacuum source in fluid communication with the recovery chamber for generating a flow of working air from the suction nozzle through the working air conduit and through the recovery chamber to thereby draw dirty liquid from the surface to be cleaned through the suction nozzle and working air conduit and into the recovery chamber; and the suction nozzle including a window that is at least partially transparent and an illumination source behind the window.  
           [0008]    In a further embodiment, the base module further comprises an opaque upper housing. The base module further comprises a brush housing enclosing an agitation brush. The window forms a portion of a wall of the brush housing and the brush housing is illuminated by the illumination source. The transparent panel is positioned between the illumination source and the brush housing. The illumination source projects through the window to illuminate a portion of a surface to be cleaned.  
           [0009]    The base module has a housing which is partially opaque and has a transparent window for viewing a brush chamber in the base module. In one embodiment, the window is removably attached to the housing of the base module by a snap-fit connection. In another embodiment, the window is attached to the housing by screws. Preferably, the window forms a portion of a bottom wall of the working air conduit. An upper wall of the working air conduit is transparent. The brush chamber includes a transparent cover over an illumination source for illuminating the brush chamber. Desirably, the transparent cover is integral with the transparent window and fluidly isolates the illumination source from the brush chamber.  
           [0010]    In a further embodiment, the base module has a partially opaque housing with a transparent window for viewing a brush chamber in the base module, and an illumination source in the base module for illuminating the brush chamber, the illumination source and window further configured to illuminate an area of a surface to be cleaned.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    In the drawings:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the extraction cleaning machine according to the invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a base module of the extraction cleaning machine shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the base module of the extraction cleaning machine of FIGS.  1 - 2 ; and  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of an integral motor housing and lamp housing according to the invention.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/112,527 filed Jul. 8, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,587, issued Jan. 2, 2001, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/753,349, filed Jan. 2, 2001, commonly owned with this application, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.  
         [0017]    Referring now to the drawings and to FIG. 1 in particular, the upright extraction cleaning machine  12  comprises a base module  14  adapted to roll across a surface to be cleaned on wheels  552 , and an upright handle assembly  16  pivotally mounted to a rear portion of the base module  14 . The base module  14  comprises a lower housing portion  15  and an upper housing portion  17 , together defining an interior for housing components such as an agitation brush  206 . The upright handle assembly  16  includes a closed loop grip  18  at an upper portion thereof and a cord and hose wrap  20  for carrying an accessory hose  22 . The base module  14  further comprises a transparent facing  19  fixed to an upper portion of the upper housing portion  17 , and a transparent panel  32  fixed to the lower housing portion  15  beneath and substantially parallel to the transparent facing  19 .  
         [0018]    Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower housing portion  15  includes a brush housing  26  at a front portion thereof for housing a rotatably driven agitation brush  206 . The brush housing  26  includes an arcuate opening  28  at a front portion thereof for receiving the transparent panel  32 . The edge of the arcuate opening  28  substantially corresponds to the shape of the transparent panel  32 . The transparent panel  32  is mounted to the brush housing  26 . The upper housing portion  17  has at a front portion thereof an arcuate opening  38  with an edge substantially conforming to the shape of the transparent panel  32  and to the edge of the arcuate opening  28  of the brush housing  26 . The arcuate opening  38  of the upper housing portion  17  mounts on a rim  29  formed in either the transparent panel  32  or the arcuate opening  28  of the brush housing  26 . The connection between the upper housing portion  17  and the rim  29  is made watertight by the inclusion of a rope gasket  31  therebetween. When the rim  29  is not formed in the transparent panel  32 , the transparent panel  32  can also be secured in a watertight fashion to the brush housing  26 . The upper housing portion  17  thus forms an interior face of a suction nozzle  34  in conjunction with the transparent panel  32 . The transparent facing  19  is mounted in a watertight fashion over a working air conduit  704  formed in the upper face of the upper housing portion  17 . The suction nozzle  34  fluidly connects the conduit  704  to the atmosphere at the surface to be cleaned. The transparent facing  19  thus forms the exterior wall of the conduit  704  and the exterior face of the suction nozzle  34 . The suction nozzle  34  is therefore transparent, enabling the user to see through the front face of the base module  14  to the floor below the base module  14 , and into the brush housing  26  to see the brush  206  contained therein, as well as to view the flow of fluid through the suction nozzle  34 .  
         [0019]    The transparent panel  32  is formed with a transparent cover or lens  42  projecting from a rear portion thereof. The lens  42  has a lens edge  43  distal from the panel  32  that interfits with a lip  45  on the brush housing  26  to firmly seat the lens  42  on the brush housing  26 . The lens  42  is further aligned with and spans a lens opening  47  in an upper portion of the brush housing  26  behind the front portion of the brush housing  26 . The cover or lens  42  can have optical properties for directing or modifying light projecting from a light source, but the invention is not so limited. It is anticipated that the cover or lens  42  can be configured to pass light without modification.  
         [0020]    A heat shield  60  and a lamp socket  62  are mounted on the brush housing  26 , substantially aligned with the opening  47 . A lamp  63  is mounted into the lamp socket  62 . As electrical energy is applied selectively to the lamp  63 , light from the lamp  63  passes through the opening  47  and lens  42 . The lamp  63  thus illuminates the interior of the brush housing  26 , the brush  206  mounted in the brush housing  26 , and the floor covered by the brush housing  26 . The lamp  63  and lens  42  are further configured within the upper portion of the brush housing  26  to further direct light toward the front portion of the housing  26  and thereby illuminate the suction nozzle  34  and the floor directly to the front of the suction nozzle  34  due to the transparency of transparent panel  32  and transparent facing  19 . Light from lamp  63  is generally restricted to the housing  26  and the surface in front of the cleaner by the heat shield  60  and the opacity of the upper housing  17 .  
         [0021]    The illuminated nozzle assembly provides the user with a viewable brush  206  and illuminates the brush  206  and the area being cleaned. Further, it provides the user a serviceable lamp  63 . Lamp  63  is serviceable from beneath the base module  14 . In the preferred embodiment, transparent panel  32  is mounted to the brush housing  26  by screws that extend through integrally molded bosses  33  on the transparent panel  32  and into threaded sockets  27  in the brush housing  26 . It is further anticipated that transparent panel  32  can be secured to housing  26  in a snap-fit relationship.  
         [0022]    In a further embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4, a semi-cylindrical lamp housing  60 ′ is molded integrally with the upper motor housing  520 ′. The lamp housing  60 ′ includes a molded lamp socket cavity  64 ′ for receiving socket  62 ′ for alignment with an aperture  65 ′ into the lamp housing  60 ′. The interior of the lamp housing  60 ′ is further covered with a heat/light reflective tape or coating  61 ′. This coating  61 ′ serves to reflect and direct light from the lamp  63 ′ through the cover or lens  42  into the brush housing and further onto the floor in front of the base module  14 . The heat reflective aspect of coating  61  ′ serves to resist excessive heat buildup or transmission from the lamp  63 ′ to the lamp housing  60 ′, which, in the preferred embodiment, is of injection-molded construction.  
         [0023]    Lamp  63 ′ is mounted in socket  62 ′ for operational positioning in lamp housing  60 ′. Lamp  63 ′ is axially inserted into or removed from socket  62 ′ through aperture  65 ′. The user can access lamp  63 ′ from an underside of base module  14 , upon removal of integrally molded panel  32  and lens  42  from the inside of brush housing  26  (see FIG. 2).  
         [0024]    Any features shown in FIGS.  1 - 4 , but not described herein, and further elements of the extraction cleaner, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,587, issued Jan. 2, 2001, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/753,349, filed Jan. 2, 2001, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.  
         [0025]    While the invention has been specifically described in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and not of limitation. Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope of the forgoing disclosure and drawings without departing from the spirit of the invention which is embodied in the appended claims.