Abstract:
A cleaner for cleaning a surface comprises a floor-engaging portion for moving along the surface. A source supplies a liquid to a distributor, which distributes the liquid from the source on the surface wherein an activating device is operatively connected to the source to activate the source to supply liquid to the distributor to distribute liquid on the surface in response to a force moving the floor engaging portion in a first direction.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for cleaning a surface. More particularly, the present application pertains to a carpet extractor that can clean the carpet using one cleaning mode on the forward stroke of a cleaning cycle and then clean the carpet using another cleaning mode on the reverse stroke of a cleaning cycle without an extra operation. 
     2. Background Information 
     It is known in the prior art to provide a carpet extractor in which cleaning solution is dispensed to a carpeted surface and substantially simultaneously extracted along with the dirt on the carpet in a continuous operation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,977 issued to McAllise et al. discloses such a carpet extractor. Specifically, as depicted in FIG. 8B of this patent, when extractor  10  is operated in the floor cleaning mode to clean the carpet, cleaning solution, upon the operator&#39;s command, is discharged from the cleaning fluid supply tank  40 , passing through the supply line  328 , and into the fluid distributor  650  positioned within air discharge nozzle  65  whereby the cleaning fluid is atomizingly distributed throughout the discharged air and conveyed thereby to the carpet being cleaned. Simultaneously, working air, including cleaning fluid and dirt from the carpet, is drawn into floor nozzle  70 , through floor conversion module  526 , air/fluid separator lid  55  and into the recovery tank  510 . Warm, moist exhaust air, from motor fan  610 , is discharged through discharge nozzle  65  and directed toward the surface being cleaned. Thus, the upright carpet extractor applies and/or extracts the cleaning solution on the both the forward and reverse stroke. 
     Usually for this type of extractor, the detergent concentration in the cleaning solution is not at a high amount that will leave a white detergent residue on the carpet from the dried cleaning solution not extracted. Such a residue conditions the carpet to create a high potential for dirt to deposit on the carpet. Yet, it may be desirable to use such a high amount of detergent concentration on the carpet on either the reverse or forward stroke, for example, to clean it when it is very dirty or soiled. 
     It is known that some of these carpet extractors have a variable mixing valve to permit varying the water/detergent mixture ratios to accommodate a wide variety of cleaning situations. One such cleaner is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,475 issued to Kasen. This valve is manually controlled by a knob provided on the outside of an upper housing pivotally mounted to the base assembly. However, during operation of the extractor, a user must stop cleaning to move to a position to operate the knob if he wants to change the water/detergent mixture ratio for a different cleaning situation. This proves to be quite inconvenient for the user, especially if, for example, a user wants to apply cleaning fluid on the forward stroke to wash the carpet and clean water on the reverse stroke to rinse the carpet. In addition to operation of the knob, activation of a button, lever or other switching device on the handle to apply the cleaning solution to the carpet requires another operation by a user as he or she moves the suction cleaner along the floor to clean it. 
     Hence, it is an object of the present invention to provide a convenient, ergonomically design apparatus on a carpet extractor that can clean the carpet or floor using one cleaning mode on the forward stroke of a cleaning cycle and another cleaning mode for the reverse stroke of the cleaning cycle. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of cleaning a carpet or floor using one cleaning mode on the forward stroke of a cleaning cycle and another cleaning mode on the reverse stroke of the cleaning cycle. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus on a carpet extractor that selects a cleaning cycle to clean the carpet or floor. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method on a carpet extractor that improves the cleaning performance. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The foregoing and other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following description and the attached drawings. In one embodiment of the present invention, a cleaner for cleaning a surface comprises a floor-engaging portion for moving along the surface. A source supplies a liquid to a distributor, which distributes the liquid from the source onto the surface. An activating device operatively connected to the source activates the source to supply liquid to the distributor to distribute liquid on the surface in response to a force moving the floor-engaging portion in a first direction. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the attached drawings, of which: 
     FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic partial, front sectional view of a carpet extractor incorporating a fluid distribution system according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the portion circled in FIG. 1 with the front handgrip removed; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarge view of the valve assembly shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarge view of the floor-engaging portion of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a sectional view as taken along line  5 — 5  in FIG. 1 showing the grip rod being unlock from the handle by the trigger control lever; 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line  5 — 5  in FIG. 1 with the grip rod being locked by the trigger control lever; 
     FIG. 7A is a partial, front sectional view of the valve assembly in a position that allows the carpet extractor to operate in the rinse-cleaning mode; 
     FIG. 7B is a partial, front sectional view of the valve assembly in a position that allows the carpet extractor to operate in the extract only cleaning mode; 
     FIG. 7C is a partial, front sectional view of the valve assembly in a position that allows the carpet extractor to operate in the wash cleaning mode; 
     FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic partial, front sectional view of a carpet extractor incorporating a fluid distribution system of another embodiment according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a sectional view as taken along line  9 — 9  in FIG. 8 showing the grip rod being unlock from the handle by the trigger control lever; 
     FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic partial, side sectional view of a carpet extractor incorporating a fluid distribution system according to still another embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 11 is an exploded view of the valve assembly with the tongue of the embodiment of FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 12 is a left side view of FIG. 11 with the valve assembly assembled and positioned in the wash cleaning mode; 
     FIG. 13 is a left side view of FIG. 11 with the valve assembly assembled and positioned in the rinse-cleaning mode; 
     FIG. 14 is an exploded view of the valve assembly with the tongue of the embodiment of FIG. 10 in the wash cleaning mode; and 
     FIG. 15 is an exploded view of the valve assembly with the tongue of the embodiment of FIG. 10 in the rinse-cleaning mode. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, a fluid supply system is provided in an upright style carpet extractor  10  as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG.  1 . The upright carpet extractor  10  includes a pivotal handle portion  12  for propelling a floor-engaging portion or foot  14  over a carpeted floor. The floor-engaging portion  14  includes a brush assembly  34  having a plurality of rotating scrub brushes  16  (FIG. 4) for scrubbing the floor. A supply tank assembly  18  is mounted to the floor-engaging portion  14  of the extractor. The supply tank assembly  18  comprises a clean water supply tank  20  and a detergent supply tank  22 , which nests into an open area formed by surrounding portions of the clean water tank  20 . It should be noted that the supply tanks  20 ,  22  could alternatively be located adjacent one another in a side-by-side relationship. The clean water and detergent are drawn from their respective tanks  20 ,  22  to a valve assembly  24  through operation of a pump  26 . The cleaning liquid comprising the detergent and/or clean water from the valve assembly  24  travels to the pump  26 . 
     Referring to FIG. 4, the pump  26  conducts the pressurized cleaning solution or clean water through a main supply tube  28  to a control valve  30  which selectively allows the liquid to flow to either a cleaning distributor  32  provided on a brush assembly  34  via a supply tube  36  or a hand-held cleaning attachment (not shown) via a supply tube  38 . The cleaning liquid distributor  32  evenly distributes the cleaning liquid to each of the rotary scrub brushes  16 . The scrub brushes  16  then spread the cleaning liquid onto the carpet (or bare floor), scrub the cleaning liquid into the carpet and dislodge embedded soil. Such a distributor  32  and scrub brushes  16  are substantially disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,857, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein as of reference. 
     As is commonly known, the carpet extractor  10  distributes cleaning solution to the carpeted surface and substantially simultaneously extracts it along with the dirt on the carpet in a continuous operation. In particular, soiled cleaning liquid is extracted from the carpet by a suction nozzle  42 , which communicates with a recovery tank  219  (FIG. 10) via an air duct. A vacuum is created in the recovery tank by a motor fan assembly (not shown) that draws air from the recovery tank and exhausts the air to the external atmosphere in a well-known, conventional manner. The recovery tank includes an air and liquid separator (not shown), as is understood by one of skill in the art, for separating liquid from the air entering the recovery tank and recovering the separated liquid in the tank. A suitable upright carpet extractor is disclosed in co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,977, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein as of reference. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, the clean water supply tank  20  fluidly communicates with the valve assembly  24  via upper and lower water supply tubes  44 ,  46  connected to respective upper and lower water lateral inlets  48 ,  50  of a valve body  52  of the valve assembly  24 . In particular, the upper and lower supply tubes  44 ,  46  are fluidly connected to a T-fitting  54 , which is fluidly connected to a main water supply tube  56 . The main water supply tube  56  is fluidly connected to an outlet  58  (FIG. 1) formed in the bottom of the clean water supply tank  20 . The detergent supply tank  22  fluidly communicates with the valve assembly  24  via a detergent supply tube  62 . Specifically, one end of the detergent supply tube  62  is connected to a lateral inlet  64  in the valve body  52  and the other end is connected to an outlet  66  (FIG. 1) formed in the bottom of the detergent supply tank  22 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, a hand grip  74  is slidably mounted to a handle stem  70  that is fixedly attached to the handle  12  for limited reciprocal motion relative to the handle stem  70  as illustrated by arrow H. As depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6, the upper handle assembly  68  includes the hand grip  74  that is mounted to the top of the handle stem  70  for limited rectilinear reciprocal motion relative to the handle stem  70 . The hand grip  74  includes a grip rod  76  having a lower stem portion  78  and an upper grip portion  80  that is located at an angle relative to the lower stem portion  78 . A front grip half  86  and a rear grip half  88  are sandwiched about the grip portion  80  of the grip rod  76  and snapped together. A screw  90  is passed through the rear grip half  88 , through the grip portion  80  of the grip rod  76 , and is threaded into the front grip half  86  to secure the grip halves in place upon the grip portion  80  of the grip rod  76 . The hand grip  74  has a lower loop portion  92  integrally formed on the rear grip half  88 . 
     With particular reference to FIG. 1, the handle stem  70  is an upwardly tapering hollow tubular member. A top portion of the handle stem  70  has an inner peripheral surface  94  having a centrally located D-shaped cross section, as best seen in FIG. 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,862; the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. The lower stem portion  78  of the grip rod  76  also has a D-shaped cross section that is sized to be slidably received within the handle stem  70  as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The hand grip  74  is mounted to the top of handle stem  70  by telescopically sliding the stem portion  78  of the grip rod  76  into the top of the handle stem  70  until a lower end  67  of the grip rod  76  extends below a lower end  69  of the handle stem  70 . 
     With continued reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a forwardly opening notch  96  is located in the lower end of the grip rod  76 , below the lower end  69  of the handle stem  70 , for snap connection to an engaging member (not shown) of a base  98  (FIG.  1 ). The D-shaped cross-section of the stem portion  78  of the grip rod  76  and the inner surface  94  of the top portion of the handle stem  70  prevent the hand grip  74  from twisting or rotating about the longitudinal axis of the stem portion  78  of the grip rod  76  relative to the handle stem  70 . 
     The upper handle assembly  68  further includes a stop pocket  106  mounted to the front of the handle stem  70 . A vertically extending ridge  107  having upper and lower portions  108 ,  110 , respectively, extends from a rear or inner surface of the stop pocket  106  and is received In a longitudinally extending recess  112  in the stem portion  78  of the grip rod  76 . With this construction, upper and lower portions  108 ,  110  on the rear of the stop pocket  106  engage respective upper and lower extremities  114 ,  116  of the recess  112  in the grip rod  76 , thereby limiting the upward and downward vertical travel of the grip rod  76  and hand grip  74  relative to the handle stem  70 . 
     Thus, when an operator pulls on the hand grip  74 , the hand grip  74  moves up relative to the handle stem  70  into a reverse position in which the upper portion  108  contacts the upper extremity  114  of the recess  112  in the grip rod  76 . Alternatively, when an operator pushes on the hand grip  74 , the hand grip  74  moves down relative to the handle stem  70  into a forward position in which the lower portion  110  contacts the lower extremity  116  of the recess  112  in the grip rod  76 . 
     With continued reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a control lever  118  is pivotally connected to the grip portion  80  of the grip rod  76 . The control lever  118  includes an upper trigger portion  120  and a lower portion  124 . A spring  122 , attached to the hand grip  74  and upper portion  120 , biases the upper trigger portion  120  outwardly in a counter clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow in FIG.  6 . The lower portion  124  includes a protrusion  126  near its lower end, which is urged by the spring  122  into a lateral pilot hole  128  formed in the handle stem  70  as depicted in FIG.  6 . When the protrusion  126  is inserted into the pilot hole  128 , the hand grip  74  is locked to the handle stem  70  and thus cannot reciprocally move. As shown in FIG. 5, the hand grip  74  is unlocked from the handle stem  70 , when a force, as indicated by the arrow, is applied to the trigger portion  120 , (for example, by a user grasping the hand grip  74  and squeezing the trigger portion  120  inwardly using his index finger), that overcomes the force of the spring  122 , which pivotally moves the lower portion  124  of the control lever  118  away from the handle stem  70  and subsequently the protrusion  126  out of the pilot hole  128 . 
     As seen in FIGS. 7A,  7 B, and  7 C, the valve assembly  24  comprises a valve body  52  having a pair of longitudinal bores  130 ,  132  for receiving a pair of valve stems  134 ,  136 . The valve stems  134 ,  136  have respective cylindrically internal passageways  158 ,  162  formed therein. The valve assembly  24  is mounted to the handleportion  12  (FIG. 1) by bolts  25 . A pair of outlets  138 ,  140  are located on the bottom of the valve body  52  and fluidly communicate with their respective bores  130 ,  132  and passageways  158 ,  162  of the valve stems  134 ,  136 . The valve stems  134 ,  136  are attached to an upper base  98  and extend downwardly therefrom. The base  98  is secured to the lower portion of the grip rod  76  (FIG. 1) by any suitable means. For example, such means could be a nut and bolt connection or the engaging member (not shown) snap connecting into the notch  96  as previously mentioned. Thus, reciprocal movement of the grip rod  76  will in turn cause reciprocal movement of then valve stems  134 ,  136  inside the bores  130 ,  132 . As depicted in FIG. 1, supply tubes  144 ,  146  are connected between their respective outlets  138 ,  140  (FIGS. 7A,  7 B, and  7 C) and respective branches of a T-fitting  152 . As seen in FIG. 4, the T-fitting  152  is fluidly connected to the pump  26  via a main supply tube  160 . 
     As further depicted in FIGS. 7A,  7 B, and  7 C, the valve stems  134 ,  136  include lateral inlets  154 ,  156 , respectively, that have similar diameters as the inlets  48 ,  50 ,  64  of the valve body  52 . The inlets  154 ,  156  of the valve stems  134 ,  136  align with their respective inlets  48 ,  50 , and  64  through selective positioning of the valve stems  134 ,  136  within the bores  130 ,  132  for desired cleaning modes. In particular, for the rinse-cleaning mode as depicted in FIG. 7A, the inlet  154  in the valve stem  134  aligns with the upper inlet  48  for the clean water but the inlet  156  in the valve stem  136  is not aligned with the inlet  64  of the valve body  52  for the detergent. Thus, clean water can travel through the passageway  158  in the valve stem  134  and bore  130  of the valve body  52  to the outlet  138  of the valve body  52 . As shown in FIG. 4, the clean water would then travel to the pump  26  via the supply tube  144 , the T-fitting  152 , and main supply tube  160  for delivery to the cleaning distributor  32  or cleaning attachment as previously mentioned. For the wash cleaning mode as depicted in FIG. 7C, the inlet  156  of the valve stem  136  aligns with the inlet  64  of the valve body  52  for the detergent and the inlet  154  of the valve stem  134  aligns with the lower inlet  50  of the valve body  52  for the clean water. Thus, liquid detergent can travel through the passageway  162  in the detergent valve stem  136  and bore  132  of the valve body  52  to the outlet  140  of the valve body  52 . As depicted in FIG. 4, the liquid detergent would then travel through the supply tube  146  to the T-fitting  152 , where the detergent would be combined with the clean water from the supply tube  144 . The combined cleaning solution then would travel to the pump  26  via the main supply tube  160  for delivery to the cleaning distributor  32  or cleaning attachment as previously mentioned. For the extract mode as depicted in FIG. 7B, the two inlets  154 ,  156  are not aligned with any of the inlets  48 ,  50 ,  64  of the valve body and thus no clean water and/or detergent can travel to the pump  26 . The diameters of the inlets in the valve body and valve stems can be altered for desired amount of liquid flows and flow rates. 
     Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, a lockout pin  164  extends through a horizontally extending slot  166  (FIG. 1) passing through the front grip half  86 . The inner end  174  of the lockout pin  164  is received in a “S-shaped” recess  168  (FIG. 2) in the front surface of the handle stem  70 . The lockout pin  164  includes a head portion  170  and base portion  172  that sandwich portions of the front grip half  86  located on opposite sides of the slot  166  (FIG. 1) to allow the lockout pin  164  to slide longitudinally along the slot  166  (FIG. 1) while being secured to the front grip half  86 . 
     As depicted in FIG. 2, the “S-shaped” recess  168  includes an upper portion  176 , a middle portion  178 , and a lower portion  180  for the lockout pin  164  to be selectively positioned therein, through horizontal movement of it as indicated by the horizontal arrows. The position of the lockout pin  164  in one of the upper portion  176 , middle portion  178 , and lower portion  180  correspond to respective gentle, normal, or spot wash cleaning cycles as indicated in FIG.  2 . In particular, when the lockout pin  164  is positioned in the upper portion  176 , the hand grip  74  can only move between the boundaries of the upper portion  176  of the recess  168  as indicated by the D 1 . Correspondingly, this limits the valve stems  134 ,  136  to be positioned in only the extract mode and rinse mode. When the lockout pin  164  is positioned in the lower portion  180 , the hand grip  74  can only move between the boundaries of the lower portion  180  of the recess  168  as indicated by D 3 . Correspondingly, this limits the valve stems  134 ,  136  to be positioned in only the extract mode and wash mode. Finally, when the user positions the lockout pin  164  to be in the middle portion  178 , the hand grip  74  can fully move up and down relative to the handle stem  70  and thus allow the valve stems  134 ,  136  to be positioned in the rinse, extract, or wash modes. 
     In operation, with the lockout pin  164  positioned in the normal cycle (D 2  of FIG.  2 ), a user grasps the hand grip  74  of the carpet extractor  10  and squeezes the trigger portion  120  with the index finger to unlock the grip rod  76  from the handle stem  70  as shown in FIG.  5 . The user then pushes downwardly and forwardly on the hand grip  74  which moves the extractor  10  with the floor engaging portion  14  in the forward direction and also moves the grip rod  76  down relative to the handle stem  70 , thereby positioning the valve stems  134 ,  136  in the wash cleaning mode (FIG.  7 C). Thus, cleaning solution is distributed to the carpet or bare floor as previously mentioned. After completing this forward stroke, the user then pulls on the hand grip  74  moving the extractor  10  in the rearward direction and also moving the grip rod  76  up relative to the handle stem  70  thereby positioning the valve stems  134 ,  136  in the rinse cleaning mode (FIG.  7 A). Thus, clean water is distributed to the carpet or bare floor as previously mentioned. 
     After completing this reverse stroke, the user then releases the trigger portion  120  and moves the hand grip  74  so that the protrusion  126  engages the pilot hole  128  thereby locking the hand grip  74  and grip rod  76  to the handle stem  70  as shown in FIG.  6 . This causes the valve stems  134 ,  136  to be positioned in the extract cleaning mode (FIG.  7 B). The user then pushes the extractor  10  in the forward direction to only extract soiled solution from the carpet or bare floor. If desired after the forward extracting stroke, the user can pull on the extractor  10  to extract the soiled solution from the carpet again. Also, the sequence of the cleaning modes can be altered to come up with multiple cleaning cycles. For example, a user may want to extract first, then wash, rinse and extract, or wash first, then extract on both the reverse and forward strokes, then rinse and extract. It should be noted that the control lever  118  could be removed and the hand grip  74  could be secured on the handle stem  70  at a location that positions the valve stems  134 ,  136  in the extract mode by constructing and arranging the hand grip  74  and handle stem  70  so that the frictional forces between them overcome the weight of the hand grip  74 , yet will allow the hand grip  74  to reciprocally move from the extra force applied by a user. 
     FIGS. 8 and 9 depict another embodiment of the present invention. In these figures, components from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 5 and  7 A,  7 B, and  7 C, which are identical in structure and have identical functions will be identified by the same reference numbers. In this embodiment, a detecting unit  500  comprising a hall sensor  502  and magnet  504  is secured to the handle portion  12 . As best seen in FIG. 9, the hall sensor  502  is secured to the inner surface  94  of the handle stem  70  across from the magnet  504 , which is secured to the grip rod  76 . The magnet  504  reciprocally moves up and down such that the hall sensor positions between the north (N) and south (S) poles of the magnet  504  during the movement as depicted by the arrows in response to similar reciprocal movement by the grip rod  76  and hand grip  74 . 
     Referring to FIG. 8, the hall sensor  502  is electrically connected to a microprocessor (CPU)  506  and drive unit  508 . A pump unit  510  for the clean water supply tank  20  is operatively connected to the drive unit  508 , and fluidly connected to a mixing container  512  via a supply tube  514  and the clean water supply tank  20  via supply tube  516 . A pump unit  518  for the detergent tank  22  is operatively connected to the drive unit  508 , and fluidly connected to the mixing container  512  via a supply tube  520  and detergent tank  22  via supply tube  522 . The mixing container  512  is fluidly connected to the valve  30  via the main supply tube  515 . The microprocessor  506  is programmed to operate in the various cleaning modes depending on the entry and sequence (number of times) of entry into the proximity of the magnetic field of the north pole of the magnet  504  by the hall sensor  502  which will be explained in more detail. 
     In operation, with the lockout pin  164  positioned in the normal cycle (D 2  of FIG.  2 ), a user grasps the hand grip  74  of the carpet extractor  10  and squeezes the trigger portion  120  with the index finger to unlock the grip rod  76  from the handle stem  70  as shown in FIG.  9 . The user then pushes downwardly and forwardly on the hand grip  74  moving the magnet  504  to position the hall sensor  502  into the magnetic field of the north pole position of the magnet  504  and also moving the extractor  10  with the floor engaging portion  14  in the forward direction. At this position, the hall sensor  502  breaks into the positive gauss of the magnetic field of the north pole thereby causing the hall sensor  502  to output a high control signal to the microprocessor  506 . Upon receipt of the signal, the microprocessor  506  activates the drive unit  508  to be in the wash mode which activates the pump  510  to draw water from the clean water supply tank  20  to the mixing container  512  and also activates the detergent pump  518  to draw detergent liquid from the detergent supply tank  22  to the mixing container  512 . The combine solution then travels by gravity through the main supply tube  515  to the control valve  30 , which selectively allows the liquid to flow to either the cleaning distributor,  32  provided on a brush assembly  34  via a supply tube  36  or a hand-held cleaning attachment (not shown) via a supply tube  38 . 
     After completing the forward stroke, the user then pulls upwardly and rearwardly on the hand grip  74  moving the magnet  504  to position the hall sensor  502  away from the proximity of the magnetic field of the north pole position of the magnet  504 , and also moving the extractor  10  with the floor-engaging portion  14  in the rearward direction. When the hall sensor  502  is out of the proximity of the magnetic field of the north pole, the hall sensor  502  outputs a low control signal to the microprocessor  506 . Upon receipt of the low control signal, the microprocessor  506  activates the drive unit  508  to be in the rinse mode which deactivates the pump  518  for the detergent supply tank  22  yet maintains activation of the pump  510  to draw clean water from the clean water supply tank  20  to the mixing container  512 . The clean water then travels by gravity through the main supply tube  515  to the control valve  30 , which selectively allows the clean water to flow to either the cleaning distributor  32  provided on a brush assembly  34  via a supply tube  36  or a hand-held cleaning attachment (not shown) via a supply tube  38 . 
     After completing the reverse stroke, the user then pushes downwardly and forwardly on the hand grip  74  again moving the magnet  504  to position the hall sensor  502  in the magnetic field of the north pole of the magnet  504  and also moving the extractor  10  with the floor-engaging portion  14  in the forward direction. As previously mentioned, the hall sensor  502  outputs a high control signal to the microprocessor  506 . However, with the hall sensor  502  being in the magnetic field for the second time, the microprocessor  506  is programmed to activate the drive unit  508  to be in the extract mode which deactivates both pumps  510 ,  518  thereby allowing no liquid to flow into the mixing container  512  and subsequently to the cleaning surface. For the subsequent forward stroke, the microprocessor  506  is programmed to activate the drive unit  508  to also be in the extract mode upon receipt of the low control signal from the hall sensor  502 , when it no longer is in the proximity of the magnetic field of the north pole for the second time. 
     It should be noted that the microprocessor  506  can be programmed to change the sequence of cleaning modes as desired by the user. In this manner, a touch screen  111  is mounted across the outer recess of the stop pocket  106  and electrically communicates with the microprocessor by remote control. A user touches the touch screen  111  which sends or transmits a signal to the microprocessor  506  which is programmed to cause the extractor  10  to operate in the previously mentioned normal, gentle, or spot cleaning cycles in response to the number of times the user touched the screen  111 , after the extractor is turned on. It should be noted that the cleaning cycle can be user defined as well. The touch screen  111  could have various operating mode and user information displayed in the form of alphanumeric and graphic light crystal displays (LCD&#39;s). Alternatively, other indicating devices such as light emitting diodes (LED) could be use to indicate such user feedback information. 
     Also, other detecting units can be substituted for the hall sensor  502  and magnet  504 . For example, a sequencer, a mechanical switch or an optical switch could be used as the detecting unit. Further, other user input devices could be substituted or used in conjunction with the touch screen  111  to select the cleaning mode. For example, such devices could be a tactile membrane switch or a push button. 
     FIGS. 10 through 15 show still another embodiment of the invention. In these figures, components from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 5 and  7 A,  7 B, and  7 C, which are identical in structure and have identical functions will be identified by the same reference numbers. Referring to FIG. 10, the upright carpet extractor  210  includes a pivotal handle portion  212  for propelling a floor-engaging portion or foot  214  with wheels  213  over a cleaning surface  253 . The floor-engaging portion  214  preferably includes a plurality of rotating scrub brushes  16  for scrubbing the cleaning surface or carpet  253  (or bare floor). A supply tank assembly  218  is removably mounted to the handle portion  212  of the extractor. The supply tank assembly  218  comprises a clean water supply tank  220  and a detergent supply tank  222  adjacent to the clean water supply tank  220 . 
     A push rod assembly  400  comprising an upper portion  402  and a pair of lower legs  404 ,  406  integrally formed with the upper portion  402 . The upper portion  402  extends upwardly through the handle portion and Is pivotally connected at its upper end to a trigger switch  407 , which is pivotally connected to the handle portion  212  and urged upwardly by a pair of cantilever springs (not shown). One leg  404  extends downwardly to a reservoir  408 , which is fluidly connected to the detergent tank  222 , and bears against a release valve  410  positioned over an opening in the reservoir  408 . The other leg  406  of the push rod assembly  400  extends downwardly to a reservoir  414 , which is fluidly connected to the clean water supply tank  220 , and bears against a release valve  416  positioned over an opening in the reservoir  414 . This release valve  416  is similar to that of the detergent tank  222 . The release valves  410 ,  416  are opened through downward movement of the legs  404 ,  406  pressing against them. Further details of such a water release valve, reservoir, and trigger are disclosed in co-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,977 and 6,247202 the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein as of reference. Upon an operator squeezing the trigger  407  upwardly, this causes the trigger  407  to rotate counter clockwise resulting in downward movement of the push md assembly  400 , thereby opening the release valves  410 ,  416  causing gravitational flow of clean water and detergent from their respective reservoirs  414 ,  408 . 
     The clean water and detergent flow by gravity from their respective tanks  220 ,  222  to respective inlets (FIG. 11) of a valve assembly  224  via respective supply tubes  225 ,  223 . The valve assembly  224  is mounted to the floor-engaging portion  214 . The cleaning liquid comprising the detergent and/or clean water from the valve assembly  224  travels through a main supply tube  228  to a cleaning distributor  32  provided on a brush assembly  34 . The cleaning liquid distributor  32  evenly distributes the cleaning liquid to each of the rotary scrub brushes  16 . The scrub brushes  16  then spread the cleaning liquid onto the carpet  253  (or bare floor), scrub the cleaning liquid into the carpet, and dislodge embedded soil. Such a distributor  32  and scrub brushes  16  are substantially disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,857, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein as of reference. 
     As is commonly known, the carpet extractor  210  distributes cleaning solution to the carpeted cleaning surface  253  and substantially simultaneously extracts it along with the dirt on the carpet  253  in a continuous operation. In particular, soiled cleaning liquid is extracted from the carpet  253  by a suction nozzle  42 , which communicates with a recovery tank  219  via an air duct  221 . A vacuum is created in the recovery tank  219  by a motor fan assembly (not shown) that draws air from the recovery tank  219  and exhausts the air to the external atmosphere in a well-known, conventional manner. The recovery tank  219  includes an air and liquid separator (not shown), as is understood by one of skill in the art, for separating liquid from the air entering the recovery tank  219  and recovering the separated liquid in the tank  219 . A suitable upright carpet extractor is disclosed in co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,977, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein as of reference. 
     As seen in FIGS. 11,  14 , and  15 , the valve assembly  224  includes a hollow cylindrical shell or body  252  for receiving a hollow cylindrical valve stem  334 . The stem  334  extends laterally and has a cylindrical internal passage  358  fluidly communicating with an outlet  338  in the valve shell  252 , which fluidly connects with the main supply tube  228 . The valve shell  252  has an inlet  264  for the detergent supply tube  223  and an inlet  248  for the clean water supply tube  225 . The stem  334  has a pair of inlets  353 ,  354  which selectively align with the inlet  248  of the valve shell  252  for the clean water and an inlet  356 , which selectively aligns with the inlet  264  of the valve shell  252  for the detergent solution, which will be explained in more detail. The inlets  248 ,  264  of the valve shell have similar diameters as the inlets  353 ,  354 , and  356  of the valve stem  334 . A flexible J-shaped tongue  276  is connected at the end of the valve stem  334  opposite the outlet  338  of the shell  252 . The tongue  276  includes a leg portion  277  that is parallel with the longitudinal axis of the valve stem  334  and extends along the length of the valve stem  334 . 
     Referring to FIG. 10, the tongue  276  contacts the cleaning surface  253  at the leg portion  277 . The tongue  276  moves to position A when the floor engaging portion  214  of the extractor  210  moves in the forward (F) direction, and moves to position B when the floor engaging portion  214  of the extractor  210  moves in the rearward direction (R). The rotating movement of the tongue  276  between positions A and B will in turn cause rotating movement of the valve stem  334  within the valve shell  252  to respective wash and rinse cleaning modes, which will be explained further in more detail. The tongue  276  is composed of a flexible material such that it will bend or deform slightly as it rotates and contacts the cleaning surface  253  so that it will not cause the floor-engaging portion  214  to rise. Alternatively, the tongue  276  may just have a flexible end at the leg portion  277  to perform this function. 
     The inlets  248 ,  264  of the valve shell  252  align with inlets  353 ,  354 , and  356  of the valve stem  334  through selective rotating positioning of the valve stem  334  with respect to the valve shell  252  for desired cleaning modes. In particular, for the rinse-cleaning mode as depicted in FIG. 15, the inlet  354  in the stem  334  aligns with the inlet  248  in the valve shell  252  for the clean water. However, as also shown in FIG. 13, the inlet  356  in the stem  334  is not aligned with the inlet  264  of the valve shell  252  for the detergent. Thus, clean water can travel through the chamber or passageway  358  in the valve stem  334  to the outlet  338  of the valve shell  252 . As shown in FIG. 10, the water would then travel to the cleaning distributor  32  via the main supply tube  228  as previously mentioned. 
     For the wash cleaning mode as depicted in FIG. 14, the inlet  356  in the stem  334  aligns with the inlet  264  of the valve shell  252  (also seen in FIG. 12) for the detergent and the inlet  353  in the stem  334  aligns with the inlet  248  of the valve shell  252  for the clean water. Thus, the liquid detergent and clean water can flow to the passageway  358  of the valve stem  334  where they are mixed and the combined cleaning solution travels to the outlet  338  of the valve shell  252 . As depicted in FIG. 10, the combined cleaning solution would then travel through the main supply tube  228  to the cleaning distributor  32  as previously mentioned. A locking assembly could also be employed to allow the valve stem  334  to be selectively position in only the rinse mode or wash mode. Alternatively, a coupling member (not shown) could be pivotally connected between the tongue  276  and one of the wheels  430  so that the tongue  276  could rotate in response to movement of the wheels  213  upon the floor engaging portion  214  being moved between the forward and rearward direction. 
     With reference to FIG. 10, a rinse mode window  422  and a wash mode window  424  is preferably located on the hood portion  423  of the floor-engaging portion  214  above the valve assembly  224 . Visible through the windows is a brightly colored plate  426  attached to an arm  428  which is attached to the tongue  276  to indicate the cleaning mode of the extractor  210  with respect to the rotational position of the valve stem  334  in each mode. In particular, when the valve stem  334  is rotated to the rinse mode, this movement causes the plate  426  to be positioned to be visible in the rinse mode window  422 . When the valve stem  334  is rotated to the wash mode, this movement causes the plate  426  to be positioned to be visible in the wash mode window  424 . 
     In operation, the operator grasps the handle portion  212  and squeezes the trigger  407  to open the release valves  410 ,  416 . The operator pushes the extractor  210  in the forward direction (F) thereby rotating the tongue  276  to position A and positioning the valve stem  334  in the wash cleaning mode (FIGS.  12  and  14 ). Thus, cleaning solution is distributed to the carpet or bare floor as previously mentioned. After completing this forward stroke, the operator then pulls the extractor  210  in the rearward direction (R) thereby rotating the tongue  276  to position B and positioning the valve stem  334  in the rinse-cleaning mode (FIGS.  13  and  15 ). Thus, clean water is distributed to the cleaning surface  253  as previously mentioned. It should be noted that the invention could alternatively operate without a trigger, a push rod assembly, and release valves. In this respect, the clean water and detergent would flow through their respective supply tubes  225 ,  223  down to the valve assembly  224  where they would be selectively allowed to flow as previously mentioned. The operator could position the floor-engaging portion  214  so that the tongue  276  is centrally located between A and B, thereby positioning the valve stem  334  with respect to the valve shell  252  so that none of the inlets  353 ,  354 , and  356  in the valve stem  334  are aligned with the inlets  248 ,  264  in the valve shell  252  to allow any fluid communication between them. 
     By incorporating a rinse application as shown in the embodiments, a higher concentration of detergent in the cleaning fluid, generally two or more times as much as the clean water, can be used to wash the carpet during the first forward stroke, since the rinse application will rinse or remove the detergent residue not extracted. In particular, the carpet extractor will distribute the cleaning solution having the high detergent concentration on the forward stroke as it substantially and simultaneously extracts it along with the dirt on the carpet in a continuous operation. Then, the carpet extractor will distribute the cleaning solution having the clean water on the reverse stroke to rinse the detergent residue not extracted as the carpet extractor substantially and simultaneously extracts it along with the dirt on the carpet in a continuous operation. Thus, cleaning performance is improved. 
     The present invention has been described by way of example using the illustrated embodiments. Upon reviewing the detailed description and the appended drawings, various modifications and variations of the embodiments will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. All such obvious modifications and variations are intended to be included in the scope of the present invention and of the claims appended hereto. For example, clean water could be applied on the forward stroke and detergent solution on the reverse stroke. Also, a certain liquid might be added to the clean water or be used alone to improve the rinsing operation. 
     In view of the above, it is intended that the present invention not be limited by the preceding disclosure of the embodiments, but rather be limited only by the appended claims.