Patent ID: 7234197

Claim:
A floor cleaning apparatus comprising: a housing with a bottom portion that is adapted to rest on a surface being cleaned and an opening in an underside of the housing to define an enclosed chamber between the surface to be cleaned and an interior portion of the housing; a carriage support mounted in the enclosed chamber in the housing above the opening in the underside of the housing; an extraction system including a suction nozzle for recovering soil from the surface to be cleaned beneath the opening in the underside of the housing and a suction source having an inlet fluidly connected to the suction nozzle to create a working air flow; a carriage mounting the suction nozzle to the carriage support for translational movement with respect to the housing so that the suction nozzle moves laterally with respect to the housing and along the surface to be cleaned; a working air path that carries working air to the suction source from the suction nozzle; and an exhaust air passage between an outlet of the suction source and the enclosed chamber.