Patent ID: 7814612

Claim:
A wet extractor comprising: a supply tank adapted to hold cleaning fluid; a recovery tank adapted to hold recovered cleaning fluid; a fluid deposition system in fluid communication with the supply tank and adapted to selectively deposit cleaning fluid from the supply tank through a spray nozzle to a surface to be cleaned; and a vacuum source adapted to draw cleaning fluid from the surface to be cleaned into an inlet nozzle and through a vacuum passage and deposit the cleaning fluid in the recovery tank; a base assembly adapted to move on the surface to be cleaned and having a longitudinal direction corresponding to a fore/aft direction of movement, a vertical direction that is substantially perpendicular to the surface to be cleaned, and a lateral direction that is orthogonal to the longitudinal and vertical directions, the base assembly comprising: a housing facing the surface to be cleaned; an agitator having a rigid base and at least one agitating element extending from the rigid base toward the surface to be cleaned; a first connector connecting the rigid base to the housing and permitting movement of the rigid base in the vertical direction; a second connector connecting the rigid base to the housing and permitting a linear movement of the rigid base in the lateral direction; and a drive assembly mounted to the housing and adapted to selectively drive the rigid base in a reciprocating linear motion in the lateral direction, the drive assembly comprising: a motor adapted to selectively operate an eccentric drive; and a slot operably associated with the agitator and adapted to engage the eccentric drive, wherein the slot extends in a plane defined by the longitudinal and vertical directions.