Bagless vacuum cleaner and dust container assembly

Abstract

The present invention is a floor cleaning apparatus including a housing, an intake opening in the housing, a suction generator carried on the housing and a dirt collection assembly carried on the housing. The dirt collection assembly is characterized by its unique construction including a partition, a filter assembly, a discharge conduit, a prefilter and a filter.

1 . A floor cleaning apparatus, comprising: 
 a housing;    an intake opening in said housing;    a suction generator carried by said housing; and    a dirt collection assembly carried by said housing;    said dirt collection assembly being characterized by including;    a dirt container including a sidewall, an open first end, an open second end, a partition dividing said dirt container into an inlet manifold and a dirt collection chamber, at least one port in said partition providing fluid communication between said inlet manifold and said dirt collection chamber, a first inlet in fluid communication with said inlet manifold and a first outlet in said partition;    a filter assembly seated in said open second end of said dirt container, said filter assembly including a housing having a filter cavity, a second inlet and a second outlet;    a discharge conduit connecting said first outlet of said dirt container with said second inlet of said filter assembly;    a prefilter covering said first outlet; and    a filter received in said filter cavity.    
   
   
       2 . The floor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , further including an air guide carried on said partition adjacent said at least one port.  
   
   
       3 . The floor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said prefilter is a screen.  
   
   
       4 . The floor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said prefilter is a mesh.  
   
   
       5 . The floor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said prefilter is a perforated plastic filter element.  
   
   
       6 . The floor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said sidewall is cylindrical and said first inlet is tangentially directed with respect to said sidewall.  
   
   
       7 . The floor cleaning apparatus of  claim 2 , further including a second port in said partition and a second air guide carried on said partition adjacent said second port.  
   
   
       8 . The floor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , further including a lid closing said first end of said dirt container.  
   
   
       9 . The floor cleaning apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said housing includes a nozzle assembly and a canister assembly.  
   
   
       10 . The floor cleaning apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein said canister assembly is pivotally connected to said nozzle assembly.  
   
   
       11 . The floor cleaning apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein said intake opening is provided in said nozzle assembly.  
   
   
       12 . The floor cleaning apparatus of  claim 11 , further including at least one rotary agitator carried by said nozzle assembly adjacent said intake opening.  
   
   
       13 . A dirt collection assembly, comprising: 
 a dirt container including a sidewall, an open first end, an open second end, a partition dividing said dirt container into an inlet manifold and a dirt collection chamber, at least one port in said partition providing fluid communication between said inlet manifold and said dirt collection chamber, a first inlet in fluid communication with said inlet manifold and a first outlet in said partition;    a filter assembly seated in said open second end of said dirt container, said filter assembly including a housing having a filter cavity, a second inlet and a second outlet;    a discharge conduit connecting said first outlet of said dirt container with said second inlet of said filter assembly;    a prefilter covering said first outlet; and    a filter received in said filter cavity.    
   
   
       14 . The dirt collection assembly of  claim 13 , further including an air guide carried on said partition adjacent said at least one port.  
   
   
       15 . The dirt collection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein said prefilter is a screen.  
   
   
       16 . The dirt collection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein said prefilter is a mesh.  
   
   
       17 . The dirt collection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein said prefilter is a perforated plastic filter element.  
   
   
       18 . The dirt collection assembly of  claim 13 , wherein said sidewall is cylindrical and said first inlet is tangentially directed with respect to said sidewall.  
   
   
       19 . The dirt collection assembly of  claim 14 , further including a second port in said partition and a second air guide carried on said partition adjacent said second port.  
   
   
       20 . The dirt collection assembly of  claim 13 , further including a lid closing said first end of said dirt container.