Patent ID: 6849108

Claim:
A vacuum cleaner comprising: a removable dust and dirt separation assembly comprising: a dirty air inlet for dirty air, a clean air outlet, an airflow path between the dirty air inlet and the clean air outlet, and a first separation means and a second separation means disposed in the airflow path, the first separation means separating larger particles of dirt from the dirty air and the second separation means comprising a removable filter element for separating smaller particles of dust from the dirty air; an air flow conduit having a first end arranged to be connected to the clean air outlet and a second end arranged to be connected to a source of suction; and an indicator member having a first position when the removable filter element is removed from the vacuum cleaner and a second position when the removable filter element is placed in the vacuum cleaner, wherein the indicator element is readily visible to a user of the vacuum cleaner in at least one of the first and second positions, and the vacuum cleaner is incapable of collecting dust and dirt when the indicator is in the first position.