Patent ID: 7160346

Claim:
A dust and dirt collecting unit provided with a main body of the vacuum cleaner and configured to filter sucked air containing foreign substances, comprising: a substantially cylindrical casing which has an open top portion and an inlet formed in a direction tangential to the casing which is configured to introduce air containing foreign substances into the casing; a cover provided at the open top portion of the casing, said cover including an outlet for discharging air from which foreign substances have been filtered out; a filter assembly provided at a bottom portion of the cover corresponding to the outlet, wherein the filter assembly includes a substantially cylindrical filter surrounding a substantially cylindrical lattice frame whose interior is in communication with the outlet, a radially extending upper flange portion which comes into close contact with the lower surface of the cover, and a body which extends downward from the upper flange portion to form the substantially cylindrical lattice frame which allows air to pass therethrough; a substantially cylindrical protective body configured to surround an outer periphery of the filter assembly, wherein the protective body includes a plurality of vent holes formed at a lower portion thereof which are configured to maintain airflow communication between an interior and an exterior of the protective body; and a separating plate coupled to a bottom of the filter assembly and extending radially outward therefrom such that at least a portion of an outer peripheral surface of the separating plate is spaced apart from an inner circumferential surface of the dust casing by a predetermined gap.