Patent ID: 8032983

Claim:
In a suction type vacuum cleaner comprising a housing with a cyclone separation chamber and a dust cup removably mounted beneath the cyclone separation chamber, the cyclone separation chamber having an inlet opening and an outlet opening; an exhaust conduit extending through the dust cup between the cyclone separation outlet opening and a discharge opening in a bottom wall of the dust cup; a latching mechanism positioned beneath the dust cup for raising dust cup into engagement with the cyclone separation chamber and for lowering the dust cup from engagement with the cyclone chamber, and a suction source having an inlet opening in communication with the exhaust conduit when the dust cup is in engagement with the cyclone separation chamber, an improved latching mechanism comprising: an annular seal member mounted on the housing beneath the dust cup in sealing relationship with the dust cup and for selective movement between a raised position and a lowered position; and a slide lock member in sliding engagement with the annular seal member, the slide lock member movable laterally along a slide axis between a latched and a release position relative to the housing to raise and lower the seal member and thus raise and lower the dust cup into and out of engagement with the cyclone separation chamber.