Patent ID: 7117558

Claim:
An upright vacuum cleaner comprising: a nozzle base including a suction opening; an upright housing hingedly mounted on said nozzle base; a suction source mounted to one of said nozzle base and said upright housing; a dirt cup selectively removable from an opening defined in said housing; a flow path leading from said suction opening to said suction source, wherein said dirt cup communicates with said flow path at a location between said suction opening and said suction source; a particle separation chamber at least partially defined in said dirt cup for separating particles entrained in an airstream flowing from said suction opening to said suction source; a filter mounted adjacent an outlet end of said particle separation chamber, said filter being positioned upstream from said suction source; wherein said dirt cup comprises a side wall and an inlet opening of said particle separation chamber is located in said dirt cup side wall; and, wherein said inlet opening is oriented tangentially in relation to a longitudinal axis of said dirt cup.