Patent ID: 7845046

Claim:
A hand-held portable vacuum comprising: a housing; a dirt cup having an inlet and defining a container for storage of dirt and debris therein, the dirt cup being removably attached to the housing; an impeller at least partially disposed in the housing; a filter disposed between the impeller and the inlet, the filter being formed with a plurality of pleats and having an annular flange with driven tabs thereon; a prefilter having a prefilter body that surrounds the filter and having ribs located on an interior surface of the prefilter; and a filter cleaning device comprising a circular cleaning wheel with a hub, the hub having drive tabs that directly engage the driven tabs on the filter to rotate the filter within the prefilter so that the filter contacts the ribs to agitate the filter and dislodge accumulated dirt and debris from its pleats wherein the cleaning wheel is located within the housing, the housing having an opening adjacent the cleaning wheel so that a peripheral surface of the circular cleaning wheel is exposed to the exterior of the housing.