Patent ID: 8176597

Claim:
A vacuum cleaner comprising: a cleaning head assembly having a suction nozzle and working air path therethrough; a cyclone module assembly having: a first cyclone separation chamber for separating dust and debris from air with the generation of a cyclonic airflow vortex forming a vortex tail, the first cyclone separation chamber having first inlet opening in fluid communication with the suction nozzle through the working air path; a second cyclone separation chamber downstream of the first cyclone separation chamber for separating dust and debris from air with the generation of a cyclonic airflow vortex forming a vortex tail, the second cyclone separation chamber having a second inlet opening in fluid communication with the first cyclone separation chamber and an outlet opening for discharging cleaned air; a first vortex stabilizer positioned adjacent a first particle discharge outlet in the first cyclone separation chamber to retain the vortex tail at a predetermined location with respect to the first cyclone separation chamber; a second vortex stabilizer positioned adjacent a second particle discharge outlet in the second cyclone separation chamber to retain the vortex tail at a predetermined location with respect to the second cyclone separation chamber; and a dirt cup in communication with the first and second particle discharge outlets for collecting dust and debris that is separated from the air in the first and second cyclone separation chambers; and a suction source fluidly connected to the cyclone module assembly and adapted to establish and maintain a dirt-containing airstream from the suction nozzle through the first and second cyclone separation chambers; wherein the inlet opening in the second cyclone chamber is formed with a pair of opposed inlets.