Patent ID: 7162770

Claim:
An upright vacuum cleaner comprising: a nozzle adapted to be traversed on a surface to be cleaned, the nozzle having an internal passage defined by a nozzle inlet positioned to be substantially adjacent the surface to be cleaned and a nozzle outlet remote from the nozzle inlet; a handle pivotally attached to the nozzle; a suction motor, mounted in the nozzle or the handle, and having a suction motor inlet, the suction motor being adapted to generate a working air flow through the nozzle and into the suction motor inlet; a separation system comprising: an outer wall; a closed tube having at least a portion of its length located within the outer wall and forming a separation chamber between the outer wall and the closed tube; a separation chamber inlet in fluid communication with the nozzle outlet and adapted to impart a tangential component to the working air flow as it flows through the separation chamber; a hollow tube, generally coaxially aligned with the closed tube, having a tube inlet at an end adjacent the closed tube and a tube outlet at an end opposite the closed tube, the tube outlet being in fluid communication with the suction motor inlet; a collection chamber for receiving dirt separated from the working air flow; and a vortex controller located at and closing an end of the closed tube immediately adjacent the hollow tube.