Patent ID: 7900316

Claim:
A filter assembly for a vacuum cleaner, comprising: a filter carrier comprising: a pair of opposed side walls, each having an arced rear edge; a pair of opposed end walls that are narrower in width than the side walls, each end wall having a rear edge and a protrusion extending away from the end wall; the rear edges of the side and end walls defining a concave air inlet opening; and a front side having an air outlet; and a filter element associated with the filter carrier; wherein one of the protrusions comprises a planar surface oriented generally perpendicular to the end wall and generally parallel to and spaced from the rear edge, a ramped surface formed between the rear edge and the planar surface and increasing in height in a direction away from the air inlet, and a pair of opposed, parallel side walls extending orthogonally from the end wall to the planar surface and the ramped surface.