US Patent 7386916 Self-cleaning vacuum cleaner and receptacle therefor

A self-cleaning vacuum cleaner 1 is disclosed. The vacuum cleaner 1 comprises a housing 2 having an inlet 5 and an outlet 6, and a fan arranged within the housing 2 for causing air to flow through a coarse filter and a fine filter. A vibrator mechanism causes vibration of the fine filter, and the vacuum cleaner 1 has a working condition in which the fan causes air to flow from the inlet 5 to the outlet 6, and a self-cleaning condition in which the vibrator mechanism causes vibrations of the fine filter to cause particles to be released from the fine filter, and in which the housing 2 is opened to enable at least some of the particles released from the fine filter to pass through the coarse filter and out of the housing 2 and into a receptacle 10.