A surface cleaning apparatus comprises an air treatment member having an air treatment chamber. A moveable member is positioned in the air treatment chamber. A driving assembly is drivingly connected to the moveable member wherein an end wall of the air treatment chamber is openable in response to the moveable member being longitudinally translated through at least the portion of the air treatment chamber.

An apparatus for generating a vortex in a collection vessel of a vacuum cleaner, using a blade assembly rotatably mountable in the collection vessel. By rotating the blade assembly, a vortex is generated inside the collection vessel, and enough suction is created to draw air through the entire system. The use of a blade assembly to generate the vortex may remove the need for an impeller external to the collection vessel, as the blade assembly may be capable of creating enough suction to draw air into the collection vessel. This may allow the vacuum cleaner to operate with lower noise.

A cleaner includes: a suction motor that generates suction force; a dust separation unit that separates dust from air sucked by the suction force; a motor housing that covers the suction motor; a flow guide that surrounds an outer side of the motor housing and guides air discharged from the dust separation unit to the suction motor; and a body that forms an external appearance by surrounding the flow guide and guides air discharged from the suction motor together with the flow guide.

A surface cleaning apparatus comprises an air treatment member having an air treatment chamber. A moveable member is positioned in the air treatment chamber. A handle is drivingly connected to the moveable member by a driving linkage wherein part of the driving linkage extends through an opening in an end wall of the air treatment member, whereby the moveable member is longitudinally translatable through at least a portion of the chamber.

A hand vacuum includes a nozzle portion at a front end of the hand vacuum having a dirty air inlet. An air flow passage extends from the dirty air inlet to a clean air outlet in a main body rearward of the nozzle portion. The main body houses a suction motor in the air flow passage. First and second laterally spaced apart opposed arm members extend generally axially between the nozzle portion and the main body, and a volume is positioned between the nozzle portion, the main body and the opposed arm members. An air treatment member assembly comprising an air treatment member is removably downwardly from a position within the volume.

A surface cleaning apparatus comprises an air treatment member having an air treatment chamber. A moveable member is positioned in the air treatment chamber. A driving assembly is drivingly connected to the moveable member wherein the driving assembly is reconfigurable between a stored position and an operable position in which the driving assembly is operable to longitudinally translate the moveable member through at least a portion of the chamber.

A cleaner includes: a suction motor that generates suction force; a dust separation unit that separates dust from air sucked by the suction force; a motor housing that covers the suction motor; a flow guide that surrounds an outer side of the motor housing and guides air discharged from the dust separation unit to the suction motor; and a body that forms an external appearance by surrounding the flow guide and guides air discharged from the suction motor together with the flow guide.

A surface cleaning apparatus comprises a cyclone with an external dirt collection chamber and a vertically extending member is provided in the dirt collection chamber.

A surface cleaning apparatus comprises a cyclone with a cyclone air inlet provided at a medial position along the axial length of the cyclone chamber and a dirt collection chamber exterior to the cyclone chamber.

A vacuum cleaner having a cyclone chamber comprising a cyclone air inlet, a cyclone air outlet, a cyclone axis of rotation, an axially extending cyclone chamber sidewall extending between first and second axially opposed ends. The cyclone chamber sidewall has a first sidewall portion that is axially moveably mounted with respect to a second sidewall portion of the cyclone chamber sidewall between a closed position in which the cyclone chamber is closed and an open position in which the cyclone chamber is opened.