Horizontal canister vacuum

Claim 1

A vacuum cleaner comprising: an elongated canister having a wall defining an interior cavity with an open top; a cover removably attachable to the canister open top; an air inlet in fluid communication with the canister interior cavity including means for removably attaching a conduit thereto; a motor/fan assembly affixed to the cover in cooperation with the open top and including a fan intake in communication with the interior cavity and an air outlet for evacuating air from the interior cavity; a filter element oriented within the canister dividing the internal cavity into a first region bounded by the cavity walls, the filter element and the cover, with the first region in direct communication with the air inlet, and a second region in fluid communication with the fan intake, wherein the second region is separated from the first region by the filter element; wherein the motor/fan assembly includes an armature and fan affixed to one another along a common axis, and two substantially complementary housing members which cooperate with one another along a common plane extending through the axis of the armature and fan, the housing members defining therebetween an armature cavity and an air outlet which is longitudinally spaced from the armature cavity; and the fan intake is situated outside of the two housing members along the axis and in fluid communication which the armature cavity so that air evacuated from the canister second region is pumped by the fan into the armature cavity and out through the air outlet.