Locking mechanism for in-vehicle vacuum assembly

A vacuum cleaner configured to be mounted in a vehicle, comprising:

• a vacuum module configured to draw a vacuum;
• a collector module configured to collect debris, the collector module having an accessible portion, a collector housing and a liner disposed on an inside surface of the collector housing;
• an interconnecting duct that operatively couples the vacuum module to the collector module, the vacuum module separate from the collector module;
• a release member including one of a release lever or a release button, the release member disposed on the accessible portion of the collector module, the release member moveable between a resting position and a release position;
• and
• a locking bar in contact with the release member and having a portion adapted to engage the liner of the collector module when the release member is in the resting position,
• wherein, upon actuating the release member towards the release position, the release member moves the locking bar out of engagement with the liner to unlock the collector module and allow the collector module to be further pulled towards the release position to disengage the collector module from the vacuum module, and
• wherein the interconnecting duct is configured to operatively couple the collector module to the vacuum module in any one of a plurality of pre-defined arrangements, the plurality of pre-defined arrangements including at least one of an in-line configuration and a side-by-side configuration.