Dust collector

A dust collector, comprising:

• a tank having a suction port in an upper part thereof;
• and
• a main body including an electric blower, wherein
• air that is drawn through the suction port from outside by the electric blower is discharged through the tank and the main body, and
• a filter that separates the suction port from the main body in an intake path extending from the suction port to the electric blower and that is capable of catching dust in the air is provided in the tank, the dust collector further comprising:
• a pair of the intake paths in which air flows respectively through a pair of the filters projecting within the tank, and formed so as to be combined together on an upstream side of the electric blower;
• a pair of communication paths that allow a discharge passage on a downstream side of the electric blower to communicate with each of the intake paths;
• first opening and closing members each provided on a downstream side of the communication path in the intake path, capable of opening and closing the intake path, and formed so as to be biased, in a normal state, to a position where the first opening and closing member opens the intake path;
• second opening and closing members each provided in the communication path, capable of opening and closing the communication path, formed so as to be biased, in the normal state, to a position where the second opening and closing member closes the communication path, and to open the communication path in response to a closing operation of closing the intake path by the first opening and closing member;
• and
• an operation unit capable of alternately causing the first opening and closing members in the intake paths to perform the closing operation, wherein
• when the operation unit causes one of the first opening and closing members to perform the closing operation and thus causes the second opening and closing member to open the communication path, discharged air in the discharge passage is guided to one of the intake paths via the communication path, the discharged air is caused to flow backward in the intake path and returned to the tank through the filter, and is guided to the other intake path, so that the dust on the filter of the one intake path is removed.