Vacuum cleaner suction control

In a vacuum cleaner of the canister type comprising a housing having a filter compartment including an inlet and an outlet, a porous filter bag mounted in said filter compartment in flow communication with said inlet, means for creating sub-atmospheric pressure in said compartment and said bag for drawing dirt laden air through said inlet and discharging filtered air through said outlet, the improvement comprising a suction control for controlling the pressure in the filter compartment, said control comprising an aperture in said housing communicating said filter bag compartment with the exterior of said housing, a valve member, mounting means spaced from the aperture for pivotably mounting the valve member on the housing for movement in the plane of the aperture between positions covering and uncovering the aperture, and control means for selectively pivoting said valve member including an operator, means for constraining said operator for slidable movement in a path substantially parallel to said plane, a cam track formed on said valve skewed with respect to said path, and a stud secured to said operator and positioned on said track for pivoting said valve about the mounting means as said operator is moved in said path.