Dust filter and vacuum cleaner comprising such a filter

A dust filter for filtering dust out of an air stream in a vacuum cleaner including a motor, the filter comprising:

• a filter membrane pleated into a row of pleats;
• a shaft rotatably attached to the top end and fixedly attached to the motor;
• and
• a flexible plate attached to the shaft and having
• a width parallel the shaft, the width decreasing gradually over at least a portion of the flexible plate with an increasing distance from the shaft to the pleats, and
• a free end configured to extend between the pleats for movement along the row of pleats to deflect and release the pleats in succession for cleaning the filter membrane,
• wherein the free end has an at least partially curved contour parallel the shaft, and
• wherein a radius of curvature of said contour is larger in a central portion of said free end than at side portions of said free end.

A vacuum cleaner having a filter, the filter comprising:

• a top end having an air passage and a bottom end;
• a filter membrane pleated into a row Of pleats and fixedly attached between the top end and the bottom end;
• a shaft rotatably attached to the top end and the bottom end;
• and
• a flexible plate attached to the shaft and having
• a width parallel the shaft, the width decreasing gradually over at least a portion of the flexible plate from the shaft to pleats, and
• a free end configured to extend between the pleats for movement along the row of pleats to deflect and release the pleats in succession for cleaning the filter membrane as the flexible plate rotates around the shaft.