On-board vehicle vacuum cleaner

1. A vacuum system for a motor vehicle comprising:

a receptacle mounted to a motor vehicle, the receptacle defining a cavity;

a casing selectively mountable to the receptacle, the casing comprises a panel with a hand hold for selectively withdrawing the casing from the cavity;

a source of suction carried by the casing;

a dust receptacle carried by the casing;

a flexible vacuum hose fluidly connected with the dust receptacle, such that dirt and entrained air are drawn through the hose and into the dust receptacle by the source of suction; and

a power cord for electrically connecting the source of suction with a power source.

2. The vacuum system of claim 1 , wherein the receptacle comprises a console mounted to a wall of the vehicle.

3. The vacuum system of claim 2 , wherein the console is mounted within a passenger compartment of the vehicle.

4. The vacuum system of claim 1 , wherein the receptacle defines a cavity and wherein the casing is slidably received within the cavity.

5. The vacuum system of claim 1 , wherein the casing defines a first recess for storing the flexible vacuum hose when the hose is not in use.

6. The vacuum system of claim 1 , wherein the casing defines a recess for storing tools.

7. The vacuum system of claim 1 , further comprising a filter, which filters dirt from the entrained air entering the dust receptacle, carried by the casing.

8. The vacuum system of claim 7 , wherein the filter is selectively mounted within the dust receptacle.

9. The vacuum system of claim 1 , wherein the dust receptacle is removably mounted within the casing.

10. The vacuum system of claim 9 , wherein the casing comprises a front panel which is selectively movable to provide access to the dust receptacle within the casing.

11. The vacuum system of claim 1 , wherein the power source is a battery of the motor vehicle.

12. A vacuum system for a motor vehicle comprising:

a receptacle mounted to a motor vehicle, the receptacle defining a cavity;

a casing selectively mountable to the receptacle, the receptacle and the casing cooperating to define a tongue and groove assembly for sliding the casing into and out of the cavity;

a source of suction carried by the casing,

a dust receptacle carried by the casing, and

a flexible vacuum hose fluidly connected with the dust receptacle, such that dirt and entrained air are drawn through the hose and into the dust receptacle by the source of suction; and

a power cord for electrically connecting the source of suction with a power source.

13. A vacuum system for a motor vehicle comprising:

a receptacle mounted to a motor vehicle;

a casing selectively mountable to the receptacle;

a source of suction carried by the casing;

an outlet port defined on the casing for outlet air exiting the source of suction;

an exhaust grill defined on the casing in spaced manner from the outlet port;

a dust receptacle carried by the casing;

a flexible vacuum hose fluidly connected with the dust receptacle, such that dirt and entrained air are drawn through the hose and into the dust receptacle by the source of suction; and;

a control member which selectively directs the outlet air to the outlet port or to the exhaust grill.

14. A vacuum system for a vehicle comprising:

a console mounted to the vehicle, the console defining a cavity and a panel wall;

a casing which forms a drawer of the console and is selectively received in the cavity such that an exterior wall of the casing is generally flush with the panel wall of the console;

a source of suction carried by the casing,

a dust receptacle carried by the casing, and

a vacuum nozzle in fluid communication with the source of suction and dust receptacle for vacuuming dirt from the vehicle.

15. The vacuum system of claim 14 , wherein the vacuum nozzle is selectively connectable with the dust receptacle by a flexible hose.

16. The vacuum system of claim 14 , wherein the nozzle is positioned upstream of the dust receptacle and the source of suction is positioned downstream of the dust receptacle.

17. A vacuum cleaner comprising:

a receptacle mounted to a motor vehicle;

a casing selectively mounted to the receptacle, the casing forming a drawer of the receptacle such that an exterior wall of the casing defines a wall of the receptacle, the casing comprising:

a dirt container,

a suction source, and

a filter positioned upstream from said suction source, a cyclonic airflow chamber being defined in the dirt container upstream of the filter.

18. The vacuum cleaner of claim 17 , wherein the filter is selectively mounted to said dirt container.

19. The vacuum cleaner of claim 18 , wherein the filter protrudes into the dirt container.

20. The vacuum cleaner of claim 17 , wherein the cyclonic airflow chamber is defined in the dirt container around the filter.

21. The vacuum cleaner of claim 17 , wherein the filter comprises a pleated planar material.

22. The vacuum cleaner of claim 21 , wherein the filter is approximately cylindrical in shape.

23. The vacuum cleaner of claim 17 , wherein the cyclonic airflow chamber includes a tangential inlet and an axial outlet.

24. The vacuum cleaner of claim 17 , wherein the dirt container is selectively removable from the casing.

25. The vacuum cleaner of claim 17 , wherein the filter includes a first end wall which extends into the dirt container and a second end wall which is aligned with a wall of the dirt container.

26. The vacuum cleaner of claim 25 , further comprising a first gasket located adjacent the second end wall of the filter.