Abstract: The invention concerns an upright vacuum cleaner comprising a cleaning head portion supporting an upright portion which includes a collector for vacuumed detritus, the cleaning head portion being provided with wheel means which allow the cleaner to be moved and directed over a floor surface by a user holding a handle provided at an upper region of the upright portion, wherein a lower region of the upright portion is structurally attached to the cleaning head by a tubular conduit in which air-entrained detritus can be conveyed from the cleaning head to the collector, and wherein the tubular conduit is provided with a swivelling connection in which a first tubular member associated with the upright portion engages with a second tubular member associated with the cleaning head portion, so that a male end of one of the tubular portions is seated co-axially in a female end of the other, and wherein the tubular portions are retained in engagement by an elongate flexible locking member which is accommodated in an an

Abstract: The present invention relates to the field of vacuum cleaners for cleaning carpets and other floor surfaces. The invention particularly relates to upright cleaners which have a cleaning head portion and an upstanding handle portion which typically carries a collection device for collecting detritus lifted by a vacuum induced airflow. The present invention provides an upright vacuum cleaner, the cleaning head portion being provided with wheel means which allow the cleaner to be moved over a floor surface, wherein the wheel means comprises first and second laterally spaced apart rear wheels and a castor wheel that is located at a position forward of the rear wheels and preferably aft of the roller brush. The castor wheel is preferably located in a domed recess in an underside of the cleaning head.