Electromagnetic filter cleaning system

A mobile surface maintenance machine has a cleaning brush and a dust collection system mounted on the machine. The dust collection system includes a vacuum fan, a filter housing having an air inlet and a pleated filter element positioned within the housing with its upstream side being in communication with the housing air inlet. The filter housing has separate, side-by-side, chambers on the downstream side of the filter. There are electrically operated valves located in the filter housing on the downstream side of the filter element, with the valves being in communication with the vacuum fan. There is one valve controlling air flow from each chamber. The filter element is functionally divided into separate, but joined, pleated sections, with each section being aligned with one of the chambers. There is an electric actuator mounted on the downstream side of each pleated filter section and there is a pleat moving element associated with and movable by each electric actuator. The pleat moving elements each are in engagement with only the pleats in one filter section. The application of electric power to the actuators causes movement of the pleat moving elements which move the filter pleats in a vibratory manner in a direction generally perpendicular to folds in the pleats. There is a control circuit for coordinating the application of power to the actuators and the valves whereby when power is applied to an actuator to impart vibratory motion to one pleated section, the valve associated with the chamber aligned with the one pleated section is operated to essentially shut off air flow through the one pleated section.