Rotatable brush for surface cleaning apparatus

1. A surface cleaning apparatus comprising:

a) an air flow path extending from a dirty air inlet to a clean air outlet with an air treatment member and a suction motor provided in the air flow path;

b) a rotatably mounted brush associated with the dirty air inlet, the rotatably mounted brush having an axis of rotation, a length in the axial direction, a radial outer surface and first and second axially spaced apart sides; and,

c) the rotatably mounted brush comprises a plurality of tufts wherein each tuft comprises a plurality of bristles extending outwardly from the radial outer surface, the bristles having a bristle length from the radial outer surface to an outer end of the bristles; and,

d) a hair blocking member provided proximate at least one tuft of the tufts and between a forward rotational side of the at least one tuft and a rearward rotational side of the at least one tuft, the hair blocking member having a length from the radial outer surface to an outer end of the hair blocking member and the outer end of the hair blocking member has a width in an axial direction of the rotatably mounted brush which is at least as wide as the at least one tuft.

2. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the hair blocking member comprises a plurality of segments positioned axially along the rotatable brush.

3. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 2 wherein each segment comprises a support column extending outwardly from the radial outer surface and an outer end, and the outer end of each segment is wider than at least a portion of the support column.

4. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 3 wherein the outer end of each segment extends in a direction that is at an angle to the axial direction.

5. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 3 wherein the outer end of each segment comprises a generally T-shaped member.

6. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 5 wherein the tufts extend in at least one row between the first and second axially spaced apart sides and the hair blocking member comprises a plurality of generally T-shaped member extending along the at least one row.

7. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 4 wherein the tufts extend in at least one row between the first and second axially spaced apart sides and the outer end of each segment extends generally parallel to the row of bristles.

8. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the hair blocking member comprises a support column extending away from the radial outer surface and an outer end wherein at least a portion of the support column is narrower than the outer end of the hair blocking member whereby the flexibility of the hair blocking member is increased.

9. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the hair blocking member extends continuously between the first and second axially spaced apart sides.

10. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tufts extend in at least one row between the first and second axially spaced apart sides and the hair blocking member extends continuously between the first and second axially spaced apart sides.

11. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tufts extend in at least one row between the first and second axially spaced apart sides and the hair blocking member comprises a flexible strip extending between the first and second axially spaced apart sides wherein the flexible strip is subdivided into a plurality of segments by a plurality of axially spaced apart breaks extending at least part way towards the radial outer surface from an outer end of the flexible strip.

12. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the length of the hair blocking member is smaller than the length of the bristles.

13. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the length of the hair blocking member is proximate the length of the bristles.

14. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the length of the hair blocking member is at least 80% the length of the bristles but does not extend outward of the outer end of the bristles.

15. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 1 wherein the hair blocking member is less flexible than the bristles.

16. A surface cleaning apparatus comprising:

a) an air flow path extending from a dirty air inlet to a clean air outlet with an air treatment member and a suction motor provided in the air flow path;

b) a rotatably mounted brush associated with the dirty air inlet, the rotatably mounted brush having an axis of rotation, a length in the axial direction, a radial outer surface and first and second axially spaced apart sides; and, c) a plurality of bristles extending outwardly from the radial outer surface, the bristles having a bristle length from the radial outer surface to an outer end of the bristles; and, d) a hair blocking member positioned internal of the bristles between a forward rotational side of the bristles and a rearward rotational side of the bristles, the hair blocking member having a length from the radial outer surface to an outer end of the hair blocking member and a width in an axial direction of the rotatably mounted brush which is at least 50% of a width of the bristles.

17. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 16 wherein the length of the hair blocking member is smaller than the length of the bristles.

18. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 16 wherein the length of the hair blocking member is proximate the length of the bristles.

19. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 16 wherein the length of the hair blocking member is at least 80% the length of the bristles but does not extend outward of the outer end of the bristles.

20. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 16 wherein the hair blocking member is less flexible than the bristles.

21. The surface cleaning apparatus of claim 16 wherein the bristles are provided as a plurality of tufts and the hair blocking member has a width that is at least 50% of a width of one of the tufts.