Flail-vacuum seed harvester

A flail-vacuum seed and grain harvester, said harvester including an elongated horizontal housing adapted to be horizontally laterally advanced against a seed or grain crop and defining front and rear longitudinal sides and opposite ends, said housing including a pair of vertically spaced and registered downwardly concave and upwardly concave upper and lower generally partial cylindrical members, each of less than 180.degree. in angular extent, extending between said ends and including corresponding front and rear arc end marginal portions extending longitudinally of said housing, the spacing between said partial cylindrical members defining a front-to-rear extending passage in said housing having an inlet end disposed between said front arc end marginal portions and an outlet end disposed between said rear arc end marginal portions, an elongated seed stripping rotary brush journalled in said housing between and extending longitudinally of said partial cylindrical members and including bristle ends which sweep across the opposing concave sides of said partial cylindrical members, the forward arc end portion of said upper partial cylindrical member diverging outwardly from the cylindrical path through which the outer periphery of said brush swings, the rear arc end portion of said upper cylindrical member including an extension extending generally tangentially rearwardly and downwardly from said path at an elevation spaced above the rear arc end of said lower partial cylindrical member, said housing including a longitudinally extending rear portion thereof disposed rearwardly of the axis of rotation of said brush and which is generally horizontal V-shaped in cross section and opens forwardly toward said brush, the free ends of the diverging leg portions of said horizontal V-shaped rear portion being generally horizontally aligned with the upper and lower peripheries of said brush, said tangential extension projecting into said rear portion and being spaced below and generally paralleling the upper leg portion thereof, the spacing between said extension and said upper leg portion comprising an outlet slot from said rear portion of said housing, motor means drivingly connected to said brush for rotating the latter in a direction with the lower periphery thereof moving forwardly and upwardly across said inlet, said outlet opening into the rear portion of said housing below said extension, said forward arc end of said upper partial cylindrical member being disposed forward of and above the forward arc end of said lower partial cylindrical member, the lower leg of said horizontal V-shaped rear housing portion comprising a support surface for harvested seed or grain.