Patent ID: 7581940

Claim:
A cooked rice mold apparatus comprising: a hopper for receiving and holding cooked rice, a rolling section disposed under the hopper for rolling the cooked rice supplied from the hopper into a flat elongated shape, and a molding section for shaping the cooked rice rolled by the rolling section into a rod shape, wherein the rolling section comprises: a top rolling roller pair arranged on an exit side of the hopper and having first and second rollers arranged parallel to each other, a bottom rolling roller pair arranged at a downstream side of the top rolling roller pair and having third and fourth rollers arranged parallel to each other, a swing arm rotationally supported on a frame at a spindle, said first and third rollers being rotationally supported on the swing arm on an upper side thereof relative to the spindle so that spaces of the first and third rollers are variable relative to the second and fourth rollers, a crank arm connected to a lower side of the swing arm relative to the spindle, and rotationally supported on a shaft, a supporting stay connected to the shaft of the crank arm, and having a driven body rotatably attached to the supporting stay, said driven body having a female screw, and a motor having a worm gear engaging the female screw of the driven body to move the crank arm back and forth so that the swing arm moves back and forth to thereby change the spaces of the first and third rollers relative to the second and fourth rollers.