Cooked rice forming apparatus

A cooked rice forming apparatus for forming cooked rice into a desired shape wherein the cooked rice is evenly spread and formed into a sheet shape having a thickness smaller than a width, having two opposing sides in a thickness direction that are a front side and a back side and the cooked rice is fed into the cooked rice forming apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

• a light guide part that is provided with a first surface and a second surface, and made of a material having transparency, wherein
• the first surface is inclined with respect to an installation surface of the cooked rice forming apparatus so that the first surface has a slope, and that, when the cooked rice in the sheet shape is placed on the first surface with the back side of the cooked rice facing down, the cooked rice slides down on the slope of the first surface due to its own weight,
• the second surface is arranged on a lower side of the slope of the first surface and arranged to face toward the first surface with a predetermined space so that the front side of the cooked rice is not in contact with the second surface;
• a light source part that is a light source to emit ultraviolet rays and is provided near the light guide part;
• a forming part that is arranged below a lower side of the slope of the first surface of the light guide part, and forms the cooked rice into the desired shape;
• and
• a housing body that accommodates an input part, a discharging part, the light guide part, the light source part and the forming part wherein the input part is arranged above an upper side of the slope of the first surface of the light guide part, and is an opening portion through which the cooked rice is fed, and the discharging part is arranged below the forming part and is an opening portion through which the cooked rice that has been formed in the desired shape by the forming part is discharged, wherein
• the light guide part is configured such that at least the first surface and the second surface glow due to the ultraviolet rays emitted from the light source part,
• the housing is made of a material that does not transmit ultraviolet rays,
• the housing has a lid part to open and close the input part,
• the cooked rice forming apparatus comprises a light source control part that controls to turn on and off the light source of the light source part, and
• the light source control part controls to turn off the light source when the lid is opened under a condition where the light source is on.

A cooked rice forming apparatus for forming cooked rice into a desired shape wherein the cooked rice is evenly spread and formed into a sheet shape having a thickness smaller than a width, having two opposing sides in a thickness direction that are a front side and a back side and the cooked rice is fed into the cooked rice forming apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

• a light guide part that is provided with a first surface and a second surface, and made of a material having transparency, wherein
• the first surface is inclined with respect to an installation surface of the cooked rice forming apparatus so that the first surface has a slope, and that, when the cooked rice in the sheet shape is placed on the first surface with the back side of the cooked rice facing down, the cooked rice slides down on the slope of the first surface due to its own weight,
• the second surface is arranged on a lower side of the slope of the first surface and arranged to face toward the first surface with a predetermined space from the first surface so that the front side of the cooked rice is not in contact with the second surface;
• a light source part that is a light source to emit ultraviolet rays and is provided near the light guide part;
• a forming part that is arranged below a lower side of the slope of the first surface of the light guide part, and forms the cooked rice into the desired shape;
• and
• a housing body that accommodates an input part, a discharging part, the light guide part, the light source part and the forming part wherein the input part is arranged above an upper side of the slope of the first surface of the light guide part, and is an opening portion through which the cooked rice is fed, and the discharging part is arranged below the forming part and is an opening portion through which the cooked rice that has been formed in the desired shape by the forming part is discharged, wherein
• the light guide part is configured such that at least the first surface and the second surface glow due to the ultraviolet rays emitted from the light source part,
• the light guide part is configured with at least two different members that are a first member and a second member wherein the first member has the first surface and the second member has the second surface,
• when assembled in the housing body, the first member and the second member are in physical contact at a contact section, and
• the ultraviolet rays, which is emitted from the light source part and runs in one of the first and second members, is transmitted to the other of the first and second members through the contact section such that the first and second surfaces both glow.