A food product cutting apparatus for cutting a food product, comprising:
- a chassis designed and configured to engage a supporting structure so that the food product cutting apparatus is stable during a cutting operation;
- a blade set fixed relative to said chassis, said blade set having:
- a plurality of blades spaced to define a plurality of food openings for receiving cut portions of the food product therethrough during the cutting operation of the food product cutting apparatus;
- and
- a cutting edge side;
- a pusher head designed and configured to push the food product through said blade set, said pusher head movable relative to said blade set toward and away from said blade set on said cutting edge side;
- a guide mechanism defining a cutting thrust axis for said pusher head, said guide mechanism designed and configured to guide said pusher head along said cutting thrust axis during the cutting operation, wherein said cutting thrust axis forms an angle of 0° to 30° relative to vertical when said chassis is supported by the supporting structure;
- and
- a handle mechanism coupled to said chassis and engaged with said pusher head, said handle mechanism designed and configured to:
- provide said handle mechanism with a self-stable food loading position in which said handle mechanism holds the pusher head spaced from said blade set by action of gravity working on said handle mechanism;
- and
- allow a user to manually drive said pusher head from said self-stable food loading position along said cutting thrust axis toward said blade set with said guide mechanism guiding said pusher head along said cutting thrust axis;
- said handle mechanism including:
- a pusher arm having a handle and a fulcrum pivot located distally from said handle, wherein said pusher head is rotatably secured to said pusher arm between said handle and said fulcrum pivot;
- and
- a linkage mechanism comprising a pivoting link extending from said fulcrum pivot to a chassis pivot fixedly located on said chassis at a location below said fulcrum pivot when said chassis is engaged with the supporting structure, said pivoting link being pivotable about said chassis pivot, and said pusher arm being pivotable about said fulcrum pivot;
- wherein, when said handle mechanism is in said self-stable food loading position, said pusher head is in a fixed orientation relative to said blade set, and said pusher head maintains said fixed orientation when said pusher head is moved toward and away from said blade set by user-actuation of said handle mechanism.