Apparatus for dicing a deformable product

An apparatus for cutting a product, comprising:

• a conveyor assembly that conveys the product in a feed direction and defines a conveyance surface;
• a slitter assembly positioned relative to said conveyor assembly and coupled thereto, to slit the product into strips as the product is conveyed in the feed direction, said slitter assembly comprising a plurality of cutting elements arranged in a V shape, as viewed in a direction substantially normal to the conveyance surface, said cutting elements overlapping one another in the feed direction;
• and
• a chopping assembly positioned downstream of said slitter assembly to sever the strips of product substantially transversely to the feed direction, wherein said chopping assembly comprises an elongated blade positioned above said conveyance surface substantially transverse to the feed direction, said elongated blade being movable in an elliptical cutting motion about an axis substantially parallel to the length of said elongated blade, such that the elongated blade has a component in the downward direction to sever the strips of product, and a component in the feed direction to push the severed pieces of product in the feed direction.

An apparatus for cutting a product, comprising:

• a conveyor assembly that conveys the product in a feed direction and defines a conveyance surface;
• and
• a slitter assembly positioned relative to said conveyor assembly and coupled thereto, to slit the product into strips as the product is conveyed in the feed direction, said slitter assembly comprising a plurality of cutting elements arranged in a V shape, as viewed in a direction substantially normal to the conveyance surface, said cutting elements overlapping one another in the feed direction,
• wherein said conveyor assembly comprises a belt and a belt support frame located beneath said belt, and wherein said cutting elements are mounted above said belt so as to ride against and slightly depress said belt into recesses formed in said belt support frame, thereby ensuring that the product is slit completely through by said cutting elements.