Circulator cooker

Abstract

A sous-vide circulator cooker is disclosed. A sous-vide circulator cooker can include a controller located in a sealed housing. The controller configured to be communicatively coupled to an electronic input device, such as a smart phone or server, and be capable of receiving control instructions from the electronic input device. The sous-vide circulator cooker can also include a submersible pump connected to the sealed controller, an adjustable electrode to detect water level, a clamp enabling the device to be adjustably secured to a container such as a water chamber. The cooker can be used to cook food placed in water within the chamber by heating the water.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A circulator cooker comprising:
 a body having a fluid agitation device, a heating element, and a temperature controller;   the temperature controller configured to actuate the fluid agitation device and the heating element to heat a fluid of a fluid container to a constant temperature; and   a clamp coupled to the body and configured to at least partially submerge the body in the fluid of the fluid container.   
     
     
         2 . The circulator cooker of  claim 1  further comprising:
 the body having an upper portion coupled to a lower portion, wherein the upper portion includes a display and an input device; and 
 the lower portion includes the fluid agitation device and the heating element and is configured for at least partial submersion in the fluid. 
 
     
     
         3 . The circulator cooker of  claim 2 , wherein the upper portion is sealed, thereby preventing the fluid from entering the upper portion. 
     
     
         4 . The circulator cooker of  claim 2 , wherein the lower portion is composed of at least stainless steel, aluminum or plastic. 
     
     
         5 . The circulator cooker of  claim 2 , further comprising the lower portion having one or more openings running along at least a portion of a length of the lower portion. 
     
     
         6 . The circulator cooker of  claim 2 , wherein the lower portion can include a removable cap having one or more openings. 
     
     
         7 . The circulator cooker of  claim 2 , wherein the lower portion is removable from the upper portion and removal of the lower portion exposes the fluid agitation device and heating element. 
     
     
         8 . The circulator cooker of  claim 2 , wherein the lower portion is manually removable. 
     
     
         9 . The circulator cooker of  claim 2 , wherein the temperature controller is configured to control the temperature of the heating element and to receive control data from the input device. 
     
     
         10 . The circulator cooker of  claim 2 , wherein the input device is a scroll wheel. 
     
     
         11 . The circulator cooker of  claim 2 , wherein the upper portion has a wireless communication receiver/transmitter. 
     
     
         12 . The circulator cooker of  claim 2 , wherein the display is turn-able at least three hundred and sixty degrees. 
     
     
         13 . The circulator cooker of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid agitation device can be a submersible pump system, the submersible pump system including a motor and an impeller. 
     
     
         14 . The circulator cooker of  claim 1  wherein the fluid agitation device includes a rotatable impeller. 
     
     
         15 . The circulator cooker of  claim 1 , wherein the clamp attaches circumferentially to the body and enables the body to be positioned substantially vertically. 
     
     
         16 . The circulator cooker of  claim 1 , wherein the clamp can be a hinged clamp that secures the body to the fluid container and enables the body to be positioned substantially vertically. 
     
     
         17 . The circulator cooker of  claim 1 , wherein the clamp is removably coupled to the body. 
     
     
         18 . The circulator cooker of  claim 1 , wherein the clamp is configured to enable vertical height adjustment of the body relative to the fluid container. 
     
     
         19 . The circulator cooker of  claim 1 , wherein the clamp is configured to enable angular adjustment of the body relative to the fluid container. 
     
     
         20 . The circulator cooker of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more electrodes configured to detect a water level of the container. 
     
     
         21 . A sous-vide cooking device releasably mountable upon a rim of a cook pot, the sous-vide cooking device comprising:
 an elongate body having an upper portion and a lower portion in an installed configuration, wherein the lower portion is configured to be at least partially submerged in a sous-vide water bath contained within a cook pot;   a mounting device coupled to the elongate body by an interconnection that accommodates relative motion between the mounting device and the elongate body, the mounting device having a cook pot rim engaging portion for releasably fixing the mounting device to a rim of a cook pot; and   the interconnection between the mounting device and the elongate body facilitating at least one of: (1) reciprocating motion of the elongate body relative to the mounting device and (2) rotational motion of the elongate body relative to the mounting device.   
     
     
         22 . The sous-vide cooking device recited in  claim 21 , wherein the interconnection between the mounting device and the elongate body is a slip-connection that in a released configuration permits relative motion between the mounting device and the elongate body and in a secured configuration prevents relative motion between the mounting device and the elongate body. 
     
     
         23 . The sous-vide cooking device recited in  claim 22 , wherein in the slip-connection is friction-secured in the secured configuration thereby preventing relative motion between the mounting device and the elongate body. 
     
     
         24 . The sous-vide cooking device recited in  claim 21 , wherein the relative motion that the interconnection accommodates between the mounting device and the elongate body is reciprocating motion of the elongate body relative to the mounting device. 
     
     
         25 . The sous-vide cooking device recited in  claim 21 , wherein the relative motion that the interconnection accommodates between the mounting device and the elongate body is rotational motion of the elongate body relative to the mounting device. 
     
     
         26 . The sous-vide cooking device recited in  claim 21 , wherein the upper portion further comprises a user display and the lower portion further comprises a water circulation outlet. 
     
     
         27 . The sous-vide cooking device recited in  claim 26 , wherein the upper portion and a lower portion of the elongate body are rotatably coupled one relative to the other thereby accommodating various positions of the user display relative to the water circulation outlet. 
     
     
         28 . The sous-vide cooking device recited in  claim 21 , wherein the upper portion of the elongate body has an outer housing that is substantially cylindrically shaped. 
     
     
         29 . The sous-vide cooking device recited in  claim 21 , wherein the lower portion of the elongate body has an outer housing that is substantially cylindrically shaped. 
     
     
         30 . The sous-vide cooking device recited in  claim 29 , wherein the upper portion of the elongate body has an outer housing that is similarly cylindrically shaped relative to the substantially cylindrically shaped outer housing of the lower portion so that the elongate body of the sous-vide cooking device is substantially uniformly cylindrically shaped along a majority of a length thereof.