DESC:FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to an apparatus, and more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a refrigerator having an apparatus to facilitate the separation of cream from milk.

BACKGROUND

Dairy products have been an essential item of our daily life due to their richness in calcium, proteins, and other vital nutrients. A cream one of the products extracted from milk is used in many food ingredients including but not limited to ice creams, sauces, soups, puddings, and cakes. The cream is generally extracted by subjecting the high-fat milk to centrifugal forces to separate the cream from the milk. Currently, the cream extraction warrants using a centrifugal machine or a blender. Another way of extracting the cream is by a gravity method, which may be done by holding the milk in a container to allow the cream to separate from the rest of the milk.

The current methods tend to be less effective as cream extracted from the milk includes a low-fat percentage and the time involved in the process is more, hence making the process slow. However, the gravitational method for separating the cream typically requires multiple steps such as heating, cooling, and refrigeration, and the centrifugal method requires special equipment that is not available domestically. In addition, the special equipment used in the centrifugal method is prone to mechanical failures.

Therefore, a need exist to have an improved solution to facilitate the separation of the by-products of milk such as high-fat cream, low-fat, or toned milk from regular milk.

SUMMARY
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts, in a simplified format, that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the invention nor is it intended for determining the scope of the invention.

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus for separating cream from milk. The apparatus includes a thermally insulated container having a base, and a plurality of sidewalls formed on the base. The plurality of sidewalls defines a volume to hold the milk. In addition, the thermally insulated container includes an opening formed by a free end of each of the plurality of sidewalls to facilitate access to the volume, and a cool pad adapted to cover the opening. The cool pad induces unidirectional cooling from the cool pad to the base to separate the cream from the milk.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a refrigerator comprising a refrigeration compartment, and an apparatus adapted to be positioned inside the refrigeration compartment. The apparatus includes a thermally insulated container having a base, and a plurality of sidewalls formed on the base, defining a volume to hold the milk. In addition, the apparatus includes an opening formed by a free end of each of the plurality of sidewalls to facilitate access to the volume, and a cool pad adapted to cover the opening and is thermally coupled to the refrigeration compartment. The cool pad induces unidirectional cooling from the cool pad to the base to separate the cream from the milk.

The apparatus facilitates the separation of the cream and toned milk from the milk by creating a temperature gradient. The creation of a temperature gradient makes the extraction of the cream fast as compared to the current techniques. In addition, the apparatus has no moving parts thereby making the process immune to any mechanical failure. Additionally, the cream separated by the apparatus includes a high percentage of fat as compared to the cream extracted by the gravity method.

To further clarify the advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 illustrates a single-door refrigerator facilitating the separation of cream from milk, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates an embodiment of a refrigerator having a single-door refrigerator and a double-door refrigerator for facilitating the separation of cream from milk, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates a perspective view of an apparatus, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 4 illustrates an exploded view of the apparatus as shown in Figure 3, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 5 illustrates a perspective view of an enclosed portion and a cool pad adapted to rest on the enclosed portion, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the apparatus as shown in Figure 3, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 7 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the cool pad, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

For example, the term “some” as used herein may be understood as “none” or “one” or “more than one” or “all.” Therefore, the terms “none,” “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would fall under the definition of “some.” It should be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the terminology and structure employed herein is for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and therefore, should not be construed to limit, restrict or reduce the spirit and scope of the present disclosure in any way.

For example, any terms used herein such as, “includes,” “comprises,” “has,” “consists,” and similar grammatical variants do not specify an exact limitation or restriction, and certainly do not exclude the possible addition of one or more features or elements, unless otherwise stated. Further, such terms must not be taken to exclude the possible removal of one or more of the listed features and elements, unless otherwise stated, for example, by using the limiting language including, but not limited to, “must comprise” or “needs to include.”

Whether or not a certain feature or element was limited to being used only once, it may still be referred to as “one or more features” or “one or more elements” or “at least one feature” or “at least one element.” Furthermore, the use of the terms “one or more” or “at least one” feature or element do not preclude there being none of that feature or element, unless otherwise specified by limiting language including, but not limited to, “there needs to be one or more…” or “one or more elements is required.”

Unless otherwise defined, all terms and especially any technical and/or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person ordinarily skilled in the art.

Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements of the present disclosure. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of explaining one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the proposed disclosure fulfill the requirements of uniqueness, utility, and non-obviousness.

Use of the phrases and/or terms including, but not limited to, “a first embodiment,” “a further embodiment,” “an alternate embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “multiple embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” “further embodiment”, “furthermore embodiment”, “an additional embodiment” or other variants thereof do not necessarily refer to the same embodiments. Unless otherwise specified, one or more particular features and/or elements described in connection with one or more embodiments may be found in one embodiment, or may be found in more than one embodiment, or may be found in all embodiments, or may be found in no embodiments. Although one or more features and/or elements may be described herein in the context of only a single embodiment, in the context of more than one embodiment, or in the context of all embodiments, the features and/or elements may instead be provided separately or in any appropriate combination or not at all. Conversely, any features and/or elements described in the context of separate embodiments may alternatively be realized as existing together in the context of a single embodiment.

Any particular and all details set forth herein are used in the context of some embodiments and therefore should not necessarily be taken as limiting factors to the proposed disclosure.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to Figure 1, a refrigerator 100 facilitating the separation of cream from milk is shown. Figure 2 illustrates an embodiment of a refrigerator 100 having a single-door refrigerator 400 and a double-door refrigerator 500 for facilitating the separation of cream from milk is shown. The refrigerator 100 facilitates the cooling of the one or more articles adapted to be positioned inside a refrigeration compartment 102. In addition, the refrigerator 100 includes an opening 104 to facilitate access to the refrigeration compartment 102, and a door 106 coupled with the refrigeration compartment 102 to selectively open and close the opening 104 of the refrigeration compartment 102. In addition, the refrigerator compartment 102 includes one or more shelves 108 to facilitate the positioning of one or more articles inside the refrigerator compartment 102.

Referring to Figure 3 a perspective view of an apparatus 110 is shown. Figure 4, illustrates an exploded view of the apparatus 110. The refrigerator 100 includes the apparatus 110 adapted to be positioned inside the refrigerator 100 or adapted to be coupled with at least one of the one or more shelves 108 of the refrigerator compartment 102. The apparatus 110 facilitates the separation of cream from milk.

As shown, the apparatus 110 includes a thermally insulated container 120 to facilitate the holding of the milk, an enclosed portion 122 disposed inside the thermally insulated container 120, and a cool pad 124 adapted to cover the thermally insulating container 120 and facilitate the cooling of the milk from the cool pad 124. Additionally, the thermally insulated container 120 includes a housing 130, and an insulation layer 132 adapted to rest inside the housing 130, such that the insulation layer 132 is sandwiched between the housing 130 and the enclosed portion 122.

Further, the housing 130 of the apparatus 110 includes a base 134, one or more sidewalls 138 extending upwardly from the base 134. In addition, the base 134 of the housing 130 includes a first surface 140 defining an inner surface of the housing 130 and a second surface (not shown) disposed opposite to the first surface 140 defining an outer surface of the housing 130. In an example, the second surface of the housing 130 comes in contact with the one or more shelve 108 (shown in Figure 1) when the apparatus 110 is placed inside the refrigerator compartment 102. The sidewalls 138 of the housing 130 include a first end 144 extending along a periphery of the base 134 and a second end/free end 146 disposed opposite the first end 144 and defining a free end of the one or more sidewalls 138 of the housing 130.

As shown, the one or more sidewalls 138 defines an enclosure extending between the one or more sidewalls 138 and the first surface 140 of the base 134. Further, the one or more sidewalls 138 include a first surface 148 defining an inner surface of the one or more sidewalls 138 adapted to face toward the enclosure. In addition, the one or more sidewalls include a second surface 150 disposed of opposite to the first surface 148 and defining an outer surface of the housing 130.

In addition, the housing 130 includes an open end (as shown in Figure 4) formed on the free end of the base 134, such that the open end facilitates access to the enclosure of the housing 130. As an example, the one or more sidewall 138 of the housing 130 includes a first sidewall 138a, a second sidewall 138b disposed opposite and spaced apart from the first sidewall 138a, a third sidewall 138c extending between the first sidewall 138a, and the second sidewall 138b, and a fourth sidewall 138d disposed opposite to the third sidewall 138c and extending between the first sidewall 138a and the second sidewall 138b. The four sidewalls 138a, 138b, 138c, 138d of the housing 130 defines a cuboidal shape configuration. In another example, the sidewalls 138 of the housing 130 defines a cylindrical shape configuration extending upwardly from the periphery of the base 134 thereby defining an open shape cylindrical configuration. In an example, the sidewalls 138 of the housing 130 are made of high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) material or materials having similar properties to facilitate the hardness of the housing 130.

In one example, the insulation layer 132 adapted to be positioned inside the enclosure of the housing 130 facilitates the thermal insulation of the apparatus 110. As shown, the insulation layer 132 includes a base 180 disposed parallel and spaced apart from the base 134 of the housing 130. In an example, the base 180 of the insulation layer 132 abuts the base 134 of the housing 130. In addition, the base 180 of the insulation layer 132 includes a first surface 182 defining an inner surface, and a second surface (not shown) disposed opposite to the first surface 182 defining an outer surface of the base 180 of the insulation layer 132.

In addition, the base 180 of the insulation layer 132 includes one or more walls 190 that contact with the sidewalls 138 of the housing 130 when the insulation layer 132 is installed inside the housing 130. Additionally, the walls 190 of the insulation layer 132 has a first end 192 extending along the periphery of the base 180, and a second end 194 disposed opposite the first end 192 defining a free end of the one or more walls 190. As shown, the insulation layer 132 defines a space enclosed within the walls 190, and the first surface 182 of the base 180. The space facilitates positioning/resting of the enclosed portion 122.

As an example, the walls 190 of the insulation layer 132 includes a first wall 190a, a second wall 190b disposed opposite and spaced apart from the first wall 190a, a third wall 190c extending between the first wall 190a, and the second wall 190b, and a fourth wall 190d disposed opposite to the third wall 190c and extending between the first wall 190a and the second wall 190b. The four sidewalls 190a, 190b, 190c, 190d of the housing 130 defines a cuboidal shape configuration. In addition, the first wall 190a of the insulation layer 132 is positioned parallelly inward from the first sidewall 138a of the housing 130, the second wall 190b of the insulation layer 132 is positioned parallelly inward from the second sidewall 138b of the housing 130, the third wall 190d of the insulation layer 132 is positioned parallelly inward from the third sidewall 138c of the housing 130, and the fourth wall 190d of the insulation layer 132 is positioned parallelly inward from the fourth sidewall 138d of the housing 130. In this manner, the insulation layer 132 is disposed inside the enclosure of the housing 130. In an example, the insulation layer 132 may abut the housing 130.

In an embodiment, a wall of the insulation layer 132 may define a cylindrical shape, or a cuboidal shape configuration extending upwardly from the periphery of the base 180, thereby defining an open-top configuration of the insulation layer 132. In an example, the insulation layer 132 is made of an expanded polystyrene or polyurethane (PU) foam to facilitate the thermal insulation from the housing and the ambient environment. In another example, the insulation layer 132 is made of a food-grade thermoplastic. In another example, the insulation layer 132 is made of any other material such as but not limited to a fiberglass, a mineral wool, a cellulose, a natural fiber, a polystyrene, a polyisocyanurate, a polyurethane, a perlite, a cementitious foam, a phenolic foam, an insulation-facing. In another example, the insulation layer 132 is made of any other thermally insulating material having a solid phase, a liquid phase, or a gaseous phase.

Referring to Figure 5 a perspective view of the enclosed portion 122 and the cool pad 124 adapted to rest on the enclosed portion 122 is shown. Figure 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the apparatus 110. Figure 7 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the cool pad 124.

As shown, the enclosed portion 122 of the apparatus 110 is adapted to sandwich the insulation layer 132. As shown, the enclosed portion 122 includes a base 220 having a first surface 222 defining an inner surface of the base 220, and a second surface (not shown) disposed opposite to the first surface 222 defining the outer surface of the base 220. The second surface of the base 220 of the enclosed portion 122 is adapted to face towards the first surface 182 of the base 180 of the insulation layer 132. In addition, the base 220 of the enclosed portion 122 includes one or more sidewalls 230 extending upwardly from a periphery of the base 220.

Further, the one or more sidewalls 230 include a first end 232 extending along the periphery of the base 220 of the enclosed portion 122, and a second end 234 disposed opposite the first end 232 defining a free end of the one or more sidewalls 230 of the enclosed portion 122. In addition, the one or more sidewalls 230 of the enclosed portion includes a first surface 240 defining an inner surface of the one or more sidewalls 230 facing towards the first surface 222 of the base 220, and a second surface 242 disposed opposite to the first surface 222 defining an outer surface of the one or more sidewalls 230 of the enclosed portion 122.

Furthermore, the enclosed portion 122 defines a volume extending between the sidewalls 230 and the first surface 222 of the base 220. Further, the enclosed portion 122 includes an opening 238 formed within the second end 234 of the one or more sidewalls 230 defining access to a volume of the enclosed portion 122 facilitating the holding/resting of the milk. In addition, the opening 238 is formed along the second end 146 defining the free ends of the plurality of sidewalls 138 of the housing 130.

As an example, the one or more sidewall 230 of the enclosed portion 122 includes a first sidewall 230a, a second sidewall 230b disposed opposite and spaced apart from the first sidewall 230a, a third sidewall 230c extending between the first sidewall 230a, and the second sidewall 230b, and a fourth sidewall 230d disposed opposite to the third sidewall 230c and extending between the first sidewall 230a and the second sidewall 230b. The four sidewalls 230a, 230b, 230c, 230d of the enclosed portion 122 define a cuboidal shape configuration.

In addition, the first sidewall 230a of the enclosed portion 122 is positioned parallelly inwardly from the first wall 190a of the insulation layer 132, the second sidewall 230b of the enclosed portion 122 is positioned parallelly inwardly from the second wall 190b of the insulation layer 132, the third sidewall 230d of the enclosed portion 122 is positioned parallelly inwardly from the third wall 190c of the insulation layer 132, and the fourth sidewall 230d of the enclosed portion 122 is positioned parallelly and inwardly from the fourth wall 190d of the insulation layer 132. In this manner, the enclosed portion 122 is disposed inside the enclosure of the insulation layer 132. In an example, the enclosed portion 122 may about the insulation layer 132. In another example, the enclosed portion 122 may be disposed spaced apart from insulation layer 132.

In addition, the second end 234 defining the free end of the one or more sidewalls 230 of the enclosed portion 122 includes a flange 260 projecting radially outwardly, such that the flange 260 defines an extension from the second ends 234 substantially perpendicular to a plane of the one or more sidewalls 230. Further, the flange 260 includes a first surface 262 adapted to face away from the apparatus 110, and a second surface disposed (not shown) disposed opposite to the first surface 262.

Further, the flange 260 of the enclosed portion 122 includes one or more extensions 266 adapted to extend outwardly from the flange 260. As shown, the extensions 266 of the enclosed portion 122 includes a curve defining a concave shape configuration to facilitate the mounting of the cream separator on the one or more shelves 108 of the refrigerator compartment 102 or facilitate any hanging mounting of the apparatus 110.

In one example, the cool pad 124 of the apparatus 110 is adapted to be positioned over the enclosed portion 122, such that the cool pad 124 rests on the flange 260 of the enclosed portion. The cool pad 124 defines a hollow cuboidal shape configuration with a surface 270 (hereinafter referred to as a first surface 270) facing towards the volume of the enclosed portion 122 and a second surface 272 disposed opposite to the first surface 270 such that the second surface faces away from the apparatus 110.

In addition, the cool pad 124 has a width that extends between the first surface 270, and the second surface 272. Further, the cool pad 124 includes a chamber (not shown) enclosed within the first surface 270, and the second surface 272. In an example, the cool pad 124 may include an opening 274 defining a hole extending along a thickness of the cool pad 124 and adapted to facilitate access to the chamber of the cool pad 124. As shown, the opening 274 may include a seal 276 to facilitate a leak-proof arrangement for holding the anti-freeze fluids inside the chamber of the cool pad 124.

As an example, the chamber may include one of the chemicals such as but not limited to an ammonium chloride, an ammonium nitrate, a calcium ammonium nitrate, or any other material having anti-freezing properties to facilitate the cooling of the milk resting inside the volume of the enclosed portion 122. As an example, the cool pad 124 is made using a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) material or other material having similar properties to facilitate and retain the cooling. In another example, the cool pad 124 is made of a food-grade thermoplastic.

Furthermore, the first surface 270 of the cool pad 124 includes a predefined structure 278 formed to facilitate the retention/absorption of moisture from the milk during the cooling of the milk in the apparatus 110. In an example, the predefined structure 278 is a honeycomb structure 280 distributed evenly across the first surface of the cool pad 124. The honeycomb structure 280 includes a hexagonal mesh arrangement made of a plastic, steel, a stainless steel, an aluminium, or any other metal to facilitate the absorption of moisture. The honeycomb structure 280 facilitates the increase in surface area to facilitate the retention/absorption of moisture from the milk and facilitate the cooling of the milk. In an example, the cool pad 124 may include a cover/lid 282 to facilitate the mounting/coupling of the cool pad 124 with the one or more shelves 108 of the refrigerator compartment 102.

The application and working of the refrigerator 100 having the apparatus 110 are now explained. Initially, the cold stored milk is boiled and allowed to cool down at a room temperature. Typically, the milk reaches a temperature equivalent to a room temperature when allowed to cool at the room temperature. Further, the milk is transferred to the volume of the enclosed portion 122 of the apparatus 110 and positioned inside the refrigeration compartment 102 of the refrigerator 100.

Further, the cool pad 124 is positioned over the flange 260 of the enclosed portion such that the cool pad 124 covers the volume and the milk. The cool pad 124 facilitates the uni-directional cooling of the milk in the volume of the enclosed portion 122 such that a top surface of the milk disposed proximate to the cool pad 124 is cooler as compared to the temperature of the milk disposed proximate to the first surface 222 of the base 220 of the enclosed portion 122. Typically, the temperature difference/gradient extends between the top surface of the milk and the surface of the milk portion proximate to the first surface 222 of the base 220. In an example, the temperature difference extending between the top surface of the milk and the surface of the milk portion proximate to the first surface 222 of the base 220 ranges from 2 degrees Celsius to 10 degrees Celsius.

In this manner, the milk is cooled and reaches a temperature of four to five degrees Celsius in almost five hours. After eight hours of storage in the refrigerator, the cream is separated from the milk and settled along top of the milk and the toned milk having a low-fat percentage is settled below the cream. The thick cream may be separated manually or extracted from the apparatus 110 after twelve hours of storage in the refrigerator 100.

The advantages of the refrigerator 100 having the apparatus 110 are now explained with respect to the Table 1 below.

TABLE. 1

As shown in TABLE 1, shows the comparison and analysis of the end products having the cream and the toned milk from the milk. The cream is extracted from the apparatus 110 of the present disclosure and by the gravitational method. As shown in the Table 1, the gravitational method involving normal cooling, yields cream having 28.8% fat. However, using the refrigerator 100 having the apparatus 110 results in cream having 34.14% fat. In addition, the gravitational method yields toned milk having 3.53% fat. However, using the refrigerator 100 with the apparatus 110 yields toned milk having 1.85% fat. In this manner, the fat percentage recovered from milk using the gravitational method is 24.23%. However, the fat percentage recovered from milk using the refrigerator 100 with the apparatus 110 is 55.24%. The process of separation using the refrigerator 100 having the apparatus 110 is faster as compared to the gravitational methods. In addition, no special equipment or any commercial scale equipment is required to separate the cream from the milk. The refrigerator 100 having the apparatus 110 resulted in an almost 30% increase in fat recovered from the milk.

The cream extracted from the milk via the refrigerator 100 having the apparatus 110 has a high concentration of fat as compared to the cream extracted by the gravitational method. Further, the milk separated after the extraction of cream includes low fat concentration as compared to the milk separated after the extraction of cream via the gravitational methods. Further, there are no moving parts in the apparatus 110 making the process of extraction of cream prone to mechanical failures. The refrigerator 100 having the apparatus results in an almost 30% increase in fat recovered from the milk.

While specific language has been used to describe the present disclosure, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. ,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. An apparatus (110) for separating cream from milk, the apparatus (110) comprising:
a thermally insulated container (120) comprising:
a base (134);
a plurality of sidewalls (138) formed on the base (134), defining a volume to hold the milk; and
an opening (238) formed by a free end of each of the plurality of sidewalls (138) to facilitate an access to the volume; and
a cool pad (124) adapted to cover the opening (238), wherein the cool pad (124) induces unidirectional cooling from the cool pad (124) to the base (134) to separate the cream from the milk.

2. The apparatus (110) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the thermally insulated container (120) comprising:
a housing (130);
an enclosed portion (122) disposed inside the housing (130), the enclosed portion (122) having a base (220) and a plurality of sidewalls (230) extending upwardly from the base (220) to facilitate the holding of the milk; and
an insulation layer (132) sandwiched between the housing (130) and the enclosed portion (122) to thermally insulate the enclosed portion (122) from the housing (130).

3. The apparatus (110) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the insulation layer (132) is an expanded polystyrene/polyurethane (PU) foam insulation block.

4. The apparatus (110) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cool pad (124) includes a predefined structure (278) formed on a surface facing the volume of the thermally insulated container (120) to facilitate retention of moisture from the milk during the cooling.

5. A refrigerator (100) comprising:
a refrigeration compartment (102); and
an apparatus (110) adapted to be positioned inside the refrigeration compartment (102), the apparatus (110) comprising:
a thermally insulated container (120) comprising:
a base (134);
a plurality of sidewalls (138) formed on the base (134), defining a volume to hold the milk; and
an opening (238) formed by a free end (146) of each of the plurality of sidewalls (138) to facilitate an access to the volume; and
a cool pad (124) adapted to cover the opening (238) and is thermally coupled to the refrigeration compartment (102), wherein the cool pad (124) induces unidirectional cooling from the cool pad (124) to the base (134) to separate the cream from the milk.

6. The refrigerator (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the thermally insulated container (120) comprising:
a housing (130);
an enclosed portion (122) disposed inside the housing (130), the enclosed portion (122) having a base (220) and a plurality of sidewalls (230) extending upwardly from the base (220) to facilitate the holding of the milk;
an insulation layer (132) sandwiched between the housing (130) and the enclosed portion (122) to thermally insulate the enclosed portion (122) from the housing (130); and
a lid (282) to cover the cool pad (124) and adapted to couple with the refrigerator (100).

7. The refrigerator (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the insulation layer (132) is of an expanded polystyrene/polyurethane (PU) foam insulation block.

8. The refrigerator (100) as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cool pad (124) and the enclosed portion (122) are made of a food-grade thermoplastic.

9. The refrigerator (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the cool pad (124) includes a predefined structure (278) formed on a surface (270) facing the base (134) of the thermally insulated container (120) to facilitate retention of moisture from the milk during the cooling.

10. The refrigerator (100) as claimed in claim 9, wherein the predefined structure (278) is a honeycomb structure (280) to facilitate the retention of moisture from the milk.