Sberbank officially “received the go-ahead” from Rospatent for the production of smart refrigerators. At the end of 2018, Alexey Eroshkin, technical director of the bank, took the initiative to produce smart technology. And now, when Rospatent has reviewed and officially approved the application, the company may ban the import of such smart refrigerators into Russia.
What can a patented smart device do? Many touch sensors and cameras allow the user to monitor the condition of the products and their quantity in the refrigerator. When food supplies are running out or their expiration date has expired, the equipment informs the owner through a mobile application. Then the user makes a decision: to buy products in the store on his own or set up an automatic order, indicating the type of products and the required quantity.
The smart refrigerator communicates with other devices via cellular or Wi-Fi. And the user receives all the necessary information and information about the refrigerator and its contents through the same application or web interface.
As lawyers explain, Sberbank received the right not to invent a smart refrigerator, but to a utility model. That is, having this document in hand, the bank acquires the legal right to prohibit the sale, production or import into the territory of the Russian Federation of refrigerators with the above technical characteristics. Therefore, there is every chance that in the next 10 years our compatriots may not see smart refrigerators from such brands as Samsung, LG and Bosch.
Representatives of the bank itself hastened to report that the release of refrigerators is not yet included in their plans. A patent is needed if the company decides to develop smart technology in the future. But whether representatives of Sberbank use the right to ban smart refrigerators of other brands is not yet known.