PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10397770-B2
Application Number: US-201414499002-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Mitigating paging collisions in dual standby devices

Abstract:
Disclosed herein is a technique for mitigating paging collisions in mobile devices. When a new electronic Subscriber Identity Module (eSIM) is to be provisioned on a mobile device, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) information associated with each of the SIMs/eSIMs currently installed on the mobile device is obtained and provided to a provisioning server. In turn, the provisioning server utilizes the IMSI information to select a new eSIM associated with an IMSI that is unlikely to result in a paging collision when operated alongside the SIMs/eSIMs installed on the mobile device. The provisioning server provides the new eSIM to the mobile device, whereupon the mobile device installs the eSIM into the embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card (eUICC) for operation.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method comprising:
 at a provisioning server:
 receiving, from a mobile device, a first provisioning request comprising at least a portion of a first international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), wherein: i) the first IMSI is associated with a first electronic subscriber identity module (eSIM), ii) the first eSIM is present on an embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC), iii) the eUICC is included in the mobile device, iv) the first provisioning request is for a second eSIM, and v) the second eSIM is associated with a second IMSI different than the first IMSI; 
 identifying, based on the at least a portion of the first IMSI, a particular eSIM as the second eSIM to provide to the mobile device; and 
 providing, to the mobile device, the particular eSIM. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, at the provisioning server:
 performing paging occasion calculations using the at least a portion of the first IMSI. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the particular eSIM is identified based on the paging occasion calculations. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the provisioning server manages, for each mobile network operator (MNO) of a plurality of MNOs, a pool of available eSIMs associated with the MNO. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first provisioning request further comprises a mobile network operator (MNO) identifier that identifies an MNO associated with the second eSIM. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , further comprising, at the provisioning server:
 identifying the MNO based on the MNO identifier included in the first provisioning request. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 6 , further comprising, at the provisioning server:
 identifying a pool of available eSIMs associated with the identified MNO, wherein the particular eSIM is identified from the pool of available eSIMs. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the particular eSIM is associated with a particular IMSI that is unlikely to result in a paging collision when operated alongside the first eSIM. 
     
     
       9. A mobile device, comprising:
 an embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC) on which a first electronic subscriber identity module (eSIM) is present; 
 a processor; and 
 a memory configured to store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the mobile device to carry out steps that include:
 issuing, to the eUICC, a request for a first international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) of the first eSIM, 
 receiving, from the eUICC, at least a portion of the first IMSI, 
 issuing, to a provisioning server, a request for a second eSIM, wherein the request includes the at least a portion of the first IMSI, and 
 receiving, from the provisioning server, the second eSIM, wherein the second eSIM is associated with a second IMSI different than the first IMSI. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The mobile device of  claim 9 , wherein the at least a portion of the first IMSI is signed by the eUICC. 
     
     
       11. The mobile device of  claim 9 , wherein the at least a portion of the first IMSI comprises a complete IMSI. 
     
     
       12. The mobile device of  claim 9 , wherein the steps further include:
 providing the second eSIM to the eUICC for installation. 
 
     
     
       13. The mobile device of  claim 9 , wherein the second IMSI is unlikely to result in a paging collision when the second eSIM is operated alongside the first eSIM. 
     
     
       14. The mobile device of  claim 9 , further comprising a removable universal integrated circuit card (UICC). 
     
     
       15. The mobile device of  claim 14 , wherein the request further includes at least a portion of a third IMSI associated with a subscriber identity module (SIM) installed on the removable UICC. 
     
     
       16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium configured to store instructions that, when executed by a processor included in a provisioning server, cause the provisioning server to select a particular electronic Subscriber Identity Module (eSIM) for a mobile device, by carrying out steps that include:
 receiving, from a mobile device, a first provisioning request comprising at least a portion of a first international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), wherein: i) the first IMSI is associated with a first electronic subscriber identity module (eSIM), ii) the first eSIM is present on an embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC), iii) the eUICC is included in the mobile device, iv) the request is for a second eSIM, and v) the second eSIM is associated with a second IMSI different than the first IMSI; 
 identifying, based on the at least a portion of the first IMSI, a particular eSIM as the second eSIM to provide to the mobile device; and 
 providing, to the mobile device, the particular eSIM. 
 
     
     
       17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the steps further include:
 performing paging occasion calculations using the at least a portion of the first IMSI. 
 
     
     
       18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the particular eSIM is identified based on the paging occasion calculations. 
     
     
       19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the first provisioning request further comprises a mobile network operator (MNO) identifier that identifies an MNO associated with the second eSIM. 
     
     
       20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 16 , wherein the second IMSI that is unlikely to result in a paging collision when the particular eSIM is operated alongside the first eSIM.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/005,643, entitled “MITIGATING PAGING COLLISIONS IN DUAL STANDBY DEVICES” filed May 30, 2014, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The described embodiments set forth a technique for mitigating paging collisions in mobile devices. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Most mobile devices (e.g., smart phones) are configured to utilize removable Universal Integrated Circuit Cards (UICCs) that provide access to wireless network services managed by mobile network operators (MNOs). A UICC typically takes the form of a small removable card (e.g., a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card) that is inserted into a mobile device. Some mobile devices are capable of supporting two SIM cards in a standby mode. These mobile devices are usually referred to as Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) devices. In some cases, a first SIM card in a DSDS device can enable the DSDS device to communicate with a first wireless network (e.g., provided by a first MNO), and a second SIM card in the DSDS device can enable the DSDS device to communicate with a second wireless network (e.g., provided by a second MNO that is different than the first MNO). In some cases, each SIM card is associated with different wireless networks provided by the same MNO. 
     The DSDS device periodically wakes from a power saving sleep state to monitor paging channels for each of the two wireless networks. If the DSDS device wakes to monitor two separate paging channels associated with each of the two wireless networks during overlapping or identical time slots, a paging collision can occur. Such paging collision can result in, for example, missed phone calls, and can lead to a degraded customer experience. In some implementations, embedded UICCs (eUICCs) are being included on system boards of mobile devices and are used in place of, or to supplement, removable UICCs. The eUICCs are configured to manage multiple Electronic Subscriber Identity Modules (eSIMs) associated with one or more wireless networks. Paging collisions can occur within eUICC-based mobile devices just as paging collisions can occur in UICC-based mobile devices (e.g., a DSDS device). This problem is exacerbated by the implementation of eUICCs that are capable of managing multiple eSIMs, which increases the probability for paging collisions to occur. 
     SUMMARY 
     Representative embodiments set forth herein disclose various techniques for mitigating paging collisions at a mobile device by utilizing device-specific information, e.g., International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) information. Specifically, when the mobile device issues a request for a new electronic Subscriber Identity module (eSIM) to be provisioned on the mobile device, the mobile device is configured to gather IMSI information associated with (i) SIMs stored in removable Universal Integrated Circuit Cards (UICCs) included in the mobile device, and/or (ii) eSIMs stored in an embedded UICC (eUICC) included in the mobile device. After obtaining the IMSI information, the mobile device issues the request for the new eSIM to a provisioning server, where the request includes the obtained IMSI information as well as one or more parameters (e.g., an identifier for a mobile network operator (MNO)) associated with the new eSIM. 
     The provisioning server, upon receiving the request from the mobile device, is configured to utilize the IMSI information when selecting the new eSIM to be provided to the mobile device. Specifically, the provisioning server identifies a pool of eSIMs that satisfy the parameters included in the request (e.g., a pool of eSIMs associated with an MNO operator specified in the request). Subsequent to identifying the pool of eSIMs, the provisioning server performs a paging occasion calculation for each of the installed SIMs/eSIMs based on the IMSI information received from the mobile device. The provisioning server also performs a paging occasion calculation for each of the eSIMs included in the identified pool of eSIMs, and selects the new eSIM for the mobile device from the identified pool of eSIMs based on the results of the paging occasion calculations. Based on this approach, the provisioning server utilizes the IMSI information to select the eSIM for the mobile device, the eSIM having an associated IMSI that is unlikely to result in a paging collision when operated alongside the SIMs/eSIMs installed on the mobile device. 
     This Summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example embodiments so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims. 
     Other aspects and advantages of the embodiments described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the described embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The included drawings are for illustrative purposes and serve only to provide examples of possible structures and arrangements for the disclosed inventive apparatuses and methods for providing wireless computing devices. These drawings in no way limit any changes in form and detail that can be made to the embodiments by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. The embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like structural elements. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of different components of a system configured to implement the various techniques described herein, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a sequence diagram of a method for enabling provisioning of a new eSIM on a mobile device, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a sequence diagram of a method that is carried out by a provisioning server of  FIG. 1 , and involves identifying a particular eSIM to be provided to a mobile device of  FIG. 1 , according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a sequence diagram of a method that is carried out by a mobile device of  FIG. 1 , and involves requesting a new eSIM for the mobile device, according to some embodiments. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a detailed view of a computing device that can be used to implement the various components described herein, according to some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Representative applications of apparatuses and methods according to the presently described embodiments are provided in this section. These examples are being provided solely to add context and aid in the understanding of the described embodiments. It will thus be apparent to one skilled in the art that the presently described embodiments can be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known process steps have not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presently described embodiments. Other applications are possible, such that the following examples should not be taken as limiting. 
     Typically, in a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode, a DSDS mobile device periodically wakes up to monitor paging channels (e.g., Paging Indication Channel—PICH) associated with two different mobile network operators (MNOs) with which the mobile device is interacting. If the mobile device wakes up to monitor paging channels associated with the two MNOs in overlapping or identical time slots, a paging collision can occur. Such paging collisions can cause connectivity issues and lead to a degraded customer experience. 
     To mitigate paging collisions, the embodiments described herein provide techniques that utilize International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) information associated with electronic Subscriber Identity Modules (eSIMs) that are currently installed on an embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Cart (eUICC) of a mobile device. In some cases, the mobile device can include, in addition to the eUICC, one or more receiving bays for removable UICCs on which Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) are installed. In either case, when a new eSIM is to be provisioned on the mobile device, the IMSI information associated with the installed SIMs/eSIMs is obtained. More specifically, the mobile device gathers the IMSI information from the UICCs/eUICCs and provides the IMSI information associated with the SIMs/eSIMs to a provisioning server. 
     The provisioning server receives the IMSI information and is configured to perform, for each of the SIMs/eSIMs installed on the mobile device, a paging occasion calculation using the IMSI information associated with the SIM/eSIM, according to some embodiments. The provisioning server also performs a paging occasion calculation for each of the eSIMs included in an identified pool of candidate eSIMs for the new eSIM to be provisioned on the mobile device. Based on this approach, the provisioning server utilizes the IMSI information to select an eSIM with an associated IMSI that is unlikely to result in a paging collision when operated alongside the SIMs/eSIMs installed on the mobile device. 
     Accordingly, the foregoing approaches provide techniques for selecting an eSIM with an IMSI that is unlikely to result in paging collisions. A more detailed discussion of these techniques is set forth below and described in conjunction with  FIGS. 1-5 , which illustrate detailed diagrams of systems and methods that can be used to implement these techniques. 
     In accordance with various embodiments described herein, the terms “wireless communication device,” “wireless device,” “mobile device,” “mobile station,” and “user equipment” (UE) may be used interchangeably herein to describe one or more common consumer electronic devices that may be capable of performing procedures associated with various embodiments of the disclosure. In accordance with various implementations, any one of these consumer electronic devices may relate to: a cellular phone or a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a personal computer, a netbook computer, a media player device, an electronic book device, a MiFi® device, a wearable computing device, as well as any other type of electronic computing device having wireless communication capability that can include communication via one or more wireless communication protocols such as used for communication on: a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless metro area network (WMAN) a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), a near field communication (NFC), a cellular wireless network, a fourth generation (4G) LTE, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), and/or 5G or other present or future developed advanced cellular wireless networks. The wireless communication device, in some embodiments, can also operate as part of a wireless communication system, which can include a set of client devices, which can also be referred to as stations, client wireless devices, or client wireless communication devices, interconnected to an access point (AP), e.g., as part of a WLAN, and/or to each other, e.g., as part of a WPAN and/or an “ad hoc” wireless network. In some embodiments, the client device can be any wireless communication device that is capable of communicating via a WLAN technology, e.g., in accordance with a wireless local area network communication protocol. In some embodiments, the WLAN technology can include a Wi-Fi (or more generically a WLAN) wireless communication subsystem or radio, the Wi-Fi radio can implement an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 technology, such as one or more of: IEEE 802.11a; IEEE 802.11b; IEEE 802.11g; IEEE 802.11-2007; IEEE 802.11n; IEEE 802.11-2012; IEEE 802.11ac; or other present or future developed IEEE 802.11 technologies. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of different components of a system  100  that is configured to implement the various techniques described herein, according to some embodiments. More specifically,  FIG. 1  illustrates a high-level overview of the system  100 , which, as shown, includes a mobile device  102  and a group of base stations  112  that are managed by different MNOs  114 . According the illustration of  FIG. 1 , the mobile device  102  can represent a mobile computing device (e.g., an iPhone® or an iPad® by Apple®), the base stations  112  can represent different radio towers that are configured to communicate with the mobile device  102 , and the MNOs  114  can represent different wireless service providers that provide specific services (e.g., voice and data) to which the mobile device  102  can be subscribed. The communication networks associated with the MNOs can include Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, and the like. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the mobile device  102  can include a processor  104 , a memory  106 , an embedded UICC (eUICC)  108 , and a radio transceiver  110 . The processor  104 , in conjunction with the memory  106 , can implement a main operating system (OS)  107  of the mobile device  102  that is configured to execute native OS applications and user applications. 
     The eUICC  108  represents a non-removable UICC that is embedded directly within a main system board (i.e., soldered to the system board) of the mobile device  102 . As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the eUICC  108  can be configured to store multiple eSIMs  120 . Each eSIM  120  is a software emulation of a typical SIM (e.g., stored in a removable UICC) and contains analogous application and subscriber/user data. Each eSIM  120  can be associated with a different MNO  114 , thereby enabling a mobile device  102  in which the eSIMs  120  are included to authenticate with a number of different MNOs  114  through the base stations  112 . For example, the eUICC  108  can be configured to store an eSIM  120  for each MNO  114  with which the mobile device is interacting. When a particular eSIM  120  of the multiple eSIMs  120  receives a call via a corresponding MNO  114 , the particular eSIM  120  is active while the other eSIMs  120  become inactive (i.e., do not receive any calls). The eSIMs  120  share a single radio transceiver  110  to connect to the different MNOs  114 . Although not illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the mobile device  102  can also be configured to include a receiving bay for a removable UICC that manages one or more SIMs. In this manner, the mobile device  102  can be further configured to provide the benefit of multi-MNO connectivity using a variety approaches, e.g., activating one eSIM  120  managed by the eUICC  108  to connect to a first MNO  114  and activating another SIM managed by a removable UICC to connect to a second MNO  114 . 
     Each eSIM  120  can be associated with a unique identifier  122  (for example, International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)) and can include multiple applets  124  that define the manner in which the eSIM  120  operates. For example, one or more of the applets  124 , when implemented by the eUICC  108 , can be configured to enable the mobile device  102  to communicate with MNOs  114  and provide useful features (e.g., phone calls and internet) to a user of the mobile device  102 . Although not illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the eUICC  108  can include a microprocessor and a storage device that contains computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the microprocessor, cause the microprocessor to perform the various operations described herein. 
     When operating in DRX mode, the mobile device  102  is configured to periodically wake up to monitor paging channels (e.g., Paging Indication Channel—PICH) associated with the different MNOs  114 . A paging occasion refers to a time at which the mobile device  102  wakes up to monitor the PICH associated with a particular MNO  114 . Hence, the mobile device  102  maintains paging occasions for each of the MNOs with which the mobile device is interacting. The mobile device  102  wakes up only once during a particular paging occasion to read a paging indicator (PI) carried in the PICH. Based on the PI, the mobile device  102  can determine whether there is an upcoming paging message for the mobile device  102  on an associated paging channel (PCH) in the SCCPCH (Secondary Common Control Physical Channel) frame. If the PI indicates that there is no upcoming paging message, the mobile device  102  goes back into a sleep mode. If the PI indicates that there is an upcoming paging message, the mobile device  102  monitors the PCH for the paging message. A paging occasion for the mobile device  102  can be calculated based on IMSI information as follows according to equation (1) set forth below.
 
Paging Occasion={(IMSI div  K )mod DRX Cycle Length}+( n *DRX Cycle Length)  (1)
 
     According to equation (1), K represents the number of available SCCPCHs that carry a PCH, and n is set at zero and is incremented by one until the paging occasion exceeds a particular threshold, e.g., four thousand ninety-five (4095). 
     A paging indicator (PI) for the mobile device  102  can be calculated according to equation (2) set forth below.
 
Paging Indicator=(IMSI div 8192)mod  Np   (2)
 
     According to equation (2), Np represents the number of paging indicators per PICH frame. 
     As previously noted herein, in some instances, if the mobile device  102  wakes up to monitor paging channels associated with at least of two of the MNOs  114  in overlapping or identical time slots, a paging collision can occur. To mitigate such paging collisions, IMSI information associated with SIMs/eSIMs currently installed on the mobile device  102  is used by a provisioning server to select a new eSIM  120  with an IMSI that is unlikely to result in a paging collision when operating alongside the SIMs/eSIMs installed on the mobile device  102 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a sequence diagram of a method  200  for provisioning a new eSIM  120  on the mobile device  102 , according to some embodiments. As shown, the method  200  begins at step  202 , where the OS  107  executing on the mobile device  102  issues, to the eUICC  108 , a request for IMSI information associated with the SIMs/eSIMs installed on the eUICC  108 . At step  204 , the eUICC  108 , in response to the request received from the mobile device  102 , provides the IMSI information associated with each of the installed SIMs/eSIMs to the OS  107 . 
     At step  206 , the OS  107  issues, to the provisioning server  140  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ), a request for a new eSIM  120 , where the request includes the IMSI information associated with each of the eSIMs installed on the mobile device  102 . It will be understood that the steps of  FIG. 2  are not limited to obtaining IMSI information only for eSIMs included in the eUICC  108 . For example, in embodiments where the mobile device  102  is configured to include, in addition to an eUICC, a removable UICC that manages one or more SIMs, the OS  107  can request IMSI information associated with the SIMs and eSIMs from the UICC and eUICC, respectively (in step  202 ). Similarly, in step  204 , UICC and/or eUICC may provide the IMSI information associated with the SIMs and/or eSIMs to the OS  107 . 
     The request can further include an MNO identifier that identifies an MNO  114  that corresponds to the new eSIM  120 . According to one embodiment, provisioning server  140  is a server hosted/operated by a third-party entity that includes a pool of available eSIMs  120  (i.e., available to be provisioned on mobile devices) associated with one or more of the MNOs  114 . The OS  107  of the mobile device  102  communicates with the provisioning server  140  via a network or a combination of networks. The network(s) can include MNO networks, a wired or wireless local area network (LAN), a wide area network, and/or other networks. 
     Steps  208 - 214  represent a series of steps performed by the provisioning server  140  in response to receiving the request for a new eSIM  120 . At step  208 , the provisioning server  140  identifies the MNO  114  associated with the new eSIM  120 . According to one embodiment, the provisioning server  140  identifies a pool of available eSIMs  120  associated with the identified MNO  114 . At step  210 , provisioning sever  140  performs a paging occasion calculation for each of the eSIMs  120  installed on the mobile device  102  based on the IMSI information included in the request. The provisioning server  140  also performs a paging occasion calculation for each of the available eSIMs  120  in the pool. At step  212 , the provisioning server  140  can, based on the paging occasion calculation (of the installed eSIMs  120  and the available eSIMs  120 ), identify a particular eSIM  120  to be provided the mobile device  102  from the identified pool of available eSIMs  120 , wherein the particular eSIM  120  is unlikely to result in a paging collision when in use with the SIMs/eSIMs currently installed on the mobile device  102 . At step  214 , the provisioning server  140  can provide the identified eSIM  120  to the mobile device  102 . 
     Finally, at step  216 , mobile device  102  provides the identified eSIM  120  to the eUICC  108 . At step  218 , the eUICC  108  installs the identified eSIM  120  onto the eUICC  108 . 
     According to an embodiment, the IMSI information associated with the eSIMs  120  that is included in the request is signed by the eUICC  108 . In this case, when the provisioning server  140  receives the IMSI information from the mobile device  102 , the provisioning server  140  can check the signature to ensure that the IMSI information is received from a legitimate mobile device  102 . 
     According to another embodiment, instead of including the IMSI information for each eSIM  120  in the request at step  206 , a value calculated based on the IMSI (e.g., IMSI div 8192) for each eSIM  120  can be included in the request. By doing so, the complete IMSI associated with the eSIMs  120  is not revealed and user privacy is not compromised. The provisioning server  140  can be configured to perform the paging occasion calculation based on the provided value, where the provisioning server can determine the complete IMSI based on the provided value and perform the paging occasion calculation accordingly. 
     According to yet another embodiment, the IMSI information associated with an available eSIM  120  is stored within a metadata section of the eSIM  120 . The eSIM  120  may be encrypted while the metadata is not encrypted but still protected. In this manner, the provisioning server  140  can identify a particular eSIM  120  to be provided to the mobile device  102  without having to decrypt the eSIM  120 . 
     Furthermore, while the provisioning server  140  is described as being a third-party server, the provisioning server  140  can include a separate provisioning server hosted/operated by each MNO  114 . In this case, the mobile device  102  may send a request for the new eSIM  120  to the appropriate provisioning server  140  (i.e., the provisioning server associated with the MNO whose eSIM is requested). Each provisioning server  140  stores a pool of available eSIMs  120  for the corresponding MNO  114  and is configured to identify a particular eSIM  120  to be provided to the mobile device  102  based on the paging occasion calculations. 
     Also, while the SIMs/eSIMs in the mobile device  102  are described as being associated with different MNOs  114 , it will be readily appreciated that the mobile device  102  may include one or more SIMs/eSIMs associated with a single MNO  114  (for example, one SIM/eSIM for personal use and a second SIM/eSIM for business use). Each of these SIMs/eSIMs may have an associated IMSI and the techniques described herein can be applied to this scenario as well, where the provisioning server  140  can be used to provide a new eSIM  120  associated with the same MNO  114  or a different MNO  114  to the mobile device  102 . 
     Based on the foregoing techniques described in  FIG. 2 , the provisioning server  140  can use the IMSI information associated with SIMs/eSIMs installed on the mobile device  102  to pick out an eSIM  120  associated with an IMSI that is unlikely to result in a paging collision when in use with the currently installed SIMs/eSIMs. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a sequence diagram of a method  300  that is carried out by the provisioning server  140  of  FIG. 1 , and involves identifying a particular eSIM  120  to be provided to the mobile device  102 , according to some embodiments. As shown, the method  300  begins at step  302 , where the provisioning server  140  receives, from the mobile device  102  a request for a new eSIM  120 . According to one embodiment, the request includes the IMSI information associated with each of the SIMs/eSIMs installed on the mobile device  102 . The request can further include an MNO identifier that identifies an MNO  114  associated with the new eSIM  120 . At step  304 , the provisioning server  140  identifies the MNO  114  based on the MNO identifier included in the request. According to one embodiment, the provisioning server  140  identifies a pool of available eSIMs  120  associated with the identified MNO  114 . At step  306 , the provisioning server  140  performs a paging occasion calculation for each of the installed eSIMs  120  based on the IMSI information included in the request. The provisioning server  140  also performs a paging occasion calculation for each of the available eSIMs  120  within the identified pool. 
     At step  308 , the provisioning server  140  identifies a particular eSIM  120  to be provided to the mobile device  102 . The particular eSIM  120  is identified based on the paging occasion calculation of the installed eSIMs  120  and the available eSIMs  120 , as described herein. The identified eSIM  120  is unlikely to result in a paging collision when operating alongside the SIMs/eSIMs installed on the mobile device  102 . At step  310 , the identified eSIM is provided to the mobile device  102 , whereupon the mobile device  102  can install the identified SIM and interface with the identified MNO  114 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a sequence diagram of a method  400  that is carried out by the OS  107  of the mobile device  102  of  FIG. 1 , and involves requesting a new eSIM  120  for the mobile device  102 , according to some embodiments. As shown, the method  400  begins at step  402 , where the OS  107  of the mobile device  102  issues, to the eUICC  108 , a request for IMSI information for eSIMs  120  managed by the eUICC  108 . Although not illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the OS  107  can be configured to identify removable UICCs, if any, included in the mobile device  102 , and to identify IMSI information for SIMs installed on the removable UICCs. At step  404 , the OS  107  receives, from the eUICC  108 , the IMSI information associated with the one or more eSIMs  120 . At step  406 , the OS  107  issues, to the provisioning server  140 , a request for a new eSIM  120 , where the request includes the IMSI information. At step  408 , the OS  107  receives the new eSIM  120  from the provisioning server  140  in response to the request. As indicated herein, the received eSIM  120  includes an IMSI that is unlikely to result in a paging collision when in use with the SIMs/eSIMs installed on the mobile device  102 . At step  410 , the OS  107  provides the received eSIM  120  to the eUICC  108  for installation. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a detailed view of a computing device  500  that can be used to implement the various components described herein, according to some embodiments. In particular, the detailed view illustrates various components that can be included in the mobile device  102  or provisioning server  140  illustrated in  FIG. 1 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the computing device  500  can include a processor  502  that represents a microprocessor or controller for controlling the overall operation of computing device  500 . The computing device  500  can also include a user input device  508  that allows a user of the computing device  500  to interact with the computing device  500 . For example, the user input device  508  can take a variety of forms, such as a button, keypad, dial, touch screen, audio input interface, visual/image capture input interface, input in the form of sensor data, etc. Still further, the computing device  500  can include a display  510  (screen display) that can be controlled by the processor  502  to display information to the user. A data bus  516  can facilitate data transfer between at least a storage device  540 , the processor  502 , and a controller  513 . The controller  513  can be used to interface with and control different equipment through and equipment control bus  514 . The computing device  500  can also include a network/bus interface  511  that couples to a data link  512 . In the case of a wireless connection, the network/bus interface  511  can include a wireless transceiver. For example, for mobile device  102 , the network/bus interface  511  can include radio transceiver  110  to connect with a plurality of communication networks associated with a plurality of mobile network operators. 
     The computing device  500  also include a storage device  540 , which can comprise a single disk or a plurality of disks (e.g., hard drives), and includes a storage management module that manages one or more partitions within the storage device  540 . In some embodiments, storage device  540  can include flash memory, semiconductor (solid state) memory or the like. The computing device  500  can also include a Random Access Memory (RAM)  520  and a Read-Only Memory (ROM)  522 . The ROM  522  can store programs, utilities or processes to be executed in a non-volatile manner. The RAM  520  can provide volatile data storage, and stores instructions related to the operation of the mobile device  102  or provisioning server  140 . When used as a mobile device  102 , the computing device  500  includes a secure element  550 , which can represent the eUICC  108  illustrated in  FIG. 1  and described in detail herein. 
     The various aspects, embodiments, implementations or features of the described embodiments can be used separately or in any combination. Various aspects of the described embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware or a combination of hardware and software. The described embodiments can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any data storage device that can store data which can thereafter be read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable medium include read-only memory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, DVDs, magnetic tape, hard disk drives, solid state drives, and optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also be distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. 
     The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the described embodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments are presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the described embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20140926
Publication Date: 20190827
Grant Date: 20190827
Priority Date: 20140530
Inventors: LI, LI
MATHIAS, ARUN G.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04W8/205", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W68/005", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/183", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/205", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/183", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W68/005", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/183", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W68/005", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/205", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 54703400