WO2021226768A1

WO2021226768A1 - Universal integrated circuit card (uicc) profile management

Info

Publication number: WO2021226768A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/089493
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jian Li; Meng Liu; Jingnan QU; Hao Zhang; Fojian ZHANG; Chaofeng HUI; Wei He; Hong Wei
Original assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated; Peng, Yun
Priority date: 2020-05-09
Filing date: 2020-05-09
Publication date: 2021-11-18

Abstract

A method to improve profile management for a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of a user equipment is described. The method includes sending, by the user equipment, an enable profile request to the UICC. The method also includes receiving a REFRESH command from the UICC in a profile state change mode. The method further includes sending, by the user equipment, a terminal response to the UICC when the UICC is in a disabled profile state.

Description

UNIVERSAL INTEGRATED CIRCUIT CARD (UICC) PROFILE MANAGEMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to methods and systems for accessing network services on a wireless device. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to improving profile management for a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of a device.

BACKGROUND

Some designs of mobile communications/wireless devices (e.g., smart phones, tablet computers, and laptop computers) include a single universal integrated circuit card (UICC) , multiple universal integrated circuit cards, or multiple subscriber identity module (SIM) cards. The cards store user identity information for multiple subscriptions that enable users to access multiple separate mobile telephony networks. Some of the UICCs (e.g., embedded UICCs (eUICCs) ) are capable of supporting remote provisioning of network subscription information. A UICC may be removable or implemented within memory of mobile communications devices.

The information stored in a UICC may enable mobile communications devices to communicate with a variety of different types of mobile telephony networks. Examples of mobile telephony networks include third generation (3G) , fourth generation (4G) , long term evolution (LTE) , fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) , code division multiple access (CDMA) , CDMA 2000, wideband CDMA (WCDMA) , global system for mobile communications (GSM) , single-carrier radio transmission technology (1xRTT) , and universal mobile telecommunications systems (UMTS) . Each subscription enabled by a UICC may use a particular radio access technology (RAT) to communicate with its respective network.

A UICC profile may define the fundamental set of features specified for users to realize the benefits from the UICC enjoying the services provided by the noted high capacity networks. Changing a UICC profile, however, may delay registration with one of the noted high capacity networks.

SUMMARY

A apparatus to improve profile management for a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of a user equipment is described. The apparatus includes means for sending, by the user equipment, an enable profile request to the UICC. The apparatus also includes means for receiving a REFRESH command from the UICC in a profile state change mode. The apparatus further includes means for sending, by the user equipment, a terminal response to the UICC when the UICC is in a disabled profile state.

An apparatus to improve profile management for a user equipment is described. The apparatus includes a memory, a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) , and a communication interface coupled to the UICC of the user equipment. The apparatus also includes a processor (s) coupled to the memory and the communication interface of the UICC. The processor (s) is configured to send, by the user equipment, an enable profile request to the UICC. The processor (s) is also configured to receive a REFRESH command from the UICC in a profile state change mode. The processor (s) is further configured to send, by the user equipment, a terminal response to the UICC when the UICC is in a disabled profile state.

This has outlined, rather broadly, the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the present disclosure will be described below. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this present disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the teachings of the present disclosure as set forth in the appended claims. The novel features, which are believed to be characteristic of the present disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIGURE 1 shows a wireless device communicating with a wireless communications system.

FIGURE 2 shows a block diagram of the wireless device in FIGURE 1, according to an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIGURE 3 is a process flow diagram of a method for improving profile management for a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of a device, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGURE 4 depicts a simplified flowchart of a method to improve profile management for a non-compliant universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of a user equipment, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGURE 5 is a component block diagram of a wireless device suitable for implementing the method to improve profile management for a non-compliant universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of a user equipment, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGURE 6 is a block diagram showing an exemplary wireless communications system in which a configuration of the disclosure may be advantageously employed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts. As described, the use of the term “and/or” is intended to represent an “inclusive OR, ” and the use of the term “or” is intended to represent an “exclusive OR. ”

The terms “subscriber identification module, ” “SIM, ” “universal subscriber identity module, ” “USIM, ” “user identity module, ” “UIM, ” “removable user identity module, ” and “RUIM” are used to mean a memory that may be an integrated circuit or embedded into a removable card, which stores an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) , related key, and/or other information used to identify and/or authenticate a wireless device on a network. In some networks (e.g., GSM networks) , SIMs may store network specific information used to authenticate and identify subscribers on the network, the most important of which are the integrated circuit card identifier (ICCID) , international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) , authentication key (Ki) , and local area identity (LAI) . The SIM may also store other carrier specific data, such as short message service center (SMSC) numbers, service provider names (SPNs) , service dialing numbers (SDNs) , and value added service (VAS) applications. In various aspects, a USIM and an RUIM may be modules in UMTS and CDMA networks, respectively, which provide equivalent functions to a SIM in a GSM network. However, the terms “SIM, ” “USIM, ” and “RUIM” may be used interchangeably to refer to a general module that is not restricted to a particular standard or technology.

The term “SIM” may also be used as a shorthand reference to a communications network associated with a particular SIM, because the information stored in a SIM enables the wireless device to establish a communications link with a particular network. Thus, the SIM and the communications network, as well as the services and subscriptions supported by that network, correlate to one another.

The terms “universal integrated circuit card, ” “UICC, ” “smart card, ” and “SIM card, ” are used interchangeably to refer to a memory chip or integrated circuit used to provide a SIM, a USIM, and/or an RUIM, to a wireless device (e.g., a user equipment) in order to store the described provisioning and/or other data. Various UICCs may have storage capabilities ranging from two to three kilobytes up to one gigabyte of information.

During an initialization phase of a UICC, a user equipment initiates registration with a network for the UICC. For example, a processor (e.g., a baseband processor) of the user equipment may provide passwords based on an initial selected application identifier (AID) command. Applications residing on the UICC are executed by an external reader, such as a baseband processor, by first selecting an application according to an AID, and then sending commands to the selected application (e.g., a USIM application) . This initialization phase to activate the application is part of a network registration procedure. After completing this initialization phase to activate the selected application, an authentication procedure is performed as part of a network registration procedure.

The authentication procedure is initiated by the network, which transfers an authentication request message to the user equipment including the UICC. Once the user equipment successfully completes the authentication procedure, registration of the UICC with the network is complete. Once successful authentication is completed, the user equipment registers a network for the UICC. Registration of the UICC with the network may be based on a UICC profile. A UICC profile may define the fundamental set of features specified for users to realize the benefits offered by the UICC for enjoying services provided by a network. Changing the UICC profile, however, may delay registration with the network.

For example, in a first scenario, a UICC profile A is initially enabled for the UICC of a user equipment on a network. In this first scenario, the user equipment sends a request to enable a UICC profile B and camps on the network with the UICC profile B. In a second scenario, initially, a UICC profile is not enabled for the UICC of the user equipment on a network. In this second scenario, the user equipment sends a request for enabling the UICC profile B and camps on the network with the new UICC profile B. In these scenarios, the UICC may be an embedded UICC (eUICC) card.

Unfortunately, the second scenario triggers an additional power down/power up of the UICC. This additional power down/power up of the UICC is problematic because the user equipment is forced to camp on the network with the new profile B for an increased amount of time. That is, from the perspective of a customer, the additional power down/power up of the UICC results in an unexpected delay for completing registration with the network according to the new profile B. This unexpected delay may degrade the user’s experience while operating the user equipment.

In both scenarios, sending the request for enabling the UICC profile B triggers an “eUICC Profile State Change” mode of the UICC. In this mode, the UICC issues a REFRESH command to the user equipment in response to the request for enabling the new profile B. As established by the relevant standard (e.g., per ETSI (European Telecommunications Standard Institute) 102 223 clause 6.4.7) , an “eUICC Profile State Change” mode indicates that the card is about to change the enabled profile. That is, the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode is generally applicable to scenarios where the UICC switches from one enabled profile to another enabled profile.

Accordingly, in the first scenario, the profile A is initially enabled for the UICC, which meets the above pre-condition of having an enabled profile, as specified for the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode. In this mode, the user equipment terminates a current provisioning application and sends a terminal response to the REFRESH command from the UICC. This process resets the UICC to perform an answer-to-reset (ATR) procedure. Subsequent to the ATR procedure, a new provisioning application is activated to enable the new profile B for the UICC to operate in an enabled profile state.

By contrast, in the second scenario, the UICC is initially in a disabledprofile state, which does not align with the above noted pre-condition of “eUICC Profile State Change” mode. In this second scenario, a REFRESH command is unexpectedly not received from the UICC. Unfortunately, a legacy design follows the noted specification and does not consider this second scenario of having a disabled profile state during the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode. Instead, the legacy design specifies a fall back from the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode to a “UICC Reset” mode.

The fall back procedure performed by the legacy design is specified by the relevant standard (e.g., as per global system for mobile communication association (GSMA) SGP. 22) . According to the relevant standard, in the enabled/disabled profile scenarios described above, either the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode or “UICC Reset” mode is used. To comply with this specification, the legacy design absorbs both modes into one united procedure. This legacy design differentiates between the two modes depending on whether the provisioning application exists (e.g., whether the provisional application is open) .

In the legacy design, problematic behavior occurs if an enable profile request is sent to the UICC when a provisioning application does not exist (e.g., a null provisioning application is detected when the UICC is in the disabledprofile state) . According to the legacy design, if the provisioning application is null, then the UICC is immediately reset regardless of the mode type. This follows because the relevant standard dictates that a fall back to the “UICC Reset” mode is the only option when an enable profile request is sent to the UICC in a disabled profile state. Therefore, once the fall back happens, the UICC is reset by the user equipment; however, the expected terminal response to the REFRESH command sent by the UICC in the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode is never sent by the user equipment.

In the second scenario, the behavior of the UICC does not comply with the specification because the UICC should not operate in the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode when the UICC is in the disabled profile state. Nevertheless, in the near future, the GSMA standard may extend the applicability of the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode. For example, this profile state change mode may be extended to enable profile management related to the second scenario enabling the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode for the UICC in a disabled profile state. With this change, the user equipment is specified to support the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode in various cases and is not limited to the first scenario of the existing specification.

In aspects of the present disclosure, a method i enables a user equipment to work with non-compliant eUICC cards by performing the procedure specified for the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode. This aspect of the present disclosure removes the interdependence between the “UICC Reset” mode and the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode. In addition, the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode is modified to handle both an enabled profile state and a disabled profile state of a UICC. This modification ensures that the user equipment does not reset the UICC, but delivers an expected terminal response to the UICC and proceeds with a post answer-to-reset (ATR) procedure to enable a new profile. In the future, the GSMA standard will likely extend the applicability of the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode as the supporting mode for eUICC use cases for applicability of the present disclosure.

FIGURE 1 shows a wireless device 110 that includes the disclosed universal integrated circuit card (UICC) to improve profile management for the UICC. The wireless device 110 communicates with a wireless communications system 120. The wireless device 110 includes a multi-band (e.g., dual-band) concurrent millimeter wave (mmW) transceiver. The wireless communications system 120 may be a 5G NR system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, millimeter wave (mmW) technology, or some other wireless system. A CDMA system may implement wideband CDMA (WCDMA) , time division synchronous CDMA (TD-SCDMA) , CDMA2000, or some other version of CDMA. In a millimeter wave (mmW) system, multiple antennas are used for beamforming (e.g., in the range of 30 GHz, 60 GHz, etc. ) . For simplicity, FIGURE 1 shows the wireless communications system 120 including two

base stations

130 and 132 and one system controller 140. In general, a wireless system may include any number of base stations and any number of network entities.

The wireless device 110 may be referred to as a mobile equipment, a user equipment (UE) , a mobile station, a terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a station, etc. The wireless device 110 may also be a cellular phone, a smartphone, a tablet, a wireless modem, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a handheld device, a laptop computer, a Smartbook, a netbook, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a

device, etc. The wireless device 110 may be capable of communicating with the wireless communications system 120. The wireless device 110 may also be capable of receiving signals from broadcast stations (e.g., a broadcast station 134) , signals from satellites (e.g., a satellite 150) in one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) , etc. The wireless device 110 may support one or more radio technologies for wireless communications, such as 5G NR, LTE, CDMA2000, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, GSM, 802.11, etc.

FIGURE 2 shows a block diagram of the wireless device 110 in FIGURE 1, according to an aspect of the present disclosure. The wireless device 110 may include a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) interface 202, which may receive an embedded UICC (eUICC) 204 that stores profiles associated with one or more subscriptions from network providers.

A UICC used in various examples may include user account information, an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) , a set of SIM application toolkit (SAT) commands, and storage space for phone book contacts. The UICC may further store home identifiers (e.g., a system identification number (SID) /network identification number (NID) pair, a home preferred list of mobile networks (HPLMN) code, etc. ) to indicate the network operator providers for each subscription of the UICC. An integrated circuit card identity (ICCID) SIM serial number may be printed on the UICC for identification. In some aspects, the UICC may be implemented within a portion of memory of the wireless device 110 (e.g., in a memory 214) , and thus need not be a separate or removable circuit, chip, or card.

The wireless device 110 may include at least one controller, such as a general processor 206, which may be coupled to a coder/decoder (CODEC) 208. The CODEC 208 may in turn be coupled to a speaker 210 and a microphone 212. The general processor 206 may also be coupled to the memory 214. The memory 214 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores processor-executable instructions. The memory 214 may store an operating system (OS) , as well as user application software and executable instructions. The memory 214 may also store locally cached profiles for subscriptions supported by the eUICC 204.

The general processor 206 and the memory 214 may each be coupled to at least one baseband processor or baseband modem processor 216. The eUICC 204 in the wireless device 110 may utilize one or more baseband-radio frequency (RF) resource. A baseband-RF resource may include the baseband modem processor 216, which may perform baseband/modem functions for communications with and controlling of a radio access technology (RAT) . The baseband-RF resource may include one or more amplifiers and radios, referred to generally as radio frequency (RF) resources (e.g., RF resource 218) . In some examples, the baseband-RF resources may share the baseband modem processor 216 (e.g., a single device that performs baseband/modem functions for all RATs on the wireless device 110) . In other examples, each baseband-RF resource may include physically or logically separate baseband processors (e.g., BB1, BB2) .

The RF resource 218 may be a transceiver that performs transmit/receive functions for the eUICC 204 on the wireless device 110. The RF resource 218 may include separate transmit and receive circuitry, or may include a transceiver that combines transmitter and receiver functions. In some examples, the RF resource 218 may include multiple receive circuits. The RF resource 218 may be coupled to a wireless antenna (e.g., a wireless antenna 220) . The RF resource 218 may also be coupled to the baseband modem processor 216.

In some examples, the general processor 206, the memory 214, the baseband modem processor (s) 216, and the RF resource 218 may be included in the wireless device 110 as a system-on-chip 250. In some examples, the eUICC 204 and its corresponding UICC interface 202 may be external to the system-on-chip 250. Further, various input and output devices may be coupled to components on the system-on-chip 250, such as interfaces or controllers. Example user input components suitable for use in the wireless device 110 may include, but are not limited to, a keypad 224, a touchscreen display 226, and the microphone 212.

In some examples, the keypad 224, the touchscreen display 226, the microphone 212, or a combination thereof, may perform the function of receiving a request to initiate an outgoing call or receiving a personal identification number. Interfaces may be provided between the various devices and modules to implement functions in the wireless device 110 to enable communications in the wireless device.

Functioning together, the eUICC 204, the baseband processor BB1, BB2, the RF resource 218, and the wireless antenna 220 may constitute two or more radio access technologies (RATs) . For example, the wireless device 110 may be a communications device that includes a UICC, baseband processor, and RF resource configured to support two different RATs, such as NR or LTE and GSM. More RATs may be supported on the wireless device 110 by adding more RF resources, and antennae for connecting to additional mobile networks.

In some examples (not shown) , the wireless device 110 may include, among other things, additional UICC or SIM cards, UICC or SIM interfaces, multiple RF resources associated with the additional UICC or SIM cards, and additional antennae for supporting subscription communications with additional mobile networks.

The eUICC 204 may support multiple mobile network operator profiles, or subscription profiles. For example, a user may download multiple profiles onto the eUICC 204. Each profile may store static SIM information to support a subscription with one or more mobile telephony networks. Thus, the eUICC 204 may play the role of multiple SIMs, because each SIM supports one profile.

In various examples, the wireless device 110 may be configured to locally cache one or more subscription profiles associated with or stored in the UICC. The profiles may be cached in the memory 214, part of which may be designated memory for the modem.

FIGURE 3 is a process flow diagram of a method 300 to improve profile management for a non-compliant universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of a user equipment (UE) , according to aspects of the present disclosure. At time 302, the user equipment sends an enable profile request to the UICC of the user equipment to enable a new UICC profile. At time 304, the UICC sends a REFRESH command to the user equipment when the UICC card is an “eUICC Profile Change State” mode in response to the enable profile request. At time 306, it is determined whether a provisioning application is open.

In an expected operation, a provisioning application is open when the UICC is in an enabled profile state

During this expected operation, at time 310, a status command to terminate the session is sent from the user equipment to the UICC to terminate the provisioning application. Following a success response from the UICC at time 312, at time 320, the user equipment sends a terminal response to the REFRESH command sent by the UICC. Following receipt of the success response from the UICC at time 322, at time 324, the user equipment proceeds with a post answer-to-reset (ATR) procedure. The post ATR procedure may activate the new profile and open a provisioning application corresponding to the new profile.

Unfortunately, when the UICC is in a disabled profile state (e.g., a non-compliant UICC) , a provisioning application is not open at time 306. According to a legacy design, a fall back procedure is performed, in which a reset command is issued to the UICC. In this scenario, the user equipment fails to deliver an expected response to the REFRESH command sent by the UICC at time 304. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the legacy design is modified when an open provisioning application is not detected at time 306, in which control flow branches to processing a time 320.

At time 320, the user equipment sends a terminal response to the REFRESH command sent by the UICC. Following receipt of the success response from the UICC at time 322, at time 324, the user equipment proceeds with a post ATR procedure to activate the new profile and open a provisioning application corresponding to the new profile. This aspect of the present disclosure enables a non-compliant UICC to request a new profile, although the UICC is in a disabled profile state. In the method 300, a processor (e.g., a baseband processor) of the user equipment communicates through a UICC interface to perform improved profile management for the UICC.

FIGURE 4 depicts a simplified flowchart of a method 400 to improve profile management for a non-compliant universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of a user equipment, according to aspects of the present disclosure. At block 402, a processor (e.g., a baseband processor) of the user equipment sends an enable profile request to the UICC. For example, as shown at time 302 of FIGURE 3, the baseband processor sends an enable profile request to the UICC to enable a new profile. At block 404, the user equipment receives a REFRESH command from the UICC in a profile state change mode. For example, as shown at time 304 of FIGURE 3, the REFRESH command is received from the UICC in the “eUICC Profile State Change” mode.

At block 406, the user equipment sends a terminal response to the UICC when the UICC is in a disabled profile state. For example, as shown at time 320 of FIGURE 3, the UICC is in a disabled profile state because an open provisioning application is not detected at time 306. According to this aspect of the present disclosure, the UICC is identified as a non-compliant UICC; however, at time 320 of FIGURE 3, the user equipment sends the expected terminal response to the REFRESH command sent by the non-compliant UICC, which prevents a delay in obtaining network service.

According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus to improve profile management for a non-compliant UICC of a user equipment is described. The apparatus may include means for sending, by the user equipment, an enable profile request to the UICC; means for receiving a REFRESH command from the UICC in a profile state change mode; and/or means for sending, by the user equipment, a terminal response to the UICC when the UICC is in a disabled profile state. . The sending means, the receiving means, and/or the sending means may be the baseband modem processor 216, the general processor 206, and/or the memory 214. In another aspect of the present disclosure, the aforementioned means may be any module or apparatus configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. (To be completed after claim language approval. )

FIGURE 5 is a component block diagram of a wireless device 500 suitable for implementing the method to improve profile management for a non-compliant universal integrated circuit card (UICC) . Aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of wireless devices, an example of which (e.g., wireless device 500) is illustrated in FIGURE 5. The wireless device 500 may be similar to the wireless device 110 and may implement the method 300 and the method 400.

The wireless device 500 may include a processor 502 coupled to a touchscreen controller 504 and an internal memory 506. The processor 502 may be one or more multi-core integrated circuits designated for general or specific processing tasks. The internal memory 506 may be volatile or non-volatile memory, and may also be secure and/or encrypted memory, or unsecured and/or unencrypted memory, or any combination thereof. The touchscreen controller 504 and the processor 502 may also be coupled to a touchscreen panel 512, such as a resistive-sensing touchscreen, capacitive-sensing touchscreen, infrared sensing touchscreen, etc. Additionally, the display of the wireless device 500 need not have touch screen capability.

The wireless device 500 may have one or more cellular network transceivers 508 coupled to the processor 502 and to one or more antennas 510, and configured for sending and receiving cellular communications. The one or more cellular network transceivers 508 and the one or more antennas 510 may be used with the above-mentioned circuitry to implement the various example methods described. The wireless device 500 may include one or more UICC or SIM cards 516, coupled to the one or more cellular network transceivers 508 and/or the processor 502, and may be configured as described above.

The wireless device 500 may also include speakers 514 for providing audio outputs. The wireless device 500 may also include a housing 520, constructed of plastic, metal, or a combination of materials, for containing all or some of the components discussed. The wireless device 500 may include a power source 522 coupled to the processor 502, such as a disposable or rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery may also be coupled to the peripheral device connection port to receive a charging current from a source external to the wireless device 500. The wireless device 500 may also include a physical button 524 for receiving user inputs. The wireless device 500 may also include a power button 526 for turning the wireless device 500 on and off.

FIGURE 6 is a block diagram showing an exemplary wireless communications system 600 in which a configuration of the disclosure may be advantageously employed. For purposes of illustration, FIGURE 6 shows three

remote units

620, 630, and 650, and two base stations 640. It will be recognized that wireless communications systems may have many more remote units and base stations.

Remote units

620, 630, and 650 include

IC devices

625A, 625B, and 625C that include the disclosed wireless device, including the subsystem or universal integrated circuit card. It will be recognized that other devices may also include the disclosed wireless device, such as the base stations, switching devices, and network equipment. FIGURE 6 shows forward link signals 680 from the base stations 640 to the

remote units

620, 630, and 650, and reverse link signals 690 from the

remote units

620, 630, and 650 to base stations 640.

In FIGURE 6, remote unit 620 is shown as a mobile telephone, remote unit 630 is shown as a portable computer, and remote unit 650 is shown as a fixed location remote unit in a wireless local loop system. For example, a remote unit may be a mobile phone, a hand-held personal communications systems (PCS) unit, a portable data unit such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a GPS enabled device, a navigation device, a set top box, a music player, a video player, an entertainment unit, a fixed location data unit such as meter reading equipment, or other communications device that stores or retrieves data or computer instructions, or combinations thereof. Although FIGURE 6 illustrates remote units according to the aspects of the present disclosure, the disclosure is not limited to these exemplary illustrated units. Aspects of the disclosure may be suitably employed in many devices, which include the wireless device including the universal integrated circuit card.

For a firmware and/or software implementation, the methodologies may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described. A machine-readable medium tangibly embodying instructions may be used in implementing the methodologies described. For example, software codes may be stored in a memory and executed by a processor unit. Memory may be implemented within the processor unit or external to the processor unit. As used, the term “memory” refers to types of long term, short term, volatile, nonvolatile, or other memory and is not to be limited to a particular type of memory or number of memories, or type of media upon which memory is stored.

If implemented in firmware and/or software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Examples include computer-readable media encoded with a data structure and computer-readable media encoded with a computer program. Computer-readable media includes physical computer storage media. A storage medium may be an available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used, include compact disc (CD) , laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD) , floppy disk and

disc, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

In addition to storage on computer-readable medium, instructions and/or data may be provided as signals on transmission media included in a communications apparatus. For example, a communications apparatus may include a standard cell circuit having signals indicative of instructions and data. The instructions and data are configured to cause one or more processors to implement the functions outlined in the claims.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, and alterations can be made without departing from the technology of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. For example, relational terms, such as “above” and “below” are used with respect to a substrate or electronic device. Of course, if the substrate or electronic device is inverted, above becomes below, and vice versa. Additionally, if oriented sideways, above and below may refer to sides of a substrate or electronic device. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular configurations of the process, machine, manufacture, and composition of matter, means, methods, and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding configurations described may be utilized according to the present disclosure. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

Claims

A method to improve profile management for a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of a user equipment, comprising:

sending, by the user equipment, an enable profile request to the UICC;

receiving a REFRESH command from the UICC in a profile state change mode; and

sending, by the user equipment, a terminal response to the UICC when the UICC is in a disabled profile state.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing a post answer-to-reset (ATR) procedure after a success response is received from the UICC in response to the terminal response.
The method of claim 2, in which performing the post ATR procedure comprises:

opening a provisioning application associated with a new profile indicated by the enable profile request; and

switching the UICC from the disabled profile state to an enabled profile state.
The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting the UICC as a non-compliant UICC when the UICC is in the disabled profile state change mode.
The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining whether a provisioning application is open in response to the REFRESH command from the UICC; and

detecting the disabled profile state of the UICC when the provisioning application is closed.
A apparatus to improve profile management for a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of a user equipment, comprising:

means for sending, by the user equipment, an enable profile request to the UICC;

means for receiving a REFRESH command from the UICC in a profile state change mode; and

means for sending, by the user equipment, a terminal response to the UICC when the UICC is in a disabled profile state.
The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising:

means for performing a post answer-to-reset (ATR) procedure after a success response is received from the UICC in response to the terminal response.
The apparatus of claim 7, in which the means for performing the post ATR procedure comprises:

means for opening a provisioning application associated with a new profile indicated by the enable profile request; and

means for switching the UICC from the disabled profile state to an enabled profile state.
The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising means for detecting the UICC as a non-compliant UICC when the UICC is in the disabled profile state change mode.
The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

means for determining whether a provisioning application is open in response to the REFRESH command from the UICC; and

means for detecting the disabled profile state of the UICC when the provisioning application is closed.
An apparatus to improve profile management for a user equipment, comprising:

a memory;

a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) ;

a communication interface coupled to the UICC of the user equipment; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and the communication interface of the UICC, the at least one processor configured:

to send, by the user equipment, an enable profile request to the UICC;

to receive a REFRESH command from the UICC in a profile state change mode; and

to send, by the user equipment, a terminal response to the UICC when the UICC is in a disabled profile state.
The apparatus of claim 11, in which the at least one processor is further configured:

to perform a post answer-to-reset (ATR) procedure after a success response is received from the UICC in response to the terminal response.
The apparatus of claim 15, in which the at least one processor is configured to perform the post ATR procedure by:

opening a provisioning application associated with a new profile indicated by the enable profile request; and

switching the UICC from the disabled profile state to an enabled profile state..
The apparatus of claim 15, in which the at least one processor is configured to detect the UICC as a non-compliant UICC when the UICC is in the disabled profile state change mode.
The apparatus of claim 15, in which the at least one processor is further configured:

to determine whether a provisioning application is open in response to the REFRESH command from the UICC; and

to detect the disabled profile state of the UICC when the provisioning application is closed.