JP2024053026A - Electronic information storage medium, switching control method, and switching control program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a switching control program, a switching control method, and an electronic information storage medium that can reduce the burden on a user due to eSIM switching.

SOLUTION: A control unit 27 of a wireless communication device 2 monitors the communication status in wireless communication, and automatically switch the eSIM profile that is set to be active among the plurality of eSIM profiles stored in an IC module 3 when there is a predetermined change in the communication status.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to the technical field of wireless communication devices equipped with eUICC, which stores profiles required for wireless communication for each of multiple different communication carriers.

Conventionally, wireless communication devices such as smartphones have been configured to use a universal integrated circuit card (hereinafter referred to as "UICC (Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card)") that provides access to a wireless communication network provided by a communication carrier (telecommunication operator). The UICC typically takes the form of a small removable card (e.g., a subscriber identity module (hereinafter referred to as "SIM (Subscriber Identity Module)" card) that is inserted into the wireless communication device, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1, but in recent years, an embedded UICC called eUICC (embedded UICC) has become widespread. The eUICC is distinguished from conventional removable UICCs in that it is soldered to the system board of the wireless communication device. In the eUICC, a replicable eSIM (embedded UIM module) that emulates a typical SIM architecture is embedded in the eUICC in a switchable manner for each communication carrier that operates the wireless communication network. Each eSIM has a profile required for the wireless communication service provided by the respective communication carrier (i.e., a profile required for wireless communication). By switching the eSIM (i.e., switching the profile), it is possible to change the communication carrier without replacing the eUICC on the wireless communication device. Currently, two types of eUICC standard specifications have been established: one for m2m (IoT devices, etc.) and one for consumers (smartphones, etc.).

Patent No. 5149516

Meanwhile, in eUICC for consumers, eSIM switching is performed according to the explicit operation of the user. For example, in Japan, eSIM of one communication carrier is switched to eSIM of another communication carrier according to the user's operation, or when a user travels abroad, the user installs an eSIM of the communication carrier of the destination in the eUICC in advance, and after traveling, the eSIM is switched according to the user's operation. In recent years, private LTE and local 5G, which communicate using 4G (fourth generation communication method) and 5G (fifth generation communication method) bands in local environments, have been put into practical use. Private LTE and local 5G wireless communication networks are constructed by operators such as individuals and companies other than communication carriers, for example, in the building of the operator. If such technology becomes widespread, it is expected that eUICC will be used in such a way that eSIMs are switched according to user operations when moving from a local environment to an environment of a general communication carrier, or when moving from a local environment to another local environment. However, if eSIM switching as described above were to be performed by the user every time, it would likely become a heavy burden on the user.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide an electronic information storage medium, a switching control method, and a switching control program that can reduce the burden on users caused by switching eSIMs.

In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 is an electronic information storage medium mounted on a wireless communication device, which stores a plurality of profiles necessary for the wireless communication device to perform wireless communication and can set any one of the profiles to active, and is characterized in that the electronic information storage medium comprises a request means for requesting a control unit of the wireless communication device to monitor the communication status of the wireless communication device, a receiving means for receiving notification information from the control unit when the control unit determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication status, notifying the change, and a switching means for analyzing the notification information and switching the profile to be set to active.

The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that in the electronic information storage medium described in claim 1, each of the profiles is a profile of a subscriber identity module, the electronic information storage medium stores in advance a priority for using the subscriber identity module for each subscriber identity module, and the switching means switches the profile of the currently active subscriber identity module to the profile of the subscriber identity module having the highest priority among the subscriber identity modules used in currently available wireless communication.

The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that, in the electronic information storage medium described in claim 1, each of the profiles is a profile of a subscriber identity module, the notification information indicates the communication volume for each subscriber identity module, which is the volume of data transmitted and received by wireless communication during a predetermined period in the past, and the switching means switches the profile of the currently active subscriber identity module to the profile of the subscriber identity module with the smallest communication volume among the currently available subscriber identity modules used in wireless communication.

The invention described in claim 4 is an electronic information storage medium mounted on a wireless communication device, which stores a plurality of profiles necessary for the wireless communication device to perform wireless communication and is capable of setting any one of the profiles to be active, and is characterized in that it includes the steps of requesting a control unit of the wireless communication device to monitor the communication status of the wireless communication device, receiving notification information from the control unit notifying the change when the control unit determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication status, and analyzing the notification information to switch the profile to be set to active.

The invention described in claim 5 is an electronic information storage medium mounted on a wireless communication device, which stores a plurality of profiles necessary for the wireless communication device to perform wireless communication and is capable of setting any one of the profiles to be active, and is characterized in that the computer included in the electronic information storage medium functions as a request means for requesting a control unit of the wireless communication device to monitor the communication status of the wireless communication device, a receiving means for receiving notification information from the control unit when the control unit determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication status, notifying the change, and a switching means for analyzing the notification information and switching the profile to be set to active.

The present invention can reduce the burden on users caused by switching eSIMs.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a communication system S. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a communication device 2 and an IC module 3. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an application installed in an IC module 3. FIG. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an eSIM switching operation in the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an eSIM management list managed by an eSIM management app in the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a monitoring setting operation in the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an eSIM switching operation in the second embodiment.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a communication system.

[1. Overview of communication system S]
First, a schematic configuration of a communication system S according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of the communication system S. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system S includes a server 1, a wireless communication device 2 (an example of a wireless communication device), and an IC module 3 (an example of an electronic information storage medium). In the example of FIG. 1, the server 1, the wireless communication device 2, and the IC module 3 are shown one by one, but in reality, there are multiple of each. Here, the server 1 is, for example, a server for providing wireless communication services to the wireless communication device 2 via a communication network NW. The wireless communication device 2 is, for example, a mobile terminal (mobile machine) such as a smartphone. The IC module 3 is an eUICC mounted (for example, soldered) on a board so that it cannot be easily removed or replaced from the wireless communication device 2.

The communications network NW includes wireless communication networks (mobile networks including wireless communication equipment such as wireless base stations) operated by multiple operating entities. Here, operating entities include communications carriers (mobile carriers), as well as individuals and companies other than communications carriers. Wireless communication networks operated by operating entities other than communications carriers are private LTE or local 5G wireless communication networks, and use part of the wireless communication equipment of communications carriers.

2 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the wireless communication device 2 and the IC module 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless communication device 2 is configured to include an I/F unit 21, a wireless communication unit 22, a storage unit 23, an operation/display unit 24, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit 25, a beacon receiving unit 26, and a control unit 27. The I/F unit 21 serves as an interface with the IC module 3. Examples of this interface include SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), I ² C (Inter-Integrated Circuit), and ISO7816 interface. SPI and I ² C are serial communication interfaces, and in particular, SPI uses a full-duplex serial communication protocol that simultaneously performs bidirectional communication. On the other hand, the ISO7816 interface is a communication interface (a communication interface that uses eight terminals C1 to C8) defined by ISO7816-2. Through the I/F unit 21, communication is performed between the control unit 27 and the IC module 3 according to, for example, the APDU (Application Protocol Data Unit) protocol.

The wireless communication unit 22 is a communication device for connecting to the communication network NW, and is equipped with a modem that detects the wireless base station of the wireless communication network. As a result, the wireless communication unit 22 modulates data specified by the control unit 27 and transmits the radio waves (carrier waves) to the wireless base station via an antenna, and also receives radio waves from the wireless base station via an antenna and demodulates them to extract the data and transmit it to the control unit 27.

The storage unit 23 is, for example, a non-volatile memory, and stores an operating system and application programs (including the switching control program of the present invention). This application program installs an eSIM management application (hereinafter referred to as "eSIM management App") in the control unit 27 to manage a list of eSIMs (hereinafter referred to as "eSIM management list") provided (issued) by each of multiple operating entities and perform various processes. The eSIM management App is provided, for example, as part of an LPD (Local Profile Download) function. The eSIM has a profile required for wireless communication services (i.e., a profile required for wireless communication), and is stored in the IC module 3. In the following description, an eSIM provided by a communications carrier is referred to as a public eSIM, and an eSIM provided by an operating entity other than a communications carrier is referred to as a local eSIM.

The storage unit 23 also stores an eSIM management list used by the eSIM management app. In the eSIM management list, the identifier (ID) of the operator, the unique identifier of the eSIM provided by the operator, the communication volume related to wireless communication, the priority of using the eSIM, and information indicating whether the eSIM is set to active are registered in association with each eSIM (profile). Here, the communication volume related to wireless communication refers to the communication volume (i.e., the total amount of data transmitted and received by wireless communication) in a predetermined period in the past (e.g., one month). In this way, the communication volume related to wireless communication is managed for each eSIM and updated sequentially. Note that the eSIM management list may register location information of an area in which an eSIM is used in association with the identifier of the eSIM. Such an area may be a wide area such as a country, or a narrow area such as the premises of a facility such as a factory. For example, location information within the premises of a factory or the like in which a local eSIM is used (which may be the location information of the entrance and exit of the premises) is registered in association with the identifier of the local eSIM.

The operation/display unit 24 includes an operation unit for receiving input from a user, and a display unit having a display for displaying information. The GPS receiver unit 25 receives navigation radio waves output from GPS satellites and detects the current position (latitude and longitude) of the wireless communication device 2. The detected position information indicating the current position is output to the control unit 27. The beacon receiver unit 26 receives radio waves called beacons (e.g., radio waves in the 2.4 GHz band) emitted from radio wave transmitters installed at predetermined locations. The beacons convey, for example, an identifier of a specific eSIM. The receivable range of the beacons is set to within, for example, several meters (e.g., 5 m) from the beacon receiver unit 26. Radio waves other than beacons may also be used.

The control unit 27 is composed of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (an example of a computer), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory). The eSIM management App causes the CPU of the control unit 27 to function as the communication means and control means of the present invention. Specifically, the eSIM management App uses the profile of the eSIM that is set to active (i.e., enabled) to connect to the communication network NW (the wireless communication network of the operator corresponding to the profile) via the wireless communication unit 22 to perform wireless communication. Then, the eSIM management App monitors the communication status in the wireless communication (i.e., the communication status of the wireless communication device 2), and when it determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication status, it causes the IC module 3 to switch the eSIM profile that is set to active. For example, the eSIM management App switches the eSIM profile by transmitting an eSIM switching request (including the identifier of the eSIM to be switched) to the IC module 3. Alternatively, the eSIM management App switches the eSIM profile by transmitting notification information notifying the IC module 3 of the above change. Note that switching eSIM profiles is synonymous with switching eSIMs.

Here, the communication status in wireless communication means at least one of the communication location (also called communication environment) where wireless communication is performed, the strength (also called radio wave status) of radio waves (radio waves from a wireless base station or a beacon from a radio wave transmitter) at the communication location, and the communication volume related to wireless communication. For example, the eSIM management app acquires location information indicating the current location of the wireless communication device 2 from the GPS receiver 25, and when it detects that the wireless communication device 2 has moved to a predetermined location based on the acquired location information, it determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication status. The predetermined location is a location (which may be a point or an area) indicated by location information registered in advance by the eSIM management app. Such a location is identified, for example, from location information of an area where a local eSIM registered in the eSIM management list is used.

When the eSIM management app detects that the wireless communication device 2 has moved to a predetermined location, it switches the profile of the currently active eSIM (i.e., set to active) to, for example, a local eSIM profile. For example, the eSIM management app selects a local eSIM as the target for switching, and transmits a switching request including the identifier of the selected eSIM to the IC module 3. Alternatively, the eSIM management app transmits notification information (including, for example, the identifier of the local eSIM to cause the IC module 3 to select the eSIM to be switched) to the IC module 3 notifying that the wireless communication device 2 has moved into the usage area of the local eSIM. Note that, when the eSIM management app detects that the wireless communication device 2 has moved from the above-mentioned predetermined location (e.g., moved outside the above-mentioned area) based on the location information acquired from the GPS receiving unit 25, it may switch the currently active local eSIM profile to the profile of another eSIM (e.g., a public eSIM).

Alternatively, when the eSIM management app detects that a beacon emitted from a radio wave transmitter installed in a predetermined location (for example, an entrance/exit of a building where a local eSIM is used) has been received, it determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication situation. In this case, the eSIM management app switches the profile of the currently active eSIM to the profile of the local eSIM associated with the identifier extracted from the beacon. For example, the eSIM management app selects a local eSIM as the target for switching, and transmits a switching request including the identifier of the selected eSIM to the IC module 3, or transmits notification information to the IC module 3 notifying that the wireless communication device 2 has entered a building where a local eSIM is used.

Alternatively, when the eSIM management app detects radio waves corresponding to a local eSIM from a wireless base station, it determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication situation. In this case, the eSIM management app switches the profile of the currently active eSIM (e.g., a public eSIM) to the profile of the local eSIM. For example, the eSIM management app selects a local eSIM as the switching target and transmits a switching request including the identifier of the selected eSIM to the IC module 3, or transmits notification information to the IC module 3 notifying that the wireless communication device 2 has received radio waves corresponding to a local eSIM. Note that, when the eSIM management app detects radio waves corresponding to a local eSIM with a higher priority than the currently active eSIM from a wireless base station, it may determine that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication situation and switch the profile of the currently active eSIM to the profile of the local eSIM. In this case, after switching to the local eSIM profile, if the eSIM management app no longer detects radio waves from the wireless base station that correspond to the local eSIM, the app may switch back to the eSIM profile before the switch.

Alternatively, when the eSIM management app detects that the amount of communication related to wireless communication using the profile of the currently active eSIM (i.e., the wireless communication currently in use) has exceeded a threshold, it determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication status. In this case, the eSIM management app switches the profile of the currently active eSIM to the profile of an eSIM whose amount of communication related to wireless communication is less than the threshold. For example, the eSIM management app selects an eSIM whose amount of communication related to wireless communication is less than the threshold as the switching target, and transmits a switching request including the identifier of the selected eSIM to the IC module 3, or transmits notification information notifying the IC module 3 that the amount of communication related to wireless communication has exceeded the threshold.

Alternatively, when the eSIM management app detects that the wireless communication currently in use has become unavailable (out of range), it determines that a predetermined change in the communication situation has occurred. In this case, the eSIM management app switches the profile of the eSIM with the highest priority or the eSIM with the lowest communication volume among the eSIMs used for the wireless communication currently available (within range) as the profile to be set as active. For example, the eSIM management app selects the eSIM with the highest priority or the eSIM with the lowest communication volume as the switching target, and transmits a switching request including the identifier of the selected eSIM to the IC module 3, or transmits notification information to the IC module 3 notifying that the wireless communication currently in use has become unavailable.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the IC module 3 is configured with an I/F unit 31, a RAM 32, a ROM 33, an NVM (Nonvolatile Memory) 34, and a CPU 35 (an example of a computer). The I/F unit 31 serves as an interface with the wireless communication device 2 (i.e., the control unit 27). The NVM 34 is a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. Note that the NVM 34 may be an "Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory". The ROM 33 or the NVM 34 stores an operating system and application programs (including the switching control program of the present invention). The application programs install the ISD-P (Issuer Security Domain -Profile), ISD-R (Issuer Security Domain -Root), and the like in the IC module 3.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of applications installed in IC module 3. In Figure 3, ISD-P is an application that manages eSIM profiles provided (issued) by operators and stored in NVM 34, and is separate for each operator. ISD-R is an application for performing processes such as setting one of multiple eSIM profiles (eSIM a, eSIM b, eSIM c, ...) as active (i.e., enabling the eSIM profile). Note that the eSIM profile stores programs that define the communication method and authentication method related to wireless communication, as well as key data and setting data used for authentication.

The ISD-R causes the CPU 35 to function as the request means, the receiving means, and the switching means of the present invention. Specifically, when the ISD-R receives a switching request from the eSIM management App, it switches the profile of the currently active eSIM to the profile of the eSIM identified by the identifier included in the switching request. Alternatively, the ISD-R requests the control unit 27 of the wireless communication device 2 to monitor the communication status of the wireless communication device 2 (in other words, monitors the surrounding environment), and when the control unit 27 determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication status, it receives notification information from the control unit 27 notifying the change, analyzes the notification information, and switches the profile of the eSIM to be set active. In this case, the ISD-R selects the eSIM to be switched to, and switches the profile of the currently active eSIM to the profile of the selected eSIM. For example, if wireless communication has been performed using eSIM a, but radio waves corresponding to eSIM a cannot be confirmed, and radio waves corresponding to eSIM b can be confirmed, a process of switching from the eSIM a in use to eSIM b is executed. In this case, if there are multiple eSIMs that can be switched, the ISD-R may select the eSIM to be switched to, for example, using the eSIM priority stored when each eSIM was downloaded.

[2. eSIM switching operation]
Next, the eSIM switching operation will be described in a first embodiment and a second embodiment.

Example 1
First, an eSIM switching operation in the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. The first embodiment takes as an example a case in which an eSIM switching command (switching request) is transmitted from the control unit 27 to the IC module 3 when the currently used wireless communication becomes unavailable. Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the eSIM switching operation in the first embodiment, and Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an eSIM management list managed by the eSIM management App in the first embodiment.

In the eSIM management list shown in FIG. 5, the identifiers of the communication carriers (Company X and Company Y), the identifiers of the eSIMs provided by the communication carriers, the communication volume related to wireless communication, and information indicating whether the eSIM is set to active are associated with each eSIM and registered. In the example of FIG. 5, Company X provides two types of wireless communication services with different frequency bands, so the identifiers of the eSIMs corresponding to each of the two types of wireless communication services are registered in the eSIM management list. Furthermore, Company Y provides three types of wireless communication services with different frequency bands, so the identifiers of the eSIMs corresponding to each of the three types of wireless communication services are registered in the eSIM management list.

In FIG. 4, when the eSIM management app of the control unit 27 detects that the currently used wireless communication (wireless communication using the profile of eSIM a in the example of FIG. 5) has become unavailable (out of range) and determines that there has been a predetermined change in the communication situation (step S1), it extracts eSIMs to be used for currently available (within range) wireless communication from the eSIM management list (step S2). For example, eSIM c, eSIM d, and eSIM e are extracted from the eSIM management list shown in FIG. 5. Note that the eSIMs to be used for currently available wireless communication may be identified based on, for example, a comparison between location information acquired from the GPS receiving unit 25 and location information of the area in which the eSIM is used (in this case, location information of the area in which the eSIM is used is registered in advance in the eSIM management list). In other words, eSIMs that can be used in the area including the current location of the wireless communication device 2 are identified.

Next, the eSIM management app of the control unit 27 selects the eSIM with the least amount of wireless communication traffic among the eSIMs extracted in step S2 as the eSIM to be switched (step S3). For example, eSIM d with the least amount of communication traffic is selected among eSIM c, eSIM d, and eSIM e. Note that in step S3, if one eSIM cannot be identified as the eSIM to be switched (for example, if there are multiple eSIMs with the least amount of communication traffic), the eSIM with the highest priority among the multiple extracted eSIMs may be selected as the eSIM to be switched (in this case, the priority of using the eSIM is registered in advance in the eSIM management list). Alternatively, as another example of step S3, the newest eSIM or the first eSIM found among the eSIMs extracted in step S2 may be selected as the eSIM to be switched.

The eSIM management App of the control unit 27 then transmits a switching command including the identifier of the eSIM selected as the switching target in step S3 to the IC module 3 via the I/F unit 21 (step S4). When the ISD-R of the IC module 3 receives the switching command from the control unit 27, it switches the profile of the currently active eSIM to the profile of the eSIM identified by the identifier included in the switching command (step S5). This sets the profile of the eSIM identified by the identifier included in the switching command to active. Next, the ISD-R of the IC module 3 transmits a response (including SW9000) indicating normal termination to the control unit 27 via the I/F unit 31 (step S6).

In step S1, the eSIM management app may obtain location information indicating the current location of the wireless communication device 2 from the GPS receiver 25, and may determine that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication situation by detecting that the current location has moved to a location indicated by previously registered location information. In this case, the eSIM management app skips step S2 and proceeds to step 3, where it selects an eSIM identified by an identifier associated with the registered location information from the eSIM management list as an eSIM to be switched. Alternatively, in step S1, the eSIM management app may determine that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication situation by detecting that a beacon has been received from a radio transmitter installed at the entrance of a building where a local eSIM is used. In this case, the eSIM management app skips step S2 and proceeds to step 3, where it selects an eSIM identified by an identifier extracted from the beacon from the eSIM management list as an eSIM to be switched.

Example 2
Next, an eSIM switching operation in the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. The second embodiment takes as an example a case where, when the wireless communication currently in use becomes unavailable, notification information is transmitted from the control unit 27 to the IC module 3 to notify that the wireless communication currently in use has become unavailable. Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a monitoring setting operation in the second embodiment, and Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an eSIM switching operation in the second embodiment. Note that, in the second embodiment, an eSIM management App that uses an eSIM management list does not necessarily have to be used.

In FIG. 6, when power is supplied to the wireless communication device 2 or a reset button provided on the wireless communication device 2 is pressed, the control unit 27 transmits a reset command (start command) to the IC module 3 through the I/F unit 21 (step S11). When the ISD-R of the IC module 3 receives the reset command from the control unit 27, it transmits a response (ATR) to the control unit 27 through the I/F unit 31 (step S12).

Next, when the control unit 27 receives a response (ATR) from the IC module 3, it transmits a Terminal Profile command to the IC module 3 through the I/F unit 21 (step S13). When the ISD-R of the IC module 3 receives the Terminal Profile command from the control unit 27, it transmits a response (including SW91XX) indicating the presence of a Proactive command to the control unit 27 through the I/F unit 31 (step S14).

Next, when the control unit 27 receives a response (including SW91XX) from the IC module 3, it sends a fetch command requesting a proactive command to the IC module 3 via the I/F unit 21 (step S15). When the ISD-R of the IC module 3 receives the fetch command from the control unit 27, it sends a proactive command indicating a request to monitor the communication status (SET UP EVENT LIST) to the control unit 27 via the I/F unit 31 (step S16).

Next, when the control unit 27 receives a proactive command from the IC module 3, it registers EVENT_DOWNLOAD_LOCATION_STATUS to set up monitoring (step S17). This starts monitoring the communication status in wireless communication, and when a predetermined change occurs in the communication status (when a change occurs in Local Information, etc.), it sends an envelope command to the IC module 3. Next, the control unit 27 sends a terminal response to the IC module 3 through the I/F unit 21 (step S18). When the ISD-R of the IC module 3 receives the terminal response from the control unit 27, it sends a response (including SW9000) indicating normal termination to the control unit 27 through the I/F unit 31 (step S19).

In this way, after monitoring of the communication status has started, in FIG. 7, when the control unit 27 detects that the currently used wireless communication has become unavailable and determines that a predetermined change has occurred (step S20), it sends an envelope command indicating EVENT_DOWNLOAD_LOCATION_STATUS to the IC module 3 via the I/F unit 21 (step S21). When the ISD-R of the IC module 3 receives the envelope command from the control unit 27, it sends a response (including SW91XX) indicating that there is a proactive command to the control unit 27 via the I/F unit 31 (step S22).

Next, when the control unit 27 receives a response (including SW91XX) from the IC module 3, it sends a fetch command requesting a proactive command to the IC module 3 via the I/F unit 21 (step S23). When the ISD-R of the IC module 3 receives the fetch command from the control unit 27, it sends a proactive command indicating Provide location information to the control unit 27 via the I/F unit 31 in order to obtain more detailed information (step S24).

Next, when the control unit 27 receives the proactive command from the IC module 3, it transmits a terminal response including notification information (e.g., local information including identifiers of each eSIM used in the currently available wireless communication) notifying that the currently used wireless communication has become unavailable to the IC module 3 through the I/F unit 21 (step S25). When the ISD-R of the IC module 3 receives the terminal response from the control unit 27, it analyzes the notification information included in the terminal response and switches the profile of the eSIM that is set to active (step S26). Next, the ISD-R of the IC module 3 transmits a response (including SW9000) indicating normal termination to the control unit 27 through the I/F unit 31 (step S27).

For example, in step S26, the ISD-R selects the eSIM with the highest priority (the priority saved when each eSIM was downloaded) among the eSIMs used in currently available wireless communication as the eSIM to be switched to, and switches to the profile of the selected eSIM. As a result, the profile of the eSIM with the highest priority is set as active. Alternatively, the eSIM with the least amount of communication traffic related to wireless communication among the eSIMs used in currently available wireless communication may be selected (in this case, the communication traffic is included in the above Local Information). Alternatively, the newest eSIM or the first eSIM found among the eSIMs used in currently available wireless communication may be selected.

In step S20, the control unit 27 may determine that a predetermined change has occurred by detecting that the communication volume related to the currently used wireless communication has exceeded a threshold. In this case, in step S25, the control unit 27 transmits a terminal response including notification information (e.g., local information including the identifiers of each eSIM used in the currently available wireless communication and the communication volume related to the wireless communication) notifying that the communication volume related to the currently used wireless communication has exceeded a threshold to the IC module 3 via the I/F unit 21. Then, in step S26, the ISD-R selects the eSIM with the least communication volume related to the wireless communication as the switching target among the eSIMs used in the currently available wireless communication, and switches to the profile of the selected eSIM.

As described above, according to the above embodiment, the control unit 27 of the wireless communication device 2 monitors the communication status in wireless communication, and when a predetermined change occurs in the communication status, the eSIM profile that is set to be active among the multiple eSIM profiles stored in the IC module 3 is automatically switched. This reduces the burden on the user caused by switching eSIMs when changing the operating entity (e.g., communication carrier) depending on, for example, the location (area) where the wireless communication device 2 is located or the amount of communication related to the wireless communication of the wireless communication device 2.

In the above embodiment, an IC module 2 that is mounted on a substrate so that it cannot be easily removed or replaced from the wireless communication device 2 has been described as an example of an electronic information storage medium of the present invention, but the present invention may also be applied to an IC card that is detachable from the wireless communication device 2.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Server 2 Wireless communication device 3 IC module 21 I/F section 22 Wireless communication section 23 Storage section 24 Operation and display section 25 GPS receiving section 26 Beacon receiving section 27 Control section 31 I/F section 32 RAM
33 ROM
34 NVM
35 CPU
S Communication System

Claims (5)

An electronic information storage medium to be mounted on a wireless communication device, the electronic information storage medium storing a plurality of profiles necessary for the wireless communication device to perform wireless communication and capable of setting any one of the profiles to active, comprising:
a requesting means for requesting a control unit of the wireless communication device to monitor a communication status of the wireless communication device;
a receiving means for receiving, when the control unit determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication situation, notification information notifying the change from the control unit;
A switching means for analyzing the notification information and switching the profile to be set as active;
An electronic information storage medium comprising: each said profile being a subscriber identity module profile;
the electronic information storage medium stores in advance a priority for using the subscriber identity module for each of the subscriber identity modules;
The electronic information storage medium according to claim 1, characterized in that the switching means switches the profile of a currently active subscriber identity module to the profile of the subscriber identity module having the highest priority among the subscriber identity modules used in currently available wireless communication. each said profile being a subscriber identity module profile;
The notification information indicates a communication volume for each of the subscriber identity modules, the communication volume being data transmitted and received by wireless communication during a past predetermined period of time;
The electronic information storage medium according to claim 1, characterized in that the switching means switches the profile of the currently active subscriber identity module to the profile of the subscriber identity module having the least amount of communication among the subscriber identity modules used in currently available wireless communication. A computer included in an electronic information storage medium mounted on a wireless communication device, the electronic information storage medium storing a plurality of profiles necessary for the wireless communication device to perform wireless communication and capable of setting any one of the profiles to active,
a step of requesting a control unit of the wireless communication device to monitor a communication status of the wireless communication device;
receiving notification information from the control unit when the control unit determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication situation;
A step of analyzing the notification information and switching the profile to be set as active;
A switching control method comprising: A computer included in an electronic information storage medium mounted on a wireless communication device, the electronic information storage medium storing a plurality of profiles necessary for the wireless communication device to perform wireless communication and capable of setting any one of the profiles to be active,
a requesting means for requesting a control unit of the wireless communication device to monitor a communication status of the wireless communication device;
a receiving means for receiving, when the control unit determines that a predetermined change has occurred in the communication situation, notification information notifying the change from the control unit;
a switching control program that functions as a switching means for analyzing the notification information and switching the profile that is set to be active;

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