WO2023013032A1

WO2023013032A1 - Profile download method, system, computer-readable recording medium, and server

Info

Publication number: WO2023013032A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/029303
Authority: WO
Inventors: 真一郎中村; 大介圓山; 宗明荒尾; 悦太郎赤川
Original assignee: 株式会社インターネットイニシアティブ; 株式会社Subaru
Priority date: 2021-08-06
Filing date: 2021-08-06
Publication date: 2023-02-09
Also published as: JPWO2023013032A1

Abstract

The present invention enables downloading of a profile to a device by means of a process on a user terminal.　Provided is a method comprising a first step group executed in a first server, wherein the first step group includes a step for acquiring a first ID assigned to a device, a step for acquiring a second ID assigned to a plan selected by a user, a step for acquiring, from the second ID, a third ID associated with the plan, and a fourth ID associated with a server providing the plan, and associating the third ID and the fourth ID with the first ID, and a step for transmitting the first ID, the third ID, and the fourth ID to a second server, and the device, which does not have an input reception means for the second ID from the user, acquires the third ID and the fourth ID from the second server, and uses the third ID and the fourth ID to download to the device the profile associated with the plan.

Description

Profile download method, system, computer-readable recording medium, and server

The present disclosure relates to a profile download method, system, computer-readable recording medium, and server.

Patent Document 1 describes a control system that performs wireless communication connection with a new profile when the profile of the SIM card is rewritten. In the control system, a communicable profile is stored in advance in the SIM card, and this pre-stored profile is switched to a new profile, and the new profile is used to use the communication service provided by the telecommunications carrier. enable.

JP 2019-96949 A

However, in the above control system, the profile that allows communication is stored in the SIM card in advance, and the user cannot select the communication service that the user wants to use when starting communication.

The present disclosure has been conceived in view of such circumstances, and one of its purposes is to provide a method, system, computer-readable recording medium, and server that enable profile download to equipment by processing on the user terminal side. is to provide

A further object of the present disclosure is to provide a method, system, computer-readable recording medium, and server that enable profile download to a device that does not have means for accepting input from a user. It is in.

To solve the above-described problem, one aspect of the present invention is a method comprising a first group of steps executed on a first server, the first group of steps comprising:
obtaining a first ID assigned to the device;
obtaining a second ID assigned to the plan selected by the user;
obtaining a third ID associated with the plan and a fourth ID associated with the server that provides the plan from the second ID, and obtaining the third ID and the fourth ID; with the first identity; and
transmitting the first ID, the third ID, and the fourth ID to a second server;
The device does not have means for accepting an input of the second ID from the user, causes the device to acquire the third ID and the fourth ID from the second server, 3 ID and said fourth ID to cause said device to download a profile associated with said plan.

Another aspect of the invention is a method executed on a server, comprising:
obtaining from the user terminal a first ID assigned to the device and a second ID assigned to the plan selected by the user;
obtaining a third ID associated with the plan and a fourth ID associated with the server that provides the plan from the second ID, and obtaining the third ID and the fourth ID; with the first identity; and
receiving the first ID and a profile transmission request from the device;
transmitting the third ID and the fourth ID associated with the first ID to the device in response to the transmission request;
wherein the device does not have means for accepting an input of the second ID from the user, and uses the third ID and the fourth ID to retrieve the profile associated with the plan A method is provided for downloading from the server to the device.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a method, a system, a computer-readable recording medium, and a server that enable profile download to a device by processing on the user terminal side.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the hardware constitutions of the apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of a user terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of an intermediary server according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of an ID management server according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of a profile providing server according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of functional configurations of devices, user terminals, mediation servers, ID management servers, front-end servers, and profile providing servers included in the system according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 shows an example of the flow of processing from creating an account for a communication plan contract to contracting a communication plan, according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 shows an example of the flow of processing in a user terminal, an intermediary server, and an ID registration server according to one embodiment of the present invention; 4 illustrates an example of a profile download process flow according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 4 is an example data structure of an ID management file according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 4 is an example data structure of a communication profile management file according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the transmission and reception of data between components in a system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 1 shows an example of the flow of processing from creating an account for a communication plan contract to contracting a communication plan, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the transmission and reception of data between components in a system, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG.

[Description of the embodiment of the present invention]
First, the contents of the embodiments of the present invention will be listed and explained. One embodiment of the present invention has the following configuration.

(Item 1) A method comprising a first set of steps performed at a first server (intermediary server), the first set of steps comprising:
obtaining a first ID (equipment identification ID) assigned to the equipment;
obtaining a second ID (activation code) assigned to the plan selected by the user;
From the second ID, a third ID (profile identification ID) associated with the plan, and a fourth ID (profile providing server address) associated with the server providing the plan (profile providing server) and associating the third identity and the fourth identity with the first identity;
transmitting the first ID, the third ID, and the fourth ID to a second server (ID management server);
The device does not have means for accepting an input of the second ID from the user, causes the device to acquire the third ID and the fourth ID from the second server, 3 and said fourth ID to cause said device to download a profile associated with said plan.

(Item 2) The method of (Item 1), further comprising a second set of steps performed at a second server, the second set of steps comprising:
holding the first ID received from the first server in association with the third ID and the fourth ID;
receiving the first ID and a profile transmission request from the device;
transmitting the third ID and the fourth ID associated with the first ID to the device in response to the transmission request;
A method, including

(Item 3) The method according to (Item 1) or (Item 2),
the third ID is an ID that specifies a profile associated with the plan in the server that provides the plan;
The method, wherein the fourth ID is an address of a server that provides the plan.

(Item 4) The method according to any one of (Item 1) to (Item 3),
The method, wherein the device comprises an eUICC (embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card).

(Item 5) The method of any one of (1) to (Item 4), further comprising a third group of steps performed in the device, the third group of steps comprising:
connecting to a server that provides the plan associated with the fourth ID;
downloading a profile of the plan associated with the third identity from a server that provides the plan;
A method.

(Item 6) The method according to any one of (Item 1) to (Item 5),
The first server associates the first ID, the second server, and the third ID used by the server providing the plan selected by the user so that the device can , enabling indirect communication between the second server and the server providing the plan, so as to connect with the server providing the plan selected by the user.

(Item 7) The method according to any one of (Item 1) to (Item 6),
The method, wherein the plan is one plan selected by the user from a plurality of communication plans provided by different carriers.

(Item 8) The method according to any one of (Item 2) to (Item 7), wherein the first group of steps further includes:
A method comprising the step of determining if said second identity has been registered for a predetermined period of time.

(Item 9) The method according to (Item 8), wherein the first group of steps further includes:
When the registered second ID exists for a predetermined period of time, the registered second ID is deleted, and the first ID and the third ID are deleted from the second server. and a deletion instruction for said fourth identity.

(Item 10) The method according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the first group of steps further includes:
determining whether there is a second ID associated with the first ID prior to the step of associating the third ID and the fourth ID with the first ID;
If there is a second ID associated with the first ID, delete the second ID associated with the first ID, and send the second ID to the second server generating deletion instructions for one ID, said third ID and said fourth ID.

(Item 11) A system comprising a first server and a second server,
The first server is
a memory for storing a first program including the first step group according to (item 1);
A processor that controls the operation of the first server by executing the first program,
The second server is
a memory for storing a second program including the second step group according to (item 2);
and a processor that controls the operation of the second server by executing the second program.

(Item 12) A method executed at a server, comprising:
obtaining from the user terminal a first ID assigned to the device and a second ID assigned to the plan selected by the user;
obtaining a third ID associated with the plan and a fourth ID associated with the server that provides the plan from the second ID, and obtaining the third ID and the fourth ID; with the first identity; and
receiving the first ID and a profile transmission request from the device;
transmitting the third ID and the fourth ID associated with the first ID to the device in response to the transmission request;
wherein the device does not have means for accepting an input of the second ID from the user, and uses the third ID and the fourth ID to retrieve the profile associated with the plan Downloading from the server to the device.

(Item 13) A computer-readable recording medium storing computer-executable instructions, the computer-readable recording medium causing the server to perform the method of (Item 12) when the computer-executable instructions are executed. .

(Item 14) A server comprising a memory storing a program for executing the method including the steps described in (Item 12), and a processor controlling the operation of the server by executing the program. ,server.

[Details of the embodiment of the present invention]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The system according to the present disclosure is a system that enables downloading of a profile for communication to a device different from the user terminal through operation on the user terminal side. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of equivalents to the scope of the claims. be. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements in the description of the drawings, and redundant description will not be repeated.

[Embodiment 1]
<Overview of System 100>
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a system 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 100 includes at least an intermediary server 400 that is an information processing device. The system 100 can further comprise a device 200, a user terminal 300, an ID management server 500, one or more front end servers 600A, and one or more profile providing servers 600B. The system 100 of the present disclosure enables the communication profile associated with the communication plan selected by the user terminal 300 to be downloaded to the device 200 from the profile providing server 600B. By installing the downloaded communication profile, the device 200 enables access to the communication service provided by the communication carrier selected by the user. A communication plan is a plan relating to communication services provided by each communication carrier, and is used by the device 200 instead of the user terminal 300 .

Communication carriers

1 and 2 shown in FIG. 1 each include one or more front-end servers 600A and one or more profile providing servers 600B. The telecommunications carrier is, for example, a mobile telecommunications carrier or an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). If there is no need to distinguish between the front-end server 600A(1) of the telecommunications carrier 1 and the front-end server 600A(2) of the telecommunications carrier 2, it is described as "front-end server 600A" and the If there is no need to distinguish between profile providing server 600B(1) and profile providing server 600B(2) of carrier 2, they are described as "profile providing server 600B." In FIG. 1, two

telecommunications carriers

1 and 2 are shown as examples of telecommunications carriers, but the number of telecommunications carriers is not limited to the illustrated example, and may be one or more.

In the example of FIG. 1, the user terminal 300 and the mediation server 400 are communicably connected via the network 4(1). Intermediary server 400 and ID management server 500 are communicably connected via network 4(2). Device 200 is communicably connected to ID management server 500 via network 4(3). Device 200 is not communicably connected to the carrier's server (profile providing server 600B) before downloading the communication profile. Also, the front-end server 600A is communicably connected to at least one of the user terminal 300 and the mediation server 400 via the network 4(1). Front-end server 600A and profile providing server 600B are communicably connected. Networks 4(1), (2), and (3) (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as networks 4) are composed of various wireless communication systems constructed by the Internet and wireless base stations (not shown). Such wireless communication systems include, for example, so-called 3G, 4G mobile communication networks, LTE (Long Term Evolution), and wireless networks (eg Wi-Fi (registered trademark)) that can be connected to the Internet through predetermined access points. mentioned. Each server may be connected by a wired network. The configurations of networks 4(1), 4(2), and 4(3) shown in FIG. 1 are examples and are not limited thereto. For example, networks 4(1), 4(2), and 4(3) may be configured together.

The device 200 is equipped with an eUICC (embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card) that does not require SIM card replacement. Device 200 performs wireless communication using the communication profile for wireless communication downloaded from profile providing server 600B. It is not necessary to write a communication profile in the device 200 in advance before shipment. The communication profile stores key used for wireless communication, contractor's identification number, contractor's data such as telephone number, etc. to be written in the SIM. The device 200 may be a so-called IoT (Internet of Things) device.

Note that FIG. 1 shows an example in which the device 200 is mounted on a mobile object such as a vehicle and implemented as a car navigation device that provides route guidance to the current position of the mobile object and a destination. Not limited to devices. The device 200 may be any device that does not have input receiving means for receiving user input regarding the ID assigned to the plan selected by the user. Furthermore, the device 200 may be a wireless communication device equipped with an eUICC and capable of remotely writing a communication profile. Further, the device 200 is not limited to a device mounted on a moving body, and may be a device mounted on equipment fixedly installed in various places. Examples of fixedly installed equipment include industrial equipment such as vending machines, robots, elevators, or consumer devices such as coffee makers. Also, in this embodiment, a vehicle is used as a moving object, but the moving object includes ships, trains, construction machines, aircraft, wearable devices, and the like. An example in which device 200 is implemented as a car navigation device will be described below.

The user terminal 300 accepts various input operations by the user. In this embodiment, as an example, an example in which the user terminal 300 is implemented as a smart phone will be described, but the user terminal 300 is not limited to a smart phone. For example, the user terminal 300 may be implemented as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), tablet computer, laptop computer (so-called notebook computer), desktop computer, or the like. The user can use the user terminal 300 to download the communication profile to the device 200 via various servers.

The intermediary server 400 is a computer accessed by the user terminal 300 to exchange information when installing the communication profile on the device 200 . Also, the mediation server 400 transmits and receives various information to and from the ID management server 500 . The intermediation server 400 may be further configured to have a function of intermediating transmission and reception of various information with the profile providing server 600B.

The ID management server 500 manages various information received from the mediation server 400 and provides the device 200 with information on the profile providing server 600B of the communication profile. The ID management server 500 can be expressed as SM-DS (Subscription Manager-Discovery Server). Specifically, the ID management server 500 manages information about the eUICC (device 200), information for specifying a communication profile, information about network servers to which the eUICC can connect, and the like. The ID management server 500 can specify one communication profile among communication profiles provided by a plurality of carriers. Also, the ID management server 500 can notify the device 200 of the address of the profile providing server 600B from which the communication profile can be downloaded.

The front end server 600A is configured to transmit and receive various information to and from the user terminal 300. For example, the front-end server 600A receives various information from the user terminal 300, including application information for the communication plan selected by the user, payment information, and the like. The front-end server 600A may receive communication plan application information and the like transmitted from the user terminal 300 via the mediation server 400 . In addition, in the example of FIG. 1, the front-end server 600A of the telecommunications carrier is composed of one unit, but may be composed of a plurality of units.

The profile providing server 600B creates and stores the communication profile of one telecommunications carrier. The profile providing server 600B manages communication profiles for all user contracts of telecommunications carriers, and deletes the profiles. The profile providing server 600B can be expressed as SM-DP+ (Subscription Manager Data Preparation+). In addition, profile providing server 600B transmits a communication profile to device 200 in response to a request from device 200. FIG. In addition, in the example of FIG. 1, the profile providing server 600B of each carrier is composed of one unit, but may be composed of a plurality of units. In the example of FIG. 1, each carrier has its own profile providing server 600B, but a plurality of carriers may share one profile providing server 600B.

Also, in this embodiment, an example in which the mediation server 400 and the ID management server 500 are separate devices will be described. However, mediation server 400 and ID management server 500 may be an integrated device.

Also, in FIG. 1, the front end server 600A and the profile providing server 600B are separate devices. However, front-end server 600A and profile providing server 600B may be an integrated device.

<Hardware Configuration of System 100>
2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are diagrams illustrating the hardware configurations of device 200, user terminal 300, mediation server 400, ID management server 500, and profile providing server 600B, respectively.

(equipment 200)
Device 200 includes at least a processor 202, a memory 204, a storage 206, a communication interface (IF) 208, and an eUICC 212, as shown in FIG. These components of device 200 are electrically connected to each other by a communication bus. The device 200 may include an input/output interface (IF) 210 and a display 218 (not shown). In the case of the device 200 mounted on a mobile object, the device 200 can use services related to telematics.

The eUICC 212 is a SIM card with a remote provisioning function that is not intended to be removed from the device 200 or replaced. Provisioning generally refers to the sequence of actions taken to prepare a computerized device with appropriate data and software. In this embodiment, the series of actions includes necessary processing in the equipment of the communication carrier so that the device 200 can use the communication service. With the remote provisioning function of the eUICC 212, the user can perform provisioning by using the user terminal 300 without going to the carrier's store. eUICC 212 is embedded in device 200 and holds one or more communication profiles. The eUICC 212 is used to allow the wireless communication device appliance 200 to access wireless communication services. Note that the eUICC 212 cannot use multiple communication profiles at the same time, manages only one communication profile to be used as valid, and manages the other communication profiles as invalid.

The eUICC 212 is assigned an EID, which is an eUICC-specific device identification ID. The EID is an example of a device identification ID that identifies the eUICC.

The device 200 may include a display 218. Display 218 is configured to be able to display output information associated with the device identification ID unique to device 200 . Note that the device 200 only needs to have output means for outputting the output information associated with the device identification ID to the user. A speaker (not shown) that outputs an audio signal may be provided.

(User terminal 300)
The user terminal 300 comprises a processor 302, a memory 304, a storage 306, a communication interface (IF) 308, an input/output interface (IF) 310, and a display 318, as shown in FIG. These components provided in the user terminal 300 are electrically connected to each other by a communication bus.

The user terminal 300 further comprises means for acquiring the output information of the device 200. An example of output information acquisition means is the camera 312 . Camera 312 captures visual information (images) displayed on display 218 of device 200 . Alternatively, the output information acquisition means may be a microphone (not shown) that acquires voice/acoustic information output by the speaker of the device 200 .

The display 318 may be implemented as a touch screen 314 (not shown). Touch screen 314 is an electronic component that combines input 316 (not shown) and display 318 . The input unit 316 is, for example, a touch-sensitive device, and is configured by a touch panel, for example. The display 318 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display.

(Mediation server 400)
The mediation server 400 comprises a processor 402, a memory 404, a storage 406, a communication interface (IF) 408, and an input/output interface (IF) 410, as shown in FIG. These components included in mediation server 400 are electrically connected to each other by a communication bus. The ID management server 500 shown in FIG. 5 and the profile providing server 600B shown in FIG. The front-end server 600A is also configured similarly to the mediation server 400. FIG. Below, the illustration and description of the hardware configuration of the front-end server 600A are omitted.

Next, the hardware configuration common to the device 200, the user terminal 300, the mediation server 400, the ID management server 500, and the profile providing server 600B will be described.

Processors

202, 302, 402, 502, and 602 respectively control the overall operations of device 200, user terminal 300, mediation server 400, ID management server 500, and profile providing server 600B. The

processors

202, 302, 402, 502, 602 include CPUs (Central Processing Units), MPUs (Micro Processing Units), and GPUs (Graphics Processing Units).

Processors

202, 302, 402, 502 and 602 respectively read programs from

storages

206, 306, 406, 506 and 606, which will be described later. The

processors

202, 302, 402, 502 and 602 develop the read programs in

memories

204, 304, 404, 504 and 604, respectively, which will be described later.

Processors

202, 302, 402, 502, 602 execute the expanded program. As an example, processor 202 executes a series of instructions included in a program developed in memory 204 based on a signal given to device 200 or based on the establishment of a predetermined condition. Like the processor 202, the

processors

302, 402, 502, and 602 also execute a series of instructions included in the program expanded in memory.

Memories

204, 304, 404, 504, and 604 are main storage devices. The

memories

204, 304, 404, 504, 604 are composed of storage devices such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory). As an example, the memory 204 provides a work area for the processor 202 by temporarily storing programs and various data read by the processor 202 from a storage 206, which will be described later.

Memories

304 , 404 , 504 , 604 , like memory 204 , provide work areas to the processors by temporarily storing programs and various data read from the storage.

Memory

204, 304, 404, 504, 604 stores at least an operating system. The operating system is a computer program for controlling overall operations of the device 200, user terminal 300, mediation server 400, ID management server 500, and profile providing server 600B.

The

storages

206, 306, 406, 506, 606 are auxiliary storage devices.

Storage

206, 306, 406, 506, 606 persistently holds programs and data. The

storages

206, 306, 406, 506, 606 are implemented as non-volatile storage devices such as ROMs (Read-Only Memory), hard disk drives, flash memories, etc., for example. The

storages

206, 306, 406, 506, and 606 store, for example, programs for realizing communication with other computers and terminals.

Communication IFs

208, 308, 408, 508, and 608 respectively control transmission and reception of various data in device 200, user terminal 300, mediation server 400, ID management server 500, and profile providing server 600B.

Communication IFs

208 and 308 control wireless communication using Internet communication or the like via a wireless LAN, wireless WAN, or mobile phone network.

Communication IFs

408, 508, and 608, for example, control communications via IP (Internet Protocol) such as LAN (Local Area Network) and WAN.

Communication IFs

208, 308, 408, 508, and 608 are configured to transmit and receive data to and from various servers, user terminals 300, and devices 200 according to a predetermined communication protocol.

Input/output interfaces (IFs) 310, 410, 510, and 610 are used by the user terminal 300, mediation server 400, ID management server 500, and profile providing server 600B to receive and output data, respectively. It's an interface. The input/

output IFs

310, 410, 510, and 610 may input/output data via USB (Universal Serial Bus) or the like. Input devices connected to the input/

output IFs

310, 410, 510, 610 may include physical buttons, cameras, microphones, mice, keyboards, sticks, levers, and the like. Output devices connected to the input/

output IFs

310, 410, 510, 610 may include displays, speakers, and the like. The device 200 does not have to have an input/output IF that receives operations from the user.

<Functional Configuration of System 100>
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of device 200, user terminal 300, mediation server 400, ID management server 500, front end server 600A, and profile providing server 600B included in system 100. As shown in FIG.

(Equipment 200)
The device 200 has a function of outputting a device identification ID unique to the device 200 and a function of downloading and installing the communication profile of the device 200 . The device 200 includes a control section 230 and a storage section 250 as main components. The control unit 330 executes a series of commands included in a program (not shown) stored in the storage unit 250 based on a signal given to the user terminal 300 or based on the establishment of a predetermined condition. to run. The device 200 functions as a control section 230 and a storage section 250 through cooperation of the processor 202, memory 204, storage 206, communication IF 208, euICC 212 (FIG. 2), and the like.

The control unit 230 functions as an output control unit 231 and a request unit 232 according to the description of the program. The control unit 230 can also function as other functional blocks (not shown) according to the nature of the application to be executed.

The output control unit 231 causes the display 218 or the like to output output information including the device identification ID 251 unique to the device 200 . The output information includes visual information or acoustic/speech information. The visual information may be a QR code, MR code, barcode, character string, or a combination thereof.

The request unit 232 transmits a communication profile transmission request to the ID management server 500 and acquires an activation code (hereinafter also referred to as AC) from the ID management server 500 . The activation code is a code for activating the eSIM, and is generated by the carrier (profile providing server 600B) after the user subscribes to a communication plan provided by the carrier. The requesting unit 232 also transmits a communication profile transmission request to the profile providing server 600B, and acquires the contracted communication profile 252 associated with the device 200 from the profile providing server 600B.

The activation code includes a profile identification ID and the address of the profile providing server 600B. A profile identification ID is an ID used to identify a communication profile contracted by a user in the profile providing server 600B, and is assigned by the telecommunications carrier (profile providing server 600B) for each communication plan contract. . Using the profile identification ID, each carrier can specify the communication profile of the communication plan subscribed by the user. The address of the profile providing server 600B is the address of the server that provides the communication profile corresponding to the communication plan contracted by the user. The address of profile providing server 600B is associated with each profile identification ID.

(User terminal 300)
The user terminal 300 has a function as an input device that accepts user input operations, and a function that transmits and receives various information and the like according to user input operations to and from various servers (intermediary server 400 or front end server 600A). have The user terminal 300 includes a control unit 330 and a storage unit 350 as main components. The control unit 330 activates the eSIM contract application program 351 (hereinafter referred to as “eSIM contract Execute a series of instructions contained in an app. User terminal 300 functions as control unit 330 and storage unit 350 through cooperation of processor 302, memory 304, storage 306, communication IF 308, input/output IF 310, camera 312, display 318, and the like.

The control unit 330 functions as an ID acquisition registration unit 331, a display control unit 332, an operation reception unit 333, or a progress unit 334 according to the description of a program (not shown). Control unit 330 can also function as other functional blocks (not shown) according to the nature of the application to be executed.

Upon reading the output information from the device 200 , the ID acquisition registration unit 331 analyzes the output information and acquires the device identification ID 251 unique to the device 200 . In one example, the ID acquisition and registration unit 331 activates the camera 312 of the user terminal 300, analyzes output information (for example, a QR code (registered trademark) image) from the device 200 acquired by the camera 312, and obtains the device identification ID 251. get. In another example, the ID acquisition/registration unit 331 may receive a user's operation input of output information (for example, a character string) to the input unit 316 of the user terminal 300 and acquire the device identification ID 251 from this output information.

The display control unit 332 causes the display 318 to display various application screens for downloading communication profiles, such as an account registration screen for purchasing a communication plan, a communication plan purchase acceptance screen, etc., according to the description of the program.

The operation reception unit 333 receives user operation input to the input unit 316 , which is input according to various application screens displayed on the display 318 . The operation reception unit 333 receives input of an account registration operation for purchasing a communication plan by the user and an operation of selecting/purchasing a communication plan.

The progression unit 334 transmits and receives various information related to user input operations to and from various servers (intermediary server 400 or front end server 600A) in accordance with program descriptions.

(Mediation server 400)
The mediation server 400 has a function of associating (binding) the information about the device 200 received from the user terminal 300 and the activation code generated by the profile providing server 600B. Information related to the device 200 includes the device identification ID of the device 200 acquired from the user terminal 300 .

The mediation server 400 includes a control unit 430 and a storage unit 450 as main components. Control unit 430 executes a series of commands contained in a program (not shown) stored in storage unit 450 based on a signal given to mediation server 400 or based on the establishment of a predetermined condition. to run. Intermediation server 400 functions as control unit 430 and storage unit 450 through cooperation of processor 402, memory 404, storage 406, communication IF 408, input/output IF 410, and the like.

The control unit 430 functions as an acquisition unit 431 and a linking unit 432 according to the program description. Control unit 430 can also function as other functional blocks (not shown) according to the nature of the application to be executed.

The acquisition unit 431 acquires various information acquired from the user terminal 300 or the profile providing server 600B according to the description of the program (not shown), and stores it in the storage unit 450. In one example, the acquisition unit 431 registers the device identification ID 251 acquired from the user terminal 300 and the activation code 651 .

The linking unit 432 associates the device identification ID 251 of the device 200 with the activation code 651 and stores them in the storage unit 450 .

Generally, telecommunications carriers sell terminals that can use the communication services they provide and communication services as a set to users. In this case, the telecommunications carrier may directly download available communication profiles from its own server to the user terminal. Therefore, the profile providing server 600B on the carrier side does not need to have a connection interface with the ID management server 500 (which can also be expressed as an SM-DS server) that manages information on various carriers. According to the present disclosure, mediation server 400 connects to ID management server 500 , binds the device identification ID and the communication profile created by profile providing server 600 B, and provides this information to ID management server 500 . Therefore, the carrier's profile providing server 600B can cause the device 200 to acquire the information (profile identification ID) necessary for downloading the communication profile from the ID management server 500 via the mediation server 400 . As a result, the device 200 can download communication profiles of communication services provided by various different communication carriers, and can use various communication services. In addition, since the device 200 can freely download the communication profile according to the operation of the user terminal 300 and freely set the communication profile, it is not necessary to set the communication profile in advance when the device 200 is shipped.

(ID management server 500)
The ID management server 500 manages various information including the device identification ID 251 and the activation code 651 of the device 200 received from the mediation server 400 . The ID management server 500 includes a control unit 530 and a storage unit 550 as main components. Based on a signal given to ID management server 500, or based on the establishment of a predetermined condition, control unit 530 executes a series of operations included in a program (not shown) stored in storage unit 550. execute the command. ID management server 500 functions as control unit 530 and storage unit 550 through cooperation of processor 502, memory 504, storage 506, communication IF 508, input/output IF 510, and the like.

The control unit 530 functions as an ID management unit 531 according to the description of the program. Control unit 530 can also function as other functional blocks (not shown) according to the nature of the application to be executed.

The ID management unit 531 associates the information on the device 200 with the activation code 651, registers them in the ID management file 551, and stores them in the storage unit 550. Also, the ID management unit 531 transmits the activation code 651 extracted from the ID management file 551 to the device 200 in response to the communication profile transmission request from the device 200 .

(Front end server 600A)
Front end server 600A accepts a contract application from user terminal 300 . Front-end server 600A may accept a contract application from user terminal 300 via mediation server 400 . The front-end server 600A includes a control unit 630A and a storage unit 650A as main components. Control unit 630A performs a series of operations included in a program (not shown) stored in storage unit 650A based on a signal given to front-end server 600A or based on the establishment of a predetermined condition. execute the command.

The control unit 630A functions as an application confirmation unit 633 and an acquisition unit 634 according to the description of the program. Control unit 630A can also function as other functional blocks (not shown) according to the nature of the application to be executed.

When the application confirmation unit 633 receives a communication plan contract application from the user terminal 300, or receives a communication plan contract application from the user terminal 300 via the mediation server 400, the contract details are confirmed.

The acquisition unit 634 acquires various information generated by the profile providing server 600B according to the description of the program (not shown), and stores it in the storage unit 650A. In one example, the acquisition unit 634 registers the activation code 651 generated by the profile providing server 600B. Acquisition unit 634 also transmits various types of information acquired from profile providing server 600B to user terminal 300 or mediation server 400 .

(Profile providing server 600B)
Profile providing server 600B has a function of transmitting a communication profile in response to a profile request from device 200. FIG. Profile providing server 600B includes, as main components, control unit 630B and storage unit 650B. Based on a signal given to profile providing server 600B or based on the establishment of a predetermined condition, control unit 630B executes a series of programs included in a program (not shown) stored in storage unit 650B. execute the command. Profile providing server 600B functions as control section 630B and storage section 650B through cooperation of processor 602, memory 604, storage 606, communication IF 608, input/output IF 610, and the like.

The control unit 630B functions as a profile generation unit 631 and a profile provision unit 632 according to the program description. Control unit 630 can also function as other functional blocks (not shown) according to the nature of the application to be executed.

The profile generation unit 631 performs provisioning based on the communication plan contract application from the user terminal 300 . As used herein, provisioning refers to the process of setting up the information required to use facilities such as networks in a carrier's system. This setup process includes the profile generator 631 generating the communication profile 252 for each determined contract content and creating the activation code 651 .

Upon receiving a transmission request for the communication profile 252 from the device 200, the profile providing unit 632 transmits the communication profile 252 to the device 200 in response to this request.

(Data stored in the storage unit of each device)
FIG. 7 shows an example of data stored in storage units of device 200, user terminal 300, mediation server 400, ID management server 500, front end server 600A, and profile providing server 600B.

The storage unit 250 stores a car navigation program (not shown) for executing each process of the car navigation system and the device identification ID 251 of the device 200 . After device 200 downloads the communication profile, it stores communication profile 252 .

The storage unit 350 stores a device identification ID 251 extracted from the output information acquired from the device 200, an eSIM contract application 351, and communication plan information 352 regarding the communication plan selected by the user. The eSIM contract application 351 is a program that is installed in the user terminal 300 and performs processing such as contract application for a communication plan selected by the user.

The storage unit 450 stores the device identification ID 251 and the activation code 651 generated by the profile providing server 600B.

The storage unit 550 stores an ID management file 551. FIG. 11 shows an example of the data structure of the ID management file 551. As shown in FIG. The ID management file 551 manages the device identification IDs 251 of all the devices 200 with which communication contracts have been completed for each of a plurality of carriers (carrier 1 and carrier 2 in the example of FIG. 11). The device identification ID 251 is held in association with each activation code 651 . As illustrated, the ID management file 551 includes items of "device identification ID 251" and "activation code 651" (in this example, "profile identification ID" and "profile providing server address") of the device 200. including at least

A profile identification ID assigned to each communication plan contract and a profile providing server address are assigned to each device identification ID 251 . In the example of FIG. 11, information on device identification IDs (1) to (3) for carrier 1 and device identification IDs (4) and (5) for carrier 2 are shown, but not limited to this, The ID management file 551 contains information related to all communication contracts of each communication carrier. A profile identification ID is uniquely determined for each carrier. Further, in the example of FIG. 11, the carrier 1 is associated only with the address of the profile providing server 1, but if the carrier 1 has a plurality of profile providing servers 600B, each device identification ID is a different profile providing server. It may be associated with the address of server 600B. When the device identification ID 251 is specified, based on the ID management file 551, the profile providing server 600B to be accessed by the device 200 corresponding to the device identification ID 251 and the contract (profile identification ID) assigned to the device identification ID 251 are determined. can be specified.

The storage unit 650A stores an activation code 651 generated by the profile providing server 600B.

The storage unit 650B stores an activation code 651 and a communication profile management file 652. FIG. 12 is an example of the data structure of the communication profile management file 652 shown in FIG. The communication profile management file 652 is stored for each carrier or in the profile providing server 600B shared by a plurality of carriers. When stored in a shared server, the profile identification ID is stored in the shared server in association with the profile providing server 600B of each carrier. FIG. 12 exemplifies the communication profile management file 652 of the communication carrier 1 . As illustrated, the communication profile management file 652 includes at least the items "profile identification ID" and "communication profile" corresponding to the profile identification ID. One communication profile is associated with one profile identification ID. Once the profile identification ID is identified, the communication profile 252 corresponding to the profile identification ID can be identified from the communication profile management file 652 .

8, 9 and 10 illustrate examples of processing performed in system 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, the user makes a contract with the telecommunications carrier on the eSIM contract application 351 provided by the telecommunications carrier that operates the mediation server 400 or the manufacturer of the device 200, and sends the communication profile of the contracted plan to the device 200. to install. FIG. 8 shows an example of the flow of processing from creating an account for a communication plan contract to contracting the communication plan. FIG. 9 shows an example of the flow of processing in the user terminal 300, mediation server 400, and ID management server 500 after contracting the communication plan shown in FIG. FIG. 10 shows an example of the process of downloading the communication profile to the device 200. As shown in FIG.

First, with reference to FIG. 8, the flow of processing from creating an account for contracting a communication plan to contracting a communication plan for the account in the system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. It is assumed that the eSIM contract application 351 is installed in the user terminal 300 prior to the process. The eSIM contract application 351 is an application program that creates an account for contracting a communication plan for the device 200, selects a communication plan provided by a plurality of communication carriers, and processes the contract. The eSIM contract application 351 may be provided by a business operator that is not associated with a specific communication carrier, such as the business operator that provides the mediation server 400 or the manufacturer of the device 200 .

In step S2, the user terminal 300 (operation accepting unit 333) accepts an input operation by the user, reads out the eSIM contract application 351 stored in the storage unit 350, and starts it. When the eSIM contract application 351 is activated, the display control unit 332 causes the display 318 to display a screen prompting the user to obtain the output information of the device 200 .

Next, in step S4, the user visually recognizes a screen prompting acquisition of output information of the device 200 . The device 200 outputs output information including the device identification ID 251 unique to the device 200 when receiving an input operation from the user on the screen. For example, the device 200 displays a QR code (registered trademark) including the device identification ID 251 on the display 218 .

Next, in step S6, the user terminal 300 (ID acquisition registration unit 331) acquires the output information of the device 200, analyzes the output information, and acquires the device identification ID 251 that is unique to the device. As an example, the ID acquisition/registration unit 331 activates the camera 312, captures the output information (for example, QR code (registered trademark)) of the device 200, and acquires the device identification ID 251 unique to the device 200 from the captured image. . As another example, when the output information is a character string, the ID acquisition registration unit 331 may acquire the device identification ID 251 from the character string operation input information by the user via the input unit 316 .

Further, in step S6, the ID acquisition and registration unit 331 analyzes the output information, obtains the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the account registration page of the eSIM contract application 351 necessary for using the communication service, and provides the mediation server 400. access the URL of the account registration page. When the account registration screen is displayed on the display 318, the user terminal 300 accepts input operation of account information including user name, address, etc. by the user (not shown). The entered account information and device identification ID 251 are transmitted to mediation server 400 via communication IF 308 (not shown). The mediation server 400 associates the device identification ID 251 with account information and registers an account for the eSIM contract application 351 (not shown). When the registration of the device identification ID 251 and the account information is completed, the ID acquisition registration unit 331 receives an account registration notification from the mediation server 400 indicating that the account registration has been completed.

Above, steps S2 to S6 relate to the account registration process for the eSIM contract service provided by the mediation server 400. Once the device identification ID 251 is registered in the account of the eSIM contract application 351, the user can use this device identification ID 251 to apply for a new communication plan or change the application. Therefore, the user does not need to repeat the processing from step S2 to step S6 to register the device identification ID 251 in the mediation server 400 every time when applying for a communication plan or changing the application.

Next, communication plan application and contract processing will be described (steps S8 to S18).

In step S8, first, the display control unit 332 causes the display 318 to display the communication plan selection screen of the eSIM contract application 351. The communication plan selection screen includes a plurality of selectable icons of one or more communication plans for communication services provided by one or more carriers. Each communication plan is a collection of information related to communication services provided by each communication carrier. , no upper limit), amount (fixed amount, variable amount), fee structure, etc. are stipulated. The operation reception unit 333 receives a communication plan selection operation on the input unit 316 by the user.

Furthermore, in step S8, the operation accepting unit 333 accepts a communication plan contract operation by the user. Contract operation includes charge payment operation for the selected communication plan on the eSIM contract application 351 . Upon receiving contract processing by the user, operation accepting unit 333 identifies an address for contract application for a communication plan of front-end server 600A of a telecommunications carrier that provides a contracted communication plan based on the contract details, is notified of the contract application to the front-end server 600A that identifies the

Next, in step S10, when the front end server 600A (application confirmation unit 633) accepts the contract application from the user terminal 300, the contract details are confirmed.

Next, in step S12, the front end server 600A (acquisition unit 634) acquires the activation code 651 generated by the profile providing server 600B based on the contract details. As described above, activation code 651 is information necessary for device 200 to download the communication profile, and includes the address of profile providing server 600B for device 200 to download the communication profile and the profile identification ID. .

Note that the front-end server 600A can acquire the activation code 651 from the profile providing server 600B in various ways in step S12. Therefore, the processing shown in FIG. 8 does not describe the processing between the front end server 600A and the profile providing server 600B. In one example, the front-end server 600A sends the profile identification ID to the profile providing server 600B after confirming the contract details in step S10. Next, profile providing server 600B extracts activation code 651 corresponding to the profile identification ID and transmits it to front end server 600A. In step S12, the front end server 600A acquires the activation code 651 from the profile providing server 600B.

Although not shown in FIG. 8, the activation code 651 is generated by the profile providing server 600B after step S10 and before step S12. Specifically, the profile providing server 600B (profile generating unit 631) generates an eSIM communication profile and an activation code 651 so that the contracted communication plan can be used. Profile generator 631 generates activation code 651 from the profile identification ID associated with the selected communication profile. Profile generator 631 selects a communication profile stored in profile providing server 600B and assigns a profile identification ID for each eSIM contract. Also, the profile generator 631 generates an activation code 651 from the profile identification ID associated with the selected communication profile. The profile generation unit 631 stores the communication profile and the profile identification ID of the activation code 651 in the storage unit 650 as the communication profile management file 652 (FIG. 12).

Next, in step S14, the front end server 600A (acquisition unit 634) transmits the acquired activation code 651 to the user terminal 300.

Next, in step S16, when the user terminal 300 (progression unit 334) acquires the activation code 651, it transmits the activation code 651, the device identification ID 251 unique to the device 200 acquired in step S6, and the mediation server 400. do.

Next, in step S18, the mediation server 400 (acquisition unit 431) stores the device identification ID 251 and the activation code 651 in the storage unit 450. According to this embodiment, mediation server 400 is not communicably connected to profile providing server 600B, so it acquires activation code 651 from profile providing server 600B via user terminal 300 .

　Steps S8 to S18 illustrated in FIG. 8 are the processing up to registration of the communication plan application by the user, the communication plan contract, and the device identification ID 251 and the activation code 651 in the mediation server 400. In this way, the communication profile is not written to the device 200 in the communication plan contract processing by the user.

It should be noted that the processing shown in FIG. 8 is merely exemplary, and the order thereof may be changed, and processing may be added.

Next, an example of processing performed by the user terminal 300, the mediation server 400, and the ID management server 500 after the communication plan contract processing illustrated in FIG. 8 will be described based on FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of processing in the user terminal 300, mediation server 400, and ID management server 500 in the system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In step S20, the linking unit 432 of the mediation server 400 associates the received activation code 651 with the device identification ID 251 assigned to each device 200 and stores them in the storage unit 450. In addition, mediation server 400 transmits device identification ID 251 and activation code 651 to ID management server 500 .

By the way, it is customary for telecommunications carriers to sell terminals that can use the communication services they provide to users together with their communication services. When selling a terminal and a communication service as a set, the telecommunications carrier can directly download available communication profiles from its own server to the user terminal. In this case, the server that provides the communication profile of the telecommunications carrier does not need to have a connection interface with a server that manages information of various telecommunications carriers (so-called SM-DS server). However, in order to use a communication service provided by a carrier other than the first carrier, or even if it is the same carrier as the first carrier, In order to use it with a different terminal, it is necessary to send the activation code provided by the carrier to the device 200 . One method of transmitting the activation code to the device 200 is to use the ID management server 500 (SM-DS server). For example, the ID management server 500 can be used to transmit the activation code 651 provided by the carrier to the device 200 . However, when using the ID management server 500, the ID management server 500 preset in the eUICC 212 must be connected to the profile providing server 600B. As a result, the ID management server 500 needs to design a dedicated service for each profile providing server 600B.

According to this disclosure, the ID management server 500 does not need to design a dedicated service for each profile providing server 600B. The mediation server 400 connects with an ID management server 500 that manages communication profiles provided by various carriers. Intermediary server 400 associates profile identification ID commonly used by profile providing server 600B (SM-DP server) and ID management server 500 (SM-DS server) with device identification ID 251 . Therefore, even if the profile providing server 600B cannot directly connect to the ID management server 500, the profile providing server 600B uses the profile identification ID to identify the communication profile in response to a request from the device 200, and downloads the communication profile to the device 200. can be made possible. That is, it is possible to transmit and receive information via the device 200 between the ID management server 500 and the profile providing server 600B. Further, the device 200 can obtain information on the profile providing server 600B from which the communication profile is to be downloaded from the ID management server 500 . This allows the user terminal 300 side to arbitrarily select a communication plan even for the device 200 for which a usable communication plan is not set at the time of the initial contract.

Note that the processing shown in FIG. 9 is merely an example, and additional processing may be performed.

In one example, prior to step S20 in FIG. 9, mediation server 400 regularly registers activation code 651 in storage unit 450, or device identification ID 251 and activation code 651 are not bound. You may make it confirm whether it is. If there is an activation code 651 that has passed a certain period of time since registration, a deletion instruction is sent to the ID management server 500 to delete the information of the activation code 651 that has passed a certain period of time from the ID management server 500 . More specifically, mediation server 400 transmits to ID management server 500 a deletion instruction to delete the device identification ID, the profile identification ID, and the profile providing server address. After confirming that the information such as the registered activation code 651 has been deleted in the ID management server 500, the mediation server 400 proceeds to step S20. According to the present disclosure, the system 100 identifies an activation code that has been registered for a certain period of time as a used activation code 651, and deletes it from the storage unit 550 of the ID management server 500, thereby reducing the resources of the storage unit 550. release the Thereby, the information about the communication profile stored in the storage unit 550 can be updated.

In another example, the mediation server 400 may check whether the device identification ID 251 bound to the activation code 651 has already been registered before step S20 in FIG. If there is an activation code 651 associated with the device identification ID 251 in the mediation server 400, this activation code 651 is deleted. In addition, mediation server 400 transmits to ID management server 500 a deletion instruction to delete the device identification ID, the profile identification ID, and the profile providing server address. After confirming that the information such as the activation code 651 has been deleted in the ID management server 500, the mediation server 400 proceeds to step S20. According to the present disclosure, the system 100 identifies the already registered activation code 651 as a used activation code 651 and deletes it from the storage unit 550 of the ID management server 500, thereby freeing up the resources of the storage unit 550. release the

Next, in step S22, the ID management server 500 (ID management unit 531) associates the received device identification ID 251 with the activation code 651, and stores them in the storage unit 550 as an ID management file 551 (FIG. 11). . Next, ID management server 500 transmits a registration completion notification of device identification ID 251 and activation code 651 to mediation server 400 .

Next, in step S24, the mediation server 400 transmits the registration completion notice received from the ID management server 500 to the user terminal 300.

Next, in step S26, the user terminal 300 (progression unit 334) receives a registration completion notification from the mediation server 400.

Next, an example of the processing shown in FIG. 10 will be described. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of communication profile download processing in device 200 in system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In step S28, when the device 200 is powered on or triggered by various operations on the device 200 by the user, the device 200 (requesting unit 232) sends the communication profile to the ID management server 500 using the device identification ID 251 of the device 200. Submit your request.

Next, in step S30, when receiving the device identification ID 251 and the communication profile request from the device 200, the ID management unit 531 of the ID management server 500 refers to the ID management file 551 (FIG. Activation code 651 is extracted. Activation code 651 includes a profile identification ID assigned to each contract associated with device identification ID 251 and the address of profile providing server 600B. The ID management server 500 transmits the extracted activation code 651 to the device 200 .

Next, in step S32, the device 200 (requesting unit 232) identifies the address of the connection destination profile providing server 600B and the profile identification ID from the received activation code 651. The requesting unit 232 connects to the specified profile providing server 600B and requests the communication profile corresponding to the profile identification ID.

Next, in step S34, when the profile providing server 600B (profile providing unit 632) receives the communication profile transmission request from the device 200, the activation information received from the device 200 is stored in the communication profile management file 652 (FIG. 12). Identify the communication profile associated with the profile identification ID in code 651 . Profile providing server 600B also transmits the specified communication profile to device 200 .

Next, in step S36, the device 200 (requesting unit 232) downloads the communication profile from the profile providing server 600B.

Note that when the eUICC 212 is installed in the device 200, the device 200 is often not equipped with an input IF (input receiving means) such as a touch screen that receives operations from the user. If the device 200 is not equipped with an input IF, the user cannot directly perform operations such as communication plan selection and communication profile download on the device 200 . In view of such circumstances, the system 100 of the present disclosure enables the communication profile to be downloaded to the device 200 by an operation on the user terminal 300 side. According to the present disclosure, there is no need to install an eSIM contract application for selecting/contracting a communication plan on the device 200, and the device 200 includes an input IF that accepts user operations for selecting/purchasing a communication plan. No need.

In addition, the system 100 of the present disclosure enables one communication profile associated with the communication plan selected by the user terminal 300 to be downloaded to the device 200. By installing the downloaded communication profile, the device 200 enables access to the communication service provided by the communication carrier selected by the user. According to the present disclosure, the user terminal 300 can perform operations for registering an account for purchasing a communication plan, selecting a communication profile for the device 200 , and downloading the communication profile to the device 200 . The manufacturer of the device 200 does not have to create and manage the eSIM communication profile to be incorporated into the device 200 when the device 200 is shipped. In other words, on the device 200 side, there is no need to perform processes such as account registration for purchasing a communication plan and communication profile selection. may not be provided.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating transmission and reception of data between each component in the system 100 of the present disclosure. This indicates that data flows in alphabetical order from code a to i. FIG. 13 shows the data flow in the processing according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8-10 of this disclosure. In FIG. 13, mediation server 400 is not directly connected to carrier's profile providing server 600B.

For convenience of explanation, data communicated between the front end server 600A and the profile providing server 600B is not shown in FIG. This is because there are various modes of data communication between them. In either mode, the data shown in FIG. 13 should be transmitted and received between devices.

In the example of FIG. 13, a is the output information output from the device 200 (step S4 in FIG. 8), b is the contract application by the user (step S8), and c is the activation code 651 generated by the profile providing server 600B ( step S14), d is the device identification ID 251 and the activation code 651 obtained by analyzing the output information (step S16), e is the device identification ID 251 and the activation code 651 from the mediation server 400 (step S20), f is Profile request from device 200 to ID management server 500 (step S28), g is activation code 651 (step S30), h is profile request from device 200 to profile providing server 600B (step S32), i is profile provision It is a communication profile transmitted from server 600B to device 200 (step S34).

[Second embodiment]
FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing part of the processing executed in the system 100 according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. The second embodiment will be described below, focusing on the differences from the first embodiment shown in FIG. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 14, the flow of processing from creating an account for contracting a communication plan to contracting a communication plan (steps S2A to S8A in FIG. 14) is performed in profile providing server 600B. The flow of processing for generating the profile and activation code 651 (from step S12A to step S16A in FIG. 14) is the same. However, in FIG. 8, mediation server 400 is not directly communicably connected to front-end server 600A, and mediation server 400 obtains activation code 651 from front-end server 600A via user terminal 300. FIG. On the other hand, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 14, mediation server 400 is directly communicably connected to front-end server 600A, and mediation server 400 obtains activation code 651 from front-end server 600A. When the intermediary server 400 can communicate with the front end server 600A of the telecommunications carrier, the communication plan contract process can be performed according to the process flow shown in FIG. 14 instead of the process shown in FIG.

Steps S2A to S6A are as described in steps S2 to S6 of FIG.

In step S8A, the user terminal 300 notifies the mediation server 400 of the user's application for a communication plan contract, and also transmits the device identification ID 251 to the mediation server 400.

In step S10A, the mediation server 400 stores the device identification ID 251 received from the user terminal 300 in the storage unit 450. The mediation server 400 stores a list of profile providing server addresses. Based on the communication plan selected by the user, mediation server 400 identifies from this list the address for contract application of front-end server 600A of the telecommunications carrier that provides the communication plan. In addition, mediation server 400 transmits device identification ID 251 and contract application to front end server 600A. That is, in the present embodiment, the user terminal 300 notifies the front-end server 600A of the contract application via the mediation server 400. FIG.

Steps S12A to S14A are as described in steps S10 to S12 of FIG.

Next, in step S16A, the front end server 600A (acquisition unit 634) transmits the acquired activation code 651 to the mediation server 400.

Next, in step 18A, the mediation server 400 stores the received activation code 651 in the storage unit 450. Thus, in this embodiment, the activation code 651 is transmitted directly from the front-end server 600A to the mediation server 400 without going through the user terminal 300. FIG. According to this embodiment, the activation code 651 can be registered with the mediation server 400 without using the user terminal 300, so that the activation code 651 can be registered safely.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating transmission and reception of data between each component in the processing according to the embodiment of FIG. This indicates that data flows in alphabetical order from a' to i'. In FIG. 15, the mediation server 400 is directly connected to the carrier's front-end server 600A.

For convenience of explanation, the data communicated between the front end server 600A and the profile providing server 600B are not shown. This is because there are various modes of data communication between them. In either mode, the data shown in FIG. 15 should be transmitted and received between devices.

The data flow from code e' to i' (code e to i) is the same in FIGS. 13 and 15, but the data flow from code a' to d' is different between FIGS. In FIG. 15, the mediation server 400 is directly connected to the carrier's front-end server 600A.

In the example of FIG. 15, a' is the output information output from the device 200 (step S4A in FIG. 14), b' is the device identification ID 251 and contract application information obtained by analyzing the output information (step S8A), c' is contract application information (step S10A) transmitted from mediation server 400 to front end server 600A, and d' is activation code 651 (step S16A) transmitted from front end server 600A to mediation server 400. .

According to the present disclosure, in the example where the equipment 200 is a wearable device, it is possible to appropriately switch to a more convenient communication service according to the user's selection. By applying the system of the present disclosure, the user can use the wearable device together with the communication service of the communication carrier contracted. By applying the system of the present disclosure, the user can appropriately switch communication services according to communication charges and communication environments.

In addition, vending machines are fixedly installed in various locations, and highly convenient communication services differ depending on the installation location. According to the present disclosure, in an example where the device 200 is a vending machine, by applying the system of the present disclosure, the vending machine (a communication device installed in it) can be made convenient according to the installation location of the vending machine. It is possible to switch to an expensive communication service as appropriate.

Further, according to the present disclosure, in the case where the device 200 is an industrial device such as a construction machine or a robot, even if the device is exported to a foreign country, the optimum communication service can be provided according to the network conditions of the export destination country. Switching is possible. In particular, construction machinery and industrial machinery that are remotely monitored in a country different from the country of manufacture can be switched to the optimum communication service locally even if they are brought into a different country with a completely different fee system.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and do not limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified and improved without departing from its spirit, and the present invention includes equivalents thereof. In addition, any combination of the embodiments and modifications is possible within the scope of solving at least part of the above-described problems or achieving at least part of the effects, and is described in the scope of claims and the specification. Any combination or omission of each component is possible.

4 network 100 system 200 device 231 output control unit 232 request unit 252 communication profile 300 user terminal 312 camera 318 display 331 ID acquisition registration unit 332 display control unit 333 operation reception unit 334 Promotion unit 351 eSIM contract application program 352 communication plan information 400 mediation server 431 acquisition unit 432 linking unit 500 ID management server 531 ID management unit 551 ID management file 600 profile providing server 631 profile generation unit 632 Profile providing unit 651 Activation code 652 Communication profile management file 600A Front end server 600B Profile providing server

Claims

A method comprising a first set of steps performed at a first server, said first set of steps comprising:
obtaining a first ID assigned to the device;
obtaining a second ID assigned to the plan selected by the user;
obtaining a third ID associated with the plan and a fourth ID associated with the server that provides the plan from the second ID, and obtaining the third ID and the fourth ID; with the first identity; and
transmitting the first ID, the third ID, and the fourth ID to a second server;
The device does not have means for accepting an input of the second ID from the user, causes the device to acquire the third ID and the fourth ID from the second server, 3 and said fourth ID to cause said device to download a profile associated with said plan.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a second set of steps performed at a second server, said second set of steps comprising:
holding the first ID received from the first server in association with the third ID and the fourth ID;
receiving the first ID and a profile transmission request from the device;
transmitting the third ID and the fourth ID associated with the first ID to the device in response to the transmission request;
A method, including
A method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein
the third ID is an ID that specifies a profile associated with the plan in the server that provides the plan;
The method, wherein the fourth ID is an address of a server that provides the plan.
A method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The method, wherein the device comprises an eUICC (embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card).
5. The method of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising a third set of steps performed in the device, the third set of steps comprising:
connecting to a server that provides the plan associated with the fourth ID;
downloading a profile of the plan associated with the third identity from a server that provides the plan;
A method.
6. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The first server associates the first ID, the second server, and the third ID used by the server providing the plan selected by the user so that the device can , enabling indirect communication between the second server and the server providing the plan, so as to connect with the server providing the plan selected by the user.
A method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The method, wherein the plan is one plan selected by the user from a plurality of communication plans provided by different carriers.
8. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the first group of steps further comprises:
A method comprising the step of determining if said second identity has been registered for a predetermined period of time.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first group of steps further comprises:
When the registered second ID exists for a predetermined period of time, the registered second ID is deleted, and the first ID and the third ID are deleted from the second server. and a deletion instruction for said fourth identity.
8. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the first group of steps further comprises:
determining whether there is a second ID associated with the first ID prior to the step of associating the third ID and the fourth ID with the first ID;
If there is a second ID associated with the first ID, delete the second ID associated with the first ID, and send the second ID to the second server generating deletion instructions for one ID, said third ID and said fourth ID.
A method.
A system comprising a first server and a second server,
The first server is
a memory for storing a first program including the first step group according to claim 1;
A processor that controls the operation of the first server by executing the first program,
The second server is
a memory for storing a second program including the second group of steps according to claim 2;
and a processor that controls the operation of the second server by executing the second program.
A method, executed at a server, comprising:
obtaining from the user terminal a first ID assigned to the device and a second ID assigned to the plan selected by the user;
obtaining a third ID associated with the plan and a fourth ID associated with the server that provides the plan from the second ID, and obtaining the third ID and the fourth ID; with the first identity; and
receiving the first ID and a profile transmission request from the device;
transmitting the third ID and the fourth ID associated with the first ID to the device in response to the transmission request;
wherein the device does not have means for accepting an input of the second ID from the user, and uses the third ID and the fourth ID to retrieve the profile associated with the plan Downloading from the server to the device.
A computer-readable recording medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed, cause the server to perform the method of claim 12.
a server,
a memory storing a program for executing a method including the steps of claim 12;
and a processor that controls the operation of the server by executing the program.