Device and operation method thereof

• US 10,075,840 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2015
• Issued: 09/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Benn, Howard Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Siddiqui, Kashif
• Application Number:
  US15/110,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20160330608A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,341 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/35 Protecting application or service provisioning, e.g. securing SIM application provisioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/183 Processing at user equipment or user record carrier

Abstract

A device is disclosed. The device includes a communication unit configured to transmit a subscription request to a primary subscriber device and receive a provisioning profile in response to the subscription request and a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) configured to be provisioned based on the received provisioning profile.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a universal integrated circuit card (UICC); and

a communication unit configured to;

when the UICC is not provisioned with any profile, transmit a subscription request to a primary subscriber device, and

receive a provisioning profile in response to the subscription request,

wherein the UICC is configured to be provisioned to directly access a network based on the provisioning profile and, when access to the network is requested, request the access based on the provisioning profile.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the provisioning profile is received from a subscription manager.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the provisioning profile is received from the primary subscriber device.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the provisioning profile is encrypted.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a processor configured to set an operational profile based on the provisioning profile.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the subscription request comprises at least one of an identifier of the device and an identifier of the UICC.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the communication unit is paired with the primary subscriber device and is configured to transmit the primary subscriber device, at least partially based on the pairing.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the provisioning profile comprises a different mobile network operator that is different from a mobile network operator for the primary subscriber device.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the provisioning profile comprises a plurality of selectable mobile network operators.

10. A device comprising:

a signal processor; and

a communication unit configured to;

establish a connection with a mobile network operator,

notify a secondary device of the connection, and

in response to the notification, receive a subscription request from the secondary device for directly connecting to a network,

wherein the subscription request identifies another mobile network operator that is different from the mobile network operator.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the signal processor is configured to function as a relay device between the secondary device and the mobile network operator.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein the communication unit is further configured to receive a provisioning profile for the secondary device from a subscription manager and transfer the provisioning profile to the secondary device.

13. An operation method of a device, the operation method comprising:

when a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) of the device is not provisioned with any profile, transmitting a subscription request to a primary subscriber device;

in response to the subscription request, receiving a provisioning profile for directly connecting to a mobile network operator;

provisioning the UICC based on the provisioning profile; and

when access to a network is requested, requesting the access based on the provisioning profile.

14. The operation method of claim 13, wherein the receiving of the provisioning profile comprises directly receiving the provisioning profile from a subscriber manager or receiving the provisioning profile from the subscriber manager through the primary subscriber device.

15. The operation method of claim 14, further comprising:

establishing a connection with the primary subscriber device.

16. The operation method of claim 14, further comprising:

setting an operational profile based on the provisioning profile.

17. The operation method of claim 14, wherein the subscription request comprises at least one of an identifier of the device and an identifier of the UICC.

18. The operation method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a notification, indicating a connection established between the primary subscriber device and the mobile network operator, from the primary subscriber device.

19. A computer program product comprising one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media having a program for executing the operation method of claim 13.