High-capacity SIM storage control

• US 9,198,025 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2007
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Western Digital Israel Limited (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SanDisk IL Ltd. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Santos Garcia, Jose Carlos
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Dung
• Application Number:
  US11/698,833
• Publication Number:
  US 20070259691A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,221 Days
• Field of Search: 455/411, 455418-420, 455/556.1, 455557-558, 455/550.1, 707/9
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/183 Processing at user equipment or user record carrier

Abstract

A high-capacity SIM card includes: memory having at least one partition and a memory controller configured: to control at least two modes of access to one partition of the partitions, only one of the modes being a currently-active mode; and to allow the currently-active mode to be operationally changed remotely. Preferably, the memory controller controls operability of reading data, writing data, erasing data, and/or executing code, according to the currently-active mode. Preferably, the memory controller also controls storage of data in the card based on access-control data delivered to the card. Preferably, the memory controller is configured to reversibly operationally change, for one partition, which mode is the currently-active mode. Preferably, the memory controller prohibits change of the currently-active mode by a host device of the card.

Claims

1. A subscriber identity module (SIM) card comprising:

a memory having a plurality of partitions; and

a memory controller configured to;

receive access-control data from a remote source via a host device, wherein the remote source is distinct from the host device;

set, based on the access-control data, an active access mode associated with a first partition of the plurality of partitions;

receive a request to access the first partition from an application of the host device;

determine, independent of the application that sent the request, whether to permit

or prevent the access based on the active access mode; and

prevent the host device from storing particular data in the memory upon detecting that the particular data includes a particular data sequence that matches a data sequence that includes one or more tags of digital rights management (DRM) information.

2. The SIM card of claim 1, wherein the memory and the memory controller are operationally coupled to the host device, and wherein the memory controller is further configured to prohibit the active access mode from being changed based on a request initiated by the host device.

3. The SIM card of claim 1, wherein the plurality of partitions is specified by a mobile network operator, wherein default settings of partition attributes associated with the first partition are designated by the mobile network operator and stored in a reserved portion of the first partition, wherein the mobile network operator is associated with the remote source, and wherein the memory controller is configured to only change one or more access modes of the plurality of partitions based on profile change commands received from the mobile network operator.

4. The SIM card of claim 1, wherein a data region within the first partition includes a reserved portion for storing partition attributes that are associated with the first partition.

5. The SIM card of claim 1, wherein the memory controller is further configured to:

control at least two modes of access to the first partition, wherein only one of the at least two modes is the active access mode at a particular time, the at least two modes including a first access mode and a second access mode; and

control storage of data in the memory and limit access to the data based on the access-control data delivered to the memory.

6. The SIM card of claim 1, wherein presence of the one or more tags in the particular data received from the host device indicates that the particular data received from the host device is at least one of proprietary or copyrighted.

7. The SIM card of claim 1, wherein the first partition includes a data region and a file allocation table, wherein the data region includes a reserved portion that stores partition attributes of the first partition, wherein the partition attributes include a time attribute that identifies a time period when the first partition is enabled or disabled, wherein the partition attributes include a protection attribute that indicates whether the first partition is encrypted, and wherein the file allocation table identifies address mapping between logical addresses of the first partition and physical addresses.

8. The SIM card of claim 1, wherein the first partition includes a first access profile and a second access profile, wherein the first access profile includes a first set of partition attributes corresponding to the active access mode of the first partition, and wherein the second access profile includes a second set of partition attributes corresponding to a second access mode.

9. The SIM card of claim 8, wherein the access-control data is included in a profile change command received at the memory controller from the remote source via the host device, and wherein the memory controller is configured to, based on the profile change command:

change the second set of partition attributes, wherein the second set of partition attributes is changed by setting a time parameter based on a value included in the profile change command; and

set the active access mode as the second access mode, wherein the second access mode corresponds to the changed second set of partition attributes.

10. A method of controlling access to a memory of a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, the method comprising:

at a SIM card having a memory controller and a memory with a plurality of partitions, performing the following;

set, based on access-control data received from a remote source via a host device, an active access mode associated with a first partition of the plurality of partitions, wherein the remote source is distinct from the host device;

control storage of data in the SIM card and control access to the data based on the access mode; and

prevent the host device from storing particular data in the memory when the particular data includes a particular data sequence of one or more data sequences that includes one or more tags of digital rights management (DRM) information.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising, at the SIM card, performing the following:

receive the access-control data from the remote source, wherein the access-control data includes the one or more data sequences provided by a mobile network operator; and

store the one or more data sequences in the memory for comparison with the particular data received from the host device, wherein the one or more data sequences correspond to specific data sequences that indicate that the data received from the host device is prevented from being used with the active mode.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein presence of the one or more tags in the particular data received from the host device indicates that the particular data received from the host device is at least one of proprietary or copyrighted.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more data sequences is stored in a reserved portion of a data region of the first partition.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the active access mode is set as one of a plurality of modes, and wherein only one mode of the plurality modes is set as the active mode at a particular time.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more data sequences is stored in a restricted portion of the memory.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising, at the SIM card, performing the following:

receiving a request to access the first partition from an application of the host device; and

determining, independent of the application that sent the request, whether to permit or prevent the access based on the access mode.

17. A subscriber identity module (SIM) card comprising:

a memory having at least one partition; and

a memory controller configured to;

control at least two modes of access to the at least one partition, wherein only one of the at least two modes is an active mode;

allow the active mode to be changed in response to a command from a remote source; and

control storage of data in the memory and limit access to the data based on access-control data delivered to the memory;

wherein a data region within the at least one partition includes a reserved portion for storing partition attributes associated with the at least one partition; and

wherein the memory controller is further configured to prevent a host device from storing the data in the memory when the data includes one of a plurality of data sequences that includes one or more tags of digital rights management (DRM) information.

18. The SIM card of claim 17, wherein a table of the plurality of data sequences is stored in attribute fields of the reserved portion.

19. A subscriber identity module (SIM) card comprising:

a memory having a plurality of partitions; and

a memory controller configured to;

receive access-control data from a remote source via a host device, wherein the remote source is distinct from the host device;

change, based on the access-control data, an access mode associated with a first partition of the plurality of partitions from a first access mode to a second access mode, wherein the first access mode is set as one of a plurality of modes, and wherein only one mode of the plurality of modes is set as an active mode at a particular time;

receive a request to access the first partition from an application of the host device;

determine, independent of the application that sent the request, whether to permit or prevent the access based on the access mode; and

prevent the host device from storing particular data in the memory upon detecting that the particular data includes a particular data sequence that matches a data sequence that includes one or more tags of digital rights management (DRM) information.

20. The SIM card of claim 19, wherein the memory and the memory controller are operationally coupled to the host device, and wherein the memory controller is further configured to prohibit the access mode from being changed based on a request initiated by the host device.