A method for querying an eSIM available logical channel number and related apparatus

Abstract

The application discloses a method for querying the number of available logical channels of an eSIM and related devices, which are used for accurately obtaining the number of available logical channels in the eSIM and ensuring the normal operation of a POS terminal. The application is applied to a POS terminal, wherein the POS terminal comprises an application processor (AP) and a modem (Modem), and the method comprises the following steps: the AP calls a message passing interface, sends a query message to the Modem, and the query message contains an instruction for querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM; the Modem analyzes the query message and queries the number of available logical channels of the eSIM according to the instruction; and the Modem delivers the queried number of available logical channels to the AP.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a method for querying the number of available logical channels of eSIM and related devices. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the increasing demand for eSIM functions in more and more devices, the logical channel established between the device and the eSIM is a virtual path for data transmission. If the logical channel is occupied, it may indicate network congestion, device failure, etc.

[0003] In the current POS terminal system, the LPA function of the built-in Modem is in the default open state, and automatically establishes a logical channel with the eSIM without manual intervention. However, when the logical channel of the eSIM is continuously occupied by the LPA function, the application processor AP will encounter obstacles in the process of trying to establish a logical channel.

[0004] The application processor AP cannot determine whether there is an available logical channel that can establish a logical channel with the eSIM, so it cannot ensure successful handshaking with the logical channel, thereby preventing the application processor AP from continuing to perform necessary subsequent steps such as profile download, which seriously affects the normal operation of the POS terminal. SUMMARY

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a method for querying the number of available logical channels of eSIM and related devices.

[0006] The technical solutions provided in the present application are described as follows:

[0007] The first aspect of the present application provides a method for querying the number of available logical channels of eSIM, comprising:

[0008] The AP calls a message passing interface and sends a query message to the Modem, wherein the query message contains an instruction for querying the number of available logical channels of eSIM;

[0009] The Modem parses the query message and queries the number of available logical channels of the eSIM according to the instruction;

[0010] The Modem passes the number of available logical channels queried to the AP.

[0011] Optionally, the message passing interface is a QMI interface;

[0012] The AP calling the message passing interface and sending a query message to the Modem comprises:

[0013] The AP generates a QMI message through the QMI interface, the QMI message containing an instruction for querying a number of available logical channels of an eSIM;

[0014] The AP generates a QMI message through the QMI interface, the QMI message containing an instruction for querying a number of available logical channels of an eSIM;

[0015] The AP sends the QMI message to the Modem through the QMI interface.

[0016] Optionally, the Modem parsing the query message and querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM according to the instruction comprises:

[0017] The Modem parses the QMI message to obtain a query instruction and a target slot ID;

[0018] The Modem calls a target function to access a target data structure based on the query instruction and the target slot ID, the target data structure storing a number of available logical channels of a target slot.

[0019] Optionally, the Modem calling the target function to access the target data structure based on the query instruction and the target slot ID comprises:

[0020] The Modem calls a target function mmgsdi_util_get_slot_data_ptr to obtain a data pointer of an mmgsdi_slot_data_type structure related to the target slot;

[0021] The Modem accesses an available_logical_channels field in the mmgsdi_slot_data_type structure through the data pointer, a value of the available_logical_channels field representing the number of available logical channels.

[0022] Optionally, the Modem passing the queried number of available logical channels to the AP comprises:

[0023] The Modem generates a response message based on the queried number of available logical channels.

[0024] The Modem calls the message passing interface and returns the response message to the AP through the message passing interface.

[0025] Optionally, the Modem returning the response message to the AP through the message passing interface comprises:

[0026] The Modem sends the response message to the engineering mode APK through the message passing interface;

[0027] The Modem parses the response message through the engineering mode APK to obtain the number of available logical channels;

[0028] The Modem delivers the number of available logical channels to the AP through the engineering mode APK.

[0029] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0030] The AP determines a control operation on the eSIM logical channel according to the number of available logical channels.

[0031] The second aspect of the present application provides a device for querying the number of available logical channels of an eSIM, comprising an application processor (AP) and a Modem:

[0032] The AP is configured to invoke a message passing interface and send a query message to the Modem, wherein the query message contains an instruction for querying the number of available logical channels of an eSIM;

[0033] The Modem is configured to parse the query message and query the number of available logical channels of the eSIM according to the instruction;

[0034] The Modem is further configured to deliver the number of available logical channels obtained by querying to the AP.

[0035] The third aspect of the present application provides a device for querying the number of available logical channels of an eSIM, comprising:

[0036] a processor, a memory, an input / output unit and a bus;

[0037] The processor is connected with the memory, the input / output unit and the bus;

[0038] The memory stores a program, and the processor invokes the program to execute the method of the first aspect and any optional method of the first aspect.

[0039] The fourth aspect of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a program, and the program executes the method of the first aspect and any optional method of the first aspect when executed on a computer.

[0040] From the above technical solutions, the present application has the following advantages:

[0041] The application processor AP establishes a connection relationship with the modem through a message passing interface, so that the AP can accurately send a query message to the modem; the modem can analyze the query message to ensure that the AP correctly identifies and understands the query requirement; the specific information of the number of available logical channels of the eSIM is queried according to the instruction, so that the number of available logical channels in the eSIM can be accurately obtained, and a judgment basis for whether the AP and the eSIM establish a logical channel is provided, and the flexibility of establishing a logical channel is improved.

[0042] After the number of available logical channels is queried, the modem sends the number of available logical channels to the processor AP, so as to ensure the normal operation of the POS terminal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0043] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present application, the drawings needed in the embodiments will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor.

[0044] Figure 1 An embodiment of the method for querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM provided by the present application;

[0045] Figure 2 Another embodiment of the method for querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM provided by the present application;

[0046] Figure 3 An embodiment of the structure schematic diagram of the device for querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM provided by the present application;

[0047] Figure 4 Another embodiment of the structure schematic diagram of the device for querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM provided by the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] It should be noted that the method for querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM provided by the present application is applied to a POS terminal, and the POS terminal includes an application processor AP and a modem. The following will be described through specific embodiments:

[0049] Please refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 An embodiment of the method for querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM provided by the present application, which includes:

[0050] S101, the AP calls a message passing interface to send a query message to the Modem, the query message containing instructions for querying the number of eSIM available logical channels;

[0051] The application processor AP is a key component in the POS terminal, mainly responsible for running the operating system and various application programs. The modem Modem is a terminal hardware device, mainly used to convert the digital signal of the POS terminal into an analog signal that can be transmitted through a telephone line, and convert the analog signal back to a digital signal at the receiving end. The eSIM is an embedded SIM card, which is directly integrated on the mainboard or modem Modem of the POS terminal.

[0052] When querying the number of available logical channels of eSIM, communication with eSIM is needed, but AP cannot directly communicate with eSIM because eSIM is embedded in Modem and needs to interact with the outside through Modem, so AP needs to send a query message to Modem and through Modem to realize the query of the number of available logical channels of eSIM.

[0053] When the AP wants to establish a logical channel with the eSIM, the software layer of the AP first needs to call a predefined message passing interface, which is responsible for building and sending a specific query message to the Modem. The query message contains instructions for querying the number of available logical channels of eSIM, which explicitly instructs the Modem to perform the operation of querying the number of available logical channels of eSIM. The logical channel is a different path or configuration available on the eSIM for establishing a network connection.

[0054] S102, the Modem parses the query message and queries the number of available logical channels of eSIM according to the instructions;

[0055] After receiving the query message, the Modem parses and identifies the instructions in the query message; the Modem interacts with the eSIM according to the instructions to query the number of logical channels currently available to the eSIM.

[0056] The query operation is the direct communication between the Modem and the eSIM, which needs to obtain the configuration information of the eSIM through a specific communication protocol between the two, and then query the number of available logical channels of the eSIM.

[0057] S103, the Modem passes the number of available logical channels queried to the AP.

[0058] After the modem queries the number of available logical channels from the eSIM, the modem transmits the number of available logical channels to the AP through the message passing interface. After the AP receives the query result from the modem, the AP performs further operations according to the query result.

[0059] In this embodiment, the application processor AP establishes a connection relationship with the modem through the message passing interface, so that the AP can accurately send a query message to the modem. The modem can accurately identify and understand the query requirement by analyzing the query message. The number of available logical channels of the eSIM can be accurately obtained according to the instruction query, so as to provide a basis for judging whether the AP and the eSIM establish a logical channel, and improve the flexibility of establishing a logical channel. After the number of available logical channels is queried, the number of available logical channels is transmitted to the AP through the modem. The AP performs subsequent operations according to the number of available logical channels, so as to ensure the normal operation of the POS terminal.

[0060] The method for querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM provided in the present application will be described in detail below. For example, the message passing interface is QMI interface. Please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2 Another embodiment of the method for querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM is provided, which includes the following steps:

[0061] S201, the AP calls the QMI interface through the pre-configured engineering mode APK.

[0062] The engineering mode APK (Android Package Kit) is a software package specially designed for Android devices, which is mainly used for testing and debugging the hardware, software and network functions of the terminal.

[0063] The QMI interface (Qualcomm Message Interface) is a communication interface, which is mainly used for transmitting data, sending control commands, monitoring and managing the device state between the modem and other system components.

[0064] Firstly, the pre-configured engineering mode APK on the POS terminal is activated. The AP calls the QMI interface through the pre-configured engineering mode APK to interact with the modem.

[0065] The AP sets high-level permissions for the engineering mode APK in advance, so that the engineering mode APK can access and configure the underlying hardware and interfaces of the POS terminal, and has the ability to call the QMI interface for communication.

[0066] S202, the AP generates a QMI message through the QMI interface, and the QMI message contains an instruction for querying the number of available eSIM logical channels;

[0067] After the QMI interface is called, a specific QMI message is generated through the QMI interface according to the requirement of the AP for querying the number of eSIM logical channels. The QMI message contains an instruction for querying the number of available eSIM logical channels and necessary parameters or identifiers. The instruction explicitly indicates that the modem performs the operation of querying the number of available eSIM logical channels.

[0068] S203, the AP sends the QMI message to the modem through the QMI interface;

[0069] After the QMI message is generated through the QMI interface, the AP calls the QMI interface through the engineering mode APK to send the generated QMI message to the modem, triggering the modem to start processing the received QMI message.

[0070] S204, the modem parses the QMI message to obtain the query instruction and the target slot ID;

[0071] The QMI message is composed of a message header and a message body, and the message body contains the query instruction and the target slot ID. When the modem receives the QMI message, it first parses the message header of the QMI message to identify the type, length and whether further processing is required. If further processing is required, the modem parses the specific content in the message body.

[0072] In the process of parsing the QMI message body, the modem will find and identify the query instruction in the message. The query instruction is a specific code or identifier, which is used to instruct the modem to obtain the number of available logical channels in the eSIM. At the same time, the modem will extract the target slot ID from the message body. The target slot ID is used to specify the specific SIM card slot that needs to be queried or operated. The target slot ID is a number or string, which is used to uniquely identify a certain SIM card slot in the device.

[0073] After the modem identifies the query instruction and the target slot ID, the AP will perform the corresponding query operation according to these information.

[0074] S205, the modem calls the target function mmgsdi_util_get_slot_data_ptr to obtain the data pointer of the mmgsdi_slot_data_type structure related to the target slot;

[0075] The modem has one or more functions inside to manage and access the data of eSIM slot. After obtaining the query instruction and target slot ID, the modem calls the target function mmgsdi_util_get_slot_data_ptr, which returns the data pointer of mmgsdi_slot_data_type structure related to the specified slot ID.

[0076] The mmgsdi_slot_data_type structure defines some data fields related to the SIM card slot, which may include slot status, SIM card information, network registration status, and the number of available logical channels.

[0077] S206, the modem accesses the available_logical_channels field in the mmgsdi_slot_data_type structure through the data pointer, and the value of the available_logical_channels field represents the number of available logical channels;

[0078] After the modem obtains the valid data pointer, the data pointer can point to a valid mmgsdi_slot_data_type structure and access any field in the mmgsdi_slot_data_type structure.

[0079] According to the requirement of the AP to query the number of eSIM logical channels in step S202 above, the data pointer accesses the available_logical_channels field in the mmgsdi_slot_data_type structure, and the value of this field represents the number of currently available logical channels of the eSIM slot.

[0080] S207, the modem generates a response message with the number of available logical channels queried;

[0081] After the query operation is completed, the modem converts the number of available logical channels queried into a format suitable for transmission; combines the converted number of available logical channels with the necessary protocol header, message type identifier, checksum, or other metadata to form a complete QMI response message.

[0082] S208, the modem sends the response message to the engineering mode APK through the message passing interface;

[0083] The QMI response message generated by the modem is first transmitted to the QMI interface, and then sent back to the engineering mode APK through the QMI interface.

[0084] S209, the modem parses the response message through the engineering mode APK to obtain the number of available logical channels;

[0085] After receiving the response message, the modem parses the response message content through the engineering mode APK to extract the query result, i.e., the number of available logical channels of the target slot.

[0086] S210, the modem transmits the number of available logical channels to the AP through the engineering mode APK.

[0087] After the engineering mode APK extracts the number of available logical channels, the modem reports the number of available logical channels to the processor through the engineering mode APK.

[0088] In some specific embodiments, after the number of available logical channels is transmitted to the AP, the AP determines the control operation on the eSIM logical channel according to the number of available logical channels.

[0089] After determining the number of available logical channels, the AP needs to decide whether to perform the operation of opening the eSIM logical channel according to the number of available logical channels.

[0090] If the number of available logical channels received by the AP indicates that there is no available logical channel, it is determined that the logical channels of the current eSIM have been fully occupied, and the AP will perform error processing or re-execute the query operation.

[0091] If the number of available logical channels received by the AP indicates that there is an available logical channel, it is determined that there is an idle logical channel for the current eSIM, and the AP will directly establish a connection between the idle logical channel and the eSIM logical channel.

[0092] In this embodiment, the APK calls the QMI interface to start the query process of the number of eSIM logical channels. The QMI interface constructs a QMI message, which contains a query instruction and parameters so that the modem can understand and execute. The QMI message is transmitted to the modem through the QMI interface, triggering the modem to start processing the received QMI message and correctly parsing and understanding the instruction and parameters in the query message.

[0093] According to the instruction, the modem calls a target function to obtain a pointer to detailed information related to a specified eSIM slot, and then reads the related fields through the pointer to obtain the number of available logical channels of the eSIM slot. The response message generated by the available logical channel is transmitted back to the engineering mode APK, and the engineering mode APK correctly parses and understands the number of available logical channels in the response message and transmits it to the processor.

[0094] The complete process ensures that the POS terminal accurately obtains the number of available logical channels, and provides data guarantee for the subsequent establishment of a logical channel between the POS terminal and the eSIM, and the normal operation of the POS.

[0095] Please refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3 The application provides a device for querying the number of available logical channels of an eSIM, which comprises an application processor (AP) and a modem (Modem):

[0096] The AP 301 is configured to call a message passing interface, and send a query message to the Modem, wherein the query message comprises an instruction for querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM.

[0097] The Modem 302 is configured to parse the query message and query the number of available logical channels of the eSIM according to the instruction.

[0098] The Modem 302 is further configured to deliver the number of available logical channels obtained to the AP.

[0099] Please refer to Figure 4 The application also provides a device for querying the number of available logical channels of an eSIM, which comprises:

[0100] A processor 401, a memory 402, an input / output unit 403 and a bus 404.

[0101] The processor 401 is connected with the memory 402, the input / output unit 403 and the bus 404.

[0102] The memory 402 stores a program, and the processor 401 calls the program to perform any of the above methods.

[0103] The application also relates to a computer readable storage medium, which stores a program, and when the program runs on a computer, the computer performs any of the above methods.

[0104] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the above-described system, device and unit can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be described here.

[0105] In several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device and method can be implemented in other manners. For example, the described device embodiments are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There can be another division manner for the actual implementation, for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections between different units, can be indirect couplings or communication connections through some interfaces, devices or units, and can be in electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0106] The units described as separated components can or can not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units can or can not be physical units, i.e., can be located in one place, or can be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purposes of the embodiments of the present application.

[0107] In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware, or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0108] When the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solutions of the present application essentially, or the part that makes a contribution to the prior art, or all or a part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM, read-only memory), a random access memory (RAM, random access memory), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various other media that can store program codes.

Claims

1. A method for querying the number of logical channels available for eSIM, characterized in that, The method is applied to a POS terminal, the POS terminal comprising an application processor (AP) and a modem (Modem), and the method comprises: The AP invokes a message passing interface to send a query message to the Modem, the query message comprising an instruction for querying a number of available logical channels of an eSIM, the message passing interface being a QMI interface; The AP invokes the QMI interface through a pre-configured engineering mode APK, generates a QMI message through the QMI interface, the QMI message comprising an instruction for querying a number of available logical channels of an eSIM, and sends the QMI message to the Modem through the QMI interface; The Modem parses the query message and queries the number of available logical channels of the eSIM according to the instruction; The Modem passes the queried number of available logical channels to the AP; The AP determines a control operation on an eSIM logical channel according to the number of available logical channels.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of logical tunnels available for eSIM provisioning is queried, and The Modem parses the QMI message to obtain a query instruction and a target slot ID, invokes a target function to access a target data structure based on the query instruction and the target slot ID, and the target data structure stores a number of available logical channels of a target slot. The Modem invokes a target function mmgsdi_util_get_slot_data_ptr to obtain a data pointer of an mmgsdi_slot_data_type structure related to the target slot, accesses an available_logical_channels field in the mmgsdi_slot_data_type structure through the data pointer, and the value of the available_logical_channels field represents the number of available logical channels. The Modem generates a response message based on the number of available logical channels, invokes the message passing interface, and returns the response message to the AP through the message passing interface.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the number of logical tunnels available for eSIM provisioning is queried by: The Modem sends the response message to an engineering mode APK through the message passing interface, parses the response message through the engineering mode APK to obtain the number of available logical channels, and passes the number of available logical channels to the AP through the engineering mode APK. ​ ​ 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: ​ ​ ​ 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the number of logical tunnels available for eSIM provisioning is queried by: ​ ​ ​ ​ 6. An apparatus for querying a number of eSIM acquirable logical channels, the apparatus comprising: The device comprises an application processor (AP) and a modem (Modem): The AP is configured to invoke a message passing interface (QMI interface) to send a query message to the Modem, the query message comprising an instruction for querying a number of available logical channels of an eSIM; The AP is further configured to invoke the QMI interface through a preconfigured engineering mode APK; The AP is further configured to generate a QMI message through the QMI interface, the QMI message comprising the instruction for querying the number of available logical channels of the eSIM; The AP is further configured to send the QMI message to the Modem through the QMI interface; The Modem is configured to parse the query message and query the number of available logical channels of the eSIM according to the instruction; The Modem is further configured to deliver the queried number of available logical channels to the AP; The AP is further configured to determine a control operation on the logical channel of the eSIM according to the number of available logical channels.

7. An apparatus for querying a number of eSIM acquirable logical channels, the apparatus comprising: The device comprises: a processor, a memory, an input / output unit and a bus; the processor is connected with the memory, the input / output unit and the bus; the memory stores a program, and the processor invokes the program to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 8.A computer readable storage medium, which stores a program, and the program performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 when executed on a computer.

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