Edge Data Caching with Personal-Remote Privacy Segmentation

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Edge computing systems face challenges in protecting user-related data privacy while efficiently providing computing resources near the user location.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a secure data caching system that distributes data between personal and remote edge networks, using predictive data movement to store user-related data on personal edge nodes and user-unrelated data on remote edge nodes, ensuring efficient and secure access.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If data is cached on personal edge nodes to improve data availability and reduce network bandwidth, then data access efficiency is improved, but data privacy protection becomes more challenging

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata access efficiencyVSAvoiddata privacy risk
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments data into two distinct categories: user-related data and user-unrelated data. This segmentation enables differential caching strategies where user-related data is cached only on personal edge nodes (ensuring privacy) while user-unrelated data can be cached on remote edge nodes (improving efficiency). The segmentation allows the system to optimize both privacy and performance simultaneously by applying appropriate caching policies to different data types.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies local quality by making caching decisions based on data characteristics and user context. Personal edge nodes are designated for caching user-related data, while remote edge nodes handle user-unrelated data. This localized approach ensures that sensitive data remains close to the user for privacy protection, while public data is distributed more broadly for efficiency, optimizing both privacy and performance locally at different nodes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Object-affected harmful factors

If data is distributed between personal and remote edge networks to protect privacy, then data privacy is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata privacy protectionVSAvoidedge network architecture
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the edge network into two functional segments: personal edge networks for user-related data and remote edge networks for user-unrelated data. This segmentation simplifies the overall architecture by establishing clear boundaries and responsibilities for each network type, making the complex privacy-preserving data distribution more manageable and implementable.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs data copying strategies where data is replicated at different locations based on its type. User-related data is copied only to personal edge nodes, while user-unrelated data is copied to both personal and remote edge nodes. This selective copying approach manages complexity by applying standardized replication rules to different data categories, simplifying the decision-making process for data distribution.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

3Reliability

If predictive data movement is used to pre-cache data before access, then data availability is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata availabilityVSAvoidnetwork bandwidth
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements preliminary action by predicting future data access patterns and pre-caching data before it is actually needed. The system uses predictive algorithms to determine which data should be cached at personal and remote edge nodes in advance, ensuring data availability when requested. This pre-fetching approach improves reliability by reducing latency while the selective nature of the caching minimizes unnecessary bandwidth consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes parameters such as caching thresholds, prediction confidence levels, and data expiration times to optimize the balance between data availability and bandwidth consumption. By adjusting these parameters dynamically based on user behavior patterns and network conditions, the system achieves reliable data availability without excessive bandwidth usage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS20260039707A1Secure data caching for edge networks
Publication Date: 2026.02.05 APPLE INC
  • US20260039707A1 patent drawing
  • US20260039707A1 patent drawing
  • US20260039707A1 patent drawing

AI summary

The disclosed technology provides for secure data caching by an edge network for an electronic device. The secure data caching can be provided by including a personal edge network and a remote edge network in the edge network. The remote edge network may include storage nodes that are accessible by multiple users. The personal edge network may include devices that are associated with the electronic device and a user of the electronic device, and that have been enrolled as storage nodes of the personal edge network.