Energy Database System Using Association Information for Privacy
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Solution Overview
Problem
In scenarios where a utility supply company and a management system operation company are separate entities, the management system operation company faces difficulties in identifying and managing personal information, which hinders the provision of value-added energy saving advice derived from utility usage data analysis.
Innovation Solution
An energy database system is implemented, where a second server managed by the utility supply company stores personal information and unique association information, while the first server operated by the management system operation company receives usage data along with association information, enabling monitoring and analysis without handling personal information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If personal information is distributed and stored to prevent leakage, then information security is improved, but the ability to identify personal information for value-added analysis deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces association information as an intermediary that connects usage data to personal information without exposing the personal information itself. The management system operation company receives and processes association information along with usage data, enabling identification and analysis while the utility supply company maintains security by keeping personal information encrypted and separate. This mediator approach resolves the contradiction by allowing identifiability where needed while preserving security where required.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate companies manage utility supply and meter monitoring, then business independence and specialization are improved, but coordination difficulty and operational complexity worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into distinct functional components operated by separate companies: the utility supply company operates the second server for secure personal information management, while the management system operation company operates the first server for usage data processing. The segmentation is enabled by the association information mechanism that connects these separate components without requiring either company to handle both personal information and usage data simultaneously, thus maintaining business independence while enabling coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
Association information serves as a mediator that enables communication and coordination between the two separate companies' systems. It allows the management system operation company to process usage data in relation to personal information without directly accessing sensitive personal data, and enables the utility supply company to maintain security while allowing necessary data processing. This intermediary mechanism reduces coordination complexity despite organizational separation.
3Ease of operation
If the management system operation company handles personal information directly, then ease of operation and service provision are improved, but information security risks worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts personal information from the management system operation company's processing environment and keeps it exclusively with the utility supply company's second server. Only association information (which does not directly identify individuals) is extracted and provided to the management system operation company for usage data processing. This extraction allows the management system operation company to operate conveniently with sufficient information for analysis while eliminating the security risk of handling actual personal information.
Data Source
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AI summary
An energy database system includes a second server (201) operated by a business operator collecting charges according to usage of a utility. The energy database system includes a measurement device (301) provided in a residence of the user (401) and measuring usage of the utility, and a first server (101) operated by a business operator receiving usage measured by the measurement device (301) and transmitting the usage to the second server (201). The second server (201) manages personal information (402) for identifying the user (401), and unique association information (203) allocated to the personal information (402), and the first server (101) and the measurement device (301) also transmit the association information (203) when transmitting the usage.