SIM Card Cell Identifier Filtering for Server Load Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing systems for tracking the location of cellular radio terminals, such as payment terminals, generate a high workload for servers due to frequent cell identifier changes, especially in large areas covered by multiple cells, leading to unnecessary slow processing and resource overload.
Innovation Solution
A method implemented by a SIM card that stores a list of previously encountered cell identifiers and only sends notifications to the server when the current cell identifier is not in this list, thereby reducing unnecessary notifications and maintaining security by comparing the current location with a predetermined location to trigger alerts only when significant changes occur.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the SIM card sends a notification to the server for every cell identifier change, then the server can track the terminal's location in real-time, but the server experiences high workload and resource overload
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes unnecessary notification transmissions by implementing local filtering at the SIM card level. The SIM card compares current cell identifiers against a stored whitelist and only transmits notifications for cells not on the whitelist, thereby extracting the harmful element of redundant server workload while preserving essential location tracking functionality.
2Productivity
If the SIM card filters notifications using a whitelist of visited cells, then the server workload is reduced, but the device complexity of the SIM card increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-populating the SIM card with a whitelist of expected cell identifiers before the terminal begins movement. This preliminary configuration enables the SIM card to perform simple inclusion checks rather than complex analysis, reducing the processing burden during actual operation while maintaining effective notification filtering.
3Loss of energy
If the SIM card stores a whitelist of cell identifiers, then unnecessary notifications are reduced, but the memory requirements of the SIM card increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial action by storing only the necessary subset of cell identifiers (those on the expected path or within the service area) in the SIM card's whitelist, rather than storing all possible cell identifiers. This selective storage approach consumes minimal memory resources while effectively preventing redundant notifications for cells that would not be visited anyway.
Data Source
Figure 1~2a
Figure 2b
AI summary
The invention relates to the processing of radio-cellular data, particularly by a SIM card of a mobile terminal. This SIM card receives a current cell identifier (S2) and compares the current identifier with an identifier previously stored in memory. If there is a difference between the current identifier and a previously stored identifier, the SIM card may generate a notification to a remote server. More specifically, the SIM card stores in memory a list of current cell identifiers corresponding to the cells in which the terminal is successively located (S5). The transmission of a notification to the server (S4) is conditional upon the absence of the current identifier in this list (KO-S3).