Anonymizing Usage History Data via Dummy Mixing for Privacy

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional techniques for monitoring usage history of electrical devices face privacy concerns due to potential data leakage during transmission, which compromises user privacy and hinders anomaly detection.

Innovation Solution

A data processing method that combines actual usage history data with fixed dummy data to generate anonymized usage history data, which is then transmitted, ensuring privacy protection while allowing for anomaly detection without revealing the original usage patterns.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If usage history data is transmitted from client terminal to server device for anomaly detection, then anomaly detection capability is improved, but privacy protection deteriorates due to potential data leakage

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveanomaly detection capabilityVSAvoidprivacy leakage risk

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces dummy usage history data as an intermediary element that is mixed with actual usage history data before transmission. This mediator obscures the real usage patterns while still allowing the server to detect anomalies by analyzing deviations from expected patterns, thus protecting privacy without completely eliminating anomaly detection capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the parameter composition of the transmitted data by adding dummy data with different characteristics (fixed or randomized patterns) to the actual usage history. This parameter change transforms the data structure so that individual usage patterns are hidden within the combined dataset, reducing privacy leakage risk while maintaining statistical properties needed for anomaly detection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Object-affected harmful factors

If dummy data is added to usage history data to protect privacy, then privacy protection is improved, but data processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprivacy leakage riskVSAvoiddata processing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the data processing into distinct stages: generating dummy data separately, combining it with actual usage history data, transmitting the combined dataset, and then processing it at the server端. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, reducing overall processing complexity while maintaining privacy protection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates dummy usage history data that copies the structure and format of actual usage data but with fictitious values. This copying approach allows the dummy data to integrate seamlessly with real data in the transmission and processing pipelines without requiring complex modifications to existing systems, thus limiting the increase in processing complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS9697574B2Data processing method, transmitting apparatus, and anomaly detection system

Publication Date: 2017.07.04 PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO LTD

AI summary

A data processing method for processing usage history data of at least one electrical device used by a user, including: obtaining first usage history data indicating a usage history of at least one electrical device used by the user; obtaining second usage history data indicating a fixed dummy usage history; generating third usage history data by combining the first usage history data and the second usage history data; and transmitting the third usage history data from a first apparatus to a second apparatus.