EA002514B1 - A system and method for implementing an auction on a computer network - Google Patents

Abstract

1. An arrangement for implementing a computerized auction for auction participants, based upon submittal of stake-supported bids from said auction participants within pre-established time limits, said arrangement possibly comprising a communication network for communication between an auctioneer and said participants, characterized in that it comprises - computer interface means adapted for presenting bids from the participants, - a computer detector means for detecting bids submitted from each participant, - a real or simulated computer clock situated with the auctioneer for marking the start and end times for an auction, recording running auction time as well as time points for bid detection in said computer detector means, and - a computer decision means for deciding on an auction result, the auction result being a function of the bid time points. 2. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that said decision means is adapted to test whether a predetermined time period, or a time period variable according to predetermined rules, has passed after the last detected bid without detection of a new incoming bid, and if this is the case, to identify the participant with the last detected bid as an auction winner, and if this is not the case during the total auction duration, to identify the participant having submitted the last bid before the auction end time, as a winner. 3. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that said interface means are computer terminals attached to a real time data-transmitting communication network, possibly via modem, and wherein the auctioneer is attached to the same network by means of a computer terminal in a similar manner. 4. The arrangement of claim 3, characterized in that the auctioneer clock, the detector means and the decision means are comprised in an auctioneer computer adapted to manage an auction in accordance with programmed auction algorithms. 5. The arrangement of claim 4, characterized in that the auctioneer computer algorithms are adapted to manage bids submitted in real time from the participants during the course of the auction, and wherein said computer is adapted for possible correction due to transmission delay from the computer terminals of the participants. 6. The arrangement of claims 2 and 5, characterized in that one of said auctioneer computer algorithms is an algorithm for varying the length of said time period as function of elapsed auction time or current bid submittal rate from all participants. 7. The arrangement of claim 5, characterized in that the participant computer terminals and also the communication network are adapted for transmission of real time information from the auctioneer computer, in order to present to each participant the running auction progress and activity. 8. The arrangement of claim 4, characterized in that the auctioneer computer algorithms are adapted to manage bids submitted in a group from each participant within a fixed point of time, so that when this point of time has passed, said computer can immediately simulate the total course of the auction. 9. The arrangement of claim 8, characterized in that the total number of bids during the auction is predetermined, said auctioneer computer algorithms being adapted to manage bids submitted from each participant at the same time as the participant makes entry for the auction/pays the bids. 10. The arrangement of claim 8, characterized in that no limit is set for the total number of bids during the auction, said auctioneer computer algorithms being adapted to manage a) auction entry/payment of bids from each respective participant within a predetermined point of time, b) thereafter calculating the total auction time, i.e. the time span from start to end time, c) establishing a time limit for submittal of grouped bid times, from each respective participant, and (d) subsequent to reception of bids from the participants and expiry of said time limit, simulation of the total course of the auction. 11. The arrangement of any of claims 8-10, characterized in that said auctioneer computer, participant computer terminals and communication network are adapted for transmission of information about the simulated course of the auction to each respective participant, possibly in the form of a screen presentation of the auction course in a real or transformed time scale. 12. The arrangement of claim 7 or claim 11, characterized in that said auctioneer computer is also adapted to transmit, in accordance with special programming, side information to the participant computer terminals, (a) said side information being controlled during real time or simulated auction progress by the auctioneer clock and possibly by the running auction development, for initiating picture/sound presentation or short film of a type which is auction related, entertaining or distracting, next to or "behind" the auction information, in order to increase the auction attraction, and (b) said side information comprising, during phases with entry/payment/pre-bidding, animations containing entertainment or auction related information or possibly advertising. 13. The arrangement of claim 4, characterized in that said auctioneer computer comprises a memory for storing a total auction course, so that a participant may have data concerning said auction course presented in his computer terminal automatically or on request after a finished auction. 14. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that at least one participant is a genuine participant and a plurality of participants is a number of simulated participants, the system further comprising auctioneer random generator means controlling said number of and bidding times for simulated participants in accordance with predetermined random generator algorithms, said algorithms containing parameters adjustable so as to tune auction winning probability into a range that is compatible with national law. 15. The arrangement of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that - part of said communication network is any of a public switched telephone network, a cellular network, a computer network and a reverse TV channel network, - said interface means are any of telephones, cellular phones, telefax units, computer terminals, and TV sets having two-way communication capabilities, - the auctioneer broadcasting any of a radio program, a TV program and a Text TV program via another part of said communication network constituted by any of a public radio channel, a TV channel and a closed-circuit network, in which radio/TV/Text TV program real time information is transmitted regarding auction progress. 16. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that the interface means are coupons to be completed by each participant and sent to the auctioneer, a coupon containing information about the desired bid time points for the participant in question within a pre-established time frame, and with a number of bids fixed according to rule and according to stake, said detector means is a coupon reader unit, said decision means is a preprogrammed computer attached to said coupon reader unit, and said clock is a simulated clock according to which the bids from the participants are ordered chronologically, said communication network being a public mail network, a telephone network, a telefax network or a computer network. 17. The arrangement of claim 1, characterized in that it comprises auction means for processing the bids communicated from the participants, communicating receipts of said bids and status details of said auction to said participants, and determining a winner of said participants based on said bids received and communicating said winner to said participants; bidder means for distinctly communicating to said auction means distinct said bids from respective said participants and processing said receipts of said bids and said status details of said auction communicated from said auction means; network means for providing communication transmission paths between said auction means and said bidder means, information communicated across said network means between said auction means and said bidder means being under at least one of a first transport protocol and a second transport protocol, said first transport protocol being more reliable than said second transport protocol with respect to insuring that data representative of said information arrives at one of said auction means and said bidder means, said second transport protocol being faster than said first transport protocol with respect to time elapsed for said data to be sent across said network means and received by one of said auction means and said bidder means, wherein risks associated with said information communicated under said second transport protocol include loss of said data during transmission across said network means, arrival of said data at one of said auction means and said bidder means in an order different from a temporal order in which said data were sent from respective one of said bidder means and said auction means, and duplicates of said data arriving at one of said auction means and said bidder means, said risks being an aspect of said auction in respect of said determining said winner of said participants. 18. The arrangement according to claim 17, characterized in that said bids are communicated from said bidder means to said auction means under said second transport protocol. 19. The arrangement according to claim 17, characterized in that said auction means comprises auctioneer means for processing said bids communicated from said bidder means and communicating said receipts of said bids and said status details of said auction to said bidder means, said auctioneer means communicating with said bidder means under said second transport protocol. 20. The arrangement according to claim 19, characterized in that said auction system comprises administrative means for processing accounts of said participants and pr

Description

Field of Invention

The present invention relates to the field of auction systems, and in particular to the field of systems and methods for implementing an auction system using a network, such as a computer network or a television network, or in an automatic mode.

State of the art

In the present invention, references are made to the disclosure of the following documents: US Patent Nos. 5,282,633, issued February 1, 1994 to Boylan et al., 5,083,271, issued January 21, 1992 to Thatcher et al., 5,630,757, issued 20 May 1997 Gagin et al., 4 927 156, issued May 22, 1990 Breslow et al., 5 009 429, issued April 23, 1991 to Auxierre, 4 637 614, issued October 18, 1985 to Gibbon and others. , 4,261,575, issued on April 14, 1981, Corelli et al., 5,559,312, issued on September 24, 1996, Lucero, 4,922,522, issued on May 1, 1990 to Scanlon, 4,998,199, issued on March 5, 1991. Tashiro et al., 5 038 022, issued August 6, 1991, Lucero, 5 159 549, issued 27 October 1992, Hallman et al., 5 083 272, issued January 21, 1992 to Walker et al., and 5 083 271, issued January 21, 1992 to Thatcher et al .;

applications made under the PCT system, No.№ \ УО 95/31061, registered on May 5, 1995 by the company Ca1ari11 Ep1sg1attsp1. 1ps., XV O 93/23125, registered on May 14, 1993 by the company SobssshaChsg Ytyeb, as well as νθ 93/22017, registered on April 30, 1993;

European Patent Application No. 0 405 776 A2, published January 2, 1991

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the first of its aspects, the present invention is a computer-aided auction system, which includes the following components: a set of auction tools that process the bids received through the network from auction participants, send notification of the acceptance of applications and auction details to auction participants, as well as determine the winner from among the bidders on the basis of received bids and sending information about the winner to the other bidders; a set of means for submitting applications for authorized communication with a complex of means for holding an auction, which sends authorized bids from relevant participants in the auction, and for processing messages about receiving applications and details of the auction received from a set of means for holding an auction; a set of network tools for providing data transmission channels between a set of tools for holding an auction and a set of means for submitting bids, which is carried out according to at least one of the first or second transport protocol, of which the first transport protocol is more reliable than the second transport protocol, from the point of view of ensuring that the message containing the information reaches either the complex of means of the auction or the complex of means of submitting bids, and the second transport protocol is more faster than the first transport protocol, in terms of the time taken to send data through a set of network tools and receive data either with a set of auction tools or with a set of bidders; moreover, the risks associated with the transmission of information via the second transport protocol include data loss during transmission through a set of network tools, changing the procedure for receiving data either with a set of auction tools, or with a set of filing tools, in comparison with the order in which the data was sent respectively, from either a complex of means of submitting bids, or a complex of means of conducting an auction, obtaining duplicate data either by a complex of means of conducting an auction, or by a complex of means of submitting wok, the risks are an aspect of an auction related to determining the winner of an auction among participants.

In the preferred embodiment, the applications are sent by the complex of means of submitting bids to the complex of means of holding an auction according to the second transport protocol, and the complex of means of holding an auction includes a complex of means of the auctioneer for processing applications received from the complex of means of submitting bids and sending acknowledgment of receipt of applications and auction details to the complex of means of filing applications, and this complex of means of the auctioneer communicates with the complex of means of filing applications for the second transport protocol. The auction system preferably also includes a set of administration tools for processing the accounts of auction participants and processing additional information related to the auction, in addition to the information exchanged by the auctioneer toolkit and the toolkit, and the auction toolkit preferably includes a complex means of supporting the auction to signal the complex of means of holding an auction about the need to start an auction, and this complex In order to support the auction, it communicates with the complex of administration tools through a secure communication channel along the data transfer route that passes outside the complex of network tools or through the specified complex of network tools.

In a preferred embodiment of the auction system, the network facilities include at least either a telephone network, or a public email network, or a facsimile network, or a local area network, or the Internet, the first transport protocol includes the TtaikshIkyup protocol Sop1go1 Prgo1oso1 / 1n1egpe1 Prgo1oso1 (TCP / 1P), and the second transport protocol includes the protocol Iket Ea1adgat Rto1oso1 (IIR).

In a preferred embodiment of the auction system, a set of bidders communicates with a set of auctioneers using auction protocols laid on top of the first or second transport protocols, and these auction protocols can include auction administration and bidding protocols. In addition, the bid submission protocols may preferably include parameters that will contain individual values for each bid submitted, account for messages received by the specified set of auctioneer's tools from the specified set of bidders for each of the auction participants, of the specified auction, made by each of the indicated complexes of means for submitting bids, identification data of the winner from among the indicated participants, the start time of the specified about the auction, the end time of the specified auction and, accordingly, the time when the current filed application becomes the last of the submitted applications, the number of specified applications submitted to the specified set of funds of the auctioneer at a time at any given time, the number of applications submitted by each of these participants, time during which one of the specified bids must be left at the auction in order to win at the specified auction, as well as the number of specified auction participants.

In the second of its aspects, the present invention relates to the field of servers of auction systems through computer networks and includes a set of tools for processing bids sent by auction participants through a computer network;

a set of tools for sending information through a computer network to auction participants in response to bids sent by auction participants;

a set of tools to determine the winner of the auction from among the bidders on the basis of applications received through a computer network;

a set of tools for sending information through a computer network about which of the bidders became its winner;

a set of tools for implementing the first transport protocol, according to which a set of tools for sending auction information and information about the winner works;

a set of tools for implementing the second transport protocol, according to which the bidding is sent from bidders via a computer network, moreover, the communication on the first transport protocol is more reliable than on the second transport protocol in terms of receiving messages by their addressees, and communication on the second transport protocol is faster than the first transport protocol, in terms of time from the time the message was originally sent until it was received by the corresponding address esatom, and the risk associated with the communication via the second transport protocol includes the loss of bids during their transmission through a computer network, a change in the procedure for receiving bids from various bidders compared to the order in which bids were sent from the respective bidders, receipt by the addressee of duplicates of at least one of the bids, the risks being one of the aspects of the auction related to the complex of means for determining the winner from among the participants in the auction.

The server system of the auction through the computer network indicated above, in the preferred embodiment, includes a set of administrative tools for processing the accounts of auction participants, and the complex of administrative tools further includes a set of tools for processing the content of messages in the form of Internet pages sent from the complex of means for submitting applications and to his address.

In a preferred embodiment, the first transport protocol includes the TttactIcup Sop1to1 Prgo1oso1 / 1n1egpe1 Pto1oso1 (TCP / 1P) protocol, and the second transport protocol includes the Iket Ea1adgat PrgoUso1 (IIR) protocol.

In its third aspect, the present invention relates to the field of methods for implementing an auction system through a communication network, said method comprising sending applications, entered by the respective auction participants on their computer equipment, to computer equipment for conducting an auction through a network;

processing received applications with computer equipment of the auction;

providing computer equipment for the auction to send confirmations of receipt of applications for computer equipment from which the relevant applications were entered;

determination by computer equipment of the auction of the winner from among the bidders on the basis of applications received from computer equipment to enter applications;

sending information about the winner of the auction from computer equipment of the auction to the computer equipment from which the application was entered;

providing the first and second transport protocols, through which communication between the computer equipment of the auction and the computer equipment from which the application was entered, moreover, communication according to the first transport protocol is more reliable than the second transport protocol, in terms of receiving messages by their addressees and the second transport protocol is faster than the first transport protocol in terms of the time it takes to send a message through the network and receiving them, at least either with the computer complex of the auction, or with the computer complex from which the applications were entered, and the risk associated with the communication via the second transport protocol includes the loss of messages during their transmission through a computer network, changing the procedure for receiving messages by computer equipment of the auction compared to the order in which messages were sent from computer equipment, from which Bids were entered, as well as duplicate bids were received by the computer equipment of the auction and the computer equipment from which the bids were entered, and the risks are one of the aspects of the auction in terms of determining the winners from among the bidders.

In a preferred embodiment, the method in accordance with the third aspect of the present invention includes processing the accounts of bidders and storing the results of the auction. The network may include a public email network, a telephone network, a fax network, a radio network, a television network, or a computer network.

The network used may include the Internet, and in this case, the first transport protocol will include the protocol Tgap8tsp8yui Soi1to1 PrgoYuso1 / 1n1egpe1 PrgoYuso1 (TSR / 1P), and the second transport protocol may include the protocol Iket Eaadgat Rto1oso1 (IIR).

In a preferred embodiment, the method in accordance with the third aspect of the present invention includes transmitting messages related to the applications between the computer equipment of the auction and the computer equipment from which the application was entered, according to the auction protocols laid over the first and second transport protocols. Auction protocols may include auction administration and filing protocols. In a preferred embodiment, the bid submission protocols include parameters that will contain individual values for each submitted bid, a counter of messages received by the specified set of auctioneer's tools from the specified set of bidders for each of the indicated bidders, bids for the specified auction made by each from the indicated complexes of means for submitting applications, identifiers of the winner from among the indicated participants, the start time of the specified auction, the end time of the specified auction and, accordingly, the time when the current application is the last of the submitted applications, the number of applications submitted to the specified set of funds of the auctioneer at a time at any given time, the number of applications filed by each of these participants, the time during which one of The specified bids must be left at the auction in order to win at the specified auction, as well as the number of specified auction participants.

In a fourth of its aspects, the present invention relates to methods for conducting an auction through a computer network server, the method including processing bids received from bidders through a computer network;

sending information through a computer network to auction participants in response to bids received from auction participants;

determination of the winner from among the bidders on the basis of applications received through a computer network;

distribution through the computer network of information about the winner of the auction to the auction participants;

sending via a computer network using one of the first transport protocol or the second transport protocol, confirmations of receipt of messages by the respective recipients, moreover, the said mailing is more reliable but slower according to the first transport protocol than the second transport protocol, and the risk of loss, delay or duplication of messages when sending them via the second transport protocol is one of the aspects of the auction in terms of determining the winner from among the participants in the auction.

In a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for conducting an auction based on filing by bidders of the auction within a predetermined time period, this system may include a network for communicating between the auctioneer and bidders, as well as a set of interface tools configured to submit bids received from bidders;

a set of identification tools to determine the bidder from whom this application was received;

a real or artificial time counter held by the auctioneer and used to note the time of the beginning and end of the auction, to record the current time of the auction, as well as assigning temporary points for identifying the application with a set of identification tools;

a set of decision-making tools to determine the outcome of the auction, and this result depends on the time points assigned to the application.

In the preferred embodiment, the set of decision-making tools is configured to check whether a predetermined period of time or a period of time that has changed in accordance with previously adopted rules has passed after the last request was received, after which no new applications were received, and if this condition is met, This set of decision-making tools determines the bidder who submitted the last bid as the winner of the auction, and if this condition is not met throughout the entire period, STI auction, this complex decision means determines as the winner of the auction participant who has filed a request before the close of the last auction.

The set of interface tools can be computer terminals connected to a real-time data network, for example, via a modem, in which case the auctioneer connects to the same computer network through a computer terminal in a similar way. In addition, the auctioneer's computer may include an auctioneer's time counter, a set of identification tools and a set of decision-making tools to control the course of the auction using programmed auction algorithms.

The auctioneer's computer algorithms are preferably configured to process applications submitted in real time from bidders during the auction. In a special embodiment, the auctioneer's computer may be configured for a possible amendment, the need for which may be caused by a delay in the transfer of data from the terminals of the computers of the auction participants.

One of the possible algorithms of the auctioneer's computer may be an algorithm for changing a predetermined period of time until the “last hammer hit” depending on the real time spent on the auction or depending on the current bid submission rate from the auction participants.

To provide each of the auction participants with information about the passage of the auction and the activity of its participants, the terminals of the participants' computers and the network can be configured to transmit information from the auctioneer's computer in real time.

In a special embodiment, the algorithms can be configured to process packages of bids submitted at certain points in time from each of the auction participants in such a way that when such moments occur, the computer can immediately simulate the general course of the auction.

The total number of bids submitted during the auction can be determined in advance, and then the auctioneer's computer algorithms can be configured to process bids submitted from each bidder at the same time that the relevant bidder enters data to participate in the auction or pays for his applications.

Alternatively, if the total number of bids submitted during the auction is not limited, then the auctioneer's computer algorithms can be configured to a) process the data entered for participation in the auction or pay bids by each bidder at certain points in time, b) the subsequent calculation of the total auction time, i.e. the time interval from the beginning to the end of the auction, c) setting a time limit for filing bids from each relevant auction participant and d) modeling the general course of the auction after receiving applications from bidders and the expiration of the auction.

The auctioneer's computer, the auction computer terminals and the data network can also be configured to transmit information about the simulated auction to each relevant auction participant, for example, in the form of a screen illustration of the auction in real time or in real time.

In another special embodiment of the present invention, the auctioneer's computer can also be configured to transmit, in accordance with a specially introduced program, additional information to the terminals of computers of the auction participants, moreover, a) control over the distribution of such additional information is carried out during the auction, conducted in real or simulated mode time, in accordance with the auctioneer's time counter and, for example, in accordance with the development of the auction, in order to create graphical Coy / sound presentation or short video about the ongoing auction, made in an entertaining or other form and sent out directly after the information about the auction or against the background of the latter in order to increase the attendance of the auction; b) at the stages of the participant’s inclusion in the auction, payment of his participation or preliminary submission of applications, such additional information includes animated graphic material for the entertainment plan related to the auction or advertising.

In an alternative implementation of the auction system in accordance with the fifth aspect of the present invention, the auctioneer's computer may include memory cells for storing information about the overall auction progress so that auction participants can have such data presented on their computer terminals or in automatic mode, or after submitting a request after the auction.

In an embodiment of the fifth aspect of the present invention, which relates to an automatic auction, at least one of the bidders is a real bidder and a certain number of bidders are simulated bidders, and the system further includes a set of tools for random generation of virtual bidders , which controls the number and time of filing applications from virtual participants in accordance with predefined random gene algorithms an operator, moreover, the indicated algorithms contain parameters that can be adjusted in order to make the probability of winning the auction compatible with existing national legislation.

In a preferred embodiment, in accordance with the fifth aspect of the present invention, the data transmission network can be divided into two parts, namely, the data transmission network can be either a public telephone network, a cellular communication network, a computer network, or a television network with feedback channels ;

a set of interface tools can be represented either by telephone, or a cellular telephone, or by a fax machine, or by a computer terminal, or a television receiver equipped with feedback;

the auctioneer may broadcast any of the radio, television or teletext programs through another part of the data network, which may consist of a public radio channel, television channel or closed network, and the information transmitted through this radio, television or teletext program is sent out in accordance with the course of the auction .

In a fundamentally different embodiment of the auction system in accordance with the fifth aspect of the present invention, the interface toolkit is cards that are filled in by each of the auction participants and sent to the auctioneer, and these cards contain information about the required number of points for submitting bids for a particular auction participant in advance the established period of time, as well as the number of applications determined in accordance with the rules and the number of lots; the set of identification tools is a device for reading the above cards, the set of decision tools is a pre-programmed computer connected to a card reader, the time counter is a timer, according to which bids received from bidders are arranged in chronological order, and the data network is a public email network, a telephone network, a fax network, or a computer network.

In a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of conducting an auction based on the submission of bids from the bidders for the lots at predetermined times, the method of conducting the auction comprising the following steps:

submission to the auctioneer of applications submitted by auction participants, at least through a set of interface tools;

determination by a set of means of identification of bids, implemented on the auctioneer's computer, bids submitted by each of the bidders;

the use of a real or simulated time counter, implemented on the basis of the auctioneer's equipment, for noting the time of the beginning and end of the auction, recording the current time of the auction, as well as time points for identifying bids with a set of bid identification tools available to the auctioneer;

decision-making on the results of the auction with a set of decision-making tools, and the result of the auction depends on the points of the time for submitting the application.

In a preferred embodiment, the method of conducting an auction also includes the step of checking whether a predetermined period of time or a period of time that has changed in accordance with previously adopted rules has passed after the receipt of the last bid, after which no new bid was received, and if this condition fulfilled, the determination of the auction participant who submitted the last bid as the winner of the auction, and if this condition is not met throughout the duration of the auction11 tion, the definition of quality The winner of the auction participant who submitted the last bid before closing the auction.

List of drawings

The following is a more detailed description of the invention, which also contains links to examples of the invention illustrated in the accompanying figures, where in FIG. 1 schematically illustrates the basic elements of a computerized auction system in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention;

in FIG. 2 shows the characteristics of the basic hardware and software of network servers that constitute an essential element of a computerized auction system in accordance with the first four aspects of the present invention;

in FIG. 3 shows the characteristics of the basic equipment and software of network users, which constitute another essential element of a computerized auction system in accordance with the first four aspects of the present invention;

in FIG. 4 provides an overview of an auction system in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention;

in FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating some necessary steps of a method in accordance with the present invention;

in FIG. 6 is a diagram of a connection between any of the network users and the auction program;

in FIG. 7 is another connection diagram illustrating communications established between an auctioneer's server and a portion of a data network closest to it;

in FIG. 8 presents the course of events in the real-time version of the "American auction";

in FIG. 9 presents the course of events in the "instant" version of the "American auction";

in FIG. 10 presents the course of events in the strategic / modeling version of the "American auction";

in FIG. 11 is a schematic view of all possible network connections between bidders in accordance with the present invention;

in FIG. 12 is an example of a display simulating a bid board for each bidder with bid submission without announcement.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1 is a simple illustration of the general features of a computerized network implementation of an auction system in accordance with the present invention, in which the auctioneer uses at least two network servers, as shown on the left side of the figure, one of which performs mainly administrative functions for processing participants' accounts auction and related information, and the second server processes applications submitted through the network by auction participants, and also sends messages to auction participants regarding the current x auction parameters.

In addition, this figure shows examples of the personal computer of an auction participant and a common data network.

In FIG. Figure 2 shows examples of the necessary computer hardware and software for two required network servers. This figure contains text and does not require comments.

In FIG. Figure 3 presents examples of the necessary computer equipment and software for personal computers of network users, and this figure also contains text and does not require comments.

The original auction concept in accordance with the present invention, although it is a network-related invention, can be easily adapted to other areas of the market, for example, portable gaming machines; distribution through CDs / reproductions; slot machines; advertising / auction sales of products of other companies.

The inventor believes that such an expansion of the possible market of the present invention will increase its value while maintaining a low cost.

The basic concept of the American Auction is a concept in which the presence of strategic skills is important for winning. Participation in such auctions also develops the strategic and analytical skills of participants in the game, which is important in everyday life and work, and therefore has great educational value and develops a competitive spirit. Further, participation in such auctions is a good entertaining means thanks to the exciting action of a real auction and various additional elements of the process.

Strategy, skill development and fascination are the three main qualities of this auction concept, which make it attractive and market-oriented and, therefore, will and should be present in all possible embodiments of the present invention. Since the development process of this auction concept focused on these very qualities, the inventors are convinced that they are present in this concept as an integral part of it.

Although in different areas of the market and among different population groups the priorities among the above qualities of the product may be different, it is always of great importance that the products and topics presented at the auction are relevant in a particular environment, and that the auction is divided by the cost of individual applications and their total cost. Acting in accordance with these requirements, the auction organizer can cover a significant area of the market, including segments of society with a high / low income level, and compete with more traditional gaming machines, portable gaming machines, purely entertainment programs based on personal computers or the Internet, etc. d.

Inventors are also aware that an auction in accordance with the above concept can be a good tool for market development for companies that produce products related to personal computers or the Internet (and not only for them). Such an auction can be used to advertise and sell their products by selling licenses and organizing auctions for these companies with exhibiting their products as lots. Such auctions can be distributed through CD-ROMs (through specialized catalogs of computer products or otherwise), through Internet catalogs or on the company's website. Obviously, this idea has great potential as a new concept of marketing and advertising, according to which products can be presented in the most advantageous light to an interested audience for a fairly long time.

This concept can be used in the implementation of a large number of derivative products, emphasizing its strategic, educational and / or entertaining qualities, as well as in variants of such a concept.

1. A portable gaming machine in which competition is modeled during the auction by selecting the number of bidders, the number of competing and own bids, and the number of bids per participant or group of participants. Such flexibility will allow you to vary the level of difficulty of the game within the same limits that are currently available in portable gaming machines, but will provide the player with completely new opportunities due to the variety of auction types, different strategies and a high level of entertainment. In this embodiment, the cost of applications is measured in points. It should be noted that the entertainment options of this concept are easier in terms of design due to limited capabilities.

2. Simulated auctions distributed via the Internet or on compact disks have the same qualities as those implemented on portable devices, but provide a wider range of possibilities in terms of animation and choice of game parameters. Such games (in the case of a CD as a medium) can be distributed through specialized catalogs of computer products, by e-mail, or otherwise installed on personal computers.

Such products can be a good development of the original auction concept in terms of animation and graphics, and can also act as independent entertainment products or for developing skills in participating in real auctions.

Such simulated auctions distributed over the Internet or on CDs can be a great way to advertise (see above).

3. Slot machines / competition simulation.

This concept is similar to the above concepts 1 and 2, but includes a winning fund. This concept of an automatic auction game is allowed by the legislation in the field of game business in many countries. Winning depends on the chosen difficulty level.

Such products will be competitive in the existing market for gaming machines, in connection with which it is necessary to consider issues related to licensing of owners of gaming establishments.

4. Auctions organized for the purpose of advertising products in which the lot or object of the auction is the advertised products of the company. Distribution is possible both through the Internet and on CDs.

First preferred embodiment of the present invention

System for conducting an “American auction” through the Internet The American auction resembles a regular auction, during which participants make bids, and the participant who makes the last bid, which remains unbroken for a certain period of time, wins. However, in the American auction system, bids are the same size, bidders pay for each bid they make, and the bidder who made the last bid wins. Such a system is broadly illustrated in FIG. 1-8.

The auctioneer uses or, in a preferred embodiment, is a program that processes applications received from registered bidders.

The program is installed on a computer connected to the Internet. Bidders use machines connected to the same network as the auctioneer's computer. The machines are equipped with an Internet Explorer program that can download and execute applets written in 1aua. All bidders are contacted by the same auctioneer using special auction protocols that are laid over standard Internet protocols.

In FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one of the methods for implementing a computerized auction system in accordance with the present invention. The first level parameters are auction rules, auction protocols, system bandwidth, efficiency and optimization, auction operation and security issues.

At the next level, auction protocols are divided into auction administration protocol and bid submission protocol, which are processed separately.

At the next level below the level of efficiency and optimization are aspects of eliminating the need for data conversion and reducing message flow.

At the level following the level of security issues, there are aspects related to the initialization of the auction, the submission of bids, control overload and distribution of the results of the auction.

1. Rules (see Fig. 5).

1.1. Preconditions

N players are involved;

before the auction, each player must buy a certain minimum number of bids (pcs);

there is no limit on the number of applications that one player can buy;

the player cannot buy bids after the auction begins.

1.2. Beginning of the auction.

Players must decide whether they want to play before the auction starts (otherwise, players can watch the auction and enter it later without risk and with a greater chance of winning);

it is necessary that there is an opportunity to return to the auction after the auction has begun (the participant’s car has failed);

Players can log in at any time in demo mode.

1.3. The game.

Players are notified of the submission of any of the applications;

from the moment a player submits an application, a time counter is turned on;

if after submitting the application a certain time passes and no more applications are made, then the last player who submitted the application is declared the winner of the auction;

a restriction is imposed on the total duration of the auction, for example, from 1 to h;

the time limit for submitting an application to beat the last application decreases with an increase in the time elapsed since the beginning of the auction.

At the beginning of the auction there is a problem when none of the players submitted an application and, accordingly, there is no winner of the auction. An option to solve it is to set an initial time limit for the duration of the auction without submitting applications, which will be changed to the normal value after the first application is submitted. This option works well in demo mode, but is not quite convenient in a real auction. An alternative solution is to set the initial auction time limit to a normal value, and if no applications are submitted within a certain short time after the start of the auction, then the organizer is declared the winner of the auction. The third solution is to appoint the so-called “own player” as the organizer, who makes the only bid at the beginning of the auction and after that remains passive. In this option, the own player wins on behalf of the auction organizer if his bid is not interrupted.

Auction time should be limited. Suppose that 3600 players participate in the auction, each of which has 10 bids. If the time limit for filing an application is 10 s, then the auction may last at least 100 hours, which is obviously unacceptable.

In one embodiment of the invention, the time limit for filing an application decreases linearly with increasing time from the start of the auction. However, the indicated time limit cannot reach zero or close to zero, since in this case it will become less than the time required for communication between the auctioneer and the auction participants. To do this, you must set a minimum limit for reducing the specified time limit or disseminate information about the deadline for each auction. If the time comes for the end of the auction, and the winner of the auction has not yet been determined, then the winner is the player who submitted the Xth application after the expiration of the specified period.

1.4. Payouts.

Unused bids over the number shh are returned to the players;

penalties are collected that are payable by the players for at least bp applications;

the auction organizer receives a share (for example, 20%) of the total auction income, and the rest (con) is paid back to the participants (winners);

players who have not made a single bet do not receive anything;

the auction winner receives a certain part of the prize (for example, 80%) of the stake;

if possible, all applications of the winner shall be reimbursed to him;

if there is money left, then the players who have made the smallest number of applications will receive compensation for their applications made (but not for penalties);

All surpluses (balances from rounding amounts, etc.) go to the auction organizer.

2. Auction minutes.

Auction protocols can use, for example, L8SP text encoding. Each message consists of a certain number of fields, separated by spaces. The first field is a single tag symbol that identifies the type of message.

2.1. Auction Administration.

A convenient option is to use reliable communications for control teams, such as logging in and logging out (Lods and ΟιιίΙ).

As shown in FIG. 6, if the bidder wants to send a management team (logging in and logging out), then he should perform the following steps:

1. make a connection using the TCP protocol with the auctioneer's server or a game program (using the same port number that is used by the connection using the SPR protocol to submit applications);

2. write the desired command in the desired format;

3. read the response (or perhaps the message “end of file”);

4. complete the connection.

In the lower part of FIG. 6 shows two sequential media of information about access to the system, i.e. one containing data on registered bidders (players) and the second for storing registration records; both of these media are connected to the network administration server.

It is assumed that the administration system sends out customer codes to bidders along with their usernames and possibly control data, encoding keys, etc.

At the beginning of the auction, bidders must log into the server system by sending a logon message (bodsh) to it. The server (auctioneer) responds with a message on the acceptance of the signal (Asser!) Or an error message (Eggog).

Example.

Boshchp = B name of the port Aseer1 = A te1ppeg / yai / potote / beabype / Yb8tabe / Yb81ey / ytoy1 / teyo / 8eg1a1

Eggog = E line where path is an alphanumeric field;

horn! - protocol port ϋΌΡ that the client wishes to use;

\\! ppeg - identification number of the current winner;

sweat - current time set by the auctioneer; ChaP - auction start time (if PaP> pot, then the auction has not started yet);

beabype - time indicated by the auctioneer when the last bid becomes the winner (if beabype <pot, then the auction has already been completed);

5epa1 - serial number of the message to which the message is a response;

Ybktabe - the number of applications filed to date (total);

Yb§1ey - the number of applications left by the player;

teio - digital identification number that the player must use in the remaining time of communication with the server;

ah! - the time during which the application must remain unbroken in order to win.

When an auction participant receives information that the auction has been completed, he should request the results of the auction by sending a message Oiy (Exit). The server’s response options are either a Rauoy (Payout) message, a \ ¥ ai (Wait) message (if the auction has not yet been completed), or a Yggog message (Error).

Example.

Oiy = O teyo Rauoi = P teyo / ge8uY / Yb8tabe / Yb8ra1b Yegogog = E line \\ ap \\ 'where teyo is a digital identification number; teky - net gain (or loss if negative);

Ybktabe - the number of applications received by the server;

Yb§ra1b - the number of applications payable by the player.

2.2. Application Protocol.

It is preferable to have a reliable real-time communication channel between the auctioneer and the auction participant during the entire auction period, however this is not available using Internet protocols.

Instead, in the preferred embodiment, the ENT protocol is used as the transport protocol for filing applications. This leads to the risk that messages may be lost, arrive in the wrong order or duplicated.

Delay and loss of communications should be taken into account as a factor affecting the conduct of the auction, and therefore one aspect of the auction that should be taken into account by bidders.

The auctioneer measures the time since the start of the auction in seconds, and the only time that is valid during the auction is the time set by the auctioneer.

Bidders may announce that they are still bidding and bid.

Example.

B1b = In Yb / capaRteio / pot where

Yb - takes the values 0 (the participant has not yet left) or 1 (filing an application);

8eba1 - each auction participant considers the number of messages sent by him, with the first message having a serial number of 0; te1o - each auction participant has its own (digital) identification number at the beginning of the auction;

sweat - the time of the auction as presented by the bidder (if the auctioneer has not yet indicated it).

Perhaps the client’s program should send empty bids to the auctioneer's server with a small amount of order, for example, an average of two bids per minute.

For each message sent, the auctioneer responds with a message about receiving a message from the player (Kese1r1). Upon receipt of each new application (and, possibly, at other points in time), the auctioneer sends a message with information about the state of the auction.

Example.

Kese1r1 = K te1ipeg / yai / pot / beabype / Yb8tabe / Ybdey / keiRteyo / teyep 8 (a1i5 = 8 tehspet / yai / pote / beybaype / Ybktabe / yoyeratah where te1ppeg is the identification number of the current winner;

sweat - current time set by the auctioneer; Tea - auction start time (if 8 (ag (> pot, then the auction has not started yet);

beabype - time of the auction when the last bid becomes the winner (if beabype <pot, then the auction has already been completed);

5epa1 - serial number of the message to which the message is a response;

Ybktabe - the number of applications filed to date (total);

YbDey - the number of applications left by the player;

Te1o - digital identification number of the auction participant;

te1ep - the value of the sweat order parameter to which this message is a response; ah! - how long the application must remain unbroken in order to win;

max - the number (possible) of auction participants (perhaps this parameter should be equal to the number of active participants or only those participants who have left unused bids).

For each bidder, the auctioneer keeps track of the serial number received from him for the last time. When the auctioneer receives an application (or a message with information that the player is still participating in the auction), he checks the serial number of the new message with what was saved the last time.

If the new serial number is greater than the previous saved one, then it is accepted, processed and a response is issued to it.

If the new serial number is less than or equal to the previous saved one, then this means that it came in turn or is a duplicate. Such messages are ignored and no response is issued.

It is possible that the bidder will have to calculate the current estimated value of the communication time between him and the auctioneer, so probably he should synchronize his time with the time of the auctioneer.

Only the account of applications submitted by the auction participant, which is maintained by the auctioneer, is valid in the auction. The auction participant may have to track the last message to which he received a response from the auctioneer and try to synchronize his own account of the bids made with the account maintained by the auctioneer. Bidder software should probably allow him to send more messages than what is expected of him.

3. System features.

Each bidder must receive a notification of new bids immediately upon receipt of each new bid from a registered bidder. Such alerts (messages about the state of the auction) are text messages encoded in L8SP, occupy a small volume (about 100 characters), and their content is not secret.

The time elapsed since the auctioneer received a new application until the moment when he can send messages about the state of the auction is negligible compared to the time that is necessary to carry out the direct mailing.

The computer on which the auctioneer's software works must be able to send the same (small) message to N different ΌΡ addresses within 8 seconds, where N is the number of bidders and 8 is an acceptable approximation of the concept of “immediately”.

A message about the state of the auction is sent to each bidder at a time, so the delay in sending a message for the first player is 0, and for the last 8 seconds.

Bidders, in addition, will experience delays associated with the network itself, and the amount that will be acceptable to bidders is unknown. Perhaps a total delay within 1 s would be quite normal, and delays of more than 4 s would be unacceptable.

Tests of the system were carried out on computers 8ii 8rags51a1yup 20 and software 8o1agsh 2.5. It is assumed that such a configuration of equipment and software can send from 1000 to 2000 messages using the IIR protocol per second.

4. Efficiency and optimization.

4.1. Eliminate the need for data conversion.

Messages and recordings are in text format, and all numbers are recorded in decimal form. This is good for debugging programs, but the server spends a considerable amount of time converting binary data to decimal and vice versa. The time spent can be reduced by using either binary code or special text programs.

4.2. Reduced message flow.

Customers will not be forced to send a large number of messages confirming their participation in the auction. Perhaps the auctioneer's server will send them a sufficient number of messages about the state of the auction in order to be aware of what is happening.

The main bottleneck in the system is sending out auction messages to all customers. A 1P protocol broadcast system could eliminate this bottleneck, but this system, unfortunately, is not publicly available.

You can try to avoid sending unnecessary messages about the state of the auction, for example, by trying to track cases when a group of applications comes more or less at the same time, and send a status message only after the processing of the last application from the group of applications.

If the load on the system is too great and groups of bids come in, then you can ignore all bids except the last one, which is why bidders would have additional advantages.

If the load on the system is large, then you can try to exclude the sending of reception messages in response to non-winning or empty applications.

You can allow the server to send unclaimed receive messages during periods of inactivity.

5. Holding an auction.

This auction must be conducted using at least two Internet servers, as shown in FIG. 1, 2 and 7.

In FIG. 7 shows an example of making connections between the nearest central network router and auction servers.

The administrative server has a two-way network connection, operating on the first transport protocol, which is reliable, but does not necessarily have a very high data transfer rate. Such a server is able to provide the client with an Internet menu, which can be used to select the demo mode, enter the system, other types of information, as well as the option of using a credit card to pay.

The administrative server reports usernames, logins, etc. An auction server that has a different type of connection to the network, for example, a connection using a faster but less reliable protocol. Such a quick connection provides the process of filing applications in real time, in which messages (applications) to the auctioneer and responses to bidders must be sent at a high speed.

The figure also shows the third server of the auctioneer, which is responsible for those messages that are common to all bidders, and can work on the first of the above transport protocols.

The main administrative server processes the accounts of the participants, the data on the course of the auction and the web page and should not be implemented on the same computer as the auctioneer's server.

A small Internet server must be implemented on the same computer as the auctioneer's server. This server communicates with the main server through a secure channel and has the following tasks (see Fig. 2):

upon request, send 1aua language codes to registered bidders;

launch the auction program (auctioneer) at the right time and with the right parameters;

save auction results (registration entries of participants and payment scheme).

In the preferred embodiment, the auctioneer is a regular program of the υπίχ system and is launched by the following command line:

# aisioi -keys, where the keys can have the following meanings:

- 1 line - set the value of the prefix of the registration record equal to <line>. In the special case, if the prefix of the registration record is not set, all registration records are issued in the standard way.

- b file - indicate the name of the file containing information about registered bidders, and if the file name is not specified, then a demonstration mode is assumed. Currently, this file has the A8C11 text format and contains one line for each registered bidder. Each line consists of at least two fields separated by a space, the first of which indicates the name of the auction participant, and the second indicates the maximum number of bids allowed to this auction participant. Fields following the two above are not read by the computer, but it is assumed that they contain security information (keys, passwords, etc.).

- p port — The port number to use. For connection via TCP and υ соединения protocols, the same port number is used. The current default value is 6010 and is pretty much a random choice.

- 8th time - time of the beginning of the auction. Two formats of this field are currently being accepted: + n means that the auction will begin in η seconds, and kt means that the auction will begin today at 11:00 a.m. The current default value is +1 (start of auction after 1 s).

- b minutes - the duration of the auction. The current default value is 20 minutes.

- 1 second - the initial time limit for filing applications (default is 20 s).

- t max - the maximum number of applications by default per participant for the demo mode (default is 8).

- Ό - demo mode in which everyone can log into the system (if - b is not selected).

Before the auction starts, the auctioneer prints out a list of registered bidders (in accordance with the requirements of accounting and audit). The first line contains identification information about the auction, the second is reserved for comments, and all the others are distributed one at a time to each auction participant.

Each line contains a digital identification number, the name of the auction participant and the number of bids allowed for him.

Example.

# / aisyop (0.9) 1997/11/17 / 10.19.36 = 000879760176 sa81og # 1b \\! u b1b8

000000. 0 000001 Εί§ί18

000002 Tot8

000003 Etc8

000004 Vgui) and1u8

During the auction, the auctioneer prints out information about noteworthy events into the registration file. Each corresponding line begins with a time stamp that reflects the current time of the auctioneer (in seconds, starting from a certain point in the countdown), followed by a serial number within each second.

Registration lines are comment lines, lines of notes about logging in, lines of messages about logging out, lines of messages about the submission of bids, or lines of a message about the status of the auction. Auction status message lines are printed each time a regular auction status message is sent.

Example.

Sotshei1 = 11te-81atr # sottep18 Lod1n = 11ts-81atr b 1b horn1 pate abbg ge8u11; B1b = 11te-81atr B b1b 1b 8epa1 Ote b18r 81a1i8 = ite-81atr 8 \ s1ppeg 1ey uteoi! 1o1a1 Osh1 = 111pe-81a1pr O 1b where

1b - digital identification number; \ s1ppeg - identification number of the current winner;

swarm - the port that the bidder wants to use to receive status messages;

pate - the real name of the auction participant; abbg - address of the auction participant on the Internet;

ge8i11 - one of the messages ok, by or 1a1e (yes, no or late);

8epa1 - serial number of the application; B1b - 1 (real application) or 0 (no application); ite - time of the auction participant (if not stated by the auctioneer);

b18r - how this application is interpreted (empty / end of game / wait / no longer left / accepted);

1st - time remaining until the end (from the timestamp);

bteoi! - the current value of the time limit for applying;

1o1a1 - the total number of applications made by all participants at the moment.

Example.

0879760175.00000 # ./aisyop (0.9) 1997/11/17 / 10.49.36 = 00879760176 ca81og

0879760177.00000 # ΝΟΤ8ΤΑΒΤΕΩ ВИХМХС 0879760177.00001 8 000 000 1199 020 0 0879760179.00000 b 1 43391 Е3д1156.116.2.222: 43391 ok 0879760179.00001 В 1 00001 000 000 879760179. 854896 asser1eb

0879760179.00003 8 000 010 020 020 1 0879760180.00021 B 1 000004 000008 879760180.886145 0889760238.00001 # ge8i11 rtsh1eb 0879760238.00002 8 000002-01 019 32 0879760243.00000 O 000001 0879760249.002 002 007 023 023 023 023 060 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 760 for us for a long time.

At the end of the auction, the auctioneer prints out a results file consisting of an initial identification line, a title line, and then one line for each active participant in the auction. Each line contains the identification number of the auction participant, the name of the auction participant, the net result and the number of bids made by this participant.

Example.

# ./aisIop (0.9) 1997/10/17 / 10.49.36 = 00879760176 sa.Chog

# ίά \\! yu geeks Yb5 000000. 0 0 000001 Εί§ί1 -8 8 000002 Tot 17 8 000003 E1pc -8 8 000004 Vguishk -8 8

6. Source code # ba1s

She Νϋν 7 13:18:45 MET 1997 # \\ with Ybq.s sottapk.s 1od.s tat.s s raauGG.s s p1aueg.s s gipdate.s sSh.s date.

137 481 3152 Yb5.s 135 425 2783 sotstapk.s 39 104 765 1 od.s 164 650 4813 Tat.s 113 446 2477 rauoGG.s 108 426 2732 p1aueg.s 200 640 4643 gipdate.s 133 439 2954 ISh.s 128 541 3287 date.y 1157 4152 27706 U1a1

where ta1p.s is the auctioneer's main program; gipdate.s - the program of the auction;

Ybk.s - processing of incoming applications; sottapb ^ .s - processing of incoming commands according to the TCP protocol (input and output from the system); rauoGG.s - bringing into force the current rules of settlements at the end of the auction; p1aueg.s - reading / creating player data structures;

1od.s - execution of the current registration rules; Ts! 11.s - various utilities;

date.11 - contains general types of definitions and declarations;

sbey.s is a program that creates one or more clients.

7. Security Issues.

7.1. Initialization.

It is assumed that the auctioneer program is launched by the server with the minimum configuration running on the same computer as the auctioneer.

The server with the minimum configuration connects to the main administrative server using the 88b protocol (secure socket protocol) and sends the 1aoua language codes to registered clients (auction participants).

7.2. Submission of applications.

During the auction, its participants send their bids, and the server sends out messages about the acceptance of bids and the state of the auction. Lost messages is also a factor in the game.

There is also a risk that fraudsters participating in the auction will look at traffic that is not intended for them, try to insert false messages into the message stream, send second messages legally sent previously, or insert “garbage” into message flows.

To ensure the safety of messages, various methods can be used to verify the legality of logging into the system or encoding technology, which is likely to significantly increase the processing time of messages.

The simplest approach is to use a shared secret key by the auctioneer and bidders. This key can be used to encode and decode messages about the receipt of bids, the bids themselves and messages about the state of the auction.

From our point of view, there are no fatal reasons to keep the content of messages secret. Even if this is so, it is enough to use the key to include an electronic signature in each message.

7.3. Congestion control.

A possible hacker attack can be described as follows. Bidder decides to bid. After receiving confirmation of the acceptance of his bid, this auction participant launches one or more programs that try to block the attempts of other bidders to send their applications to the auctioneer's server. These programs are based on sending the largest possible amount of “garbage” to the auctioneer's server.

The consequences of such an attack can be mitigated if the auctioneer's server slows down its time counter by receiving too much “garbage” per unit of time.

7.4. Dissemination of results.

The auctioneer's server records the result of the auction in the form of registration records in files, for example, in the file sequence shown in FIG. 6. Administrative programs are responsible for ensuring that these files are stored on the server for as long as necessary and that they are not corrupted.

8. Additional preferred features.

The auctioneer must minimize the number of messages sent about the state of the auction.

The auctioneer must use signed (or, for example, encoded) messages. In publicly available domains, there are MI5 implementations that can be used to sign messages.

The auctioneer must exercise reasonable control over congestion. To do this, it is necessary to develop and skillfully apply a special strategy.

It is necessary to create the possibility of completing auctions within a reasonable time. 27 It is also necessary to develop and use a time-based auction strategy.

Additional ways to implement the auction.

A) In real time: interactive option, see FIG. 8.

In FIG. Figure 8 shows a real-time implementation of an auction system in a computer network. The time counter indicates the start time of the auction, before which bidders must have time to register and buy a certain number of bids.

Ribbon reel badge means the period of the auction, during which any of the participants can make their bids sequentially at certain points in time so that the auctioneer’s hammer does not notify the end of the auction. A tape reel can also symbolize an auction progress record, which can be played after it ends.

A real-time auction is conducted interactively, starting at a fixed time and ending when one of the auction participants wins (completely similar to a regular auction). Bids are bought before the auction and are used during the auction at the discretion of the auction participants.

The duration of the auction depends on the registered number of participants and the number of applications for each participant. Theoretically, an auction can last indefinitely, so it is important to set a limit on the duration of an auction by limiting the number of allowed applications per participant (or the number of participants and / or applications). The probable maximum number of bids is 2500 (for example, 5 bids for 500 bidders each).

Auction cannot begin before filing. It is unlikely that anyone would be interested in betting first. Therefore, the auctioneer's computer has one application, which he makes first in order to start the auction.

The submitted application becomes a winner if, within a specified time after its submission, no more applications follow. At the beginning of the auction, this time is set for a duration of 30 s (this is illustrated by the time counter (“auctioneer's falling hammer”), which is displayed on the computer screens of the auction participants).

To limit the total duration of the auction, this parameter (30 s) can be reduced to 20 and then up to 10 s at a certain point in time during the auction, which will further increase the speed of the auction and give additional excitement to its participants, accordingly reducing the time of the auction.

Safety issues: control and prevention of the consequences of line congestion.

The system of the online auction should be protected from unauthorized actions by its participants, in addition, it is necessary to develop instructions in case of technical failures or inaccessibility of a significant number of auction participants.

In case of technical problems, i.e. loss of contact with a certain (significant) number of bidders and / or server overload, the auction will be stopped. As a result of this, a certain number of already submitted applications will be erased from memory and returned to the participants. In this case, in the case of an attempt to cheat, it will be impossible to determine which of the applications is the last. After cleaning the system, i.e., restoring direct access, the auction will continue.

The auctioneer must have direct contact with at least% of bidders at any time. If this percentage decreases below the established limit, the auction stops, contact with participants must be restored, after which the auction can continue.

Regarding the problem of overloading the line related to auction security, as well as combating fraud, the corresponding function is the applet 1aua, installed on client computers, which constantly sends false messages as a check of communication availability. For an outside auction observer or fraudster, these messages are indistinguishable from these applications, which makes fraud attempts difficult. In addition, the auction server will use traditional means of protection such as a firewall, as well as the highest degree of protection in encoding. At present, the 56-bit algorithm ΌΕ8 (Ba1a Internet Explorer 81aibatb, or Data Encryption Standard) is generally accepted for encoding commercial applications in the USA. This security code can be compared with the codes currently used, for example, by the Bank of Norway.

To remove a participant from the game who is pursuing a strategy aimed at creating network congestion, the auction can be stopped in the above manner, after which a certain number of recent applications will be canceled to remove the fraudster from the game and the game will continue.

Options by choice.

Each of the three functions listed above will have (or are supposed to have) the following qualities:

interactivity;

registration;

game strategy (registration record analysis of an individual player’s strategy in comparison with other players or victory29 after the end of the auction or in the course of the auction);

interactivity.

The auction provides the possibility of full interactivity in real time, and each auction participant can see the actions of its other participants, display their actions, as well as the reaction of other participants to their actions.

Registration.

Elements of a purely entertainment plan are presented as a background design that visualizes the actions of auction participants in the form of special thematic plots. Each plot should reflect the sequence of actions of the auction participants, i.e. also be interactive in terms of interaction with the auction server and the actions of its participants. The subjects of such plots can be different, for example, “an auction with real participants, a slot machine, etc.”, dragons and castles, an action game, and so on, i.e. the amount of the topic can be almost unlimited to the extent that a specific topic (or plot development) reflects the events occurring during the auction.

Another property of the game is that the participant can choose from the list of subjects of the illustration plot to his taste to achieve the greatest enthusiasm for the game.

Strategy.

A variety of auction strategies are also available. The main purpose of the auction is to submit such an application, which will remain unbroken for 30 s (or during that time, which is determined by the rules of a particular auction as a condition for the appointment of the winner).

Below, the authors make an attempt to present some strategies in accordance with their current vision in the form of a table, which assesses the chances of winning each auction participant to win, depending on his strategy and the strategy of other auction participants.

Individual strategy Active Passive (waiting) Strategy of other participants Active Chances are diminishing Chances to increase are Passive Chances are increasing Chances are diminishing Alternate Individual Participant Results Victory (other participants are passive) Lose (another participant wins)

Loss (all bids used) Continuation of participation in the auction Continuation of the game (other participants make applications) Victory (unused applications remain when other participants do not have them)

From the above table it can be seen that to win for an auction participant it is important to pursue the “opposite cycle” strategy relative to the strategy of the main number of players. Perhaps the strategy should be different at different stages of the auction (beginning / middle / end), i.e. You can choose a passive strategy at the beginning of the auction and an active strategy at its end. Thus, for individual player actions, it is necessary to have several strategies in service.

The auction registration record, which compares the individual strategies of the auction participants with the strategy of the average player or winner, at the next auction will give each player a report on his strategy. This, according to the inventors, will serve for educational purposes and will facilitate learning during the game, and will undoubtedly be of great importance as an entertaining element, even if the strategy that brought luck at one auction will be losing at another.

Finally, the auction registration record can be used to determine the players who took 2nd and 3rd places (after the winner);

winner strategies;

optimal strategy for the beginning / middle / end of the auction;

the total time spent by an individual application in a winning state;

the number of rounds of applications when this player was passive;

the number of applications submitted simultaneously.

With a limited number of auction participants, the chances of one player to win increase compared to other types of games, which increases the attractiveness of the game.

Separation by market area:

1. Auction participants must have access to personal computers or other interface equipment.

2. The cost of applications (that is, it covers the markets of society with high and medium incomes).

Examples.

For participants with high incomes: $ 100 / $ 1000 per application (the total cost of the auction of 5 applications is $ 500 / $ 5000).

For participants with average incomes: $ 1 / $ 20 per application (total auction price of 5 applications is $ 5 / $ 100).

B) Modeling 1: non-interactive option, see FIG. nine.

FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 8, but relates to a simulated auction variant, i.e. one in which the auctioneer's computer calculates (this is symbolized by the image of the computer in the middle of this figure) the instant result after applications with known time points were received from all participants. At the same time, a registration record is created, which is symbolized on the figure by a short reel with a ribbon on the right and can be received at any time by the auction participant.

This version of the auction is intended for those participants who wish to have complete freedom in choosing their own time for participation in the auction and not wait for the entire auction or the specified time for submitting bids. From the point of view of the auction organizer, the advantage of such a game is that the auction becomes fully flexible in order to satisfy the demand in the market of such games to the fullest extent since a new auction can be launched immediately after the previous one.

The simulated auction is non-interactive and involves a limited number of bidders. Bidders register, buy a certain number of bids and submit them individually until a certain initial point in time, which can be flexibly varied (depending on when the required number of bidders is registered or makes bids).

The number of applications or participants is determined before participants can register and take part in the auction. Consequently, an auction begins immediately after a predetermined number of participants register in it, like a real auction, conducted not in real time and non-interactively.

Based on the allowable number of bids (depending on the number of bids per participant and the number of auction participants), the server generates a special time modeling scale divided into separate blocks, the number of which is sufficient so that there are such a number of intervals (unused blocks) between bids that any a bid on the timeline (at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the auction) could be a winning bid. This process is a full copy or simulated version of the auction in real time, with the exception of the interactivity element, that is, bidders cannot react to the actions of other bidders during the auction. Otherwise, the criterion for choosing a winner is exactly the same.

After all bids have been submitted and accepted, the auctioneer's computer immediately begins to simulate time and conduct an auction based on at what points in time before that and in what order the participants submitted bids. After that, the winner / winners are selected.

At the end of this procedure, participants can go to the auction organizer's website and receive an auction registration record and a visual interpretation of its progress.

Each participant can see on the computer screen the applications submitted by him and the time intervals during which each of them remained unbroken. Due to the limited number of applications per participant, the entire auction can be viewed within 5 minutes.

Regarding the duration of the auction, the very procedure for modeling it is instant. However, bidders can make full use of the time when they can bid, i.e. the question of when to make the last bet is decided by them absolutely independently.

The time when the process of modeling the auction begins is unknown, since it is determined by the specified maximum number of applications that can be submitted.

The auction can be held at any time, but the process of determining the winner may take some time.

Due to the fact that the process time is simulated, the problem of the first application does not exist. The first bid will always be made, after which the auction can be started.

An application wins if no other applications are received within a predetermined number of seconds after its submission. At the beginning of the auction, this time is set to 30 s.

Modeling the number of seconds elapsed between filing applications is carried out by assigning each block of the time modeling scale (time points corresponding to the submitted applications) a certain number of seconds. Since the time scale (total auction time) contains more blocks than the allowable number of bids, between two neighboring bids there may be a number of empty blocks corresponding to 30 s, and then the winner will be determined before the end of the auction. The main point is to determine the ratio of the number of submitted applications to the total number of blocks in the modeling timeline, so that the winner can be identified both at the end, at the beginning or in the middle of the game, depending on the individual application strategy.

A security issue may arise if any of the bidders can influence the auctioneer's computer before the auction. When modeling the time of the auction and determining its winner, all processes are performed by the auctioneer's computer without contact with the network, therefore, at this stage, fraud is excluded from the outside.

Additional features.

Since this version of the auction is currently not interactive and is carried out by the machine without contact with the network, there is no interactivity element typical of other types of auction. However, a set of additional features allows you to create the appearance of such interactivity (see below).

To increase the attractiveness and entertainment of the auction in this implementation, it must have one or more of the following options:

Modeled interactivity.

Auction is completely non-interactive at all stages. However, as mentioned above, you can create the appearance of interactivity using pop-up menus, which will offer various topics of subjects, as described below in p. "Modeling 2".

Registration.

The entertaining possibilities of the game are in the background design elements, in which the actions of the auction participants are visualized in the form of special thematic plots. Each of these plots is simpler than in the real-time version (bidding process) and cannot reflect the auction process interactively in the form of a bid board, since filing bids can take, for example, up to 15 minutes.

It is important, however, to create an impression of interactivity, or at least the illusion of action.

This cannot be achieved by establishing an interactive relationship with the actions of other auction participants, since this option would lead players to a standstill (there are always auction participants who have not yet submitted their bids, which would have an impact on the individual strategy of the player after he has submitted his bid) . Thus, the thematic plot, submitted in the form of background design, should be associated with other process parameters than the actual filing of applications by players. You can, for example, call your individual registration record from a previous auction in order to direct the current strategy and the course of the background plot.

Another option is to choose from the proposed set of background plots to your taste or cancel all possible background plots in order to fully concentrate on submitting applications.

Strategy.

Similar to the real-time option.

A limited number of participants increases the chance of winning compared to other games, which is an important attractive factor.

Separation by market area

1. Access to personal computers.

2. The cost of applications (to cover the market for layers of society with high and medium incomes), as well as for those participants who do not have or have too little time to play in the auction in real time.

B) Modeling 2. A non-interactive or seemingly interactive (partially interactive) option, see FIG. 10.

In FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of the invention, which is an intermediate solution between those options that are presented in FIG. 8 and 9. The auction participants do not actually participate in the interactive process, but nevertheless have a certain period of time in reserve, symbolized by two dials, during which they can submit their bids. An intermittent tape between two coils symbolizes the non-responsiveness of filing applications over a given time period. The computer shown on the right side of the figure symbolizes the instant determination of the auction result at the end of the application period, and a short reel with a ribbon on the very right side of the figure symbolizes the auction registration record that can be received by participants at any time.

This type of simulated auction is non-interactive and involves a limited number of bidders. Auction participants register and buy bids at their discretion before the auction starts, but submit bids for a limited time (bids submission period).

When the final number of applications / participants becomes known (at the time of the auction), the auction server generates a time modeling scale divided into separate blocks (simulating the auction), the number of which is sufficient so that there are empty spaces between the applications (i.e. any the bid, whether filed at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the auction, could be a winner, since between the blocks corresponding to the bids, there are a sufficient number of empty blocks, both at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the auction she).

Participants are given 10-15 minutes to submit their applications. This process can be visualized using multi-dimensional graphics to facilitate filing applications on the coupon.

After entering all the bids into the machine (within the time allotted for this), the auctioneer's computer immediately simulates the process of the auction and issues the names of the winners (winner).

Immediately after determining the winner, the course of the auction can be visualized using a scale showing the intensity of the filing of individual applications on a time scale. Each of the participants will see their submitted applications on the computer screen, as well as the time during which each of them remained unbroken. Due to the limited number of applications per participant, the entire auction process can be viewed within approximately 5 minutes, regardless of the number of participants.

The duration of the auction does not depend on the number of participants and applications, since the filing of applications in communication mode with the network, but not in real time, is limited to the moment when the auction should begin. The total time of the auction, including the visualization of the results, can reach 15-20 minutes.

The advantage of this auction option is that potential bidders who do not have time to participate in auctions in real time, or those who want to participate in the next auction after a session in real time, can take part in it.

Since the process time is simulated, the problems of the first application also do not arise. The first bid will always be made, after which the auction can be started.

An application becomes a winner if no new applications are received within a certain number of seconds after its submission. At the beginning of the auction, this time is set to 30 s. Modeling of time intervals in seconds between adjacent applications is carried out by assigning each block on the time modeling scale (the times when applications were submitted) a certain number of seconds. Since the total number of blocks on the time modeling scale (total auction time) is greater than the number of bids, there are intervals between bids, some of which may correspond to a time interval of 30 s, and then the winner of the auction will be determined before the end of the auction. The main point is to determine the ratio of the number of submitted applications to the total number of blocks in the time modeling scale so that the winner can be identified both at the end, at the beginning or in the middle of the game, depending on the individual application strategy.

Protection against network congestion and unauthorized access

A security issue may arise if any of the bidders can influence the auctioneer's computer before the auction. When modeling the time of the auction and determining its winner, all processes are performed by the auctioneer's computer without contact with the network, therefore, at this stage, fraud is excluded from the outside.

Additional features

All of the points below will be (or are supposed to be) attractive to participants compared to other types of games:

interactivity; registration;

strategy (registration record - analysis of an individual player’s strategy compared to other players or the winner after the end of the auction or in the course of the auction);

interactivity.

This type of auction is non-interactive in the usual sense of the word, unlike the real-time auction version, but is a good alternative for those who do not have time to participate in a fully interactive version. Since the auction is held over a certain period of time and is visualized on a scale of real time, the auction participants will see the auction process as if they participated in it interactively and had the opportunity to directly visualize it.

Registration

The entertaining possibilities of the game are in the background design elements, in which the actions of the auction participants are visualized in the form of special thematic plots. Each of these plots is simpler than in the real-time version (bidding process) and cannot reflect the auction process interactively in the form of a bid board, since filing bids can take, for example, up to 15 minutes.

It is important, however, to create an impression of interactivity, or at least the illusion of action. This cannot be achieved by establishing an interactive relationship with the actions of other auction participants, since this option would lead players to a standstill (there are always auction participants who have not yet submitted their bids, which would have an impact on the individual strategy of the player after he has submitted his bid) . Thus, the thematic plot, submitted in the form of background design, should be associated with other process parameters than the actual filing of applications by players. You can, for example, call your individual registration record from a previous auction in order to direct the current strategy and the course of the background plot.

Another option is to choose from the proposed set of background plots to your taste or cancel all possible background plots in order to fully concentrate on submitting applications.

Strategy

Similar to the real-time option. Kon and the chance of winning.

An unlimited number of bidders reduces the chance of winning compared to a real-time auction, but, on the other hand, there can be much more con.

Separation by market area:

1. Access to personal computers.

2. The cost of applications (to cover the market for layers of society with high and medium incomes), as well as a limited time of the game.

Activity levels on the screen (Visualization): The plot shown on the user's computer screen during the auction (topic), according to the experience of the participants, should be interactive, and the plot action should have different degrees of interconnection with the auction process. In the usual version, four levels of such interconnectedness are listed below, and one, fifth, for entertainment:

installation (main topic); auctioneer;

generalized participant (opponent, i.e. everything except this player);

individual players (feedback from the actions of individual players);

emerging entertaining stories (like sitcoms randomly distributed throughout the auction), as well as distracting elements for the player.

Facts and information for players during the auction

Especially when participating in the interactive version of the auction on a computer network, but also in simulated versions, the auction participants will be interested in receiving the following information, and therefore at least one or all of the following types of information should be sent to the participants:

the time of one round of applications (fixed, unregulated, or changing according to a certain law): the most exciting option is the unregulated time of the circle of applications, in which the remaining time counter (until the last application is won) randomly changes the time limit from 30 to 20 or 15 s during the auction . This causes more excitement among the participants and requires their greater focus on the process;

the time during which each of the bids of a particular auction participant remained unbroken;

traffic (the number of applications filed within a certain time);

the number of remaining applications (total and individual);

the number of applications submitted (total and individual);

total number of applications (total and individual);

number of participants; the size of the con.

Registration Parameters

The auction registration record is intended to direct the actions of the auction participants, to inform them of their actions or their absence, as well as how this affects their chances of winning. The registration should also inform the auction participants about how their game strategy looks compared to the optimal or winning strategy, and give recommendations on the possible use of an alternative strategy for the next auction, thus giving hope of winning regardless of the fact that this participant does not won this time. The auction registration record becomes available after its completion.

The inventors also expect that the registration of the auction will have additional entertainment value and will be able to be displayed on the computers screen of participants.

The following elements will be included (supposed to be included) in the registration record:

the message “YOU ARE A WINNER!”;

the time until each application remained unbroken (until the filing of the next application);

time for submission of all applications;

the number of laps of applications, while the player remained passive (position of expectation at the end of the circle / total number of circles in a passive state);

the number of times the player has remained passive (total);

how many times the player repeated the strategy of other bidders (i.e. was active at the same time) and how many more such players were;

how many times the player’s strategy was different from the strategy of other participants (the meaning of the word “excellent” is to be specified);

optimal strategy in comparison with the player’s strategy;

winner strategy versus player strategy;

alternative winning strategies for this auction (good recommendation for the next game).

Background suggestions

Examples of topics:

auction with Einstein as an auctioneer;

auction on a river boat sailing along the Mississippi (theme of the 1870s);

auction in a scottish castle;

plot on the theme of “Indiana Jones” / game with obstacles / game of survival (“in search of the Grail”);

traditional auction (with randomly appearing pictures);

casino furnishings / high society;

simulation of an auction coupon (like lotto) - an option that excludes the impression of inaccuracy in the simulated versions; and others.

Appearing pictures (like a sitcom)

The images that appear will serve as special distinguishing features of auctions held by the same organizer (for example, “Far Side” by Gary Larson) and can also be used for advertising during the auction. As the idea develops, more and more new pictures will be created.

Appearing pictures distract the attention of the participant and create an additional element of entertainment. They can be so interesting and comical that they will distract the attention of the participant directly from the game, but they will make the auction a fun action (in return for losing attention and, possibly, even lost winnings). Such pictures should not appear too often and remain on the screen, for example, for 5-6 seconds.

Pictures may also appear in a real-time version, but this is especially true for simulated versions of the auction so that they look more interactive and engaging.

In FIG. 11 are presented in general terms, like FIG. 1, various groups and objects that can participate in the auction for this system in accordance with the present invention. Two or more objects can connect to each other in open form or over a closed communication line, which can be analog or digital. In addition to the personal computers of participants and servers of auctioneers, which were described in detail above, the following alternative options for implementing the system should be mentioned:

video / automatic auctions, which can either be realized through a network connection with the auctioneer's server, or within the framework of such an automatic system, an entire auction system can be implemented, in which case the auction type will be an auction with modeling of the other participants. (Such automatic gaming systems can be implemented in the form of portable, for example, palm-sized, gaming machines.)

However, of course, the automatic system can also work similarly to the terminal, as well as on a personal computer.

Another method of conducting an auction in accordance with the present invention is to connect via a television or radio broadcast network. In this case, the usual channels of television, teletext or radio communication (public or closed) can serve as one of the parts of the communication network, namely, through which real-time information about the auction will be provided to its participants, and the latter can use the telephone network (regular or cellular) as a data transmission channel for filing applications, i.e. sending appropriate messages to the auctioneer. Therefore, the figure depicts such elements as a telephone, radio and television, as well as a fax machine, which can additionally be used as a possible interface for accessing the telephone network. It should also be noted that in a digital television network, two-way communication becomes possible, which will allow the use of television receivers through which it will be possible to send messages, for example, through touch screen areas or remote controls.

Finally, in television shows among the audience are often those who can act as bidders. Such participants will receive interface devices (connected on the radio frequency or via cable to the auctioneer's computer) in order to join the auction.

In FIG. 12 is an example of a notice board that can be used to conduct an instant auction (see FIG. 9), and such a notice board can be displayed on a computer screen or gaming machine. Filing applications, i.e., creating special marks on the timeline, is done using this interface by simply selecting the desired positions on the three hours, minutes and seconds scales shown on the screen and confirming the specified time for submitting each individual application by pressing a special button . After submitting all allowed applications, the general application package is sent to the auctioneer's computer by clicking on the "Send" button. Additionally, you can display such a parameter as the "total number of applications", showing how many applications have already been made at the time of filing each specific application by the player, so that the player can make an assumption about the amount of possible winnings.

An auction of the type “American auction” is described in detail in the above description, but it is assumed that the scope of the claims of the present invention also covers a more ordinary type of auction, in which the best offer wins, if within a certain period of time after that an even more favorable price is not offered .

Claims (55)

CLAIM 1. A system for the implementation of a computerized auction for bidders, based on the submission of bids in an appropriate form from the specified bidders within a specified period of time, and this system may include a data network for communication between the auctioneer and the bidders, characterized in , which includes a set of computer interface tools for submitting bids from bidders; a complex of means for identifying bids for recognizing bids submitted from individual bidders; a real or simulated computer time counter installed on the auctioneer's computer and used to determine the start and end time of the auction, record the time of the auction, as well as time points for recognition of applications by the specified set of identification tools; and also a set of decision-making tools for deciding on the results of the auction, which depend on the time points of the specific applications submitted. 2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the specified set of decision-making tools is configured to check whether a pre-set time period or a time period that has changed in accordance with pre-defined rules has passed after the last application was submitted, during which it was not registered new bids, and if so, then the specified set of funds determines the bidder, who submitted the last bid, as the winner of the auction, and if this does not happen throughout the auction, announce so the winner of the auction participant who has filed an application before the end of the last auction. 3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the specified set of interface tools is computer terminals connected to a data network in real time, for example, through a modem, and in the specified set of tools the auctioneer is connected to the same network as participants in a similar way through a computer terminal. 4. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the time counter on the auctioneer's computer, a set of recognition tools for applications and a set of decision-making tools are installed on the auctioneer's computer, which is configured to conduct an auction in accordance with the programmed algorithms. 5. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that the algorithms downloaded to the auctioneer's computer are configured to process applications filed in real time during the auction, and the auctioneer's computer is configured to make possible corrections due to the delay in transmitting data from the terminals of the participants' computers auction. 6. The system according to claims 2 and 5, characterized in that one of the indicated algorithms of the auctioneer's computer is an algorithm for changing the duration of a specified period of time depending on the time elapsed since the beginning of the auction, or the current speed of filing applications from all participants in the auction. 7. The system according to claim 5, characterized in that the terminals of the computers of the auction participants and the data transmission network are configured to transmit information in real time from the auctioneer's computer in order to provide each auction participant with information about the course of the auction and the activity of its participants. 8. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that the auctioneer's computer algorithms are configured to process groups of applications filed from each auction participant at certain points in time so that after these time points the specified computer can immediately simulate the entire auction process. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the total number of bids submitted during the auction is predetermined, and the algorithms of the auctioneer's computer are configured to process bids submitted from each of the auction participants at the same time that the specified participant enters an auction or pays bids. 10. The system of claim 8, characterized in that there are no restrictions on the total number of bids submitted during the auction, moreover, the indicated algorithms of the auctioneer's computer are configured to: a) process messages about entering the auction system / pay bids by each participant until a certain point in time, b) for the subsequent calculation of the total auction time, i.e. the time interval from the beginning to the end of the auction, c) to determine the time limit for filing groups of applications from each individual auction participant; and d) after receiving applications from participants and the end of the auction period, to simulate the entire auction process. 11. The system in accordance with paragraphs 8-10, characterized in that the auctioneer's computer, auction computer terminals and data transmission network are configured to transmit information about the course of the simulated auction to each auction participant, for example, in the form of screen displays of the auction in real or the given timeline. 12. The system according to claim 7 or 11, characterized in that the auctioneer's computer is also configured to send additional information to the terminals of the auction participants' computers in accordance with a special program, and a) the distribution of this additional information is controlled in real time or in the modeled mode auction by the auction computer’s time counter or in accordance with the development of the auction with the aim of periodically sending a graphic or sound presentation or a short film related to the auction for an entertainment plan, immediately after or against the background of information about the auction, to increase the attractiveness of the auction, and b) the specified additional information includes animation elements during the stages of logging in to the application, paying for applications and pre-filing, containing entertainment or related auction plots or advertisements. 13. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that the auctioneer's computer includes memory cells for storing records about the entire auction so that auction participants can receive data on the auction on their personal computers automatically or upon request after the auction ends. 14. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the bidders is a real bidder and the remaining bidders are simulated, and the system further includes a random bidder generator that controls the specified number of bidders and their time limits for filing bids in accordance with predetermined generator algorithms that contain parameters that are configured in such a way as to establish the probability of winning the auction within the limits allowed by national law legislation. 15. The system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that part of the specified data network is either a public telephone network, or a cellular telephone network, or a computer network, or a television feedback channel; the specified set of interface tools includes telephones, cell phones, fax machines, computer terminals or television receivers with the possibility of two-way communication; the auctioneer disseminates information by radio, television or teletext channel through another part of the specified data network, which includes either a public radio channel or a television channel or a closed network in which real-time information is transmitted via radio, television or teletext channels auction. 16. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the set of interface tools includes coupons to be filled out by each of the auction participants and containing information about the time points of the application that this participant wishes to have within the time allotted for the auction, as well as on the number of applications established in accordance with the rules and the prize fund, moreover, the specified set of identification tools for applications is a coupon reader, the specified set of decision tools is a pre-programmed computer connected to the indicated coupon reader, the specified time counter is a simulated time counter, according to which the bids received from the auction participants are arranged in chronological order, and the specified data transmission network is a public electronic mail network, telephone network, facsimile network, or computer network. 17. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes a set of tools for the auction, which is used to process bids sent by bidders, send messages confirming receipt of these bids, and details of the state of the auction to specified bidders and determine the winner of the auction from the number of the indicated participants on the basis of the specified applications received, followed by the distribution of information about the specified winner to the auction participants; a set of means for submitting applications for sending identification information about submitted applications from relevant auction participants to this complex of means of an auction and processing specified messages on receipt of said applications and specified details of the state of the auction sent from the specified complex of means of conducting an auction; a set of network tools to provide communication channels between the specified set of means of holding an auction and the specified set of means of submitting bids, moreover, the information exchanged through the specified set of network means of exchanging an auction and the specified set of means of filing bids is transmitted at least one of two, either the first or second transport protocols, wherein said first transport protocol is more reliable than said second transport protocol toll, in terms of ensuring that the data representing the specified information reaches the specified set of auction tools or the specified set of bidders, the specified second transport protocol is faster than the specified first transport protocol in terms of time required so that the specified information was sent through the specified set of network tools and received either by the specified set of means of the auction, or by the specified set of means of submitting bids, moreover, the risks associated with the transmission of the specified information on the specified second transport protocol include the loss of the specified data in the process of their transmission through the specified set of network means, the arrival of data on the specified set of means of the auction or on the specified set of means of submitting bids in an order different from the order of sending them from the correspondingly specified complex of means of submitting an application or the indicated complex of means of holding an auction, and duplication of data upon their arrival at the indicated com plex of funds for the auction or for the specified set of means for submitting bids, and these risks are one of the aspects of the specified system of the auction in terms of determining the winner from the specified bidders. 18. The system according to claim 17, characterized in that said applications are sent by said complex of means of filing applications for said complex of means of holding an auction according to said second transport protocol. 19. The system according to claim 17, characterized in that said complex of means of holding an auction includes a complex of means of an auctioneer for processing said bids sent by said complex of means of filing bids and sending out indicated messages about receipt of said bids and said details of the state of the auction to said a complex of means of filing applications, and the specified complex of means of the auctioneer communicates with the specified complex of means of filing applications according to the specified second transport protocol. 20. The system according to claim 19, characterized in that the specified auction system includes a complex of administration tools for processing the accounts of these auction participants and processing information related to the specified auction, in addition to the information exchanged between the specified complex of auction tools and the specified complex means of filing applications. 21. The system according to claim 20, characterized in that said complex of administration tools includes means for processing the content of messages in the form of Internet pages sent from and to said complex of means of filing applications. 22. The system according to claim 20, characterized in that the said complex of means of holding an auction includes a set of means of supporting the auction for giving a command to said complex of means of holding an auction of a team at the beginning of said auction, and said complex of means of supporting the auction communicates with said complex of means administration through a secure communication channel along the data transfer route, which passes either outside the specified complex of network tools, or through the specified complex of network tools. 23. The system according to p. 22, characterized in that the said complex of means of the auction further includes a complex of means for storing the results of the specified auction. 24. The system according to item 22, wherein the specified set of tools of the auctioneer and the specified set of tools for supporting the auction together include the first server of the computer network connected to the specified set of network tools, and the specified set of administration tools includes the second server of the computer network connected to the specified set of network tools. 25. The system according to 17, characterized in that the said set of network facilities includes at least either a telephone network, or a public email network, or a fax network, or a LAN, or the Internet, said first transport protocol including protocol Tgap8Sh1881op Sop1go1 Rgo1oso1 / 1n1e1 Rgo1oso1 (TCP / 1P). and the specified second transport protocol includes the protocol iseg Ea1adgat Rgo1oco1 (IER). 26. The system according to item 21, wherein the specified set of network tools includes the Internet, the specified first transport protocol includes the protocol Tgapzt1z81op Sop1go1 Rgo1oso1 / 1n1et1 Rgo1oso1 (TSR / 1P). and the specified second transport protocol includes the protocol iseg Ea1adgat Rgo1oso1 SER). 27. The system according to p. 26, characterized in that the specified set of funds of the auctioneer communicates with the specified set of means of filing applications through the specified protocol IER. the specified complex of means of administration communicates with the specified complex of means of filing applications through the specified protocol TSR / 1P. and the specified set of support tools for the auction communicates with the specified set of administrative tools through the protocol (protocol 'secure sockets). 28. The system according to claim 19, characterized in that the specified set of means of filing applications communicates with the specified complex of means of the auctioneer through auction protocols laid on top of the first or second transport protocols. 29. The system according to p. 28, characterized in that the specified set of tools for the auction includes the administration of the auction and the submission of applications. 30. The system according to clause 29, wherein said administrative protocols include parameters containing the names of said auction participants, identification of communication ports for accessing a specified set of auctioneer's tools by said complexes of filing applications of said auction participants, identification of a specified winner from specified auction participants, a link to the time of the specified auction, the time when the specified auction should be started, the time when the specified auction should be completed, I, when the current of these bids becomes the last bid, the total number of bids at any given time, the number of bids left by one of the specified participants in the auction, and also how long one particular of these bids must remain the last of all specified applications to become a winner. 31. The system according to clause 29, wherein the specified application filing protocols include parameters containing the cost of each of the specified applications, the account of messages received by the specified set of auctioneer's tools from the specified complex of means of submitting applications of each of the specified participants, indicating the time of the specified auction by each of the indicated complexes of bidders, identification of the winner from the specified bidders, the time when the specified auction was started, the time when the specified auction was completed and when the current of the specified applications becomes winning, the number of specified applications sent to the specified set of funds of the auctioneer at any time, the number of applications left for each of the specified participants, the time during which one of the specified applications must remain unbroken to win in the specified auction, as well as the number of specified participants. 32. A server for processing bids received from bidders in the system according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes a set of tools for processing bids received from bidders through a computer network; a set of tools for sending information through the specified computer network to the specified participants in response to the specified applications received from the specified participants; a set of tools for determining the winner of these participants on the basis of these applications received through the specified computer network; a set of tools for sending information through the specified computer network about the specified winner to the specified participants; a set of means for implementing the first transport protocol, according to which the indicated sets of means have been implemented to determine the winner of the distribution of information about the specified winner; a set of tools for implementing the second transport protocol, according to which the specified applications are sent over the specified computer network by the specified participants, the specified first transport protocol being more reliable than the specified second transport protocol, in terms of ensuring that the data representing the specified information reaches the specified the complex of means of holding an auction or the specified complex of means of filing applications, the specified second transport protocol is faster than the decree the first transport protocol, in terms of the time required for the information to be sent through the specified set of network tools and received either by the specified set of auction tools or by the specified set of bidders, and the risks associated with the transmission of the specified information to the specified the second transport protocol, include the loss of the specified data in the process of transmission through the specified set of network tools, the arrival of data on the specified set of means an offer or to the specified set of means of submitting applications in a manner different from the order of sending them from the correspondingly specified set of means of submitting an application or the specified complex of means of holding an auction, and duplication of data upon their arrival at the specified complex of means of holding an auction or to the specified set of means of submitting applications, moreover, these risks are one of the aspects of the specified system of the auction in terms of determining the winner of these auction participants. 33. The server according to p, characterized in that it further includes a set of administrative tools for processing accounts of these participants. 34. The server according to claim 32, wherein said complex of administration tools further includes a complex of tools for processing the content of messages in the form of Internet pages sent to and from said complex of means of filing applications. 35. The server according to p, characterized in that the first transport protocol includes the protocol TgkpGop Sop1go1 Rgo1oso1 / 1n1eeto Rgo1oso1 (TCP / 1P), and the specified second transport protocol includes the protocol Iket Eaadgat Rgo1oso1 (PER). 36. The server according to claim 32, wherein said bids are sent by said participants according to auction protocols laid over said first or second protocol. 37. The server according to clause 36, wherein said auction protocols include auction administration and filing protocols. 38. The server according to clause 37, wherein said auction administration protocols include parameters containing the names of said auction participants, identification of communication ports for accessing a specified set of auctioneer's tools by said sets of means of submitting bids of said auction participants, identification of a specified winner of the indicated bidders, a link to the time of the specified auction, the time when the specified auction should be started, the time when the specified auction should be rshen, the time when the current of the indicated bids becomes the last bid, the total number of the indicated bids at any time, the number of the indicated bids left by one of the specified participants in the specified auction, and also the time during which one of the specified bids must to remain the last of all specified applications to become a winner. 39. The server according to claim 32, wherein said application submission protocols include parameters containing the cost of each of said applications, an account of messages received by said complex of auctioneer's tools from said complex of application filing tools for each of said participants, time indications of the specified auction by each of the indicated complexes of means for submitting bids, identification of the winner from the specified bidders, the time when the specified auction was started, the time when the specified auction was completed and where the current of the indicated applications becomes winning, the number of the indicated applications sent to the indicated complex of funds of the auctioneer at any time, the number of applications remaining for each of the indicated participants, the time during which one of the specified applications must remain unbroken in order to win specified auction, as well as the number of specified participants. 40. The method of holding an auction using the system according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes the steps of presenting to the auctioneer information about applications made by bidders, at least through an interface; determination by the auctioneer's toolkit to identify bids submitted from each of the bidders; using a real or simulated time counter available for a specified auctioneer to note the start and end times of a specified auction and to record the auction time and time points for identifying bids by the specified set of bid identification tools; deciding on the result of the auction with a set of decision-making tools, and the result of the auction depends on the time points of the bids. 41. The method according to p. 40, characterized in that it includes checking whether after filing the last application a predetermined period of time or a period of time that changes in accordance with predetermined rules, during which no new applications were registered, and if so, then the specified set of funds determines the bidder who submitted the last bid as the winner of the auction, and if this does not happen throughout the auction, declares the winner of the auction bidder request the latest before the end of the auction. 42. The method according to claim 40, characterized in that it includes sending applications through data entry equipment to the computer of the respective auction participants through a network to the auction computer equipment; processing said received bids by said auction computer equipment; the provision by said computer equipment of an auction through a specified network of confirmations of receipt of said applications to said computer data input equipment; determination by the specified computer equipment of the auction of the winner of the specified auction from among the specified participants on the basis of the specified applications received from the specified computer equipment of data input; distribution by the indicated computer equipment of the auction to the specified computer equipment of data input of information about the specified winner from among the indicated participants; the provision of the first and second transport protocols, which communicate between the specified computer equipment of the auction and the specified computer equipment for data entry, and the specified first transport protocol is more reliable than the specified second transport protocol, in terms of ensuring that the data representing the specified information , reach the specified complex of means of holding an auction or the specified complex of means of submitting bids, the specified second transport proto ol is faster than the first transport protocol in terms of the time required for the information to be sent through the specified set of network tools and received either by the specified set of auction tools or by the specified set of bidders, and the risks associated with by transferring said information via said second transport protocol, include the loss of said data during transmission through said complex of network facilities, the arrival of data at a specified the specified complex of means of holding an auction or to the specified complex of means of submitting bids in a manner different from the order of sending them from the correspondingly specified complex of means of submitting an application or the specified complex of means of holding an auction, and duplication of data upon their arrival to the specified complex of means of holding an auction or to the specified complex means of filing applications, and these risks are one of the aspects of the specified auction system in terms of determining the winner of these auction participants it. 43. The method according to § 42, characterized in that it further includes processing the accounts of these participants. 44. The method according to § 42, wherein it further includes storing the results of said auction. 45. The method according to § 42, wherein said network includes at least either a public email network, or a telephone network, or a fax network, or a computer network. 46. The method according to § 42, wherein said network includes the Internet, wherein said first transport protocol includes a protocol Tgappizzyup Sop1go1 Rgo1oso1 / 1n1sgps1 Rgo1oso1 (TCP / 1P), and said second transport protocol includes a protocol and Z. EaShdgat RgoYuso1 (PER). 47. The method according to § 42, wherein it further includes communicating, in accordance with said applications, between said computer equipment of the auction and said computer equipment for entering data by auction protocols laid over either the first or second transport protocols. 48. The method according to § 42, wherein said auction protocols include auction administration and filing protocols. 49. The method according to claim 48, wherein said auction administration protocols include parameters containing the names of said auction participants, identification of communication ports for accessing said auctioneer complex of funds by said complexes of filing applications of said auction participants, identification of said winner of the indicated bidders, a link to the time of the specified auction, the time when the specified auction should be started, the time when the specified auction should be rshen, the time when the current of the indicated bids becomes the last bid, the total number of the indicated bids at any time, the number of the indicated bids left by one of the specified participants in the specified auction, and also the time during which one of the specified bids must to remain the last of all specified applications to become a winner. 50. The method according to p. 48, characterized in that the specified protocols for filing applications include parameters containing the cost of each of these applications, the account of messages received by the specified set of means of the auctioneer from the specified complex of means of submitting applications for each of these participants, indicating the time of the specified auction by each of the indicated complexes of means for submitting bids, identification of the winner from the specified bidders, the time when the specified auction was started, the time when the specified auction was completed and where the current of the indicated applications becomes winning, the number of the indicated applications sent to the indicated complex of funds of the auctioneer at any time, the number of applications remaining for each of the indicated participants, the time during which one of the indicated applications must remain unbroken in order to win specified auction, as well as the number of specified participants. 51. The method according to claim 40, further characterized in that it includes processing by the server of the computer network of applications sent by bidders via the computer network; providing the indicated server with a computer network through the specified computer network of information to said participants in response to said applications received from said participants; determination by the indicated server of the winner from among the indicated participants on the basis of the indicated applications received through the indicated computer network; distribution by the indicated server through the indicated computer network of information about the indicated winner to the indicated participants; the implementation of the specified communication server through the specified computer network either by the first transport protocol or by the second transport protocol, and the arrival of the message to the recipients is more reliable, but slower by the specified first transport protocol than by the specified second transport protocol, and the risk of loss, delay and duplication messages when sending them according to the specified second transport protocol is an aspect of the specified auction in terms of determining the specified winner from the specified participants nicknames. 52. The method according to § 51, wherein said first transport protocol includes the protocol Tgapzysyup Sop1go1 Prgo1oso1 / 1n1eeto Prgo1oso1 (TSR / 1P), and said second transport protocol includes the protocol eseg EaShdgat RgoUso1 (EGOR). 53. The method according to item 51, wherein the said applications are sent by the indicated participants according to the auction protocols laid on top of either the first or second transport protocols. 54. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that said decision-making means is made with the possibility of deciding on the results of the auction on the basis of how long one particular of these proposals should remain the most profitable of these proposals in order to become winning. 55. The method according to p. 40, characterized in that it further includes deciding on the results of the auction based on how long one particular of these proposals should remain the most profitable of these proposals in order to become winning.