JP2007164407A - Alternate bidding server and method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an auction system for improving the convenience of a user by enabling the user to automatically make a bid, and to prevent any unnecessary purchase. <P>SOLUTION: This alternate bidding server is connected through a network to an auction server which accepts bidding information for an auction article, and performs bidding processing based on the accepted bidding information and preliminarily stored auction article information and the other bidding information, and provided with a bidding information storage means for storing the respective pieces of bidding information for a plurality of auction articles to each of which a priority order is applied and a bidding means for performing bidding processing based on each bidding information to the auction server according to the priority order of each bidding information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a proxy bid server, and more particularly, to a proxy bid server that automatically bids for an auction server that performs a successful bid process in response to input of bid information.

  With the spread of the Internet, the frequency of use of an Internet auction that accepts bid information from a user terminal connected to the Internet and makes a successful bid according to the bid is increasing. In this Internet auction, it is possible to participate in the auction from any place, but in the case of a place or time where a terminal that can be connected to the Internet cannot be operated, it is possible to check the status of the auction. There was a problem that it was not possible. In addition, in order to make a successful bid for an auction item, it is necessary to manually repeat the bidding, and thus there is a problem that the user is inevitably bound in time until the bidding period ends.

JP 2002-83170 A

  On the other hand, in order to solve the above-described problems, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that automatically raises bids up to a bid upper limit specified by a user. However, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the auction is simply automatically auctioned off, when bidding is set for a plurality of auction items, only one auction item is desired to be awarded. However, there is a possibility of winning a plurality of auction items at the same time. In other words, if you want one of the same auction items, you may bid on multiple auction items at the same time. In such a case, you will win all or auction items. There was a problem that unnecessary purchases occurred.

  For this reason, the present invention improves the inconveniences of the above-described conventional example, and in particular, it is possible to automatically bid and prevent unnecessary purchases and improve user convenience. The purpose is to provide an auction system.

Therefore, the proxy bidding server which is one aspect of the present invention is:
An auction server connected via a network to an auction server that receives bid information for an auction item and performs a successful bid process based on the received bid information, prestored auction item information, and other bid information. There,
Bid information storage means for storing each bid information for a plurality of auction items with a priority assigned thereto;
Bidding means for performing bidding processing based on each bid information according to the priority order of each bid information for the auction server;
It is characterized by having.

  The bidding means is characterized in that bidding processing is performed one by one in accordance with the priority order. In particular, the bidding means performs bidding processing based on the bidding information having the highest priority, and performs bidding processing based on the bidding information of the next priority when the bidding processing fails to make a successful bid. It is characterized by. The priority order is characterized by the order set by the user who wishes to bid based on the bid information.

  According to the above invention, first, bid information for an auction item that the user desires to bid is registered in the proxy bid server. At this time, the priority of bidding is also registered for each auction item. Thereafter, the proxy bidding server performs bidding processing according to the priority order with respect to the auction server. Specifically, bid processing is performed one by one in descending order of priority, and if a successful bid is not made, the bid processing is performed according to the subsequent priority. That is, since the proxy bidding server does not bid for other auction items when it can make a successful bid for a higher priority item, it can suppress a plurality of auction items from being awarded twice. Accordingly, bidding can be automatically performed, unnecessary purchase can be prevented, and user convenience can be improved.

  The bid information storage means stores a plurality of bid information for a plurality of auction items in a specific group and stores the bid information, and the bid means performs a bid process according to priority within the specific group. . At this time, the specific group is a group set by the same user. In particular, a plurality of pieces of bid information included in a specific group is characterized in that it is bid information for a plurality of auction items set to avoid duplicate purchases.

  Thereby, only one of the auction items included in the specific group can be made a successful bid according to the priority order in the proxy bidding server. For example, when a certain user wishes to bid for a plurality of auction items of the same type, duplicate purchases can be avoided by setting a certain group. On the other hand, by not including different types of auction items in a specific group, it is possible to bid regardless of the successful bid situation of the auction items of the specific group. Thereby, the further improvement of the convenience of a user can be aimed at.

Moreover, the program which is the other form of this invention is:
To the auction server that receives bid information for the auction item and performs a successful bid process based on the received bid information, the auction item information stored in advance and the other bid information, and the proxy bid server connected via the network ,
Bid means for performing bid processing based on each bid information for the auction server in accordance with the priority order set for each bid information for a plurality of auction items stored in the bid information storage means is realized. It is said.

  The bidding means realized by the program has the same function as described above.

Furthermore, the proxy bidding method according to another aspect of the present invention is:
By a proxy bid server connected via a network to an auction server that receives bid information for an auction item and performs a successful bid process based on the received bid information, prestored auction item information, and other bid information A proxy bidding method,
The proxy bidding server has a bidding process for performing bidding processing based on each bidding information for the auction server according to the priority order set for each bidding information for a plurality of auction items stored in the bidding information storage means. ,
It is characterized by that.

  And a bid process performs a bid process one by one according to a priority. In particular, the bidding process includes a bidding process based on the bidding information with the highest priority, a bidding process for receiving the bidding status for the bidding from the auction server, and a bidding information of the next priority when the bidding is not successful. And a step of performing a bidding process based on.

  Further, the bidding process is characterized in that bidding processing is performed according to the priority order in the specific group for a plurality of bid information for a plurality of auction items stored in the specific group in the bid information storage means. Yes. At this time, in particular, a plurality of bid information included in a specific group is characterized by bid information for a plurality of auction items set to avoid duplicate purchases.

  Even with the program and method having the above-described configuration, the above-described object of the present invention can be achieved because it operates in the same manner as the proxy bidding server.

  Since the present invention is configured and functions as described above, according to this, the user can automatically make a bid without always monitoring the bidding status of the auction and prevent unnecessary purchases. Therefore, it has an unprecedented excellent effect that the convenience of the user can be improved.

  The present invention is characterized in that a bid is automatically made to an auction server and a duplicate successful bid can be prevented. Hereinafter, specific examples will be described.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the auction system. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the proxy bidding server. 3 to 5 are diagrams showing examples of data used in the auction system. 6 to 7 are flowcharts showing the operation of the proxy bidding server.

[Constitution]
As shown in FIG. 1, the auction system in this embodiment includes a PC terminal 3 for registering bid information, a proxy bid server 1 that actually performs bid processing, an auction server 2 that accepts bids and performs bid processing, It is equipped with. These are connected via a network such as the Internet 4. Hereinafter, each configuration will be described in detail.

  First, the auction server 2 is a server computer that stores information related to auction items in the storage device 2B and performs a general Internet auction. Specifically, processing is performed in which bid information for a specific auction item is received from a user terminal on the network or a proxy bid server 1 described later, and a bid is awarded to a person who bids the highest price within the time limit. In order to realize such a function, for example, as auction product information, as shown in FIG. 3, at least data such as an auction ID, current price, remaining time, start price, bid unit, highest bidder, and its user ID The auction product database 21 is provided. Information on the auction item in the database is registered via the network by the user who sells the auction item. Further, it is provided directly or via the proxy bidding server 1 to the PC terminal 3 of the user who wishes to bid for the auction item. In addition, since the server which performs an internet auction is common now, it abbreviate | omits about a detailed process.

  Next, the PC terminal 3 is an information processing terminal having a function of accessing a web server on the Internet, such as a personal computer, a PDA, or a mobile phone that a general user has. The PC terminal 3 accesses the proxy bid server 1 using a web browser or the like, and inputs bid information for the auction items being exhibited in the auction server 2 as will be described later. Further, it has a function of receiving an auction result such as a successful bid situation notified from the proxy bidding server 1 and displaying it on the screen as shown to the user.

  Next, the proxy bidding server 1 is composed of a general server computer, and receives and stores bid information as a request from the PC terminal 3, and based on this, bids are made to the auction server 2. It has a function to perform processing. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, a bid information registration processing unit 11, a bid processing unit 12, and a notification processing unit 13 are constructed in the arithmetic device 1 </ b> A such as a CPU by incorporating the proxy bidding program. ing. Various databases such as a bid auction table 14 and a session table 15 are constructed in the storage device 1B such as a hard disk. The details will be described below.

  The bid information registration processing unit 11 first has a function of receiving a user's access from the PC terminal 3 and confirming the user ID. Specifically, it receives an input of a user ID from the PC terminal 3 and confirms whether it is registered in the auction server 2. If it is not registered, the PC terminal 3 is notified of information for newly registering the user with the auction server 2.

  The bid information registration processing unit 11 has a function of receiving bid information from the PC terminal 3. Specifically, at least the auction ID, the bid unit, and the upper limit price that specify the auction item transmitted from the PC terminal 3 are received. Then, the auction server 2 is inquired to check whether or not the accepted auction ID exists. If there is, the auction ID, bid unit, upper limit price, A bid auction table 14 composed of columns of completion flags is created and stored as shown in FIG. Then, the PC terminal 3 is inquired as to whether or not an auction item to be bid is added, and when there is an auction item to be added, the same bid information transmitted from the PC terminal 3 is received, and the bid auction table 14 (See FIG. 4). The completion flag in the bid auction table is set when a successful bid cannot be made, such as when the bidding has ended or when the bid price has already exceeded the set upper limit price. It is information, and the initial value is “incomplete (= 0)”.

  Furthermore, as described above, when a plurality of additional bid information is registered, the bid information registration processing unit 11 gives the PC terminal 3 the priority order of the bid information, that is, the priority order of the auction items to be purchased. Request to set In response to this, the user inputs the priority order of the auction item from the PC terminal 3 and transmits it to the proxy bidding server 1. The proxy bidding server 1 that has received the request assigns the same session ID to a plurality of pieces of bid information including the above priority order, and stores the same session ID in the session table 15 as one session. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a table composed of columns of session ID, user ID, auction ID, and priority order is created and registered as the session table 15. Note that this one session is a group of a plurality of auction items set to avoid duplicate registration by the same user. Therefore, for example, the user can arbitrarily register the same type of auction items in one session, and can also set and register different types of auction items in multiple sessions. It is. As described above, the bid auction table 14 and the session table 15 function as bid information storage means for storing bid information set by the user.

  Next, the bid processing unit 12 (bidding means) will be described. The bid processing unit 12 creates a job for bidding on the auction server 2 from a database such as the bid auction table 14 and the session table 15. Then, the created job is scheduled to be executed for a certain period of time, and bid processing is performed according to the schedule. Specifically, the priority order in the same session is read from the session table 15, the auction ID having the highest priority order is read, and the corresponding bid auction table 14 is called. At this time, if the completion flag of the bid auction table 14 is not completed, there is a possibility that the bid can still be made, so the bid information (upper limit price and bid unit) of the auction ID and the auction server 2 Bidding processing is performed on the auction server 2 based on the current managed bidding status (such as the bid end date and time and the bid price). Then, the bid for the auction item with the highest priority is repeatedly performed according to the schedule.

  If the bid processing unit 12 cannot make a successful bid by the above-described bidding process, the bidding process unit 12 sets the completion flag to complete (= 1), and performs the bidding process for the next highest priority auction ID in the same session ID. Do. This bidding process is as described above. In addition, bid processing is separately performed for auction IDs having different session IDs.

  In addition, the bid processing unit 12 receives information indicating the bid status of the auction item from the auction server 2, that is, information such as the bid end date and time, the current bid price, successful bidder information, and notifies the notification processing unit 13. To do.

  As described above, the notification processing unit 13 has a function of notifying the PC terminal 3 of information regarding the bid status received from the auction server 2 via an e-mail or a browser.

[Operation]
Next, the operation of the proxy bidding server 1 having the above configuration, including the operations of the PC terminal 3 and the auction server 2, will be described with reference to FIGS. First, with reference to FIG. 6, the operation when registering bid information in the proxy bid server 1 will be described.

  First, the user accesses the proxy bidding server 1 via the Internet at the PC terminal 3 and inputs a user ID into a web interface such as a browser. The proxy bidding server 1 that has received this confirms whether the target user ID exists in the auction server 2, and if not, notifies the PC terminal 3 as an error. Is output (step S1).

  On the other hand, when the user inputs an auction ID, a bid unit, and an upper limit price that the user wishes to make a successful bid from the PC terminal 3 and the proxy bid server 1 accepts the bid information, the proxy bid server 1 applies the target to the auction server 2. It is confirmed whether there is an auction ID (step S2). If it does not exist (No at Step S2), the user is notified as an error (Step S3), and a screen for inputting auction item information is output again (Step S1). If it exists (affirmative determination in step S2), a bid auction table 14 composed of columns of auction ID, bid unit, upper limit price, and completion flag as bid information is created (step S4). Information is registered (see step S5, FIG. 4). Thereafter, a screen for asking whether there is an additional auction item for bidding is output (step S6).

  On the other hand, the user selects presence / absence of an auction item to be additionally bid (step S7). If there is an additional auction item (Yes in Step S7), the proxy bidding server 1 outputs a screen for inputting information on the auction item again, and repeats the above processing until there is no auction item to be registered (Steps S1 to S1). S7). Note that the user can specify the auction item desired to be bid by accessing the auction server 2 directly from the PC terminal 3 or browsing the auction item information via the proxy bid server 1, for example. Can know.

  If there is no additional auction item to be bid (No in Step S7), the proxy bidding server 1 displays a screen for setting the priority of the auction item to be bid (Step S8), and the user Enter the priority (1-n). The proxy bid server 1 sets the above-described process as one session and associates it with the bid information. In other words, a session table 15 composed of columns in which a session ID is assigned to an auction ID to be bid, more specifically, a session ID, a user ID, an auction ID, and a priority order, is created, and each information Is registered (steps S9 to S11, see FIG. 5).

  Thereafter, the proxy bidding server 1 creates a job for bidding from the database to the auction server 2 (step S12). Then, the proxy bidding server 1 schedules the created job to be executed for a certain period of time (step S13).

  Next, the state of bidding processing by the proxy bidding server 1 will be described with reference to FIG. When the job created by the proxy bidding server 1 is executed, it first reads the auction ID having the highest priority (the lowest priority) from the session table 15 (see FIG. 5), and the corresponding bid. Call the auction table 14 (see FIG. 4). That is, first, the bid auction table of the auction ID with the priority “1” is read (Yes in steps S21, S22, S23, S26, S27, S28). At this time, it is confirmed whether the completion flag of the bid auction ID is completed (= 1) (step S29). If it is completed (= 1) (negative determination in step S29), then The auction table calling process is repeated based on the high priority auction ID (steps S30 and S23 to S29). If the bid auction table 14 to be called no longer exists (No determination in step S23), it is determined that the successful bid has failed and an email to that effect is sent to the user's PC terminal 3 specified by the user ID and notified. (Step S24), and the job is deleted (Step S25).

  Subsequently, after reading the auction ID which has not been completed (= 0), first, information (see FIG. 3) indicating the bid status of the corresponding auction item is read from the auction server 2 based on the auction ID (step 3). S31). And about the auction ID, it confirms to the auction server 2 whether the present time exists in the range of a bid start date and time and a bid end date and time (step S32). If it is outside the range time (negative determination in step S32), it is checked whether the current time has passed the bid end date and time (step S37), and if it has passed the end date and time (Yes in step S37) Judgment), it is confirmed whether or not the successful bidder of the auction product matches the user ID of the user who registered the bid information (step S38). If they match (Yes in step S38), a successful bid completion mail is transmitted to the user's PC terminal 3 (step S39), the job is terminated and the job is deleted (step S40). If they do not match (No in step S38), the completion flag of the bid auction table is set to completion (step S41), and the process is repeated from reading the session table (returning to step S21). As a result, as described above, the auction ID of the next priority is read out, and the bidding process is performed on the auction item with the auction ID. If it is determined in step S37 that the current time has not passed the bid end date and time (negative determination), the job is ended.

  In step S32, if the current time is within the range of the bidding start date and time and the end date and time (affirmative determination), the auction server 2 confirms whether the user ID of the user is the highest bidder ( If it is determined (No in Step S33), the job is terminated. If not (Yes in Step S33), the current price of the auction item is read (Step S34). Then, it is confirmed whether the value obtained by adding the bid unit to the current price exceeds the upper limit price (step S35). If the upper limit value is exceeded (No in step S35), the completion flag is set to completion (step S41), and the process is repeated from the reading process of the session table 15 (returning to step S21). If the upper limit is not exceeded (Yes in step S35), a value obtained by adding a bid unit to the current price is input to the auction server 2 (step S36), and the job is terminated. Then, the above bidding process is repeated.

  By doing so, the proxy bidding server 1 performs bidding processing one by one according to the priority order with respect to the auction server 2, and when a successful bid cannot be made, the bidding processing is performed according to the subsequent priority order. Accordingly, when a successful bid can be made for a high priority item, it is not possible to bid for other auction items, and therefore, it is possible to prevent a plurality of auction items from being awarded twice. As a result, bids can be automatically made, unnecessary purchases can be prevented, and user convenience can be improved.

  Note that the user can also bid for different types of auction items by giving different session IDs. As a result, bidding processing can be performed for a certain type of auction item in accordance with the priority order to prevent duplicate successful bids, while another auction item can be bid separately to make a successful bid. Thereby, the further improvement of the convenience of a user can be aimed at.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used to provide a service for bidding on an Internet auction, and has industrial applicability.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of an auction system. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of a substitute bid server. It is a figure which shows an example of the auction item database memorize | stored in an auction server. It is a figure which shows an example of the bid auction table memorize | stored in an agency bid server. It is a figure which shows an example of the session table memorize | stored in an agency bid server. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a substitute bid server, and shows the mode at the time of bid information registration. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a substitute bid server, and shows the mode at the time of a bid with respect to an auction server.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Proxy bid server 2 Auction server 3 PC terminal 11 Bid information registration process part 12 Bid process part (bid means)
13 Notification Processing Unit 14 Bid Auction Table (Bid Information Storage Unit)
15 Session table (Bid information storage means)
21 Auction product database

Claims (17)

An auction server connected via a network to an auction server that receives bid information for an auction item and performs a successful bid process based on the received bid information, prestored auction item information, and other bid information. There,
Bid information storage means for storing each bid information for a plurality of auction items with a priority assigned thereto;
Bidding means for performing bidding processing based on each bidding information according to the priority order of each bidding information to the auction server;
An agency bidding server characterized by comprising:   The proxy bidding server according to claim 1, wherein the bidding means performs bidding processing one by one according to the priority order.   The bidding means performs bidding processing based on the bidding information having the highest priority, and performs bidding processing based on the bidding information of the next priority when the bidding process fails to make a successful bid. The proxy bidding server according to claim 2, wherein:   4. The proxy bidding server according to claim 1, wherein the priority order is an order set by a user who wishes to bid based on the bid information. The bid information storage means stores a plurality of bid information for the plurality of auction items in a specific group,
The bidding means performs bidding processing according to the priority order in the specific group.
The proxy bidding server according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4.   The proxy bid server according to claim 5, wherein the specific group is a group set by the same user.   The proxy bidding server according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of bid information included in the specific group is bid information for a plurality of auction items set to avoid duplicate purchase. To the auction server that receives bid information for the auction item and performs a successful bid process based on the received bid information, the auction item information stored in advance and the other bid information, and the proxy bid server connected via the network ,
Bidding means for performing bidding processing based on each bid information for the auction server according to the priority order set for each bid information for a plurality of auction items stored in the bid information storage means,
Program to realize.   9. The program according to claim 8, wherein the bidding means performs bidding processing one by one according to the priority order.   The bidding means performs bidding processing based on the bidding information having the highest priority, and performs bidding processing based on the bidding information of the next priority when the bidding process fails to make a successful bid. The program according to claim 9. The bidding means performs bidding processing according to the priority order in the specific group for a plurality of bid information for the plurality of auction items stored in the specific group in the bid information storage means.
The program according to claim 8, 9 or 10.   12. The program according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of pieces of bid information included in the specific group are pieces of bid information for a plurality of auction items set to avoid duplicate purchases. By a proxy bid server connected via a network to an auction server that receives bid information for an auction item and performs a successful bid process based on the received bid information, prestored auction item information, and other bid information A proxy bidding method,
A bidding process in which the proxy bidding server performs bidding processing based on the bidding information to the auction server according to the priority order set for the bidding information for the plurality of auction items stored in the bidding information storage means. Having
A surrogate bidding method characterized by that.   14. The proxy bidding method according to claim 13, wherein the bidding step performs bidding processing one by one according to the priority order.   The bidding step includes a step of performing a bidding process based on the bidding information having the highest priority, a step of receiving a successful bid situation for the bid from the auction server, The proxy bidding method according to claim 14, further comprising: performing a bidding process based on the bidding information. The bidding step performs bidding processing according to the priority order in the specific group for a plurality of bid information for the plurality of auction items stored and included in the specific group in the bid information storage unit.
16. The substitute bidding method according to claim 13, 14, or 15. 17. The proxy bidding method according to claim 16, wherein the plurality of bid information included in the specific group is bid information for a plurality of auction items set to avoid duplicate purchase.

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