JP2012513049A - Resource-saving network-based communication with participating entities - Google Patents

Abstract

  A control entity that controls the trading of objects between multiple participating entities over a communication network up to a predetermined maximum trading time, said control entity being adapted to sell time-reducing credits to multiple participating entities A vending device and an offer receiving device adapted to receive an offer to purchase an object from multiple participating entities, with the remaining trading time for the object to be sold to the participating entity that provided the final offer after its expiration Each offer is reduced by the corresponding receiving entity that deducts the corresponding amount of time-reducing credit, in particular the corresponding number, and the rest provided by the offer corresponding to the amount of time-reducing credit, especially the number Trade The amount of reduction during comprises in particular regardless of the number of the plurality of participating entities, and a trade-control device adapted to control the trade so as to vary over maximum trade time.

Description

  The present invention relates to a control entity that controls trade of objects between a plurality of participating entities via a communication network.

  The invention further relates to a communication system.

  Furthermore, the present invention relates to a communication method.

  Moreover, the present invention relates to program elements.

  The invention further relates to a computer readable medium.

  Internet-based communication systems involve the exchange of electronic communication messages between different users operating different computers to perform trading operations and the like.

  U.S. Pat. No. 7,299,200 provides that the disclosed approach provides potential buyers with goods or services rather than the traditional bilateral costing approach (ie, fixed pricing or auction-type environment). Reflect the available time in the selling price and adjust the time when the goods or services are available to potential buyers, while the buyer and seller have an impact on the price of the goods or services exchanged in the transaction It is disclosed that it is possible. Potential buyers make value offers that can include price offers or time offers. When a buyer makes a value offer, the system offers an hourly purchase to purchase the item, the remaining time is reduced according to the amount of time unit purchased, and according to the hourly price The current price will be raised. Price offers and time offers are interdependent. Time offer entries represent the corresponding price and potential upside in price on the currency axis (the currency can be anything in particular that can be exchanged for a specific value), and the potential in time The reductions are represented on the time axis, the price offer entry represents the corresponding time, and potential reductions in time, on the time axis, and potential upward fluctuations in price on the currency axis. As long as the “sale button” is not pressed, the above description relates to potential fluctuations.

  An object of the present invention is to enable a communication system to operate with an appropriate computational load.

  To achieve the above object, a control entity, a communication system, a communication method, a program element, and a computer read that control the trade of objects between a plurality of participating entities via a communication network according to the independent claims of the present application A possible medium is provided.

  In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, objects between multiple participating entities over a communication network up to a predetermined maximum trade time (eg, that maximum time interval after which the trade should end in any case). A control entity is provided for controlling trades (such as online trades), and the control entity is adapted to sell time reduction credits to multiple participating entities (eg, selling time reduction credits for a particular currency). Time selling device, an offer receiving device adapted to receive offers from multiple participating entities to purchase objects, each offer being a final offer (this is the last and at the end of the trading procedure and The best offer) From the participating entity to which the corresponding entity reduces the remaining trade time that the object is sold after its expiration, and each offer receives a corresponding amount (eg, a corresponding number) of time reduction credits or its cost in currency An offer receiving device that deducts (or divides) (eg, deducts from an account such as any applicable financial instrument or tool, financial payment service, bank account credit card, entity store account, etc.); The amount of remaining trade time reduction provided by an offer corresponding to the amount (eg, corresponding to the number) of time reduction credits is variable over the maximum trade time, particularly regardless of the number of participating entities (eg, This is especially true based on trade time or trade progress criteria. De be based on the progress of the procedure.) As and a trade controller adapted to control the trade.

  According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of participating entities coupled via a communication network to communicate and trading objects up to a predetermined maximum trade time, and a plurality of participating entities via the communication network There is provided a communication system (wired or wireless) comprising a control entity having the above configuration for controlling trade of objects between them.

  According to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided for controlling the trading of an object between a plurality of participating entities via a communication network up to a predetermined maximum trade time, the method comprising a time reduction credit. Selling to multiple participating entities and receiving an offer to purchase an object from multiple participating entities, where each offer is sold to the participating entity that provided the final offer Reduce the remaining trading time, and each offer deducts (or divides) the corresponding amount (eg, a corresponding number) of time-reducing credits or its cost in currency from the corresponding participating entity (eg, any Applicable financial products or tools, financial payment services, bank account credits The amount of reduction in the remaining trade time brought about by the steps deducted from accounts such as cards, entity store accounts etc. and offers corresponding to the amount of time reduction credits (eg corresponding to the number of time reduction credits) In particular, it is variable over the maximum trade time regardless of the number of participating entities.

  According to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a program element (eg, source) adapted to control or implement a method having the above configuration when executed by a processor (such as a microprocessor or CPU). • Software routines in code or executable code).

  According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a computer readable program is stored that, when executed by a processor (such as a microprocessor or CPU), is adapted to control or implement a method having the above configuration. Media (eg, CD, DVD, USB stick, floppy disk, or hard disk) are provided.

  Data processing that may be performed by embodiments of the present invention may be performed by a computer program (ie, by software), by using one or more dedicated electronic optimization circuits (ie, in hardware), or It can be realized in a hybrid form (ie by software and hardware components).

  In the sense of this application, the term “time unit” is defined by the user's corresponding action (particularly by providing one or more time reduction devices that can selectively reduce the remaining auction time). In particular, an absolute time interval (eg, seconds, minutes, hours, etc.) that can reduce the remaining trade time (by an offer to purchase a product that can be accompanied by an offer) may be specifically represented.

  The term “time reduction credit” is a parameter that specifically indicates the user's credit that can be used by the user to reduce the remaining trading time in one or more time units (ie in a manner defined by the user). May represent the value of. Time reduction credits can be expressed as a specific type of currency to reduce the remaining trading time. For example, a user may purchase a time reduction device, for example from a control entity (before making an offer or during / while making an offer). According to an embodiment, the time selling device of the controlling entity is adapted to operate independently of the offer receiving device. For example, the time selling device and the offer receiving device may be configured to operate without communication between the time selling device and the offer receiving device. This may allow the control entity to have low complexity and / or low computational requirements and / or good scalability. For example, according to a further embodiment, the time selling device and the offer receiving device run on separate hardware resources (eg, on separate computers). According to a further embodiment, the time selling device is adapted to sell the time reducing device to a plurality of participating entities regardless of the offer of a particular entity. According to yet another embodiment, the time selling device is adapted to sell time reduction credits to a participating entity without receiving an offer from the participating entity. For example, the user may purchase at least one time reduction credit at a first time and may spend some or all of the purchased time reduction credit at a second time following the first time. This can provide additional flexibility to the user in purchasing and spending time saving credits. The user can also exchange the time reduction unit with another user, for example, purchase a time reduction unit from another user, or sell the time reduction unit to another user, and the price is negotiated between the users. Can be decided. Similarly, with time reduction credits, some time units that can reduce the remaining trading time may be time dependent. Time-reduction credits are the goal of ultimately purchasing the offered goods or services, and participation sold by a time-sale device at a specific value to use this credit to reduce online time Can be purchased by buyers. The amount of time reduction credits used to reduce the remaining time is the total chance, whether it is an increased price or a current price, depending on which embodiment of the invention is activated. Even the price is reflected. Depending on the embodiment, the time reduction credits that the participating entity earns from the selling device are paid to each instance, paid when applied, or paid only when applied to a final offer, etc. .

  The term “control entity” may particularly denote a communication partner device that can be communicatively coupled via a communication network. Such control entities may include server computers, terminals, PCs, or laptops. In general, the control entity can also be a mobile phone, or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or any other electronic or digital device that can be connected to a communication network. The control entity may have a processing function (such as control of an auction, particularly an online auction) for controlling the trading of objects via a communication network.

  The term “object” may represent, in particular, any physical entity of an object to be sold over a communication network or an item to be sold, or an offer service such as a ticket or other non-physical value Can be represented.

  The term “participating entity” may particularly denote a communication partner device (eg, client, terminal, PC, or laptop) that may communicate over a communication network in a wired or wireless manner. Furthermore, the control entity can be a mobile phone, or a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or any other electronic or digital device that can be connected to a communication network.

  According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an online auction time that is not fixed and is not defined by the expiration of a specific clock time interval or only by the expiration of a specific clock time interval, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. An auction system may be provided. In contrast, the trading time can be changed, manipulated or influenced dynamically by any participating entity and / or by the controlling entity. For example, a participating entity can be a time saving credit that can be used in an offer to purchase a product. If a participating entity makes an offer to purchase a product through an online auction system at a particular point in time, this offer is one that the participating entity purchased in advance or in conjunction with the offer. Or it can be combined with the provision of multiple time saving credits. The control entity may define a function or correlation between the reduction in remaining trade time achievable by providing a specific number of time reduction credits and a specific stage of the online auction.

  In addition, embodiments of the present invention provide a time-controlled distribution system (particularly a system for distributing goods and currency).

  An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is able to guide the auction in a more desirable direction by providing a specific number of time reduction credits, allowing time savings for the remaining trade time. Based on recognition. The degree of remaining trade time reduction achievable with the aforementioned credits may vary during the processing of the online auction, and in particular may decrease over time. Employing this measure may encourage offers at an early stage of the procedure. This is because it can be extremely inexpensive in terms of required credits. Thus, the less interesting stage of the auction can be accelerated and thus shortened. As trade decisions approach (ie, at the end of the trade time), the user-triggered reduction of remaining trade time (ie, triggered by one or more participants) becomes more expensive. Thus, at the end of a trade phase where the probability of significant acceleration is low, the final decision may be less dependent on different technical standards of different participating entities (eg, different communication network connection speeds of corresponding computers). . In addition, the concentration of participating entities on the climax of the trading process can reach the highest point. Regardless of the number of bidders or participants, the time reduction value can vary over the duration of the auction approach. In particular, the extent to which the time reduction credit can reduce the remaining trade time can depend on the remaining trade time (eg, can be reduced with a decrease in the remaining trade time). Additionally or alternatively, the price of the time reduction credit to reduce the remaining trade time may depend on the remaining trade time (eg, increase with decreasing remaining trade time). In that case, the amount of time units may require a higher purchase price than at the start of the auction, while time reduction may still continue at multiple times the normal clock time. For example, with the possible time reduction of time frames set to last for several days (for example, days being reduced to hours, minutes, or seconds), digital resources can become a classic fixed-time system. Can handle many more transactions.

  At such an early stage, the entire trade can be accelerated by accelerating the early (and often less important) stage of the trade by encouraging the user's remaining trade time reduction auctions, thereby Can bring the benefits of a connected logistic system (for example, it can be sold in a shorter amount of time, so a smaller warehouse space can be used to store the traded objects Become). Network-based communication preceding the final offer can be accelerated. This is because an auction can be concluded earlier than a conventional auction. This may make it possible to reduce the bandwidth requirements and communication resources of the network coupling device. Furthermore, the computational load integrated over the entire auction time can be reduced.

  In particular, the peak traffic time that can occur in traditional auction systems at the end of an auction is reduced (the quality of the communication connection is more dependent on successful bids and less on the trading strategy) It is possible. This is because the bidder does not have to wait until the end to make the final offer. In contrast, the exemplary embodiment of the present invention also allows suitable trades to be made with a strategically creative fast reduction of the remaining trade time to zero. However, this can be more expensive if most of the trading time has already passed.

  In traditional auctions, peak traffic occurs at night, especially at weekends. Participants can move the end of the auction to any day / night time by reducing the online time depending on the amount of time reduction units used, so each offer offers 24 hours As the end of the auction is moved to a varying point in the cycle, the high traffic phase moves or becomes uniform. Thus, server resources are not overburdened and overall, less internet traffic can make Internet connections faster.

  In addition, the strategic use of hourly strategies allows the opportunity to move the auction time to the desired time or interval, for example, a strategic number that can reduce the number of competitors based on normal online time considerations. Factors can be brought about.

  Thus, it is possible to provide a logistic system that can finish the auction before the physical time limit expires. That is, the maximum trade time can be reduced by the user by combining a new auction scenario (especially the remaining trade time reduced) with the offer to save time credits and combining traditional bidding. Is possible. In the foregoing embodiment, goods, finance, and physical time limits can be reallocated by an adjustable time system that more accurately reflects market demand and supply.

  The auction system described above may also be more convenient for users with limited time resources. Thus, for example, during a lunch break, a bidder can efficiently use the auction scenario of the present application in combination with personal credit for time saving credits. Thus, bidders can adjust the auction to their individual requirements. In particular, the user can clearly define his own final offer value.

  Accelerated trading techniques according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention are particularly suitable for trading time critical items such as tickets, upcoming trips, flights, hotel rooms, or fresh products.

  In one embodiment, time-dependent fluctuations in the price for a particular time reduction may occur depending on the progress or progress of the trading procedure on the time axis (eg, remaining auction time, elapsed time, or Based on the stage (eg, exclusively)). According to the first preferred embodiment described above, the price of the time reduction credit can only be increased during the final time interval before the trade time expires. This can lead to an intensive auction phase. This is because it is very expensive for a user to purchase all of the expensive end stage credits. However, in the above-described embodiment, payment of all time-reduced credits spent is made only by bidders making the final offer, not unsuccessful participants in this auction. According to a second preferred embodiment, the time can be divided into two, three, four or more blocks, and the reduction of the maximum trade time to zero is reduced by one of the users. Only when credits are purchased and applied. That is, in scenarios where time reduction credits are not sold and applied, the remaining trade time countdown does not continue. Within a separate block, the time savings achievable with a certain number of application time reduction credits can be continuously reduced. This can trigger a quick and cheap time saving to the user. In the above embodiment, it is conceivable that not only the final bidder who actually purchases the object, but also some or all of the remaining participants must be paid.

  In one embodiment, the time-dependent variation in price for a particular time reduction may vary in a user-defined manner, or user action (eg, a user operating one or more of the participating entities) This can be caused by According to the aforementioned third exemplary preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system allows for the resale of prepaid time-reduced credits by separate participants. Thus, one participant may purchase time reduction credits from another of the participants or resell the time reduction credits to another of the participants. This further increases the freedom of the auction system, increases the thrill of the auction, and enables successful bidders to succeed.

  Next, further exemplary embodiments of the control entity will be described. However, the above-described embodiments further apply to communication systems, methods, program elements, and computer-readable media.

  The controller may be adapted to calculate and / or apply a trade time dependency function that correlates, by time unit, the amount or number of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time. Thus, by spending a certain number of trade time reduction credits, the amount of remaining trade time reduction can be defined by a mathematical function. This function may be made available to participants. Alternatively, the participant may simply face the time savings caused by its provision of time saving credits.

  The trade controller may be adapted to control the trade such that, by time unit, the amount or number of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time increases with increasing trade time. The closer to the end of the auction, the more credits must be used by the participants to significantly reduce the remaining trading time. This allows the system to reach a thrilling peak at the end. At the same time, the significant acceleration of the final stage becomes more difficult, so the role of each participant's technical boundary conditions in successful bidding is less important.

  The trade controller is configured to provide a time within the first time interval that is greater than the number of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time by a time unit within the second time interval following the first time interval. The unit may be adapted to control the trade so that the number of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time is reduced. For example, the second time interval may correspond to the last 15 minutes of the auction where the most important events and auctions typically take place. For this important stage, making the further trade time reduction more expensive can make a very fast reduction of the remaining auction time less likely.

  Still referring to the previous example, a plurality of participating entities are notified that the number of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trading time has increased in units of time before the expiration of the first time interval. Can be adapted to For example, such users may be notified or notified in order to avoid surprises by unskilled users due to the sudden increase in cost required to further reduce the remaining trading time. The above notice may also be important to allow a skilled user to consider the modified cost policy to further reduce the remaining trading time for that trading strategy. .

  For example, communication messages, such as electronic communication messages, can be used to ensure that users are notified of increased costs when the time comes, for further reduction of the remaining trade time in the future. It is conceivable that information about “price increase” can be sent to participating entities. Such communication messages can be SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), e-mail, telephone call, pop-up window appearing on the participating entity's computer screen, or active auction. It can be sent in any other suitable way to send information or symbols that contain widgets on a web page, or a message.

  In one embodiment, the total amount of time reduction credit payments (eg, in terms of money) for reducing the remaining trade time caused by offers within the first time interval is the market price (such as list price) of the object. It can be adapted to control the trade to be above. By adopting this measure, it can be ensured that the goods can be sold at a specific price that allows the operator of the control entity to profit from the trade. This boundary condition can be taken into account when contemplating the time dependence of the cost on credit.

  The trade controller is adapted to control the trade so that, by time unit, the amount or number of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time increases continuously during the first time interval. obtain. Such a continuous increase may occur in response to a curve, a step function, or any suitable other function or relationship.

  The trade controller may be adapted to control the trade such that the amount or number of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time within the second time interval is calculated by the random number generator. The generated random number (which can be truly random or pseudo-random) can make the auction more exciting, especially during the final stage. This is because unique trading situations are continuously generated. The aforementioned random number generator may define a variable price for time reduction during subsequent intervals of trade time by a series of numbers.

  The trade controller has a boundary condition that the integer or total amount of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time to zero within the second time interval is equal to a predetermined cost value, and is generated by a random number generator. , May be adapted to perform calculations.

  The time selling device may be adapted to sell the total amount of time reduction credits to a plurality of participating entities such that the total amount of reduction in remaining trade time provided by all the time reduction credits is equal to the maximum trade time. In the above scenario, the remaining time is reduced only by providing a time-reduction credit by the participant rather than expiring the physical clock time interval. In one embodiment, the maximum trade time in units of time reduction credits can be equally distributed to separate participants, so that each of the four participants reduces trade by, for example, 1/4 each of the maximum trade time. Holds 25% of the time saving credit. In this example, bidding becomes very strategic because the physical time does not further affect the closing of the trade.

  The control entity may further include a time reduction credit display device adapted to display a current distribution of time reduction credits assigned to a plurality of participating entities participating in the trade. In the aforementioned display, which time reduction credits are under the control of which other participants is transparent to all users. This gives a brief overview of the current situation and the strengths of each participant.

  Since the participating entities can be locally distributed and remotely located from each other, the time-reducing credit display device can transmit data to the participating entities that can be displayed locally to the user of the participating entity.

  The time-reduction credit display device determines that the time-reduction credits assigned to a plurality of participating entities have changed (especially, the user who operates the participating entity has changed due to the sale, trade or use of the time-reduction entity). May be adapted to update the displayed current distribution of time reduction credits. Thus, the display may show fluctuations in the distribution of time-reduced credits essentially in real time so that separate user activities or actions can be easily monitored by participants.

  The time reduction credit display device may be adapted to display a price of time reduction credit provided by an assigned entity of the plurality of participating entities. The embodiment described above is particularly effective in that time reduction credits can be traded between the control entity and the participant (ie, in a single direction, the participant purchases the time reduction credit from the control system). ) As well as a configuration in which two-way trading between different participating entities is possible. For example, a strategy team can be formed by separate participants. It is also conceivable to infer about an increase in the value of time-reducing credits that one participant can then sell to another of the participants at a more favorable price.

  The trade controller may be adapted to deduct time saving credits from only one account of a plurality of participating entities purchasing the product. At the end of the auction, in the example described above, only the aforementioned credits are credited to the corresponding participant who successfully purchases the object by inserting (entering) the last closing offer of the action process. Unsuccessful participants who did not purchase the product do not have to pay for the activity.

  In another example, the trade controller may be adapted to deduct time saving credits from accounts of multiple participating entities, regardless of which of the multiple participating entities purchases the object. In the example described above, each participant must make a payment for the time reduction credits used. This further increases the probability that a successful bidder will make a favorable trade. This is because costs are shared among all participants. Define what total price can be obtained for trading objects (especially in scenarios where each user has to pay for the time saving credits used) with a given cost value Is possible.

  The trade controller may be adapted to control the trade such that the remaining trade time is reduced only by the offer of multiple participating entities. According to this embodiment, physical time expiration is not appropriate. Only the activities of the participants using time reduction credits acquired during or prior to bidding are taken into account for the calculation of the remaining time of the trade.

  In another embodiment, the trade controller may be adapted to control the trade such that the remaining trade time is reduced by offers of multiple participating entities and reduced by the real time or clock time that is progressing during the trade. The foregoing embodiments can be particularly interesting for participants. A complex combination of real time expiration and the use of time reduction credits may be considered for reducing the remaining auction time.

  The final offer can be an offer that reduces the remaining trading time to zero. In the aforementioned offer, the user reduces the remaining auction time to zero, thereby not only closing the auction, but also acquiring objects. Thus, for a user who wants to purchase an object, the goal is to manage time reduction credits so that he can finish the trade with the final offer.

  The offer receiver is adapted to increase the price for purchasing an object upon receipt of an offer from a participating entity by reducing the remaining trade time correlated with a corresponding reduction in the number of time reduction credits. obtain. Thus, an increase in product price due to an offer can be combined with a reduction in remaining time due to a simultaneous time offer.

In one embodiment, the controller is
Object identification information, object data, minimum price to purchase the object, maximum price to purchase the object, maximum trade time (the above entities are controlled by the user who wants to sell the product through an online auction For this purpose, it may represent a sold object and may specify the lowest price that is still acceptable by the user and the highest price to purchase the object that the seller will be satisfied with) Receiving input containing from the merchant entity;
Offering the object to be sold starting with the maximum trade time (ie at the initial trade time) and starting with the lowest price, and displaying the current price and the remaining trade time (the above display allows the user to always make progress in the auction) Can be notified about)
Receiving an offer of at least one value for a product from at least one of a plurality of participating entities (the offer of value may include a price offered for the purchase of an object, and / or The value offer may also include an indication of the time units that the corresponding user wishes to reduce the remaining auction time), and
The value offer yields a price above the minimum price and a price greater than the current price, equals the time reduction credit assigned to the corresponding offer of one of the participating entities, and the maximum trade time or remaining Accepting an offer of that value (which may have been offered by the participant following the lowest price) when it yields a time unit to be deducted that is less than or equal to the auction time of Accepted only if it contains reasonable parameters)
The unit of time to be deducted that results in a price that is higher than the minimum price, higher than the current price, and less than the remaining trading time (which may have been offered by the participant following the minimum price) For each resulting value offer (if the value offered by the user is reasonable, this results in increasing the price of the object and reducing the rest of the auction time), the current price is increased by a predetermined price amount. Reducing the remaining trade time by a predetermined amount of time;
Trade so that a procedure can be performed that includes displaying the value offer as the current price and the remaining trade time (to make the result of the action visible to other participants). Can be adapted to control.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
High-performance back-end concepts (servers for platforms (eg, software servers), mail delivery and mailing servers, statistics page and commercial generation servers, database servers, and optional interaction of the aforementioned components) Possible)
Login, registration, user account management (eg, user address, user password, user bank account management), central navigation (eg, overview of activity, may be visible immediately after login) , Portal function menu items), auction-related activities (eg, receipt confirmation to buyer, payment / transfer confirmation to buyer, confirmation of receipt by buyer, buyer's evaluation of seller's performance, by seller Display delivery, display receipt of payment by merchant), bank account summary (eg list of all monetary transactions, user's bank balance such as fees, series of activities on bank account), dialog for all active transactions (For example, “already offered” status and Offer applet transactions in monitored "state, bid to all active transactions, makes it possible to monitor all active transactions)
An Internet-based (eg, public Internet-based) trading auction platform may be provided that may include at least one of the following components:

  A dialog during bidding is the display of items (eg, monitoring buttons, bid buttons, information about the current state of the auction, information about sellers such as ratings, information and photos showing items), for example, in the form of graphics with slide control Bidding applets (eg, bidding, slide control for exemplary bidding time correlation, display of all relevant auction data in real time).

  The search function is limited to search support, search agent implementation options, results list (eg, showing photos, short descriptions, current auction data), specific categories, or no limitation May include a search for a particular search term.

  A news portal can send messages to operators of control entities (eg, to provide feedback), reduce messages, read and respond to messages, send messages to other users, outbox, An inbox may be included.

  Data archiving, definition of boundary conditions (eg optional parameters such as time interval, language settings, currency, definition of fees for individual options), news management (release of articles for automatic display in the portal, It is also possible to provide management services such as feedback), click rate assessment, statistics monitoring, and manual auction deletion.

1 shows a communication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram representing a graphical representation of a currency / time relationship of a communication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention that implements a chance bid mode. FIG. 4 represents a graphical representation of the currency-time relationship of a communication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention that implements a progression and countdown mode or implements a secondary market in hourly mode. . 1 shows a communication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

  The illustrations in the drawings are schematic. In different drawings, similar or identical elements are provided with the same reference signs.

  The above and further aspects of the invention are apparent from the examples of embodiments to be described hereinafter and will be described with reference to the examples of embodiments described above.

  The present invention is not limited to the present invention, but will be described in more detail below with reference to examples.

  In the following, referring to FIG. 1, a communication system 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention will be described.

  The communication system 1 includes Pl, P2,. . . , Pn includes a plurality of participating entities 2. Furthermore, the seller entity 4 is shown. The entities 2 and 4 may be computers connected to each other in a wired or wireless manner via a communication network 6 such as the public Internet so as to communicate.

  A control entity 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention for controlling the trade of goods between a plurality of participating entities 2 via a communication network 6 is provided. Furthermore, the control entity 10 is coupled to the public Internet 6 for communication.

  The control entity 10 may be a server computer that can be connected to the input / output device 20. The input / output device 20 may send control commands to the control entity 10 and may be accessed by an operator of the communication system 10 that may receive results or information indicative of an online auction currently being conducted by the entities 2, 4, 10. It can be a possible terminal. The input / output device 20 may include input elements such as buttons, keypads, joysticks, and the like. The input / output device 20 may also include a display element such as a graphical user interface (GUI) to monitor the auction results.

  The control entity 10 comprises a time selling device 30 adapted to sell time management credits (or manage the sales of time reduction credits) to a plurality of participating entities 2. Thus, each participating entity 2 may order a certain number of sales time reduction credits that can be considered as virtual units that the participating device 2 can purchase authorization to reduce the remaining trade time during the auction. In one embodiment, Participant 2 must pay for a trade time reduction unit obtained from Trade Vendor 30 by, for example, a credit card over the Internet 6 or by wire transfer.

  The control entity 10 further comprises an offer receiving device 35 adapted to receive offers from a plurality of participating entities 2 for purchasing goods. In order to purchase a product, an interested participating entity of participating entities 2 sends a communication message to the control entity 10 via the public Internet 6. Such an offer may include a price (for example in euros or dollars) (to be offered by the corresponding participating entity 2) to acquire the goods. This product can be offered to the communication system 1 by the merchant entity 4.

  Furthermore, the aforementioned offer of the corresponding participating entity 2 may include an indication of how much the user wants to reduce the remaining auction time. The aforementioned offer requires that the participating device 2 has previously obtained a time reduction credit from the time selling device 30 or in conjunction with this offer.

  Thus, each offer, after its expiration, reduces its remaining trade time when the product is sold to the participating entity 2 that made the final offer, and each offer further (user account of the corresponding participating entity 2 user Or deduct a corresponding number of time reduction credits from the account of the corresponding participating entity 2 (such as a bank account).

  The control entity 10 determines that the amount of remaining trade time reduction provided by the offer corresponding to the number of time reduction credits is independent of the number of participating entities 2 or independent of the number of participating entities 2. , Further comprising a trade controller 40 for centrally controlling the trade to be variable over a maximum trade time (i.e. the aforementioned variation is simply caused by several participating entities 2 exceeding a certain threshold But not by trading rules that can change as the only function of time during the auction). That is, regardless of the number of participants 2 involved in the auction, the remaining trade time can be affected by the participant device 2 by spending its respective time reduction credits. Thus, progress during an auction can result in time dependence of the remaining auction time reduction power in terms of acquired time units.

  The trade controller 40 may be adapted to calculate a trade time dependency function that correlates the number of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time by a specific time unit. Thus, entity 40 may define a correlation between the provision of credit by participating entity 2 and the remaining auction time reduction. In one embodiment, as the trade time progresses, the provision of time reduction credits makes the further reduction of the remaining trade time more expensive.

  A time reduction credit display device 50 is provided that can display or generate displayable data indicating the current distribution of time reduction credits assigned to participating entities 2 participating in the trade. Displayable data that may be transmitted from the time reduction credit display device 50 to the participating device 2 may be continuously updated so that each user of the participating device 2 obtains sufficient information regarding the current distribution of time reduction credits.

  Further, the control entity 10 includes a database 60 that can store data necessary for the operation of the control entity 10.

  The control entity 10 is adapted to cooperate with a time measuring device 80 adapted to measure or monitor the auction time. The time measuring device 80 may count down the remaining auction time from the initial value according to the physical time flow. In addition to this continuous countdown of remaining auction time, the time measurement device 80 may further reduce the remaining auction time discontinuously or step by step when the user purchases one or more time units. .

  Each of the graphics 220, 240 of FIG. 2 includes two axes 222 and 224. The first axis 222 represents currency and the second axis 224 represents time units.

  On the currency axis 222, one data field 202 indicates the total chance price of the item, and a second field 204 allows the user to enter his further chance bid for the item. The third field 206 shows the total chance price that your new chance bid will increase the price to. This is the price that must be paid for the item if a successful bid is made. In the fourth field 208, it is possible to specify the number of items to be purchased. The aforementioned fields 202, 204, 206, 208 are visual representations 209 of “total chances” or “totals from current bids” that are entered into the data fields. All fields 202, 204, 206, 208 can be visually represented. The visual representation of the currency can be an active entry field, or a passive indicator field, or a combination thereof.

  The possible minimum and maximum prices, as well as the number of items available, can be shown in the actual description of the item not in the graphic. The currency is an exchangeable value of any type (dollar, euro, sterling, camel, gold, etc., or any item with value specified as the currency being traded). obtain.

  On the time unit axis 224, the clock 210 indicates the remaining time that the item remains potentially available. A second set 212 of time data fields allows the user to enter the point in time at which they want to reduce the time that an item remains available. Alternatively, it is possible to enter in the third field 214 the amount of time for which the remaining time is to be reduced accordingly. The aforementioned fields 210, 212, 214 are accompanied by a visual representation 211 of “remaining time”, “reduction in remaining time”, or “time target” that is input to the data fields 210, 212, 214. The visual representation of time can be an active entry field, or a passive indicator field, or a combination thereof.

  The time unit can be hours, days, years, minutes, etc., but the time unit of seconds provides the most flexible and most practical way to buy and sell time units.

  Graphics 220, 240 further comprise a labeled scale of values that quantitatively indicate the data that graphics 240 displays.

  In order for graphics 220, 240 to function properly, not all entry fields must be present in graphics 220, 240. Already, a single entry field inserted into the currency axis 222 and a single indicator field inserted into the time axis 224 are sufficient to function correctly. Alternatively, only one indicator field inserted into the currency axis 222 and one entry field inserted into the time axis 224 may be sufficient to function correctly. In practice, for orientation purposes, the user may need indicator fields that represent “current price” and “time remaining”. Without it, you can lose trade status.

  In order to clearly illustrate the system, the visual representation 209 of currency fluctuations is a combined indicator / entry field. This is a visual indication of the price increase. The visual representation 211 of the variation in time is a combined indicator / entry field that indicates the changes that will be made when the time is reduced. All field and visual representations are interactive and interdependent. A changed value also indicates the corresponding changed value.

  FIG. 2 is a physical representation of the principle of the currency / time line transaction system. In order to purchase goods, the purchaser needs to reduce time to zero. In a sense, the purchaser does not purchase the product, but purchases a unit of time for the product. The countdown or remaining time 210 begins at a predetermined time that can be chosen by the market operator or seller (e.g., at the time of online publication, first sales click, etc., theoretically, any starting time can be chosen) Automatically reaches zero or is reduced by a predetermined amount of time when the purchaser purchases a time block. The goods are sold to buyers who reduce the remaining time to zero.

  In the following, an embodiment of the present invention that can be expressed as a chance bid mode will be described.

  The seller has the option of selecting a chance bidding mode when entering his product data (especially factory direct product). Opportunity bidding mode opens up another opportunity for buyers and sellers. One buyer moves the auction by his bid. Time does not automatically reach zero. To bring the clock to zero and finish the auction, all the time units must be sold. The sum of all available time units can be a market value or a multiple thereof (eg, 4 to 5 times it).

  If all time units are purchased by one user, the user can pay several times the market price. This is very unlikely. Each buyer knows that they may reach a lower price, but must be prepared to lose their bid in the process. Each purchaser must purchase a time unit at a predetermined price by bidding on his / her chance bid and pricing. Many buyers are supposed to purchase several time units. The sum of the time units purchased individually is the price that the purchaser must pay, whether it is the final purchaser or the losing purchaser. The sum of all purchased time units constitutes the entire price paid for the merchandise and benefits the seller and store company.

  The purchaser may have to have sufficient funds in his user account by depositing the balance there or by putting his income from his other sales there. . The “Total Opportunities” field indicates the amount that you have bid and bid so far, and may be the sum of some of your personal bid rounds. The buyer is not able to bid and bid higher than the market value / comparison price, as shown. By using various features of the purchase tool, buyers bidding in an auction will not see a price higher than the normal market price in one embodiment, but (by pressing the purchase button, It is possible to skillfully bring time to zero (before confirming the bid). If the sum of all available time units is a multiple of the market value, the user will not be able to see it. If you bid and give a value that exceeds the indicated market value, you will recognize that the system has entered a price range that is higher than the market price and does not show the aforementioned high number. Instead, it shows things like "buy time for a few dollars to cut prices and get your chances with outrageous discounts". Although arbitrarily chosen, the user is not able to calculate the overall price because all time units are offered at various prices resulting in the originally determined market value or multiples thereof.

  The user's risk is that he is not the final purchaser and may lose his total bid. Regardless of whether or not you are the final buyer, the market price or multiple of it is reached very quickly because each buyer purchases bids that each buyer must pay. In this way, the price for each potential purchaser remains relatively low but varies depending on the total bid. More buyers means lower prices for each. This is because the total amount of time units to be purchased is distributed among many. However, further, the risk of not making a successful bid and having to pay individual bids increases if there are many participants in the auction.

  The initial price per hour unit is very low (in blocks of the hourly market value, or hourly unit during the first third of the total online time, to encourage the first user to participate) (E.g., only 0.1% or 0.5% per second). The remaining overall cost can be extended to the last 2/3 of the time unit. The price per time unit in this second stage can be arbitrarily chosen to be 15%, 25%, 60%, 6%, etc. of the market value. The random number generator can call the same percentage price for a single time unit, or for several consecutive time units. The key point of the previous example is that many buyers each buy a unit of several hours, and by doing this, the agile end buyer can afford the remainder of the time, which is prohibitive. By reducing the time remaining where it is possible to get a discount, it encourages many buyers to lower the potential potential of each individual.

  The online time chosen by the seller goes to zero in the background without changing the amount of time units for sale. This clock may or may not be indicated (as “There is a chance at this opportunity for x days, x hours, x seconds”). If there are not enough buyers to purchase all of the time units and the end of the online time originally chosen by the seller is reached, the auction can be unsuccessful. In this case, neither the seller nor the buyer has any financial risk. Buyers are charged for their bids only if the auction results in a sale.

  Opportunities for buyers and sellers are clear. The final purchaser can receive the item at a fraction of the cost of its value in the market. The seller can reach his market price very quickly while having the further possibility of obtaining a higher final selling price.

  Although the merchandise is not sold, it is possible to change the above-described embodiment so that the purchaser simply bids for the time unit and bids. The time unit thus purchased can then be used by the purchaser to enter another auction. If the aforementioned time unit is used to enter another auction, it will be lost regardless of whether the purchaser has received the item and whether or not the auction has been successfully completed It is possible to mark the time unit as described above. If the aforementioned time unit is used in another auction, if the purchaser is a lucky final purchaser, the closing price may be calculated as the total time unit of that auction— “prepaid unit”. For example, an auction unit of 100 hours—20 “prepaid units” would result in 80 units that the purchaser still has to pay at the unit cost of the auction.

  When the button is pressed, the button can associate the changed value in the currency or time data field with the database, thus ending the current sales transaction. The final sale may be to set the clock to zero.

  Next, the preconditions for using the option will be described.

  In order to use this option, the merchant must choose it when entering details about his item. After you have defined the product type and brand, you must make your choice. The merchant is presented with a fixed value that can be the list price of the product or the normal market price that the system can load from the price comparison search engine. Only after accepting this price will it be possible to continue with the options and enter other required goods / auction details. If enough buyers are interested, so if all the time units are sold and the auction is successfully completed, the seller can be offered to get a premium for the normal market price. Before the auction enters the online state, the system can determine the price per hour unit by calculating the selected online time for a possible price range from the lowest price to the highest price. The lowest price can be a currency value, and the highest price can be several times the normal market price.

  In the chance bid or cash bid mode, the sequence may relate to the concept of “time for money”. All time units must be sold. Not only the clock counts down. The sum of individual hourly costs can be a multiple of the market price. In one embodiment, the amount offered by each individual purchaser must be paid in any case. In individual cases, individual payments can be well below the actual market price of the item. The user is not able to calculate the total price received by the controller.

  The chance bid or cash bid mode described above may be selected separately from other system modes described in more detail below. In the chance bidding embodiment, a higher chance at a favorable price is combined with a higher risk of paying without acquiring the item.

  In the following, an embodiment of the present invention will be described that can be represented as a “Progression and Countdown” mode that includes a special countdown at the end of the auction and the option of price progression.

  The concept that “changes in currency are changes in time” or “changes in time is changes in currency” remains the basis. This principle can be expressed in various modifications. The following is one of them.

  The online time that the seller chooses (eg, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.) is divided by the system into two or more stages. Stage 1 can be the entire online time—15 minutes. Stage 2 can be the last 15 minutes, or less, or more.

  The seller can further choose a minimum price and a maximum price (in the case of factory direct or used goods), which can determine the market value of the goods. In stage 1, the price per time unit may be calculated by increasing from a lower price per time unit at the first time point to a higher price per time unit at the time just prior to the start of the last 15 minutes. If all the time units are sold and there are no time units that just go unsold, market values can be reached before the last 15 minutes are reached. For example, the entire online time-60% of 15 minutes, or less than 60% or more than 60% may be reached.

  In stage 2, the price per hour unit may be calculated to reach the entire price for the aforementioned few minutes that is a multiple of the market value (eg, 2x, 3x, 4x, etc.).

  The key to the above example is to motivate many buyers to participate in the auction by offering time units at a lower price at the beginning of Phase 1. Stage 2 may allow buyers to behave strategically by purchasing their time units at the appropriate time. Stage 2 can increase the thrill at the end of the auction and give the seller a chance to get the best price the market offers.

  The sell button, when pressed, associates the changed value in the currency or time data field with the database, thus ending the current sales transaction. The final sale may be to set the clock to zero. In the above example, payment of all time-reduced credits spent can only be made by bidders making the final offer, not unsuccessful participants in this auction.

  In one embodiment, when a particular point in time (eg, half an hour before closing) is reached, other bidders may be notified of this by email or SMS or any other message. The next time interval (eg, the next 15 minutes) may have similar auction rules as before. That is, the cost per time unit may be the same as before. In the last 15 minutes, the time unit can be more expensive. Fifteen minutes may be a suitable choice for the aforementioned time interval. Otherwise, the waiting time can be too long. The cost of the last time unit is intended to be able to achieve the highest price (even if no single unit was previously sold) with a total sales of 5 minutes It is possible. In this example, the potential payment is three times the highest value added to the previously sold unit. With a 15 minute time interval, the thrill is maintained until the last second.

  In the following, another embodiment of the present invention will be described which may be expressed as a user time trade mode. This system may take into account a secondary market in hours.

  The original concept that “changes in currency are changes in time” or “changes in time is changes in currency” may remain the basis. This principle can be expressed in various modifications. The following is one of them.

  The auction starts and ends according to the original auction concept. This is different as explained below.

  The time unit is purchased by any maximum number of buyers, but the minimum required number of buyers may be limited to a specific number (eg, 4 or 5, or any other number). If the minimum number of buyers is limited to 4, they can each be allowed to purchase 25% or less of online time at any time in one or more bidding operations.

  The purchaser who purchases the last few minutes may be the purchaser who will get the product, so the purchaser may have to act strategically. Here, the rules can be changed with respect to the basic concept. The last purchaser is not actually the person who received the item. This is because a secondary market can be generated for the time unit purchased by all the purchasers.

  Each purchaser participating in this particular auction has a valuable portion of online time (in this example, 25% if only four purchasers participate). Here, the purchaser may be listed on a specific page having the amount of time unit purchased. The page shows the amount paid for it and may also indicate to the last buyer what unit of time to sell the unit of time (which can be a fixed price, but also a type of auction). The last purchaser must purchase all time units from all purchasers to own the item. In this example, the last purchaser of the original auction may have a predecessor option. It can be changed to open this market to all buyers. You must accept or quit the price that was priced by other participants (second auction options may work in an auction format). If he decides not to trade, the penultimate purchaser may have the option to obtain goods by purchasing time units in this secondary market. If the second purchaser from the end passes the transaction, the third purchaser from the end will get a chance. If all of the above pass the transaction, a rule may be enforced that allows one purchaser to be responsible for purchasing the item.

  The rules can be as follows: It may be effective to avoid a situation where only the “reseller” participates in the auction and eventually everyone passes and nothing is sold. Thus, each time the original auction is successfully completed, a purchaser may have to purchase goods and establish a rule that they can enter the secondary market. If the first purchaser, the second purchaser, etc. pass the transaction, the option will return to the original last purchaser, in which case the original last purchaser will bypass the “reseller” Receive the goods at the price achieved at the auction. Another rule mentioned above is that buyers holding the maximum amount of time units (visible on special pages of the secondary market. If several people have the exact same amount of time units, the original auction The person who made his last purchase closest to the end of the can get a chance) may be that he may have to purchase the item at the price reached in the original auction. In this way, the auction can be successfully completed, but the “reseller” chances can be eliminated, and the “reseller” does not profit.

  The key to the above example is to establish a thrilling alternative strategy, where everyone buys a “share” in the product without making their own money and then resells it for a small profit Is to make it possible.

  FIG. 3 illustrates a graphical representation 300 of currency-time relationships for a communication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

  The graphical representation 300 is compatible with a progression and countdown mode as described above, or with a secondary market in a time unit mode as described above.

  First, the progression and countdown modes will be described.

  The graphic 300 has two axes. The axis 222 represents currency and the axis 224 represents time units.

  On the currency axis 222, one data field 202 'indicates the current price of the item, and a second field 204' allows the user to enter his ideal price estimate for the item. . Alternatively, the user can enter that additional amount in the third field 206 'that he would like to increase the current price by that amount. In the fourth field 208, it is possible to specify the number of items to be purchased. Accompanying the aforementioned fields 202 ', 204', 206 ', 208 is a visual representation 209 of "current price" or "increase in current price" or "ideal price" entered in the data field. is there. Each field can be represented visually. The visual representation of the currency can be an active entry field, or a passive indicator field, or a combination thereof. Possible minimum and maximum prices and the number of items available are not shown in the graphic. This information may be provided in various ways (eg, a graphic on a website or a separate text message, etc.). Currency is an exchangeable value of any type (dollar, euro, sterling, camel, gold, etc., or any item with value, defined as the currency being traded) obtain.

  On the time unit axis 224, the clock 210 indicates the remaining time that the item remains potentially available. A second set 212 of time data fields allows the user to enter the point in time at which they want to reduce the time that an item remains available. Alternatively, in the third field 214, the amount of time that the remaining time is desired to be reduced can be entered. Accompanying the aforementioned fields 210, 212, 214 is a visual representation 211 of “remaining time”, “reduction in remaining time”, or “time target” that is input to the data fields 210, 212, 214. . Theoretically, each field can be represented visually. The visual representation of time can be an active entry field, or a passive indicator field, or a combination thereof. The time unit can be hours, days, years, minutes, etc., but the smallest time unit (ie, seconds) provides the most flexible and most practical way to purchase / sell the time unit.

  In order for the graphical system of FIG. 3 to function properly, not all entry fields may be present in the graphic. One entry field inserted into the currency axis 222 and one indicator field inserted into the time axis 224 may be sufficient to function correctly. Alternatively, only one indicator field inserted into the currency axis 222 and one entry field inserted into the time axis 224 is theoretically sufficient to function correctly. In practice, for orientation purposes, the user always needs an indicator field indicating "current price" and "time remaining". Without it, you can lose trade status. To clearly illustrate the above system, a visual representation 209 of currency fluctuations is shown as an indicator / entry combination field, and a visual representation 211 of fluctuations in time is an indicator / entry combination field.

  FIG. 4 provides an overview of the processes and methods according to embodiments of the present invention, and implements any one of the specific auction modes described in the specification and claims. possible.

  As shown, there is a processor such as a user computer 101 and a user 100. The user computer 101 communicates with a memory device such as the database 124. The term user 100 is intended to encompass potential buyers and / or potential sellers. A user may connect to the Internet 102 using Internet connection hardware and then connect to the Internet market 106.

  The Internet market can be a home page or a website. There, user 100 is prompted to enter as unregistered user 108 or registered user 110. This is done on the Internet market home page 112. Registered user 100 may log in now or later and then continue from the time it was turned off. An already registered user 100 must log in to use all of the privileges 116, while browsing or displaying the merchandise for sale without login. An unregistered user 100 can browse or display merchandise for sale, but must be registered to purchase or offer to sell goods or services. The user 100 can sell the products 118 and 119. There may be separate categories 120, 121, categories may be selected, and data about the product may be entered (122, 123). Database 124 is configured to handle receipt inputs from merchants including merchandise, merchandise information, minimum price, maximum price, and maximum time. If the user is not registered (108), the user must be registered (117) before actually selling or purchasing the item. Product information and personal information provided during registration may be stored in the database 124 as user information. The user information is used to create an original page 126 having goods or services offered for sale. The offer for sale starts with the lowest price and the highest time and displays the current price and the remaining time. On this page there may be a currency / time graphic shown. A product can be “live” and is the subject of sale on a web page. The user 100 can purchase a product. A purchaser (which may be a registered user 110 or an unregistered user 108) may search for products 130, 131 and may utilize different categories and different search options 132, 133 to search.

  Search results 134, 135 are provided based on this input. User 100 may then select products 136, 137 and display page 126 with the products. If the user decides to make an offer, the user offers 138 the purchase of the product at a single price. Further, the purchaser may be offered to purchase an amount of time. The value offer can be a price offer or a time offer and can be accepted. The value offer is then stored in the database 124 and the currency / time graphic on the web page 129 is updated (128). Multiple purchasers may display the web page 129, and multiple purchasers may offer to purchase products for sale. A value offer can be an offer to purchase a product at a particular price, and the remaining time is reduced by the cost of the newly purchased amount of time. The value offer may be an hourly purchase offer, the remaining time is reduced according to the amount of time units purchased, and the current price is adjusted according to the aforementioned hourly costs. Price offers and time offers are interdependent. The time offer entry shows the corresponding value on the currency axis. A value offer entered into one of the price entry fields on the currency axis indicates the corresponding time offer quantity on the time axis. Database 124 receives value offers and accepts the value offers according to certain criteria. A price offer is the specific amount that a buyer wants to pay for a product, which is equal to a time offer, where the hourly cost depends on the highest price, lowest price, and maximum time (potential sale time) Calculated. A time offer is an offer to purchase a specific amount of time, which is equal to a price offer. Here, the cost per hour is calculated according to the maximum price, the minimum price, and the maximum time (potential sales time). Value offers (including price offers and time offers) can be accepted in several different ways.

  A possible requirement for acceptance is that for the first buyer, the value offer must be at least equal to the indicated current price (at this time the lowest price) and result in a price equal to the lowest price, so If no time unit is purchased and the successor is a purchaser, the value offer must result in a price that is at least higher than the indicated current price and higher than the lowest price, less than the remaining time The value offer must yield a price that is greater than the current price and set the remaining time to zero, resulting in a time unit for the purchase target. possible.

As an example, if the value offer is a price offer and is accepted,
(1) The remaining time is greater than zero and the value offer (price offer) is equal to the lowest price, which can be offered from the first buyer and the trade continues.

  (2) The remaining time is greater than zero and the value offer (price offer) is greater than the lowest price, which can be offered from the first or subsequent buyers and the trade continues.

  (3) The remaining time is equal to zero and the value offer (price offer) is equal to the lowest price. This means that the first buyer remains the only buyer, the value offer (price offer) is the lowest price, the time is automatically exhausted, no other buyers appear, Is over.

  (4) The remaining time is equal to zero and the value offer (price offer) is higher than the lowest price. This is because the first purchaser or subsequent purchaser is the final purchaser, the value offer (price offer) is higher than the lowest price, the time is automatically exhausted, and no other purchasers appear. The price achieved is the potential best selling price and the trade ends.

  (5) Remaining time equals zero and value offer (price offer) equals the highest price, in which case the first purchaser remains the only final purchaser and the value offer (price offer) The highest price to zero and the trade ends.

(6) The remaining time is equal to zero, the value offer (price offer) is equal to the potential best selling price, in which case the subsequent purchaser is the final purchaser, and the value offer (price offer) occurs simultaneously The highest price achievable under circumstances that depend on fixed trade conditions, which can lead to scenarios where the trade ends.

If the value offer is a time offer and is accepted,
(1) If the current price is equal to the lowest price and the value offer (time offer) is equal to zero, this may be the first buyer's value offer (time offer) without any change in potential sales time; Trade continues (2) If the current price is higher than the lowest price and the value offer (time offer) is less than the remaining time (potential sale time), this is the value of the first or subsequent buyer It can be an offer (time offer) and the trade continues (3) If the current price is equal to the lowest price and the value offer (time offer) is equal to zero, this means that the first buyer remains the only buyer The time is automatically exhausted, no other buyers appear and the trade ends. (4) The current price is higher than the lowest price and the value offer (time offer) is greater than the potential sales time. Fence, in this case, the original buyer or subsequent purchaser remains in final purchaser, time is automatically exhausted, does not appear other buyers. The achieved price is the potential best selling price and the trade ends. (5) The current price is equal to the highest price and the value offer (time offer) is equal to the highest time, in which case the time offer is potential Since the selling time is zero, the first buyer remains the only final buyer. (6) The current price is equal to the potential highest selling price, the value offer (time offer) is contemporaneous, Equivalent to the remaining potential sales hours that depend on fixed trading conditions, in which case the successor buyer is the final purchaser and the trade ends so that the time offer zeros the potential sales time Can lead to this scenario.

According to one embodiment, a system for processing sales of goods or services is described. The system may have a memory device that may be a database 124. Further, a user configured to communicate with a processor and memory device configured to process receipt of merchandise, merchandise information, minimum price, maximum price, and maximum time 210 inputs from merchants 122, 123. It can also be a processor such as computer 101. This input can be stored in the database 124 and is utilized to build a market (eg, web page 129) when the item is offered for sale. Sales usually start at the lowest price at the start of a trade. Next, at least one value offer for the goods 128, 138, 152 may be accepted from at least one purchaser, where a value offer (price offer or time offer) is accepted and accepted, which can lead to a particular scenario. .
At least one value offer for the product may be accepted from at least one purchaser, the step of receiving the value offer is that of the first value offer, the next step is displaying the first value offer; A value offer of 1 that is greater than the minimum price, greater than or equal to the current price indicated (which is the lowest price at this time), resulting in a price less than the maximum time, and less than the remaining time. The process of accepting the first value offer if it yields and results in a price that is higher than the lowest price and higher than the indicated current price (which is the lowest price at this time), less than the maximum time and less than the remaining time Reducing the remaining time by a predetermined amount of time and increasing the current price by a predetermined amount for each first value offer resulting in a time unit of purchase, and the first value off And a step of displaying over as current price and remaining time. At least one value offer for the product may be accepted from at least one purchaser, the step of receiving the value offer is that of a subsequent value offer, the next step is displaying a subsequent value offer and a subsequent value The process of accepting an offer, where a subsequent value offer yields a price that is greater than the current price and yields a unit of time to be purchased that is less than the remaining time, and a price that is higher than the current price and the rest Reducing the remaining time by a predetermined amount of time for each subsequent value offer that results in a unit of time to be purchased that is less than time, and increasing the current price by a predetermined amount of price; and Displaying subsequent value offers as remaining time. At least one value offer for the product can be received from at least one buyer, the step of receiving the value offer is that of the final value offer, the next step is to display the final value offer and accept the final value offer A final offer is a process that yields a price greater than the current price and sets the remaining time to zero, resulting in a unit of time to be purchased, and a price higher than the current price, resulting in a remaining time For final value offers that result in equal time units of purchase, reducing the remaining time by zeroing the determined amount of time and increasing the current price by a predetermined price amount; Displaying the final price offer as the current price and the remaining time.

  The first bidder (or buyer) to make a value offer behaves like the first bidder, behaves like the following bidder (or buyer), or the last bidder (or buyer) You can behave like that. Subsequent bidders (or buyers) making value offers may behave like subsequent bidders (or buyers) or may behave like the last bidder (or buyer). The last bidder (or buyer) who makes a value offer usually behaves just like the last bidder (or buyer).

The system can further iteratively adjust the highest achievable potential price, which is theoretically the highest price, depending on the fixed and concurrent trading characteristics. Such characteristics may be defined as any information that can be verified by merchant input, value offers, and / or acceptance of value offers. This is the merchant input for minimum price, maximum price, and maximum time,
As well as specific calculation of the number of buyers and cost per hour, specific engagement rules for the above mentioned market, difference between value offers, amount of price offer or time offer, length of time between value offers, buyers It may include a buyer input including information. The purpose is to purchase goods, but hourly purchases affect the time that goods are offered for sale. The product can even be offered electronically for sale via the Internet (126, 129) and displayed on the web page for all Internet users (129 '), but gains access to the sales function Therefore, it can only be bought and sold by users who have registered electronically (117) on the Internet. The system is further. It may accept input to the processor, including the desired quantity by the seller, display the highest price, display the current price in different currencies, display the remaining time, and handle certainty of delivery of the item.

  As indicated by reference numerals 128 ′ and 129 ′ with respect to reference numerals 128 and 129, the procedure performed by the initial purchaser may be repeated for one or more subsequent purchasers or for the final purchaser as well.

  The word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or configurations, and “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. The components described in connection with the different embodiments can be combined.

  Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

Claims (29)

A control entity that controls the trading of objects between a plurality of participating entities through a communication network up to a predetermined maximum trading time, the control entity comprising:
A time sale device adapted to sell time reduction credits to multiple participating entities;
An offer receiving device adapted to receive an offer to purchase an object from the plurality of participating entities, reducing the remaining trade time for the object to be sold after its expiration to the participating entity that provided the final offer Each offer is an offer receiving device that deducts a corresponding amount of time-reduction credit, in particular a corresponding number, from a corresponding participating entity;
Control the trade so that the amount of time reduction credits, especially the amount of remaining trade time reductions brought by the offer corresponding to the number, can vary over the maximum trade time, especially regardless of the number of the participating entities A control entity comprising a trade controller adapted to do so.   2. The control entity according to claim 1, wherein the trade control device is a trade time dependency function that correlates the amount of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time by a time unit, in particular the number. Control entity adapted to act on the basis.   3. The control entity according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the trade controller increases the amount of time-reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time by the time unit, in particular the number, as the trade time progresses. A control entity adapted to control the trade to:   4. The control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the trade controller is a time reduction credit required to reduce the remaining trade time by a time unit within a first time interval. Said trade, so that the number, in particular the number, is less than the number of time-reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time by a time unit within a second time interval following said first time interval. A control entity adapted to control   5. A control entity according to claim 4, wherein the trade controller is arranged to increase the amount of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time by a time unit within the second time interval, in particular A control entity adapted to notify the plurality of participating entities about the number before expiration of the first time interval.   6. The control entity according to claim 5, wherein the trade control device is provided by one of a group comprising a message system, in particular SMS, MMS, e-mail, telephone call, pop-up window, etc. A control entity adapted to notify the plurality of participating entities via an electronic communication message.   7. The control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the trade controller is a time reduction for reducing the remaining trade time provided by the offer within the first time interval. A control entity adapted to control the trade such that a total payment of the plurality of participating entities of credit is greater than or equal to a predetermined fixed price of the object, in particular a market price or a list price.   8. The control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the trade control device has an amount of time reduction credits, in particular a number, required to reduce the remaining trade time by a time unit. A control entity adapted to control the trade to increase continuously during the first time interval.   9. The control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the trade control device provides the remaining trade time by a time unit within the second time interval or within its individual subintervals. A control entity adapted to control the trade such that the amount of time-reduction credits required to reduce, in particular the number, is calculated by a random number generator.   10. A control entity according to claim 9, wherein the trade controller is configured to determine an integer amount, in particular a number, of time reduction credits required to reduce the remaining trade time to zero within the second time interval. A control entity adapted to perform the calculation by the random number generator with a boundary condition equal to the cost value of   11. A control entity according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the time selling device is such that the total amount of reduction of the remaining trade time brought by all time reduction credits is equal to the maximum trade time. And a control entity adapted to sell the total amount of the time reduction credit to the plurality of participating entities.   12. A control entity as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the time selling device is a separate participant of the plurality of participating entities, particularly at a price that can be defined by the plurality of entities. A control entity adapted to enable trading of time reduction credits between different participating entities of the plurality of participating entities to enable trading of time reduction credits between entities.   13. A control entity as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, adapted to display a current distribution of time reduction credits allocated to the plurality of participating entities participating in the trade. A control entity further comprising a display device.   14. The control entity according to claim 13, wherein the time reduction credit display device has changed according to the fact that the time reduction credit assigned to the plurality of participating entities has changed, in particular, due to the sale, use or trade of the time reduction credit. A control entity adapted to update the displayed distribution of time-reduction credits upon determination.   15. The control entity according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the time-reduction credit display device is assigned to another participating entity of the plurality of participating entities by an allocated one participating entity of the plurality of participating entities. A control entity adapted to display the price of time-reduced credits offered to.   16. The control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the trade control device reduces time from an account of only the one participating entity among the plurality of participating entities that have successfully purchased the object. A control entity adapted to deduct credits.   17. The control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the trade control device is independent of which one of the plurality of participating entities has successfully purchased the object. A control entity adapted to deduct time reduction credits from the accounts of the plurality of participating entities.   18. The control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein the trade control device is configured such that the remaining trade time can be reduced exclusively by an offer of the plurality of participating entities. A control entity adapted to control a trade.   19. The control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 18, wherein the trade control device is capable of reducing the remaining trade time by an offer of the plurality of participating entities and progressing during the trade. A control entity adapted to control the trade such that it can be reduced by clock time.   20. A control entity according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the final offer is an offer that reduces the remaining trade time to zero.   21. A control entity according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the offer receiving device is adapted to reduce the remaining trade time correlated with a corresponding number of time reduction credits. A control entity adapted to increase the price for purchasing an object upon receipt of an offer from a participating entity. The control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 21, wherein the trade control device includes:
Receiving from the merchant entity input including the maximum trade time, a maximum price for purchasing the object, a minimum price for purchasing the object, object data, and identification information for the object;
Starting with the lowest price and the maximum trade time, offering the object for sale, displaying the current price and the remaining trade time;
Receiving at least one value offer for the product from at least one of the plurality of participating entities;
Displaying the value offer;
The value offer is greater than or equal to the lowest price, resulting in a higher price than the current price offered following the lowest price, less than or equal to the maximum trade time or remaining auction time, and the plurality of participating entities Accepting the value offer when providing a time unit to be deducted equal to the time reduction credit assigned to the corresponding offer of one of the participating entities;
The remaining trade time is multiplied by a predetermined amount of time for each value offer that results in a time unit to be deducted that is higher than the minimum price, higher than the current price, and less than or equal to the remaining trade time. Reducing and increasing the current price by a predetermined price amount;
A control entity adapted to control the trade such that a procedure comprising the step of displaying the value offer as the current price and the remaining trade time is executable. A control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 22,
A control entity adapted to operate the time selling device independently of the offer receiving device. A control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 23,
The time selling device is a control entity adapted to sell the time reduction credits to the plurality of participating entities independently of the participating entity's offer.   25. A control entity according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the time selling device is adapted to sell time reduction credits to participating entities without receiving offers from the participating entities. . A communication system,
A plurality of participating entities coupled via a communication network to communicate to trade an object up to a predetermined maximum trade time;
26. A communication system comprising a control entity according to any one of claims 1 to 25 for controlling the trade of the object between the plurality of participating entities via the communication network. A method for controlling the trading of objects between a plurality of participating entities via a communication network up to a predetermined maximum trading time,
Selling time reduction credits to the plurality of participating entities;
Receiving an offer to purchase an object from the plurality of participating entities, reducing the remaining trade time for the object to be sold after its expiration to the participating entity that provided the final offer, An offer receiving device that deducts a corresponding amount of time-reducing credits, in particular a corresponding number, from corresponding participating entities;
Control the trade so that the amount of time reduction credits, especially the amount of reduction in the remaining trade time brought by the offer corresponding to the number, can vary over the maximum trade time, especially regardless of the number of the participating entities Including the step of:   A computer readable medium stores a computer program that controls the trading of objects between a plurality of participating entities over a communication network up to a predetermined maximum trade time, said computer program being executed by a processor And a computer readable medium adapted to perform or control the method of claim 27.   28. A program element for controlling the trading of objects between a plurality of participating entities over a communication network up to a predetermined maximum trading time, said program element being executed by a processor, A program element adapted to perform or control.

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