Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Finance
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-09
2001-07-24
Trammell, James P. (Department: 2767)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Finance
C705S026640, C705S027200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266652
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a computerized auction system and a method for carrying out an auction system where users access the auction system by remote terminals.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Auctions for sale of products have proven to be very popular and the success of the systems involve two major features. Typically with auction systems, there is the possibility to obtain the product at a very competitive price. In addition, there is the excitement and skill of the buyer who participates in the auction process and makes fast decisions whether to continue to participate or to recognize the price has become too high. The auction process, traditionally, has been a relatively fast process which changes quickly. The standard auction process involves users bidding for a particular product, and the product is sold to the highest bidder.
The dynamic nature of the auction process, in its traditional form, is attractive to a certain number of participants, but it is also an obstacle to a further group of participants who do not wish to rush their decision process. For this reason, there are other variations of the auction process where the time period for the auction is much longer and the feedback of information tends to be slower. Some auction processes do not provide any real time feedback, such as a silent auction process, where users merely submit their bid, which is confidential.
A further variation of the auction process is a reverse auction where the price of the product decreases in a set manner during the time period of the auction and each participant is provided with the current price, the quantity on hand and the time remaining in the auction. This type of auction, typically, takes place over a very short period of time and there is a flurry of activity in the last portion of the auction process. The actual auction terminates when there is no more product to be sold or the time period expires. A reverse auction process has been used very effectively in Holland for the sale of flowers to wholesalers.
The auction process for the sale of products has also been used on INTERNET. In this case, the various users send E-mail to the auction site with details of their bid and identity. Details of the bid are posted on the auction site computer and are available to other participants. The auction process typically has a time period of several days or weeks, and the product is allocated to the highest bidders. This type of process does not provide the excitement or the real time dynamic feedback of a traditional auction or a reverse auction. One of the advantages of this system is the lack of complexity in running of the auction process over INTERNET where E-mail is used to communicate with the auction computer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a method of auctioning products on-line where participants use computer terminals to access a computer site and participate. The method comprises maintaining a computer database of product information, identifying different products to be auctioned, assigning to each product a designated time for the product to be auctioned, promoting the product and the designated time of the auction prior to the auction to increase awareness of the product, carrying out an auction at the designated time by setting a fixed time period for completing the auction, displaying a current price for the product and decreasing the price of the product as the time remaining in the auction decreases, displaying the quantity of the product remaining to be auctioned and decreasing the quantity to reflect, during-the auction process, instructions from purchasers of their desire to purchase the product as the instructions are received thereby providing dynamic feedback to potential purchasers during the auction, providing each potential purchaser with a designated actuation control for instructing the computer site of the decision to purchase the product at the current price at the time of receiving the instructions and registering potential purchasers and obtaining and recording financial data for automated payment of a purchased product.
According to an aspect of the invention, the method includes removing each purchaser from the auction process upon providing instructions to purchase the product at the displayed current price at the time the instructions were received. In this way the purchaser is not exposed to further decreases in the price of the product, and is removed from that particular auction process.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the method includes registration of the purchaser or potential purchasers which can take place as part of a pre-registration process. The registration process can occur on-line or can be carried out off-line.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the method includes connecting the computer site directly to separate and distinct financial institutes for real time confirmation of acceptable financial transaction of the purchase price of a product. In this way, automated payment confirmation is carried out.
A computer site for auctioning a product on-line according to the present invention comprises at least one web server computer designed for serving a host of computer browsers and providing said browsers with the capability to participate in various auctions, where each auction is of a single product, at a specified time, with a specified number of the product available for sale. The web server cooperates with a separate database computer, separated from the web server computer by a firewall. The database computer is accessible to the web computer server computer to allow selective retrieval of product information which includes:
a) a product description;
b) the quantity of the product to be auctioned;
c) a start price of the product; and
d) at least one product image.
The web server computer includes custom written application software for auctioning any product identified in the database computer by displaying, during an auction, the current price of the product, the quantity of the product remaining available for purchase and the measure of the time remaining in the auction, decreasing the current price during the auction, providing a user actuation control for indicating instructions to purchase the product at a displayed current price, continually updating the current price, the quantity of the product remaining available for purchase, taking into account the product indicated as purchased and the time remaining in the auction to provide dynamic feedback to each user and removing the user from the auction upon receiving an instruction signal from the user and thereafter obtaining identification and required financial authorization for the purchase of the product.
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Rockoff, T.E., Groves, M.; “Design of an Internet-based System for Remore Dutch Auctions”, Internet Research, v 5, n 4, pp. 10-16, MCB University Press, Jan. 1995.*
Individual Inc., Industrial Announces Revolutionary “Dutch Auction” System for Ads on NewsPage Web Service, 1998 Business Wire.
Godin Paul B.
Lymburner Jeffrey
Bid.Com International Inc.
Myhre James W.
Trammell James P.
Zavis Katten Muchin
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