JP3795418B2 - Auction method and auction apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an auction method and an auction apparatus for a combination product obtained by combining a plurality of products.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Along with the development of computer technology and communication technology in recent years, many systems for performing commercial transactions using a communication network have been proposed, and among these, auctions are attracting attention among users using the Internet.
In particular, recently, a combination auction has been proposed in which a plurality of different types of products are targeted for auction, and a “combination product” consisting of a combination of a plurality of products can be bid on. Yes.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, some products handled in the auction have different allocation deadlines. For example, when a time zone in which a conference room is rented is considered as an auction target product, the rental time is divided every hour (this divided time zone is referred to as a slot), and this slot is regarded as one product for an auction.
In this case, the auction allocation deadline for the slot from 9:00 to 10:00 is immediately before the slot starts, for example, 8:55, and the auction deadline is set for the next slot, that is, the slot from 10:00 to 11:00. Is set immediately before 10:00.
[0004]
When the rental time of a conference room as described above is set as an auction target product, there is a person who wants to rent a conference room in a plurality of slots continuously. In this case, a bidder who wants to obtain one slot separately and a plurality of bidders Bidders who want to obtain slots continuously will be mixed.
[0005]
From the auction organizer and seller side, it is desirable for the products to be sold to be sold at a higher price. In the case of permission, it is necessary to accept bids for all commodities at once and decide the allocation.
Accordingly, in the case of a single item auction, there is a possibility that the user's demand will occur until the product allocation deadline is reached, but in the case of a combination auction, the demand generated by the allocation deadline cannot be captured.
[0006]
Moreover, in order to eliminate the inconveniences described above, it is also possible to hold an auction deadline according to the allocation deadline of each product and hold an individual auction for each product only in a single slot auction. However, with this method, it becomes impossible to meet the user's desire for a user who wants to rent a conference room over a plurality of slots, that is, a user for a combination product.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and even when bidding for a combination product is permitted when auctioning a plurality of products with different allocation deadlines, profits can be obtained for both the seller side and the buyer side. It is an object of the present invention to provide an auction method and an auction apparatus that can determine the winning bidder to be brought about.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a bid permitting bidding for a plurality of auction target products with different auction allocation deadlines for each of the products or for each of the combined products composed of two or more of the products. An auction method for conducting a lift-type auction on a computer, comprising: a maximum bid price and an expected price for each of the products or each of the combination products; and information on a bidder presenting the maximum bid price The computer stores as bid information , dynamically assigns an expected price until an allocation deadline to each of the bid combinations, and updates the bid information with the allocated expected price; and Among the sales combinations that are a combination of bids that can be sold without excess or shortage, the most A process of selecting a sale combination with a high standby price based on the updated bid information, and a single product or combination product that constitutes the selected sale combination, a product that has reached the allocation deadline, or a combination that includes the product The auction method is characterized by comprising: reading out the highest bidder presenting the highest bid amount for the product from the bid information and determining the bidder as the winning bidder.
[0010]
The invention according to claim 2 is the auction method according to claim 1 , wherein the expected price is determined based on a past bidding history for the same product or the same combination of products stored in the computer. It is one of the price to be paid and the highest bid amount.
[0011]
The invention according to claim 3 is the auction method according to claim 1 , wherein the expected price is stored in the computer, and a past bid of a product or a combination product having the same number of products constituting the product. It is characterized by being either one of a price determined based on a history or a maximum bid amount.
[0012]
Further, in the invention according to claim 4 , in the auction method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , when bidding on a combination product, only the combination product made up of products that are temporally continuous with each other. The computer permits bidding.
[0013]
Further, the invention according to claim 5 is a bidding that allows bidding for each of the products or each of the combination products composed of two or more of the products for a plurality of auction target products having different auction allocation deadlines. a auction system for performing an expression auctions, stores highest bid price and the expected price according to each or each of the combination products of the product, as well as information of bidders presenting the highest bid price as bid information A bid management means for managing, an expected price setting means for dynamically assigning an expected price up to an allocation deadline by referring to the bid information for each of the bid combinations, and a winning bidder based on the expected price. A successful bidder determination means for determining, wherein the successful bidder determination means is capable of selling the product without excess or deficiency. Based on the bid information, the sales combination that has the highest expected price among the sales combinations that are combinations is selected based on the bid information, and among the single-item products or the combination products that constitute the selected sale combination, An auction apparatus is provided that reads a highest bidder presenting a highest bid amount for a combination product including a product from the bid information and determines the bidder as a successful bidder.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an auction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an auction device, which is connected to each terminal device 31 to 33 via a communication network 20.
The terminal devices 31 to 33 are various terminal devices on which bidders participating in an auction perform input operations, and may be portable terminal devices such as a mobile phone and an information communication terminal in addition to a personal computer.
[0015]
The auction apparatus 1 has a database for managing data of target products for the auction, a database for managing information on bidders participating in the auction (both not shown), and terminal apparatuses 31 to 33 of bidders participating in the auction. Auction information etc. is transmitted to and displayed.
The auction information can be transmitted from the auction device 1 to the terminal devices 31 to 33 in a Web page format described in HTML, for example, and the terminal devices 31 to 33 display the auction information on the Web page using a WWW browser. be able to. The communication network 20 may use, for example, the Internet regardless of whether it is wired or wireless.
[0016]
Next, the internal configuration of the auction apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The auction apparatus 1 includes a bid accepting unit 11 that receives bid information from the terminal devices 31 to 33 operated by the bidder via the communication network 20, and among the bid information received via the bid accepting unit 11, an auction target Based on the bid amount received from the bidder, and the bid management unit 12 storing the current highest bid amount and information of the bidder presenting the highest bid amount in association with each other, A bid determination unit 13 that updates the current highest bid amount, and an expected price setting unit that sets an expected price for each single-item product and each combination product based on the highest bid amount managed by the bid management unit 12 14 and the successful bid determination unit 15 for determining the final winning bidder and its successful bid price, and the successful bid result received from the successful bid determination unit 15. And a notification to result notifying section 16.
[0017]
In addition to the above configuration, a product database storing detailed data of products to be auctioned, a bidder information database storing detailed information on bidders, and the like (not shown) are provided.
[0018]
Next, the operation of the auction apparatus 1 according to this embodiment configured as described above will be described. Here, the case where the rental of the XX conference room is regarded as an auction product will be described as an example.
[0019]
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the rental time of the conference room is divided into hourly slots, and the time zone (slot) from 9 am to 10 am is the product A, and from 10 am to 11 am The time zone (slot) is the product B, the time zone (slot) from 11:00 am to noon is the product C, the auction allocation deadline for the product A is 8:55 am, the auction allocation deadline for the product B is 9:55, It is assumed that the auction allocation deadline for the product C is set to 10:55.
[0020]
In this case, a bidder who participates in the auction can bid for each of the above-mentioned products individually, and can also bid for a combination product configured by combining two or more single-item products.
That is, if it is possible to bid only for the product A that is in the time zone from 9:00 to 10:00, if you want to use the conference room for 3 hours continuously from 9:00 am to noon, It is also possible to bid for a combination product consisting of a combination of B and product C. In addition to the combination product consisting of the combination of the above three products, bidding is also performed for the combination product consisting of the combination of two products, that is, the combination of the product A and the product B, the combination of the product B and the product C, and the combination of the product A and the product C. can do.
[0021]
The operation of the auction apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
First, the auction apparatus 1 holds an auction by posting information on an auction to be started, that is, the auction information shown in FIG. 2 on the WWW site. At this time, the auction allocation deadline for each product is also provided together with the auction information (steps SP1 and SP2 in FIG. 3).
[0022]
The operators of the various terminal devices 31 to 33 who have browsed the auction information bid for desired products.
For example, the bidder α now operates the terminal device 31 to specify a product (product A, product B, product C, or a combination thereof) for which a successful bid is desired, When a bid amount is input to a bid target product and an operation related to bidding is performed, the information is received by the bid acceptance unit 11 of the auction apparatus 1 via the communication network 20 (step SP3). Thereafter, the bid is input to the bid determination unit 13.
[0023]
As a result, the bid determination unit 13 that has acquired the bid target product and the bid price reads the highest bid price corresponding to the bid target product from the bid management unit 13, and the read highest bid price and the bid received from the bidder α. The amount is compared and the information of the bid management unit 12 is updated based on the result (step SP4).
That is, when the current bid price is less than or equal to the maximum bid price, the bid determination unit 13 notifies the result that information indicating that a successful bid is impossible without updating the maximum bid price of the bid management unit 12. To the unit 16.
As a result, the result notification unit 16 notifies the terminal device 31 operated by the bidder α that it is impossible to make a successful bid for the product to be bid with the current bid amount.
[0024]
On the other hand, when the bid price of the bidder α exceeds the maximum bid price stored in the bid management unit 12, the bid determination unit 13 determines the highest bid price corresponding to the bid target product of the bid management unit 12. In addition to updating to the current bid price, information notifying that the highest bid price of the product targeted for bidding has been presented is output to the result notifying unit 16.
As a result, the result notification unit 16 notifies the terminal device 31 operated by the bidder α that the bidder has become the highest bidder for the product to be bid.
[0025]
The auction apparatus 1 performs the above-described processing of step SP4 each time it receives information on the product to be bid and information on the bid price from each terminal device, that is, from each bidder, and based on this result, the bid management unit 12 The highest bid amount and the highest bidder information for each item to be stored stored in is updated.
By performing such processing by the bid determination unit 13 and the like, the bid management unit 12 stores and manages data indicating the bid status as shown in FIG.
[0026]
Subsequently, if the slot end time is reached (“YES” in step SP5) while performing the processing as described above (steps SP3 to SP4), for example, the product A for which the earliest allocation deadline is set. When the allocation deadline of 8:55 am is reached, the bid determination unit 13 reads the information currently stored in the bid management unit 12, that is, the bid status data shown in FIG. Output to expected price setting unit 14.
[0027]
The expected price setting unit 14 refers to the information managed by the bid management unit 12 and sets an expected price for each product (step SP6).
Hereinafter, an example of an expected price setting method will be described with reference to the bid situation shown in FIG. Here, the case where the expected price about the goods B is set is demonstrated. First, the expected price setting unit 14 determines the number of bids that will be bid from the current time to the end of the slot based on the current number of bids in the product B and the time until the end of the slot (hereinafter referred to as an estimated bid number). ). This is calculated based on a proportional distribution with time. Specifically, consider a case in which the estimated number of bids for the second slot at the time of closing the first slot is obtained. If there is 5 hours from the start of the auction to the deadline until the first slot, and the bidding history for the second slot up to that time is “5”, the slot will end in the remaining one hour, so the number will vary in time. Thus, it is obtained as a calculation result that one bid is one hour. Then, the estimated number of bids “1” is obtained by multiplying the calculation result by the remaining time of 1 hour.
Subsequently, the expected price setting unit 14 calculates an estimated bid amount using the following equation (1).
[0028]
Estimated bid amount = K x Estimated number of bids / (Estimated number of tags + 1) (1)
[0029]
Here, K is an amount determined based on the same or similar auction performance so far. For example, in the same auction held so far, the highest bid amount is set. Or an average value may be sufficient.
Here, K = 1000 yen.
As a result, the estimated bid amount for Product B is
Estimated bid amount = 1000 × 1 / (1 + 1) = 500 yen.
[0030]
Subsequently, the expected price setting unit 14 compares the estimated bid price 500 yen calculated by the above equation (1) with the current highest bid price 600 yen, and sets the higher price as the expected price. As a result, the expected price of the product B is 600 yen.
[0031]
In this way, the expected price setting unit 14 calculates the expected price for each product, and updates the information indicating the bid status shown in FIG. Thereby, the bid management unit 12 stores and manages information indicating the updated bid status.
Subsequently, each expected ward setting unit 14 outputs information indicating the updated bidding status to the successful bidder determination unit 15.
Based on the information received from the expected price setting unit 14, the winning bidder determination unit 15 performs a process of determining the winning bidder related to the product A (step SP7).
[0032]
The winning bidder determination unit 15 first creates a sale combination that is a combination of bids that can sell the target product without excess or deficiency. As a result, the sales combination is as shown in FIG.
That is, a sale combination (A) consisting of individual products “A”, “B”, and “C” to be sold as individual products, and a sale combination (A) consisting of single product “A” and a combination product “B & C”. Sale combination consisting of combination product “A & C” and single product “B” (c), sale combination consisting of combination product “A & B” and single product “C” (d), sale combination consisting of combination product “A & B & C” ( There are five sales combinations.
[0033]
Subsequently, the successful bidder determination unit 15 determines which combination is most profitable from the sales combinations. Specifically, the sum of expected prices for each sale combination is calculated.
[0034]
As a result, the total maximum bid amount for each sale combination becomes an amount as shown in FIG. 5, and the successful bidder determination unit 15 compares these amounts so that the total expected price is the highest among them. A sale combination consisting of a single product “A” indicating “2600 yen” and a combination product “B & C” is selected as a successful bid combination.
Then, among the successful bid combinations, the bidder α who bids the highest bid for the product “A” including the product “A” for which the auction allocation deadline has been reached is determined as the successful bidder, The fact is output to the result notification unit 16.
As a result, the result notification unit 17 transmits a notification that the product A has been successfully bid to the bidder α that has become the winning bidder via the communication network 20 (step SP8).
[0035]
Next, the successful bidder determination unit 15 determines whether all auctions have been completed (step SP9). As a result, since there are still auctions for the products B and C, the process proceeds to step SP10 to accept abstention (step SP10).
In this abstention acceptance process, a process of deleting information on the product already determined by the winning bidder and the information on the combination product including the product among the information stored in the bid management unit 12 is performed. That is, the product A has been determined by the successful bidder, and the combined products “A & B” and “A & B & C” are listed as the combined products including the product “A”. A process for deleting the information is performed. As a result, the information stored in the bid management unit 12 is only information related to the products B and C, which are products other than the product A.
[0036]
When the above processing is completed, the auction for the product A is completed (step SP11), the process returns to step SP3 in FIG. 3, and the auction for the products B and C is continuously performed.
[0037]
When the successful bidder for the product B is determined, the auction for the product B is completed, and when the successful bidder for the product C is determined and the auction for the product C is also ended, “YES” in step SP9. And the auction end process is performed (step SP12). Thereby, the auction relating to the lending of the conference room is ended.
[0038]
In addition to the above-described method, the expected price calculation method includes, for example, a method of determining based on a past bidding history of a product or combination product having the same number of products constituting the product. This is done by, for example, summing the number of bids for each single item “A”, “B”, “C”, and obtaining the estimated bid number based on the total bid number by the same method as described above. This is a technique for calculating an estimated bid amount using the estimated number of bids. Of the estimated bid price and the highest bid price, the higher price is selected as the expected price.
[0039]
Note that a program for realizing the function of the auction apparatus in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into a computer system and executed. Various processes may be executed as necessary.
Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.
[0040]
The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a portable type such as an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk such as MO and MD, a magnetic storage medium such as HDD and FD, and a semiconductor memory such as flash memory. A storage device such as a recording medium or a hard disk built in a computer system.
Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a volatile memory (RAM) in a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In addition, those holding programs for a certain period of time are also included.
[0041]
The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line.
The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, and what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.
[0042]
The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes design and the like within a scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the auction method of the present invention, for a plurality of auction target products whose auction allocation deadlines are different from each other, a bid for allowing a bid for each of the products or a combination product composed of two or more products. An auction method using a computer to perform an auction of a formula, and a bidder who is bidding on the one product or a combination product including the one product every time the auction allocation deadline of the one product is reached From the above, since the winning bidder for one product or a combination product including one product is determined based on a predetermined condition, the seller can obtain the profit by the combination bid and the profit by the bid immediately before the deadline.
[0044]
In addition, according to the auction method of the present invention, since a successful bidder is determined based on an expected price including future profits, it is possible to select a bidder having a large profit as viewed from the seller side as a successful bidder candidate for the product, It is possible to realize an auction that emphasizes the profits of the seller. In addition, since the successful bid is determined based on the expected price in consideration of the profit in the future of the product, it is possible to eliminate inconvenience when allowing the bid for the combined product.
[0045]
Further, according to the auction method of the present invention, the expected price is either the price determined based on the past bidding history for the same product or the same combination of products or the highest bid amount, and thus reflects the past bid. The bid price in the future is estimated and the expected price is set based on the estimated bid price, so even if a product with an allotted deadline is sold, it reflects the profits of the seller in the future of the product. In this way, it is possible to determine a successful bid.
[0046]
Further, according to the auction method of the present invention, the expected price is either the price determined based on the past bidding history of the product or the combination product having the same number of products constituting the product, or the highest bid amount. The bid price in the future is estimated by reflecting past bids, and the expected price is set based on the estimated bid price. Therefore, even if a product with an allotted deadline is sold, It is possible to determine a successful bid in a form that reflects the profits of the other side.
[0047]
In addition, according to the auction method of the present invention, when bidding on a combination product, bidding is permitted only on the combination product made up of products that are temporally continuous with each other, so a very simple auction method can be achieved. Thus, the configuration of the auction apparatus that conducts the auction can be made relatively simple, and the processing time can be shortened.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an auction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view showing an auction target product in the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the auction apparatus according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an example of data showing an auction situation.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sale combination and a total expected price of each sale combination.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Auction apparatus 11 Bid reception part 12 Bid management part 13 Bid determination part 14 Expected price setting part 15 Successful bidder determination part 16 Result notification part 20 Communication network 31-33 Terminal device

Claims (5)

An auction method for conducting a bid-type auction on a computer that allows a bid for each of the products or a combination of two or more products for a plurality of auction target products having different auction allocation deadlines. Because
Wherein each or said combination highest bid price and the expected price according to each of the items of goods, as well as with the computer information bidders presenting the highest bid amount is stored as bid information,
Dynamically assigning an expected price up to an allocation deadline to each of the bid combinations and updating the bid information with the assigned expected price ;
A process of selecting a sale combination having the highest expected price among sale combinations, which is a combination of bids that can be sold without excess or deficiency, based on the updated bid information;
The highest bidder presenting the highest bid amount is read from the bid information for a single product or a combination product that constitutes the selected sale combination, for a product that has reached the allocation deadline, or for a combination product that includes the product. And a process of determining the bidder as a successful bidder. The expected price is stored in the computer, to claim 1, characterized in that one of a price or highest bid price is determined based on the past bid history for the same product or the same combination of products The auction method described. The expected price is either a price or a maximum bid price determined based on a past bidding history of a product or a combination product having the same number of products constituting the product, which is stored in the computer. The auction method according to claim 1 . The auction method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein, when bidding for a combination product, the computer permits bidding only for the combination product composed of products that are temporally continuous with each other. An auction apparatus that performs auction-type auction that allows bidding for each of the products or a combination of two or more products for a plurality of auction target products having different auction allocation deadlines,
A bid management unit that stores and manages the highest bid price and the expected price according to each or each of the combination products of the product, as well as information of bidders presenting the highest bid price as bid information,
An expected price setting means for dynamically assigning an expected price up to an allocation deadline by referring to the bid information for each of the bid combinations;
A winning bidder determination means for determining a winning bidder based on the expected price;
The successful bidder determination means includes:
Based on the bid information, select a sale combination having the highest expected price among sale combinations that are combinations of bids that can be sold without excess or deficiency,
The highest bidder presenting the highest bid amount is read from the bid information for a single product or a combination product that constitutes the selected sale combination, for a product that has reached the allocation deadline, or for a combination product that includes the product. And determining the bidder as a successful bidder.

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