Method and apparatus for transaction brokerage and program recording medium thereof

• US 20040225600A1
• Filed: 06/10/2004
• Published: 11/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Namba, Isao, Onodera, Sachiko, Ochitani, Ryo
• Granted Patent: US 7,328,175 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0619 Neutral agent
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof

Abstract

A transaction brokerage method is for brokering a transaction between an information transmitting terminal and an information receiving terminal. The transaction brokerage method includes: registering a plurality of the information receiving terminals in advance; receiving a transaction request transmitted from the information transmitting terminal, the transaction request including the expiration time of the transaction request; selecting one or more of the registered information receiving terminals which are within a predetermined range from the information transmitting terminal as the recipients of the transaction request and transmitting the transaction request to the selected one or more information receiving terminals; receiving transaction acceptances from the information receiving terminals; regarding one or more of the transaction acceptances which have been received within the expiration time included in the transaction request as valid transaction acceptances and transmitting only the valid transaction acceptances to the information transmitting terminal; receiving a transaction possible or impossible indication from the information transmitting terminal; and transmitting the transaction possible or impossible indication to the information receiving terminals.

Claims

1. A transaction brokerage method for brokering a transaction between an information transmitting terminal and information receiving terminal connected through a transaction brokerage apparatus, the method comprising:

registering a plurality of the information receiving terminals in advance;

receiving a transaction request transmitted from the information transmitting terminal, the transaction request including expiration time of the transaction request;

selecting one or more of the information receiving terminals which are within a predetermined range from the information transmitting terminal from the registered information receiving terminals as one or more recipients of the transaction request, and transmitting the transaction request to the selected one or more information receiving terminals;

receiving transaction acceptances from the information receiving terminals;

regarding one or more of the transaction acceptances which have been received within the expiration time included in the transaction request as valid transaction acceptances, and transmitting only the valid transaction acceptances to the information transmitting terminal;

receiving a transaction possible or impossible indication from the information transmitting terminal; and

transmitting the transaction possible or impossible indication to the information receiving terminals.

2. The transaction brokerage method according to claim 1,

wherein the transaction acceptance includes expiration time of the transaction acceptance, and

wherein one or more of the transaction possible or impossible indications which are received within the expiration time included in the transaction acceptance are regarded as valid transaction possible or impossible indications, and only the valid transaction possible or impossible indications are transmitted to the information receiving terminals.

3. The transaction brokerage method according to claim 1,

wherein the transaction request includes a condition for receiving the transaction request,

wherein the information receiving terminals are registered together with individual information of the information receiving terminals, and

wherein information receiving terminals which meet the condition for receiving a transaction request included in the transaction request and are within a predetermined range form the information transmitting terminal are selected as the recipients.

4. The transaction brokerage method according to claim 1,

wherein the transaction request includes an upper limit of the number of information receiving terminals, and

wherein the transaction request is transmitted to a number of the information receiving terminals, the number being less than or equal to the upper limit included in the transaction request.

5. The transaction brokerage method according to claim 1,

wherein the transaction request includes a request to the information receiving terminal for disclosure of individual information of the information receiving terminal as a prerequisite;

and

wherein the transaction acceptances are transmitted to the information transmitting terminal only when the transaction acceptances includes permission for disclosure of the individual information of the information receiving terminals.

6. The transaction brokerage method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a receiving denial indication and expiration time of the receiving denial indication transmitted from the information receiving terminal; and

excluding information receiving terminals which have transmitted the receiving denial indication from the recipients of the transaction request within the expiration time of the receiving denial indication.

7. The transaction brokerage method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a transaction suspension indication transmitted from the information transmitting terminal; and

terminating processing of the transaction request transmitted from the information transmitting terminal which has transmitted the transaction suspension indication.

8. A transaction brokerage apparatus for brokering a transaction between an information transmitting terminal and information receiving terminal, the apparatus comprising:

a transaction transmission and reception unit to receive a transaction request including expiration time of the transaction request from the information transmitting terminal, transmit the transaction request to the information receiving terminal, receive a transaction acceptance including expiration time of the transaction acceptance from the information receiving terminal, transmit the transaction acceptance to the information transmitting terminal, and receive a transaction possible or impossible indication from the information transmitting terminal;

a terminal registration database to register a plurality of the information receiving terminals and individual information of the information receiving terminals;

a position information detecting unit to obtain position information of the information transmitting terminals and information receiving terminals;

a recipient selection unit to select one or more of the information receiving terminals registered in the terminal registration database as one or more of recipient of the transaction request, and select one or more of the selected information receiving terminals based on the position information of the information transmitting terminal and information receiving terminals; and

a transaction management unit to control the transaction transmission and receiving unit to transmit the transaction request to the information receiving terminals selected by the recipient selecting unit, regard transaction acceptances received within the expiration time of the transaction request as valid transaction acceptances, transmit only the valid transaction acceptances to the information transmitting terminal, regard transaction possible or impossible indications received within the expiration time of the transaction acceptance as valid transaction possible or impossible indications, and transmit only the valid transaction possible or impossible indications to the transaction information receiving terminals.

9. A transaction brokerage program for realizing a transaction brokerage apparatus for brokering a transaction between an information transmitting terminal and information receiving terminal, wherein the program causes a computer to execute:

registering a plurality of the information receiving terminals in advance;

receiving a transaction request transmitted from the information transmitting terminal, the transaction request including expiration time of the transaction request;

selecting one or more of the information receiving terminals which are within a predetermined range from the information transmitting terminal as one or more of recipient of the transaction request, and transmitting the transaction request to the selected information receiving terminals;

receiving transaction acceptances from the information receiving terminals;

regarding one or more of the transaction acceptances which have been received within the expiration time included in the transaction request as valid transaction acceptances, and transmitting only the valid transaction acceptances to the information transmitting terminal;

receiving a transaction possible or impossible indication from the information transmitting terminal; and

transmitting the transaction possible or impossible indication to the information receiving terminals.

10. A computer-readable program recording medium recording a transaction brokerage program for realizing a transaction brokerage apparatus for brokering a transaction between an information transmitting terminal and information receiving terminal wherein the program causes the computer to execute:

registering a plurality of the information receiving terminals in advance;

receiving a transaction request transmitted from the information transmitting terminal, the transaction request including expiration time of the transaction request;

selecting one or more of the information receiving terminals which are within a predetermined range from the information transmitting terminal as one or more of recipient of the transaction request, and transmitting the transaction request to the selected information receiving terminals;

receiving transaction acceptances from the information receiving terminals;

regarding one or more of the transaction acceptances which have been received within the expiration time included in the transaction request as valid transaction acceptances, and transmitting only the valid transaction acceptances to the information transmitting terminal;

receiving a transaction possible or impossible indication from the information transmitting terminal; and

transmitting the transaction possible or impossible indication to the information receiving terminals.