Transaction Arbiter System and Method
First Claim
1. A system for processing arbitrated price quote transactions over a network from at least one merchant in response to a request for quote (RFQ) by at least one customer, comprising:
- a customer input device;
a merchant database; and
a transaction arbiter processing component in communication over the network with the customer input device and the merchant database via a remote host computer system, the transaction arbiter processing component storing at least one of algorithms and executable instructions that when executed perform a method comprising the steps of;
(a) receiving, over the network, RFQ data for a product or service generated from the customer input device, the RFQ data including parameters specified from the at least one customer;
(b) communicating, via the remote host computer system with the merchant database;
(c) inputting, via the remote host computer system, at least one of merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters from at least one merchant, and storing the merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters into the merchant database, the merchant data including information on the merchant and at least one of products and services available from at least one merchant, the merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters further describing how a given merchant will respond to at least one of merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters from at least one other merchant, in response to the parameters specified in the customer'"'"'s RFQ;
(d) interrogating, by the transaction arbiter processing component, and identifying at least one of merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters stored in the merchant database satisfying the parameters of the customer RFQ, and the transaction arbiter processing component performing at least one of;
interacting with, processing, and executing a sequence of at least one of algorithms, permutations and calculations using the identified merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters;
(e) generating, by the transaction arbiter processing component, an arbitrated price quote result satisfying the RFQ parameters;
(f) communicating, from the transaction arbiter processing component over the network, the arbitrated price quote result to the customer input device; and
(g) receiving, by the customer input device over the network, the arbitrated price quote result from the transaction arbiter processing component in response to the RFQ parameters.
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Abstract
A transaction arbiter system and method is disclosed which incorporates a merchant function database under control of a transaction arbiter that permits merchants to interact in an automated way with bids generated by other merchants. Rather than utilizing fixed price schedules as taught by the prior art, the present invention permits each merchant to define a set of functions which describe how the merchant will respond to a customer request-for-quote for a given product or service. These merchant functions interact with both the customer request-for-quote and the results of other merchant functions to generate a dynamic real-time bidding system which integrates competition among merchant bidders to achieve an optimal consumer price for a given product or service.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for processing arbitrated price quote transactions over a network from at least one merchant in response to a request for quote (RFQ) by at least one customer, comprising:
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a customer input device; a merchant database; and a transaction arbiter processing component in communication over the network with the customer input device and the merchant database via a remote host computer system, the transaction arbiter processing component storing at least one of algorithms and executable instructions that when executed perform a method comprising the steps of; (a) receiving, over the network, RFQ data for a product or service generated from the customer input device, the RFQ data including parameters specified from the at least one customer; (b) communicating, via the remote host computer system with the merchant database; (c) inputting, via the remote host computer system, at least one of merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters from at least one merchant, and storing the merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters into the merchant database, the merchant data including information on the merchant and at least one of products and services available from at least one merchant, the merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters further describing how a given merchant will respond to at least one of merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters from at least one other merchant, in response to the parameters specified in the customer'"'"'s RFQ; (d) interrogating, by the transaction arbiter processing component, and identifying at least one of merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters stored in the merchant database satisfying the parameters of the customer RFQ, and the transaction arbiter processing component performing at least one of;
interacting with, processing, and executing a sequence of at least one of algorithms, permutations and calculations using the identified merchant data, bidding functions and limiting parameters;(e) generating, by the transaction arbiter processing component, an arbitrated price quote result satisfying the RFQ parameters; (f) communicating, from the transaction arbiter processing component over the network, the arbitrated price quote result to the customer input device; and (g) receiving, by the customer input device over the network, the arbitrated price quote result from the transaction arbiter processing component in response to the RFQ parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for operating a wide range of applications comprising:
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a computing device connecting to at least one of a wireless communication network, a wired communication network, a cellular communication network, a base site controller (BCS) a computer network and Internet, wherein the computing device is arranged to generate a user interface and is operated through an operating system and is arranged to implement a web browser, the computing device being configured to operate at least one software program to gather and disseminate at least one of information, data and voice to facilitate high speed networking and transmission of speech and product data wirelessly in real-time, and to implement an internet based search engine; a server connecting to the computing device; a multifunctional mobile hand held input device connecting to the server; and at least one of a transaction arbiter processing component, a transaction arbiter software, a transaction arbiter application, a mobile application, mobile computing software, mobile computing hardware, mobile system software, and a mobile operation system. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A multipurpose portable handheld electronic device, comprising:
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a device housing; a multifunctional interactive display screen provided on the device housing; a central processing unit residing in the device housing and being configured to implement an operating system to perform at least one of synchronizing information, generating instructions and commands and running at least one of web browser applications and software applications; a graphics processing unit residing in the device housing, and being configured to generate at least one of an interactive graphical user interface on the display screen and a video or graphic commercial advertisement; a communication module residing in the device housing being configured to generate a networking interface to transmit and receive data, over the network having flexibility of data formats and protocols, between the device and the system for processing one or more functions comprising at least one of arbitrated price quote transactions, voice, SQL and HTTP; at least one data scanning device being configured to obtain at least one of a product identifier conforming with a product or service to be purchased or searched by a user of the customer input device and information; a positioning device configured to provide and relay location of the electronic device, wherein a request for information includes an indication of the location of the customer input device; at least one memory operatively connected to the main processing unit, wherein the memory stores one or more applications or programs wherein the programs are configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for at least one of; displaying a document on the interactive screen display wherein the electronic document includes a plurality of user input elements that include a respective user input element and performing at least one of several functions; detecting a first input that corresponds to selection of the respective user input element, wherein the respective user input element is displayed with text that corresponds to the respective user input element wherein the input interface includes a plurality of text input choices for entering text into the respective user input element; performing the functionality of at least one of a PDA, a cell phone, a personal shopping assistant, a transceiver, a credit card reader, a point of sale, and a computer; generating data for a product or service, wherein the data includes parameters specified from the user; sending the parameters to a processing component; and receiving from the processing component a processed result satisfying the parameters. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification