Method and system for controlling closing times of electronic auctions involving multiple lots

• US 6,230,146 B1
• Filed: 02/19/1999
• Issued: 05/08/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ariba Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: FreeMarkets Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Stevens, Robert G., Becker, David J., Rago, Vincent F., Rupp, William D., Heckmann, Daniel C., Bernard, Anthony F., Kinney, Sam E. Jr., Meakem, Glen T., Roberts, Frederick W., Alaia, Marc, Reneau, Jason
• Primary Examiner(s): Millin, Vincent
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, JAGDISH
• Application Number:
  US09/252,790
• Time in Patent Office: 809 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/37, 705/1, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A method and system for conducting electronic auctions is described. A dynamic lot closing extension feature avoids collisions in closing times of multiple lots by dynamically extending the closing time of a subsequent lot if a preceding lot'"'"'s closing time is extended to be too close to the subsequent lot'"'"'s then-currently scheduled closing time. Scheduled closing times can be extended with a flexible overtime feature, in which the properties of the event triggering the extension and the duration of the overtime period(s) can be tailored to a particular auction, particular lots of products within an auction, and to the particular time within an auction process. The bidding status of a lot can be set to a “pending” status after the nominal closing time for submission of bids to allow bidders to alert the auction coordinator of technical problems in submission of bids. This allows the possibility for a lot to be return to open status for further bidding by all bidders. The auction may be paused by the auction coordinator to correct technical, market and miscellaneous problems that may arise during the course of an auction. Individual bid ceilings can be set for each bidder so that they are required to bid lower than certain thresholds determined in advance of the auction. Failsafe error detection is performed to prevent erroneous bids from entering the auction. The auction coordinator has the ability to override any erroneous bids that are entered to prevent prejudice to the auction.

Claims

1. A method of controlling closing times in an electronic auction, comprising:

(a) setting a first closing time for a first lot and a second closing time for a second lot;

(b) determining whether an overtime trigger condition occurs prior to said first closing time, and if so, adding a first overtime interval to said first closing time;

(c) calculating a first time interval between said extended first closing time and said second closing time;

(d) determining whether said first time interval is less than a second time interval; and

(e) extending said second closing time in accordance with step (d).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said second time interval represents a minimum time interval between said first and second closing times.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (e) comprises adding a second overtime interval to said second closing time.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said first overtime interval is equal to said second overtime interval.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein said first overtime interval is different from said second overtime interval.

6. A method of controlling closing times in an electronic auction, comprising:

(a) setting a first closing time for a first lot and a second closing time for a second lot;

(b) determining whether an overtime trigger condition occurs prior to said first closing time, wherein said overtime condition is at least one of a group comprising a ranking criterion, a quality criterion and a bid group characteristic;

(c) adding a first overtime interval to said first closing time;

(d) determining whether to extend said second closing time based on said extended first closing time; and

(e) extending said second closing time in accordance with step (d).

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said ranking criterion is at least one of a group comprising a best bid and a predetermined rank from said best bid.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said quality criterion is at least one of a group comprising a bid price, a bid price within a predetermined absolute difference from a best bid price, a bid price within a predetermined percentage difference from said best bid price, and a bid from an incumbent potential bidder.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein said bid group characteristic comprises at least one of a group comprising an increase in frequency of bids, a statistical analysis of bid prices received from a group of potential bidders and a statistical analysis of bid prices received from one potential bidder.

10. A machine-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to control closing times in an electronic auction, by performing:

(a) setting a first closing time for a first lot and a second closing time for a second lot;

(b) determining whether an overtime trigger condition occurs prior to said first closing time, and if so, adding a first overtime interval to said first closing time;

(c) calculating a first time interval between said extended first closing time and said second closing time;

(d) determining whether said first time interval is less than a second time interval; and

(e) extending said second closing time in accordance with (d).

11. The machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein said second time interval represents a minimum time interval between said first and second closing times.

12. The machine-readable medium of claim 10, wherein step (e) comprises adding a second overtime interval to said second closing time.

13. The machine-readable medium of claim 12, wherein said first overtime interval is equal to said second overtime interval.

14. The machine-readable medium of claim 12, wherein said first overtime interval is different from said second overtime interval.

15. A machine-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to control closing times in an electronic auction, by performing:

(a) setting a first closing time for a first lot and a second closing time for a second lot;

(b) determining whether an overtime trigger condition occurs prior to said first closing time, wherein said overtime condition is at least one of a group comprising a ranking criterion, a quality criterion and a bid group characteristic;

(c) adding a first overtime interval to said first closing time;

(d) determining whether to extend said second closing time based on said extended first closing time; and

(e) extending said second closing time in accordance with (d).

16. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein said ranking criterion is at least one of a group comprising a best bid and a predetermined rank from said best bid.

17. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein said quality criterion is at least one of a group comprising a bid price, a bid price within a predetermined absolute difference from a best bid price, a bid price within a predetermined percentage difference from said best bid price, and a bid from an incumbent potential bidder.

18. The machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein said bid group characteristic comprises at least one of a group comprising an increase in frequency of bids, a statistical analysis of bid prices received from a group of potential bidders and a statistical analysis of bid prices received from one potential bidder.

19. A machine-readable medium whose contents cause a computer system to control closing times in an electronic auction, by performing:

(a) setting a first closing time for a first lot and a second closing time for a second lot;

(b) extending said first closing time;

(c) determining whether to extend said second closing time based on said extended first closing time;

(d) extending said second closing time in accordance with said determination;

(e) setting a third closing time for a third lot;

(f) determining whether to extend said third closing time based on said extended second closing time; and

(g) extending said third closing time in accordance with said step (f).

20. A method to control closing times in an electronic auction, comprising the steps of:

(a) offering a first and a second lot, defined at least in part by a buyer, to a plurality of potential sellers, said first and second lots having at least one product;

(b) defining a closing time for said first lot before which bids for said first lot are to be submitted by potential sellers;

(c) defining a closing time for said second lot before which bids for said second lot must be submitted by a potential seller, said closing time for said second lot being later than said closing time for said first lot by a first time interval;

(d) receiving bids from potential sellers for said first lot;

(e) extending said closing time of said first lot by an incremental amount of time upon the occurrence of a predetermined lot extension criterion relating to said received bids; and

(f) extending said closing time of said second lot if said extended closing time of said first lot precedes said closing time of said second lot by less than a second time interval.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein step (e) comprises the step of determining whether a received bid is better than the best of the previously received bids.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein step (e) comprises the step of determining whether a received bid is the lowest bid.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein step (e) comprises the step of determining if a received bid is within a predetermined amount of a preceding bid.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein step (e) comprises the step of determining whether a bid is received within a third time interval of said first lot closing time.

25. The method of claim 20, further including the steps of:

offering a third lot to the plurality of potential sellers;

defining a closing time for said third lot before which bids for said third lot must be submitted by a potential seller, said closing time for said third lot being later than said closing time for said second lot by a fourth time interval;

determining whether said extended closing time of said second lot precedes said closing time of said third lot by less than a fifth time interval; and

, if so,

extending said closing time of said third lot.

26. A method to control closing times in an electronic auction, comprising the steps of:

(a) offering a plurality of lots, defined at least in part by a buyer, to a plurality of potential sellers, each of said plurality of lots having at least one product;

(b) defining a closing time for each of said plurality of lots, wherein a closing time for a lot defines a time before which bids for the lot are to be submitted by a potential seller;

(c) upon the extension of a closing time for a first lot, determining whether a closing time for a second lot is within a predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said first lot; and

(d) if the closing time for said second lot is within a predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said first lot, extending said closing time of said second lot such that the time between the extended closing time of said second lot and the extended closing time of said first lot is at least said predefined time interval.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising the steps of:

upon the extension of a closing time for said second lot, determining whether a closing time for a third lot is within said predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said second lot; and

if the closing time for said third lot is within a predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said second lot, extending said closing time of said third lot such that the time between the extended closing time of said third lot and the extended closing time of said second lot is at least said predefined time interval.

28. A computer program product for enabling a processor in a computer system to control closing times in an electronic auction, said computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for causing an application program to execute on the computer system, said computer readable program code means comprising;

a first computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to offer a first and a second lot, defined at least in part by a buyer, to a plurality of potential sellers, said first and second lots having at least one product;

a second computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to define a closing time for said first lot before which bids for said first lot are to be submitted by potential sellers;

a third computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to define a closing time for said second lot before which bids for said second lot must be submitted by a potential seller, said closing time for said second lot being later than said closing time for said first lot by a first time interval;

a fourth computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to receive bids from potential sellers for said first lot;

a fifth computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to extend said closing time of said first lot by an incremental amount of time upon the occurrence of a predetermined lot extension criterion relating to said received bids; and

a sixth computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to extend said closing time of said second lot if said extended closing time of said first lot precedes said closing time of said second lot by less than a second time interval.

29. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein said fifth computer readable program code means comprises computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to determine whether a received bid is better than the best of the previously received bids.

30. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein said fifth computer readable program code means comprises computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to determine whether a received bid is the lowest bid.

31. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein said fifth computer readable program code means comprises computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to determine if a received bid is within a predetermined amount of a preceding bid.

32. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein said fifth computer readable program code means comprises computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to determine whether a bid is received within a third time interval of said first lot closing time.

33. The computer program product of claim 28, further comprising:

a seventh computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to offer a third lot to the plurality of potential sellers;

an eighth computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to define a closing time for said third lot before which bids for said third lot must be submitted by a potential seller, said closing time for said third lot being later than said closing time for said second lot by a fourth time interval;

a ninth computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to determine whether said extended closing time of said second lot precedes said closing time of said third lot by less than a fifth time interval; and

, if so,

a tenth computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to extend said closing time of said third lot.

34. A computer program product for enabling a processor in a computer system to control closing times in an electronic auction, said computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for causing an application program to execute on the computer system, said computer readable program code means comprising;

a first computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to offer a plurality of lots, defined at least in part by a buyer, to a plurality of potential sellers, each of said plurality of lots having at least one product;

a second computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to defining a closing time for each of said plurality of lots, wherein a closing time for a lot defines a time before which bids for the lot are to be submitted by a potential seller;

a third computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to determine whether a closing time for a second lot is within a predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said first lot, upon the extension of a closing time for a first lot; and

if the closing time for said second lot is within a predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said first lot, a fourth computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to extend said closing time of said second lot such that the time between the extended closing time of said second lot and the extended closing time of said first lot is at least said predefined time interval.

35. The computer program product of claim 34, further comprising:

a fifth computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to determine whether a closing time for a third lot is within said predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said second lot, upon the extension of a closing time for said second lot; and

if the closing time for said third lot is within a predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said second lot, a sixth computer readable program code means for enabling the computer system to extend said closing time of said third lot such that the time between the extended closing time of said third lot and the extended closing time of said second lot is at least said predefined time interval.

36. A system to control closing times in an electronic auction, comprising:

means for offering a first and a second lot, defined at least in part by a buyer, to a plurality of potential sellers, said first and second lots having at least one product;

means for defining a closing time for said first lot before which bids for said first lot are to be submitted by potential sellers;

means for defining a closing time for said second lot before which bids for said second lot must be submitted by a potential seller, said closing time for said second lot being later than said closing time for said first lot by a first time interval;

means for receiving bids from potential sellers for said first lot;

means for extending said closing time of said first lot by an incremental amount of time upon the occurrence of a predetermined lot extension criterion relating to said received bids; and

means for extending said closing time of said second lot if said extended closing time of said first lot precedes said closing time of said second lot by less than a second time interval.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein said means for extending said closing time of said first lot determines whether a received bid is better than the best of the previously received bids.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein said means for extending said closing time of said first lot determines whether a received bid is the lowest bid.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein said means for extending said closing time of said first lot determines if a received bid is within a predetermined amount of a preceding bid.

40. The system of claim 36, wherein said means for extending said closing time of said first lot determines whether a bid is received within a third time interval of said first lot closing time.

41. The system of claim 36, further comprising:

means for offering a third lot to the plurality of potential sellers;

means for defining a closing time for said third lot before which bids for said third lot must be submitted by a potential seller, said closing time for said third lot being later than said closing time for said second lot by a fourth time interval;

means for determining whether said extended closing time of said second lot precedes said closing time of said third lot by less than a fifth time interval; and

, if so,

means for extending said closing time of said third lot.

42. A system to control closing times in an electronic auction, comprising:

means for offering a plurality of lots, defined at least in part by a buyer, to a plurality of potential sellers, each of said plurality of lots having at least one product;

means for defining a closing time for each of said plurality of lots, wherein a closing time for a lot defines a time before which bids for the lot are to be submitted by a potential seller;

upon the extension of a closing time for a first lot, means for determining whether a closing time for a second lot is within a predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said first lot; and

if the closing time for said second lot is within a predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said first lot, means for extending said closing time of said second lot such that the time between the extended closing time of said second lot and the extended closing time of said first lot is at least said predefined time interval.

43. The system of claim 42, further comprising:

upon the extension of a closing time for said second lot, means for determining whether a closing time for a third lot is within said predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said second lot; and

if the closing time for said third lot is within a predefined time interval from the extended closing time of said second lot, means for extending said closing time of said third lot such that the time between the extended closing time of said third lot and the extended closing time of said second lot is at least said predefined time interval.