System and method for an efficient dynamic multi-unit auction

• US 7,467,111 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2007
• Issued: 12/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Efficient Auctions, LLC
• Original Assignee: Efficient Auctions, LLC
• Inventors: Ausubel, Lawrence M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dass; Harish T
• Application Number:
  US11/622,660
• Publication Number:
  US 20070124233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 704 Days
• Field of Search: 705 36 R- 38, 705/14, 705/26, 283/67
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0212 Chance discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

The present invention implements an auction in which multiple types of goods may be auctioned in a dynamic process. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is a system and method for a computer implemented dynamic multi-unit auction in which the price paid or received by bidders tends to be independent of their own bids, in which participants may be provided with information concerning their competitors'"'"' bids as the auction progresses, and in which the confidentiality of high values may be maintained. Participants'"'"' quantities bid at a given time may be restricted to be less than or equal to the quantities bid at an earlier time. These features provide the advantage of improving economic efficiency of the auction design over the prior art.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method useful in enabling a bidder in an auction of two or more types of items to vary its bidding among the items within a group of items offered in said auction, said group of items including two or more said types of items, where price-related information is provided to bidders and bid-related information is received from bidders, each on plural occasions, said method comprising:

providing price-related information, including a price for each said type of item within said group of two or more said types of items, to at least one bidder at two or more times including at least one time subsequent to receiving bid-related information from said bidder,

receiving bid-related information, including a quantity for each said type of item within said group of types of items, from said bidder, an instance of said receiving occurring after an instance of said providing, and

applying, at a computer, a constraint to the bid-related information on a plurality of occasions to require, on each occasion, that a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items is no greater than a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items contained in bid-related information received from said bidder at an earlier time in the auction.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the group of types of items is all of the types of items in the auction.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the group of types of items is smaller than all of the types of items in the auction.

4. A computer-implemented method useful in enabling a bidder in an auction of two or more types of items to vary its bidding among the items within a group of items offered in said auction, said group of items including two or more said types of items, where price-related information is provided to bidders and bid-related information is received from bidders, each on plural occasions, said method comprising:

providing price-related information, including a price for each said type of item within said group of two or more said types of items, to at least one bidder at two or more times including at least one time subsequent to receiving bid-related information from said bidder, said price for at least one type of item increasing from one time to another time,

receiving bid-related information, including a quantity for each said type of item within said group of types of items, from said bidder, an instance of said receiving occurring after an instance of said providing, and

applying, at a computer, a constraint to the bid-related information on a plurality of occasions to require, on each occasion, that a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items is no greater than a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items contained in bid-related information received from said bidder associated with lower prices in the auction.

5. A method as recited in claim 4 wherein the group of types of items is all of the types of items in the auction.

6. A method as recited in claim 4 wherein the group of types of items is smaller than all of the types of items in the auction.

7. A computer-implemented method useful in enabling a bidder in an auction of two or more types of items to vary its bidding among the items within a group of items offered in said auction, said group of items including two or more said types of items, where price-related information is provided to bidders and bid-related information is received from bidders, each on plural occasions, said method comprising:

providing price-related information, including a price for each said type of item within said group of two or more said types of items, to at least one bidder at two or more times including at least one time subsequent to receiving bid-related information from said bidder, said price for at least one type of item decreasing from one time to another time,

receiving bid-related information, including a quantity for each said type of item within said group of types of items, from said bidder, an instance of said receiving occurring after an instance of said providing, and

applying, at a computer, a constraint to the bid-related information on a plurality of occasions to require, on each occasion, that a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items is no greater than a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items contained in bid-related information received from said bidder associated with higher prices in the auction.

8. A method as recited in claim 7 wherein the group of types of items is all of the types of items in the auction.

9. A method as recited in claim 7 wherein the group of types of items is smaller than all of the types of items in the auction.

10. A computer system useful in enabling a bidder in an auction of two or more types of items to vary its bidding among the items within a group of items offered in said auction, said group of items including two or more said types of items, where price-related information is provided to bidders and bid-related information is received from bidders, each on plural occasions, said system comprising:

means for providing price-related information, including a price for each said type of item within said group of two or more said types of items, to at least one bidder at two or more times including at least one time subsequent to receiving bid-related information from said bidder,

means for receiving bid-related information, including a quantity for each said type of item within said group of types of items, from said bidder, an instance of said receiving occurring after an instance of said providing, and

means for applying a constraint to the bid-related information on a plurality of occasions to require, on each occasion, that a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items is no greater than a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items contained in bid-related information received from said bidder at an earlier time in the auction.

11. A system as recited in claim 10 wherein the group of types of items is all of the types of items in the auction.

12. A system as recited in claim 10 wherein the group of types of items is smaller than all of the types of items in the auction.

13. A computer system useful in enabling a bidder in an auction of two or more types of items to vary its bidding among the items within a group of items offered in said auction, said group of items including two or more said types of items, where price-related information is provided to bidders and bid-related information is received from bidders, each on plural occasions, said system comprising:

means for providing price-related information, including a price for each said type of item within said group of two or more said types of items, to at least one bidder at two or more times including at least one time subsequent to receiving bid-related information from said bidder, said price for at least one type of item increasing from one time to another time,

means for receiving bid-related information, including a quantity for each said type of item within said group of types of items, from said bidder, an instance of said receiving occurring after an instance of said providing, and

means for applying a constraint to the bid-related information on a plurality of occasions to require, on each occasion, that a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items is no greater than a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items contained in bid-related information received from said bidder associated with lower prices in the auction.

14. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein the group of types of items is all of the types of items in the auction.

15. A system as recited in claim 13 wherein the group of types of items is smaller than all of the types of items in the auction.

16. A computer system useful in enabling a bidder in an auction of two or more types of items to vary its bidding among the items within a group of items offered in said auction, said group of items including two or more said types of items, where price-related information is provided to bidders and bid-related information is received from bidders, each on plural occasions, said computer system comprising:

means for providing price-related information, including a price for each said type of item within said group of two or more said types of items, to at least one bidder at two or more times including at least one time subsequent to receiving bid-related information from said bidder, said price for at least one type of item decreasing from one time to another time,

means for receiving bid-related information, including a quantity for each said type of item within said group of types of items, from said bidder, an instance of said receiving occurring after an instance of said providing, and

means for applying a constraint to the bid-related information on a plurality of occasions to require, on each occasion, that a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items is no greater than a sum of the quantities over said group of types of items contained in bid-related information received from said bidder associated with higher prices in the auction.

17. A system as recited in claim 16 wherein the group of types of items is all of the types of items in the auction.

18. A system as recited in claim 16 wherein the group of types of items is smaller than all of the types of items in the auction.

19. A computer-implemented method useful in enabling a bidder in an auction of two or more types of items to vary its bidding among the items within a group of items offered in said auction, said group of items including two or more said types of items, where price-related information is provided to bidders and bid-related information is received from bidders, each on plural occasions, said auction including an activity rule, said method comprising:

providing price-related information, including a price for each said type of item within said group of two or more said types of items, to at least one bidder at two or more times including at least one time subsequent to receiving bid-related information from said bidder,

receiving bid-related information, including a quantity for each said type of item within said group of types of items, from said bidder, an instance of said receiving occurring after an instance of said providing, and

checking, at a computer, on each of plural occasions, whether the bid-related information is consistent with the activity rule of the auction, where said activity rule allows a bidder to vary its bidding among the items within said group of items.

20. A method as recited in claim 19 wherein the group of types of items is all of the types of items in the auction.

21. A method as recited in claim 19 wherein the group of types of items is smaller than all of the types of items in the auction.

22. A computer system useful in enabling a bidder in an auction of two or more types of items to vary its bidding among the items within a group of items offered in said auction, said group of items including two or more said types of items, where price-related information is provided to bidders and bid-related information is received from bidders, each on plural occasions, said auction including an activity rule, said computer system comprising:

means for providing price-related information, including a price for each said type of item within said group of two or more said types of items, to at least one bidder at two or more times including at least one time subsequent to receiving bid-related information from said bidder,

means for receiving bid-related information, including a quantity for each said type of item within said group of types of items, from said bidder, an instance of said receiving occurring after an instance of said providing, and

means for checking, on each of plural occasions, whether the bid-related information is consistent with the activity rule of the auction, where said activity rule allows a bidder to vary its bidding among the items within said group of items.

23. A system as recited in claim 22 wherein the group of types of items is all of the types of items in the auction.

24. A system as recited in claim 22 wherein the group of types of items is smaller than all of the types of items in the auction.

25. A computer readable medium supporting a sequence of instructions which, when executed, implement a method useful in enabling a bidder in an auction of two or more types of items to vary its bidding among the items within a group of items offered in said auction, said group of items including two or more said types of items, where price-related information is provided to bidders and bid-related information is provided to bidders, each on plural occasions, said auction including an activity rule, said method comprising:

providing price-related information, including a price for each said type of item within said group of two or more said types of items, to at least one bidder at two or more times including at least one time subsequent to receiving bid-related information from said bidder,

receiving bid-related information, including a quantity for each said type of item within said group of types of items, from said bidder, an instance of said receiving occurring after an instance of said providing, and

checking, on each of plural occasions, whether the bid-related information is consistent with an activity rule of the auction, where said activity rule allows a bidder to vary its bidding among the items within said group of items.

26. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 25 wherein the group of types of items is all of the types of items in the auction.

27. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 25 wherein the group of types of items is smaller than all of the types of items in the auction.