Computer-aided auctioning method and auctioning system

• US 8,756,143 B1
• Filed: 11/27/2000
• Issued: 06/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital CE Patent Holdings SAS (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Swisscom AG (Government of Switzerland)
• Inventors: Ritter, Rudolf
• Primary Examiner(s): Akintola, Olabode
• Application Number:
  US10/130,304
• Time in Patent Office: 4,950 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 40
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

A computer-based auction method and auction system in which vendors offer products, services and/or information as auction objects, auction object data relating to the auction objects being captured in an input module and being disseminated over telecommunications channels, and in which interested customers make auction bids for offered auction objects, bid data being prepared and being sent over a telecommunications network to an evaluation unit, where they are evaluated and the best bid for the auction object is determined, class designations based on a predefined object classification being inserted into the auction object data and the auction object data being filtered based on customer-specific object profiles, and during the preparation of the bid data in the communication terminal of the customer a bid amount entered by the interested customer is linked to at least certain data contained in the auction object data.

Claims

1. A computer-based auction method for preparing auction bids on auction objects that are for sale, the method performed on an offer unit, a communication terminal operated by a customer, and a evaluation device, comprising:

entering offer data at an input device of the offer unit, by entering data on an offer of an auction object that is for sale by auction, by entering class designation corresponding to the auction object based on a predefined object classification scheme by selecting a product segment that fits the auction object from a object classification table that is available at the offer unit, and by entering auction data including auction method and minimum sales price for the auction;

generating auction offer data at the offer unit as a unified data packet for each auction including the offer data specifying the offer of the auction object, the class designation corresponding to the auction object, and the auction data;

transmitting the unified data packet with the auction offer data from a transmission device of the offer unit to the communication terminal of the customer;

filtering at the communication terminal the auction offer data based on a customer-specific profile that corresponds to the customer to generate customer-specific offer data from the unified data packet including information on customer-specific auction objects, the filtering performed by a filter unit that stores the customer-specific profile at the communication terminal;

entering a bid including a bid amount for at least one auction object of the customer-specific offer data at the communication terminal, the at least one auction object identified by the customer;

linking the bid amount, information on the identified at least one auction object, and an identification information of the bidding customer to form customer bid data with a linking module of the communication terminal;

sending the customer bid data from the communication terminal to the evaluation device via a cellular phone network;

evaluating the bid at the evaluation device and generating a message with an outcome of the bidding; and

sending the message with the outcome of the bidding from the evaluation device to the offer unit.

2. The computer-based auction method according to claim 1, further comprising:

displaying information related to the at least one auction object of the customer-specific offer data with the communication terminal to allow identification of the at least one auction object by the customer.

3. The computer-based auction method according to claim 1, further comprising:

reading the identification information of the bidding customer form a storage unit in the communication terminal of the customer.

4. The computer-based auction method according to claim 1, generating a check sum from the auction offer data, and including the check sum into the auction offer data, before transmitting the auction offer data.

5. The computer-based auction method according to claim 4, verifying the check sum of the auction offer data after said step of transmitting the auction offer data to detect transmission errors.

6. The computer-based auction method according to claim 1, wherein said step of entering offer data includes:

entering at least one of a duration of the auction, and a geographic area of the auction.

7. The computer-based auction method according to claim 1, wherein the identification information of the bidding customer is stored in the communication terminal in a removable identification module.

8. The computer-based auction method according to claim 7, wherein the removable identification module stores the customer-specific profile.

9. The computer-based auction method according to claim 1, wherein said step of entering offer data includes entering identification data that identifies a vendor of the auction object, and said step of generating auction data includes the vendor identification data.

10. A computer-based auction system configured to prepare auction bids for auction objects that are for sale, comprising:

an offer unit having an input unit, a processing unit, and a transmission unit,

the input unit configured to receive offer data specifying an offer of an auction object that is for sale by auction;

to receive class designation corresponding to the auction object based on a predefined object classification scheme by a selection of a product segment that fits the auction object from a object classification table that is available at the offer unit, and to receive auction data including auction method and minimum sales price for the auction;

the processing unit configured to generate auction offer data for the auction object as a unified data packet for each auction including the offer data specifying the offer, the class designation corresponding to the auction object, and the auction data;

and the transmission unit configured to transmit the unified data packet with the auction offer data to a communication terminal of a customer;

the communication terminal operated by a customer having a filtering unit, an input unit, a linking unit, and a sending unit, the filtering unit configured to filter the auction offer data based on a customer-specific profile that corresponds to the customer to generate customer-specific offer data including information on customer-specific auction objects,

the input unit configured to receive a bid amount for at least one auction object of the customer-specific offer data identified by the customer;

the linking unit configured to link the bid amount, information on the identified at least one auction object, and an identification information of the bidding customer to form customer bid data, and

the sending unit configured to send the customer bid data to an evaluation device via a cellular phone network; and

the evaluation device configured to evaluate the bid and to generate a message with an outcome of the bidding, and to send the message with the outcome of the bidding from the evaluation device to the offer unit.

11. The computer-based auction system according to claim 10, further comprising:

a display unit configured to show information related to the at least one auction object of the customer-specific offer data with the communication terminal to allow identification of the at least one auction object by the customer.

12. The computer-based auction system according to claim 10, wherein said processing unit is configured to read the identification information of the bidding customer form a storage unit in the communication terminal of the customer.

13. The computer-based auction system according to claim 10, wherein said processing unit is configured to generate a check sum from the auction offer data, and to include the check sum into the auction offer data, before transmitting the auction offer data.

14. The computer-based auction system according to claim 13, wherein said processing unit is further configured to verify the check sum of the auction offer data after the auction offer data is transmitted to detect transmission errors.

15. The computer-based auction system according to claim 10, wherein the input unit is further configured to receive at least one of a duration of the auction, and a geographic area of the auction, or a minimum price for the auction object.

16. The computer-based auction system according to claim 10, further comprising:

a removable identification module located in said communication terminal, configured to store the identification information of the bidding customer.

17. The computer-based auction system according to claim 16, wherein the removable identification module is further configured to store the customer-specific profile.

18. The computer-based auction system according to claim 10, wherein the input unit is further configured to receive identification data that identifies a vendor of the auction object, and the processing unit is further configured to generate auction data that also includes the vendor identification data.