Work allocation system
First Claim
1. A method for allocating service providers to a set of required services, each, service provider being associated with a respective bidding entity and the method comprising repeatedly performing the following steps:
- receiving at least one bid from each of some or all of the bidding entities, each bid specifying one or more of the required services and indicating a bid value;
accepting bids that specify no services that are specified in any other bids;
for any sets of bids that specify one or more of the same services, selecting one of those bids in dependence on the bid values specified in each bid of the set, and accepting the selected bid; and
removing the services specified in accepted bids from the list of required services.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for allocating service providers to a set of required services, each service provider being associated with a respective bidding entity and the method comprising repeatedly performing the following steps: receiving at least one bid from each of some or all of the bidding entities, each bid specifying one or more of the required services and indicating a bid value; accepting bids that specify no services that are specified in any other bids; for any sets of bids that specify one or more of the same services, selecting one of those bids in dependence on the bid values specified in each bid of the set, and accepting the selected bid; and removing the services specified in accepted bids from the list of required services.
24 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for allocating service providers to a set of required services, each, service provider being associated with a respective bidding entity and the method comprising repeatedly performing the following steps:
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receiving at least one bid from each of some or all of the bidding entities, each bid specifying one or more of the required services and indicating a bid value; accepting bids that specify no services that are specified in any other bids; for any sets of bids that specify one or more of the same services, selecting one of those bids in dependence on the bid values specified in each bid of the set, and accepting the selected bid; and removing the services specified in accepted bids from the list of required services. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for allocating service providers to a set of required services, each service provider being associated with a respective bidding entity, the system comprising an allocation unit configured to repeatedly perform the following steps:
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receiving at least one bid from each of some or all of the bidding entities, each bid specifying one or more of the required services and indicating a bid value; accepting bids that specify no services that are specified in any other bids; for any sets of bids that specify one or more of the same services, selecting one of those bids in dependence on the bid values specified in each bid of the set, and accepting the selected bid; and removing the services specified in accepted bids from the list of required services. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification