Method, apparatus and system for advancing a bidder to a selected rank
Granted: January 11, 2011
Patent Number:
7870054
The present invention provides a method for advancing a first bidder to a selected rank in an electronic auction. This method includes calculating, in response to actuation of a bid rank advancement function, a new bid for the first bidder, and displaying the new bid to the first bidder. The new bid is calculated by applying a predetermined minimum differential value to a current bid of a second bidder that holds the rank selected by the first bidder. In one embodiment, the rank selected…
Variable length file header apparatus and system
Granted: January 11, 2011
Patent Number:
7870115
A viewing configuration is determined for a data portion of a first computer file according to a first view state. The viewing configuration has a parameter, and the first view state includes a first value corresponding to the parameter. The content of the first data portion of the first computer file is presented to a display device based on the viewing configuration. In response to a user request, the presenting is manipulated corresponding to another viewing configuration having the…
Method and apparatus for multiple variable bidding in an online auction
Granted: January 11, 2011
Patent Number:
7870034
A method and apparatus for automatically updating the value of a bid variable or the total bid for a multi-variable bid in an online auction is disclosed. The method includes displaying an automatically adjustable mechanism interfaced to a bidder. Thereafter, the automatic bid adjustments are calculated using the mechanism.
Transformation bidding with tooling requirements
Granted: November 23, 2010
Patent Number:
7840476
A system and method of transformation bidding in an electronic auction system. The system acquires lot data including tooling information for a lot, receives a bid from a bidder, and transforms the lot data and the bid into a true cost of procuring the lot from the bidder. The system also presents the true cost to a sponsor.
Method and system for correcting market failures with participant isolation in dutch style online auctions
Granted: November 16, 2010
Patent Number:
7835957
A method and system for conducting online auctions in a Dutch format is disclosed. Isolation of bidders in the online Dutch auction is exploited by creating unique views into the Dutch auction. In one embodiment, posted prices are originally defined in the context of the originator of the auction. These posted prices are transformed into the individual contexts of potential bidders prior to display at the bidder computer system. Multiple views into the Dutch auction are thereby…
Method and system for controlling the initiation and duration of overtime interval in electronic auctions
Granted: October 12, 2010
Patent Number:
7813966
Controlling overtime in an auction is disclosed. A first time interval and a second time interval are defined. A first closing time for a first lot is also defined. A first bid is received for the first lot. A second bid is received for the first lot. A correlation between the second bid and the first bid is determined. The first closing time is extended using the second time interval if the correlation between the second bid and the first bid satisfies a trigger criterion. The trigger…
Method and system for controlling the initiation and duration of overtime interval in electronic auctions
Granted: September 7, 2010
Patent Number:
7792707
Control of overtime in an auction is disclosed. A first time interval, a second time interval, and a first closing time for a first lot are defined. It is determined that at least one new bid for the first lot is received during the first time interval. The new bid is received close to the first closing time. The first closing time is extended using the second time interval if the correlation between the new bid and the at least one other bid satisfies a trigger criterion that is based…
Method and system for disguised price bidding in online auctions
Granted: September 7, 2010
Patent Number:
7792713
A method and system for conducting electronic online auctions having disguised bidding is disclosed. Submitted bids are ordered on a basis of a comparative bid parameter used by an originator of an auction. The ordinal rank of a bid is reported to the bidder.
Methods, system, and medium for initiating an online auction utilizing a line item detail report
Granted: April 6, 2010
Patent Number:
7693747
A system and method of initiating an online auction. The system receives a request to acquire at least one line item using the online auction from a buyer and presents a data collection template to the buyer, where the data collection template is being used to collect data having a plurality of attributes relating to the line item being auctioned in the online auction. The system also generates, in response to at least one of the attributes of the data collected from the buyer, a report…
Systems for selecting a group of bidders for a current bidding event using prioritization
Granted: February 2, 2010
Patent Number:
7657461
A method and system for selecting potential bidders or suppliers for a current electronic auction by using quantitative models to create a prioritized list of potential suppliers. A prioritization software analyzes a supplier's bidding participation history and bidding competitiveness history from the bidding data collected for all prior auctions in which the supplier participated or was requested by the auction coordinator to participate. Using the prior bid data, the software generates…
Method and apparatus to perform buy versus leasing transformational bidding
Granted: December 15, 2009
Patent Number:
7634439
A method and apparatus to transform bids in an electronic auction is described. A first bid having a first value and a first unit of measurement is received. A second bid having a second value and a second unit of measurement is received. The first and second values are transformed to third and fourth values, respectively, having a standard unit of measurement.
Method, apparatus, and system for bidding in rounds
Granted: October 6, 2009
Patent Number:
7599878
A method of conducting an auction in at least two rounds is disclosed. The method includes conducting the first auction round, applying a rule to an occurrence in the first auction round, and conducting the second auction round in accordance with the application of the rule to the occurrence in the first auction round. A system for conducting an auction in at least two rounds is also disclosed. The system includes a sponsor processor, a first bidder processor communicating with the…
Method and system for controlling an electronic auction during the transition to a closed state
Granted: August 4, 2009
Patent Number:
7571137
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…
Method and system for dynamically controlling overtime in electronic auctions
Granted: July 7, 2009
Patent Number:
7558746
Information about a first lot and a second lot is displayed. The information includes a first closing time for the first lot, and a second closing time for the second lot. The second closing time is later than the first closing time. Responsive to the receipt of a bid for the first lot within a first predefined timer interval of the first closing time, an updated first closing time for the first lot is determined. The updated first closing time is displayed. If the updated first closing…
Method and an apparatus for a trading market design and deployment system
Granted: July 7, 2009
Patent Number:
7558752
A universal or special-purpose auction system and method are disclosed wherein at least one auction allocation policy is implemented which results in adjusting a bid submitted by a trader or a clearing calculation is modified to incorporate a constraint.
Method for selecting an optimal balance between direct cost and a number of suppliers
Granted: May 19, 2009
Patent Number:
7536362
A method for selecting an optimal balance between direct cost and a number of suppliers, including soliciting bids from a plurality of suppliers for a plurality of lots, receiving at least one bid from a supplier for each lot, storing the bids from each supplier in a database, and generating at least a first and second optimal solution from the bids in the database, the first optimal solution having a different number of suppliers than the second optimal solution.
Method and apparatus for configurably adjusting a bid in an online auction
Granted: March 3, 2009
Patent Number:
7499876
A method and apparatus for configuring and entering bids in an auction is disclosed. The method includes displaying a bid adjustment mechanism configuration interfaced to a bidder. Thereafter, a bid adjustment value for the bid adjustment mechanism is set using the configuration interface. Following the setting step, upon actuation of the bid adjustment mechanism, a bid is adjusted by the bid adjustment value previously set using the configuration interface.
Total value bidding
Granted: January 27, 2009
Patent Number:
7483852
A method and system of evaluating values of different payment or delivery terms in online auctions, including obtaining an interest rate and a period from a buyer for a lot, the lot having a predetermined value, receiving a first bid from a first bidder and a second bid from a second bidder on the lot, the first and second bids each having a payment time and a rebate and transforming the first bid into a first value and the second bid into a second value using the interest rate, the…
System and computer program product for conducting electronic auctions with aggregate lotting for transformation bidding
Granted: October 28, 2008
Patent Number:
7444299
An auction methodology wherein individual demands are bid in lots and an aggregation of several lots is then run as an individual lot to determine if the buyer can attract a lower price offering from bidders by selecting to award the total volume of all of the individual lots to one bidder. A bidder-specific transformation factor for the aggregate lot is computed by combining selected transformed values (one for each lot) that take into account that bidder's price offerings for…
Method for selecting a group of bidders for a current bidding event using prioritization
Granted: July 15, 2008
Patent Number:
7401035
A method and system for selecting potential bidders or suppliers for a current electronic auction by using quantitative models to create a prioritized list of potential suppliers. A prioritization software analyzes a supplier's bidding participation history and bidding competitiveness history from the bidding data collected for all prior auctions in which the supplier participated or was requested by the auction coordinator to participate. Using the prior bid data, the software generates…
