WO2001086526A1

WO2001086526A1 - Apparatus and method for auction

Info

Publication number: WO2001086526A1
Application number: PCT/JP2001/003692
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kazuo Hada; Yuji Kawakita
Original assignee: Dnac-Tv Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2000-05-09
Filing date: 2001-04-27
Publication date: 2001-11-15
Also published as: AU5262901A; JP2004295158A

Abstract

A web server (103) at an auction center (10) transmits auction information to the client unit (204) in a participant facility (20) through internet (30). During acceptance of bids, the parts of bidding price and telephone number are reloaded to the client unit (204) at short-time intervals of 5-10 sec. A participant calls the auction center (10) by a telephone (206) and informs a sender number and a bidding price to a CTI server (104). If the bidding price is a highest price, the CTI server (104) updates the document of the web server (103). When the time for acceptance expires, the CTI server (104) calls the telephone number of a successful bidder automatically.

Description

Specification

Auction apparatus and method

The present invention relates to an auction technology using a telephone, and more particularly, to enabling the progress of an auction to be displayed to a viewer of a web page in real time. It is possible to determine whether or not oneself is a provisional or definitive successful bidder based on. Background art

The present applicant has proposed an auction using television broadcasting (Japanese Patent Application No. 11-36 1447). In this proposal, bids are received by telephone, processed in real time, and the status of the auction (current maximum bid amount, etc.) is broadcasted in real time. Is to be notified.

By the way, the auction described above is extremely useful because of its immediacy, but basically, only TV broadcast viewers can participate. Also, if the auction program is not a general terrestrial TV broadcast but a satellite broadcast or a cable TV broadcast that only a limited number of subscribers watch, many people who want to participate in the auction will not be able to participate. . It is preferable that many participants can participate in the auction through various channels (mediums). Disclosure of the invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to enable browsing of an auction substantially in real time via a communication network such as the Internet.

Another object of the present invention is to allow a participant to easily determine whether or not he or she is a provisional or definitive successful bidder. According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the configuration as described in the claims is adopted. First of all, your ingredients _Q and the supplementary explanation with the description of the scope of the claims

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, an auction apparatus includes: a description of a product to be auctioned, a current provisional contract price, and at least a part of a telephone number of a bidder of the current provisional contract price. Means for storing a document including: a means for transmitting the document to a viewing client device via a communication network; means for receiving a caller ID and a bid price sent via a telephone line; Means for determining whether or not the bid price exceeds the current provisional bid price; and, if the bid price exceeds the current provisional bid price, the provisional bid price and the provisional bid price included in the document. Means for updating the description of the bidder's telephone number portion. Bidding may be a bidder gradually raising the price, or a so-called reverse auction in which the seller makes a successful bid. In this case, the seller gradually lowers the selling price. The lowest price or the highest price may be set. The winning bidder is usually one. Of course, a plurality of higher-ranking persons may be awarded. In this configuration, the caller's phone number and bid price obtained in response to the call from the participant are processed, and if the bid price is higher than the previous highest bid price, this is reflected in the inspection document. ing. Therefore, it is possible to browse the auction status via the communication network and participate in the auction substantially in real time. A bid may be one in which the price automatically decreases gradually and the first bidder wins the bid. In addition, the selling price automatically increases, and the seller who bids first may make a successful bid. In this case, the number of successful bidders may be one or more. In the case of two or more people, the bids are made in the order in which they were bid earlier.

Specifically, a system that forms an auction device is constructed using a web server such as APACHE (trademark), a CTI (computer telephony integration) server, an automatic voice response device, and the like.

Documents containing information about the auctioned product, the current provisional bid and at least a portion of the provisional bidder's telephone number may include, for example, HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or XML (Extension). Bloomers The language is described in SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language). The highest bid price is sent to the client device (Web browser) using the so-called push technology. The data may be sent directly from the server to the client device, or the client device may repeat the re-routing at a short time interval, for example, a time interval of 5 to 10 seconds, using a script or tag such as JavaScript (trademark). May be used. A similar reload may be performed using Java ™. Also, real-time push may be realized using a dedicated viewing agent instead of the widely used Internet Explorer 1 (registered trademark) or Netscape Navigator (registered trademark).

Note that information of other attributes of the participant may be used instead of the telephone number. If the auction participant requests user registration in advance, user attributes such as user ID, nickname, address, and secret information can be used instead of the telephone number. Also, means for calling the successful bidder immediately after the auction closes may be provided.

'Also, the auction by browsing the communication network may be performed in conjunction with the auction using television broadcasting previously proposed by the present inventors.

Also, in an auction that uses only television broadcasting, by displaying the participant's telephone number and other attributes or some of them, it is possible to determine whether or not they are provisional successful bidders at this time. May be.

Further, the present invention can be realized as a method, and at least a part thereof can be realized as computer software. Further, it goes without saying that a software package used for executing such a combination overnight software is also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, not only when the software is executed in one computer, of course it also has application when it is executed in the configuration Pugh evening system comprising a plurality of computers _(the side surface of the above-described present invention And other aspects of the present invention are set forth in the claims and will be described in detail below by using examples. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention as a whole.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram functionally illustrating the program transmission server 102 of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram functionally explaining the web server 103 of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an auction schedule.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an auction browsing screen (display of a product name) on the client device 204.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining an example of an action browsing screen (an auction time) on the client device 204.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an auction browsing screen (successful bidder display) on the client device 204.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the program transmission server 102 of the above embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the CTI server 104 of the above embodiment when receiving a call.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the CTI server 104 of the above embodiment at the end of the auction time.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the web server 103 of the above embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the client apparatus 204 of the above embodiment. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention as a whole. In this figure, a service center 10 is a facility of an organization that operates an auction or a business that is entrusted by the organization, and produces content. Server 101, Program transmission server 1 02, a web server 103, a CTI server 104, an automatic voice response device 105, a communication control unit 106, and a network 107. Each of these information processing resources is appropriately connected to a LAN (mouth area network) 108. The program sending server 102 sends out a broadcast signal to the broadcasting equipment 109. The broadcast equipment 109 sends out a broadcast signal to, for example, the communication satellite 50, and this broadcast signal is maintained in the receiving equipment (antenna) 203 of the viewer.

The router 107 is connected to the Internet 30 via a dedicated line. An external viewer (client device 204) can access a predetermined file of the web server 103 via the Internet 30. Although not shown in the figure, it is needless to say that it is divided into multiple network segments, a firewall is provided, and a DMZ (demilitarized zone) is provided from the viewpoint of security.

The communication control unit 106 is connected to the subscriber exchange network 40, and enables a telephone call with a subscriber telephone (fixed telephone) or a mobile telephone.

The participant equipment 20 is equipment that can be used by participants in the auction, such as the auction participant's home, office equipment, and accommodation equipment. The participant equipment 20 is provided with a television set 201, a set-top box 202, and a reception equipment (antenna) 203, so that a television broadcast program can be viewed. In this example, a satellite broadcast program is taken as an example, but a terrestrial broadcast program or a Capele television broadcast may be used. The broadcast signal may be digital or analog. The participant equipment 20 is provided with a client device 204 and a modem 205. The modem 205 is connected to the Internet 30 via the Internet service provider 301. Of course, it may be connected to the Internet 30 via a dedicated line (via a terminating device) or a cable modem. The client device 204 is a personal computer, a workstation, a mobile terminal, an intelligent telephone, or an intelligent mobile telephone. In short, any device that can provide an environment in which a viewing agent can be executed can be used. In the case of personal convenience, it is possible to use a web browser such as, for example, Internet Explorer (trademark) or Netscape Navigat ot (trademark). it can. When an intelligent mobile phone is used as the client device 204, it is connected to the Internet 30 via a mobile communication network and a gateway. The telephone 206 may be an ordinary fixed telephone or a mobile telephone (mobile communication mobile station). In the case of an intelligent telephone or an intelligent mobile phone, it can also be used as the client device 204.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the program transmission server 102. In this figure, the program transmission server 102 includes a program information storage unit 151, a program information output unit 152, a sequence It is configured to include a control unit 153, a clock 154, and the like. Of course, the program transmission server 102 is configured to include hardware resources such as a CPU, a main memory, an auxiliary memory, various input / output devices, a communication control device, and the like. 2 shows the configuration.

The auction program is broadcast on a schedule as shown in FIG. 4 and is provided on the web server 103. In other words, the auction broadcast program is composed of 60 minutes. First, there are “channel and program introduction” and “bid explanation”. After that, the auction frame is allocated to 5 products. The auction frame of each is 5 minutes, and the frame of this auction is composed of "Pre-page" (broadcast of the bridge), "Product name", "Auction time", "Bridge" and "Successful bidder announcement". ing. “Auction time” is the time for actually conducting an auction and accepting a bid, for example, 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Return to Figure 2. The sequence control unit 153 determines the broadcast information transmission timing according to the program schedule, and refers to the clock 154. Then, based on the control signal from the sequence control section 1553, the program information output section 152 extracts the program information from the program information storage section 151 and sequentially outputs the program information in accordance with the program schedule.

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 show examples of screen display of the client device 204, which will be described later. A similar broadcast is performed. For details of this screen, see FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 described later.

FIG. 3 schematically shows the configuration of the live server 103. As shown in FIG. Web server 103 is a Web server program and CGI (Common Gateway ), An application server program or the application server itself, or an active server page (ASP). In short, the web server 103 has a function of storing a document described in HTML, XML, or the like, transmitting the document to the client by HTTP, further including a predetermined application program, and displaying a document dynamically. A predetermined process can be performed based on an argument from a user. Also, data is exchanged with the CTI server 104 {contents production server 101} so that desired processing can be performed.

In FIG. 3, the web server 103 includes a web super program 161, an application program 162, a web document 163, a sequence control unit 164, a clock 165, a down-call program 16 It includes the action information file 167 and the like. Note that the web support 103 also includes hardware resources such as a CPU, a main memory, an auxiliary memory, various input / output devices, and a communication control device. FIG. 3 shows only a functional configuration. Please note that it is shown.

In FIG. 3, the web server program 161 sends the web page of the web document 163 to the client device 204 in response to a request from the client device 204 sent via the Internet 30 or in a push manner. Send. For example, the product name display page 163A is sent to the client device 204 at the timing of “product name” display shown in FIG. In the evening of “Auction time” in FIG. 4, the item description · Action acceptance page 16 3B is sent to the client device 204. In the evening of the “successful bidder announcement” in FIG. 4, the successful bidder announcement page 163C is sent to the client device 204. From the client device 204, these pages 163A to 163C are viewed as the same URL (uniform resource location overnight) and displayed in a single window.

The sequence control unit 164 controls the application program 162 so that the web document 163 (pages 163A to 163C) can be transmitted to the client device 204 according to the auction schedule shown in FIG. Clock 165 indicates the time axis at this time. Also, the application program 162 receives the current highest bid price data from the CTI server 104. The highest bid data describes the bid price and its telephone number information if the bid price specified by the new bidder is higher than the current highest price. When the application program 162 receives the highest bid price from the CTI server 104, the item at auction time will be described at the auction time. (This part may be updated separately as a document in the frame.)

Also, the application program 162 notifies the CTI server 104 of the auction status (the deadline and the auction time). Based on this, the CTI server 104 controls the automatic voice response apparatus 105 to respond to the caller (auction participant).

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described.

First, for ease of understanding, an example of a display screen on the client device 204 will be described. When a user accesses the main page of the auction of the web server 103 of the auction center 10 using the client device (web browser) 204 using URL, a screen as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. This screen displays the "product name" in Fig. 4. In this example, the German kiln antique picture change tea set J is a product for auction, the lowest price is "440,000 yen", and the action starts 45 seconds later. Is displayed.

When 45 seconds have elapsed from the point in FIG. 5, that is, when the “auction time” in FIG. 4 starts, the screen in FIG. 6 is displayed. Here, a picture of the product photo, a description of the product (comment. Text), the time remaining, the current bid price, the telephone number of the bidder (partly, intentionally masked with X to protect the participants' privacy) The lowest bid price is displayed.

The remaining time is calculated using the clock function of the client device 204. A predetermined evening message, a JavaScript script (trademark), or the like may be used. Update in real time such as images of product photos, product descriptions (comments) and minimum bid prices Those that do not need to be downloaded to the client device 204 in advance. The downloaded file can be retrieved using the anchor tag of the document describing the screen in Fig. 6.

Since the bid price and the bidder's phone number may change every moment, reload only this part at a time interval of 5 to 10 seconds. For example, use a refresh meta tag or reload using a JavaScript script. The clipping of the updated part can be described using a frame or inline frame tag.

Note that images of product photos and product descriptions can be downloaded in units of one or several days. For example, a download button is provided on the main page of the auction, and the download's program 166 shown in Fig. 3 is linked here, so that the user can easily download the information file (images of product photos, etc.). Can be loaded. The downloaded file is stored in a desired directory on the client device 204 so as to be consistent with the path specification of the web document. As described above, since the data actually extracted by the client device 204 at the auction time is only the bid price that needs to be sequentially changed and the corresponding telephone number, there is little traffic and there is no stress during browsing. In addition, traffic congestion slows down the display of auctions, and it is unlikely that problems such as the inability to participate in auctions will occur.

Fig. 7 shows the scene displayed when the auction time is over. The winning bid and a part of the phone number are displayed so that the winning bidder can immediately know the fact of the winning bid. After this, a telephone notifying of the successful bid arrives immediately at the telephone set 206. As described above, the screen of the client device 204 is shown in three scenes before the auction time, during the auction time, and after the auction time.

Next, the operation of the program transmission server 102 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8, when the auction frame is started (sequence control unit 1553 notifies and controls), a product name display screen is displayed for, for example, 10 seconds (step S11). Next, when the 10 seconds have elapsed, the auction screen is displayed (step S1 2). O It is determined whether or not the highest bid price has been updated (step S1 3), and no update is performed. If not, repeat step S13. If it has been updated, the supermarket is updated (bid price and telephone number) (step S14). Next, it is determined whether or not the auction time has expired (step S15), and if not, the process returns to step S13 to repeat the processing. If the time has expired, the successful bidder screen is displayed (step S16), and the process ends. After that, the same processing is performed when the next auction frame for the product is started. FIG. 9 shows the operation of the CTI Supervisor 104 when receiving a call. Applicants wishing to participate in the auction see the status of the auction on the television set 201 or the client device 204 and call the auction center 10 using the telephone set 206 to make a bid. The operation in FIG. 9 is an operation in response to this.

In FIG. 9, when an auction participant receives a call, the CTI server 1-4 establishes a connection and stores the caller ID data (step S21). If caller ID notification is not available, it will notify that it cannot participate in the auction. Of course, the specification may be such that the caller can input a telephone number using an MFT signal (push signal). Finally, the state of the auction (for example, obtained from the web server 103; may be obtained from the program transmission server 102, etc.) is determined (step S22), and after the auction closes (except for the action time). If so, a voice indicating that the auction has been closed, for example, a response such as "We are not accepting bids at this time" is given (step S27), and the process ends. During the auction time, you will receive information on accepting the auction, for example, “〇〇 Accept the product policy. Please press the bid and press #. Please.” · · · If you like, please press 1, if you want to cancel, please press 2. _! · · '(If 1 is pressed) "Bid is completed." (If 2 is pressed) (Return to the beginning) (step S23). Thereafter, the bid price is stored (step S24), and if the bid price is higher than the current maximum price, the data of the current maximum bid price and the telephone number of the bidder are updated (step S24). Step S26), end the processing. If not, the process ends.

Figure 10 shows the operation of the CTI server 104 when the auction time is over. Is shown. First, the telephone number of the successful bidder is taken out (step S31), and a call is made to the successful bidder (step S32). When the line is established, a notice of a successful bid, for example, "Congratulations. 〇〇Your product has been awarded for ¥¥. Please tell us your zip code, address, and name. . " Note that the automatic voice response device 105 performs processing as necessary.

FIG. 11 shows the operation of the web server 103. In this figure, when the auction starts, a product name display page is first prepared (step S41). This page is loaded into client device 204 (client device 204 reload or server 103 push). Finally, an auction page is prepared at the start of the auction time (step S42). This auction page is also loaded on the client device 204. Next, it is determined whether or not the bid data (the highest bid price) has been updated (step S43). If there is no update, this determination processing is repeated. When there is an update, the description of the bid price to be reloaded and the telephone number of the bidder in the web page is updated (S44). If they are placed in a frame separately from others, only the document part of that frame is updated. Next, it is determined whether or not the auction time has expired (step S45). If the time has not elapsed, the process returns to step S43 and repeats the processing. When the time is up, the page for displaying the successful bidder is prepared (step S46), and the process is terminated. This successful bidder display page is also loaded to the client device 204. '

FIG. 12 shows the browsing operation of the client device 204. In FIG. 12, when the auction is started, a product name page is requested to be transferred to the web server 103 and received (S51). A transfer request may be made by activating the evening. Also, the document may be pushed from the web server 103. Next, when the auction event starts, the auction page is requested to be transferred to the web server 103 and received (steps S52 and S53). Also in this case, a transfer request may be made by starting a timer, or a document may be pushed from the web server 103. Next, the description of the bid price to be updated and the telephone number of the bidder is reloaded, for example, at intervals of 5 seconds (S54). For this reload, as mentioned earlier, Or using a scribe such as Java Script, or various other methods. Next, it is determined whether or not the auction time has elapsed, and if not, the process returns to step S54 to repeat the processing (S55). When the time is up, the successful bidder display page is received from the web server 103 and displayed (step S56). Also in this case, the transfer request may be made by starting a timer, or the document may be pushed from the web server 103.

This is the end of the description of the embodiment. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example, in the above description, the client device and the telephone have been described as separate devices. However, when the client device is a mobile phone or a mobile terminal having a function of browsing the contents of a web server, the client device and the telephone are connected. They can be the same. In this case, the telephone number may be marked up by the anchor tag so that the call can be easily made to the auction center. The same goes for intelligent landline phones.

Instead of making a bid by telephone, a bid may be made by the client device. That is, instead of inputting bid information using a telephone, bid information is sent to a processing program (CGI, etc.) of a buzzer using a form function of a client device, for example, a web browser, and input in real time as in the previous embodiment. You may make it reflect on the state of a bill.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the bid price is auctioned. However, in a so-called reverse auction in which a seller bids on a purchaser, the bid price lowers. Alternatively, the auction may be such that the provisional successful bid price automatically decreases gradually and the first bidder at the provisional successful bid price at that time makes a successful bid. In this case, it is preferable to program the automatic response procedure so that the current winning bid and the bidder's bid match. For example, a bidder may be awarded if the bid price of the bidder is the same as the current contract price but the difference is within a predetermined range. In addition, the bidder may not enter the bid price. In this case, the provisional contract price viewed by the bidder may be inconsistent with the provisional contract price at the time of acceptance, so confirm the bid price with the bidder using the automatic answering machine. Is preferred. Documents to be browsed that allow for sequential browsing of provisional bid prices are provided, for example, by the web server 103 in Fig. 1. Is done. The same applies to documents that allow the successful bidder to view attribute information such as the winning bid price and telephone number.

Of course, a plurality of successful bidders may be allowed. For example, an acceptable range of provisional successful bidders and provisional successful bid prices may be viewed, and the weakest provisional successful bidders may be sequentially replaced by new provisional successful bidders. In a mode in which the one with the highest bid wins the bid, the bids are made in order from the earliest one. Industrial applicability

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to browse an auction situation substantially in real time using a communication network and participate in an auction. In addition, bidders can determine whether they are provisional or final successful bidders by using phone numbers displayed on the browsing screen or TV screen (for example, a part of which is masked). Can be.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A means for storing a document including a description of an auction target product, a current provisional contract price, and at least a part of a telephone number of a bidder of the current provisional contract price, and a browsing client device via a communication network. Means for transmitting the document, a means for receiving a caller ID and a bid price sent via a telephone line, and determining whether or not the bid price exceeds the current provisional bid price. And means for updating the provisional bid price and the part of the bidder's telephone number portion of the provisional bid price contained in the document if the bid price exceeds the current provisional bid price. An auction apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

2. The above-mentioned document shall indicate that the browsing client device automatically recalls the description of the current provisional bid price and at least a part of the telephone number of the bidder of the current provisional bid price. 2. The auction apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

3. The auction of claim 1, wherein at least the description of the current provisional bid price and at least a portion of the bidder's telephone number of the current provisional bid price in the document is repeatedly pushed to a viewing client. apparatus.

4. The auction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for automatically calling a bidder using the telephone number of the bidder of the provisional successful bid price at the time of the closing of the auction after the closing of the auction. .

5. A means for storing a document including a description of the item to be checked, the current provisional contract price, and at least a part of the bidder's attribute information of the current provisional contract price, and via a communication network. Means for transmitting the document to a viewing client device; means for receiving a bid price sent via a telephone line;

Means for determining whether or not the bid price exceeds the current provisional bid price; and, if the bid price exceeds the current provisional bid price, is included in the document. Means for updating the description regarding the provisional successful bid price and the part of the attribute information of the bidder of the provisional successful bid price.

6. The auction apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the attribute information of the bidder is user identification information of the bidder.

7. means for storing television image data including an indication of the auctioned item, the current provisional bid price and at least a part of the bidder's telephone number of the current provisional bid price,

Means for broadcasting the television image data,

Means for storing a document including a description of the above-mentioned action target product, the current provisional contract price and at least a part of the bidder's telephone number of the current provisional contract price, and a browsing client via the communication network. Means for transmitting the document to the device; means for receiving the caller ID and the bid price sent via the telephone line; means for determining whether the bid price exceeds the current provisional bid price. If the bid price exceeds the current provisional bid price, a means for updating the display and description of the provisional bid price and the bidder's telephone number portion of the provisional bid price; and Means for automatically calling the bidder using the telephone number of the bidder of the provisional successful bid price.

8. Means for storing television image data including an indication of the item to be checked, the current provisional contract price, and at least a part of the bidder's attribute information of the current provisional contract price,

Means for broadcasting the television image data,

Means for receiving the caller ID and the bid price sent via the telephone line; means for determining whether or not the bid price exceeds the current provisional bid price; and means for determining whether or not the bid price is the current provisional bid price. In some cases, the provision of a means for updating the display of the provisional successful bid price and the attribute information portion of the bidder of the provisional successful bid price is provided. An auction device characterized.

9. storing a document containing a description of the auctioned item, the current provisional bid price and at least a portion of the bidder's telephone number for the current provisional bid price;

Transmitting the document to a viewing client device via a communication network;

Receiving a caller ID and a bid price sent over a telephone line;

Determining whether the bid price exceeds the current provisional bid price; and, if the bid price surpasses the current provisional bid price, include the provisional bid price and the provisional price included in the document. Updating the description of the winning bidder and the part of the bidder's telephone number.

10. A means for storing a document containing a description of the auctioned product and the current provisional bid price;

Means for automatically and gradually updating the provisional successful bid price,

Means for transmitting the document to the browsing client device via a communication network; means for receiving bid information including a caller ID, which is sent via a telephone line; Means for determining a successful bidder based on bid information suitable for the auction.

11. A means for storing a television image including an indication of the auctioned item and the current provisional bid price;

Means for gradually updating the provisional successful bid price,

Means for broadcasting the television image data,

It has means for receiving bid information including a caller number sent via a telephone line, and means for determining a successful bidder based on the first received bid information that matches the provisional successful bid price. An auction unit characterized by the following.