JPS6234193A - Confirmation of bidding for automatic auctioning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Industrial Field of Application The present invention allows multiple buyers to compete on price, and sells goods if the final price is acceptable to the exhibitor (seller). The present invention relates to an automatic auction device that automatically carries out so-called "auction" sales by machine.

In particular, the present invention relates to a method for confirming whether or not a bidder agrees to the successful bid after the successful bid has been decided.

Conventional technology An example of a conventional automatic auction device will be explained using FIG. 8.

This figure shows an example in which an automatic auction device is applied to a used car auction venue. Of course, the item for sale is not limited to a used car, but may be any other item.

In the diagram, used cars 1a, Ib, and Ic are exhibited.
gradually moves from the right side of the figure to the left side. Exhibit 13-I
While C is moving, a price display device 3 placed in front of the so-called purchaser's cloth 2 where buyers gather is controlled by a control device with a built-in computer based on commands from an operation console 6 placed in an operation room 5. The price value controlled by 7 is displayed. The bidder (not shown) in Buyer Cloth 2 looks at the price and determines that the desired exhibit is eligible for "Se9" and that the "auction" price is basically the limit that the bidder can purchase. When the desired value is reached, a bid button (not shown) on the terminal device 4 is operated.

A signal indicating that the bidding ticket has been operated is input to the control device 7. Additionally, a successful bid acceptance signal, which is a signal indicating that the exhibited item may be sold at the discretion of the exhibitor, is separately sent to the control device 7 from the operation console 6. The control device 7 compares the signal from the bidding button with the successful bid acceptance signal and displays a flow hole display or a contract possibility display. These displays may be performed using a part of the price/value display device 3, or a separate display device for this purpose may be provided.

If there is an indication that a contract can be concluded, it means that the seller may sell the item at the price currently displayed on the display device 3.

This price is raised by the bidder's operation of the bid button, so the bidder usually agrees to this price and a successful bid is established between the seller and the bidder. do.

However, in some cases, even if a contract is indicated and the seller indicates approval for selling, the bidder may end up not needing to "buy" for some reason. In order to deal with such a case, it has been conventionally done to confirm with the bidder whether or not he or she agrees to the successful bid after an indication that a contract is possible has been made.

Therefore, in the past, in addition to the bid button, a confirmation button was separately provided on the terminal 4 to confirm the successful bid, and after the bidder has indicated that the contract can be concluded, if the bidder agrees to the displayed price, the bidder must confirm again. He was trying to manipulate Satan.

It is extremely troublesome for bidders to have to operate all the confirmation buttons, which are separate from the bid button, each time they make a successful bid.

Furthermore, as many terminals 4 as there are expected bidders are provided, usually several hundred. Conventionally, a confirmation button was attached to each of these terminals, so the circuit from each terminal to the control device was complicated.

Moreover, the costs were correspondingly high.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide a successful bid confirmation method that is easy for bidders to operate and also allows devices to be manufactured easily and inexpensively. do.

The above object is achieved by the control device performing the following control. That is, the bidder number corresponding to the bidder button that was operated until the end is memorized and displayed together with the indication that a deal can be concluded, and after both are displayed, the bidder number corresponding to the bidder number is operated again. The successful bid will be confirmed by confirming the following.

Example Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained with reference to examples.

Description will be made by taking as an example a case in which the present invention is implemented at the "auction" venue shown in FIG. 8, which was used in the explanation in the "Prior Art" column.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the electrical control system. In the figure,
Reference numeral 3 is a price display device, 4 is a terminal, 6 is an operation console, and 7 is a control device. These are the same as those shown with the same reference numerals in FIG.

The price display device 3 displays the price using an electronic display section 8, as shown in FIG. 2, for example. In addition, in the implementation column, there is an exhibition number display section 9, an exhibition car year number display section 10,
It includes an evaluation point display section 11 and a successful bidder number display section 12. Reference numeral 13 is a contract possibility indicator 9 lamp that lights up when a successful bid is made, and 14 is a flow hole indicator lamp that lights up when a successful bid is not made. Reference numerals 15a, 15b, and 15c are lamps (hereinafter referred to as progress lamps) that display how many people are pressing the bidding button (described later); for example, 15a is when there is one person, and 15b is when there are two people. , and 3
When the value is Å or more, 15c lights up. In order to make the display easier to understand, it is convenient to color-code each item in red, white, green, etc.

Each display section 8 to 12 and lamps 13 to 15 are controlled by a control device 7.
It operates based on instructions from.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation console 6 includes an auction start button 16 that is pressed to start the auction, and a slowdown button 17 that is pressed to slow down the rate of increase in the displayed price in response to a signal from a bidder. , a successful bid button B and an H button 18 that are operated when the seller accepts a successful bid, and a flow hole button 19 that is pressed when a flow hole is to be determined. Reference numerals 20 and 21 are a group of keys used to display numerical values on each of the display sections 8 to 12 of the price display device 3.

Operation signals from each of the buttons 1G to 19 and the key group 20, 21 are input to the control device 7.

The terminal device 4 includes a bidding button 22 and a card reading section 23, as shown in FIG. The bidding button 22 is a button that is pressed by a bidder participating in bidding, and a signal when a suppression operation is performed is sent to the control device 7 via a relay box 24. A card 25 brought by the bidding elders is inserted into the card reading section 23. The card 25 is handed over to bidders when they enter the auction venue, and a different number is stored for each bidder in an arbitrary storage means provided inside the card 25. For example, various methods can be considered, such as a binary code created by cutting off appropriate conductive lines among a plurality of conductive lines formed on a printed circuit board, or magnetic storage.

The card reading section 23 reads the number stored in the card 25 and sends the read signal to the control device 7.

Thereby, the control device 7 can confirm which number of buyers are participating in the bidding (or pressing the bidding button 22). In this embodiment, this card reading section 23 functions as a bidder number indicating device for displaying the number corresponding to each bid button.

The LED 50 is provided in each terminal 4 and is turned on by a command from the control device 7. The details will be described later. Further, the printer 26 prints the "auction" results on a predetermined sheet of paper based on a command from the control device 7 as well.

The above is the /SD-like configuration of the automatic display device according to this embodiment. The software configuration for operating these hardware configurations, that is, the work program stored in the memory of the control device 7 will be described below. FIGS. 4 to 7 are flowcharts showing the contents of the program.

First, the bidder enters the auction venue (Figure 8), inserts the card 25 received at the reception desk (venue entrance) into the terminal 4,
Wait for the "auction" to start.

The "auction" is started when the conductor in the operation room 5 presses the "auction" start button 16 on the operation console 6 (
Figure 5).

When the "auction" begins, the price displayed on the display section 8 increases relatively quickly. At the same time, the progress lamps 15a to 15C of the display device 3 are turned on randomly.

The speed at which the price increases can be adjusted using the increase time adjustment knob 27 on the console 6. Further, the amount of increase in the price can be adjusted using the amount of increase adjustment knob 28. The reason why the progress lamp is turned on is to make it appear as if several bidders are pressing the bidding button.

When the increasing price reaches a predetermined set value, for example a value appropriately lower than the selling price desired by the seller, the conductor activates the slowdown button 1 on the operation console 6 upon a signal from the seller.
Press 7. Then, the rate of increase in the displayed price value will slow down (
Figure 6).

When the displayed price becomes late, bidders will know that the price is finally approaching the winning bid price, so those who wish to buy the item currently being auctioned will press the bid button 22.
(Figure 1) will be pressed.

When the bidding button 22 is pressed, the price increases again. Also, the number of advance lamps 15a to 15C that are equal to the sum of the number of bidders and the number of randomly lit lights set by the machine are lit. As a result, buyers will feel that there are many more bidders than the actual number of bidders.
Furthermore, if the purchase price exceeds one's desired purchase price, the user can freely stop the bidding operation and withdraw from the bidding process.

The price displayed on the display unit 8 stops increasing when the number of bidders reaches zero, that is, when no one presses the bidding button 22 (FIG. 7). If the seller is willing to sell at that price, he/she signals the conductor in the operation room 5 to that effect, and based on the signal, the conductor accepts the bid.
Press 8. This 13 lights up.

If the number of bidders becomes zero and the display price stops increasing, and the successful bid acceptance button 18 is not pressed even after the above-mentioned predetermined period of time has passed, the flow hole pump switch 4 (Fig. 2) is activated. The light will light up, and it is assumed that a successful bid has been made between the auctioneer and the bidder, but in order to ensure the safety of the transaction, it is necessary to confirm with the bidder again whether or not he or she accepts the successful bid. There is. Therefore, in this embodiment, the purpose is achieved by performing control as shown in FIG. 4 by the control device 7.

The control device 7 scans each terminal device 4, finds the bidding button 22 that was pressed until the end, and stores the cart number of the bidder.

When the seller gives an instruction to accept a successful bid and the display device 3 displays an indication that the contract can be concluded (the lamp 13 lights up), the bid button corresponding to the final bidder number stored as described above will remain active even after the contract is possible. , check if it is pressed. At that time, the final bidder number is displayed on the display device 3 to clearly identify the final bidder, that is, the successful bidder. If the bid button is pressed after these are displayed, it is recognized that the bidder has finally accepted the bid according to the winning bid price, and the blink 26
(Fig. 1) to print on a prescribed paper. If the bid button is not pressed after the bid button is displayed as possible, instruct the bidder to press it as much as possible, and then, in special cases, if the seller has permission, press the flow hole button 19 to make the flow hole. The printer 26 prints out the information.

The printer 26 is connected to the exhibits 1a to IC as shown in FIG.
If it is placed near the exit exit 51 of the exhibition hall, it is possible to easily insert or paste a predetermined paper on which the "auction" results are printed by the printer 26 into the exhibits to be exited. Therefore, it becomes very easy to organize the exhibits after the auction ends.

In FIG. 4, the control device 7 lights up or blinks the LED 50 of the terminal device 4 corresponding to the final bidder number (stage 2).

As long as the contract completion indicator lamp 13 lights up and the final bidder number is displayed, this operation is not necessarily essential for implementing the invention, but by providing this stage, the final bidder can make a bid again. It is possible to encourage the user to press the button, thereby ensuring the certainty of the transaction.

Effects According to the present invention, when confirming a successful bid, the final bidder, that is, the successful bidder, can confirm the successful bid by using the bid button, which is the button that was operated at the time of the auction. Therefore, it is easy for bidders to operate.

Moreover, since each terminal does not require any buttons other than the bidding button, the configuration of the terminal itself and the circuit configuration from the terminal to the control device are simplified. Accordingly, costs are also lower.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a device for implementing the successful bid confirmation method according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of a price display device, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of an operation console, and FIG. Figures 4 to 7
The figure is a flowchart of the program written in the ROM in the control device, and Figure 8 is an "auction" equipped with an automatic auction device.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of an example of a venue. 22...Bid button, 23...Card reader, (bidder number indicating device) 3...Display device 5) Agent Patent attorney Takehisa Ito

Claims (1)

[Claims] It is equipped with a plurality of bid buttons that are individually operated by a plurality of bidders, and a bidder number indicating device that indicates a number corresponding to each bid button, and a bidder number indicating device that indicates a number corresponding to each bid button, and a bid button that has been operated until the last among the plurality of bid buttons. In a successful bid confirmation method of an automatic auction device in which the corresponding bidder decides to make a successful bid for the auctioned property and displays this on the display device as an indication that the transaction can be concluded, the bidder corresponding to the bid button that has been operated until the end with the indication that the transaction can be concluded. A method for confirming a successful bid in an automatic auction device, characterized in that a successful bid is confirmed by displaying a number and confirming that a bidding button corresponding to the bidder number is operated again after both numbers are displayed.