AUCTION DEVICE, PROGRAM, AND AUCTION METHOD

Abstract

An auction device, a program, and an auction method are provided that are capable of preventing participants from losing interest. [Solution] The auction apparatus 1 includes a storage 7c and a control unit 7. When the control unit 7 permits login to the auction site from a venue owner terminal V or a participant terminal P, the control unit 7 distributes information about the live video of the auction and the items being auctioned, transmitted from the venue owner terminal V, to the participant terminal P. A bid price for the item being auctioned is input from the participant terminal P. The numerical values ​​of at least one or more digits of the bid price are extracted in order from the most significant digit, changed to a different numerical string, and displayed in a numerical information display area R on the participant terminal P.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an auction device, a program, and an auction method. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an auction device that distributes images of an auction venue to a personal computer, a mobile terminal, or the like, allowing a person to participate in the auction in real time remotely.

[0003] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a sealed-bid auction in which bid amounts are not made public. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7148851 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6839185 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When a sealed-bid auction such as that in Patent Document 2 is introduced into the auction device of Patent Document 1, the bid prices bid by other people are not made public. Therefore, there is no movement regarding the bid prices, and compared to an auction where the bid prices are made public, the auction tends to become monotonous, which may lead to a decrease in interest for participants.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an auction device, a program, and an auction method that can prevent participants from losing interest in an auction.

[0007] The auction device of the present invention comprises: a recording unit for recording participant identification information for identifying participants who can participate in the auction and venue owner identification information for identifying a venue owner who holds the auction; a first reception unit that, when receiving a first login request transmitted from a participant terminal of a participant, checks whether or not the participant identification information of the participant requesting the first login is recorded in the recording unit, and permits the first login from the participant terminal if the participant identification information is recorded in the recording unit; a second reception unit that, upon receiving a second login request transmitted from the host terminal of the host, checks whether the host identification information of the host requesting the second login is recorded in the recording unit, and permits the second login from the host terminal if the host identification information is recorded in the recording unit; an item receiving unit capable of receiving, when the second login is permitted by the second login, item information relating to items to be auctioned from the venue main terminal permitted by the second login; a bid receiving unit capable of receiving bids for the item from one or more participant terminals permitted to log in when the bid receiving unit receives a start request transmitted from a venue owner terminal, the start request being a request for starting an auction of the item for which the bid receiving unit has received bid information; a distribution control unit that controls distribution of bid information related to the bid accepted by the bid acceptance unit to one or more participant terminals that are permitted to log in first; a confirmation unit that confirms a successful bidder for an item based on bids from one or more participant terminals; Equipped with The bid reception department a price receiving unit that receives input of a bid price for an item from one or more participant terminals; The recording section is The bid price for the auction item received by the price receiving unit is recorded in association with the participant terminal that input the bid price; The determination part is a confirmation processing unit that, when receiving a confirmation request from the venue owner terminal, which is a request for processing to confirm a successful bidder, confirms as a successful bidder a participant corresponding to a participant terminal associated with the highest bid price among the bid prices of the item recorded in the recording unit; The distribution control unit a prohibition unit that prohibits distribution of the participant's own bid price input by the participant terminal to other participant terminals from among the bid prices included in the bid information received by the price reception unit until at least a confirmation request is received by the confirmation processing unit; a numeric display unit capable of distributing and displaying, as bid information, numeric information obtained by extracting at least one numeric value of the most significant digit of the bid price from the bid price received by the price receiving unit and changing the numeric value of at least one numeric value of each digit of the bid price to a numeric string different from the numeric string of the bid price, to one or more participant terminals; Equipped with.

[0008] The auction device of the present invention accepts input of bid prices for items from one or more participant terminals, records the accepted bid prices in association with the participant terminal that input the bid price, and determines the participant corresponding to the participant terminal associated with the highest bid price among the recorded bid prices for the items as the successful bidder. The participant's own bid price input at the participant terminal is prohibited from being distributed to other participant terminals. On the other hand, for the bid price accepted by the price acceptance unit, numerical information that includes at least the most significant digit of the bid price and is obtained by extracting at least one or more numerical values ​​of each digit of the bid price and changing them to a numerical string different from the numerical string of the bid price is distributed to one or more participant terminals and made displayable. Therefore, the bid price bid by other people is not made public, but the numerical values ​​included in the most significant digit of the bid price can be displayed. Therefore, the numerical values ​​included in the bid price can be made public, and the bid price can be determined based on the disclosed numerical values, which can promote bargaining between participants in the auction and prevent a decline in the interest of the participants. In this specification, the prohibition of distribution includes not only a case where distribution is actively prohibited, but also a concept of passively not distributing, for example, disabling distribution. Furthermore, in this specification, a different numerical sequence is not limited to a sequence having a plurality of numerical values, and a sequence having a single numerical value is also included in the different numerical sequence.

[0009] In an embodiment of the present invention, The numerical display unit can extract the numerical values ​​of at least one or more digits of the bid price, starting from the most significant digit, and change the numerical information into a numerical sequence different from the numerical sequence of the bid price, and distribute the resulting information to one or more participant terminals as bid information so that it can be displayed.

[0010] According to this, numerical information in which at least one or more digits of the bid price are extracted in order from the most significant digit and converted into a different numerical string can be distributed to the participant terminal and displayed. Therefore, the most significant digit of the bid price can be displayed. Therefore, important numerical values ​​included in the bid price can be made public, and the bid price can be determined based on the public numerical values, which can promote bargaining among participants in the auction and prevent participants from losing interest.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, The numeric display section is The highest bid price among the bid prices for the item recorded in the recorder can be changed to a different numeric string, and the resulting numeric information can be distributed as bid information to one or more participant terminals for display.

[0012] According to this system, the numbers contained in the most significant digit of the highest bid price are disclosed to auction participants, providing hints for predicting the current highest bid price. This allows participants to determine their bid price based on the disclosed hints, eliminating the monotony of auctions where bid prices are not disclosed.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present invention, The numeric display section can display different numeric columns arranged vertically.

[0014] According to this, by adopting the uncommon vertical writing style for price notation, different numeric strings are less likely to be mistaken for prices.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present invention, The numeric display unit has an area display unit that can distribute and display a numeric display area that can display each numeric value from 0 to 9 individually to one or more participant terminals, and can display numbers corresponding to each extracted numeric value in the numeric display area.

[0016] According to this, since there is an area where each number from 0 to 9 can be displayed individually, it is less likely that the displayed number will be mistaken for the bid price itself.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present invention, a sell-out price receiving unit that receives an input of the sell-out price of the item from a venue owner terminal; The numeric display section is if the highest bid price among the bid prices for the item recorded in the recorder is less than the clearance price accepted by the clearance price acceptance unit, extract at least one or more digits of the clearance price, starting from the most significant digit, and change them into a different numeric string, distributing and displaying the changed string to one or more participant terminals; If the highest bid price among the bid prices for the item recorded in the recording unit is equal to or higher than the clearance price accepted by the clearance price acceptance unit, numerical information for the highest bid price changed to a different numerical sequence can be distributed to one or more participant terminals as bid information and displayed.

[0018] According to this, the sale price can also be disclosed to auction participants, including the number contained in the most significant digit.

[0019] In an embodiment of the present invention, a switching reception unit that receives a switching request transmitted from a venue owner terminal, the switching request being a switching request for switching between displaying and not displaying the numerical information on the participant terminal; Equipped with When the switching reception unit receives a switching request, If numerical information is displayed on the participant's terminal immediately before the switching request, the numerical information is hidden on the participant's terminal. If the numerical information is not displayed on the participant terminal immediately before the switching request, the numerical information can be displayed on the participant terminal.

[0020] This makes it possible to set whether or not to display numerical information on the participant terminal in response to a switching request from the host terminal.

[0021] In addition, in the program of the present invention, Computer a recording unit for recording participant identification information for identifying participants who can participate in the auction and venue owner identification information for identifying a venue owner who holds the auction; a first reception unit that, when receiving a first login request transmitted from a participant terminal of a participant, checks whether or not the participant identification information of the participant requesting the first login is recorded in the recording unit, and permits the first login from the participant terminal if the participant identification information is recorded in the recording unit; a second reception unit that, upon receiving a second login request transmitted from the host terminal of the host, checks whether the host identification information of the host requesting the second login is recorded in the recording unit, and permits the second login from the host terminal if the host identification information is recorded in the recording unit; an item receiving unit capable of receiving, when the second login is permitted by the second login, item information relating to an item to be auctioned from the venue master terminal permitted by the second login; a bid receiving unit capable of receiving bids for the item from one or more participant terminals permitted to log in when the bid receiving unit receives a start request transmitted from a venue owner terminal, the start request being a request for starting an auction of the item for which the bid receiving unit has received bid information; a distribution control unit that controls distribution of bid information related to the bid accepted by the bid acceptance unit to one or more participant terminals that are permitted to log in first; a confirmation unit that confirms a successful bidder for an item based on bids from one or more participant terminals; Equipped with The bid reception department a price receiving unit that receives input of a bid price for an item from one or more participant terminals; The recording section is The bid price for the auction item received by the price receiving unit is recorded in association with the participant terminal that input the bid price; The determination part is a confirmation processing unit that, when receiving a confirmation request from the venue owner terminal, which is a request for processing to confirm a successful bidder, confirms as a successful bidder a participant corresponding to a participant terminal associated with the highest bid price among the bid prices of the item recorded in the recording unit; The distribution control unit a prohibition unit that prohibits distribution of the participant's own bid price input by the participant terminal to other participant terminals from among the bid prices included in the bid information received by the price reception unit until at least a confirmation request is received by the confirmation processing unit; a numeric display unit capable of distributing and displaying, as bid information, numeric information obtained by extracting at least one numeric value of the most significant digit of the bid price from the bid price received by the price receiving unit and changing the numeric value of at least one numeric value of each digit of the bid price to a numeric string different from the numeric string of the bid price, to one or more participant terminals; It functions as a means to

[0022] As with the above-mentioned auction device, the program of the present invention can promote negotiation among participants in an auction, and can prevent participants from losing interest.

[0023] In the auction method of the present invention, 1. A computer-implemented auction method, comprising: a recording step of recording participant identification information for identifying participants who can participate in the auction and venue owner identification information for identifying a venue owner who hosts the auction; a first reception step of, when receiving a first login request transmitted from a participant terminal of a participant, checking whether or not the participant identification information of the participant requesting the first login has been recorded in the recording step, and permitting the first login from the participant terminal if the participant identification information has been recorded in the recording step; a second acceptance step of, when receiving a second login request transmitted from the host terminal of the host, checking whether the host identification information of the host requesting the second login has been recorded in the recording step, and permitting the second login from the host terminal if the host identification information has been recorded in the recording step; an item receiving step for receiving, when the second login is permitted in the second receiving step, information on an item to be auctioned from the venue main terminal for which the second login is permitted; a bid acceptance step for accepting bids for the auction item from one or more participant terminals permitted to log in when a start request is received from a venue owner terminal, the start request being a request for starting an auction for the item whose auction information has been accepted in the auction acceptance step; a distribution control step of controlling distribution of bid information related to the bid accepted in the bid acceptance step to one or more participant terminals permitted to log in first; determining a successful bidder for the item based on bids from one or more participant terminals; Equipped with The bid acceptance process is as follows: a price receiving step of receiving input of a bid price for an item from one or more participant terminals; The recording process is The bid price for the item accepted in the price acceptance step is recorded in association with the participant terminal that input the bid price; The confirmation process is a confirmation process step of, when a confirmation request which is a request for a process of confirming a successful bidder is received from a venue owner terminal, confirming as the successful bidder a participant corresponding to a participant terminal associated with the highest bid price among the bid prices of the auction item recorded in the recording step; The distribution control step includes: a prohibition step of prohibiting distribution of the participant's own bid price input by the participant terminal to other participant terminals with respect to the bid price included in the bid information received in the price reception step, at least until a confirmation request is received in the confirmation processing step; a numeric display step of distributing, as bid information to one or more participant terminals, numeric information obtained by extracting at least one numeric value of the most significant digit of the bid price from the bid price received by the price receiving unit and changing the numeric value of the bid price to a numeric string different from the numeric string of the bid price, and making the bid information displayable; Equipped with.

[0024] As with the above-mentioned auction device, the auction method of the present invention can promote negotiation among participants in the auction and prevent participants from losing interest.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present invention, The numerical display process can extract the numerical values ​​of at least one or more digits of the bid price in order from the most significant digit and change the numerical information into a numerical sequence different from the numerical sequence of the bid price, and distribute the numerical information as bid information to one or more participant terminals so that it can be displayed.

[0026] According to this, numerical information in which at least one or more digits of the bid price are extracted in order from the most significant digit and converted into a different numerical string can be distributed to the participant terminal and displayed. Therefore, the most significant digit of the bid price can be displayed. Therefore, important numerical values ​​included in the bid price can be made public, and the bid price can be determined based on the public numerical values, which can promote bargaining among participants in the auction and prevent participants from losing interest.

[0027] In an embodiment of the present invention, The numerical display process is The highest bid price among the bid prices for the item recorded in the recorder can be changed to a different numeric string, and the resulting numeric information can be distributed as bid information to one or more participant terminals for display.

[0028] According to this system, the numbers contained in the most significant digit of the highest bid price are disclosed to auction participants, providing hints for predicting the current highest bid price. This allows participants to determine their bid price based on the disclosed hints, eliminating the monotony of auctions where bid prices are not disclosed.

[0029] In an embodiment of the present invention, The numerical display step can be displayed as a vertical row of different numerical values.

[0030] According to this, by adopting the uncommon vertical writing style for price notation, different numeric strings are less likely to be mistaken for prices.

[0031] In an embodiment of the present invention, The numeric display process has an area display unit that can distribute and display a numeric display area capable of individually displaying each numeric value from 0 to 9 to one or more participant terminals, and can display numbers corresponding to each extracted numeric value in the numeric display area.

[0032] According to this, since there is an area where each number from 0 to 9 can be displayed individually, it is less likely that the displayed number will be mistaken for the bid price itself.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present invention, a sell-out price receiving step of receiving an input of the sell-out price of the item from a venue owner terminal; The numerical display process is if the highest bid price among the bid prices for the item recorded in the recording step is less than the clearance price accepted in the clearance price acceptance step, extracting at least one or more digits of the clearance price, starting from the most significant digit, and changing the digits into a different numeric string, distributing the changed digits to one or more participant terminals and displaying them; If the highest bid price among the bid prices for the item recorded in the recording process is equal to or higher than the clearance price accepted in the clearance price acceptance process, numerical information for the highest bid price changed to a different numerical sequence can be distributed to one or more participant terminals as bid information and displayed.

[0034] According to this, the sale price can also be disclosed to auction participants, including the number contained in the most significant digit.

[0035] In an embodiment of the present invention, a switching receiving step of receiving a switching request transmitted from a venue owner terminal, the switching request being a switching request for switching between displaying and not displaying the numerical information at the participant terminal; Equipped with When the switching request is accepted at the switching acceptance step, If numerical information is displayed on the participant terminal by the numerical display step immediately before the switching request, the numerical information is hidden on the participant terminal; If the numerical information is not displayed on the participant terminal immediately before the switching request, the numerical information can be displayed on the participant terminal by the numerical display step.

[0036] This makes it possible to set whether or not to display numerical information on the participant terminal in response to a switching request from the host terminal. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0037] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an auction system using an auction device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of registering a person who wishes to participate in an auction as a member. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a portion of an example registration page for a person who wishes to participate in an auction to register as a member. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart showing a process in which an auction participant logs in to an auction site and receives live video of the auction. [Figure 5A] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a login page that allows auction participants to log in to an auction site. [Figure 5B] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a login page that allows a venue owner who is hosting an auction to log in to an auction site. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an auction screen displayed on a display unit of a participant terminal participating in an auction with a bidding method in which participants can submit bids by adding an additional amount to the current price any number of times. [Figure 7] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow for registering a venue owner who will hold an auction. [Figure 8] 11 is a flowchart showing the process in which a venue owner who is hosting an auction logs into an auction site using a venue owner terminal and distributes live video of the auction to participant terminals. [Figure 9]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a management screen displayed on a display of a venue owner terminal for holding an auction using a bidding method in which bidders can submit bids by adding an additional amount to the current price any number of times. [Figure 10] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a management screen displayed on a display of a venue owner terminal for holding an auction using a bidding method in which the bid prices themselves are not disclosed to other participants. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an auction screen displayed on a display unit of a participant terminal participating in an auction using a bidding method in which the bid price itself is not disclosed to other participants. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a countdown displayed on the auction screen of FIG. 11. [Figure 13] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a numerical information display area displayed on the auction screen of FIG. 11. [Figure 14] 12 is a diagram showing an example of a pop-up for confirming a bid price displayed on the auction screen of FIG. 11. [Figure 15] 12 is a diagram showing an example of all the numerical values ​​that can be displayed in the numerical information display area displayed on the auction screen of FIG. 11. [Figure 16] 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow for providing a bidding auction service in which an auction device can submit bids by adding an additional amount to a current price any number of times on the Internet; [Figure 17] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a process in which an auction device provides an auction service using a bidding method in which the bid price itself is not disclosed to other participants. [Figure 18] 18 is a flowchart showing an example of S67 in FIG. 17. [Figure 19] 19 is a flowchart showing an example of S101 in FIG. 18. [Figure 20] FIG. 12 shows an example of a numerical information display area displayed on the auction screen of FIG. 11 (an example in which numerical values ​​different from those of FIG. 13 are displayed in the numerical information display area). [Figure 21] 18 is a flowchart showing an example of S71 in FIG. 17. [Figure 22]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a guide page displayed on the display unit of a participant terminal that has not logged in for a predetermined period of time. [Diagram 23] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a portion of a management screen for editing the guide page of FIG. 22. [Figure 24] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a list of information entered through the guide page of FIG. 22. [Diagram 25] FIG. 13 shows an example of a screen that allows a successful bidder to upload an invoice for shipping costs for the successful bid. [Figure 26] FIG. 21 shows an example of a numerical information display area displayed on the auction screen of FIG. 11 (an example in which numerical values ​​different from those of FIG. 13 and FIG. 20 are displayed in the numerical information display area). [Figure 27] FIG. 23 shows an example in which a numerical information display area is displayed on the auction screen of FIG. 11 (an example in which numerical values ​​different from those in FIG. 13, FIG. 20, and FIG. 26 are displayed in the numerical information display area). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0038] FIG 1 shows an example of an auction system S using an auction device 1 according to the present invention. The auction system S is an auction system for antiques. The auction system S comprises a venue owner terminal V located at the venue where the auction is held, participant terminals P held by participants who participate in the auction, and the auction device 1 which functions as a server for conducting auctions over the Internet. For the sake of convenience, four venue owner terminals V and four participant terminals P are shown in FIG 1, but the auction system S comprises a large number of venue owner terminals V and a large number of participant terminals P.

[0039] The venue owner terminal V is a terminal such as a personal computer, tablet, smartphone, or computer owned by the venue owner of the auction venue (the venue owner who holds the auction). The venue owner terminal V is provided at each of a plurality of auction venues located at different locations. The participant terminal P is a terminal such as a personal computer, tablet, smartphone, or computer owned by a participant who participates in the auction via the Internet. A participant uses the participant terminal P to participate in the auction via the Internet from the auction venue, or participates in the auction via the Internet from a location away from the auction venue. The auction device 1 communicates with the venue owner terminal V and the participant terminal P mutually via the Internet, and functions as a computer server that receives live video of the auction held at the auction venue from the venue owner terminal V and distributes it to the participant terminal P. The auction device 1 also functions as a computer server that provides an Internet auction function (Internet auction site) where participants can bid on and win items auctioned at the auction venue from their participant terminal P.

[0040] Next, the venue owner terminal V, the participant terminal P, and the auction device 1 will be described. First, the parts common to the venue owner terminal V, the participant terminal P, and the auction device 1 will be described together. The venue owner terminal V, the participant terminal P, and the auction device 1 each include a communication unit and a control unit. The communication unit 2 of the venue owner terminal V and the communication unit 4 of the auction device 1 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via the Internet, and the communication unit 2 of the venue owner terminal V and the communication unit 4 of the auction device 1 communicate with each other. In addition, the communication unit 3 of the participant terminal P and the communication unit 4 of the auction device 1 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via the Internet, and the communication unit 3 of the participant terminal P and the communication unit 4 of the auction device 1 communicate with each other. Each control unit 5 to 7 includes a CPU 5a, 6a, 7a, a RAM 5b, 6b, 7b, and a storage 5c, 6c, 7c, which are connected by a bus.

[0041] The CPU 5a is responsible for all information processing such as data communication in the control unit 5, and the RAM 5b is a volatile storage unit that functions as a working area for the CPU 5a. The storage 5c is a storage unit that stores data and software (programs) for performing necessary processing in the control unit 5. The same applies to the CPU 6a, RAM 6b, and storage 6c of the control unit 6, and the CPU 7a, RAM 7b, and storage 7c of the control unit 7. The venue owner terminal V, participant terminal P, and auction device 1 will be described in detail below.

[0042] The venue owner terminal V transmits, for example, live video of the auction items being auctioned in order at the auction venue to the auction device 1. The venue owner terminal V also notifies the participant terminals P of the auction participants of the start and end of the auction, and is also a terminal for managing the auction. As shown in FIG. 1, the venue owner terminal V includes a communication unit 2, a control unit 5, a camera 8, a microphone 9, and a display 10. The control unit 5 is a main unit that transmits live video of the auction items being auctioned at the auction venue to the auction device 1, manages the auction, and notifies the participant terminals P and the like about the auction. The camera 8 captures live video of each auction being held in sequence at the auction venue. The microphone 9 picks up the voices of the auctioneers and the auction venue at each auction. The display 10 displays screens and the like that are displayed by starting programs and the like stored in the storage 5c, and is operated by a keyboard, mouse, and the like (not shown). The display 10 displays, for example, a management screen for managing the auction that is distributed from the auction device 1 that provides the auction site. The storage 5c of the control unit 5 stores a communication program 5c1, a video program 5c2, etc. The communication program 5c1 is a program used to communicate with the auction device 1, etc. via the Internet and provide an auction service to the participant terminal P. The video program 5c2 is a program to transmit live video of an auction held at the auction venue to the auction device 1.

[0043] The participant terminal P is a terminal for participating in an auction held at an auction venue via the Internet. As shown in FIG. 1, the participant terminal P includes a communication unit 3, a control unit 6, and a display unit 11. The control unit 6 is a main unit that displays on the display unit 11 videos and the like distributed from the auction device 1. The display unit 11 also displays live videos of the auction distributed from the auction device 1, information on items being auctioned, and operation buttons that enable bidding on items being auctioned. The storage 6c of the control unit 6 stores a communication program 6c1, a display program 6c2, an operation program 6c3, and the like. The communication program 6c1 is a program used for communicating with the auction device 1 and the like via the Internet. The display program 6c2 is a program for displaying videos and the like distributed from the auction device 1. The operation program 6c3 is a program for transmitting an operation signal to the auction device 1 when an operation button displayed on the display unit 11 is operated.

[0044] The auction device 1 distributes live video of the auction transmitted from the venue owner terminal V to the participant terminal P, and functions as a server (auction site) for participants to participate in the auction on the Internet using the participant terminal P, and for the venue owner to manage the auction on the Internet that he / she holds using the venue owner terminal V. As shown in FIG. 1, the auction device 1 includes a communication unit 4 and a control unit 7. The control unit 7 is an entity that distributes live video of the auction held at the auction venue and provides the venue owner terminal V and the participant terminal P with an auction site that enables the auction on the Internet. A communication program 7c1, a distribution program 7c2, an auction program 7c3, and the like are stored in the storage 7c of the control unit 7. The communication program 7c1 is a program used to communicate with the venue owner terminal V and the participant terminal P, etc., via the Internet. The distribution program 7c2 is a program that distributes live video of the auction transmitted from the venue owner terminal V to the participant terminal P. The auction program 7c3 is a program that enables participants to participate in the auction on the Internet using the participant terminal P, and the venue owner to participate in the auction on the Internet using the venue owner terminal V. Storage 7c also stores data such as participant identification information that identifies participants participating in the auction, and venue owner identification information that identifies the venue owner hosting the auction. The participant identification information is recorded in storage 7c in association with information about the participant for each participant, and multiple pieces of participant identification information are stored in storage 7c. The venue owner identification information is also recorded in storage 7c in association with information about the venue owner for each venue owner, and multiple pieces of venue owner identification information are stored in storage 7c.

[0045] Next, the processes performed using the various programs and the like mentioned above will be described.

[0046] The process in FIG. 2 is a process for registering participants who can participate in the auction. A person who wishes to participate in the auction accesses a website designated in advance on the participant terminal P. Then, for example, a web page shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display unit 11 of the participant terminal P. A person who wishes to participate in the auction applies for membership registration to participate in the auction from the displayed web page. For example, the person enters the name, representative name, trade name, company name, telephone number, desired password, email address (not shown), etc. in the input form on the web page, attaches an image of a secondhand goods dealer license, and clicks a send button (not shown) (S1 in FIG. 2). Then, the member registration application information such as the name of the member registration applicant is transmitted to the auction device 1. When the auction device 1 receives the member registration application information, each information of the member registration applicant such as the name, representative name, trade name, company name, telephone number, and the image of the attached secondhand goods dealer license is recorded in the storage 7c of the auction device 1. Next, the administrator of the auction device 1 checks whether the member registration applicant has a secondhand goods dealer license based on the attached image of the secondhand goods dealer license. If the member registration applicant has a secondhand goods dealer license, the administrator of the auction device 1 registers the member registration applicant as a participant who can participate in the auction. When registering, a member number and a password for logging in to the auction site provided by the auction device 1 are generated, and the generated member number and password are linked to the name, representative name, trade name, company name, telephone number, email address, and the like of the member registration applicant (auction participant) and recorded in the storage 7c (S2 in FIG. 2). Then, the administrator of the auction device 1 sends the member number and password to the registered auction participant (S3 in FIG. 2). For example, the member number and password required to log in to the auction site are sent to the email address of the registered auction participant. The participant can log in to the auction site from the participant terminal P by receiving the member number and password. This series of processes is repeated every time member information registration is sent to the auction device 1 from the web page shown in FIG. 3.

[0047] The process in FIG. 4 is a process in which a participant who participates in an auction as a buyer logs in to the auction site using a participant terminal P and receives live video of the auction. The participant accesses the login page (FIG. 5A) of the auction site using the participant terminal P, enters his / her membership number and password, and clicks a button for logging in to the desired auction venue (the "Participate in Area A Auction" button B1 or the "Participate in Area B Auction" button B1). Then, the login information of the membership number and password is transmitted from the participant terminal P to the auction device 1 (S11 in FIG. 4). When the auction device 1 receives the login information, it checks whether the participant is qualified to log in by, for example, referring to data recorded in the storage 7c based on the received login information. If the result of the reference shows that the participant is recorded in the storage 7c as a participant of the auction who is registered as a member, it is determined that the participant is qualified to log in (S12: Yes in FIG. 4) and the login from the participant terminal P is permitted (S13 in FIG. 4). If the participant is not qualified to log in (S12: No in FIG. 4), the login is rejected and a message is displayed on the display unit 11 of the participant terminal P indicating that the entered membership number or password is incorrect, and the page is returned to the login page in FIG. 5A. When login of the participant terminal P is permitted in S13 of Fig. 4, an auction page such as that shown in Fig. 6 or 11 is displayed on the display unit 11 of the participant terminal P. When the live video reception button B2 at the top center of the auction page is clicked, a request to receive live video of the auction is transmitted to the auction device 1. Then, the live video of the auction venue, etc. transmitted from the venue owner terminal V to the auction device 1 is distributed to the participant terminal P.

[0048] The process in FIG. 7 is a process for registering a venue owner who will hold an auction at an auction venue. For example, a venue owner who wishes to hold an auction at a venue owned by him / herself as the auction venue sends venue owner registration application information, including his / her name, representative name, trade name / company name, telephone number, desired password, venue name, email address, commission (hereinafter, "selling commission") that determines the commission amount (the amount obtained by multiplying the successful bid price by the commission amount to be paid by the seller) to be paid by the seller when the auctioned item is sold, and a copy of the secondhand goods market owner license, to the administrator of the auction device 1 (S21 in FIG. 7). When the administrator of the auction device 1 receives the venue owner registration application information, the administrator records the venue owner registration applicant's information, such as the name, representative name, trade name / company name, telephone number, and selling commission, and an image of the attached secondhand goods market owner license in the storage 7c. Next, the administrator checks whether the venue owner registration applicant has a secondhand goods market owner license based on the copy of the secondhand goods market owner license. If the venue owner registration applicant has a secondhand goods market owner's license, the applicant is registered as a venue owner who can hold an auction. During registration, a membership number and password for logging in as a venue owner to the auction site provided by the auction device 1 are generated, and the generated membership number and password are linked to the name, representative name, trade name, company name, telephone number, venue name, email address, sales commission, and the like of the venue owner registration applicant (venue owner of the auction) and recorded in the storage 7c (S22). Then, the administrator of the auction device 1 sends the membership number and password to the venue owner of the registered auction (S23). For example, the membership number and password required to log in to the auction site are sent to the email address of the venue owner of the registered auction. By receiving the membership number and password, the venue owner can log in to the auction site from the venue owner terminal V. This series of processes is repeatedly executed every time venue owner registration application information is sent to the administrator of the auction device 1.

[0049] In the process of FIG. 8, the venue owner who hosts the auction logs in to the auction site using the venue owner terminal V, and distributes live video of the auction held at the auction venue to the participant terminals P. The venue owner who hosts the auction accesses the login page (FIG. 5B) of the auction site using the venue owner terminal V, enters his / her membership number and password, and logs in to the auction site. Then, the venue owner terminal V transmits the login information of the membership number and password to the auction device 1 (S31 in FIG. 8). When the auction device 1 receives the login information, it checks whether the venue owner has the login qualification by, for example, referring to the data recorded in the storage 7c based on the received login information. If the result of the reference shows that the venue owner is recorded in the storage 7c as the venue owner of the registered auction, it is determined that the venue owner has the login qualification (S32: Yes in FIG. 8) and the login from the venue owner terminal V is permitted (S33 in FIG. 8). If the venue owner does not have the login qualification (S32: No in FIG. 8), the login is rejected and a message is displayed on the display 10 of the venue owner terminal V indicating that the entered membership number and password are incorrect, and the page is returned to the login page (S34 in FIG. 8). When login is permitted in S33 of FIG. 8, a management screen page (see FIG. 9 and FIG. 10) for managing the auction is displayed on the display 10 of the venue owner terminal V. The displayed management screen page varies depending on the bidding method of the auction. The management screen is operated using the mouse or keyboard of the venue owner terminal V, and the venue owner who manages the auction manages the auction by operating the management screen in accordance with the progress of the auction at the auction venue. For example, FIG. 9 shows a management screen when an auction is held using a bidding method (hereinafter referred to as the "additional bidding method") in which it is possible to bid by submitting an additional amount to the current price any number of times. Also, FIG. 10 shows a management screen when an auction is held using a bidding method (hereinafter referred to as the "limited bidding method") in which auction participants can submit a bid price, for example, only once or multiple times (for example, twice) (the bid amount for the same item cannot be changed after a preset number of bids has been submitted).

[0050] Here, the management screen page of FIG. 9 will be described in detail. The management screen of FIG. 9 is a management screen for conducting an auction using the top-up bidding method. On the display 10 of the venue owner terminal V, an operation display section OC for controlling the distribution of the auction, etc., a plurality of input forms related to the items to be auctioned, etc., and operation buttons for controlling the start of the auction, etc. are displayed. The operation display section OC comprises an auction distribution display section OC1, a distribution start button OC2, a bid change button CH, and a logout button OC3. The words "Auction distribution" are displayed on the auction distribution display section OC1 to indicate that the screen of FIG. 9 is a screen for distributing the auction. As input forms, from the top, a date form F1 for inputting the date of the auction and a venue name form F2 for inputting the name of the venue where the auction will be held are displayed. Below that are displayed an auction number form F3 for inputting the auction number, a seller number form F4 for inputting the seller number of the item to be auctioned, an item name form F5 for inputting the name of the item to be auctioned, a quantity form F6 for inputting the quantity of the item to be auctioned, a starting price form F7 for inputting the starting bid price for the item to be auctioned, and a buyer number form F8 for inputting the successful bidder in the auction. Operation buttons include, from the top, a start button OP1, a sell out light button OP2, a tentative confirmation button OP3, a contract / confirmation button OP4, a resume button OP5, and a flow OP6.

[0051] The start button OP1 is a button for starting an auction. When the start button OP1 is clicked on the venue owner terminal V, a start signal is transmitted from the venue owner terminal V to the auction device 1, and a start signal is transmitted from the auction device 1 to each participant terminal P. Then, each participant terminal P becomes able to place a bid on the item being auctioned. The sell-out light button OP2 is a button for notifying participants that the item being auctioned will be sold out in the ongoing auction. When the bid price of the item being auctioned is equal to or higher than the minimum selling price (for example, a price set in advance by the seller of the item being auctioned), the sell-out light button OP2 is clicked on the venue owner terminal V. Then, a sell-out signal is transmitted from the venue owner terminal V to the auction device 1, and a sell-out signal is transmitted from the auction device 1 to each participant terminal P. Then, each participant terminal P is notified that the item being auctioned will be sold out in the ongoing auction. The provisional confirmation button OP3 is a button for provisionally confirming the successful bidder of the item being auctioned. When the provisional confirmation button OP3 is clicked, a provisional confirmation signal, which is a provisional confirmation request, is transmitted to the auction device 1. Then, the provisional confirmation signal is transmitted from the auction device 1 to each participant terminal P, and bidding is prohibited from each participant terminal P. The contract / confirmation button OP4 is a button for confirming the successful bidder of the item being auctioned. When the contract / confirmation button OP4 is clicked, a contract / confirmation signal is transmitted to the auction device 1, and the contract / confirmation signal is transmitted from the auction device 1 to each participant terminal P. Then, each participant terminal P is notified that the successful bidder has been confirmed. The resume button OP5 is a button for returning the state in which the successful bidder has been provisionally confirmed and bidding from each participant terminal P is prohibited to a state in which bidding can be made again. When the resume button OP5 is clicked, a resume signal, which is a resume request, is transmitted to the auction device 1. Then, the auction device 1 transmits a resume signal to each participant terminal P, and bidding operations from each participant terminal P are enabled again. The flow button OP6 is a button for confirming the flow of bidding of the item being auctioned. When the cancel button OP6 is clicked, a cancel signal is transmitted to the auction apparatus 1. Then, the cancel signal is transmitted from the auction apparatus 1 to each participant terminal P, notifying each participant terminal P of the cancelled bid.

[0052] When the distribution start button OC2 on the management screen page of FIG. 9 is clicked, a distribution request signal is transmitted from the venue owner terminal V to the auction device 1, and a setting screen (not shown) for the camera 8 and microphone 9 of the venue owner terminal V opens, allowing the user to select the camera 8 and microphone 9 for distributing live video of the auction venue. When the camera 8 and microphone 9 are selected on the setting screen (not shown), the video and audio of the auction venue input from the camera 8 and microphone 9 of the venue owner terminal V are transmitted to the auction device 1 through the venue owner terminal V. When the auction device 1 receives the video and audio transmitted from the venue owner terminal V, it distributes the video and audio of the auction venue to each participant terminal P that is logged in and has requested to receive the live video. In addition to the video of the auction venue, the auction device 1 distributes a display screen having an operation unit including operation buttons for bidding from the participant terminal P and a display unit including the current price of the auction item. In FIG. 6, the video unit 11a of the participant terminal P displays the video of the auction venue (not shown in FIG. 6) as well as the operation buttons for bidding and the current price of the auction item.

[0053] Returning to the management screen of FIG. 9, when the change bid button CH located at the top is clicked, a setting request signal (change request signal) for the bidding method is transmitted from the venue owner terminal V to the auction device 1. When the auction device 1 receives the setting request signal transmitted from the venue owner terminal V, it transmits the management screen shown in FIG. 10 to the venue owner terminal V and updates the management screen of FIG. 9 to the management screen of FIG. 10. The management screen of FIG. 10 is a management screen for conducting an auction using the limited bidding method. The management screen of FIG. 10 will be described below, but the same components as those of the management screen of FIG. 9 are given the same reference numerals and will not be described. The display 10 of the venue owner terminal V displays an operation display section OC, a plurality of input forms related to the items to be auctioned, and operation buttons for operating the start of the auction. The operation display section OC includes an auction distribution display section OC1, a distribution start button OC2, a change bid button CH, and a logout button OC3. As input forms, a date form F1 and a venue name form F2 are displayed from the top. Below them are displayed an auction number form F3, a seller number form F4, an item name form F5, a quantity form F6, a check box CB1 to be checked if the auctioned item is subject to the reduced tax rate (checking this check box generates a report reflecting the reduced tax rate), a clearance price form F9 in which the minimum selling price of the item to be auctioned (for example, a price preset by the seller of the item to be auctioned) is entered, a successful bidder form F11 to display the successful bidder in the immediately preceding auction, and a comment display form CB2 in which comments entered from the participant terminal P are displayed for a fixed period of time (for example, 10 seconds). Operation buttons include, from the left, a start button OP1, a bid closing button OP7, a cancel button OP8, and a display ON / OFF button OP9. The bid closing button OP7 is a button that notifies the user of the closing of the bid and ends the auction of the item being auctioned. When the bid close button OP7 is clicked, a confirmation request signal, which is a request for processing to confirm the successful bidder, is transmitted to the auction device 1, and a bid close signal is transmitted from the auction device 1 to each participant terminal P.Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 12, a countdown CD (for example, a 5-second countdown display) is displayed on each participant terminal P to notify the closing of bidding, and when the countdown ends, a notification is given such as confirmation of the successful bidder, confirmation of the bid failure (if the bid price is lower than the minimum selling price), or confirmation of a re-auction (if the highest bid price is equal to or higher than the minimum selling price and there are multiple bids at the highest bid price) depending on the bidding situation. Returning to FIG. 10, the cancel button OP8 on the management screen is a button for canceling the auction started by the start button OP1. For example, this button is operated when it is necessary to restart the auction for some reason. When the cancel button OP8 is clicked, a cancel signal is transmitted to the auction device 1. Then, the auction device 1 transmits a cancel signal to each participant terminal P. Then, for example, a display is displayed on each participant terminal P to the effect that the ongoing auction has been canceled, and bidding from each participant terminal P is prohibited. Furthermore, when the auction apparatus 1 receives a cancel signal from the venue owner terminal V, it updates the management screen of FIG. 10 displayed on the display 10 of the venue owner terminal V, and may, for example, clear the contents of each input form, or may return to the state immediately before the start button OP1 was clicked. This allows the venue owner terminal V to restart the auction. The display ON / OFF button OP9 is a button for switching between displaying and hiding numerical information regarding the bid price of other people. When the display ON / OFF button OP9 is clicked, a switching request signal, which is a switching request for switching between displaying and hiding numerical information regarding the bid price, is transmitted to the auction apparatus 1, and the switching request signal is transmitted from the auction apparatus 1 to each participant terminal P. Immediately before this switching request signal is transmitted, if the numerical information regarding the bid price is not displayed on each participant terminal P, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, a vertically long numerical information display area R displaying numerical information as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed on each participant terminal P.On the other hand, if numerical information regarding the bid price (numerical information display area R) is displayed on each participant terminal P, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, immediately before a switching request signal is transmitted from the auction apparatus 1 to each participant terminal P, the numerical information display area R that displays the numerical information regarding the bid price is made invisible (see FIG. 12), thereby hiding the numerical information regarding the bid price.

[0054] Next, a detailed description will be given of the web page displayed on the participant terminal P receiving the live video of the auction venue. Fig. 6 shows the web page displayed on the participant terminal P when an auction using the added bidding method is held. The participant terminal P displays a video section 11a that displays live video of the auction, a first display section 11b that displays the status of the auction such as the current price promotion of the items being auctioned and also displays buttons for performing operations related to the auction, and a second display section 11c that displays buttons for performing operations such as receiving the live video of the auction.

[0055] The video section 11a displays a live video of the auction being held at the auction venue (displayed if a request for live video distribution has been made), and the bottom end of the video section 11a is provided with a comment input field C1 and a post button C2. When a participant enters text into the comment input field C1 from a participant terminal P and clicks the post button C2, a comment signal is transmitted to the auction device 1. Upon receiving the comment signal, the auction device 1 distributes to each participant terminal P a video in which comments C3 flowing from right to left are superimposed on the live video of the auction so that the comment entered into the comment input field C1 can be viewed. Through the video section 11a of each participant terminal P, participants can check the comments C3 entered by themselves and other participants in the comment input field C1.

[0056] The first display section 11b is equipped with, from the top, a participant ID display section D1, a comment ON button B3, a comment OFF button B4, a bid button B5, a watch button B6, an auction number display section D2, an item name display section D3, a current price PR display section D4, a sold out display section D5, a rights display section D6, and a bid button B7.

[0057] The ID display section D1 displays identification information for identifying a participant participating in the auction from the participant terminal P. The comment ON button B3 and the comment OFF button B4 are buttons for opening and closing the comment input field C1 and controlling the display and non-display of the comment C3 displayed in the video section 11a. When the comment ON button B3 is clicked, the comment ON button B3 is lit, and the comment input field C1 and the post button C2 of the video section 11a are displayed on the screen of the video section 11a, and the comment C3 input from the participant's own or another participant terminal P is displayed on the screen of the video section 11a. On the other hand, when the comment OFF button B4 is clicked, the comment ON button B3 is turned off and the comment OFF button B4 is lit, and the comment input field C1 and the post button C2 of the video section 11a are closed and no longer displayed in the video section 11a, and the comments input from other participant terminals P are no longer displayed in the video section 11a.

[0058] The bid button B5 and the observe button B6 are buttons that permit or prohibit bidding operations in the auction. The bid button B5 is a button that permits clicking of the bid button B7. When the bid button B5 is clicked, the bid button B5 lights up and the bid button B7 can be clicked. The observe button B6 is a button that prohibits clicking of the bid button B7. When the observe button B6 is clicked, the observe button B6 lights up, the bid button B7 goes out, and the bid button B7 cannot be clicked.

[0059] Display unit D2 displays the number (bid number) of the auction being broadcast live. Display unit D3 displays the name of the item being auctioned. Display unit D4 displays the current price PR of the item being auctioned. Selling limit display unit D5 displays to notify that the item being auctioned will be sold out in the ongoing auction. When the current price PR on display unit D4 becomes equal to or exceeds the minimum selling price (for example, a price set in advance by the seller of the item being auctioned), selling limit display unit D5 lights up to notify that the item being auctioned will be sold out in the ongoing auction. Rights display unit D6 displays to notify whether or not you have the right to win the item being auctioned. Bid button B7 is a button for placing a bid on the item being auctioned.

[0060] The second display section 11c is provided with, from the left, an ID display section D7, a live video reception button B2, an area switching button B8, and a logout button B9. The ID display section D7 displays identification information for identifying a participant participating in the auction from the participant terminal P. The live video reception button B2 is a button for receiving live video and the like distributed from the auction venue where the auction is live-streamed. When the live video reception button B2 is clicked, live video and the like are distributed from the venue owner terminal V that is live-streaming the state of the auction venue to the video section 11a of the first display section 11b. The area switching button B8 is a button that allows the venue where the auction is being held to be switched. Each time the area switching button B8 is clicked, it is possible to switch between different auction venues that are live-streaming in the same time period. Note that if there are no other auction venues live-streaming in the same time period, the area switching button B8 will not be switched.

[0061] Next, the buttons and displays shown in Fig. 6 will be specifically described through the process in which a participant who has accessed the web page in Fig. 6 participates in the live-streamed auction and wins a bid on an auctioned item. When a live video of the auction, etc. is streamed from the auction device 1 to the participant terminal P, the participant participates in the auction while watching the items, etc. displayed on the video section 11a. When the watch button B6 is lit on the participant terminal P, the bid button B7 cannot be clicked, so to make a bid, the participant clicks the bid button B5, etc., and then clicks the bid button B7 on the participant terminal P while the bid button B5 is lit.

[0062] When the bid button B7 is clicked, a bid signal is transmitted from the participant terminal P to the auction device 1. When the auction device 1 receives the bid signal, it updates the current price PR of the item being auctioned and distributes the updated current price PR to each participant terminal P. For example, if the current price PR at the time of receiving the bid signal is less than 5000 yen, the current price PR plus 500 yen is distributed as the updated current price PR. If the current price PR is 5000 yen or more, the current price PR plus 1000 yen is distributed as the updated current price PR. Then, the display unit D4 of the first display unit 11b of each participant terminal P displays the updated current price PR according to the bid from each participant terminal P. If the updated current price PR becomes equal to or exceeds the minimum selling price of the item being auctioned, the sold out display unit D5 lights up, and it is notified that the item being auctioned will be sold out in the ongoing auction. Also, in the participant terminal P that transmitted the bid button B7, the right display unit D6 lights up, and it is notified that there is a right to win the bid at the present time. When the bid button B7 is clicked on another participant terminal P and a bid signal is transmitted to the auction device 1, the auction device 1 transmits a signal to turn off the right display unit D6 to the participant terminal P that transmitted the previous bid signal, and the right display unit D6 turns off. Also, the right display unit D6 turns on on the first display unit 11b of the participant terminal P that made the latest bid. In this way, each participant terminal P makes a bid, and when a successful bidder is finally determined, a confirmation signal is transmitted to the participant terminal P through the auction device 1, and the successful bidder's identification number "XX successful bid" is displayed over the live video on the video unit 11a, notifying the determination of the successful bidder. On the other hand, when the current price PR does not reach the saleable amount and the bid is confirmed as not being successful, the word "success" is displayed over the live video, notifying the determination of the successful bid.

[0063] In the above, the web page (FIG. 6) displayed on the participant terminal P when an auction using the increased bidding method is conducted is described. Next, referring to FIG. 11, the web page displayed on the participant terminal P when an auction using the limited bidding method is conducted is described. In the web page of FIG. 11, the same components as those in the web page of FIG. 6 are denoted with the same reference numerals and will not be described. The participant terminal P displays a video section 11a, a first display section 11b' which displays information about the item being auctioned and also displays buttons for performing operations related to the auction, and a second display section 11c. From the top, the first display section 11b' includes a signal display section SG which flashes at the start of the auction to notify the start of the auction, a comment ON button B3, a comment OFF button B4, a display section D2 for the auction number (on the right side of the display section D2, if the seller of the auction number is a taxable business operator, "taxable business operator" is displayed, and if the seller is a non-taxable business operator, "non-taxable business operator" is displayed), a display section D3 for the name of the item, a bid price form F10 in which the bid price can be input, and a bid button B7'. The bid price form F10 is a bid price input form for bidding on an item put up for auction. A participant operates the participant terminal P to freely input a desired bid price in the bid price form F10 (in FIG. 11 and other figures, the last two digits are preset to 00 and cannot be changed, but the last two digits may be changeable, and the number of digits that can be input may be set as appropriate). An upper or lower limit may be set for the bid price that can be input. The bid button B7' is a button for bidding on the item being auctioned at the bid price input in the bid price form F10. When the bid button B7' is clicked, a first bid signal is transmitted to the auction device 1, and a pop-up is displayed for final confirmation of whether or not it is OK to bid at the bid price input in the bid price form F10, as shown in FIG. 14. This pop-up display has a button for confirming the bid and a button for canceling the bid. When the confirm button is clicked, a second bid signal for bidding at the bid price input in the bid price form F10 is transmitted to the auction device 1. The auction apparatus 1 performs a bidding process, which will be described later, in response to the transmitted first and second bid signals.When the cancel button is clicked on the pop-up of FIG. 14, the screen returns to the screen in FIG. 11 where the bid price form F10 is input, and the bid price input in the bid price form F10 can be modified. The contents displayed on the participant terminal P when an auction using the limited bidding method is held have been described with reference to FIG. 11. In FIG. 11, the numerical information on the bid price bid by other people (for example, the numerical information display area R shown in FIG. 13) is not displayed on the participant terminal P. FIG. 13 shows an example in which the numerical information on the bid price bid by other people is made public. A vertically long numerical information display area R is displayed on the right end of the video section 11a. The numerical information display area R is an area in which each numerical value from 0 to 9 can be displayed individually, as shown in FIG. 15. In the numerical information display area R, for example, numerical information is displayed that includes at least the numerical value of the most significant digit of the bid price bid by other people, and at least one or more numerical values ​​of each digit of the bid price are extracted and changed to a numerical value sequence different from the numerical value sequence of the bid price. The numerical information display area R in FIG. 13 displays the numerical values ​​3 and 0. This indicates that the most significant digit of the bid price is either 3 or 0, and the next most significant digit (the digit after the most significant) is either 0 or 3. Since the most significant digit is never 0, this indicates that the most significant digit of the bid price is 3, and the next most significant digit is 0. In this way, numerical values ​​according to the bid prices submitted by other people are displayed in the numerical information display area R. The display / hide setting of the numerical information display area R can be switched between visible and hidden each time the display ON / OFF button OP9 on the venue owner terminal V is operated (clicked), as shown in Figure 10.

[0064] Next, each button shown in FIG. 11 will be specifically described through a flow in which a participant who has accessed the web page in FIG. 11 participates in a live-streamed auction and wins a bid for an item put up for auction. When a live video of the auction is streamed from the auction device 1 to the participant terminal P, the participant participates in the auction while viewing the items displayed on the video section 11a. FIG. 11 also has a comment input field C1 as in FIG. 6, but when the auction device 1 receives a comment signal from the participant terminal P, it streams the comment input from the participant terminal P to the venue owner terminal V so that the comment input from the participant terminal P is displayed in the comment display form CB2 of the management screen of the venue owner terminal V shown in FIG. 10 for a certain period of time (for example, 10 seconds). This allows the venue owner to check the comments displayed on the venue owner terminal V for a certain period of time, and prevents the venue owner from missing a comment. Also, for example, when multiple comments are sent within a few seconds, the comment display form CB2 may be configured to display a certain number of comments (for example, three comments) so that multiple comments can be checked simultaneously.

[0065] When bidding in the auction becomes possible, the participant inputs a desired bid price in the bid price form F10 of FIG. 11 on the participant terminal P and clicks the Bid button B7'. When the Bid button B7' is clicked, a first bid signal is transmitted from the participant terminal P to the auction device 1. When the auction device 1 receives the first bid signal, it distributes a pop-up display (FIG. 14) to the participant terminal P (the participant terminal P that transmitted the first bid signal) to confirm whether or not to confirm the bid at the price input in the bid price form F10 of FIG. 13. When the Confirm button on the pop-up display is clicked on the participant terminal P, a second bid signal is transmitted from the participant terminal P to the auction device 1. When the auction device 1 receives the second bid signal, it records the bid price input by the participant terminal P in the storage 7c in association with the participant terminal P that transmitted the second bid signal or the participant identification information corresponding to the participant terminal P. For example, if the bid price entered in the bid price form F10 as shown in FIG. 14 is 3000 yen, the bid price of 3000 yen is recorded in the storage 7c in association with the participant terminal P that transmitted the bid price and the participant identification information of the participant terminal P. In the auction device 1, a bid confirmation signal is transmitted from the auction device 1 to the participant terminal P that transmitted the second bid signal, and subsequent bids are prohibited according to the number of times the second bid signal is transmitted from the participant terminal P that transmitted the second bid signal. For example, if the number of times the bid price for the same item is set to be changed is two, when the auction device 1 receives a second second bid signal for the same item (the auction device 1 stores the number of times the second bid signal is transmitted from each participant terminal P for each item in association with the participant terminal P that transmitted the second bid signal and the participant identification information of the participant terminal P in the storage 7c), the auction device 1 prohibits subsequent bids from the participant terminal P that transmitted the second second bid signal. In this manner, bids are made from each participant terminal P. When the bidding period is closed, the auction device 1 executes a process to determine the successful bidder.If the successful bidder can be confirmed, a signal confirming the successful bidder is transmitted from the auction apparatus 1 to the participant terminal P, and the successful bidder's identification number, for example, "Bid No. XX Winner" is displayed over the live video on the video section 11a, to notify the confirmation of the successful bidder. On the other hand, if the highest bid price does not reach the saleable amount (the price entered in the sell-through price form F9 in FIG. 10) and the bid is cancelled, the word "Closed" is displayed over the live video to notify the confirmation of the cancellation. Also, if the highest bid price is equal to or exceeds the saleable amount, but there are multiple bids at the highest bid price, a re-auction is confirmed and the word "Re-auction" is displayed over the live video to notify the confirmation of the re-auction.

[0066] Next, the buttons on the management screens of Figs. 9 and 10 displayed on the display 10 of the venue owner terminal V will be explained through the flow of managing an auction using the venue owner terminal V that broadcasts the auction live. First, the management screen of Fig. 9 will be explained. The management screen of Fig. 9 is a management screen for implementing an auction using the top-up bidding method. When starting this auction at the auction venue, the date is selected from the pull-down menu of the date form F1 in Fig. 9, the venue name is selected from the pull-down menu of the venue name form F2, and the seller who will be conducting the auction is selected from the pull-down menu of the seller number form F4. The seller is selected from those who are registered in advance as participants in Fig. 2. Then, the name of the item to be put up for auction is entered in the item name form F5, the quantity of the item to be put up for auction is entered in the quantity form F6, and the starting price of the item to be put up for auction is entered in the starting price form F7, and the start button OP1 is clicked. Then, together with a start signal (auction start request), the information (item information) entered in each form is transmitted to the auction device 1, and information such as the current price PR is displayed on each participant terminal P that has received a delivery request from the auction device 1 (see FIG. 6). For example, when the auction device 1 receives the auction number and item name transmitted from the venue owner terminal V, the auction device 1 displays the auction number and item name transmitted from the venue owner terminal V on the auction number display section D2 and item name display section D3 in FIG. 6 of each participant terminal P that has logged in and requested to receive live video. Then, bidding from each participant terminal P becomes possible. When the venue owner confirms that the current price PR of the item being auctioned has reached the minimum selling price due to the bid from the participant terminal P, the venue owner clicks the sell-out light button OP2. Then, a sell-out light signal is transmitted to the auction device 1, and the sell-out display section D5 (FIG. 6) is turned on in each participant terminal P. Also, when the current price PR of the item being auctioned stops rising, the venue owner clicks the provisional confirmation button OP3 in FIG. 9. Then, a provisional confirmation signal is transmitted to the auction apparatus 1, and bidding operations are prohibited from each participant terminal P. If the current price PR rises immediately before clicking the provisional confirmation button OP3, the venue owner clicks the resume button OP5.Then, a restart signal is sent to the auction device 1, bidding becomes possible from each participant terminal P, and bidding resumes from each participant terminal P. Finally, the venue owner clicks the Settlement / Confirmation button OP4 or Cancellation button OP6, and a confirmation signal (end request) is sent from the venue owner terminal V to the auction device 1, and the end of the auction (confirmation of the successful bidder or confirmation of cancellation of the bid) is notified to each participant terminal P, and the auction ends.

[0067] The process in FIG. 16 is a process in which the auction device 1 provides an auction service using the top-up bidding method on the Internet. When the auction device 1 receives a request signal for distribution of live video of the auction venue from the venue owner terminal V logged in to the auction site (S41: Yes), in S42 the auction device 1 transmits the live video transmitted from the venue owner terminal V to the participant terminal P (the participant terminal P that has logged in to the auction site and has requested distribution). Next, when the auction device 1 receives an auction start signal (auction start request) transmitted from the venue owner terminal V (S43: Yes), the auction device 1 transmits auction information (information entered in the auction number form F3, the item name form F5, and the starting price form F7 in FIG. 9) to the participant terminal P and permits bids from each participant terminal P participating in the auction (S44). Note that if the auction start signal (auction start request) is not received in S43 (S43: No), the process returns to S43. When bidding from each participant terminal P is permitted in S44, in S45 the auction device 1 checks whether a bid signal that is a bid request has been transmitted from the participant terminal P. When the auction device 1 receives a bid signal (S45: Yes), it updates the current price PR by adding a certain amount to the current price PR of the item being auctioned (S46). Then, it notifies the updated current price PR to the participant terminals P participating in the auction (updates the current price PR displayed on each participant terminal P). If no bid signal is transmitted from the participant terminal P in S45, the process proceeds to S48. In S48, it checks whether a provisional confirmation signal (a signal notifying the provisional confirmation of the successful bidder) is received from the venue owner terminal V. If the provisional confirmation signal is not received (S48: No), the process returns to S45, and if the provisional confirmation signal is received, the process proceeds to S49. In S49, the auction device 1 prohibits bidding from each participant terminal P participating in the auction, and proceeds to S50. In S50, it checks whether a resume signal (a signal to resume prohibited bidding) is received from the venue owner terminal V. If a resume signal is received (S50: Yes), the process returns to S45.If a resume signal has not been received (S50: No), the process proceeds to S51, where it is confirmed whether a confirmation signal (a signal confirming the successful bidder or the cancelled bid) has been received from the venue owner terminal V. If a confirmation signal has not been received (S51: No), the process returns to S50, and if a confirmation signal has been received (S51: Yes), the process proceeds to S52. In S52, the auction device 1 notifies each participant terminal P participating in the auction that the auction has been confirmed (displays a message on each participant terminal P notifying them that the successful bidder or the cancelled bid has been confirmed). Then, in S53, form data is created that the successful bidder and seller can view, print, download, etc. from the auction site, and the process ends.

[0068] Next, the management screen of FIG. 10 will be described. FIG. 10 shows a management screen for implementing an auction with a limited bidding system. When starting this auction at the auction site, the user selects the date from the pull-down menu of the date form F1 in FIG. 10, selects the name of the site from the pull-down menu of the site name form F2, and selects the seller who will be conducting the auction from the pull-down menu of the seller number form F4. The seller is selected from those who are pre-registered as participants in FIG. 2. Then, the user inputs the name of the item to be put up for auction in the item name form F5 (and checks the check box CB1 if the item to be put up for auction is subject to the reduced tax rate), the quantity of the item to be put up for auction in the quantity form F6, and the minimum selling price of the item to be put up for auction (for example, a price previously set by the seller of the item) in the clearance price form F9, and clicks the start button OP1. Then, the information entered in each form (item information) is transmitted to the auction device 1 together with a start signal (a request to start the auction), and information such as the auction number and item name is displayed on each participant terminal P that has been requested to receive the information from the auction device 1 (see FIG. 11). Then, bidding from each participant terminal P becomes possible. As shown in FIG. 11, for example, in the initial setting, the numerical information display area R (FIG. 13) is set to be hidden. When the display ON / OFF button OP9 shown in FIG. 10 is clicked, for example, the numerical information display area R is displayed as shown in FIG. 13, and when the display ON / OFF button OP9 is clicked again, the numerical information display area R is hidden as shown in FIG. 11. When a comment is input from the participant terminal P, the comment input from the participant terminal P is displayed in the comment display form CB2 in FIG. 10 for a certain period of time, and the venue owner proceeds with the auction while checking the comment. For example, after securing time for bidding from each participant terminal P, the venue owner informs each participant terminal P that the bidding deadline is approaching by using a voice or the like that is live-streamed from the auction venue, and clicks the bid close button OP7 in FIG. 10. Then, a confirmation request signal is transmitted to the auction device 1, and the auction device 1 executes a bid close process. First, in the video section 11a of each participant terminal P, for example, a countdown CD notifying the closing of bidding is displayed as shown in FIG.Then, when the countdown CD ends, bidding operations from each participant terminal P are prohibited. After prohibiting bidding operations from each participant terminal P, the auction device 1 executes a process to end the auction, notifies each participant terminal P of the end of the auction (determination of the successful bidder, determination of the cancelled bid, or determination of the re-auction), and ends the auction. For example, when determining the successful bidder, the auction device 1 determines as the successful bidder the participant corresponding to the participant terminal P (or the participant identification information) associated with the highest bid price among the bid prices of the items being auctioned that are recorded in the storage 7c. Then, information on the determined successful bidder is distributed to each participant terminal P, and also to the venue owner terminal V, and the successful bidder is displayed in the previous successful bidder form F11 in FIG. 10. The previous successful bidder form F11 is displayed until the next auction ends, making it easy to manage the information on the successful bidder.

[0069] The process of FIG. 17 is a process in which the auction device 1 provides an auction service using a limited bidding method on the Internet. When the auction device 1 receives a request signal for delivery of a live video of the auction site from the venue owner terminal V logged in to the auction site (S61: Yes), the auction device 1 transmits the live video transmitted from the venue owner terminal V in S62 to the participant terminal P (the participant terminal P that has logged in to the auction site and has requested delivery). Next, when the auction device 1 receives an auction start signal (auction start request) transmitted from the venue owner terminal V (S63: Yes), the auction device 1 transmits auction information (information entered in the auction number form F3 and the item name form F5 in FIG. 10, and display / non-display of the numerical information display area R) to the participant terminal P, and permits bids from each participant terminal P participating in the auction (S64). The auction device 1 also records the sell-out price entered in the sell-out price form F9 in FIG. 10 in the storage 7c. Note that if the auction start signal (auction start request) is not received in S63 (S63: No), the process returns to S63. When bidding from each participant terminal P is permitted in S64, in S65, it is confirmed whether a cancellation signal to cancel the started auction has been sent from the venue owner terminal V. If a cancellation signal has been received (S65: Yes), the process returns to S62, and if a cancellation signal has not been received, the process proceeds to S66. In S66, it is confirmed whether a bidding signal including bidding information such as a bid price and a participant terminal P (or participant identification information linked to the participant terminal P) that transmits the bid price has been transmitted from the participant terminal P. When the auction device 1 receives a bidding signal (S66: Yes), it performs bidding processing depending on whether the received bidding signal is a first bidding signal or a second bidding signal. When the auction device 1 receives the first bidding signal, it distributes a pop-up display to the participant terminal P (the participant terminal P that transmitted the first bidding signal) to confirm whether the bid should be confirmed with the input bid price. When the auction device 1 receives the second bidding signal, it records the bid price of the item being auctioned in the storage 7c in association with the participant terminal P (or participant identification information linked to the participant terminal P) that transmitted the bid price.Then, the recorded bid price is prohibited from being distributed to any participant terminal P other than the participant terminal P that transmitted the bid price (S67), and the process proceeds to S68.

[0070] 18 and 19 show specific processing when the auction device 1 receives the second bidding signal. As shown in FIG. 18, when the auction device 1 receives the second bidding signal, the auction device 1 that transmitted the second bidding signal performs bidding processing (S101), in which the auction device 1 that transmitted the second bidding signal determines whether the number of times the bid amount has been changed for the same item from the participant terminal P that transmitted the second bidding signal has reached the upper limit of the number of times the bid amount has been changed (S201 in FIG. 19). For example, if the number of times the set bid amount has been changed is two and the bid from the participant terminal P that transmitted the second bidding signal is the first, the process proceeds to S202, and the fact that the bid amount is the first is recorded in the storage 7c in association with the participant terminal P (or the participant identification information linked to the participant terminal P), and a process is performed to permit re-bidding from this participant terminal P. On the other hand, if the bid from the participant terminal P that transmitted the second bidding signal is the second, the process proceeds to S203, and subsequent bidding from this participant terminal P is prohibited. When the processes in S202 and S203 in Fig. 19 are completed, the process in S101 in Fig. 18 ends and the process proceeds to S102. In S102, the auction apparatus 1 prohibits the distribution of the information on the bid price itself transmitted by the participant terminal P to other participant terminals P, and proceeds to the processes in S103 to S105. In S103, it is determined whether the highest bid amount for the item currently being auctioned (the highest bid price recorded in the storage 7) is equal to or higher than the clearance price input in the clearance price form F9 in Fig. 10. If the highest bid amount is less than the clearance price (S103: No), the numerical values ​​of at least one or more digits of the input clearance price are extracted from the most significant digit in order, changed to a different numerical string, and the changed numerical string is distributed to one or more participant terminals P for display (S104). As an example, in Figure 13, 3 and 0 are displayed in the numerical information display area R. This is because, for example, 3000 yen is set as the sale price, and the numerical values ​​of the two digits of the sale price, starting from the highest digit, are extracted and displayed as a numerical string different from the sale price (processing of S104 in Figure 18).On the other hand, if the highest bid is equal to or higher than the clearance price (S103: Yes), the numerical values ​​of at least one or more digits of the highest bid recorded in storage 7c are extracted in order from the most significant digit, changed to a different numerical sequence, and distributed to one or more participant terminals P for display (S105). As an example, in FIG. 20, 4 and 5 are displayed in the numerical information display area R, which means that, for example, 4500 yen is recorded in storage 7c as the highest bid, and the numerical values ​​of two digits of the highest bid, starting from the most significant digit, are extracted in order from the most significant digit, changed to a different numerical sequence from the highest bid, and displayed (processing of S105 in FIG. 18). After the processing of S104 and S105 in FIG. 18 is completed, the processing of S67 in FIG. 17 is completed, and the process proceeds to S68.

[0071] In S68, it is confirmed whether a confirmation request signal (a signal transmitted when the bidding close button OP7 in FIG. 10 is clicked) which is a request for processing to confirm the successful bidder has been received from the venue owner terminal V. If the confirmation request signal has not been received (S68: No), the process returns to S65, and if the confirmation request signal has been received, the process proceeds to S69. In S69, the auction device 1 notifies each participant terminal P participating in the auction that the bidding is closed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, a countdown CD is displayed for several seconds on each participant terminal P. When the countdown CD display ends, the auction device 1 prohibits bidding from each participant terminal (S70) and proceeds to the auction end process in S71. In S71, it is determined whether the highest bid price is equal to or higher than the clearance price (the price entered in the clearance price form F9 in FIG. 10) of the item being auctioned, which are recorded in storage 7c as shown in FIG. 21. If the highest bid price is less than the clearance price (S81: No), the process proceeds to S82, where a notification that the bid has been cancelled is displayed to each participant terminal P. If the highest bid price is equal to or greater than the clearance price (S81: Yes), the process proceeds to S83. In S83, it is determined whether there are multiple bids with the highest bid price recorded in the storage 7c. If multiple participant terminals P have made bids with the same highest bid price (S83: Yes), the process proceeds to S84, where a process is executed to redo the auction again (S84). Specifically, the auction device 1 displays to each participant terminal P participating in the auction that the highest bid prices are now the same (there were multiple highest bid prices) and that a re-auction (a re-auction) will be held, and the process returns to S63 in FIG. 17. This allows all participants to re-auction the item being auctioned. Returning to S83 in FIG. 21, if there is only one bid with the highest bid price (S83: No), the process proceeds to S85. In S85, the participant corresponding to the participant terminal P (or participant identification information) linked to the highest bid price recorded in the storage 7c of the auction device 1 is determined to be the successful bidder, and a display is displayed to each participant terminal P participating in the auction to notify them that the successful bidder has been determined.After the process in S85 is completed, the process proceeds to S72 in FIG. 17, where form data that the successful bidder and seller can view, print, download, etc. from the auction site is created, and the process ends.

[0072] Next, a method of using the auction site provided by the auction device 1 will be described. An auction participant accesses a pre-specified web page (FIG. 3) and registers as a member. Specifically, the participant enters the name, representative name, trade name, company name, telephone number, etc. in the input form, attaches an image of a secondhand goods dealer license (not shown in FIG. 3), and clicks the send button. Then, the member registration application information such as the name of the member registration applicant is transmitted to the auction device 1. When the auction device 1 receives the member registration application information, it records each information of the member registration applicant such as the name, representative name, trade name, company name, telephone number, and the attached image of the secondhand goods dealer license in the storage 7c. The administrator of the auction device 1 is also notified that the member registration application has been submitted. The administrator checks each information entered in the input form and the secondhand goods dealer license, and confirms whether the member registration applicant has a secondhand goods dealer license. If the applicant for membership registration has a secondhand goods dealer license, the applicant is registered as a participant who can participate in the auction, and a membership number and password for logging in to the auction site are generated. The generated membership number and password are linked to the name, representative name, trade name, company name, telephone number, etc. of the applicant for membership registration (auction participant) and recorded in the storage 7c. Then, login information (membership number and password) is sent to the registered auction participant by email or the like. Participants who receive the login information can log in to the auction system. The administrator of the auction device 1 also records information about the venue owner who holds the auction in the storage 7c in the same way as the participants. Specifically, the administrator records information about the venue owner, such as the name, representative name, trade name, company name, telephone number, venue name, email address, and sales commission, as well as an image of a copy of the secondhand goods market owner license in the storage 7c.

[0073] Then, when the date and time for the auction arrives, the participant accesses the login page (FIG. 5A) of the auction site on the participant terminal P. The participant then enters his / her membership number and password, and clicks the "Participate in the auction" button B1 to log in. If the login is successful, the auction page shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 11 is displayed on the display unit 11 of the participant terminal P, depending on the bidding method set by the auction venue owner.

[0074] In addition, the venue owner who will be holding the auction also accesses the login page of the auction site on the venue owner terminal V before holding the auction. Then, he / she enters his / her membership number and password to log in. When logging in, for example, the venue owner can set (select) the bidding method for the auction to be held by using the bidding method setting buttons B10 and B11 as shown in FIG. 5B. For example, when the venue owner selects the bidding method setting button B10 and successfully logs in, the management screen shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the display 10 of the venue owner terminal V. Similarly, when the venue owner selects the bidding method setting button B11 and successfully logs in, the management screen shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the display 10 of the venue owner terminal V. First, the description will be given based on the management screen shown in FIG. 9. On the management screen, the venue owner confirms that the market name entered in the venue name form F2 is his / her venue, and also confirms that the camera 8 and microphone 9 of the venue owner terminal V can capture video and audio of the auction venue, and if there are no problems, clicks the distribution start button OC2. This makes it possible to distribute live video and audio of the auction venue to the participant terminals P. When actually starting an auction at the auction site, the participant enters the date form F1, item name form F5, quantity form F6, starting price form F7, etc. on the management screen page, selects the seller number of the seller of the item to be auctioned from the pull-down menu, and clicks the start button OP1. This causes information such as the item name and auction number to be auctioned to be distributed to the participant terminal P. Then, bidding operations become possible from each participant terminal P participating in the auction. Based on the signal of the auctioneer (a signal to start the auction) that is distributed live, participants can bid on the items being auctioned by pressing the bid button B7 (FIG. 6) displayed on the participant terminal P. When the auction starts, the participant terminal P displays live video of the actual auction being held at the auction site on the video section 11a, as well as the current price PR of the items being auctioned. Participants can click the bid button B7 as necessary while watching the live video and current price PR to bid on the items they want.For example, if the current price is less than 5000 yen, when the bid button B7 is clicked, the current price PR plus 500 yen is displayed as the new current price PR on the display D4 of each participant terminal P. Also, if the current price is 5000 yen or more, when the bid button B7 is clicked, the current price plus 1000 yen becomes the new current price PR. Bids are made in this way, and when the current price PR reaches the sellable amount (a price preset by the seller of the item being auctioned), the sell-out light button OP2 is clicked on the management screen page (FIG. 9) of the venue owner terminal V. Then, the sell-out display D5 (FIG. 6) displayed on each participant terminal P is lit up via the auction device 1 from the venue owner terminal V. This allows the participant to confirm that the item being auctioned will be sold out in the ongoing auction. 6 is clicked on the participant terminal P, the right display section D6 lights up, providing that the sold out display section D5 is lit, and the participant is notified that he or she has the right to bid on the item being auctioned. If the bid button B7 is then clicked from another participant terminal P, the lit right display section D6 goes out. Also, when the current price PR stops bidding up, the venue owner clicks the provisional confirmation button OP3 on the management screen page (FIG. 9) on the venue owner terminal V. This will prohibit bidding operations from each participant terminal P via the auction device 1 from the venue owner terminal V, and the participant who made the last bid will be provisionally confirmed as the successful bidder.

[0075] If the current price PR rises just before clicking the provisional confirmation button OP3, the user clicks the resume button OP5 on the venue owner terminal V, and the bidding operation from each participant terminal P is permitted via the auction device 1 from the venue owner terminal V, and the auction is resumed. Then, when the current price PR stops rising, the user clicks the provisional confirmation button OP3 again, and if the price did not rise just before clicking, the user clicks the contract / confirm button OP4. Then, "XXth bid successful" is displayed on the live video displayed on the participant terminal P via the auction device 1 from the venue owner terminal V, notifying the participant that the successful bidder has been confirmed, and the current auction ends. Note that in the auction, if the current price PR does not reach the saleable amount at the point when the current price PR stops rising completely, the user clicks the flow button OP6 on the management screen page (FIG. 9) of the venue owner terminal V. Then, "flow" is displayed on the live video displayed on the video unit 11a of the participant terminal P from the venue owner terminal V via the auction device 1, notifying the participant that the bid has been cancelled, and the current auction ends. Once one auction is over, the same procedure is followed for the next auction.

[0076] Furthermore, by clicking the change bid button CH shown in FIG. 9 on the venue owner terminal V, for example, between auctions, the auction can be changed to the limited bidding method, and the management screen is updated from FIG. 9 to FIG. 10. When the change bid button CH is clicked, a bidding method setting request signal (change request signal) is transmitted to the auction device 1. Then, the auction device 1 updates the screen to be distributed to the participant terminal P, for example, from the screen for the increased bidding method shown in FIG. 6 to the screen for the limited bidding method shown in FIG. 11. Note that, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the venue owner logs in, if the bidding method setting button B11 is selected and the login is successful, the management screen page shown in FIG. 10 is also displayed on the display 10 of the venue owner terminal V.

[0077] The venue owner confirms that the market name entered in the venue name form F2 on the management screen of FIG. 10 is his venue, and if the auction has not yet started, checks whether the camera 8 and microphone 9 of the venue owner terminal V can capture images and sounds of the auction venue, and if there are no problems, clicks the distribution start button OC2. This enables live images and sounds of the auction venue to be distributed to the participant terminals P. If the auction has already started and the bidding method has been changed by clicking the bid change button CH, his venue is automatically entered in the venue name form F2, and images and sounds of the auction venue continue to be distributed to each participant terminal P without clicking the distribution start button OC2 (the same applies when changing to the management screen of FIG. 9 by clicking the bid change button CH on the management screen of FIG. 10). Then, when actually starting an auction at the auction venue, he enters the date form F1, item name form F5, quantity form F6, and sell-out price form F9 on the management screen of FIG. 10, selects the seller number of the seller of the item to be auctioned from the pull-down menu, and clicks the start button OP1. As a result, item information such as the name of the item to be auctioned and the auction number is distributed to the participant terminal P. Then, bidding can be performed from each participant terminal P participating in the auction. Based on the auctioneer's signal (the signal to start the auction) that is distributed live, participants can enter their desired bid price in the bidding price form F10 of FIG. 11 displayed on the participant terminal P and then bid on the item being auctioned by pressing the bid button B7'. When the auction begins, live footage of the actual auction taking place at the auction venue is displayed on the video section 11a of the participant terminal P, along with the names of the items being auctioned. Based on the live footage and the auctioneer's announcements, participants can enter their desired bid price in the bidding price form F10 as necessary and click the bid button B7'.For example, if the amount entered in the bid price form F10 is 3000 yen, a pop-up for final confirmation as to whether or not it is OK to confirm the bid of 3000 yen is displayed as shown in Fig. 14. When the Confirm button is clicked, the entered bid price is transmitted to the auction device 1 in association with the participant terminal P (or the participant identification information of the participant terminal P) that transmitted the bid price. Each time a bid price is transmitted from the participant terminal P, the auction device 1 records the transmitted bid price in association with the participant terminal P or the participant identification information of the participant terminal P. Furthermore, the auction device 1 prohibits the distribution of the bid price transmitted from the participant terminal P to other participant terminals P.

[0078] In the above, a case was described in which the venue owner does not display the numerical information display area R (FIG. 13) on the participant terminal P by using the display ON / OFF button OP9 (FIG. 10). In the case where the numerical information display area R is displayed, when the start button OP1 is clicked on the management screen of FIG. 10 displayed on the venue owner terminal V, a numerical value is displayed in the numerical information display area R based on the sell-out price entered in the sell-out price form F9. For example, when 3000 yen is entered in the sell-out price form F9, as shown in FIG. 13, the numerical values ​​(3, 0) of the two digits of the sell-out price are extracted in order from the highest digit, and are changed and displayed as a numerical string (a vertical numerical string of 3 0) different from the sell-out price (3000). When the bidding in the auction begins, the display in the numerical information display area R displays a numerical string related to the sell-out price until the highest bid amount recorded in the storage 7c becomes equal to or higher than the sell-out price. On the other hand, when the highest bid amount recorded in storage 7c becomes equal to or exceeds the clearance price (for example, 4,500 yen), the numerical values ​​of at least two digits of the highest bid amount (4,500) recorded in storage 7c are extracted in order from the most significant digit, and are changed and displayed as a different numerical string (a vertical numerical string of 45 (see FIG. 20)). When the highest bid amount recorded in storage 7c is updated, the display in the numerical information display area R is updated each time the update is made. Even when the numerical information display area R (FIG. 13) is not displayed on the participant terminal P, processing related to the numerical information display area R is similarly executed. As a result, even if the numerical information display area R is switched from hidden to displayed by operating the display ON / OFF button OP9 (FIG. 10), the numerical values ​​are immediately reflected in the numerical information display area R.

[0079] The participant's own bid price input by the participant terminal P is prohibited from being distributed to other participant terminals P, but the participant's own bid price input by the participant terminal P may be distributed to the participant's own terminal P. After the participant has enough time to input the bid price at the participant terminal P, the venue owner clicks the bid closing button OP7 on the management screen (FIG. 10) at the venue owner terminal V. Then, a countdown CD notifying the bid closing as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed from the venue owner terminal V via the auction device 1, and when the countdown ends, bidding operations from each participant terminal P are prohibited. Then, in the auction device 1, depending on the bid price transmitted from each participant terminal P recorded in the storage 7c, a display of "XXth Bid Successful" is displayed on the live video displayed on the participant terminal P to confirm the successful bidder, a display of a bid that did not meet the sell-out price, or a display of a re-auction with the highest successful bid price being the same is displayed, and the current auction ends. When one auction ends, the auction is repeated in the same procedure.

[0080] In an auction using the top-up bidding method shown on the management screen in FIG. 9, when the Success / Confirm button OP4 is clicked on the venue owner terminal V and the auction device 1 receives a signal indicating that the Success / Confirm button OP4 has been clicked on the venue owner terminal V, documents for the seller and buyer of the successful item are created based on the successful bid price (latest current price PR), the buying commission stored in the storage 7c, and the venue owner's selling commission (the selling commission of the venue owner currently conducting the auction). In the limited bidding auction shown on the management screen in Fig. 10, when the bid close button OP7 is clicked on the venue owner terminal V and the auction apparatus 1 receives a signal indicating that the bid close button OP7 has been clicked on the venue owner terminal V, if the highest bid price among the bid prices for the items stored in the storage 7c is equal to or higher than the price entered in the sell-out price form F9 in Fig. 10 and there is only one bid with the highest bid price, the highest bid price is set as the successful bid price, and based on the buying commission stored in the storage 7c and the venue owner's selling commission (the selling commission of the venue owner currently conducting the auction), seller and buyer side documents for the successful item are created. On the other hand, if the auction ends in a failure to bid, buyer and seller documents are not created.

[0081] After the successful bid is confirmed, the buyer transfers the payment amount shown on the slip to, for example, the company that manages the auction site, while the company that manages the auction site pays the successful bid amount (the total amount of all successful bids) in a lump sum to the venue owner who held the auction, and the venue owner pays each seller the successful bid price minus the selling commission (the successful bid price multiplied by the selling commission). This completes the transaction at the auction.

[0082] The auction device 1 accepts input of a bid price from one or more participant terminals P through a bid price form F10 shown in FIG. 11. The auction device 1 records the accepted bid price in the storage 7c in association with the participant terminal P that input the bid price and the participant identification information corresponding to the participant terminal P. If the highest bid price among the bid prices of the auction item recorded in the storage 7c is equal to or higher than the sell-out price and is a single bid, the auction device 1 confirms the participant corresponding to the participant terminal P associated with the highest bid price as the successful bidder. The auction device 1 also prohibits information on the bid price itself inputted at the participant terminal P from being distributed to other participant terminals P. Specifically, the auction device 1 prohibits information on the bid price inputted at the participant terminal P from being distributed to other participant terminals P at least until the auction device 1 accepts a confirmation request signal transmitted by clicking the bid close button OP7 on the venue owner terminal V on the management screen in FIG. 10. Therefore, participants in the auction need to make bids without knowing the bid prices of others. On the other hand, for the highest bid price among the bid prices recorded in the storage 7c, the numerical information display area R includes at least the numerical value of the highest bid price, and at least one or more numerical values ​​of each digit of the bid price are extracted and changed to a numerical string different from the numerical string of the bid price, as shown in FIG. 20 (in this case, the highest bid price is, for example, 4500 yen). Therefore, the bid prices bid by other people are not made public, but the numerical values ​​included in the most significant digit of the highest bid price are displayed. Therefore, the numerical values ​​included in the highest bid price can be made public, and the bid price can be determined based on the disclosed numerical values, which can promote bargaining between participants in the auction and prevent the participants' interest from decreasing. For the highest bid price, by displaying numerical information in which the numerical values ​​of at least two digits are extracted in order from the most significant digit and changed to a numerical string in the numerical information display area R, important numerical values ​​included in the current highest bid price can be made public, and the bid price can be determined based on the disclosed hint.15, the numerical information display area R has an area in which each numerical value from 0 to 9 can be displayed individually, and each numerical value is displayed vertically, which makes it difficult to mistake the displayed numerical value for the bid price itself. After the auction device 1 receives the confirmation request signal, the auction device 1 may distribute, for example, the highest bid price (successful bid amount) to each participant terminal P together with confirming the successful bidder.

[0083] 18, if the highest bid amount is less than the clearance price (S103: No), the auction device 1 extracts the numerical values ​​of at least one or more digits of the input clearance price, starting from the most significant digit, and changes them to a different numerical sequence, which is then distributed to one or more participant terminals P for display (S104). On the other hand, if the highest bid amount is equal to or greater than the clearance price (S103: Yes), the auction device 1 extracts the numerical values ​​of at least one or more digits of the highest bid amount recorded in the storage 7c, starting from the most significant digit, and changes them to a different numerical sequence, which is then distributed to one or more participant terminals P for display (S105). Therefore, the numerical value included in the most significant digit of the clearance price can also be displayed in the numerical information display area R (e.g., FIG. 13).

[0084] As shown in Fig. 10, when the display ON / OFF button OP9 is operated on the venue owner terminal V, it becomes possible to switch between displaying and not displaying the numerical information display area R shown in Fig. 13. Therefore, in the limited bidding system, it is possible to increase the variety of bidding methods and to select an auction format according to the wishes of the venue owner and the seller. Also, as shown in Fig. 19, in an auction using the limited bidding system, the input bid price can be corrected a predetermined number of times (because multiple bids are possible in an auction for the same item), so even if a hint regarding the highest bid amount is displayed in the numerical information display area R in Fig. 20, it is possible to change the bid price again, and bidders who placed bids early in the auction are not treated extremely disadvantageously.

[0085] In the auction device 1, by operating the bid button B7 shown in Fig. 6, a bid request for an item for sale is accepted in which the bid price is the current price of the item plus a markup amount, and bids can also be accepted using a bidding method in which the bid price can be freely set, as shown in Fig. 11. In the case of the limited bidding method, the person who inputs the highest bid price is determined as the successful bidder, and in the case of the markup bidding method, the participant corresponding to the participant terminal P from which the auction device 1 last accepted a bid request is determined as the successful bidder. Thus, in addition to the method of holding an auction using the limited bidding method, a successful bidder can also be determined when using the markup bidding method, and an auction in which a successful bidder can be determined using multiple bidding methods can be held.

[0086] Also, as shown in the management screens of Figures 9 and 10 displayed on the display 10 of the venue owner's terminal V who is hosting the auction, by clicking the bid change button CH according to the venue owner's wishes, it is possible to change from the limited bidding method to the increased bidding method, or vice versa. Also, as shown in Figure 5B, when the venue owner logs in, the bidding method can be set by clicking the bidding method setting buttons B10, B11 which set the method for hosting the auction. Thus, the bidding method for the auction can be changed according to the venue owner's selection (setting). Therefore, for example, it is possible to select the auction method based on the wishes of the venue owner or the sellers who will be putting items up for auction, and the bidding method can be selected each time according to the items being sold.

[0087] Furthermore, when the auction device 1 receives a confirmation request signal from the venue owner terminal V (when the bid closing button OP7 is clicked in FIG. 10), it distributes a countdown CD notifying the bid closing to the participant terminals P as shown in FIG. 12, and after the distribution, the auction device 1 confirms the successful bidder. This notifies the participants of the bid closing and makes it possible to encourage participants who are undecided about bidding or bidding price to bid, thereby improving the successful bid price and preventing participants from losing interest. When the successful bidder is confirmed after the bid closing notification, if there are multiple bids with the highest bid price, the auction device 1 displays on each participant terminal P participating in the auction that the highest bid prices are now the same (that there were multiple highest bid prices) and that a re-auction (a re-auction) will be held. This causes all participants to re-auction the item being auctioned, which increases interest and leads to an increase in the successful bid price.

[0088] In the above, an example was described in which when an auction participant accesses the login page of the auction site with the participant terminal P and logs in, the auction page shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 11 is displayed on the display unit 11 of the participant terminal P. In the auction device 1, when an auction participant logs in, the date and time when the login was permitted is recorded in the storage 7c in association with the participant terminal P (or the participant identification information of the participant terminal P) that was permitted to log in. Then, if the participant terminal P that was permitted to log in based on the date and time recorded in the storage 7c has not logged in for a predetermined period, a guide for selecting a method for picking up an item when the item is won in the auction may be displayed on the participant terminal P as shown in FIG. 22. This makes it possible to prompt the participant to select a method for picking up the item that was won in the auction. As the predetermined period that is the basis for displaying the guide, for example, when logging in for the first time on the day the auction is held, the guide may be displayed. Note that the contents displayed on the screen shown in FIG. 22 may be set from a management screen as shown in FIG. 23, for example. Furthermore, it may be possible to display a list of methods for picking up items won at auction, as shown in FIG. 24, and to upload a separate invoice for shipping fees for items won at auction, as shown in FIG. 25.

[0089] Here, the correspondence between this embodiment and the wording in the claims will be explained. The auction device 1 of this embodiment corresponds to the "auction device", and the storage 7c corresponds to the "recording unit". The function of the control unit 7 to permit the participant terminal P to log in to the auction site corresponds to the "first reception unit". The function of the control unit 7 to permit the venue owner terminal V to log in to the auction site corresponds to the "second reception unit". In the venue owner terminal V, the function of the control unit 7 to receive (accept) the listing information on the item entered in the item name form F5 in FIG. 10 or the like is transmitted and corresponds to the "listing reception unit". In the venue owner terminal V, the start button OP1 in FIG. 10 or the like is clicked, a start signal (auction start request) is transmitted from the venue owner terminal V to the auction device 1, and the control unit 7 accepts bids (bid signals) from each participant terminal P corresponds to the "bid reception unit". The function of the control unit 7 to control the distribution of bidding information such as the bid price included in the bid signal received by the control unit 7 to the participant terminal P corresponds to the "distribution control unit". The function of the control unit 7 to determine the successful bidder based on the bid signal corresponds to the "determination unit". In the participant terminal P, the function of the control unit 7 to receive bid information including the bid price inputted into the bid price form F10 of FIG. 11 and transmitted corresponds to the "price receiving unit". As shown in S102 of FIG. 18 and the like, the function of the control unit 7 to prohibit the distribution of the bid price included in the bid signal received by the control unit 7 to other participant terminals P corresponds to the "prohibition unit". As shown in S105 of FIG. 18 and the like, the function of the control unit 7 to display a predetermined numerical value in the numerical information display area R based on the highest bid price recorded in the storage 7c corresponds to the "numerical value display unit". The numerical value displayed in the numerical information display area R corresponds to the "numerical information". In the participant terminal P, the function of the control unit 7 to receive information including the sell-out price inputted into the sell-out price form F9 of FIG. 10 and transmitted corresponds to the "sell-out price receiving unit".

[0090] The auction apparatus 1 corresponds to a "computer," and the communication program 7c1, distribution program 7c2, auction program 7c3, etc., which cause the auction apparatus 1 to function as a server having an Internet auction function, correspond to "programs."

[0091] The auction device 1 corresponds to the "computer". In Fig. 2 and Fig. 7, the process of recording information on the participants and the venue owner corresponds to the "recording process". In Fig. 4, the process of permitting login from the participant terminal P corresponds to the "first reception process". In Fig. 8, the process of permitting login from the venue owner terminal V corresponds to the "second reception process". In the venue owner terminal V, the listing information on the items entered in the item name form F5, etc., in Fig. 10 is transmitted and received (accepted) by the control unit 7 corresponds to the "listing reception process". In the venue owner terminal V, the start button OP1, such as Fig. 10, is clicked, a start signal is transmitted from the venue owner terminal V to the auction device 1, and the control unit 7 accepts bids (bid signals) from each participant terminal P corresponds to the "bid reception process". The process in which the control unit 7 controls the distribution of bidding information, such as the bid price, contained in the bid signal accepted by the control unit 7 to the participant terminal P corresponds to the "distribution control process". The process in which the control unit 7 determines the successful bidder based on the bid signal corresponds to the "determination process". The process in which the control unit 7 accepts bid information including the bid price inputted and transmitted in the bid price form F10 in Fig. 11 or the like at the participant terminal P corresponds to a "price accepting process." In S102 in Fig. 18 or the like, the process in which the control unit 7 prohibits the distribution of the bid price included in the accepted bid signal to other participant terminals P corresponds to a "prohibition process." As shown in S105 in Fig. 18 or the like, the function of the control unit 7 to display a predetermined numerical value in the numerical information display area R based on the highest bid price recorded in the storage 7c corresponds to a "numerical value display process."

[0092] The above describes the embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the specific descriptions, and it is possible to implement the present invention by appropriately combining the exemplified configurations, etc., within a range that is not technically inconsistent, and it is also possible to implement the present invention by replacing certain elements and processes with well-known forms.

[0093] In the above, an example has been described in which when a participant terminal P places a bid in an auction using a limited bidding method, the bid information of the bid price, which is input into the bid price form F10 in FIG. 11 and transmitted to the auction apparatus 1, is prohibited from being distributed to other participant terminals P. Instead of prohibiting the distribution of the bid price to other participant terminals P, the distribution of the bid price to other participant terminals P may be restricted. Specifically, when distributing information on the bid price inputted at the participant terminal P to other participant terminals P, a restriction may be placed on the information that can be distributed, for example, in the bid price inputted at the participant terminal P, the last three digits may be permitted to be distributed to other participant terminals P, while the remaining digits may be prohibited from being distributed to other participant terminals P. Specifically, when a bid of 55,500 yen is made at the participant terminal P, information on the bid price, such as "????500 yen", may be distributed to other participant terminals P. According to this, because part of the information regarding the participant's bid price is distributed to the other participants, there is a possibility that the bid price may rise depending on the participant's willingness to purchase the item, which can increase the successful bid price and increase the interest of the participants. When limiting the information that can be distributed in this way, for example, it may be possible to allow the input of the bid price to be corrected only once or multiple times (several times), and after a predetermined number of corrections, the auction device 1 may prohibit the input of the bid price.

[0094] In the above, an example has been described in which when a participant terminal P places a bid in an auction using a limited bidding system, the bid information of the bid price, which is input into the bid price form F10 in FIG. 11 and transmitted to the auction device 1, is prohibited or restricted from being distributed to other participant terminals P. The auction device 1 may distribute the bid price and number of bids transmitted to the venue owner terminal V, and display the input bid price and number of bids on the management screen (FIG. 10) of the venue owner terminal V. By checking the bid price and number of bids displayed on the management screen (FIG. 10), the venue owner and the auctioneer can liven up the auction and ensure that the auction proceeds smoothly.

[0095] The above-described example has been described in which the limited bidding method and the added bidding method can be switched between each other in the auction apparatus 1. The number of bidding methods that can be switched or changed is not limited to two types, and may be three or more types.

[0096] In the above, an example has been shown in which live video of the auction venue input from the camera 8 and microphone 9 of the venue owner terminal V is distributed from the auction device 1 to each participant terminal P, and a display screen displaying the bid button B7, current price PR, etc. is also distributed to each participant terminal P. The display screen displaying the bid button B7 and current price PR, etc. may be distributed together with the live video of the auction, or the display screen may be distributed to the participant terminal P (participant terminal P logged in to the auction site) before the live video of the auction is distributed. In addition, when the start button OP1 is clicked on the management screen (FIGS. 9 and 10) of the venue owner terminal V, if the auction device 1 receives a start signal transmitted from the venue owner terminal V, the display screen may be distributed to each participant terminal P together with the auction number, item name, etc. transmitted from the venue owner terminal V.

[0097] In the above, an example was explained in which the amount added to the current price PR changes according to the current price PR when the Bid button B7 in Fig. 6 is clicked. The amount added and the reference value for switching the amount added (in the above, the amount added changes at 5,000 yen) may be set uniformly by the administrator of the auction site, or the amount added and the reference value for switching the amount added may be set for each venue owner. Also, the reference value for switching the amount is not limited to one, and two or more may be set.

[0098] In the above, an example was described in which the amount to be added to the current price PR is automatically set according to the current price PR when the bid button B7 in Fig. 6 is clicked. When the bid button B7 in Fig. 6 is clicked, a pop-up may be displayed with multiple options for the amount to be added (for example, multiple prices classified into grades such as 3,000 yen, 5,000 yen, 10,000 yen, etc.), allowing the user to select the amount to be added.

[0099] In the above, the auction device 1 has multiple bidding functions for both the limited bidding method and the added bidding method, but the auction device 1 may be divided into multiple devices to distribute the auction functions for the limited bidding method and the added bidding method. In this case, for example, the auction site to be logged in for an auction using the limited bidding method and the auction site to be logged in for an auction using the added bidding method may be separated, and the auction functions may be provided on separate servers.

[0100] In the above, an example was explained in which the comment display form CB2 is provided only on the management screen shown in Fig. 10, but the comment display form CB2 may be provided on the management screen shown in Fig. 9. Similarly, the check box CB1 and previous successful bidder form F11 in Fig. 10 may be provided on the management screen shown in Fig. 9.

[0101] In the above, an example has been described in which the bid button B5 and the watch button B6 are provided only on the auction screen shown in FIG. 6, but the bid button B5 and the watch button B6 may also be provided on an auction screen using the one-shot bid method as shown in FIG. 11, etc.

[0102] 9 and 10, an example has been described in which the venue name is manually entered in the venue name form F2, but the venue name where the auction will be held may be registered as a schedule and automatically entered. Similarly, the auction number form F3 may be automatically incremented, or each form may be automatically filled in according to the progress of the auction, such as automatically filling in the item name form F5, quantity form F6, check box CB1, etc. according to the number in the auction number form F3.

[0103] In the above, an example in which the login screens for the host and the participants are separate has been described, but the login screen for both may be the same.

[0104] In the above, an example was shown in which a participant terminal P was allowed to bid again (by amending the bid amount) for the same item, but re-bidding may be prohibited.

[0105] In the above, an example in which two types of numerical values ​​are displayed in the numerical information display area R has been described (FIGS. 13 and 20). The numerical values ​​displayed in the numerical information display area R may be three or more types of numerical values, only one type of numerical value, or all digits of the bid price. In the above, an example in which the highest bid amount or the sell-out price is displayed in the numerical information display area R has been described, but not only the highest bid amount but also numerical values ​​based on the bid price each time a bid is made may be displayed in the numerical information display area R. In this case, all numerical values ​​for each bid displayed in the numerical information display area R may be displayed on a separate screen. In the above, an example in which two types of numerical values ​​are displayed in the numerical information display area R has been described, but the number of types of numerical values ​​displayed in the numerical information display area R may be increased as the number of digits of the bid price increases. Specifically, for example, when the bid price is 10,000 yen, 1 and 0 are displayed in the numerical information display area R as shown in Fig. 26, but when the bid price is 31,000 yen, 1, 3 and 0 are displayed in the numerical information display area R as shown in Fig. 27. The types of numerical values ​​to be displayed in the numerical information display area R may be set according to the number of digits of the bid price. For example, the number of types of numerical values ​​that can be displayed in the numerical information display area R may be increased or decreased as the number of digits of the bid price increases. This creates a change in the types of numerical values ​​displayed in the numerical information display area R, making it possible to prevent a decline in the interest of the participants.

[0106] In the above, an example was shown in which the numerical information display area R is displayed vertically, but the numerical information display area R may be displayed horizontally. Also, the numerical information display area R may be displayed vertically or horizontally depending on the screen size of the terminal (personal computer, tablet, smartphone, computer, etc.) displaying the numerical information display area R. Also, in the above, an example was shown in which a numerical value related to the sell-out price is displayed in the numerical information display area R, but the sell-out price does not have to be displayed in the numerical information display area R, and it may be possible to set whether or not to display the sell-out price in the numerical information display area R on the venue owner terminal V or the participant terminal P. [Explanation of symbols]

[0107] 1 Auction device 4 Communication unit 7 Control section 7c Storage 11 Display section 11a Video section (video screen) 11b 1st display section (display screen) 11c 2nd display section B7 Bid button (operation section) PR current price OP3 Tentative confirmation button OP4 Conclusion / confirmation button OP5 Resume button OP6 Flow button OP7 Bid Closing Button CH Bid Change Button S Auction system V Main terminal P Participant terminal B7´ Bid button (operation section)

Claims

1. a recording unit for recording participant identification information for identifying participants who can participate in the auction and venue owner identification information for identifying a venue owner who holds the auction; a first reception unit that, when receiving a first login request transmitted from the participant terminal of the participant, checks whether the participant identification information of the participant requesting the first login is recorded in the recording unit, and permits the first login from the participant terminal if the participant identification information is recorded in the recording unit; a second reception unit that, upon receiving a second login request transmitted from the venue host terminal of the venue host, checks whether the venue host identification information of the venue host requesting the second login is recorded in the recording unit, and permits the second login from the venue host terminal if the venue host identification information is recorded in the recording unit; an auction reception unit capable of receiving, when the second login is permitted by the second login, information on items to be auctioned at the auction from the venue owner terminal for which the second login is permitted; a bid receiving unit capable of receiving, when the bid receiving unit receives a start request transmitted from the venue owner terminal, which is a request to start the auction of the item for which the bid receiving unit has received the bid information, bids for the item from one or more of the participant terminals for which the first login is permitted; a distribution control unit that controls distribution of bid information regarding the bid accepted by the bid acceptance unit to the one or more participant terminals for which the first login is permitted; a confirmation unit that confirms a successful bidder for the item based on the bids from the one or more participant terminals; Equipped with The bid receiving unit, a price receiving unit that receives input of a bid price for the item from the one or more participant terminals; The recording unit is the bid price for the item accepted by the price acceptance unit is recorded in association with the participant terminal that input the bid price; The determination unit is a confirmation processing unit that, when receiving a confirmation request from the venue owner terminal, which is a request for processing to confirm the successful bidder, confirms, as the successful bidder, the participant corresponding to the participant terminal associated with the highest bid price among the bid prices of the item recorded in the recording unit; The distribution control unit a prohibition unit that prohibits the distribution of the bid price input by the participant terminal to other participant terminals regarding the bid price included in the bid information received by the price reception unit, at least until the confirmation request is received by the confirmation processing unit; a numeric display unit capable of distributing and displaying, as the bid information, numeric information obtained by extracting at least one or more numeric digits of the bid price received by the price receiving unit and changing the numeric digits of the bid price to a numeric string different from the numeric string of the bid price, to the one or more participant terminals; An auction device comprising:

2. 2. The auction device according to claim 1, wherein the numeric display unit is capable of extracting numeric values ​​of at least one or more digits of the bid price in order from the most significant digit and converting the numeric information into a numeric sequence different from the numeric sequence of the bid price, and distributing the numeric information as the bid information to the one or more participant terminals for display.

3. The numerical display unit is 3. The auction device according to claim 1, wherein the highest bid price among the bid prices for the item recorded in the recording unit is changed to the different numeric string, and the numeric information is distributed as the bid information to the one or more participant terminals for display.

4. The auction device according to claim 1 , wherein the numeric value display unit displays the different numeric value strings in a vertical direction.

5. a selling price receiving unit that receives an input of the selling price of the item from the venue owner terminal; The numerical display unit is if the highest bid price among the bid prices of the item recorded in the recording unit is less than the sale price accepted by the sale price acceptance unit, extracting the numerical values ​​of at least one or more digits of the sale price in order from the most significant digit and changing the numerical value string to a different numerical string, and distributing and displaying the changed numerical string to the one or more participant terminals; 4. The auction device according to claim 3, wherein, when the highest bid price among the bid prices of the item recorded in the recording unit is equal to or higher than the clearance price accepted by the clearance price acceptance unit, the numerical information obtained by changing the highest bid price to the different numerical sequence is distributed as the bid information to the one or more participant terminals for display.

6. a switching reception unit that receives a switching request transmitted from the venue owner terminal, the switching request being a switching request between displaying and not displaying the numerical information at the participant terminal; Equipped with When the switching reception unit receives the switching request, If the numerical information is displayed on the participant terminal immediately before the switching request, the numerical information is hidden on the participant terminal; 2. The auction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if the numerical information is not displayed on the participant terminal immediately before the switching request, the numerical information is displayed on the participant terminal.

7. Computer a recording unit for recording participant identification information for identifying participants who can participate in the auction and venue owner identification information for identifying a venue owner who holds the auction; a first reception unit that, upon receiving a first login request transmitted from the participant terminal of the participant, checks whether the participant identification information of the participant requesting the first login is recorded in the recording unit, and permits the first login from the participant terminal if the participant identification information is recorded in the recording unit; a second reception unit that, upon receiving a second login request transmitted from the venue host terminal of the venue host, checks whether the venue host identification information of the venue host requesting the second login is recorded in the recording unit, and permits the second login from the venue host terminal if the venue host identification information is recorded in the recording unit; an auction reception unit capable of receiving, when the second login is permitted by the second login, information on items to be auctioned at the auction from the venue owner terminal for which the second login is permitted; a bid receiving unit capable of receiving, when the bid receiving unit receives a start request transmitted from the venue owner terminal, which is a request to start the auction of the item for which the bid receiving unit has received the bid information, bids for the item from one or more of the participant terminals for which the first login is permitted; a distribution control unit that controls distribution of bid information regarding the bid accepted by the bid acceptance unit to the one or more participant terminals for which the first login is permitted; a confirmation unit that confirms a successful bidder for the item based on the bids from the one or more participant terminals; Equipped with The bid receiving unit, a price receiving unit that receives input of a bid price for the item from the one or more participant terminals; The recording unit is the bid price for the item accepted by the price acceptance unit is recorded in association with the participant terminal that input the bid price; The determination unit is a confirmation processing unit that, when receiving a confirmation request from the venue owner terminal, which is a request for processing to confirm the successful bidder, confirms, as the successful bidder, the participant corresponding to the participant terminal associated with the highest bid price among the bid prices of the item recorded in the recording unit; The distribution control unit a prohibition unit that prohibits the distribution of the bid price input by the participant terminal to other participant terminals regarding the bid price included in the bid information received by the price reception unit, at least until the confirmation request is received by the confirmation processing unit; a numeric display unit capable of distributing and displaying, as the bid information, numeric information obtained by extracting at least one or more numeric digits of the bid price received by the price receiving unit and changing the numeric digits of the bid price to a numeric string different from the numeric string of the bid price, to the one or more participant terminals; A program to function as a component of the above.

8. 1. A computer-implemented auction method, comprising: a recording step of recording participant identification information for identifying participants who can participate in the auction and venue owner identification information for identifying a venue owner who holds the auction; a first reception step of, when receiving a first login request transmitted from the participant terminal of the participant, checking whether the participant identification information of the participant requesting the first login has been recorded in the recording step, and permitting the first login from the participant terminal if the participant identification information has been recorded in the recording step; a second acceptance step of, when receiving a request for a second login transmitted from the venue host terminal of the venue host, checking whether the venue host identification information of the venue host requesting the second login has been recorded in the recording step, and permitting the second login from the venue host terminal if the venue host identification information has been recorded in the recording step; an item receiving step for receiving, when the second login is permitted in the second receiving step, item information relating to items to be put up for auction from the venue owner terminal for which the second login is permitted; a bid receiving step for receiving a request to start the auction of the item for which the auction listing information was received in the item receiving step, the request being transmitted from the venue owner terminal and capable of receiving bids for the item from one or more of the participant terminals for which the first login is permitted; a distribution control step of controlling distribution of bid information regarding the bid accepted in the bid acceptance step to the one or more participant terminals for which the first login is permitted; determining a successful bidder for the item based on the bids from the one or more participant terminals; Equipped with The bid acceptance step includes: a price receiving step of receiving an input of a bid price for the item from the one or more participant terminals; The recording step includes: The bid price for the item accepted in the price acceptance step is recorded in association with the participant terminal at which the bid price was entered; The determining step includes: a confirmation processing step of, when a confirmation request which is a request for processing to confirm the successful bidder is received from the venue owner terminal, confirming as the successful bidder the participant corresponding to the participant terminal associated with the highest bid price among the bid prices of the item recorded in the recording step; The delivery control step includes: a prohibition step of prohibiting the distribution of the bid price input by the participant terminal to other participant terminals with respect to the bid price included in the bid information received in the price reception step, at least until the confirmation request is received in the confirmation processing step; a numeric display step of distributing, as the bid information, numeric information obtained by extracting at least one numeric value of the most significant digit of the bid price from the bid price received in the price receiving step and changing the numeric value of at least one digit of the bid price to a numeric string different from the numeric string of the bid price, to the one or more participant terminals so as to make the information displayable; The auction method includes:

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