Patent ID: 7783533
Filing Date: 2010-08-24
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for selecting a set of one or more entities from a plurality of candidate entities subject to one or more constraints, the method being performed using one or more processing units, the method comprising: establishing upper and lower profit-margin boundary values; calculating a global-optimal value and determining whether the global-optimal value satisfies the one or more constraints; determining an optimal profit-margin value using an iterative process with the one or more processing units, wherein the determining of the optimal profit-margin value comprises one or more iterations of: setting a current profit-margin candidate based on a current upper profit-margin boundary value and a current lower profit-margin boundary value, determining whether the current profit-margin candidate value satisfies the one or more constraints, adjusting one of the current upper and lower profit-margin boundary values based on the current profit-margin candidate value, and determining whether to use the current profit-margin candidate value as the optimal profit-margin value based on at least one of the current upper profit-margin boundary value and the current lower profit-margin boundary value; and calculating a respective quantity for each of the candidate entities based on the optimal profit-margin value.