System and method for trading and displaying market information in an electronic trading environment

• US 20040117292A1
• Filed: 02/28/2003
• Published: 06/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trading Technologies International, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Trading Technologies International, Inc.
• Inventors: Borsand, Steven F., Triplett, Mark W., Brumfield, Harris
• Granted Patent: US 7,228,289 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A system and method for trading and displaying market information along a static axis are described to ensure fast and accurate execution of trades. The static axis, whether is a straight axis or a curved one, can be oriented in any direction. Regardless of how the axis is oriented, a first region may display price levels that are arranged along the static axis. A second region, which overlaps the first region, may display one or more indicators for highlighting one of the price levels associated with the lowest offer and one of the price levels associated with the highest bid. Moreover, a third region, which overlaps the first region, may be included for initiating placement of an order to buy or an order to sell the tradeable object through an action of a user input device. Other overlapping regions may also be displayed so that additional market information may be viewed by a trader.

Claims

1. A graphical user interface for trading and displaying market information of a tradeable object on a client device, the system comprising:

a first region for displaying a plurality of price levels arranged equidistantly along a static price axis;

a second region, that substantially overlaps the first region, for displaying one or more indicators for highlighting one of the plurality of price levels associated with the lowest offer and for highlighting one of the plurality of price levels associated with the highest bid; and

a third region, that substantially overlaps the first region, for initiating placement of an order to buy or an order to sell the tradeable object through an action of a user input device with a cursor of the user input device positioned over one of the plurality of price levels, wherein at least one order parameter is associated with the position of the cursor at the time of the action.

2. The graphical user interface of claim 1 further comprising:

a fourth region, that substantially overlaps the first region, for displaying indicators for indicating quantities associated with at least one of the plurality of price levels.

3. The graphical user interface of claim 2 wherein one of the indicators comprises a number that represents the quantity associated with one of the plurality of price levels.

4. The graphical user interface of claim 2 wherein one of the indicators comprises a graphical indication that graphically represents the quantity associated with one of the plurality of price levels.

5. The graphical user interface of claim 1 further comprising:

a fifth region, that substantially overlaps the first region, for displaying one or more indicators for indicating a trader'"'"'s working orders associated with at least one of the plurality of price levels.

6. The graphical user interface of claim 1 further comprising:

a sixth region, that substantially overlaps the first region, for displaying one or more indicators for indicating the last traded quantity (LTQ) associated with at least one of the plurality of price levels.

7. The graphical user interface of claim 1 further comprising:

a seventh region for initiating placement of a command through an action of the user input device with a cursor of the user input device positioned over the seventh region, wherein at the time of the command, the plurality of price levels are repositioned so that the lowest offer and the highest bid are centered for display in the first region.

8. The graphical user interface of claim 1 further comprising:

a seventh region for initiating placement of a command through an action of the user input device with a cursor of the user input device positioned over the seventh region, wherein at the time of the command, the plurality of price levels are repositioned so that at least one price level of interest is positioned for display in the first region.

9. The graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein the static price axis comprises a straight axis.

10. The graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein the static price axis comprises a curvilinear axis.

11. The graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein the client device is a workstation, a personal computer, a laptop computer, or a hand-held device.

12. The graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein the client device is connected with an exchange through a gateway.

13. The graphical user interface of claim 12 wherein the exchange utilizes a first in, first out (FIFO) matching algorithm.

14. The graphical user interface of claim 12 wherein the exchange utilizes an allocation matching algorithm.

15. The graphical user interface of claim 12 wherein the gateway receives market updates from the exchange and forwards them to the client device where the graphical user interface updates the first region and the second region to reflect changes based on the market updates.

16. The graphical user interface of claim 1 further comprising an arrow icon that when selected causes price levels which were not previously in view in the first region to now be in view.

17. The graphical user interface of claim 1 wherein the second region displays a second set of indicators for highlighting one of the plurality of price levels associated with a second lowest offer and for highlighting one of the plurality of price levels associated with a second highest bid, where the second set of indicators corresponds to a second market.

23. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a command through an action of the user input device with a cursor of the user input device positioned over the first region, wherein at the time of the command, the plurality of price levels are repositioned so that the lowest offer and the highest bid are centered for display in the first region.

24. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a command through an action of the user input device with a cursor of the user input device positioned over the first region, wherein at the time of the command, the plurality of price levels are repositioned so that at least one price level of interest is positioned for display in the first region.

18. A graphical user interface for displaying market information of a tradeable object on a client device, the system comprising:

a first region for displaying a plurality of price levels arranged equidistantly along a static price axis;

a second region, that substantially overlaps the first region, for displaying inside market indicators for highlighting one of the plurality of price levels associated with the lowest offer and for highlighting one of the plurality of price levels associated with the highest bid;

a third region, that substantially overlaps the first region, for displaying quantity indicators for indicating quantities associated with at least two of the plurality of price levels; and

a fourth region, that substantially overlaps the first region, for displaying working order indicators for indicating a trader'"'"'s working orders associated with at least one of the plurality of price levels.

19. The graphical user interface of claim 18 wherein the static price axis comprises a straight axis.

20. The graphical user interface of claim 18 wherein the static price axis comprises a curvilinear axis.

21. The graphical user interface of claim 18 further comprising:

a fifth region, that substantially overlaps the first region, for initiating placement of an order to buy or an order to sell the tradeable object through an action of a user input device with a cursor of the user input device positioned over one of the plurality of price levels, wherein at least one order parameter is associated with the position of the cursor at the time of the action.

22. A method for trading and displaying market information of a tradeable object on a client device, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying in a first region a plurality of price levels arranged equidistantly along a static price axis;

displaying in a second region that substantially overlaps the first region one or more indicators for highlighting one of the plurality of price levels associated with the lowest offer and for highlighting one of the plurality of price levels associated with the highest bid; and

displaying a third region that substantially overlaps the first region for initiating placement of an order to buy or an order to sell the tradeable object through an action of a user input device with a cursor of the user input device positioned over one of the plurality of price levels, wherein at least one order parameter is associated with the position of the cursor at the time of the action.