Method and apparatus for on-line trading display

• US 20060271467A1
• Filed: 05/26/2006
• Published: 11/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: North Star IP Limited
• Original Assignee: Peregrine Financial Group Incorporated
• Inventors: Wasendorf, Russell Ralph Sr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,792,736 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

The present method and software provides a display for a trader in tradable instruments that shows the market price and market depth. The display dynamically updates with data received from an electronic exchange and centers on the market price. Upon the trader moving a cursor over a trade entering portion of the screen to make a trade, the price is held stationary and no longer centers on the market price so as to permit the trader to select a price and quantity for trading. The displayed data is still being updated in the stationary screen, however. The trade is made by the trader selecting a price and quantity on the display. Movement of the cursor away from the trade selecting area results in the display again automatically centering on the market price in the dynamic display mode.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring market price of a market for tradable interests and for submitting offers for the tradable interest to the market, comprising:

a computer connected to receive data from a market for the tradable interest, the data including price data for offers to buy and offers to sell the tradable interest submitted to the market; and

software operable on said computer to display the price data in an ordered display, said ordered display indicating offers to buy in a first display area and indicating offers to sell in a second display area and displaying market price in a market price area intermediate said first and second display areas, said ordered display having two display modes,

a first display mode of said ordered display maintaining the market price area at a predetermined fixed location on the display and changing price data in said first and second display areas and said market price area as market data is updated from the market,

a second display mode of said ordered display maintaining the price data in stationary locations on the display and changing locations on the display of said market price area as market data is updated from the market,

said display switching between said first mode and said second mode as a cursor is over predetermined locations on the display by a user.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

accepting an offer to trade while in said second mode of the display and forwarding the offer to trade to the market, said offer to trade being at least one of an offer to buy and an offer to sell.

3. A system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said offer to trade is accepted by receiving a user selection of a price or quantity while the cursor is over a corresponding display of price or quantity of the tradable interest.

4. A method for display of market price on a market for tradable interests and for submitting offers for the tradable interest to the market, comprising the steps of:

receiving data from a market for the tradable interest, the data including price data for offers to buy and offers to sell the tradable interest submitted to the market;

displaying the price data in an ordered display, said ordered display indicating offers to buy in a first display area and indicating offers to sell in a second display area and displaying market price in a market price area intermediate said first and second display areas, said ordered display having two display modes;

a first display mode of said ordered display maintaining the market price at a predetermined fixed location on the display and changing price data in said first and second display areas and said market price area as market data is updated from the market;

a second display mode of said ordered display maintaining the price data in stationary locations on the display and changing locations of said market price area as market data is updated from the market; and

switching between said first mode and said second mode as a pointer is cursor over predetermined locations on the display by a user.

5. A system as claimed in claim 4, further comprising:

accepting an offer to trade while in said second mode of the display and forwarding the offer to trade to the market, said offer to trade being at least one of an offer to buy and an offer to sell.

6. A system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said offer to trade is accepted by receiving a user selection of price or quantity while the cursor is over a corresponding display of price or quantity of the tradable interest.

7. A method for display of market data for a tradable interest, comprising the steps of:

providing an ordered display of market data including price data from an electronic exchange, the ordered display being ordered by price, the ordered display showing offers to buy in a first area of the display and showing offers to sell in a second area of the display and showing current market price in a third area of the display;

in a first display mode, maintaining said first and second and third areas of the display in stationary locations on the display as updated market data is received from the electronic exchange, the price data displayed in said first and second and third area changing as the market data is updated;

in a second display mode, maintaining the price data in stationary locations on the display as updated market data is received from the electronic exchange, the first and second and third areas moving on the display as market data is updated including potentially moving off the display;

switching between said first display mode and said second display mode depending on a user action.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein said user action is movement of a cursor between predetermined areas of the display.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising:

receiving user instructions to submit an offer to the market, the user instructions including selection of an area on the display;

forwarding the offer to the market, the offer being at least one of an offer to buy and an offer to sell the tradable interest.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein said step of receiving the user instructions includes accepting a cursor selection of an area of the display showing a price of the tradable interest or an area of the display showing a quantity of the tradable interest.

11. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein said ordered display is a table showing price data in a column of the table and quantity information on columns of the table, said quantity information for offers to buy being displayed in a different column than quantity information for offers to sell.

12. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein said ordered display is a table having columns showing quantity of offer to buy and quantity of offer to sell and price.

13. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein said tradable interest is one of futures and options and commodities and equities and bonds.

14. Software on computer readable media and operable on a computer to perform the method comprising the steps of:

providing an ordered display of market data including price data from an electronic exchange, the ordered display being ordered by price, the ordered display showing offers to buy in a first area of the display and showing offers to sell in a second area of the display and showing current market price in a third area of the display;

in a first display mode, maintaining said first and second and third areas of the display in stationary locations on the display as updated market data is received from the electronic exchange, the price data displayed in said first and second and third area changing as the market data is updated;

in a second display mode, maintaining the price data in stationary locations on the display as updated market data is received from the electronic exchange, the first and second and third areas moving on the display as market data is updated including potentially moving off the display;

switching between said first display mode and said second display mode depending on a user action.

15. Software as claimed in claim 14, wherein said user action is movement of a cursor between areas of the display.

16. Software as claimed in claim 14, further comprising:

receiving user instructions to submit an offer to the market, the user instructions including selection of an area on the display;

forwarding the offer to the market, the offer being at least one of an offer to buy and an offer to sell the tradable interest.

17. Software as claimed in claim 16, wherein said step of receiving the user instructions includes accepting a cursor selection of one of an area of the display showing a price and an area of the display showing a quantity of the tradable interest.

18. Software as claimed in claim 14, wherein said ordered display is a table showing price data in a column of the table.

19. Software as claimed in claim 14, wherein said ordered display is a table having columns showing quantity of offer to buy and quantity of offer to sell and price.

20. Software as claimed in claim 14, wherein said tradable interest is one of futures and options and commodities and equities and bonds.