User interface for an electronic trading system

• US 7,752,122 B2
• Filed: 05/03/2006
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Trading Technologies International, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Trading Technologies International, Inc.
• Inventors: Friesen, Richard W., Hart, Peter C.
• Primary Examiner(s): KAZIMI, HANI M
• Application Number:
  US11/417,546
• Publication Number:
  US 20060265319A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,525 Days
• Field of Search: 705/37, 705/35
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• 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

A user interface for an electronic trading exchange is provided which allows a remote trader to view in real time bid orders, offer orders, and trades for an item, and optionally one or more sources of contextual data. Individual traders place orders on remote client terminals, and this information is routed to a transaction server. The transaction server receives order information from the remote terminals, matches a bid for an item to an offer for an item responsive to the bid corresponding with the offer, and communicates outstanding bid and offer information, and additional information (such as trades and contextual data) back to the client terminals. Each client terminal displays all of the outstanding bids and offers for an item, allowing the trader to view trends in orders for an item. A priority view is provided in which orders are displayed as tokens at locations corresponding to the values of the orders. The size of the tokens reflects the quantity of the orders. An alternate view positions order icons at a location which reflects the value and quantity of the order. Additionally, contextual data for the item is also displayed to allow the trader to consider as much information as possible while making transaction decisions. A pit panel view is also provided in which traders connected to the pit are represented by icons, and are displayed corresponding to an activity level of the trader.

Claims

1. A method of providing an interface to an electronic trading system in which a good is bought and sold responsive to orders placed by users of the electronic trading system, where orders comprise a bid type or an offer type, the method comprising:

generating a plurality of price levels that correspond to the good via a trading device having an electronic processor and communicatively coupled to the electronic trading system and displaying the plurality of price levels along a scaled price axis via an output associated with the trading device;

receiving bids for the good from an electronic exchange via the trading device and displaying the bids relative to the plurality of price levels along the scaled price axis via the output;

receiving asks for the good from the electronic exchange via the trading device and displaying the asks relative to the plurality of price levels along the scaled price axis via the output;

submitting an order for the good to the electronic exchange responsive to a user action received via a user input associated with the trading device, the user action specifying a quantity and a price for the order and displaying an order indicator corresponding to the placed order relative to the plurality of price levels along the scaled price axis via the output;

determining a specific price value based on a formula via the trading device; and

generating and displaying a marker indicator relative to the plurality of price levels along the scaled price axis at a location corresponding to the specific price value that the marker indicator represents via the output, wherein the marker indicator ascends or descends the plurality of price levels along the scaled price axis responsive to changes in the specific price value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific price value is updated when new data is received regarding a variable of the formula.

3. method of claim 1, further comprising updating the specific price value and displaying the marker indicator at a new location relative to the plurality of price levels along the price axis, the new location corresponding to the updated specific price value.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the specific price value and if the updated specific price value is between a first price level and a second subsequent price level displayed along the scaled price axis, then the marker indicator is displayed at a new location representing the updated specific price value that is relative to locations representing the first price value and the second subsequent price value.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a change in the specific price value is less than the difference between two subsequent price values displayed along the price value axis.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the marker indicator comprises an action line that is oriented perpendicularly to the price value axis.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the formula is input directly by a user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the formula is selected from a predesignated list of formulas.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the good comprises a commodity.

10. A method for facilitating trading and displaying information to a user regarding the buying and selling of a good in a system where orders comprise a bid type or an offer type, the method comprising:

displaying a price axis representing the good via an output associated with a trading device;

determining a specific price value based on a formula via the trading device;

displaying an action line perpendicular to the price axis via the output, wherein the action line corresponds to the specific price value, and wherein the action line ascends or descends the price axis responsive to changes in the specific price value;

receiving a command to place an order icon for a quantity of the good at a location along the price axis via a user input associated with the trading device; and

sending an order to an electronic trading system via the trading device, wherein the order is for the quantity of the good and at a particular price value determined based on the location where the order icon was placed.

11. A method for displaying information regarding the buying and selling of a good in an electronic trading system where orders comprises a bid type or an offer type and where such orders are matched based on a time priority, comprising:

displaying a value axis on a graphical user interface via an output associated with a trading device, wherein the value axis comprises values that represent prices for a good;

receiving market data indicating a first order and a second order are pending at a price at the electronic exchange via the trading device;

generating a first order indicator to represent the first order via the trading device;

generating a second order indicator to represent the second order via the trading device; and

displaying the first order indicator and the second order indicator at locations in relation the price along the value axis via the output, wherein the arrangement of the first and second order indicators is based on a time each order was placed at the electronic exchange.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving market data indicating a third order is pending at the price at the electronic exchange;

generating a third order indicator to represent the third order;

displaying the third order indicator at a location in relation to the price along the value axis and adjacent to the first and second order indicators,

wherein the arrangement of the third, second, and first order indicators is based on a time each order was placed at the electronic exchange.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first order was placed in time before the second and third orders, and further comprising:

receiving a notification that the first order was matched, and removing the first order indicator from the display leaving the second and third order indicators for display.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second order was placed in time before the third order, and further comprising:

automatically shifting the second order indicator to a location previously occupied by the first order indicator and automatically shifting the third order indicator to a location previously occupied by the second order indicator.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

displaying the first order indicator with a first visual characteristic to a user who requested the order first order, and displaying the second order indicator with a second visual characteristic to other users.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the first and second orders are orders to buy the good, or the first and second orders are orders to sell the good.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising adjusting the size of the first order indicator to correspond to the quantity associated with the first order.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising adjusting the size of the second order indicator to correspond to the quantity associated with the second order.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the value axis further indicates the value at which the good is currently being traded by displaying a highest bid indicator at a location corresponding to a current highest bid value and displaying a lowest offer indicator at a location corresponding to a lowest offer value along the value axis.