Automated trial order processing

• US 7,890,410 B1
• Filed: 03/08/2001
• Issued: 02/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xylon LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Stikine Technology LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Keith, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Kazimi; Hani
• Assistant Examiner(s): Graham; Clement B
• Application Number:
  US09/802,237
• Time in Patent Office: 3,631 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 38, 705/34, 705 35 R- 38 R, 364/408, 364/406
• US Class Current: 705/37
• 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 trading process wishing to perform market depth discovery sends a trial order to a market process. The trading process and the market process are both operative on a platform. The market process receives the trial order and enters the trial order into its order book. When responding to market inquiries from trading processes, the market process ignores the trial order. At some point, the market process selects the trial order for pairing with an active contra-side order, as if the trial order was a regular order, and sends a pairing report for zero shares to the trading process that originated the trial order. The market process then removes the trial order from its order file, and pairs the regular orders in its order file such that their pairing priority is unaffected by the trial order.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of facilitating trading, comprising:

automatically, via a computer communications interface, sending a trial order to a computer-implemented market that enters the trial order into an order file containing orders to be paired with contra-side orders, wherein the trial order identifies an item to trade and indicates a non-zero quantity and a price for the item, the quantity indicated in the trial order being automatically set to zero when the trial order is paired with a contra-side order; and

automatically, via a computer communications interface, receiving a pairing report when the trial order is paired with a contra-side order, wherein the trial order is paired for a zero quantity of the item, and wherein the trial order provides discovery of current market depth for the item at the indicated quantity and price while resulting in a pairing for a zero quantity of the item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the pairing report also indicates the price at which the trial order was paired with the contra-side order.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatically sending and receiving are performed by a trading process.

4. A computer-implemented method of facilitating trading, comprising:

automatically, under control of instructions that are executed by one or more computing devices of a computer system;

receiving a trial order via a computer communications interface, wherein the trial order identifies an item to trade and indicates a non-zero quantity and a price for the item;

entering the trial order into an order file that contains orders to be paired with contra-side orders;

pairing the trial order with a contra-side order, wherein said pairing includes automatically adjusting the quantity indicated in the trial order to zero and producing a pairing of the trial order with the contra-side order for a zero quantity of the item; and

reporting, via a computer communications interface, the pairing of the trial order for the zero quantity of the item.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising selecting the trial order for pairing with the contra-side order without affecting the pairing priority of other orders in the order file.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein reporting the pairing of the trial order includes sending a pairing report for the zero quantity of the item to a source of the trial order.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the pairing report includes the price at which the trial order was paired with the contra-side order.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising automatically responding to a market inquiry based on orders in the order file other than the trial order.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising automatically removing the trial order from the order file after reporting the pairing of the trial order.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein the automatically receiving, pairing, and reporting are performed by a market process that provides a market at which market participants trade items.

11. The method of claim 4, wherein the trial order is received from a trading process.

12. The method of claim 4, wherein the order file is maintained by a market process that provides a market that enables market participants to trade items.

13. A computer system configured to facilitate trading, comprising:

a first computing component including a computer processor configured to generate a trial order that identifies an item to trade and indicates a non-zero quantity and a price for the item, wherein the computing component further includes a communications interface configured to send the trial order to a market that enters the trial order into an order file containing orders to be paired with contra-side orders and enables market participants to trade items, the quantity indicated in the trial order being automatically set to zero when the trial order is paired with a contra-side order; and

a second computing component including a computer processor configured to receive a pairing report from the market via a communications interface, wherein the trial order has been paired with a contra-side order for a zero quantity of the item, and wherein the trial order provides discovery of current market depth for the item at the indicated quantity and price while resulting in a pairing for a zero quantity of the item.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the pairing report received by the second computing component indicates the price at which the trial order was paired with the contra-side order.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the first computing component and the second computing component are configured to execute a trading process that sends the trial order and receives the pairing report, respectively.

16. A computer system configured to facilitate trading, comprising:

one or more computing components including one or more computer processors configured to receive a trial order, enter the trial order into an order file that contains orders to be paired with contra-side orders, and pair the trial order with a contra-side order, wherein the trial order identifies an item to trade and indicates a non-zero quantity and a price for the item,

wherein upon pairing, the one or more computing components including one or more computer processors are configured to automatically set the quantity indicated in the trial order to zero and produce a pairing of the trial order with the contra-side order for a zero quantity of the item, and

wherein the one or more computing components including one or more computer processors are further configured to report the pairing of the trial order for the zero quantity of the item.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more computing components are further configured to select the trial order for pairing with the contra-side order without affecting the pairing priority of other orders in the order file.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more computing components are configured to report the pairing of the trial order by sending a pairing report for the zero quantity of the item to a source of the trial order.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the pairing report includes the price at which the trial order was paired with the contra-side order.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more computing components are further configured to automatically respond to a market inquiry based on orders in the order file other than the trial order.

21. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more computing components are further configured to automatically remove the trial order from the order file after reporting the pairing of the trial order.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more computing components are configured to execute a market process that performs the receiving, pairing, and reporting, wherein the market process is configured to provide a market at which market participants trade items.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or more computing components are configured to receive the trial order from a trading process.

30. The system of claim 16, wherein the order file is maintained by a market process that provides a market that enables market participants to trade items.

24. A non-transitory computer-accessible medium storing computer-executable instructions, wherein the instructions facilitate trading at a market and, when accessed and executed, the instructions cause a computer to:

receive a trial order that identifies an item to trade and indicates a non-zero quantity and a price for the item;

enter the trial order into an order file that contains orders to be paired with contra-side orders;

pair the trial order with a contra-side order, wherein pairing the trial order includes automatically adjusting the quantity indicated in the trial order to zero and producing a pairing of the trial order with the contra-side order for a zero quantity of the item; and

report the pairing of the trial order for the zero quantity of the item.

25. The computer-accessible medium of claim 24, wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer to select the trial order for pairing with the contra-side order without affecting the pairing priority of other orders in the order file.

26. The computer-accessible medium of claim 24, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the computer to send a pairing report for the zero quantity of the item to a source of the trial order.

27. The computer-accessible medium of claim 26, wherein the pairing report includes the price at which the trial order was paired with the contra-side order.

28. The computer-accessible medium of claim 24, wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer to respond to a market inquiry based on orders in the order file other than the trial order.

29. The computer-accessible medium of claim 24, wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer to remove the trial order from the order file after reporting the pairing of the trial order.

31. The computer-accessible medium of claim 24, wherein the order file is maintained by a market process that provides a market that enables market participants to trade items.

32. A computer system configured to facilitate trading, comprising:

means for receiving a trial order via a computer communications interface, wherein the trial order identifies an item to trade and indicates a non-zero quantity and a price for the item;

means for entering the trial order into an order file that contains orders to be paired with contra-side orders;

means for pairing the trial order with a contra-side order, wherein the means for pairing are configured to automatically adjust the quantity indicated in the trial order to zero and produce a pairing of the trial order with the contra-side order for a zero quantity of the item; and

means for reporting, via a computer communications interface, the pairing of the trial order for the zero quantity of the item.

33. The computer system of claim 32, further comprising means for selecting the trial order for pairing with the contra-side order without affecting the pairing priority of other orders in the order file.

34. The computer system of claim 32, wherein the means for reporting the pairing of the trial order includes means for sending a pairing report for the zero quantity of the item to a source of the trial order, wherein the pairing report includes the price at which the trial order was paired with the contra-side order.