US007212999B2
`
`(12) United States Patent
`Friesen et a].
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`May 1, 2007
`
`(54) USER INTERFACE FOR AN ELECTRONIC
`TRADING SYSTEM
`
`(75) Inventors: Richard W. Friesen, Fairfax, CA (US);
`Peter C. Hart, San Rafael, CA (US)
`
`EP
`
`5,077,665 A 12/1991 Silverman et al.
`.
`(Continued)
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`*
`3/1990
`0 388 162 A2
`(Continued)
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Assignee: Trading Technologies International,
`Inc_ Chicago IL (Us)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`HOW the Futures Markets Work, Jake Bernstein,
`Institute of Finance, pp. 62-67.*
`(Continued)
`P 1’ imary Examiner4charles R1 Kyle
`(74) A110" "6)’, Agent) 0" FlrmiMcDonnen Boehnen
`Hulbel't & BerghO? LLP
`
`New York
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`A user interface for an electronic trading exchange is pro
`vided Which alloWs a remote trader to vieW in real time bid
`orders, o?‘er 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 1nformat1on from the remote termmals,
`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 infor
`mation (such as trades and contextual data) back to the client
`terminals. Each client terminal displays all of the outstand
`ing 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 corre
`sponding to the values of the orders. The siZe of the tokens
`re?ects the quantity of the orders. An alternate vieW posi
`tions order icons at a location Which re?ects 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.
`Apit panel vieW is also provided in Which traders connected
`to the p“ are represented by Icons’ and are dlsplayed
`correspond1ng to an act1v1ty level of the trader.
`
`_
`
`_
`
`(21) Appl' No‘: 09/289550
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Apr. 9, 1999
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`Us 2003/0097325 A1
`
`May 22, 2003
`
`(51) Int- Cl-
`(2006-01)
`G06Q 40/00
`(52) U.S. CI. ...................... .. 705/37, 705/35, 345/4402
`(58) Field of Classi?cation Search ................. .. 705/37
`See application ?le for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`_
`References Clted
`Us PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`,
`
`,
`
`i
`4,799,156 A
`4,823,265 A
`4,903,201 A
`5,038,284 A
`
`01 en
`
`galinus et 31' """""" " 364/408
`1/1989 Shavitetal. ............. .. 364/401
`4/1989 Nelson
`2/1990 Wagner
`8/1991 Kramer
`
`Ell
`File View Aciions Testing
`
`324
`
`336
`
`28
`
`.
`
`35 Claims, 11 Drawing Sheets
`
`|_||:||><1
`11;
`
`32.65
`332
`31.70
`
`30.60
`
`29.50
`304(1
`45
`
`27.35
`26.25
`26.25
`
`25.30
`
`24.20
`
`23.10
`
`22.00
`
`IBG 1001
`CBM of U.S. Patent No. 7,212,999
`
`0001
`
`

`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`Page 2
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`3/1992 Lupien er 31
`5,101,353 A
`8/1992 Silverman et al. .......... .. 705/37
`5,136,501 A *
`5,270,922 A 12/1993 Higgins
`5,297,031 A
`3/1994 Gutterman et a1. ....... .. 364/408
`5,297,032 A
`3/1994 Trojan et al. ...... ..
`364/408
`
`3457440
`
`5,347,452 A *
`9/1994 Bay’ Jr ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '
`' ' ' " 705/37
`5,375,055 A 12/1994 Togher et al' ~~~~~~~~~~~~ " 364/408
`5,619,631 A
`4/1997 Schott
`5,689,651 A 11/1997 LoZman .................... .. 395/237
`5,774,877 A
`6/1998 Patterson, Jr. et al.
`5,793,301 A
`8/1998 Patterson, Jr. et al.
`g
`i *
`gagerson’ Jr‘ et al'
`5’845’266 A 0/1998 L0 (.m
`"""""""" "
`’
`’
`uplen e a '
`5,915,245 A
`6/1999 Patterson, Jr. et al.
`-
`7/1999 Silverman et al.
`5,924,082 A
`5,924,083 A
`7/1999 Silverman et al.
`5,946,667 A
`8/1999 Tull, Jr‘ et a1‘
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`5,966,139 A * 10/1999 Anupam et a1‘ __________ __ 345/440
`6,012,046 A
`1/2000 Lupien et a1‘
`6,014,643 A *
`1/2000 Minton ................... .. 705/36 R
`6,035,287 A
`3/2000 stallaen et 31,
`6,098,051 A
`8/ 2000 Lupien et al.
`6,101,484 A *
`8/2000 Halbeit et al. .............. .. 705/26
`6,131,087 A * 10/2000 Luke et al. ................. .. 705/26
`6,134,535 A 10/2000 Belzberg
`6,161,099 A * 12/2000 Harrington et al. ......... .. 705/37
`6,188,403 B1 *
`2/2001 Sacerdoti et al. ......... .. 345/339
`6,195,647 B1
`2/2001 Martyn et a1~
`6,272,474 B1 *
`8/2001 Garcia ....................... .. 705/37
`6,282,521 B1
`8/2001 HOWOTka
`6,408,282 B1* 6/2002 Buist ......................... .. 705/37
`6,418,419 B1
`7/2002 Nieboer et a1~
`705/37
`6,766,304 B2 *
`7/2004 Kemp et a1~
`705/37
`6,772,132 B1 *
`8/2004 Kemp et a1.
`2001/0034696 A1 * 10/2001 McIntyre ................... .. 705/37
`2001/0039527 A1 * 11/2001 Ordish et al. ............... .. 705/37
`2002/0023038 A1* 2/2002 FnFSch et a1‘ "
`705/37
`2002/0130868 A1* 9/2002 Smith ....................... .. 345/440
`2002/0178096 A1 * 11/2002 Marshall .................... .. 705/35
`2003/0009411 A1* 1/2003 Ram et al.
`705/37
`2004/0099933 A1 *
`5/2004 Kimura .................... .. 257/675
`2005/0125328 A1* 6/2005 Schuetter ................... .. 705/37
`*
`2005/0256799 A1 11/2005 Warsaw et a1.
`705/37
`2006/0010066 A1* 1/2006 Rosenthal et al. .......... .. 705/37
`2006/0020538 A1* 1/2006 Ram et al. .................. .. 705/37
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`W0
`W0
`W0
`W0
`
`7/1992
`W0 92/ 12488
`9/1995
`WO 95/26005 A1
`9/2000
`WO 00/52619 A1
`WO 01/75733 A1 * 10/2001
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Dictionary of Finance and Investment Terms, John Downes and
`Jordan Elliot Goodman, 1998, Barrons Educational Services, Inc.,
`13,329}
`Java Island, cOpyright 1999 (printed from httPM/WWW'iSId‘COm on
`Jun‘ 11, 1999)‘
`Search Repon for PCT/US 00/09369‘
`Yahoo! Finance4Option Chain SUNW; 2 pages.
`APT Brochure, LIFFE Exchange, circa 1990*.
`Trading Screen, INTEX of Bermuda, circa 1984*.
`.
`.
`.
`.
`.
`.
`Weber, Information Technology in the Ma] or International Financial
`M k t A 7 1993
`*
`_
`ar _e S’
`Pr‘
`’
`'
`Trading Screen, TIFFE Exchange, circa 1989;1990 .
`Trading ‘Screen,
`Exchange, circa 1990 .
`I
`Cavaletti, Order Routing Article, Futures Magazine, Feb. 1997.
`Aurora Article, CBOT, circa 1989*.
`One Click Trading Options, Trading Technologies, circa 1998,
`Trading Screen, SWX Exchange, circa 1990*.
`Expanding futures and options trading around the World, around the
`clock, GLOBEX, circa 1989*.
`Hansell, The computer that ate Chicago, Institutional Investor, Feb.
`1989*.
`Globex Report: An update on the CME Global electronic exchange,
`Feb. 10, 1989.
`NYMEX Access Documents, New York Mercantile Exchange, Feb.
`28, 1992,
`Grummer, Peake, Sellers, Preliminary Feasibility Study, Bermudex
`Ltd‘, NOV, 1980‘
`Peake, Mendellson, The ABCs of trading on a national market
`system, Appendix C of Preliminary Feasibility Study, Bermudex
`Ltd‘, Sep‘ 1997‘
`Peake, The last 15 meters, Appendix E of Preliminary Feasibility
`Study, Bermudex Ltd‘, Jun‘ 15, 1997‘
`Declaration of Brendan Bradley in Case No. 04 C 5312, Nov. 18,
`2004‘
`Memorandum Opinion Published Feb‘ 9, 2005, of Judge James B‘
`Moran in Case No 04 C 5312
`CATS Traders, Manual, Toronto Stock Exchange, Sep‘ 30, 1977‘
`.
`.
`Market Watch, Trading Screen, date not available.
`,,
`will V.
`Kh
`f J.
`dc 1 C 31 H.‘ “AT d. R
`F amufN‘m ailgggflga av e 1'
`fu “1 mg 00m 1
`‘1 ‘ew ’
`umres’ 0“
`’
`Pages’ WWW' turesmag'mm'
`Presentation regarding the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.; dated
`Nov. 8, 2001; 15 pages.
`
`JP
`
`2004004287819 A1 * 10/2004
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`0002
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`May 1, 2007
`
`Sheet 1 0f 11
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`IO4N CLIENT
`
`<—
`
`108
`Z
`_> TRANSACTION
`104w CLIENT <———> MANAGER <—> DATABASE
`
`100
`
`104w CLIENT <——
`
`FIG. 1
`
`DISPLAY BID ICON
`500 CORRESPONDING TO
`\’ QUANTITY AND
`VALUE OF BID
`
`v
`DISPLAY OFFER ICON
`504 CORRESPONDING TO
`M QUANTITY AND
`VALUE OF OFFER
`
`FIG. 5
`
`RECEIVE A VALUE FOR
`800
`w REQUESTED ORDER
`
`I
`RECEIVE A QUANTITY FOR
`REQUESTED ORDER
`
`804
`‘V
`
`806w
`
`RECEIVE ORDER TYPE
`
`807
`\’
`
`DISPLAY CONFIRMATION
`MESSAGE WINDOW
`
`DISPLAY ORDER ICON ALONG
`A VALUE QUANTITY AXES AT A
`808w LOCATION CORRESPONDING
`TO THE PRICE AND QUANTITY
`OF-THE ORDER
`
`FIG. 8
`
`0003
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`May 1, 2007
`
`Sheet 2 0f 11
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`I’ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _|
`
`100\,'
`
`104
`
`CLIENT -
`
`MESSAGE
`SERVER
`
`2246 216(1)
`SUMMARY
`I
`220(1)
`\4 - INFORMATION
`AGENT <—-
`I
`l
`I
`|
`I
`I
`:
`'
`
`200(1)
`8
`TRANSACTION
`REGISTRATION
`<I>
`SERVER
`SERVER
`
`,J
`212(1)
`
`DATABASE
`
`204
`224( 2160K, MESSAGE
`|
`8
`4 SUMMARY
`SERVER
`LOGIN
`1F INFORMATION
`MANAGER
`AGENT
`I
`I
`I
`l
`l
`I
`I
`
`REGISTRATION
`SERVER
`
`200(2)
`8
`TRANSACTION
`SERVER
`
`212(2)
`
`DATABASE
`\, 208(2)
`
`118
`(
`DATABASE
`
`I
`I
`I
`I
`I
`
`l
`|
`l
`I
`l
`
`104
`
`CLIENT
`
`104
`
`CLIENT
`
`104
`
`CLIENT
`
`FIG. 2
`
`r
`l
`l
`I
`I
`l
`I
`I
`
`REGISTRATION
`SERVER
`
`I A I
`220(3)
`“I 212(3)
`:
`l
`L
`
`22‘? 216(3)” MESSAGE
`. SUMMARY
`SERVER
`INFORMATION
`AGENT 4
`
`200(3)
`8
`TRANSACTION
`SERVER
`
`I
`DATABASE
`\/20s(3)
`
`0004
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`May 1, 2007
`
`Sheet 3 of 11
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`<0
`
`0
`
`S2
`LL
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`
`
`
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`
`IEIBC
`
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`
`0005
`
`0005
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`May 1, 2007
`
`Sheet 4 of 11
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`mm.9”.:583:003:08€:o8s:oo2o:o8
`
`,88
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`
`0006
`
`0006
`
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`May 1, 2007
`
`Sheet 5 01 11
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`1 324
`
`320 \~
`
`0007
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`May 1, 2007
`
`Sheet 6 0f 11
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`El
`
`BUY
`Price:
`| $35.90
`Quantity: |40
`Value: $1436.00
`
`E1,
`‘350
`
`|
`I
`
`FIG- 3D
`
`354
`
`EL
`
`I
`I
`
`
`
`Expires; IEnd oftrading day OK Cancel
`
`
`
`FIG. 3E
`
`El
`
`SELL
`I $50.10
`Price:
`Quantity: I 50
`Value: $2505.00
`
`
`
`Expires: I 1Week E
`
`IQFEIBOO
`
`904
`J
`
`FIG. 9
`
`0008
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`May 1, 2007
`
`Sheet 7 01 11
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`El
`
`FIG. 4
`
`ll'lll
`
`MW
`
`|| ||| ||
`
`336
`
`316
`
`412% UV
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`=[ IBC — Order Book — Price/ Quality View 420
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`File
`
`0009
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`May 1, 2007
`
`Sheet 8 0f 11
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`600
`RECEIVE AN
`ORDER TYPE ‘’
`T
`
`RECEIVE A
`604
`QUANTITY
`SPECIFIED FOR \’
`ORDER
`I
`GENERATE AN
`ORDER ICON
`608
`WHOSE
`VERTICAL SIZE \’
`MATCHES THE
`QUANTITY
`
`RECEIVE A
`PRICE FOR THE V612
`ORDER
`¢
`DISPLAY
`V614
`ORDER
`CONFIRMATION
`WINDOW
`l
`TRANSMIT
`ORDER
`INFORMATION
`
`616
`\,
`
`FIG. 6
`
`618
`
`DOES SLOT
`CONTAIN AN
`EXISTING BID?
`
`[5336
`PLACE ICON AT
`NO> DETERMINED
`SLOT
`
`340
`
`SHIFT ALL
`YES’ LOWER PRICED
`BIDS OVER ONE
`SLOT
`
`HAVE A PRICE
`LESS THAN
`REQUESTED
`BID?
`
`NO
`
`632
`,1
`STACK
`
`HAVE A PR'CE
`EQUAL TO
`REQUESTED
`5“)?
`
`YES> $335351?
`EX'ST'NG
`BID(S)
`
`NO
`+
`DETERMINE
`NEW SLOT FOR 628
`REQUESTED \’
`BID
`I
`
`0010
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`May 1, 2007
`
`Sheet 9 0f 11
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`702
`,J
`TRANSIT NEW
`ORDER
`INFORMATION TO
`CLIENT TERMINALS
`
`IS
`THERE AN
`XISTING OFFER LES
`THAN OR EQUAL TO
`
`YE
`
`116 E
`
`MODIFY OFFER
`INFORMATION
`T0 REFLECT A
`QUANTITY
`CORRESPONDING
`TO DIFFERENCE IN
`QUANTITIES
`
`717
`
`,J
`SEND UPDATED
`OFFER
`INFORMATION FOR
`DISPLAY
`
`HAVE A QUALITY
`ESS THAN BID‘?
`
`706
`
`YES
`4
`REMOVE OFFER FROM
`ORDER TABLE AND ADD
`BID TO ORDER TABLE
`'WITH QUANTITY REDUCED
`
`GREATER
`THAN TH
`
`NO
`
`i
`
`712
`REMOVE
`OFFER J
`FROM TABLE
`
`‘—_———>
`
`'
`
`72o
`
`RECORD i
`TRADE
`
`FIG. 7
`
`0011
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`May 1, 2007
`
`Sheet 10 0f 11
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`1000
`
`DISPLAY -
`ATRADING 4
`PIT
`
`1 004
`
`HAS A
`PREDETERMINED
`TIME PERIOD
`EXPIRED?
`
`YES
`1008
`Y
`SELECTTRADERFJ
`ICON
`
`1 024
`
`ARE THERE
`YSTANDERS'P
`
`YES
`+
`1°28
`SELECT
`BYSTANDER 'J
`ICON
`
`IS TRADER
`STILL
`ONNECTED'P
`
`1011
`,J
`REMOVE
`ORDER
`ICON
`
`S BYSTANDER
`CONNECTED?
`
`1040
`,.J
`REMOVE
`BYSTANDER
`ICON
`
`YES
`
`YES
`v
`DETERMINE
`ACTIVITY LEVEL
`
`1012
`
`V
`DISPLAY TRADER ICON AT
`A LOCATION
`CORRESPONDING TO
`ACTIVITY LEVEL
`
`ARE THERE
`MORE
`BYSTANDERS?
`
`ARE THERE
`ORE TRADERS’?
`
`NO
`
`NO
`
`FIG. 10’
`
`0012
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`May 1, 2007
`
`Sheet 11 0f 11
`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`_ COMMUNICATIONS WINDOW
`
`1100
`
`1104
`,J
`
`1108
`,J
`
`INSTANT
`MESSAGE
`
`EMAIL
`MESSAGE
`
`CONNECTION
`
`FIG. 11
`
`0013
`
`

`
`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`1
`USER INTERFACE FOR AN ELECTRONIC
`TRADING SYSTEM
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD
`
`The present invention relates generally to the ?eld of
`graphical user interfaces and more particularly to the ?eld of
`graphical user interfaces for electronic trading systems.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`2
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention is a user interface for an electronic
`trading system that alloWs a remote trader to vieW trends in
`the orders for an item, and provides the trading information
`in an easy to see and interpret graphical format. The user
`interface of the present invention operates in a system in
`Which individual traders place orders including bids and
`offers, 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 back to the client
`terminals. Thus, in accordance With the present invention,
`each client terminal displays all of the outstanding bids and
`offers for an item, in contrast to the conventional systems
`and methods in Which only the highest bid and loWest offer
`Were knoWn to the individual trader. This alloWs the trader
`to vieW trends in orders for an item, and thus better enables
`the trader to anticipate demand for the item.
`For example, in one embodiment, a graph is formed With
`a value axis. Bid icons and offer icons for all outstanding
`bids and offers are displayed on the graph at locations
`corresponding to the values of the bids and offers. When an
`item is being “bid up,” i.e., the demand for the item is
`groWing, all of the neW bids are displayed to the remote
`trader. The trader immediately sees the increasing demand
`for the item as it occurs, and thus may infer that the item may
`rise in value, and can enter an order to buy for the item
`immediately While the value for the item still appears loW.
`In contrast, in conventional systems, the trader only kneW of
`the existence of the highest bid, and therefore Would not
`knoW that demand for the item Was increasing. HoWever, by
`“opening the book,” all of the outstanding orders are dis
`played to all of the remote traders and each trader is able to
`immediately see the groWing demand and maximiZe his or
`her position in the market accordingly.
`The user interface of the present invention presents this
`information in an intuitive format, alloWing the trader to
`make informed decisions quickly. In a priority vieW embodi
`ment, bid and offer icons are displayed corresponding to an
`axis of values. This results in the bid icons being displayed
`on the loWer portion of the screen and the offer icons being
`displayed on the upper portion of the screen. The trader is
`able to discern immediately the number and volume of bids
`and offers outstanding for the item and their difference in
`value. The bids and offers are preferably displayed in
`different colors, shapes, or other visual characteristics, fur
`ther enhancing the trader’s ability to quickly ascertain the
`current state of the market. The screen is updated frequently
`to display the most recent bids and offers. In one embodi
`ment, the icons are formed having an edge Which is angled
`toWard the axis of values. When all outstanding offers and
`bids are displayed, the arrangement of icons naturally forms
`the edges of a triangle that points to the value differential at
`the axis of values. In yet another embodiment, the trader’s
`oWn bids and offers are displayed in a ?rst color or other
`visual characteristic, and the bids and offers of other traders
`are displayed in a second color or visual characteristic. This
`alloWs the trader to quickly determine his or her relative
`position in the marketplace. Finally, in a preferred embodi
`ment, a siZe of the icons represents the quantity of the bid or
`offer, alloWing an easy visual means of determining the
`relative quantities each bid and offer represent.
`In a value/quantity vieW embodiment, an axis of values
`and an axis of quantities are used to determine the location
`
`Trading pits are the lifeblood of a market economy.
`Quantities of goods and shares in companies are bought and
`sold by millions of investors through trading pits on
`exchanges everyday. When a particular trading product or
`item is more valued, the value of the item is driven up as a
`result of more aggressive bidding by the buyers. When an
`item is less valued, the value of the item is driven doWn as
`a result of more aggressive offers to sell the item. The
`successful trader anticipates the rise or fall of the value of an
`item and performs his or her oWn transaction before-the rest
`of the market is aWare of the item’s potential gain or loss in
`value. Thus, anticipation of the market and speci?cally of
`the future demand for an item of interest is critical to the
`success of a trader.
`The transactions for each item occur in a trading pit for
`that item. The trading pit is a designated area in an exchange
`in Which the customers submit their orders, either bids or
`offers, for the item to a broker in the pit. The exchange
`records all transactions and relays or posts to the individual
`traders the outstanding bid having the highest value and the
`outstanding offer having the loWest value for the item, along
`With the quantity speci?ed in the order. The exchange does
`not release information on all outstanding offers and bids to
`the traders because, in part, this information is What gives
`the market makers an advantage over the traders and enables
`the market makers to change their oWn trading directions
`quickly, step in front of customer orders, and use customer
`limit orders to protect the market makers from losses.
`HoWever, for an individual trader, having only the latest
`order information for an item complicates the trader’s task
`of ascertaining trends in the orders for an item because the
`trader has very little information about the volume of offers
`and bids or the rate at Which these volumes are changing.
`Other information is also used by the trader to anticipate
`the market, including current exchange performances, his
`torical transaction data for the item, the number of traders at
`the pit, and the trader’s sense of the activity of the pit.
`HoWever, it is often di?icult for a trader to quickly assemble
`this information from diverse and often unrelated sources or
`even e?fectively process all of this information in order to
`make an informed transaction decision. From this informa
`tion, and other external information, the trader must attempt
`to determine trends in the buying or selling for the item in
`order to anticipate the market and the demand for a particu
`lar item.
`Thus, a system is needed in Which trend information of
`market demand for an individual item is provided to traders
`in an intuitive format Which alloWs traders to quickly
`interpret hoW market demand is changing to an item. A
`system is also needed Which provides contextual informa
`tion about the item or the market to the trader While the
`trader is trading on a speci?c item in a manner Which alloWs
`the trader to quickly interpret the information and then act
`accordingly.
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`US 7,212,999 B2
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`3
`of the bid and offer icons. The icons in this embodiment are
`markers or tokens and provide a different look and feel to the
`trader. Providing alternate vieWs alloW a trader to select a
`vieW With Which the trader is most comfortable trading.
`A value quantifying analytic is displayed in a further
`embodiment With respect to the value axis at a location
`corresponding to the current value Which the analytic rep
`resents. The analytic is preferably displayed as a marker
`called an action line, in a color or other visual characteristic
`different from the other characteristics used to represent
`other objects being displayed. The action line is selected by
`each individual trader and can re?ect value-to-eaming ratio,
`volatility, volume of sales, or any other metric the trader
`designs, or can be selected from a listed of predetermined
`metrics. The action line responds to changes in the data it
`measures, updating in essentially real time. The action line
`alloWs the trader to immediately determine the current
`valuation of the item relative to the trader’s oWn valuation
`of the item. As the offers or bids approach the action line, the
`trader is prepared to complete a transaction in accordance
`With the trader’s oWn valuation.
`In another aspect of the invention, market data and other
`contextual data is displayed While the trader is vieWing one
`of the aforementioned user interfaces. A historical chart is
`displayed in the background of a user interface to provide
`additional information to the trader Who is determining the
`state of the market and hoW it may affect the value of the
`item. For example, the historical chart may represent the
`various market indices, historical values of the item or
`others, and any other historical value, quantity, or volume
`trend. The historical chart can represent the average value of
`the item over a period of time, or may represent a value or
`values for any other item or group of items. The historical
`chart is displayed With respect to a vertical axis of values,
`and is displayed horizontally responsive to time. The his
`torical chart is updated to provide the latest information to
`the trader While the trader is trading. Thus, in accordance
`With the present invention, the trader is able to make
`instantaneous decisions regarding an item While receiving
`critical information about other items or the past perfor
`mance of the current item and other indices. This is a major
`advantage over conventional methods of trading in Which
`this information is not provided concurrently, and if pre
`sented at all, is di?icult to process quickly.
`An alternate embodiment provides a trading pit vieW that
`displays trader icons for each trader and positions the trader
`icons re?ective of the activity level of the trader. Floor
`brokers and other bystanders are also displayed and identi
`?ed to alloW the trader to understand at a glance the
`respective positions and activity of all users currently con
`nected to the transaction server for that trading pit. Selecting
`a trader icon provides information regarding the trader and
`can open up a WindoW to alloW the traders to communicate
`With each other using one or more methods including
`electronic mail, text chat or communication by voice over a
`netWork connection. The trading pit vieW alloWs the remote
`trader to immediately ascertain Whom the trader is trading
`against, hoW active they are, and alloWs the trader to better
`anticipate the market.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of
`the electronic trading system of the present invention.
`FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of
`the transaction manager of the present invention.
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`FIGS. 3ai3c are screen shots illustrating an embodiment
`of a Priority VieW in accordance With the present invention.
`FIG. 3d illustrates a buy order pop-up WindoW.
`FIG. 3e illustrates a sell order pop-up WindoW.
`FIG. 4 is a screen shot illustrating an embodiment of a
`Value/ Quantity VieW in accordance With the present inven
`tion.
`FIG. 5 is a How chart illustrating a preferred embodiment
`of a method of displaying bid and offer icons in accordance
`With the present invention.
`FIG. 6 is a How chart illustrating a preferred embodiment
`of a method of generating a bid order icon in accordance
`With the present invention.
`FIG. 7 is a How chart illustrating a preferred embodiment
`of a method of generating a offer order icon in accordance
`With the present invention.
`FIG. 8 is a How chart illustrating an alternate embodiment
`of generating an order icon.
`FIG. 9 is a screen shot illustrating a Pit Panel vieW in
`accordance With the present invention.
`FIG. 10 is a How chart illustrating a preferred embodiment
`of generating and placing a trader icon in accordance With
`the present invention.
`FIG. 11 is a screen shot illustrating a communication
`WindoW in accordance With the present invention.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
`
`FIG. 1 illustrates the electronic trading system in accor
`dance With the present invention. Client terminals 104 are
`coupled to a transaction manager 100. The client terminals
`104 are personal computers, terminals as part of a netWork,
`or any other computing device. Traders use the client
`terminals 104 to interact With trading pits that are managed
`by the transaction manager 100. The transaction manager
`100 manages transaction requests generated by the client
`terminals 104, routes information to, from, and betWeen the
`terminals 104 and the transaction manager 100, and stores
`and retrieves information from a database 108 or databases
`108.
`FIG. 2 illustrates a more speci?c embodiment of the
`transaction manager 100. The clients 104 are coupled to
`log-in manager 204 to provide to each client access to the
`transaction manager 100, and to alloW each client 104 to
`designate one or more trading pit 220 to Which to be
`connected. The transaction manager 100 hosts one or more
`transaction servers 200. Each transaction server 200 is
`responsible for the trading of a speci?ed item, essentially
`supporting a speci?c trading pit. The summary information
`agents 224 for each transaction server 200 provide a current
`status of the activity of each pit 220 to a trader connected to
`the log-in manager 204. The trader can select a pit 220 to
`Which to be connected based upon the summary informa
`tion. Once the log-in process is complete, the clients 104 are
`coupled to a registration server 212 for the speci?ed trading
`pit 220. Registration for each pit 220 requires the client 104
`to provide an access key that it received from the login
`manager 204 during log in.
`After registering for a pit 220, the trader is able to add,
`modify or delete orders for the item being traded in the
`trading pit 220. One type of an order called a “bid” is an
`order to buy up to a speci?c quantity of an item at or beloW
`a speci?c value. Another type of an order called an “offer”
`is an order to sell up to a speci?c quantity of an item at or
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`US 7,212,999 B2
`
`5
`above a speci?c value. Other types of orders are possible
`depending on the type of item being traded in the trading pit
`220.
`Each pit 220 includes a transaction server 200. The
`transaction server 200 receives orders, matches bids and
`offers (When a bid and offer are matched it is called a trade
`or execution) and routes information to both the database
`208 and the client terminals 104 connected to the trading pit
`220. The client terminals 104 generate icons for bid and offer
`orders (called bid and offer icons), historical charts and
`trader icons, and determine the placement of bid and offer
`icons and trader icons responsive to the information received
`from the transaction server 200. The database 208 to Which
`the transaction server 200 is coupled stores the information
`corresponding to each trader, information on every order
`submitted over a period (such as start of trading days),
`information on every trade over a period (such as last 180
`days) and the information corresponding to the item being
`traded. Each trader may have information associated With
`the trader’s account stored, including a name, e-mail
`account, address, phone number, personal value quantifying
`metric or analytic activity level history, and various other
`information Which is unique to the individual trader and
`Which may be used by the present invention to create a
`virtual trading environment.
`The information corresponding to every order includes
`Whether the order Was a neW order, modi?cations to an
`existing order or deletion of a previously submitted order,
`the type of order (for example, bid or offer), the value, the
`quantity, the time and date the order Was submitted, and any
`other information speci?c to the order. The information
`corresponding to every trade includes the value, quantity,
`buyer and seller. The information corresponding to the item
`being traded includes the highest outstanding bid value and
`the loWest outstanding offer value for the item, as Well as a
`list of the values of all open orders for the item. The item
`information is stored on the database 208 in a data structure
`such as an order table. The server 200 updates the informa
`tion in the order table responsive to receiving information
`from the client terminals 104. The updated information is
`then transmitted back to the client terminals 104. Other
`information, such as information used in creating historical
`charts, may also be stored on database 208. Information
`Which may be global to more than one pit 220, for example,
`trader personal information, is also stored on the system
`database 108, to alloW the information to be accessed by
`each trading pit 220.
`For traders registered to the same trading pit 220, all of
`their orders (i.e. bids or offers specifying a value and
`quantity) are transmitted to the transaction server 200 for
`that pit 220. The server 200 analyZes the orders for matches
`With outstanding, or open, orders. If there is a match
`betWeen orders of different types, for example, betWeen a
`bid and an offer, then a transaction is enacted and the client
`terminals 104 are noti?ed to remove the matched icons. All
`outstanding orders are transmitted to each client terminal,
`alloWing a trader to vieW all of the outstanding orders from
`all traders for an item on a trading pit at any given time. The
`client displays are updated continuously or at speci?c inter
`vals to provide updated information regarding Which orders
`are outstanding and the state of the market in the pit 220. As
`shoWn in FIG. 2, multiple trading pits 220 are provided in
`the electronic trading system, and a single trader may be
`connected to as many pits 220 at the same time as desired.
`The number of trading pits 220 Which may be maintained in
`accordance With the present invention is scalable responsive
`to the number of servers Which are provided in the system.
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`The items of trade include any possible commodity, for
`example, minerals, futures, or shares in a corporation. Other
`netWork con?gurations can be used to implement the elec
`tronic trading system as is knoWn to those of ordinary skill
`in the art.
`The client terminals 104 provide the interactive link
`betWeen the traders and the trading pits 220, and display the
`various user interfaces of the present invention. FIG. 3a
`illustrates a priority vieW 312 Which is designed to alloW
`traders to intuitively place orders 300, 304 and vieW markers
`336 representing value quantifying metrics, and contextual
`trend data 316 in accordance With the present invention. In
`the priority vieW embodiment, orders 300, 304 are displayed
`at a location corresponding to their value With respect to the
`value axis 332. Values may represent price, interest rate, or
`any other metric by Which an item may be valued. For
`example, offer 304(1) has a value of $28.45, and the loWest
`point of the bottom edge 308 of the icon 304(1) is aligned
`With the value 28.45 on the value axis 332. In this embodi
`ment, the top edges 309 of the bids and bottom edges 308 of
`the offer icons are angled. The rightmost bid is the bid
`having the highest value, and the rightmost offer is the offer
`having the loWest value. This alloWs the edges 308, 309 of
`the icons 300, 304 to form a triangle Which points to the
`separation in value betWeen the last loWest offer and the last
`highest bid. The quantity of each order is represented by a
`siZe of the icon such as its length or height. Icons having a
`larger siZe represent orders having a greater quantity. The
`speci?c quantity and other information of an order displayed
`on the screen may be knoWn by se