`
`Page 1 of 16
`
`TRADING TECH EXHIBIT 2116
`IBG ET AL. v. TRADING TECH
`CBM2016-00032
`
`

`

`US 6,772,132 B1
`Page 2
`
`Allen et al.
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`7/1999
`8/1999
`10/1999
`1/2000
`1/2000
`3/2000
`8/2000
`10/2000
`10/2000
`
`AAAAAAAAA
`
`5,924,083
`5,946,667
`5,963,923
`6,012,046
`6,014,643
`6,035,287
`6,098,051
`6,131,087
`6,134,535
`
`.......... .. 705/37
`
`Silverman et al.
`Tull, Jr. et al.
`Garber
`...................... .. 705/37
`Lupien et al.
`.
`705/37
`Minton ...................... .. 705/37
`Stallaert et al.
`.. 705/37
`Lupien et al.
`705/26
`Luke et al.
`Belzberg ................... .. 705/37
`
`.
`
`6,195,647 B1
`6,272,474 B1
`6,278,982 B1
`6,282,521 B1
`6,408,282 B1
`2002/0023038 A1
`2002/0055899 A1
`2002/0138401 A1
`
`2/2001
`8/2001
`8/2001
`8/2001
`6/2002
`2/2002
`5/2002
`9/2002
`
`.............. .. 705/37
`Martyn et al.
`Garcia .......... ..
`705/37
`Korhammer et al.
`705/37
`Howorka ................... .. 705/37
`Buist
`Fritsch et al.
`Williams
`
`* Cited by examiner
`
`
`
`Page 2 of 16
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 2004
`
`Sheet 1 0f 6
`
`US 6,772,132 B1
`
`FIG. 1
`
`CONNECTION TO MULTIPLE EXCHANGES
`
`HOST EXCHANGE
`A FACILITIES
`
`102‘:
`
`HOST EXCHANGE
`B FACILITIES
`
`1031‘
`
`HOST EXCHANGE
`C FACILITIES
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`I
`
`--------- -------------------------- ----------------------------- ----
`GATEWAY
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`110
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`CLIENT
`111
`
`CLIENT
`112
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`CLIENT
`113
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`CLIENT
`114
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`CLIENT
`115
`
`CLIENT?
`116
`
`
`
`Page 3 of 16
`
`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 2004
`
`6f02teehS
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`US 6,772,132 B1
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`Page 4 of 16
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`

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`Aug. 3, 2004
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`US 6,772,132 B1
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`Page 6 of 16
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`US. Patent
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`Aug. 3, 2004
`
`Sheet 5 0f 6
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`US 6,772,132 B1
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`Page 7 of 16
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`

`

`US. Patent
`
`Aug. 3, 2004
`
`Sheet 6 0f 6
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`US 6,772,132 B1
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`Page 8 of 16
`
`

`

`The world’s stock, bond, futures and options exchanges
`have volatile products with prices that move rapidly. To
`profit in these markets, traders must be able to react quickly.
`A skilled trader with the quickest software,
`the fastest
`communications, and the most sophisticated analytics can
`significantly improve his own or his firm’s bottom line. The
`slightest speed advantage can generate significant returns in
`a fast moving market. In today’s securities markets, a trader
`lacking a technologically advanced interface is at a severe
`competitive disadvantage.
`Irrespective of what interface a trader uses to enter orders
`in the market, each market supplies and requires the same
`information to and from every trader. The bids and asks in
`the market make up the market data and everyone logged on
`to trade can receive this information if the exchange pro-
`vides it. Similarly, every exchange requires that certain
`information be included in each order. For example, traders
`must supply information like the name of the commodity,
`quantity, restrictions, price and multiple other variables.
`Without all of this information, the market will not accept
`the order. This input and output of information is the same
`for every trader.
`With these variables being constant, a competitive speed
`advantage must come from other aspects of the trading
`cycle. When analyzing the time it takes to place a trade order
`for a given commodity, various steps contribute in different
`amounts to the total time required. Approximately 8% of the
`total time it takes to enter an order elapses between the
`moment the host generates the price for the commodity and
`the moment the client receives the price. The time it takes for
`the client application to display the price to the trader
`amounts to approximately 4%. The time it takes for a trade
`order to be transmitted to the host amounts to approximately
`8%. The remainder of the total time it takes to place an order,
`approximately 80%, is attributable to the time required for
`the trader to read the prices displayed and to enter a trade
`order. The present invention provides a significant advan-
`tage during the slowest portion of the trading cycle—while
`the trader manually enters his order. Traders recognize that
`the value of time savings in this portion may amount to
`millions of dollars annually.
`In existing systems, multiple elements of an order must be
`entered prior to an order being sent to market, which is time
`consuming for the trader. Such elements include the com-
`modity symbol, the desired price, the quantity and whether
`a buy or a sell order is desired. The more time a trader takes
`entering an order, the more likely the price on which he
`wanted to bid or offer will change or not be available in the
`market. The market is fluid as many traders are sending
`orders to the market simultaneously.
`It fact, successful
`markets strive to have such a high volume of trading that any
`trader who wishes to enter an order will find a match and
`
`overcomes the drawbacks of the existing trading systems
`
`2
`
`have the order filled quickly, if not immediately. In such
`liquid markets,
`the prices of the commodities fluctuate
`rapidly. On a trading screen, this results in rapid changes in
`the price and quantity fields within the market grid. If a
`trader intends to enter an order at a particular price, but
`misses the price because the market prices moved before he
`could enter the order, he may lose hundreds, thousands, even
`millions of dollars. The faster a trader can trade, the less
`likely it will be that he will miss his price and the more likely
`he will make money.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The inventors have developed the present invention which
`
`US 6,772,132 B1
`
`1
`CLICK BASED TRADING WITH INTUITIVE
`GRID DISPLAY OF MARKET DEPTH
`
`PRIORITY
`
`The present application claims priority to a US. Provi-
`sional Patent Application No. 60/186,322 entitled “Market
`Depth Display Click Based Trading and Mercury Display”
`filed Mar. 2, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated
`herein by reference.
`FIELD OF INVENTION
`
`The present invention is directed to the electronic trading
`of commodities. Specifically, the invention provides a trader
`with a versatile and efficient tool for executing trades. It
`facilitates the display of and the rapid placement of trade
`orders within the market trading depth of a commodity,
`where a commodity includes anything that can be traded
`with quantities and/or prices.
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`At least 60 exchanges throughout the world utilize elec-
`tronic trading in varying degrees to trade stocks, bonds,
`futures, options and other products. These electronic
`exchanges are based on three components: mainframe com-
`puters (host), communications servers, and the exchange
`participants’ computers (client). The host forms the elec-
`tronic heart of the fully computerized electronic trading
`system. The system’s operations cover order-matching,
`maintaining order books and positions, price information,
`and managing and updating the database for the online
`trading day as well as nightly batch runs. The host is also
`equipped with external
`interfaces that maintain uninter-
`rupted online contact
`to quote vendors and other price
`information systems.
`through three types of
`Traders can link to the host
`structures: high speed data lines, high speed communica-
`tions servers and the Internet. High speed data lines establish
`direct connections between the client and the host. Another
`
`connection can be established by configuring high speed
`networks or communications servers at strategic access
`points worldwide in locations where traders physically are
`located. Data is transmitted in both directions between
`
`traders and exchanges via dedicated high speed communi-
`cation lines. Most exchange participants install two lines
`between the exchange and the client site or between the
`communication server and the client site as a safety measure
`against potential failures. An exchange’s internal computer
`system is also often installed with backups as a redundant
`measure to secure system availability. The third connection
`utilizes the Internet. Here,
`the exchange and the traders
`communicate back and forth through high speed data lines,
`which are connected to the Internet. This allows traders to be
`
`located anywhere they can establish a connection to the
`Internet.
`
`Irrespective of the way in which a connection is
`established,
`the exchange participants’ computers allow
`traders to participate in the market. They use software that
`creates specialized interactive trading screens on the traders’
`desktops. The trading screens enable traders to enter and
`execute orders, obtain market quotes, and monitor positions.
`The range and quality of features available to traders on their
`screens varies according to the specific software application
`being run. The installation of open interfaces in the devel-
`opment of an exchange’s electronic strategy means users can
`choose, depending on their
`trading style and internal
`requirements,
`the means by which they will access the
`exchange.
`
`
`
`Page 9 of 16
`
`

`

`US 6,772,132 B1
`
`5
`
`4
`
`and transmit market, commodity, and trading order infor-
`mation. It is able to interact with the trader and to generate
`contents and characteristics of a trade order to be sent to the
`
`exchange. It is envisioned that the system of the present
`invention can be implemented on any existing or future
`terminal or device with the processing capability to perform
`the functions described herein. The scope of the present
`invention is not limited by the type of terminal or device
`used. Further, the specification refers to a single click of a
`mouse as a means for user input and interaction with the
`terminal display as an example of a single action of the user.
`While this describes a preferred mode of interaction, the
`scope of the present invention is not limited to the use of a
`mouse as the input device or to the click of a mouse button
`as the user’s single action. Rather, any action by a user
`within a short period of time, whether comprising one or
`more clicks of a mouse button or other input device, is
`considered a single action of the user for the purposes of the
`present invention.
`The system can be configured to allow for trading in a
`single or in multiple exchanges simultaneously. Connection
`of the system of the present
`invention with multiple
`exchanges is illustrated in FIG. 1. This figure shows multiple
`host exchanges 101—103 connected through routers 104—106
`to gateways 107—109. Multiple client terminals 110—116 for
`use as trading stations can then trade in the multiple
`exchanges through their connection to the gateways
`107—109. When the system is configured to receive data
`from multiple exchanges, then the preferred implementation
`is to translate the data from various exchanges into a simple
`format. This “translation” function is described below with
`
`information to a screen grid can be done by any technique
`
`reference to FIG. 1. An applications program interface (“TT
`API” as depicted in the figure) translates the incoming data
`formats from the different exchanges to a simple preferred
`data format. This translation function may be disposed
`anywhere in the network, for example, at the gateway server,
`at the individual workstations or at both. In addition, the
`storage at gateway servers and at the client workstations,
`and/or other external storage cache historical data such as
`order books which list
`the client’s active orders in the
`market; that is, those orders that have neither been filled nor
`cancelled.
`Information from different exchanges can be
`displayed at one or in multiple windows at
`the client
`workstation. Accordingly, while reference is made through
`the remainder of the specification to a single exchange to
`which a trading terminal is connected,
`the scope of the
`invention includes the ability to trade, in accordance with the
`trading methods described herein,
`in multiple exchanges
`using a single trading terminal.
`invention
`The preferred embodiments of the present
`include the display of “Market Depth” and allow traders to
`View the market depth of a commodity and to execute trades
`within the market depth with a single click of a computer
`mouse button. Market Depth represents the order book with
`the current bid and ask prices and quantities in the market.
`In other words, Market Depth is each bid and ask that was
`entered into the market, subject to the limits noted below, in
`addition to the inside market. For a commodity being traded,
`the “inside market” is the highest bid price and the lowest
`ask price.
`The exchange sends the price, order and fill information
`to each trader on the exchange. The present
`invention
`processes this information and maps it
`through simple
`algorithms and mapping tables to positions in a theoretical
`grid program or any other comparable mapping technique
`for mapping data to a screen. The physical mapping of such
`
`3
`and dramatically reduces the time it takes for a trader to
`place a trade when electronically trading on an exchange.
`This, in turn, increases the likelihood that the trader will
`have orders filled at desirable prices and quantities.
`The “Mercury” display and trading method of the present
`invention ensure fast and accurate execution of trades by
`displaying market depth on a vertical or horizontal plane,
`which fluctuates logically up or down, left or right across the
`plane as the market prices fluctuates. This allows the trader
`to trade quickly and efficiently.
`Specifically, the present invention is directed to a graphi-
`cal user interface for displaying the market depth of a
`commodity traded in a market, including a dynamic display
`for a plurality of bids and for a plurality of asks in the market
`for the commodity and a static display of prices correspond-
`ing to the plurality of bids and asks. In this embodiment the
`pluralities of bids and asks are dynamically displayed in
`alignment with the prices corresponding thereto. Also
`described herein is a method and system for placing trade
`orders using such displays.
`These embodiments, and others described in greater detail
`herein, provide the trader with improved efliciency and
`versatility in placing, and thus executing, trade orders for
`commodities in an electronic exchange. Other features and
`advantages of the present invention will become apparent to
`those skilled in the art from the following detailed descrip-
`tion. It should be understood, however, that the detailed
`description and specific examples, while indicating pre-
`ferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by
`way of illustration and not limitation. Many changes and
`modifications within the scope of the present invention may
`be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and the
`invention includes all such modifications.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`FIG. 1 illustrates the network connections between mul-
`
`tiple exchanges and client sites;
`FIG. 2 illustrates screen display showing the inside mar-
`ket and the market depth of a given commodity being traded;
`FIG. 3 illustrates the Mercury display of the present
`invention,
`FIG. 4 illustrates the Mercury display at a later time
`showing the movement of values when compared to FIG. 3;
`FIG. 5 illustrates a Mercury display with parameters set in
`order to exemplify the Mercury trading method; and
`FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the process for Mercury
`display and trading.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`As described with reference to the accompanying figures,
`the present invention provides a display and trading method
`to ensure fast and accurate execution of trades by displaying
`market depth on a vertical or horizontal plane, which fluc-
`tuates logically up or down, left or right across the plane as
`the market prices fluctuates. This allows the trader to place
`trade orders quickly and efficiently. A commodity’s market
`depth is the current bid and ask prices and quantities in the
`market. The display and trading method of the invention
`increase the likelihood that the trader will be able to execute
`
`orders at desirable prices and quantities.
`In the preferred embodiment, the present invention is
`implemented on a computer or electronic terminal. The
`computer is able to communicate either directly or indirectly
`(using intermediate devices) with the exchange to receive
`
`6 10 of 16
`
`
`
`Page 10 of 16
`
`

`

`of trades by displaying market depth on a vertical or
`
`indicates that the data has just been updated. The other
`column headings in this and all of the other figures, are
`defined as follows. Bithy (Bid Quantity): the quantity for
`each working bid, BidPrc (Bid Price):
`the price for each
`working bid, AskPrc (Ask Price): the price for each working
`ask, Astty (Ask Quantity): the quantity for each working
`ask, LastPrc (Last Price): the price for the last bid and ask
`that were matched in the market and LastQty (Last
`Quantity): the quantity traded at the last price. Total repre-
`sents the total quantity traded of the given commodity.
`The configuration of the screen display itself informs the
`user in a more convenient and efficient manner than existing
`systems. Traders gain a significant advantage by seeing the
`market depth because they can see trends in the orders in the
`market. The market depth display shows the trader the
`interest the market has in a given commodity at different
`price levels. If a large amount of bids or asks are in the
`market near the trader’s position, he may feel he should sell
`or buy before the inside market reaches the morass of orders.
`A lack of orders above or below the inside market might
`prompt a trader to enter orders near the inside market.
`Without seeing the market depth, no such strategies could be
`utilized. Having the dynamic market depth, including the bid
`and ask quantities and prices of a traded commodity aligned
`with and displayed below the current inside market of the
`commodity conveys the information to the user in a more
`intuitive and easily understandable manner. Trends in the
`trading of the commodity and other relevant characteristics
`are more easily identifiable by the user through the use of the
`present invention.
`Various abbreviations are used in the screen displays, and
`specifically, in the column headings of the screen displays
`
`Bic Member ID
`gorkmg Buys for entire Group
`Bic Quantity
`Threshold Bid Price
`Bic Price
`Accumulated Bid Quantity
`Bic Price Average
`As { Price Average
`Accumulated Ask Quantity
`As { Price
`
`Threshold Ask Price
`As { Quantity
`Working Sells for entire Group
`ID
`
`
`
`As { Member ID
`Ne Position
`Fast Fill Net Position
`Last Price
`Last Quantity
`Total Traded Quantity
`High Price
`Low Price
`Opening Price
`Closing Price
`Last Price-Last Close
`Theoretical Price
`Theoretical Bid Price
`Theoretical Ask Price
`Quote Action (Sends
`individual quotes)
`Test Bid Quote Quantity
`Test Bid Quote Price
`Market Bid Quote Quantity
`Market Bid Quote Price
`Checkbox activates/deactivates
`contract for quoting
`Market Ask Quote Quantity
`Market Ask Quote Price
`Ask Quote Price
`Ask Quote Quantity
`Implied Bid Quantity
`Implied Bid Price
`Implied Ask Quantity
`Implied Ask Price
`Change in Delta given 1 pt
`change in underlying
`Change in price given 1 pt
`change in underlying
`Percent volatility
`Price change given 1%
`change in Vola
`Price change given 1%
`change in interest rate
`Price change for every day
`that elapses
`Activate/deactivate click
`trading by contract
`Auction, Closed, Fastht, Not
`Tradable, Pre—trading, Tradable, S =
`post-trading
`Expiration Month/Year
`
`As described herein, the display and trading method of the
`present invention provide the user with certain advantages
`over systems in which a display of market depth, as shown
`in FIG. 2, is used. The Mercury display and trading method
`of the present invention ensure fast and accurate execution
`
`US 6,772,132 B1
`
`6
`reproduced herein. Some abbreviations have been discussed
`above. Alist of common abbreviations and their meanings is
`provided in Table 1.
`
`TABLE I
`
`Abbreviations
`
`COLUMN
`
`Month
`
`DESCRIPTION
`
`Exairation Month/Year
`
`5
`
`known to those skilled in the art. The present invention is not
`limited by the method used to map the data to the screen
`display.
`How far into the market depth the present invention can
`display depends on how much of the market depth the
`exchange provides. Some exchanges supply an infinite mar-
`ket depth, while others provide no market depth or only a
`few orders away from the inside market. The user of the
`present invention can also chose how far into the market
`depth to display on his screen.
`FIG. 2 illustrates a screen display of an invention
`described in a commonly owned co-pending application
`entitled “Click Based Trading with Market Depth Display”
`Ser. No. 09/589,751, filed on Jun. 9, 2000, the contents of
`which are incorporated herein by reference. This display
`shows the inside market and the market depth of a given
`commodity being traded. Row 1 represents the “inside
`market” for the commodity being traded which is the best
`(highest) bid price and quantity and the best (lowest) ask
`price and quantity. Rows 2—5 represent the “market depth”
`for the commodity being traded. In the preferred embodi-
`ment of the present invention, the display of market depth
`(rows 2—5) lists the available next-best bids, in column 203,
`and asks, in column 204. The working bid and ask quantity
`for each price level is also displayed in columns 202 and 205
`respectively (inside market—row 1). Prices and quantities
`for the inside market and market depth update dynamically
`on a real time basis as such information is relayed from the
`market.
`
`In the screen display shown in FIG. 2, the commodity
`(contract) being traded is represented in row 1 by the
`character string “CDHO”. The Depth column 208 will
`inform the trader of a status by displaying different colors.
`Yellow indicates that the program application is waiting for
`data. Red indicates that the Market Depth has failed to
`receive the data from the server and has “timed out.” Green
`
`ell ofl6
`
`
`
`Bic Mbra)
`Wr<Buys(2)
`Bic Qty
`ThrshBid(6)
`BicPrc
`Bic Qty Accum
`Bic Prc Avg
`As {Prc Avg
`As {Qty Accum
`As {Prc
`
`ThrshAsk(5)
`As {Qty
`WKSellsa)
`
`As { Mbr(1)
`Ne Pos
`FFNetPos
`LastPrc
`LastQty
`To al
`High
`Low
`Open
`Close
`Chng
`TheoPrc
`TheoBid
`TheoAsk
`QAct
`
`BQQ
`BQP
`Mkt BQQ
`Mkt BQP
`Quote
`
`Mkt AQQ
`Mkt AQP
`AQP
`AQQ
`Imp Bithy(5)
`Imp BidPrc(5)
`Imp Astty(5)
`Imp AskPrc(5)
`Gamma(3)
`
`Delta(3)
`
`Vola(31)
`Vega“)
`
`Rho(3)
`
`Theta(3)
`Click Trd
`
`S(Status)
`
`Expiry
`
`
`
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`horizontal plane, which fluctuates logically up or down, left
`or right across the plane as the market prices fluctuates. This
`allows the trader to trade quickly and efliciently. An example
`of such a Mercury display is illustrated in the screen display
`of FIG. 3.
`
`Bid quantities are in the column 1003 labeled BidQ and
`ask quantities are in column 1004 labeled Ast. The rep-
`resentative ticks from prices for the given commodity are
`shown in column 1005. The column does not list the whole
`
`prices (e.g. 95.89), but rather, just the last two digits (e.g.
`89). In the example shown, the inside market, cells 1020, is
`18 (best bid quantity) at 89 (best bid price) and 20 (best ask
`quantity) at 90 (best ask price). In the preferred embodiment
`of the invention, these three columns are shown in different
`colors so that the trader can quickly distinguish between
`hem.
`
`The values in the price column are static; that is, they do
`iot normally change positions unless a re-centering com-
`nand is received (discussed in detail later). The values in the
`Bid and Ask columns however, are dynamic; that is, they
`nove up and down (in the vertical example) to reflect the
`narket depth for the given commodity. The LTQ column
`1006 shows the last traded quantity of the commodity. The
`elative position of the quantity value with respect to the
`Price values reflects the price at which that quantity was
`raded. Column 1001 labeled E/W (entered/working) dis-
`alays the current status of the traders orders. The status of
`each order is displayed in the price row where it was entered.
`For example, in cells 1007, the number next to S indicates
`he number of the trader’s ordered lots that have been sold
`
`
`
`The display of market depth and the manner in which
`traders trade within the market depth can be effected in
`different manners, which many traders will find materially
`better, faster and more accurate. In addition, some traders
`may find the display of market depth to be difficult to follow.
`In the display shown in FIG. 2, the market depth is displayed
`vertically so that both Bid and Ask prices descend the grid.
`The Bid prices descend the market grid as the prices
`decrease. Ask prices also descend the market grid as these
`prices actually increase. This combination may be consid-
`ered counterintuitive and diflicult to follow by some traders.
`The Mercury display overcomes this problem in an inno-
`vative and logical manner. Mercury also provides an order
`entry system, market grid, fill window and summary of
`market orders in one simple window. Such a condensed
`display materially simplifies the trading system by entering
`and tracking trades in an extremely efficient manner. Mer-
`cury displays market depth in a logical, vertical fashion or
`horizontally or at some other convenient angle or configu-
`ration. Avertical field is shown in the figures and described
`for convenience, but the field could be horizontal or at an
`angle. In turn, Mercury fiirther increases the speed of trading
`and the likelihood of entering orders at desired prices with
`desired quantities.
`In the preferred embodiment of the
`invention, the Mercury display is a static vertical column of
`prices with the bid and ask quantities displayed in vertical
`columns to the side of the price column and aligned with the
`corresponding bid and ask prices. An example of this display
`is shown in FIG. 3.
`
`is envisioned that other orientations can be used to
`
`US 6,772,132 B1
`
`8
`the trader’s ordered lots that are in the market, but have not
`been filled—i.e. the system is working on filling the order.
`Various parameters are set and information is provided in
`column 1002. For example, “10:48:44” in cell 1009 shows
`the actual time of day. The L and R fields in cell 1010
`indicate a quantity value, which may be added to the order
`quantity entered. This process is explained below with
`respect to trading under Mercury. Below the L and R fields,
`in cell 1011, a number appears which represents the current
`market volume. This is the number of lots that have been
`
`traded for the chosen contract. Cell 1012, “X 10”, displays
`the Net Quantity, the current position of the trader on the
`chosen contract. The number “10” represents the trader’s
`buys minus sells. Cell 1013 is the “Current Quantity”; this
`field represents the quantity for the next order that the trader
`will send to market. This can be adjusted with right and left
`clicks (up and down) or by clicking the buttons which appear
`below the Current Quantity in cells 1014. These buttons
`increase the current quantity by the indicated amount; for
`example, “10” will increase it by 10; “1H” will increase it
`by 100; “1K” will increase it by 1000. Cell 1015 is the Clear
`button; clicldng this button will clear the Current Quantity
`field. Cell 1016 is the Quantity Description; this is a pull
`down menu allowing the trader to chose from three Quantity
`Descriptions. The pull down menu is displayed when the
`arrow button in the window is clicked. The window includes
`
`NetPos, Offset and a field allowing the trader to enter
`numbers. Placing a number in this field will set a default buy
`or sell quantity. Choosing “Offset” in this field will enable
`the L/R buttons of cell 1010. Choosing “NetPos” in this field
`will set the current Net Quantity (trader’s net position) as the
`trader’s quantity for his next trade. Cell 1017 are +/—buttons;
`these buttons will alter the size of the screen—either larger
`(+) or smaller (—). Cell 1018 is used to invoke Net 0; clicking
`this button will reset the Net Quantity (cell 1011) to zero.
`Cell 1019 is used to invoke Net Real; clicking this button
`will reset the Net Quantity (cell 1011) to its actual position.
`The inside market and market depth ascend and descend
`as prices in the market increase and decrease. For example,
`FIG. 4 shows a screen displaying the same market as that of
`FIG. 3 but at a later interval where the inside market, cells
`1101, has risen three ticks. Here, the inside market for the
`commodity is 43 (best bid quantity) at 92 (best bid price) and
`63 (best ask quantity) at 93 (best ask price). In comparing
`FIGS. 3 and 4, it can be seen that the price column remained
`static, but the corresponding bids and asks rose up the price
`column. Market Depth similarly ascends and descends the
`price column, leaving a vertical history of the market.
`As the market ascends or descends the price column, the
`inside market might go above or below the price column
`displayed on a trader’s screen. Usually a trader will want to
`be able to see the inside market to assess future trades. The
`
`system of the present invention addresses this problem with
`a one click centering feature. With a single click at any point
`within the gray area, 1021, below the “Net Real” button, the
`system will re-center the inside market on the trader’s
`screen. Also, when using a three-button mouse, a click of the
`middle mouse button, irrespective of the location of the
`mouse pointer, will re-center the inside market on the
`trader’s screen.
`
`The same information and features can be displayed and
`enabled in a horizontal fashion. Just as the market ascends
`
`and descends the vertical Mercury display shown in FIGS.
`3 and 4, the market will move left and right in the horizontal
`Mercury display. The same data and the same information
`gleaned from the dynamical display of the data is provided.
`It
`
`at the price in the specific row. The number next to W
`indicates the number of the trader’s ordered lots that are in
`
`the system is
`he market, but have not been filled—i.e.
`working on filling the order. Blanks in this column indicate
`hat no orders are entered or working at that price. In cells
`1008, the number next to B indicates the number of the
`trader’s ordered lots that have been bought at the price in the
`specific row. The number next to W indicates the number of
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`US 6,772,132 B1
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`quantity (LTQ) column 1207. This allows a trader to exit the
`
`The values in the L or R fields may be negative numbers.
`This would effectively decrease the total quantity sent to
`market. In other words, in the example of a right click in the
`Ast column 1202 in the 87 price row, if the R field was —5,
`the total quantity sent to market would be 140 (30+97+18+
`(—5)>.
`If a trader chose the “NetPos” option in the quantity
`description field 1204, a right click would still work as
`explained above. A left click would enter an order with a
`price corresponding to the price row clicked and a quantity
`equal to the current Net position of the trader. The Net
`position of the trader is the the trader’s current position on
`the chosen contract. In other words, if the trader has bought
`10 more contracts than he has sold, this value would be 10.
`NetPos would not affect the quantity of an order sent with a
`right click.
`If the trader chose a number value in the quantity
`description, a left click would send an order to market for the
`current quantity chosen by the trader. The default value of
`the current quantity will be the number entered in the
`quantity description field, but it could be changed by adjust-
`ing the figure in the current quantity field 1204.
`This embodiment of the invention also allows a trader to
`
`10
`
`1203). Similarly, a left click on the 20 in the Ast column
`1202 will send an order to market to buy 17 lots at a price
`of 90.
`
`Using the right mouse button, an order would be sent to
`market at the price that corresponds to the row clicked for
`the total quantity