Trading card sorter and methods

Abstract

A sorter processes trading cards in an affordable, accurate, and easy-to-use manner. The sorter includes an input and output bin. A transport path moves cards between the bins and has two scan bars, one above and one below the path. The scan bars capture an image of a top and bottom surface of ones of the cards. A controller coordinates movement of the cards along the path and receives the image for processing. Users interact with the controller by way of an interface to influence the processing. The sorter also includes a coil to detect metal foil on the cards. Other embodiments are envisioned.

1 . A sorter for trading cards, comprising:
 a portable housing having an input bin and one or more output bins, each of the input bin and the one or more output bins to stack thereon the trading cards;   a transport path from a bottom of the input bin to at least one of the one or more output bins for movement of ones of the trading cards, the transport path including a friction roller to rotate to pick from the bottom of the input bin said ones of the trading cards, the transport path further including two scan bars with one of the two scan bars above the transport path and the other of the two scan bars below the transport path to obtain a scanned image of a top surface and a bottom surface of the ones of the trading cards as the ones of the trading cards travel past the two scan bars along the transport path during use; and   a controller in the housing to coordinate a timing of movement of the friction roller and to receive for processing the scanned image of the top surface and the bottom surface of the ones of the trading cards.   
     
     
         2 . The sorter of  claim 1 , further including an inductance coil to detect metal foil on any of the trading cards. 
     
     
         3 . The sorter of  claim 1 , further including one or more sensors to detect a leading and trailing edge of each of the ones of the trading cards along the transport path, the controller using the detection of the leading edge to initiate scanning of the two scan bars. 
     
     
         4 . The sorter of  claim 1 , further including a user interface for users to interact with the controller for the processing of the trading cards. 
     
     
         5 . The sorter of  claim 4 , wherein the interface communicates with a mobile phone. 
     
     
         6 . The sorter of  claim 1 , further including a computing connection for the controller to communicate with a smart phone or computing network external to the housing. 
     
     
         7 . The sorter of  claim 1 , wherein the friction roller includes rubber to contact the bottom surface of the ones of the trading cards. 
     
     
         8 . The sorter of  claim 1 , further including a removable tower for vertically holding additional trading cards for dropping into the input bin. 
     
     
         9 . The sorter of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more output bins include a removable chute for a user to access the trading cards having been processed by the controller. 
     
     
         10 . The sorter of  claim 1 , further including a pair of roller nips on either side of the two scan bars for driving the trading cards along the transport path. 
     
     
         11 . The sorter of  claim 10 , further including a single motor to rotate the pair of roller nips at a same speed. 
     
     
         12 . The sorter of  claim 10 , further including a rail to keep at a same height along the transport path a leading edge of the trading cards and the roller nips. 
     
     
         13 . A sorter for trading cards, comprising:
 a portable housing having an input bin and at least two output bins, each of the input bin and the at least two output bins having a bottom to stack thereon the trading cards;   a transport path from the bottom of the input bin to at least one of the at least two output bins for movement of ones of the trading cards, the transport path including a friction roller to rotate to pick from the bottom of the input bin said ones of the trading cards, the transport path further including two scan bars with one of the two scan bars above the transport path and the other of the two scan bars below the transport path to obtain a scanned image of a top surface and a bottom surface of the ones of the trading cards as the ones of the trading cards travel past the two scan bars along the transport path during use;   an inductance coil along the transport path to detect metal foil on any of the trading cards;   a controller in the housing to coordinate a timing of movement of the trading cards along the transport path and to receive for processing a reading from the coil and the scanned image of the top surface and the bottom surface of the ones of the trading cards, the processing including detecting the presence or not of the metal foil; and   a user interface for users to interact with the controller for the processing of the trading cards.   
     
     
         14 . The sorter of  claim 13 , further including one or more sensors to detect a leading and trailing edge of each of the ones of the trading cards along the transport path, the controller using the detection of the leading edge to initiate scanning of the two scan bars. 
     
     
         15 . The sorter of  claim 13 , wherein the controller is configured to execute a hash of the scanned image. 
     
     
         16 . The sorter of  claim 13 , further including a pair of roller nips on either side of the two scan bars for driving the trading cards along the transport path. 
     
     
         17 . The sorter of  claim 16 , further including a single motor to rotate the pair of roller nips at a same speed, the controller controlling the single motor. 
     
     
         18 . The sorter of  claim 16 , further including a rail to keep at a same height along the transport path a leading edge of the trading cards and the roller nips. 
     
     
         19 . The sorter of  claim 13 , wherein based on the scanned image, the controller dictates to which of the at least two output bins any of the trading cards gets sent after the processing. 
     
     
         20 . A sorter for trading cards, comprising:
 a portable housing having an input bin and two output bins, each of the input and the two output bins having a bottom to stack thereon the trading cards;   a transport path from the bottom of the input bin to at least one of the two output bins for movement of ones of the trading cards, the transport path including a friction roller to rotate to pick from the bottom of the input bin said ones of the trading cards, the transport path further including two scan bars with one of the two scan bars above the transport path and the other of the two scan bars below the transport path to obtain a scanned image of a top surface and a bottom surface of the ones of the trading cards as the ones of the trading cards travel past the two scan bars along the transport path during use;   an inductance coil along the transport path to detect metal foil on any of the trading cards;   a controller in the housing to coordinate a timing of movement of the trading cards along the transport path and to receive for processing the scanned image of the top surface and the bottom surface of the ones of the trading cards, the processing including detecting the presence or not of the metal foil from a reading of the coil;   a sensor to detect a leading edge of each of the ones of the trading cards along the transport path, the controller using the detection of the leading edge to initiate scanning of the two scan bars;   a pair of roller nips on either side of the two scan bars for driving the trading cards along the transport path and a single motor to rotate the pair of roller nips at a same speed coordinated by the controller; and   a user interface for users to interact with the controller for the processing of the trading cards, wherein based on the scanned image the controller dictates to which of the two output bins any of the trading cards gets sent after the processing.