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 method for sorting trading cards, comprising:
 establishing a computing connection between a controller of a card sorter and a smart phone;   imaging top and bottom surfaces of a plurality of trading cards in the card sorter;   comparing results of the imaging to stored data in a local or remote database available to the controller; and   providing to the smart phone results of the comparing.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further including determining a quality grade of each of the plurality of trading cards. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further including establishing a computing connection between the controller and a server. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further including scanning with two scan bars the plurality of trading cards from above and below the plurality of trading cards. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further including identifying each of the plurality of scan cards. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further including sorting the plurality of scan cards according to predefined criteria and providing the sorting to the smart phone. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further including determining whether any of the plurality of trading cards include metal foil. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further including depositing the plurality of trading cards into at least two output bins of the card sorter. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further including converting to pixels each of the plurality of trading cards. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further including executing a hash of values corresponding to the pixels. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further including searching a database of matches for the hash of values. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further including transporting the plurality of trading cards along a transport path from an input to an output bin. 
     
     
         13 . A method for sorting trading cards, comprising:
 providing a user interface for a card sorter;   imaging with two scan bars in the card sorter along a transport path top and bottom surfaces of a plurality of trading cards in the card sorter;   comparing results of the imaging to stored data in a local or remote database available to a controller of the card sorter; and   providing to the user interface results of the comparing.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further including establishing a computing connection between the controller and a smart phone. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , further including determining a quality grade of each of the plurality of trading cards based on the comparing and providing same to the user interface. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , further including establishing a computing connection between the controller and a server for said comparing. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , further including sorting the plurality of scan cards according to predefined criteria and providing results of the sorting to the user interface. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further including depositing the plurality of trading cards into at least two output bins of the card sorter. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , further including converting to pixels each of the plurality of trading cards based on the imaging and executing a hash of values corresponding to the pixels. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further including searching a database of matches for the hash of values.