Method and apparatus for identifying characteristics of trading cards

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for detecting characteristics of cards include a method for identifying cards that contain foil, the foil detection method including converting an image file depicting the card into a hue, saturation, and value ("HSV") color space, applying a value mask to exclude from analysis pixels that do not form areas of enhanced brightness, and comparing the number of remaining pixels to a threshold to determine if the card contains foil. In another aspect, a method for assigning a condition grade to a card includes converting a diffusely illuminated card into an HSV color space, isolating uniform portions of the converted image file, applying a value mask to the converted image file to exclude pixels that form undamaged portions of the card, and comparing the number of remaining pixels to a plurality of grade thresholds to assign a condition grade.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for identifying and classifying trading cards according to the identified characteristics of the cards. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for identifying foil trading cards, and a method and apparatus for assigning a status grade to trading cards and sorting the cards based on their identified characteristics.

Background Art

[0002] The collection and trading of cards is a popular hobby. Examples of various types of trading cards include, but are not limited to, Pokemon TM trading cards, Magic: The Gathering TM trading cards, and National Hockey League TM and Major League Baseball TM trading cards of sports teams such as trading cards. There is a market for trading cards, and in the market, collectors can sell or trade their trading cards with others. The value of a particular trading card is based on the characteristics of the trading card. For example, the text content and graphic content of the trading card, as well as its rarity (rarity) compared to other cards, affect the value of the card.

[0003] In addition, the condition of a trading card is an important factor in the value of the card. For example, two identical trading cards may have different gradings based on the condition of each card. For instance, if a card is in mint or near-mint condition, i.e., there is no wear or damage to the card, the mint or near-mint card is worth more than a card in played or damaged condition, i.e., a card with wear due to age or other damage. Another characteristic of a trading card that affects its value is whether the card is a foil card. Certain cards may include a special foil layer that gives the card a holographic appearance under lighting conditions. Foil cards are rarer than non-foil cards and are typically graded at a higher value.

[0004] Trading card merchants may receive large quantities of used trading cards, which need to be sorted, classified, and graded so that they can be sold in the trading card market. Manually sorting trading cards, for example separating non-foil cards from foil cards, can be a tedious and time-consuming process. Further, manually grading the condition of multiple trading cards to assign a value to the cards can also be a time-consuming process. A further problem with manually grading the condition of trading cards is that this process involves subjectivity and depends on many factors including the particular individual grading the condition of the cards, the lighting conditions under which the grading is being done, and the need for the individual to exercise skill and judgment in applying the criteria for grading the condition of the cards. Typically, grading the condition of a card involves taking note of any damage to the card caused by accidents or normal wear and tear, such damage including, but not limited to, bending, tearing, creasing of the card, scratches or scuffs on the outer surface of the card, discoloration due to exposure to sunlight, attempts to modify or alter the card to improve its appearance, etc. Also, due to the fact that the condition between trading cards can vary quite significantly, subjective elements may also be involved, and it is difficult for an individual to consistently apply the same criteria to all trading cards when determining which condition grade should be assigned to a particular card. Therefore, a more objective method of grading and sorting the condition of trading cards is needed.

[0005] As far as the applicant is aware, the prior art includes past attempts to automate the grading of collectible objects. In one patent application known to the applicant, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 0210734 to Kass et al. discloses a computerized system and method for providing objective and standardized high-resolution grading of collectible objects, such as trading cards, using digital imaging devices and processes. The system and method described in Kass includes obtaining high-resolution images of trading cards and comparing these high-resolution images to a reference image. This reference image is referred to in Kass as the "Golden Image". This Golden Image is provided by the manufacturer of the trading card. In one aspect of the Kass document, an image subtraction routine is applied, in which all data points on the Golden Image can be utilized to remove all identical data points on the front and back of the collectible card being analyzed. Thereby, the data remaining on the front or back of the trading card after the removal is determined to be one or more defects. In another aspect of the Kass document, blob analysis employs mathematical methods to compare regions within a digital image to surrounding regions to detect regions with different characteristics, such as brightness or color. A blob is a region of a digital image where some properties are constant or vary within a specified range of values. The blob analysis of Kass is utilized to identify, quantify, and measure individual defects and the cumulative total defect area.

[0006] In Merton's U.S. Patent No. 4,899,392, which is another prior art document recognized by the applicant, a method and system for accurately and objectively grading the monetary quality of coins for identification purposes are disclosed. In the Merton document, the center of the grading aspect of the invention is an accurate numerical grading of any detracting marks on both sides of the coin. In particular, each of the detracting marks on the coin is identified, located, and measured. Thereafter, by adjusting the measured outer surface area of the detracting marks by a coefficient representing the relative grade importance of the area on the coin where the detracting marks are located, a percentage equivalent representing the significance of the value reduction of each mark is calculated.

[0007] The systems and methods for automated grading described in the Kass and Merton documents can be effectively employed for grading very valuable trading cards and other collectibles. However, in such systems and methods, it is not easy to assign broad grading categories to a large number of trading cards that need to be processed within a relatively short time frame. For example, in the trading card business of playing cards such as Pokemon TM and Magic: The Gathering TM Although there are differences in the value of these cards based on their condition, typically, such cards do not have extremely high values of hundreds or thousands of dollars per card. The same is true for other types of trading card collectibles such as vintage sports trading cards. Therefore, in this industry, there is a need for an objective and automated assignment of condition grades that can be applied to a large number of trading cards within a relatively short period to enable businesses to efficiently process and grade a large number of trading cards. Furthermore, as described above, in this industry, there is a need to efficiently and automatically identify foil cards and distinguish them from non-foil cards. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] In one aspect of the present disclosure, detection of a card including foil, which is distinguishable from a non-foil card, is achieved by generating an image of the card illuminated by a light source, such as a point light source. The point light source may include a light emitting diode (LED) light source, and when the trading card is a card including foil, as a result of a diffraction grating in the foil layer of the card or the foil etching portion of the card, the resulting image is caused to include a main maximum interference pattern or a bright direct reflection. Since the point light source is directed at a small area of the card and the image is taken in a dark environment in other areas, the remaining portion of the image of the card is darker compared to the bright areas representing the light reflected by the foil of the card. On the other hand, an image of a non-foil card taken under the same lighting conditions will not include bright portions in the image. The method further includes processing the image file to convert the image file into a hue, saturation, value (HSV) color space, whereby the HSV color space can be used to separate the value data of each pixel, and then the value data of each pixel can be further processed to detect whether a main maximum exists or does not exist in the image file of the trading card. The algorithm thus employed will identify the trading card as a card including foil or not a foil card.

[0009] In another aspect of the present disclosure, trading card sets often include the same portion or image, such as a single-color, unpatterned outer frame around the back of the trading card, across all of the trading cards in the set. In the case of a trading card set that shares such the same portion or feature, a method of assigning a condition grade to each card in the set utilizes image data obtained from the image files of the front and / or back of each card that display the portion or feature common to all the cards across the set. The portion of the image file that includes only the outer frame, or the portion of the image file that has a uniform color and appearance across all similar trading cards, is separated for further analysis to determine what percentage of that outer frame portion of the card differs from that uniform color, and this determination provides an estimate of the amount of damage or wear of the card. The calculation of the number of pixels in the image file at the outer frame portion of different trading cards can be determined from the image file converted to the HSV color space, and the amount of pixels having a lightness integer value below a predetermined threshold is graded. Thus, the method is provided for objectively determining the condition grade of trading cards without the need to refer to a golden image file.

[0010] Advantageously, the state grading method described herein can be employed without the need to obtain an image of the entire outer surface of the trading card. For example, advantageously, when taking an image, a roller can be used to flatten the card against the platform, but the method employed herein does not require processing the image data of the entire back surface of the card. Thus, even an image in which a part of the card is hidden by a roller, for example, can be processed by this method to assign a rough grading state to the card. In some aspects of the present disclosure, a large number of cards can be sorted into various different categories. For example, the cards can be sorted based on whether they are assigned a grade in the near mint state, the lightly played state, or the heavily played state. After sorting a large number of cards into rough grading categories, those cards can be further rated by a human in order to assign a final appraisal to the most valuable near mint state cards. This eliminates the need to manually review all of the cards. In other aspects of the present disclosure, a seller of used trading cards can assign a uniform price to each condition category without further spending time manually reviewing the cards.

[0011] In another aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus is provided that includes an imaging chamber, a platform disposed within the imaging chamber and adapted to support an illuminated card, at least one diffused light source disposed within the imaging chamber to illuminate the card, and a camera to capture an image of the illuminated card to generate an image file. Advantageously, in some embodiments, the apparatus may further include a transport system and a card hopper, the transport system being adapted to transport a plurality of cards one by one from the card hopper to the platform. The transport system may further be adapted to transport a plurality of cards one by one from the platform to a sorting deck, and the plurality of cards may be sorted at the sorting deck according to at least one characteristic of each card, the characteristic being identified by analysis of the image file of each card. In this way, a large number of cards can be loaded into the card hopper, and then the transport system can automatically transport each card one by one from the card hopper to the platform, where an image file is generated, and subsequently the card can be transported to the sorting deck, where the cards are sorted into respective categories.

[0012] An apparatus for performing either or both of a method of identifying foil cards and / or a method of assigning a status grade to a card includes an imaging chamber adapted to substantially exclude light from an external light source from entering the imaging chamber, a platform disposed within the imaging chamber and adapted to support an illuminated card, a diffused light source disposed within the imaging chamber to illuminate the illuminated card, and an image capture device for capturing an image of the illuminated card to generate an image file.

[0013] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for identifying a card including a foil includes obtaining a first image file depicting the card, wherein the card is illuminated by a point light source and the card is disposed outside the field of view of the point light source; converting the image file into a hue, saturation, value (HSV) color space; applying a value mask to the converted image file to exclude a first pixel group from analysis, wherein each pixel in the first pixel group has an integer value less than a predetermined foil threshold value, and the foil threshold value is selected to identify a first pixel group that does not form a region of enhanced brightness in the image file; determining the number of remaining pixels and comparing the number of remaining pixels with a predetermined first threshold number for the remaining pixels, wherein if the number of remaining pixels exceeds the first threshold number for the remaining pixels, the card is identified as a card including a foil.

[0014] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the point light source used to illuminate the card being analyzed includes a single point light source and an array of point light sources, each of the point light sources being spaced apart from each other within the array, and the array being reflected across substantially all outer surface regions of the card. The step of obtaining a first image file depicting the card includes obtaining a first image file in which the card is illuminated by a single point light source and obtaining a second image file depicting the card in which the card is illuminated by an array of point light sources. Each step of the foil detection method described above is performed for each of the first and second image files. If the first image file includes a region of enhanced brightness that is a main maximum, the card is identified as a foil card, and if the second image file includes a region of enhanced brightness that is one or more bright direct reflections, the card is identified as a foil-etched card.

[0015] In another aspect of the present disclosure, the step of the foil detection method of determining the number of remaining pixels and comparing the number of remaining pixels with a predetermined first threshold number is a step of comparing the number of remaining pixels with a predetermined second threshold, wherein the first threshold is greater than the second threshold, and when the number of remaining pixels in the first image file exceeds the first threshold number for the remaining pixels, the card is identified as a foil card, and when the number of remaining pixels in the second image file is less than the first threshold but exceeds the second threshold, the card is identified as a foil-etched card.

[0016] In another aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for performing a foil detection method includes an imaging chamber that substantially excludes light from an external light source from entering the imaging chamber, a platform disposed within the imaging chamber to support a card, a point light source disposed within the imaging chamber such that the platform is outside the field of view of the point light source, and an image capture device for capturing an image of the card to generate a first image file. In some embodiments, the point light source includes a single point light source and an array of point light sources, each of the point light sources being spaced apart from each other within the array, and the array of point light sources being reflected across substantially all outer surface regions of the card. In some embodiments, the point light source may be a single point light source, and one of the single point light source or the card may be attached to a mobile scanning stage, and the mobile scanning stage is operated by an actuator to translate the single point light source or the card relative to each other so as to translate the reflection of the point light source across substantially all outer surface regions of the card. The first image file generated by the image capture device includes a plurality of first image files, and each first image file in the plurality of first image files depicts the card illuminated by the point light source at a plurality of different positions on the outer surface region of the card, and the region with enhanced brightness is selected from the group including bright direct reflection identifying that the card is a foil-etched card, a major maximum representation or reflection identifying that the card is a foil card.

[0017] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of assigning a status grade to a card includes obtaining an image file depicting a diffusely illuminated card, the image file depicting at least a portion of the extent of the card; converting the image file into a hue, saturation, value (HSV) color space; excluding non-uniform portions of the converted image file from analysis to isolate uniform portions of the converted image file; applying a value mask to the converted image file to remove a first group of pixels from analysis in the uniform portions of the image file, wherein each pixel in the first group of pixels has an integer value less than a predetermined threshold; and determining the number of remaining pixels and comparing the number of remaining pixels to a plurality of grade thresholds to assign a status grade to the card. The threshold is selected to identify a first group of pixels representing an undamaged portion of the card.

[0018] A method for identifying the characteristics of a trading card includes obtaining a first image file depicting the card, where the card is illuminated by a point light source and the card is disposed outside the field of view of the point light source; converting the first image file into a hue, saturation, value (HSV) color space; applying a first brightness mask to the converted first image file to exclude a first pixel group from analysis, where each pixel in the first pixel group has an integer value less than a predetermined foil threshold brightness, and the foil threshold brightness is selected to identify a first pixel group that does not form a region of enhanced brightness in the first image file; determining the number of remaining first pixels and comparing the number of remaining first pixels with a predetermined foil threshold number for the remaining pixels, where if the number of remaining first pixels exceeds the threshold number for the remaining pixels, the card is identified as a card containing foil; obtaining a second image file that depicts at least a portion of the card's extent; converting the second image file into a hue, saturation, value (HSV) color space; removing non-uniform portions of the converted image file from analysis to separate uniform portions of the image file; applying a second brightness mask to the separated uniform portions of the converted image file to exclude a second pixel group from analysis in the uniform portion of the image file, where each pixel in the second pixel group has an integer value less than a predetermined state threshold, and the state threshold is selected to identify a second pixel group representing an undamaged portion of the card; determining the number of remaining second pixels and comparing the number of remaining second pixels with a plurality of grade thresholds to assign a state grade to the card.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Foil Detection Method In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided for automatically identifying a card including a foil as being distinguishable from a non-foil card. As described above, in the trading card business, some trading cards are provided with a foil layer overlaid by a graphic layer of the card, which causes a holographic effect on the appearance of the card under various lighting conditions. The foil layer is composed of a diffraction grating, and thus, the light illuminating the card will produce an interference pattern including a main maximum. Such a card is referred to herein as a "foil card".

[0021] Figure 4A is an enlarged image of the foil layer 10 of the foil card, taken at a magnification of 100 times. In the image shown in Figure 4A, a pair of calipers 20, 20 are calibrated with a distance D of 1 mm from each other. Figure 4B is a further enlarged image of the foil layer shown in Figure 4A, taken at a magnification of 1000 times. Figure 4C is an enlarged view of a part of the enlarged image of Figure 4B, and a plurality of horizontal grooves 12 and vertical grooves 14 of the foil layer are visible. Thus, the patterns of the horizontal grooves 12 and vertical grooves 14 of the foil layer 10 form a diffraction grating. When the foil card is exposed to a light source, the diffraction grating of the foil layer 10 produces a diffraction pattern including a structural interference pattern shown as a main maximum. This diffraction pattern can be recognized as an iridescent pattern over the entire outer surface of the card when the light source is composed of white light.

[0022] Other types of cards containing foil include "foil-etched cards" manufactured by adhering a thin layer of foil to a part of the outer surface of the card. After adhering the foil etching to the outer surface of the card, varnish can be applied to the entire outer surface of the card. Typically different from a foil card including a foil layer covering all outer surface regions of the card, a foil-etched card may include a foil etching covering only a small portion of the outer surface of the card. For example, the foil etching can typically be used to emphasize features of the card's artwork. When light is reflected from the foil etching of the card, the foiled-etched portion may exhibit a shiny appearance.

[0023] In contrast, when a trading card, which in this specification is otherwise referred to as a "non-foil card" and which does not have a foil layer or foil etching, is exposed to a light source, no interference pattern or bright light reflection is detected across the outer surface of the card. This is because the non-foil card has neither a foil layer including a diffraction grating nor a foil piece adhered to the outer surface of the card. However, under most lighting conditions, the glossy outer surface of the card will also reflect some light, but such light reflection is not perceived as bright as the reflection caused by a foil card or a card with foil etching.

[0024] Advantageously, the Applicant has found that when an image of a trading card illuminated by a point light source is taken in another dark environment where the outer surface of the card is disposed outside the field of view of the point light source, the bright main maximum of the foil card or the bright direct reflection caused by the foil etching portion of the foil-etched card is clearly visible without being substantially obscured by the reflection of the light source, except for a small reflection of the point light source limited to a small area of the outer surface of the card. On the other hand, in an image taken of a non-foil card under the same lighting conditions, an image may be generated in which only a small bright spot representing the direct reflection of the point light source is visible against the other dark outer surface of the card. Such an image is captured in a state where other light sources are substantially absent, whereby in the obtained image of the trading card, the main maximum or bright direct reflection of the card including foil is clearly distinguishable compared to the image taken of the non-foil card. The Applicant has also found that a method of processing the image file of the trading card to separate the pixels that are part of the main maximum or bright direct reflection from the pixels that do not form part of the main maximum or bright direct reflection enables a method of automatically detecting whether the trading card is a card including foil or a non-foil card. In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method described herein may be further used to distinguish a foil card from a foil-etched card.

[0025] Referring to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 9, in an embodiment of a method 100 for detecting a file card, the first image of the card being analyzed is preferably acquired in an environment where the card is illuminated by a point light source and other light sources are excluded. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, point light sources can include lasers (including but not limited to laser lamps), incandescent lamps (including but not limited to gas lamps and carbon arc lamps), monochromatic light sources, gas discharge lamps (including but not limited to fluorescent lamps, metal halide lamps and plasma lamps), LEDs (including but not limited to LED lamps), and other light sources known to those skilled in the art. In a preferred embodiment, the outer surface of the card is arranged to be outside the field of view of the point light source, as shown in FIG. 9. In FIG. 9, a point light source 52, such as an LED light, has a field of view 52a represented by a shaded gray area. The field of view 52a represents the area of light irradiated by the point light source 52 within a given brightness range measured in lumens. The outer surface 50a of the card 50 is arranged to be outside the field of view 52a of the point light source 52. The reflection 52c of the point light source 52 may be visible on the outer surface 50a of the card, but such a reflection 52c is caused by the light rays 52b irradiated from the point light source 52.

[0026] Reflection 52c will typically appear as a bright spot in all cards, including foil cards, foil-etched cards, and non-foil cards. However, when the card is a foil card, only the main maximum will be visible as a bright spot on the outer surface of the card. The image of the card can be captured by an image capture device such as camera 54 having a field of view 54a. Advantageously, when the image is taken under the illumination conditions shown in FIG. 9 above, the remaining portion of the outer surface of the card will appear dark compared to the main maximum and the bright spot of the reflection 52c of the light source. For a foil-etched card, an image taken from a foil-etched card under the same illumination conditions may produce a small area of bright direct reflection when the reflection 52c of the light source is near the foil-etched portion of the card, and this bright direct reflection can be distinguished from the main maximum generated by the reflection 52c of the light source and the foil card. Due to this characteristic of the resulting image file, in embodiments of the present disclosure, as further described below, the methods described herein are capable of distinguishing foil cards and foil-etched cards from non-foil cards.

[0027] The white LED light source will generate a rainbow-colored main maximum within the foil card due to the interference pattern caused by the various different wavelengths of light including the white light source when the light source is reflected by the diffraction grating provided by the foil layer of the foil card. However, those skilled in the art will understand that a main maximum can also be generated by a point light source that is monochromatic or not a white light source. However, the diffraction pattern of the main maximum thus generated will not appear rainbow-colored but will appear as the same color as the point light source. This diffraction pattern of the main maximum appears as a bright interference pattern over a portion of the outer surface of the trading card.

[0028] It should be understood that the method described herein may be performed on the obtained image separately from the computer system implementing the foil detection method. For example, a database of trading card images taken under the illumination conditions described above may be obtained from an external source and then processed by a computer system executing software that implements the foil detection method. In other embodiments, as further described below, a card sorting device may also be provided that includes an integrated computer system that captures an image of a trading card to be analyzed and executes software that implements the foil detection method.

[0029] In one aspect of the present disclosure, referring to FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, in step 108, a first image file showing a card illuminated by a point light source is obtained. The original image may be converted into a digital image file, or the image may already be a digital image file, such as when the image acquisition device is a digital camera. Next, in step 110, the first image file is prepared for analysis by converting the image file into the HSV color space. As a result, three integer values representing the hue, saturation, and value of the pixel are assigned to each pixel.

[0030] Steps 102, 104, 106, 106a, 112, and 114 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B are optional steps that are not essential for implementing the file detection method described herein. Thus, in some embodiments of the file detection method, after proceeding from step 108 to step 110, the method may proceed to step 116, in which case the converted image file is masked by applying a brightness mask to exclude any pixels having a brightness integer value less than a predetermined file threshold. Examples of images of file cards are shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, and examples of non-file cards are shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D. As can be seen in the file card image of FIG. 5A, the reflection 52c of the point light source 52 appears as a bright spot, and the main maximum 56 appears as the other bright part of the image. As can be seen in FIG. 5C, which is an image of a non-file card taken under the same lighting conditions, only the reflection 52c of the point light source and some scattered random bright regions of the card 58 are visible within the image. It will be understood that these bright spots or parts appear as dark spots in the inverted images shown in FIGS. 5A-5D. Those images are shown here as inverted images for clarity.

[0031] A predetermined file threshold may be selected to identify pixels that do not form an area with enhanced brightness in the converted first image file. Such an area with enhanced brightness may include, for example, the main maximum caused by the foil card or the bright direct reflection caused by the foil-etched card. For example, in the HSV color space, the lightness of each pixel indicates the relative brightness of that pixel. Under the lighting conditions in which the trading card image was taken, since the card was illuminated by a point light source, only the pixels in the image with a high integer value of the lightness of the pixel (representing the brightness of the pixel) are those pixels that form part of the main maximum, a bright direct reflection, or, in some cases, part of the reflection of the point light source. This is because the rest of the image is relatively dark under the described lighting conditions. Examples of the converted images showing the foil card and the non-foil card are shown in FIGS. 5B and 5D respectively. In the example of the converted images shown in FIGS. 5B and 5D, only the pixels having an integer lightness value exceeding the lightness threshold V _foil (in other words, the pixels having an integer lightness value within the range from V _foil to V _max . V _max represents the maximum possible integer lightness value) are depicted in black, and the remaining pixels are excluded in the masking operation performed in step 116.

[0032] FIGS. 5B and 5D also show the converted images. Here, the bright spots indicating the reflection 52c of the point light source (since these bright spots will appear in all images and are thus not related to the detection of the main maximum) are masked from the converted images of FIGS. 5B and 5D to exclude them from the subsequent analysis in the method. Such an optional step is performed, for example, in step 114 of method 100. As can be seen in the comparison between FIG. 5B showing the foil card and FIG. 5D showing the non-foil card, the lightness threshold V _foilThe black regions representing pixels exceeding [a certain value] are much larger in the foil card image of FIG. 5B compared to the non-foil card image of FIG. 5D. Thus, the masking operation performed in step 116 may, in some embodiments, mask pixels based only on the integer lightness value of the pixel while ignoring the integer hue value and the integer saturation value of the pixel. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the second masking operation performed in step 116 may optionally involve masking pixels based on a selected range of the integer hue value and / or the integer saturation value of the pixel, and that such methods are intended to be included in this disclosure.

[0033] In step 118, the remaining pixels (identified as bright pixels in one embodiment based on the high integer lightness value of each of those pixels) are counted, by which a card containing foil and a non-foil card can be distinguished. In step 120, the number of bright pixels counted in step 118 is compared with a predetermined threshold number of pixels having a high integer lightness value, and such a predetermined threshold number is selected to indicate that the image file contains a main maximum and / or a bright direct reflection. Alternatively, this calculation may be performed to determine the percentage of the remaining pixels compared to the total number of pixels in the region under consideration within the image file, rather than calculating the absolute number of the remaining pixels.

[0034] In some embodiments, step 120 may include comparing the number of remaining pixels determined in step 118 with a first threshold number and a second threshold number of pixels of high integer-valued brightness. Here, the first threshold is greater than the second threshold. If the number of remaining pixels is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the card is identified as a foil card. If the number of remaining pixels is less than the first threshold but greater than the second threshold, the card is identified as a foil-etched card. The first and second thresholds are determined by recognizing that the area of enhanced brightness represented in the converted image file is typically larger for a foil card compared to a foil-etched card. The reason is that the area of enhanced brightness generated by the main maximum of the converted image of the foil card exceeds the area of enhanced brightness generated by the small areas of foil etching on the outer surface of the foil-etched card due to the bright direct reflections generated by the small areas of foil etching on the outer surface of the foil-etched card.

[0035] In some embodiments, as seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the method optionally includes obtaining a second image file of the card at step 102, where the card in the second image file is illuminated by a diffused light source. The diffused light source will generate an image of the trading card in which the entire outer surface of the trading card is substantially uniformly illuminated by the diffused light source. The second image file is prepared for edge detection in optional step 104, and then, in step 106, an edge detection algorithm known to those skilled in the art can be applied to the second image of the trading card to identify the extent and boundaries of the illuminated card in the second image file, thereby generating an edge data set. As used herein, the term "extent" refers to the edge of the physical trading card, and the term "boundary" refers to other linear shapes in the image of the trading card, for example, the boundary 48 depicted in the image of the back side of the card shown in FIG. 8B includes the Magic: The Gathering TM including the boundary 48 depicted in the image of the back side of the card.

[0036] In step 106a, the contour dataset is saved. Subsequently, in optional step 112, the contour dataset can be applied to the first image file to exclude a second group of pixels from the image file. Here, the second group of pixels includes pixels located outside the range of the illuminated card depicted in the image file. Thus, step 112 can improve the reliability of the foil detection method. By utilizing a contour detection algorithm, it becomes possible to remove the surrounding background from the image, such that the analysis performed on the image is only carried out on those portions of the image that are part of the trading card itself, and not on portions of the image depicting the surrounding environment such as the outer surface on which the trading card was supported when the image was taken. Examples of contour detection algorithms include, but are not intended to be limited to, the OpenCV findContours method, which is known to those skilled in the art.

[0037] In some embodiments, step 110 of preparing the first image file for analysis may optionally also include correcting the spherical distortion of the image file, such spherical distortion being caused by the curvature of the lens through which the image was captured. By correcting the spherical distortion of the image file, the accuracy of the foil card detection method can be improved. When the image file is corrected for spherical distortion, it becomes more accurate in representing the percentage of the card outer surface containing bright spots as opposed to dark spots, thereby improving the accuracy of the method by measuring the proportion of the card outer surface occupied by the main maximum of the image of the foil card. Advantageously, the second image of the card taken under a diffused light source can also be used in other identification methods and card sorting methods, such as the automatic detection of the identity of the card by comparing the second image with a database of trading card images.

[0038] A further use of applying the contour dataset to the image file is, optionally, at step 112, to identify the orientation of the illuminated card depicted within the image file and, for example, to correct the orientation of the card by rotating the image file to change the orientation of the card to a selected orientation. In other uses, detecting the orientation of the card can be useful for sorting a plurality of cards by their orientation. As will be further described below, examples of reasons why it is useful to sort cards by their orientation include cases where there are a large number of cards mixed in various orientations, or where a particular sorting method depends on taking an image of a set of cards where all the cards are in the same orientation. In trading cards, there are four possible orientations, for example, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, including the north and south orientations of the front of the card and, similarly, the north and south orientations of the back of the card. FIGS. 8A and 8B show the front and back of the card, respectively, in the north orientation.

[0039] Applying the contour data to a second image file can advantageously be used to sort the cards in various different directions, for example, by utilizing knowledge of the trading card layout common to all trading cards within a trading card set. For example, without intending to be limited to the following, Magic: The Gathering TM Trading cards all have a similar layout. For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, the front surface 30 of the card includes a title box 32 at the top, an art box 34 below the title box, a type line box 36 immediately below the art box, and a text box 38 below the type line box. Thereby, the automatic detection software can, for Magic: The Gathering TM analyze the elements of the layout of the front of the card and use that information to, for example, determine the orientation of the art box relative to the type line box (both of which are common to all Magic: The Gathering TMBy detecting the position that has substantially invariant dimensions and position on the card, the orientation of the card can be identified and sorted. As a further example, Magic: The Gathering TM The back of the card is substantially the same across all such cards. Magic: The Gathering TM The back 40 of the card includes a black outer frame 42, followed by an inner image with a five-color sphere 44 below the word "Magic" 46 in a stylized font. Similarly, Magic: The Gathering TM Analysis of the image on the back of the card, due to layout differences, Magic: The Gathering TM Is easily distinguishable from the front of the card, and further, the orientation of the back of the Magic card can also be detected, for example, by detecting the relative orientation of the five-color sphere 44 with respect to the word "Magic" 46. One skilled in the art will understand that any number of characteristics that are the same across an entire set of trading cards can be utilized to detect and / or correct the orientation of a trading card depicted in a given image.

[0040] A second means by which contour data can be advantageously employed to sort cards according to their orientation involves considering only the contours that define the outer limits (extent) of the card. After defining the extent of the card, all pixels outside the extent of the card are discounted from the analysis so that the isolated card image can be compared to a database of trading card images of known orientations. For example, if the database of trading card images contains images oriented north, the card image can be compared to each of these database images. If a highly faithful match is obtained from this comparison, the card image is likely to be oriented north. If no highly faithful match results, the card image can be rotated 180 degrees and a second comparison can be performed against the database of trading card images. If a highly faithful match is obtained on the second comparison, the card image is very likely to be oriented south. By repeating the same process, the card image can be compared to a single back image of a trading card in a known orientation. By using this method, the orientation of the card can be determined by comparing the card image (either of the front or back of the card) to a database of card images in known orientations.

[0041] Regarding the detection of foil-etched cards, there are at least two possible methods for automatically detecting foil-etched cards based on the analysis of an image file depicting a foil-etched card photographed under specific lighting conditions. As described above, a foil-etched card typically includes a small piece of foil adhered to a small portion of the outer surface of the card. Referring to FIGS. 9, 10A, and 10B, when a ray of light from a single point source is reflected from the outer surface 50a of the card at a location near the foil-etching portion 51 of the outer surface of the card, the ray of light will be directly reflected into the field of view 54a of the camera 54. The resulting image will show this direct reflection 55 as a bright spot, as seen in FIGS. 10A and 10B. For comparison, the non-foil version of the card depicted in the images of FIGS. 10C and 10D shows that the bright spot is only the reflection 52c of the single point source 52.

[0042] Therefore, as described above, the foil-etched card can be identified from the image taken under the above lighting conditions, and at this time, the card is placed outside the field of view of the point light source 52. However, it should be understood that when the reflection 52c of the point light source is located near the foil-etching portion of the card, only the direct reflection that appears as a bright spot will occur in the resulting image of the foil-etched card. Therefore, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, in order to increase the probability that the reflection 52c comes near the etched portion of the foil-etched card, it is preferable to move the point light source relative to the card so that the reflection 52c is reflected from various different portions of the card being analyzed. In some embodiments, the method may include acquiring a first image and determining whether the card is a foil card from the first image. If the card is not a foil card, the method may further include taking a plurality of images where the point light source reflection 52c is at a plurality of positions across the outer surface area of the card. This can be achieved, for example, by moving the point light source relative to a stationary card or by moving the card relative to a stationary point light source.

[0043] Alternatively, the point light source may be an array of point light sources, and each point light source within the array is spaced apart from each other, thereby generating a corresponding array of point light source reflections 52c that cover a significant portion of the outer surface area of the card. Next, a single image of the foil-etched card illuminated by the array of point light sources can be analyzed according to the method described above. The method may optionally include masking the array of point light source reflections 52c from the image file so as to consider only the bright pixels that exceed a brightness threshold in order to determine whether the remaining pixels are direct bright reflections of the foil-etched card or the main maxima of the foil card.

[0044] Yet another illumination arrangement may include point light sources that are line-shaped or a plurality of point light sources arranged in a row. This line or row results in a corresponding line or row of point light source reflections that extends along the length or width of the outer surface of the card. To scan the outer surface of the card, either the card or the line of point light sources can be moved relative to each other while taking a plurality of images as the line of point light source reflections traverses the outer surface of the card. Subsequently, this series of images can be analyzed using the methods described elsewhere in this disclosure to identify whether the card is a foil card, a foil-etched card, or a non-foil card.

[0045] One skilled in the art will understand that taking a plurality of images while relatively moving the point light source and the outer surface of the card as described above may include taking a video and analyzing the resulting video images using the methods described herein.

[0046] Referring to FIG. 9, when a foil-etched card is illuminated by a point light source 52 and the card is disposed outside the field of view 52a of the point light source, when a light ray 52d from the point light source hits the foil portion 51 of the foil-etched card, the light ray 52d may be scattered so as to move away from the field of view 54a of the camera 54. When this occurs, the foil-etched portion 51 of the card 50 may appear not to exist in the image because the light reflected from this portion of the card is not reflected into the image capture device or the camera 54. For example, referring to FIGS. 11A and 11B, FIG. 11A is an image of a foil-etched card 50 having a plurality of foil-etching portions 51, and FIG. 11B is an image of a non-foil-etched version of the same card shown in FIG. 11A, and this image has the characteristics 53 of the artwork of a card having no foil at all. Comparing the images of the cards in FIGS. 11A and 11B that share the same artwork, it can be understood that in the image of the non-foil-etched card in FIG. 11B, the characteristics 53 (yellow scrolls) of the artwork are visible, but in the card image of FIG. 11A, the foil-etched portions 51 (gold foil etching) of the same characteristics of the artwork are less visible or completely absent from the image.

[0047] Therefore, in some embodiments, this phenomenon observed in the generation of an image of a foil-etched card can be used to distinguish a foil-etched card from a non-foil card by comparing an image of the card shown in FIG. 9 taken under the above-described lighting conditions with a database of known card images containing images of cards illuminated by diffused light. Also, if a characteristic of a certain artwork is missing from the image file being analyzed as compared with the database of known card images, the card being analyzed can be identified as a foil-etched card.

[0048] State evaluation method In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method of assigning a state grade to a card is provided. As described above, in the trading card industry, the value of a trading card is based on information about the characteristics of the card, and one of those characteristics is the state of the card. To grade the state of a card, various different grading scales and methods can be used. However, for illustrative purposes and not by way of limitation, the state grade of a trading card may include three or four grades indicating the relative state of the card. For example, the state of a card may be graded as mint or near mint, which means that the card has no damage or wear and tear. The mint or near mint state is the best possible state a card can be in as far as its state is concerned. Other state grades may include a lightly played state and a heavily played state, where the lightly played state indicates that the card has been played lightly and has received minimal wear. On the other hand, a card graded as heavily played indicates that the card has received more wear and tear due to being used over a long period of time. Other grading scales with fewer or more than three levels or grades also exist, and those grading scales can be utilized in the automated state grading method described herein.

[0049] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, there is a degree of subjectivity in assigning a condition grade to a card. However, the applicant has found that there is a method of analyzing the digital image of a card, by which an objective criterion for assigning a condition grade can be applied to the card. The method may not provide a definitive grading of the condition of the card, but advantageously, the method provides a relatively quick and simplified way of automatically assigning a grade of condition to the card, thereby enabling a relatively quick sorting according to the approximate condition grades of a large number of cards. More advantageously, the method is based on focusing on a uniform portion of the card, rather than attempting to analyze the entire outer surface of the card, as is described by other methods known in the prior art.

[0050] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for automated condition grading 200 includes obtaining a digital image file of an image of a trading card taken under diffused lighting conditions. An example is shown in FIGS. 6A-6L. Here, FIGS. 6A-6F show cards in a near mint condition, and FIGS. 6G-6L show heavy play cards. The image file may be generated by a dedicated device for the purpose of sorting and identifying trading cards, or alternatively, the image file may be obtained from a database or other source. The image file includes an image of at least a portion of the outer surface of the trading card. In one aspect, the image is preferably an image of the back or reverse side of the trading card, whereby the image of the back side is consistent among all trading cards within a set of trading cards. For example, in the "Magic: The Gathering" TM trading card series, the image of the back side of all trading cards is composed of a plain black outer frame and an image including the stylized word "Magic" in a font above a group of five colored spheres surrounded by the black outer frame, as shown in FIGS. 6A, 6G, 6M and 8B.

[0051] In one aspect, the method includes masking or removing portions of the image that do not include the plain black outer frame. In other words, the method functions by analyzing only the plain outer frame on the back of the card. In some embodiments, only a portion of the plain outer frame may be analyzed, as shown by the unmasked regions in FIGS. 6B and 6H. For example, Pokemon TM Other trading card series such as trading cards may also have a solid color outer frame consistent across all back images of the Pokemon TM card series. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the characteristics of the card image to be analyzed are not necessarily limited to the plain outer frame. For example, another plain characteristic or any other characteristic common to all outer faces of the trading card series may provide a characteristic to be analyzed by the state grading method described herein.

[0052] Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, an embodiment of the state evaluation method includes, at step 202, obtaining an image file depicting a card, such as the back of a trading card, in which at least a portion of the outer frame 42 is visible. In optional step 206, the image is converted to grayscale to prepare for contour detection in order to define the outer limits of the card and the plain outer frame of the card. In optional step 208, which is an optional step, contour detection may be applied to the prepared image to determine the position of the card range relative to the boundaries of the image. In some embodiments, the contour detection routine applied to the image file can include the OpenCV findContours method, but those skilled in the art will understand that other methods or algorithms may also be used for contour detection and are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. In optional step 208a, the contour data generated from the contour detection routine is saved.

[0053] In the next step, at 210, an (optionally) corrected image is prepared for analysis by converting the image into the HSV color space. Step 210 may also include correcting the spherical distortion of the image, but spherical distortion correction is not necessarily performed to carry out the state evaluation method described herein, such as the foil detection method described elsewhere in this disclosure.

[0054] In step 212, optionally, the stored contour data is used to reduce the region under consideration for analysis of the image to only those pixels that exist within the plain outer border of the card. Advantageously, this simplifies the analysis by excluding the irrelevant parts of the image file, which may include any surrounding environment depicted in the image, such as the platform or outer surface on which the trading card was placed when the image was taken. However, step 212 is optional, and one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the image file can be analyzed without excluding the irrelevant parts of the image file. Another optional step (not shown) is to trim the image within the image file to include only the plain outer border region of the card for further analysis.

[0055] In step 214, a first masking operation is applied to the image file, such that only regions of the card known to contain a plain, uniform coloring, such as the plain outer border 60 of the back of the card, are considered for analysis. Such masking may include, for example, excluding all pixels that are outside a defined distance between the edge (extent) of the card and the inner surface of the card's base. For example, Magic: The Gathering TMIn the card, the plain outer frame on the back of the card typically extends inwards by 0.5 cm from the edge of the card and surrounds the entire area of the card. Thus, in this case, masking may include applying a mask 61 to all pixels that extend outside the 0.5 cm outer frame 42 surrounding the card area. In other embodiments, only a part of the plain outer frame, such as the unmasked outer frame 65 portions in FIGS. 6B, 6E, 6H, and 6K, may be considered in the analysis.

[0056] In step 216, a second masking operation is applied, where a brightness mask is applied to exclude pixels whose brightness integer values are outside a predetermined range. The predetermined brightness range can be, for example, the range of pixels having brightness integer values between a lower brightness threshold for the pixel and the maximum achievable integer value 255. Examples of the images generated after the second masking operation 216 is applied are shown in FIGS. 6C, 6F, 6I, and 6L. FIGS. 6C and 6I respectively show the results of the second masking operation applied to the original images of the near mint card and the heavy play card, and FIGS. 6F and 6L show the inverted images of FIGS. 6C and 6I to make the results of the second masking operation more visibly distinguishable. It will be understood that the inverted images shown in FIGS. 6F, 6L, and 6R are not essential for carrying out the method described herein and are included in this disclosure only for illustrative purposes.

[0057] The brightness threshold can be selected to exclude all pixels below the brightness threshold. Pixels that are part of the undamaged outer frame are darker than pixels that fall within a predetermined brightness range, so pixels below such a brightness threshold indicate pixels that are part of the undamaged outer frame. Since the plain outer frame is typically recognized as a dark color such as black or navy blue, pixels outside that dark brightness range indicate pixels that form part of the damaged outer frame. Damage that shows worn parts through play on a dark-colored outer frame includes, but is not limited to, scratches, chips, and abrasions on the card. As can be best seen in FIGS. 6F and 6L showing the inverted images of the results of the second masking operation for each of the near mint card and the heavy play card, the damaged portion 62 of the near mint card in FIG. 6F is hardly visible, whereas the damaged portion 62 of the heavy play card shown in FIG. 6L is prominent and appears as multiple spots and vertical lines.

[0058] After applying the second masking operation in step 216, the method proceeds to step 218 where the number of remaining pixels under consideration is determined by counting the remaining pixels, and subsequently that number is compared with a plurality of grading thresholds to assign a state grade for the card. For example, in the routine shown in FIG. 3B, in step 220, a first threshold can be selected to indicate the threshold for the mint or near mint state. As an illustrative example, without intending to be limiting, if the relative number of remaining pixels is less than 0.5% of the total number of pixels under consideration, the proportion of pixels brighter than the plain outer frame is low, indicating that the outer frame is relatively undamaged. Thus, if the mint or near mint threshold is set at 0.5%, the method queries in step 218 whether the number of remaining pixels exceeds the mint or near mint threshold. If the number of remaining pixels does not exceed the threshold, in step 222, a state grade of mint or near mint state is assigned to the card.

[0059] However, if the number of remaining pixels exceeds the mint or near-mint threshold, which is set at 0.5% in this exemplary example, at step 224, the method queries whether the image contains more pixels than the slight play threshold. For example, without intending to be limiting, the slight play threshold can be selected as 3% of the total number of pixels under consideration for the number of remaining pixels. If the number of remaining pixels does not exceed the 3% threshold, at step 226, a slight play state grade is assigned to that card. However, if the number of remaining pixels exceeds the slight play threshold set, for example, at 3%, the method proceeds to step 228, where in this case, a heavy play state grade is assigned to that card.

[0060] Those skilled in the art will understand that the above examples of thresholds and state grades are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the setting of the threshold will depend on many factors, such factors including the size of the area of the card being analyzed, whether any part of the area of the card being analyzed is hidden by other objects in the image such as a roller, and the number of state grades used to grade the state of the card. Further, those skilled in the art will understand that the method can determine more or fewer than three state grades.

[0061] Furthermore, the state grading method described herein is for Magic:The Gathering TMIt will be understood that it can be applied only to some of the uniform characteristics across all the cards of a given card set, like the example of the plain outer frame above for grading the state of the card. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6M to 6R, the state grading method described herein can be applied to an image of a card (see FIG. 6M) where a part of the characteristics of the plain outer frame of the card is hidden by a pair of rollers 308, 308. In FIG. 6N, after the first masking operation is applied, the roller 308 hides a part of the outer frame 42. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 6O, a further third masking operation may be applied to apply the mask 63 to remove the pixels of the image including the rollers 308, 308. Next, as shown in FIG. 6P, the results of the first and third masking operations are combined so that only the portions of the outer frame 65 not hidden by the rollers 308, 308 remain. Thereafter, a second masking operation is applied to these portions of the outer frame 65, where a brightness mask is applied to exclude pixels whose brightness integer values are outside a predetermined range. The results of this second masking operation are shown in FIGS. 6Q and 6R. FIG. 6R is an inverted version of the image of FIG. 6Q, and the damaged portion 62 of the card indicated by dots and lines is most clearly visible in the inverted image of FIG. 6R.

[0062] This disclosure discusses the conversion of digital image files into the HSV color space. However, as described above in step 110 of the file detection method 100 or step 210 of the card grading method 200, the use of the HSV color space is provided herein as an exemplary example, and those skilled in the art will understand that the methods described herein are not limited to the use of the HSV color space. For example, in the methods disclosed herein, after converting a digital image file into a color space other than the HSV color space, the color space characteristics of each obtained pixel can be used to detect damage to the card and / or the presence of a foil card, and it will be understood that this is included within the scope of this disclosure. Other color spaces include, but are not limited to, any cylindrical color model. The HSV color space described herein is also known as the hue, saturation, brightness ("HSB") color space, the hue, saturation, lightness ("HSL") color space, and the hue, saturation, intensity ("HSI") color space.

[0063] Card sorting device In another aspect of the present disclosure, a card sorting device 300 is provided. Referring to FIGS. 1, 7A, and 7B, the card sorting device 300 includes a housing 302, which is preferably constructed such that all external light sources do not penetrate the housing so that the lighting conditions within the card sorting device 300 can be accurately controlled according to whether diffused lighting conditions or point source lighting conditions are required. A platform 304 is supported within the housing 302. The platform 304 is preferably composed of a transparent material such as glass. The platform 304 is adapted to support trading cards to be captured by an image capture device 306. The image capture device 306 may include, for example, a digital camera or any other device suitable for taking images of trading cards. In a preferred embodiment, the card sorting device 300 may include an upper camera 306a disposed above the platform 304 and a lower camera 306b disposed below the platform 304 for capturing the opposite side of the trading card when the trading card is on the platform 304. Advantageously, this configuration of the card sorting device enables the simultaneous capture of images of the top and bottom surfaces of the card.

[0064] To obtain a clear image of the trading card, it is important to ensure that the card is completely flat on the platform 304 when taking the image. This can be particularly difficult for foil cards. Foil cards typically warp in one direction due to how humidity affects the various layers of the card. For example, compared to the cardstock layer of the card, the foil layer can expand or contract at different rates under different humidity conditions, causing the card to warp. Thus, in some embodiments of the card sorter 300, advantageously, a plurality of rollers 308 are provided in the vicinity of the platform, and these rollers 308 press the trading card against the platform 304, thereby being configured to flatten the card against the platform 304 when the image is taken. Advantageously, in the method described herein where it is important to perform an analysis on the entire image of the trading card such that the trading card is not obscured, since the rollers 308 are disposed on the opposite side of the platform 304, the lower camera 306b can capture an image of the unobscured outer surface of the trading card. Further, in methods that do not require an unobscured image of the trading card, for example, in the case of the state grading method described herein, it does not pose a problem if a pair of rollers 308 obscure a portion of the outer surface of the trading card when the image is captured by the upper camera 306a. Thus, the card sorting apparatus 300 can be utilized to simultaneously perform two or more of the methods described herein.

[0065] Advantageously, in some aspects of the present disclosure, a light source can also be supported within the housing 302 to illuminate the trading card when it is on the platform 304. For example, the diffused light source 310 can include a light source and a series of diffuser panels 310a. A point light source 312 may also be provided and, for example, as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 9, is arranged such that the outer surface of the card is outside the field of view of the point light source.

[0066] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, advantageously, the card sorting device 300 further includes a transport system and a card hopper. For example, the card hopper 316 is configured to receive a plurality of trading cards. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 7B, a card hopper extension 330 can be attached to the inlet of the card hopper 316 to add capacity to the card hopper 316. A set of drive rollers 318 is arranged to pass through the floor 316b of the hopper 316, and the drive rollers 318 are configured to move a single trading card at a time through a narrow slot 316a, and through this narrow slot 316a, the trading card is sent to a second drive roller 320. The roller 320 conveys the trading cards one by one to the platform 304, and subsequently, after one or more images of the trading cards are captured by, for example, cameras 306a, 306b, the roller 308 conveys the trading cards towards a third set of drive rollers 322 and subsequently through an exit slot 314. The exit slot 314 may lead to a collection bin (not shown), and optionally, as is known to those skilled in the art, the exit slot 314 may lead to a sorting deck 340 as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. The sorting deck 340 may be used to further sort the cards into specific categories. For example, but not limited to, the sorting deck can sort trading cards into foil stacks and non-foil stacks. As another example, without intending to limit, the sorting deck can sort the cards into two or more stacks indicating the condition grade, card type, card price, card orientation, etc. assigned to each card. Those skilled in the art will understand that the sorting deck can be used to sort trading cards according to various characteristics of the trading cards, and the examples herein are not intended to be limiting.

Claims

1. A method for identifying a card containing foil, comprising: a. obtaining a first image file depicting the card, wherein the card is illuminated by a point light source and the card is disposed outside the field of view of the point light source; b. converting the first image file into a hue, saturation, value (HSV) color space; c. applying a brightness mask to the converted first image file to exclude a first group of pixels from analysis, wherein each pixel in the first group of pixels has an integer brightness value less than a predetermined foil threshold, and the foil threshold is selected to identify the first group of pixels that do not form a region of enhanced brightness in the first image file; d. determining the number of remaining pixels and comparing the number of remaining pixels with a predetermined first number threshold for the remaining pixels, wherein if the number of remaining pixels exceeds the predetermined first number threshold for the remaining pixels, the card is identified as a card containing foil. A method as described above.

2. obtaining a second image file of the card, wherein the card is illuminated by a diffused light source; applying edge detection to the second image file to identify the extent of the card within the second image file, thereby generating an edge dataset; applying the edge dataset to the first image file to exclude from analysis a second group of pixels located outside the extent of the card depicted in the first image file. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps above.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising correcting the spherical distortion of the first and second image files.

4. applying the edge dataset to the second image file to identify the orientation of the card depicted in the second image file; correcting the orientation of the first and second image files to the selected orientation by rotating the first and second image files to reorient the cards depicted in the first and second image files to the selected orientation. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps above.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, for excluding the third pixel group, applying a light source mask to the converted first image file, wherein each pixel of the third pixel group forms a reflection of the point light source.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, for excluding the third pixel group, applying a light source mask to the converted first image file, wherein each pixel of the third pixel group has an integer value of brightness exceeding a predetermined light source threshold, and the light source threshold is selected for identifying each pixel of the third pixel group that forms a reflection of the point light source.

7. The point light source includes a single point light source and an array of point light sources, each of the point light sources being spaced apart from each other within the array, and the array being reflected over substantially all outer surface regions of the card. The step of obtaining the first image file depicting the card includes obtaining the first image file with the card illuminated by the single point light source and obtaining a second image file depicting the card with the card illuminated by the array of point light sources. Steps b, c, and d of the method according to claim 1 are performed for each of the first and second image files. If the first image file includes a region with enhanced brightness that is a main maximum, the card is identified as a foil card. If the second image file includes a region with enhanced brightness that is one or more bright direct reflections, the card is identified as a foil-etched card. The method according to claim 1.

8. The step of determining the number of remaining pixels and comparing the number of the remaining pixels with a predetermined first number threshold for the remaining pixels includes a step of comparing the number of the remaining pixels with a predetermined second number threshold for the remaining pixels, wherein the predetermined first number threshold for the remaining pixels is greater than the predetermined second number threshold for the remaining pixels. When the number of the remaining pixels in the first image file exceeds the predetermined first number threshold for the remaining pixels, the card is identified as a foil card. When the number of the remaining pixels in the second image file is less than the predetermined first number threshold for the remaining pixels but exceeds the predetermined second number threshold for the remaining pixels, the card is identified as a foil-etched card. The method according to claim 7 includes this step.

9. The step of applying the brightness mask to exclude the first pixel group includes a step of applying at least one second mask, wherein the at least one second mask is selected from the group including a hue mask and a saturation mask. Any one of the predetermined thresholds of the hue mask and the saturation mask is selected to identify pixels that do not form part of the region with enhanced brightness. The method according to claim 1.

10. An apparatus for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the apparatus includes an imaging chamber that substantially excludes light from an external light source from entering the imaging chamber, a platform disposed in the imaging chamber to support the card, a point light source disposed in the imaging chamber such that the platform is disposed outside the field of view of the point light source, an image capture device for capturing an image of the card to generate the first image file. The apparatus includes.

11. The point light source includes a single point light source and an array of point light sources, each of the point light sources being spaced apart from each other within the array, and the array of point light sources being reflected over substantially all outer surface regions of the card. The apparatus according to claim 10.

12. The point light source is a single point light source, and one of the single point light source or the card is attached to a mobile scanning stage, and the mobile scanning stage is actuated by an actuator to translate the reflection of the point light source over substantially all outer surface regions of the card, so as to translate the single point light source and the card relative to each other, The first image file generated by the image capture device includes a plurality of first image files, and each first image file in the plurality of first image files depicts the card illuminated by the point light source at a plurality of different positions of the outer surface region of the card, The region with enhanced brightness is selected from the group including a bright direct reflection for identifying that the card is an etched foil card, and a main maximum reflection for identifying that the card is a foil card, The device according to claim 10.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein the single point light source is a line of single point light sources spaced apart from each other.

14. The device according to claim 10, further comprising a conveying system and a card hopper, wherein the conveying system conveys a plurality of cards one by one from the card hopper to the platform.

15. The conveying system further conveys the plurality of cards one by one from the platform to a sorting deck, The plurality of cards can be classified according to at least one characteristic of each card at the sorting deck, and the characteristic is identified by at least an analysis of the first image file of each card. The device according to claim 14.

16. The device according to claim 15, wherein the at least one characteristic is selected from the group including card type, card orientation, foil included in the card, card price, and condition grade.

17. The platform includes a transparent material, and the image capture device includes a first camera disposed above the platform and a second camera disposed below the platform. The first camera is arranged to capture a first image on a first surface of the card, thereby generating a first image file, and the second camera is arranged to capture a second image on a second surface of the card, thereby generating a third image file. The apparatus according to claim 10.

18. A method for assigning a status grade to a card, the method comprising: a. obtaining an image file depicting a diffusely illuminated card, the image file depicting at least a portion of the extent of the card; b. converting the image file into a hue, saturation, value (HSV) color space; c. removing non-uniform portions of the converted image file from the analysis to separate uniform portions of the converted image file; d. applying a lightness mask to the converted image file to exclude a first group of pixels in a uniform portion of the image file, each pixel in the first group of pixels having an integer lightness value less than a predetermined status threshold, the status threshold being selected to identify the first group of pixels representing an undamaged portion of the card; e. determining the number of remaining pixels and comparing the number of remaining pixels with a plurality of grade thresholds to assign a status grade to the card. A method comprising the steps of:

19. applying edge detection to the image file to identify at least a portion of the extent of the card within the image file, thereby generating an edge data set that outlines the extent; applying the edge data set to the image file to reduce the image file to an outer frame group of pixels, the outer frame group of pixels being located adjacent to the extent of the card; The method according to claim 18, further comprising the steps of:

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising the step of correcting spherical distortion of the image file.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the outer frame pixel group is defined as a region of the card composed of a plurality of pixels having substantially uniform HSV characteristics compared to a plurality of adjacent pixels when the card is a mint-condition specimen.

22. The method according to claim 19, wherein the image file consists of an image of the back surface of the card, the card belongs to a set of cards, and the back surfaces of each card in the set of cards include substantially the same image.

23. The step of applying the brightness mask to exclude the first pixel group includes the step of applying at least one second mask, wherein the at least one second mask is selected from the group including a hue mask and a saturation mask. A predetermined threshold value of any one of the hue mask and the saturation mask is selected to identify pixels forming the uniform portion of the converted image file. The method according to claim 18.

24. The plurality of grade thresholds include at least a near-mint threshold and a slight-played threshold. When the number of the remaining pixels is less than or equal to the near-mint threshold, a near-mint condition grade is assigned to the card. When the number of the remaining pixels exceeds the near-mint threshold and is less than or equal to the slight-played threshold, a slight-played condition grade is assigned to the card. When the number of the remaining pixels exceeds the slight-played threshold, a heavy-played condition grade is assigned to the card. The method according to claim 18.

25. An apparatus for executing the method according to claim 18, the apparatus comprising: The apparatus An imaging chamber that substantially excludes light from an external light source from entering the imaging chamber; A platform disposed in the imaging chamber to support the card; A diffused light source disposed in the imaging chamber to illuminate the card; An image capture device for capturing an image of the card to generate the image file. An apparatus.

26. A method for identifying characteristics of a trading card, a. Obtaining a first image file depicting a card, wherein the card is illuminated by a point light source and the card is disposed outside the field of view of the point light source; b. Converting the first image file into a hue, saturation, value (HSV) color space; c. Applying a first brightness mask to the converted first image file to exclude a first group of pixels from analysis, wherein each pixel in the first group of pixels has an integer brightness value less than a predetermined file threshold, and the file threshold is selected to identify the first group of pixels that do not form a region where the brightness of the first image file is enhanced; d. Determining the number of remaining pixels in the first image file and comparing the number of remaining pixels in the first image file with a predetermined file number threshold for the remaining pixels, wherein if the number of remaining pixels in the first image file exceeds the predetermined file number threshold for the remaining pixels, the card is identified as a card containing foil; e. Obtaining a second image file depicting the card, wherein the card is illuminated by a diffused light source and the second image file depicts at least a portion of the extent of the card; f. Converting the second image file into a hue, saturation, value (HSV) color space; g. Removing a non-uniform portion of the converted second image file from analysis to separate a uniform portion of the converted second image file; h. Applying a second brightness mask to the separated uniform portion of the converted second image file to exclude a second group of pixels in the uniform portion of the second image file from analysis, wherein each pixel in the second group of pixels has an integer brightness value less than a predetermined state threshold, and the state threshold is selected to identify the second group of pixels representing an undamaged portion of the card; i. Determining the number of remaining pixels in the second image file and comparing the number of remaining pixels in the second image file with a plurality of grade thresholds to assign a state grade to the card; A method comprising the steps above. Claim 27 Applying contour detection to the second image file to identify the extent of the card within the second image file, thereby generating a contour dataset; Applying the contour dataset to the second image file to exclude from analysis a third group of pixels located outside the extent of the card depicted within the second image file; The method according to claim 26, further comprising. **Claim 28** The method according to claim 26, further comprising correcting the spherical distortion of the first and second image files. **Claim 29** Applying the contour dataset to the second image file to identify the orientation of the card depicted in the first image file; Modifying the orientation of the first and second image files to a selected orientation by rotating the first and second image files to reorient the cards depicted in the first and second image files to the selected orientation; The method according to claim 27, further comprising. **Claim 30** The method according to claim 26, further comprising applying a light source mask to the first image file to exclude a third group of pixels, wherein each pixel of the third group of pixels forms a reflection of the point light source. **Claim 31** The method according to claim 26, further comprising applying a light source mask to the first image file to exclude a third group of pixels, wherein each pixel of the third group of pixels has an integer value of brightness exceeding a predetermined light source threshold, and the predetermined light source threshold is selected to identify each pixel of the third group of pixels that forms a reflection of the point light source. **Claim 32** The step of applying a first brightness mask to the transformed first image file to exclude the first group of pixels from analysis is a step of applying at least one second mask, wherein the at least one second mask is selected from the group including a hue mask and a saturation mask, the method comprising: A predetermined threshold of either the hue mask or the saturation mask is selected to identify pixels that do not form part of an area of enhanced brightness; The method according to claim 26. **Claim 33** Applying edge detection to the second image file to identify at least a portion of the range of the card within the second image file, thereby generating an edge data set that outlines the range; Applying the edge data set to the second image file to reduce the second image file to an outer frame pixel group, wherein the outer frame pixel group is located in the vicinity of the range of the card; The method according to claim 26, further comprising.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein the outer frame pixel group is defined as a region of the card composed of a plurality of pixels having substantially uniform HSV characteristics as compared to a plurality of adjacent pixels when the card is a near mint specimen.

35. The method according to claim 26, wherein the second image file consists of an image of the back surface of the card, and the back surfaces of the cards in the set of cards each include substantially the same image.

36. The plurality of gray scale thresholds include at least a near mint threshold and a slight play threshold, When the number of the remaining pixels is less than or equal to the near mint threshold, a near mint state grade is assigned to the card, When the number of the remaining pixels exceeds the near mint threshold and is less than or equal to the slight play threshold, a slight play state grade is assigned to the card, When the number of the remaining pixels exceeds the slight play threshold, a heavy play state grade is assigned to the card. The method according to claim 26.

37. An apparatus for performing the method according to claim 26, wherein the apparatus an imaging chamber that substantially excludes light from an external light source from entering the imaging chamber; a platform disposed within the imaging chamber for supporting the card; a point light source disposed within the imaging chamber such that the platform is disposed outside the field of view of the point light source; a diffused light source disposed within the imaging chamber for illuminating the card; an image capture device for capturing an image of the card to generate the first and second image files; An apparatus comprising.

38. The platform includes a transparent material, and the image capture device includes a first camera disposed above the platform and a second camera disposed below the platform. The first camera is arranged to capture first and second images on a first surface of the card, and the second camera is arranged to capture first and second images on a second surface of the card. The first images on the first and second surfaces of the card depict the card illuminated by the point light source, and the second images on the first and second surfaces of the card depict the card illuminated by the diffused light source. The apparatus according to claim 37.

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