Electronic circuits for product packaging and game pieces

Abstract

Product packages and methods of making same, and unpowered conductive circuits for use, for example, as game pieces and methods of making the same. The product package includes a paperboard blank configured to be formed into a box. An electrical circuit is printed with conductive ink pattern onto a surface of the blank. A user may interact with the electrical circuit by, for example, pressing tabs cut into the box. The tabs may include conductive contacts that activate sections of the electrical circuit, thereby producing one or more desirable effects in response to various combinations of tabs being pressed by the user. The electrical circuit may be powered by a battery inserted into a battery compartment of the product package. The blank may include a removable section with a printed electrical circuit, or a portion thereof, that may be separated from the blank and used separately from the product package.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A product package comprising:
 a paperboard blank including a first surface, the paperboard blank being configured to define the product package; and   a first conductive ink pattern printed on the first surface of the paperboard blank, the first conductive ink pattern defining at least part of an electrical circuit integrated with the product package.   
     
     
         2 . The product package of  claim 1  wherein the paperboard blank is configured so that the first surface forms an interior surface or an exterior surface of the product package. 
     
     
         3 . The product package of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a dielectric pattern applied to the first surface of the paperboard blank; and 
 a second conductive ink pattern printed on the first surface of the paperboard blank, 
 wherein the dielectric pattern electrically isolates a portion of the first conductive ink pattern from a portion of the second conductive ink pattern. 
 
     
     
         4 . The product package of  claim 1  further comprising:
 an electronic component coupled to the conductive ink pattern. 
 
     
     
         5 . The product package of  claim 1  wherein the first ink pattern includes a first contact pad, a second contact pad separated by a gap from the first contact pad, and a third contact pad configured to selectively couple the first and second contact pads in response to being pressed into contact with the first and second contact pads. 
     
     
         6 . The product package of  claim 5  wherein the paperboard blank includes a cut line and a fold line configured to define a tab, the tab including the third contact pad and being located so that the third contact pad is pressed into contact with the first and second contact pads in response to the tab being folded along the fold line. 
     
     
         7 . The product package of  claim 5  wherein gap has a length, the first contact pad has a width and includes a first projection, the second contact pad has a width and includes a second projection, and the projections are configured to define the gap so that the length of the gap exceeds the width of the first contact pad and the width of the second contact pad. 
     
     
         8 . The product package of  claim 7  wherein the first projection is one of a first plurality of projections, the second projection is one of a second plurality of projections, and the first and second pluralities of projections are configured to define the gap so that the gap has a winding characteristic. 
     
     
         9 . The product package of  claim 1  wherein the paperboard blank includes a plurality of cut lines and a plurality of fold lines configured to define a battery compartment, the battery compartment including a chock defined by a section of the paperboard blank defined by two non-intersecting cut lines and three non-intersecting fold lines. 
     
     
         10 . The product package of  claim 9  wherein the fold lines defining the chock are intersected by the cut lines defining the chock. 
     
     
         11 . The product package of  claim 1  wherein the electrical circuit is printed on a section of the paperboard blank defined by one or more cut lines so that the section is removable from the paperboard blank, the conductive ink pattern includes a first set of one or more contact pads, and the first set of contact pads include a shape, a number, or an arrangement that is recognizable by a touch sensitive device. 
     
     
         12 . The product package of  claim 11  wherein the section of paperboard blank is configured to be formed into a game piece. 
     
     
         13 . The product package of  claim 12  wherein the electrical circuit includes a second set of one or more contact pads configured to electrically couple the first set of one or more contact pads to a user holding the game piece. 
     
     
         14 . The product package of  claim 12  wherein the game piece is configured to be used with an application executing on the touch sensitive device and visible on a screen of the touch sensitive device. 
     
     
         15 . The product package of  claim 11  wherein the paperboard blank includes a boss at the location of each contact pad, and a portion of each contact pad is raised by the boss to define a contact surface. 
     
     
         16 . The product package of  claim 1  wherein the paperboard blank includes a score line, the printed circuit includes a trace crossing the score line and having a width-to-thickness aspect ratio,
 wherein the width-to-thickness aspect ratio is selected so that a conductive ink comprising the first conductive ink pattern does not fracture maintained when flexed by bending of the paperboard blank at the score line. 
 
     
     
         17 . A method of making a product package including an integrated electrical circuit, the method comprising:
 printing a conductive pattern on a first surface of a paperboard blank, the first conductive ink pattern defining at least part of an electrical circuit integrated with the product package.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising:
 applying a dielectric pattern applied to the first surface of the paperboard blank; and 
 printing a second conductive ink pattern on the first surface of the paperboard blank, 
 wherein the dielectric pattern electrically isolates a portion of the first conductive ink pattern from a portion of the second conductive ink pattern. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising:
 coupling an electronic component to the conductive ink pattern. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the conductive ink pattern includes one or more contact pads, and the contact pads include a shape, a number, or an arrangement that is recognizable by a touch sensitive device.