Circuit board and circuit board assemblies for interactive toy systems

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to circuit boards, circuit board assemblies and toy devices comprising the circuit boards and assemblies. The circuit boards comprise a carrier substrate which comprises a first surface and a second and opposing surface.

Description

[0001] CIRCUIT BOARD AND CIRCUIT BOARD ASSEMBLIES FOR INTERACTIVE TOY SYSTEMS

[0002] The present disclosure relates to circuit boards, circuit board assemblies and toy devices and systems comprising the circuit board assemblies. The circuit boards comprise a carrier substrate which comprises a first surface and a second and opposing surface.

[0003] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Interactive toy systems that comprise a plurality of interactive wireless toy elements are well-known in the art. Wireless toy elements may comprise a plurality of interactive features such as emitting light signals, emitting sound signals and / or receiving sound signals, interacting with various wireless devices such as RFID tags, Bluetooth enabled communication devices, near-field magnetic enabled devices etc.

[0005] There is a need in the art to provide compact, versatile, and preferably low-cost, circuit boards that comprise one or more active electronic components and / or one or more passive electronic components supporting various interactive play features such as light signalling and / or audio signalling in response to detection of the presence of toy elements. The circuit boards according to present invention are preferably compact, versatile and manufacturable in large quantities at low costs.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0007] A first aspect of the disclosure relates to a circuit board comprising a carrier substrate, e.g. a printed circuity board (PCB) or ceramic substrate or carrier. The carrier substrate comprises a first surface and a second and opposing surface. The carrier substrate further comprises at least one through going aperture or acoustic opening with a predetermined area total area. The carrier substrate further comprises a pair of loudspeaker connection pads arranged on the first surface.

[0008] A second and related aspect of the disclosure relates to an apparatus comprising a toy device, such as a toy brick, comprising an inner cavity. The apparatus further comprises the circuit board arranged in the inner cavity so as to divide the inner cavity into an upper cavity above the first surface and a lower cavity below the second surface. The apparatus further comprises a loudspeaker arranged in the upper cavity above the first surface. The at least one through going aperture is arranged to acoustically couple the loudspeaker to the lower cavity. The loudspeaker may comprise a displaceable diaphragm having a first side facing into the upper cavity and an opposite side delineating a chamber below the displaceable diaphragm and wherein the at least one through going aperture is arranged to acoustically couple the chamber to the lower cavity. The lower cavity may thereby serve to increase the effective size of the chamber below the displaceable diaphragm and thereby increase a back volume of the loudspeaker for example as discussed in additional detail below with reference to the appended drawings.

[0009] The loudspeaker may comprise a pair of electrical terminals, such as springs, connected to the pair of loudspeaker connection pads of the first surface. The circuit board may comprise an audio interface circuit that is configured to generate and transmit an audio signal to the loudspeaker through the pair of electrical terminals for sound reproduction purposes.

[0010] A third aspect of the disclosure relates to a circuit board comprising a carrier substrate which comprises a first surface and a second and opposing surface. The carrier substrate further comprises a circumferential edge wherein a plurality of electrical connection pads is arranged on the circumferential edge at respective edge positions. The carrier substrate may comprise at least first and second substantially parallel edges and the plurality of electrical connection pads may comprise one or more electrical connection pads arranged on the first edge and one or more electrical connection pads arranged on the second edge. The plurality of electrical edge connection pads may be utilized for mechanical attachment and electrical connection of respective component terminals or leads of one or more passive external electronic components such as resistors, capacitors and inductors. The arrangement of the plurality of electrical edge connection pads provides a compact design of a circuit board assembly that comprises the circuit board and the one or more passive external electronic components for the reasons discussed in additional detail below with reference to the appended drawings. Such a circuit board assembly may comprise a frame comprising at least two orthogonal support arms and a circuit board according to any of the described embodiments supported by the frame. The circuit board assembly further comprises the one or more passive electronic components supported by the frame and comprising respective electrical terminals bonded to respective ones of the plurality of edge connection pads of the carrier substrate. The frame of the circuit board assembly may comprise an integrally formed optical element such as a right angle mirror configured to redirect incoming light to a light detector of the circuit board. The integrally formed optical element may be mounted on the frame and aligned with the circuit board in a manner discussed in additional detail below with reference to the appended drawings.

[0011] A fourth aspect of the disclosure relates to a circuit board assembly comprising a carrier substrate. The carrier substrate comprising a first surface and a second and opposing surface and a circumferential edge. The circuit board further comprises a side-facing light emitter, e.g. a sidefacing LED, arranged at a first edge section of the carrier substrate. The circuit board further comprises a light detector, such as a photodiode, arranged at the first edge section. The light detector is sensitive to light propagating orthogonally to the second surface. The circuit board further comprises an optical element such as a mirror or prism that is configured to redirect, e.g. refract, light propagating parallelly to the second surface, e.g. also to the carrier substrate as well, to illuminate the light detector. The optical element may for example deflect or bend incoming light parallelly with the second surface at the first edge section with about 90 degrees to make the incoming light illuminate the photo detector at its most sensitive axis. The optical element may be arranged on top of the light-detector to make a compact design occupying minimal area of the carrier substrate.

[0012] In one embodiment of the circuit board assembly, the side-facing light emitter and the light detector are arranged vertically aligned on opposite surfaces of the carrier substrate at the first edge section. The opposing surface arrangement of the side-facing light emitter and the combination of the optical element and light detector exhibits numerous beneficial properties for example to suppress optical crosstalk between the light detector and side-facing light emitter and thereby improve sensitivity of the light detector to reflected light. The suppression of optical crosstalk may be beneficial in applications of the circuit board assembly where the side-facing light emitter is configured to emit light towards a reflective surface of an external component or device and the light detector configured to detect the reflected light for example as discussed in additional detail below with reference to the appended drawings.

[0013] In one embodiment of the circuit board assembly, the side-facing light emitter is arranged at least 1 mm behind the first edge section; and

[0014] - the light detector is arranged at least 1 mm behind the first edge section.

[0015] The circuit board assembly may a first optical lens arranged in front of the side-facing light emitter and configured to disperse or focus light emitted by the side-facing light emitter.

[0016] Another embodiment of the circuit board assembly comprises an infrared (IR) light emitter arranged on the first surface of the carrier substrate adjacent to the light sensor. The IR light emitter may arranged at the first edge section of the carrier substrate such as at least 1 mm behind the first edge section.

[0017] Certain embodiments of the circuit board assembly that comprise the infrared (IR) light emitter additionally comprises a non-transparent vertical dividing wall arranged at the first surface of the carrier substrate and in-between the IR light emitter and the light sensor. The circuit board assembly may comprise a second optical lens arranged in front of the IR light emitter. One embodiment of the circuit board assembly comprises a frame attached to the first edge section of the carrier substrate. The frame may comprises one or more integrally formed optical elements. The frame is preferably a separately manufactured component relative to the circuit board and attached to the circuit board at the first edge section for example by press fitting, gluing etc. The frame may be manufactured by 2K injection moulding. A first part of the frame may comprise an optically transparent compound, such as Methyl methacrylate acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (M-ABS), which comprises the one or more integrally formed optical elements. A second part of the frame may comprise a non-transparent elastomeric compound. The first part of the frame may comprise the first lens, the second lens, the optical element and the second part of the frame comprises the non-transparent vertical dividing wall.

[0018] A fifth aspect of the disclosure relates to a circuit board comprising a carrier substrate which comprises a first surface and a second and opposing surface. The carrier substrate further comprises a circumferential edge. The circuit board comprises an accelerometer arranged at a mass centre of the circuit board. The latter arrangement of the accelerometer leads to a better play experience because the accelerometer has reduced sensitivity, compared to an edge arrangement, to tilts of the associated toy device during gesture movements.

[0019] The circuit board according to any of the above-mentioned aspects thereof and embodiments thereof may possess a substantially rectangular shape defined by a first pair of parallel edges and a second pair of parallel edges The first pair of parallel edges may comprise one or more notches shaped and sized to engage mating retaining member(s), such as snap-lock(s), arranged on an external support frame or an external toy brick.

[0020] The skilled person will understand that the circuit board according to any of the above-mentioned aspects thereof and embodiments thereof may generally comprise one or more passive electronic components and / or one or more active electronic components. Each of the one or more passive electronic components and / or one or more active electronic components may be attached, and electrically coupled to, either the first surface of the carrier substrate or the second surface of the carrier substrate. The skilled person will appreciate that the one or more active electronic components and the one or more passive electronic components may be electrically interconnected as needed by respective electrical traces and connection pads arranged on the first surface and / or second surface of the carrier substrate. The one or more active electronic components may comprise one or more of a microcontroller, a microphone, an upward facing LED, the side-facing light emitter, the light detector, the accelerometer, an ASIC, a memory circuit. The one or more passive electronic components may comprise a pair of battery terminals, the pair of loudspeaker terminals, the edge connection pads, the resistors, capacitors and inductors etc.

[0021] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Other and further aspects and features of the invention will be evident from reading the following detailed description of the embodiments. The drawings illustrate the design and utility of embodiments of the apparatus in which similar elements are referred to by common reference numerals. These drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. These drawings depict only typical embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting the scope of the appended patent claims.

[0023] FIG. 1 shows a top view of a circuit board in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention,

[0024] FIG. 2 shows a bottom view of the circuit board in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention,

[0025] FIGS. 3A and 3B show side views of a circuit board in accordance with first exemplary embodiments of the invention,

[0026] FIG. 30 shows a tilted rear perspective view of a circuit board and corresponding circuit board assembly in accordance with second exemplary embodiments of the invention,

[0027] FIG. 3D shows a schematic frontal view of the circuit board and corresponding circuit board assembly in accordance with second exemplary embodiments of the invention,

[0028] FIG. 3E shows a first bundle of ray traces which illustrates propagation of light from a light emitter to a light detector both mounted on the circuit board assembly in accordance with the second exemplary embodiments of the invention,

[0029] FIG. 3F shows a second bundle of ray traces which illustrates propagation of light from a light emitter to a light detector both mounted on the circuit board assembly in accordance with the second exemplary embodiments of the invention,

[0030] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a circuit board assembly comprising a circuit board and an induction coil assembly in accordance third exemplary embodiments of the invention; and

[0031] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an exemplary toy figure or toy brick comprising the circuit board assembly. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The skilled person will understand that the accompanying drawings are schematic and simplified for clarity. The drawings may therefore in some instances merely show details which are essential to the understanding of the embodiments of the exemplary circuit boards, apparatuses and assemblies while other details have been left out.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a top view of a circuit board 1 in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention. The circuit board 1 comprises a carrier substrate 2 such as a ceramic substrate or printed circuit board (PCB). The carrier substrate 2 comprises a first surface 5 (“upper surface”) and a second and opposing surface 7 (“lower surface” shown on FIG. 2). The upper surface 5 and lower surface 7 may be substantially plane. The carrier substrate 2 comprises a circumferential edge 8A-D. The carrier substrate 2 may possess a largely rectangular shape for example defined by a first pair of parallel edges 8C-D and a second pair of parallel edges 8A-B of the circumferential edge 8A-D. The circumferential edge 8A-D may comprise one or more notches 13A, 13B arranged on opposing sides of the first and / or second pair of parallel edges. The one or more notches 13A, 13B may be shaped and sized to engage mating retaining member(s), such as snap-lock(s), arranged on a frame or other support structure (refer to item 510 on FIG. 5). The frame or other support structure may be a component of a toy device such a toy figure or toy brick.

[0034] According to one embodiment of the circuit board 1 the circumferential edge 8A-D comprises a plurality of electrical edge connection pads arranged at respective edge positions. A first set of electrical edge connection pads 10a-10d are arranged on a first edge 8A of the first pair of parallel edges. A second set of electrical edge connection pads 14a-14d are arranged on a second edge 8B of the first pair of parallel edges. A third set of electrical edge connection pads 12a, 12b are arranged on the first edge 80 of the second pair of parallel edges and a fourth set of electrical edge connection pads 16a-16b are arranged on the second edge 8D of the second pair of parallel edges. The skilled person will understand that in alternative embodiments at least one edge comprises a plurality of edge connection pads. One or more of the plurality of electrical edge connection pads may extend around the edge and onto the first surface 5 at the edge position in question. Hence, a portion of the edge connection pad is arranged on the first surface.

[0035] The plurality of electrical edge connection pads may be utilized for mechanical attachment of respective component terminals or leads of one or more passive external electronic components such as resistors, capacitors and inductors e.g. inductive coils. The terminals or leads of the one or more passive external electronic components may be electrically connected to the respective edge connection pads by welding or soldering. The one or more passive external electronic components may be used for various purposes such as supporting receiving and transmitting electromagnetic signals from or to active and passive electronic components of the circuit board 1.

[0036] In one embodiment the one or more passive external electronic components comprises one or more inductive coils that may be configured to sense different types of electromagnetic fields generated by various external wireless transmitter devices for example an external RFID tag. The external RFID tag may transmit tag data to the circuit board 1 on which a suitable data communication interface pick-up the tag data and transmit these to a processor of the circuit board such as a microprocessor 55 (shown on FIG. 2). The one or more inductive coils may alternatively, or additionally, be used as part of a wireless charging interface for an external power source e.g. rechargeable battery or a capacitor, such as a super-capacitor, (not shown) that energizes the active components of the circuit board 1. The wireless charging interface may be configured to extract energy from a charging field and supply charging power to the external battery (not shown). The external battery may comprise a pair of battery terminals that are connected to a mating pair of battery connectors 50A-B arranged in the lower surface 7 of the carrier substrate 2 as illustrated on FIG. 2. The one or more external coils may be used for numerous alternative, or additional, purposes such as functioning as inductive switching elements of a switched mode power converter.

[0037] The use of electrical edge connection pads supports a compact design of the circuit board 1 because area of the carrier substrate 2 that would be occupied by traditional surface mounted connection pads is eliminated or at least markedly reduced. Further the edge arrangement of the edge connection pads allows a direct vertically oriented (relative to the upper and lower surfaces of the carrier substrate 5) routing of the terminal(s) of the passive external electronic component in question. In some embodiments of the circuit board 1 one or more passive electronic components and / or one or more active electronic components may be attached, and electrically coupled to, the upper surface 5 of the carrier substrate 2. The skilled person will appreciate that the one or more active electronic components and the one or more passive electronic components may be electrically interconnected as needed by electrical traces and connection pads arranged on the upper surface 5 and / or lower surface 7 of the carrier substrate 2. The one or more active electronic components may comprise one or more of a microcontroller or processor 55, a microphone 18, an upward facing LED 24, a side-facing LED 22, a light detector 34, an accelerometer 30, a microcontroller 55, an ASIC 60, a photo-diode 75, a memory circuit 70. The one or more passive electronic components may comprise one or more of an optical lens 22, an optical element 36, a pair of battery terminal 50A, B a pair of loudspeaker terminals 30, 32, resistors, capacitors and inductors etc. The ASIC 60 may comprise one or more sensor interface circuits and one or more indicator interface circuits to control respective operations of the corresponding active components such as the side-facing LED 22, the light detector 34, the microphone 18, an external loudspeaker, an RFID tag etc. The microcontroller 55, may be connected to the ASIC 60 by a data communication interface (not shown) such as a proprietary wired data communication interface or an industry-standard wired serial data communication interface like SPI. The microcontroller 55 may be configured to control the one or more sensor interface circuits and one or more indicator interface circuits of the ASIC 60 using suitable software.

[0038] According to some embodiments of the circuit board 1 , the one or more active electronic components are arranged on merely one of the upper and lower surfaces 5,7, respectively, of the carrier substrate 2. According to alternative embodiments of the circuit board 1 the one or more active electronic components are distributed between the upper and lower surfaces 5,7 for example due to manufacturing reasons, size reasons, EMI reasons etc. Some embodiments of the carrier substrate 2 comprises one or more through going apertures 20A, 20B with a predetermined total area such as larger than 2.5 mm2for example larger than 5 mm2. The one or more through going aperture(s) 20A, 20B may serve as acoustic openings or holes that are configured to acoustically couple two cavities situated above and below, respectively, the circuit board 1 as further illustrated on FIG. 5.

[0039] FIG. 3A shows a side view of the circuit board 1. The skilled person will appreciate that the circuit board 1 optionally may include one or more features of the above-discussed exemplary embodiments of the circuit board 1. The circuit board 1 comprises a carrier substrate 2 for example a carrier substrate 2 partly or fully identical to one of the above-discussed embodiments of the carrier substrate 2. The circuit board 1 comprises the side-facing light emitter 22 that may be arranged at a first edge section 8F of the first edge 80 of the carrier substrate 2 as further illustrated on FIG. 2. The side-facing light emitter 22, such as the side-facing LED, is arranged on the upper surface 5 of the carrier substrate and emits light in a direction parallel to the upper surface 5. The side-facing light emitter 22 is preferably arranged close to the first edge 80 for example less than 5 mm or 3 mm from, e.g. behind, the first edge section 80. An optional optical lens 20 may be arranged in front of the side-facing light emitter 22 and behind the first edge section 8F. The optical lens 20 is optically coupled to the side-facing light emitter 22 to disperse or focus light emitted by the side-facing light emitter 22. The side-facing light emitter 22 is preferably arranged to emit light substantially outwardly exiting across the first edge section 8F and preferably parallelly with the upper surface 5. The circuit board 1 further comprises the light detector 34, that may comprise a photodiode, arranged at the first edge section 8F on the lower surface 7 of the carrier substrate 2. The light detector 34 is preferably arranged close to the first edge section 8F for example with less than 5 mm or 3 mm distance from the first edge section 8F. The light detector 34 may be colour sensitive. The light detector 34 is sensitive to light propagating vertically to the second surface 7 where the vertical direction is substantially orthogonal to the upper and lower surface 5, 7. An optical element 36 is configured to redirect or bend incoming light propagating parallelly to the lower surface 7 such that the incoming light illuminates the light detector 34 despite its sensitivity axis is orthogonal to the lower surface 7. The optical element 36 may comprise one or more of a mirror, a prism and a right angle prism mirror. In some embodiments the optical element 36 may be arranged above the light detector 34 and aligned with the light detector 34 as schematically illustrated on the drawing. A lower surface of the optical element 36 may be abutted to an exterior top surface of the light detector 34. The optical element 36 may be fixedly or releasably attached the exterior surface of the light detector 34. The longitudinal vertical cross-sectional illustration 1 A of the end of the PCB 2 schematically illustrates how the incoming light 43 is reflected and redirected by an exemplary optical element 36 embodied as a right angle prism mirror. In alternative embodiments, the optical element 36 may be integrated with the frame (item 510 on FIG. 5) and appropriately aligned with the light detector 34 by the construction of the frame.

[0040] The optical element 36 may be arranged on top of the light-detector 34 to provide a compact design of the combination of the latter component. This arrangement minimizes area occupation of the carrier substrate 2. In the present context incoming light means light propagating from outside the carrier substrate 2 across the first edge section 8F and to the optical element 36. This incoming light is schematically illustrated by arrow 43 of illustration of FIG. 3B and the redirection or bending of the incoming light illustrated by arrow 44. This incoming light 43 may comprise reflected light caused by a reflective surface of an external device (not shown), e.g. a toy brick, arranged in front of the first edge section 8F. The light that illuminates the reflective surface may be emitted by the side-facing light emitter 22 as schematically illustrated by arrow 41 of drawing 1A of FIG. 3. The use of a vertically sensitive light detector 34 in combination with the optical element 36 mean a low-cost standard photodiode with relatively large area, and therefore high sensitivity, may be used for light detection purposes.

[0041] In the present embodiment of the circuit board the light detector 34 and the side-facing light emitter 22 are preferably arranged on opposite surfaces of the carrier substrate 2 and optionally vertically aligned. In this context vertical direction is orthogonal to the upper and lower surface 5, 7. The preferred opposing surface arrangement of the side-facing light emitter 22 relative to the combination of the optical element 36 and light detector 34 exhibits certain beneficial properties. The arrangement reduces internal light reflections of the side-facing light emitter 22 reaching the optical element 36 and light detector 34 where internal light reflections means reflections from surfaces of the circuit board itself or from the toy brick or device that incorporates the circuit board 1. The primary aim of the light detector 34 is to measure the incoming light reflected from external device placed in the external environment in response to illumination by the side-facing light emitter 22. The vertical alignment between arrangement of the light detector 34 and the side-facing light emitter 22 at the first edge section 8F provides further beneficial properties where the light detector 34 is configured for colour sensing. The vertically aligned arrangement facilitates symmetrical left-right sensitivity for the light detector 34 for colours of incoming light in the horizontal plane of the carrier substrate 2.

[0042] FIG. 30 shows a tilted rear perspective view of a circuit board 100, and a corresponding circuit board assembly 200, in accordance with second exemplary embodiments of the invention. The skilled person will appreciate that the circuit board 100 optionally may include one or more features of the above-discussed exemplary embodiments of the circuit board 1. The circuit board 100 comprises a carrier substrate 2 for example a carrier substrate 2 partly or fully identical to one of the above-discussed embodiments of the carrier substrate. The circuit board 100 comprises a first edge section (hidden behind frame 42A, 42B) of the first edge 8C of the carrier substrate 2.

[0043] The circuit board assembly 200 additionally comprises a frame 42A.42B that is secured to the outermost section of the carrier substrate 2 where the latter terminates at the first edge section. The frame 42A.42B may be secured to the carrier substrate 2 by various techniques such as press-fitting, glueing, welding etc. The frame 42A, 42B extends vertically above and below the upper and lower surfaces 5, 7 of the carrier substrate 2 and may comprise certain optical components of the circuit board assembly as discussed below. The frame 42A, 42B is preferably manufactured by 2K injection moulding (aka two-shot moulding) wherein a first frame part 42A may comprise Methyl methacrylate acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (e.g. M-ABS-LH) and provide various lens functions due to transparent properties of that compound. The second frame part 42B may comprise ABS be non-transparent. The first frame part 42A may comprise an optical element 36, a first lens 46 and a second lens 47 as schematically illustrated on FIG. 3D. The second frame part 42B may comprise a non-transparent vertical dividing wall 49.

[0044] The circuit board 1 further comprises a light detector 34, that may comprise a photodiode, arranged at the first edge section on the lower surface 7 of the carrier substrate 2. The light detector 34 is preferably arranged close to the first edge section for example less than 1 mm or less than 3 mm or less than 5 mm away from the first edge section. The light detector 34 may be attached to the lower surface 7 by soldering using multiple pairs of mating electrical connection pads of the light detector 34 and lower surface 7. The light detector 34 may be colour sensitive for example comprising an RGB photodiode. The light detector 34 is preferably sensitive to light propagating perpendicularly to the second surface 7. The optical element 36, which may be integrally formed with frame 42A 42B as discussed above, is configured to redirect or bend incoming light propagating parallelly to the lower surface 7 of the carrier substrate 2 such that the incoming light illuminates the light detector 34 despite the latter’s perpendicular axis of light sensitivity. The optical element 36 may comprise one or more of a mirror, a prism and a right angle prism mirror. In some embodiments the optical element 36 may be arranged above the light detector 34 and aligned with the light detector 34. In the present context incoming light means light propagating from outside the carrier substrate 1 across the first edge section 8F and to the optical element 36. The propagation of light is schematically illustrated by bundles of ray traces 51, 53, 57 of on FIG. 3E and FIG. 3E. The incoming light rays 51 are redirected, e.g. bend, by hitting a reflective surface of the optical element 36 as illustrated by redirected ray bundle 53. These incoming light rays 51 may comprise reflected light caused by a reflective surface 55 of an external component or device, e.g. a toy brick, arranged in front of the first edge section. The light that illuminates the reflective surface 55 may be emitted by the side-facing light emitter 22 as schematically illustrated by ray bundle 57 of FIGS. 3E, F. The use of a vertically sensitive light detector 34 in combination with the optical element 36 mean a low-cost standard photodiode with relatively large area, and therefore high sensitivity, may be used for light detection purposes. Furthermore, the integration of the optical element 36 in the frame 42A 42B leads to further costs benefits by reducing the number of separate components of the circuit board assembly 200.

[0045] The circuit board assembly 200 comprises the side-facing light emitter 22 that may be arranged at a first edge section (hidden behind frame 42A, 42B) of the first edge 80 of the carrier substrate 2. The side-facing light emitter 22, which may comprise a side-facing LED, is arranged on the upper surface 5 of the carrier substrate 2 e.g. attached to the upper surface 5 by soldering using multiple pairs of mating electrical connection pads. The side-facing light emitter 22 is configured to emit light in a direction parallel to the upper surface 5. The side-facing light emitter 22 is preferably arranged to emit light substantially outwardly exiting across the first edge section 8F and preferably parallelly with the upper surface 5. The side-facing light emitter 22 is preferably arranged on the lower surface 7 and vertically aligned with the light detector 34 which is arranged on the upper surface 5. The side-facing light emitter 22 is preferably arranged at the first edge section, for example less than 1 mm or less than 3 mm or less than 5 mm behind, the first edge section. The distance to the first edge section may be defined as the distance from surface of the side-facing light emitter 22 located closest to the first edge to the first edge section measured along a longitudinal axis of the side-facing light emitter 22. The side-facing light emitter 22 is preferably configured to emit broadspectrum visible light e.g. white light. The frame 42A, 42B comprises the second lens 47 that is arranged in front of, and vertically and horizontally aligned with, the side-facing light emitter 22 when the frame is appropriately attached to the carrier substrate 2 as illustrated on FIG. 3D. The second lens 47 has a predetermined FOV that allows sensing of reflected light from reflective surfaces located at distances from about 3 mm to 30 mm away from the second lens 47. The skilled person will understand that arrangement of the light detector 34 and the side-facing light emitter 22 on opposite surfaces of the carrier substrate 2 in the present embodiment of the circuit board 100 exhibits corresponding beneficial properties to those discussed above.

[0046] The circuit board 1 may further comprise an IR (infrared) light emitter 45, such as an I R diode or IR laser diode, attached to the lower surface 7 of the carrier substrate 2 for example by soldering. The IR (infrared) emitter 45 is arranged adjacently to the light detector 34 and preferably at the first edge section, for example less than 1 mm or less than 3 mm or less than 5 mm behind, measured in the same way as the light detector 34. The first frame part 42A comprises the second lens 47 that is arranged in front of, and vertically and horizontally aligned with, the infrared light emitter 45 when the frame is appropriately attached to the carrier substrate 2 as illustrated on FIG. 3D.

[0047] The second part 42B of the frame may comprise the non-transparent vertical dividing wall 49 which is arranged in-between the infrared light emitter 45 and the light sensor 34. Alternatively, the nontransparent vertical dividing wall 49 may be fabricated as a separate item that is attached to the lower surface 7 of the carrier substrate 2. A lower surface of the non-transparent vertical dividing wall 49 may be abutted to the lower surface 7 of the carrier substrate 2 as schematically illustrated on FIG. 30. The non-transparent vertical dividing wall 49 is in both instances configured, e.g. shaped and sized, to supress optical crosstalk between the IR light emitter 45 and the light sensor 34. This optical crosstalk may be caused by infrared light propagating from the IR light emitter 45 to the light sensor 34.

[0048] The skilled person will understand that IR light emitter 45 may be utilized to provide additional or alternative optical functions and application benefits to the circuit board 1 and circuit board assembly to those of the side-facing light emitter 22. The IR light emitter 45 may for example be form part of an optical data communication interface and / or utilized for user gesture recognition. FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a circuit board assembly 400 which comprises a circuit board 1 according to any of the above-mentioned embodiments thereof. The circuit board assembly 400 comprises one or more passive electronic components exemplified as three orthogonally oriented inductive coils 405, 410, 415. The inductive coils 405, 410, 415 may be configured to sense different types of electromagnetic fields of the external environment of the assembly and supply corresponding electrical signals to various processing circuitry of the circuit board 1 as discussed above. The circuit board 1 is arranged inside a volume defined by the orthogonally oriented inductive coils 405, 410, 415. An electrical terminal 405a of the first inductive coil 405 is bonded, e.g. by welding or soldering, to the edge connection pad 10a of the carrier substrate 2 of the circuit board 1. The respective electrical terminals 410A, 415A of the second and third inductive coils 410, 415 are in a similar manner bonded the respective edge connection pads 10b, 10c. Further terminals of the inductive coils 405, 410, 415 may be bonded to other edge connection pads such as 12a, 12b of the carrier substrate 2. As discussed above, the arrangement of the edge connection pads such as the edge connection pads 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d, 12a, 12b etc. allows a straight vertical oriented, relative to the surface 5 of the carrier substrate 2, routing of the respective coil terminals up to the edge connection pads. This feature helps to reduce the size of the circuit board and circuit board assembly 400. These embodiments of the circuit board assembly 400 may further comprise a circuit board 1 comprising the pair of loudspeaker connection pads 30, 32 arranged on the upper surface 5 of the carrier substrate 2.

[0049] FIG. 5 shows an apparatus 500 such as a component of a toy figure or toy brick. The apparatus 500 comprises a frame 515 that supports a plurality of inductive coils such as the three orthogonally oriented inductive coils 405, 410, 415. The apparatus 500 comprises a circuit board 1 comprising the pair of loudspeaker connection pads 30, 32 arranged on the upper surface 5 of the carrier substrate 2. The circuit board comprises the two through going apertures 20A,B. A total area of the two through going apertures 20A,B may be larger than 2.5 mm2such as larger than 5.0 mm2for some embodiments of the circuit board 1 that are well-suited adapted for toy brick integration.

[0050] The apparatus 500 further comprises a loudspeaker 505 arranged above the first surface 5 of the carrier substrate 2. The loudspeaker 505 comprises a pair of electrical terminals 511 , 513 connected to respective ones of the pair of loudspeaker connection pads 30, 32 so as to provide an audio signal to the loudspeaker 505 from an audio interface circuit mounted on the circuit board. The pair of electrical terminals 511 , 513 may comprise springs. The audio signal may be converted to audible sound by the loudspeaker 505 and emitted out to the external environment of the apparatus 500 to provide sound to the user as part of the interactive play experience. In one embodiment, the apparatus 500 comprises an inner cavity (not shown) enclosing the loudspeaker 505. The loudspeaker comprises a displaceable diaphragm 507 which has an upper side facing into the upper cavity. The opposite side (not shown) of the displaceable diaphragm 507 defines a chamber below the displaceable diaphragm 507. The chamber may further, in addition to the diaphragm, be limited by a frame of the loudspeaker 505 and thereby acoustically isolated from the upper cavity. The circuit board 2 is arranged in the inner cavity so as to divide the inner cavity into an upper cavity above the first surface 5 of the circuit board and a lower cavity below the second surface 7. The loudspeaker 505 is arranged in the upper cavity above the first surface 5 such that the both of the through going apertures 20A,B are configured to acoustically couple the loudspeaker 505 to the lower cavity. This acoustical coupling effectively enlarges a volume of a back chamber of the loudspeaker 505. The skilled person will appreciate that the volume of the chamber below the displaceable diaphragm 507 may be smaller than the volume of the lower cavity. In this embodiment the majority of the total volume of the back chamber is provided by the lower cavity. The increased volume of the back chamber, as provided by the addition of the lower cavity, via the through going apertures 20A,B leads to an extension of low-frequency corner of the frequency response of the loudspeaker 505 and a higher sensitivity.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A circuit board comprising- a carrier substrate (e.g. PCB) comprising- a first surface and a second and opposing surface,- at least one through going aperture occupying a predetermined area of a total surface area of the carrier substrate,- a pair of loudspeaker connection pads arranged on the first surface.

2. An apparatus comprising- a toy device comprising an inner cavity,- a circuit board according to claim 1 arranged in the inner cavity so as to divide the inner cavity into an upper cavity above the first surface and a lower cavity below the second surface,- a loudspeaker arranged in the upper cavity above the first surface, wherein the at least one through going aperture is arranged to acoustically couple the loudspeaker to the lower cavity.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said loudspeaker comprises a pair of electrical terminals connected to the pair of loudspeaker connection pads of the first surface.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the loudspeaker comprises a displaceable diaphragm having a first side facing into the upper cavity and an opposite side delineating a chamber below the displaceable diaphragm, wherein the at least one through going aperture is arranged to acoustically couple the chamber to the lower cavity.

5. A circuit board according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising- a plurality of electrical connection pads arranged on an circumferential edge of the carrier substrate at respective edge positions.

6. A circuit board according to claim 5, wherein the carrier substrate comprises at least first and second substantially parallel edges wherein the plurality of electrical connection pads comprises one or more electrical connection pads arranged on a first edge section of the circumferential edge and one or more electrical connection pads arranged on a secondedge section of the circumferential edge.

7. A circuit board according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising- a side-facing light emitter, e.g. side-facing LED, arranged at a first edge section of the carrier substrate,- a light detector arranged at the first edge section, said light detector being sensitive to light propagating orthogonally to the second surface,- an optional optical element, such as a mirror or prism, configured to redirect light propagating parallelly to the second surface such as to illuminate the light detector.

8. A circuit board according to claim 7, wherein the side-facing light emitter and the light detector are arranged vertically aligned on opposite surfaces of the carrier substrate at the first edge section.

9. A circuit board according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the light detector is colour sensitive.

10. A circuit board according to any of the preceding claims, possessing a substantially rectangular shape defined by a first pair of parallel edges and a second pair of parallel edges, wherein the first pair of parallel edges comprises one or more notches shaped and sized to engage mating retaining member(s), such as snap-lock(s), arranged on an external support frame or an external toy brick.11 . A circuit board according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising an accelerometer arranged at a mass centre of the circuit board.

12. A circuit board according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a microprocessor configured to generate and control transmission of respective indicator signals to one or more indicator interface circuits mounted on the circuit board, or electrically connected to the circuit board, such as a loudspeaker, a light emitter, a magnetic signal emitter; and optionally to receive and process respective sensor signals provided by sensor interface circuits mounted on the circuit board, or electrically connected to the circuit board, such as a light detector, an RFID receiver, a microphone etc.

13. A circuit board assembly comprising- a frame comprising at least two orthogonal support arms,- a circuit board according to any of claims 1-12 and supported by the frame,- one or more passive electronic components supported by the frame and comprising electrical terminals bonded to respective ones of the plurality of edge connection pads of the carrier substrate.

14. A circuit board assembly according to claim 13, wherein the optical element according to claim 7 is integrally formed with the frame.

15. A circuit board assembly comprising- a carrier substrate comprising a first surface and a second and opposing surface and a circumferential edge, wherein the circuit board further comprises- a side-facing light emitter, e.g. a side-facing LED, arranged at a first edge section of the carrier substrate,- a light detector, such as a photodiode, arranged at the first edge section of the carrier substrate, wherein said light detector is sensitive to light propagating orthogonally to the second surface of the carrier substrate; and optionally- an optical element, such as a mirror or prism, that is configured to redirect, e.g. refract, light propagating parallelly to the second surface to illuminate the light detector.

16. A circuit board assembly according to claim 15, wherein the side-facing light emitter is arranged on the first surface of the carrier substrate and the light detector is arranged on the second surface of the carrier substrate and vertically aligned with the side-facing light emitter.

17. A circuit board assembly according to claim 16, wherein the side-facing light emitter is arranged at least 1 mm behind the first edge section; and- the light detector is arranged at least 1 mm behind the first edge section to suppress optical crosstalk between the light detector and side-facing light emitter and thereby improve sensitivity of the light detector to reflected light.

18. A circuit board assembly according to any of claims 15-17, comprising a first optical lens arranged in front of the side-facing light emitter and configured to disperse or focus light emitted by the side-facing light emitter.

19. A circuit board assembly according to any of claims 15-18, comprising an infrared (IR) light emitter arranged on the first surface of the carrier substrate adjacent to the light sensor.

20. A circuit board assembly according to claim 19, wherein the IR light emitter is arranged at the first edge section of the carrier substrate and preferably at least 1 mm behind the first edge section.

21. A circuit board assembly according to any of claims 19-20, comprising a non-transparent vertical dividing wall arranged at the first surface of the carrier substrate and in-between the IR light emitter and the light sensor.

22. A circuit board assembly according to any of claims 19-21, comprising a second optical lens arranged in front of the IR light emitter.

23. A circuit board assembly according to any of claims 15-22, comprising a frame attached to the first edge section of the carrier substrate wherein said frame comprises one or more integrally formed optical elements.

24. A circuit board assembly according to claim 23, wherein a first part of the frame comprises an optically transparent compound, such as Methyl methacrylate acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (M-ABS), which comprises the one or more integrally formed optical elements; and a second part of the frame comprises a non-transparent elastomeric compound.

25. A circuit board assembly according to claims 24, wherein the first part of the frame comprises the first lens, the second lens, the optical element and the second part of the frame comprises the non-transparent vertical dividing wall.

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