Abstract: A chip antenna includes a substrate, a plurality of helical conductors provided on the substrate, and a pair of terminals provided on the substrate. One of the plurality of helical conductors is connected electrically to one of the terminals, and another one of the helical conductors is connected electrically to the other terminal. Thus, the antenna is of a small size, yet is a single unit which alone is capable of transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves of a plurality of frequencies.

Abstract: A fluorescent-lamp driving apparatus and a compact self-ballasted fluorescent lamp, when a blowout occurs at the electrodes of the arc tube, swiftly and assuredly stop a glow discharge at the electrodes of the arc tube, therefore have heightened security. In the compact self-ballasted fluorescent lamp 1, a switching device (nMOS-FET56) is mounted to the lighting unit 50 so that the entire device main body of the switching device faces the choke coil 52, with the print substrate 51 therebetween. Thus structured lighting unit 50 forms a heat transmission path between the nMOS-FET56 and the choke coil 52, and the heat generated at the choke coil 52 will be swiftly and assuredly transmitted to the device main body of the nMOS-FET56.

Abstract: A lighting system having a power supply and at least one luminaire. The power supply includes a power supply input to receive a first signal having a first frequency and a circuit for converting the first signal to a second signal. The power supply also includes at least one power supply output to output a second signal having a substantially constant current and a second frequency distinctly higher than the first frequency. The luminaire includes a lamp coupled to a lamp driver circuit, which has an input for receiving the output signal from the power supply and which is configured to use the received output signal to operate the lamp. The lamp driver input and the power supply output may be connected by a flexible cable.

Abstract: An antenna system includes a substrate, a ground on the substrate, a first radiator having a helical shape near a side of the substrate and having a central axis substantially in parallel to a side of the ground, and a high frequency circuit electrically connected to a part of the first radiator. In the antenna system, ground-induced degradation of antenna gain can be reduced, and matching can be performed at an operating frequency through adjustment of a winding of the first radiator. Consequently, the radiation gain of the antenna system can be improved without an antenna matching circuit.

Abstract: A ramp voltage generating apparatus according to the present invention includes a ramp voltage generating circuit for generating a plurality of ramp voltages out of phase with each other from one ramp voltage, and a control circuit. The ramp voltage generating circuit includes a plurality of voltage generating circuit portions connected in parallel to a voltage input terminal. Each voltage generating circuit portion includes a voltage output terminal, a capacitor, an operational amplifier, a first switch, a second switch and a third switch. The control circuit turns on the third switches while shifting the time point of switching each of the third switches from off to on state, and the control circuit turns off the first switches and, also, turns on the second switches during the period including the fall time point of the ramp voltage input to the voltage input terminal.