PREDICTION SCHEME FOR STEP WAVE POWER CONVERTER AND
INDUCTIVE INVERTER TOPOLOGY
This application claims priority to provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/941,939, filed
June 4, 2007 entitled: A NEW INVERTER TOPOLOGY and also claims priority to provisional
patent application Ser. No. 60/943,818, filed June 13, 2007 entitled: A ROBUST CURRENT-
CONTROLLED PWM SCHEME FOR MULTILEVEL GRID-TIED INVERTERS which are both
herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
FIELD OF INVENTION
This application relates generally to power conversion.
BACKGROUND
Various step wave power converters exist for transforming a DC voltage into a step wave
AC output. Step wave power converters use different transformers for each step of the step wave
output. The primary windings of the different transformers are electrically coupled to the DC
power source through bridge circuits. Gates in the bridge circuits control the flow of current
through the primary windings to produce steps of the AC output from the secondary winding.
Unfortunately, step wave power converters are bulky and require multiple transformers
for each step. Also, the total number of steps in the AC output directly correspond with the
number of transformers used for producing the output. To get better resolution in a three-phase
AC waveform output, even more transformers must be added to the power converter, further
increasing its bulkiness.
A further drawback of certain power converters is that the step wave AC output is
generally blocky as a result of the mere addition of positive and/or negative block steps to form
the AC waveform output. Although blocky AC waveforms are acceptable for many applications,
they are less than desirable for use in many modern electronic devices such as computers,
televisions, etc., which perform better and last longer when power is supplied to them using a
closely regulated AC power supply.
Current control is important to inverter power quality. The three major techniques used
for regulating the current of a Voltage Source Inverter (VS1) are hysteresis, ramp comparison,
and predictive current control. Hysteresis current controllers utilize hysteresis in comparing load
currents to the references. A ramp comparison controller compares the error current signal with a
triangular carrier waveform to generate inverter gating pulses. Predictive controllers calculate
the inverter voltages required to force the measured currents to follow a reference current.
Predictive controllers offer the advantages of a more precise current control with minimal
distortion, and also can be fully implemented on a digital platform. On the other hand predictive
controllers require more computing resources and require a good knowledge of system
parameters and can be sensitive to incorrect identification of load parameters. Some predictive
current control schemes also are not designed for step-wave inverters.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a single-phase grid connected full-bridge voltage source
inverter.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing sampling points for a switching period.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a single-phase grid connected step-wave inverter.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a voltage waveform generated by the step-wave inverter
shown in FIG. 3.
FIGS. 5A and 5B are a flow diagram showing how predictive current control is performed
using the step-wave inverter shown in FIG. 3.
FIG. 6 shows voltage waveforms on a primary and secondary side of a transformer in a step
wave converter.
FIG. 7 shows one voltage pulse on a primary and secondary side of a transformer in a step
wave converter.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a single-phase grid connected step-wave inverter with
primary side current filtering inductors.
FIG. 9 shows another embodiment where the primary side inductors are integrated with
associated transformers.
FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the step-wave inverter that uses a single transformer
and multiple primary side inductors.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Current-Controlled Pulse Width Modulation (TWM)
Scheme for Multilevel Grid-Tied Inverters
A novel current-control prediction scheme operates with multilevel grid-tied inverters.
The prediction scheme can be used with any multilevel inverter topology which employs H-
bridges where the outputs of multiple bridges are combined to obtain a multilevel output
waveform. For instance, the prediction scheme can be used with a cascaded multilevel voltage-
source inverter, and can also be used with inverters where the outputs of full-bridges, though
isolated from each other, are combined through transformers. Specifically, the current-control
prediction scheme can be implemented using the Step Wave Power Converter topologies
described in US Patent No. 6,198,178, issued March 6, 2001 which is herein incorporated by
reference in its entirety.
Single-Phase Full-bridge Voltage Source Inverter
FIG. 1 shows a single-phase full-bridge inverter 10. Two pairs of transistor switches
S1/S2 and S3/S4 are each coupled in series across a Direct Current (DC) voltage source VDC.
Diodes D1-D4 are coupled across associated transistor switches S1-S4, respectively. The
transistors S1-S4 are controlled by a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 12 and are used to generate a
full-bridge inverter 10 output voltage VOP. An inductor L is coupled in-between transistor pair
S3/S4 and a first polarity of a power voltage grid (Fgrid). The second polarity of the power grid is
coupled in-between transistor pair S1/S2. A load current Iload passes through the inductor L from
Vop to Vgrid.
The power transistors S1-S4 are switched on and off by the DSP 12 to generate an output
voltage, Vop, equal to +Vdc, 0, or -VDC- For example, turning on transistors S3 and S2 and turning
off transistors S1 and S4 generate an output voltage Vop = +VDC. Turning on transistors S1 and S4
and turning off transistors S2 and S3 generate an output voltage Vop = -VDC- Turning on transistors
S1 and S3 at the same time or turning on transistors S2 and S4 at the same time generates a bridge
output voltage Vop = 0. A zero output voltage Vop = 0 is alternatively referred to as the shunting
the inverter 10.
From the simplified connection diagram shown in FIG.1, the load current (Iload) of the
inverter is determined by the following equation:

Where Vgrid is the grid voltage, Vop is the inverter output voltage, and L is the filter inductance.
Assuming that the inverter 10 in FIG. 1 is operating with a constant switching frequency, the
switching period is a constant value, Tperiod.In the switching period [n, n+1], equation (1) can be
written in a discrete form as

Where Vop_av[n] and Vgrid_av[n] are the average inverter output voltage and average grid voltage
over the switching period [n,n+1], respectively, and Iload[n+1], Iload[n] are the measured load
currents at the sampling point of [n+1] and [n] respectively.
The control principle of the improved predictive control methodology is illustrated in Fig.
2. A sampling point (Point A) is set just ahead of controlling point (Point B) by a period of the
control delays. The delay between the sampling point and the controlling point is so short that it
can be assumed that the sampled grid voltage and inverter current at sampling point [n] (Point A)
are equal to the values at controlling point [n] (Point B). Thus, the measured values of current
Iload[n], and grid voltage V grid_av[n], are available for the controller to predict the demanded output
voltage of the inverter. The predictive control algorithm yields the following formula for the
predicted average output voltage over the switching period [n, n+1]:

As mentioned above, one goal of the predictive control described in equation 1 is to
calculate the inverter voltages required to force the measured current Iload to follow the reference
current Iref. In other words, the DSP 12 uses the sampled values at time instants of [n-1] and [n],
and tries to make the load current Iload [n+1] equal to the reference current Iref [n+1] at the end of
the switching period [n, n+1].
The duty ratio, D[n], for the bridge is calculated according to the following:

Step Wave Power Converter with Multi-bridge inverter operation
FIG. 3 shows a step wave inverter 20 that includes N full-bridges 15 (Bridge #1 -Bridge
#N) for a single-phase output voltage 22. Each full-bridge 15 is fed from a DC source 14. The
switching of each bridge 15 is controlled independently of other bridges by the DSP 12 and the
output of each Bridge #1- Bridge #N is fed into an associated transformer T1-TN, respectively.
Each transformer 16 has an output voltage ratio of 1:R. A combined output voltage 22 of the
converter 20 is fed through an inductance-filter 82 to a load 84. A capacitance filter 80 is
coupled across load 84.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the secondary windings 16A of the transformers T1-TN are
connected in series to yield a multilevel output voltage 22. For an inverter 20 with N bridges 15.
(2N+l) output levels can be attained for the output voltage 22. The magnitude of the output
voltage 22 at the secondary 16A of each transformer 16 in FIG. 3 is given by: (R*Vdc). As also
shown in FIG. 4, the output voltage from one of the bridge circuits 15 is Pulse Width Modulated
(PWM) for different proportions of a switching period duty cycle.
For example, the first positive output level Vd,1 may represent a single bridge circuit 15
pulse width modulating the associated DC input voltage 14 to form a first positive step of the
output voltage 22. The second positive output level Vd,2, may represent two bridge circuits 15
each outputting positive VDC at outputs 18 to form a second positive step of the inverter output
voltage 22. One of the two bridge circuits generates a positive output voltage VDc for the entire
second step of voltage 22 and the second of the two bridge circuits 15 pulse width modulates
Vdc Similarly, the negative output level -Vd,1 may represent a single bridge circuit 15 negatively
pulse width modulating VDC. The second negative output level -Vd,2 may represent two bridge
circuits 15 each negatively connecting Vdc to the bridge outputs 18, where one bridge 15 outputs
-VDC for the entire second negative step and the second bridge 15 pulse width modulates -VDC
The following equations give the output voltage levels as seen at the output 22 of the
secondary windings 16A. of transformers T1-TN in Fig. 3. The negative values are generated by
the bridges 15 reversing the output voltage provided by VDC

It should be understood that some inverter topologies may not use transformers T1-TN.
For example, each of the bridge circuits 15 may connect their output voltages 18 directly to the
load or Vgrid 84 as shown in FIG. 1. For a cascaded voltage-source inverter where no
transformers 16 are used, the above equation can be modified by substituting R=1.
FIGS. 5A and 5B show how predictive current control is extended to the multilevel
inverter configuration shown in FIG. 3 with N bridges, or (2N+1) levels. The flow diagram in
FIGS. 5A and 5B also calculates duty ratios for different bridges #1 - #N during inverter
switching periods.
The DSP 12 in operation 50 predicts the average output voltage Fopav[n] for a next
switching period [n,n+1] using equation 3 above. The sign of the predicted output voltage
Vop_av[n] is determined by the DSP 12 in operation 52. In operations 54, 60, 66, and 72, the
magnitude of Fop_av[n] is compared with the different inverter output voltage levels described in
equation 5. For example, the DSP 12 determines how many bridge circuits need to be activated
in order to generate an output voltage 22 that is equal or just exceeds the estimated output
voltage Vop_av[n]. In other words, voltages from different bridge circuits 15 are incrementally
combined together until Vop_av[n] is less than or equal to the combined output voltage 22.
The duty ratio is then calculated in operations 58, 64, 70, or 76 for one of the identified
combination of bridge circuits 15 for a next switching period. Symbols D1, D2... Dn refer to duty
ratios for Bridge #1, Bridge #2... Bridge #N, respectively.
For example, in operation 54, the DSP 12 compares the magnitude of Vop_av[n] with the
voltage Vd,1 output from a single bridge circuit 15. If Vop_av[n] is less than or equal to Vd,1, then
the duty ratio voltage is set to V0 = |Vop_av[n] in operation 56. The duty ratio for a single bridge
circuit 15 during a next switching period [n,n+1] is accordingly set in operation 58 to the ratio
between V0 and the output voltage from bridge #1 (D1[n]=X*(V0/Vd,1)). If Vop_av[n] is less than
Vd,l, the remaining bridge circuits #2... Bridge #N shunt their respective DC input voltages 14.
In other words, the associated duty cycles D2[n], D3[n].... DN[n] for Bridge #2... Bridge #N are
respectively shunted to 0 V.
When the estimated output voltage Vop_av[n] is greater then Vd,1 in operation 54, Vop_av[n]
is compared in operation 60 with the combined output voltage from two bridge circuits 15.
If Vop_av[n] is less than or equal to Fd,2, then V0=|Vop_av[n]|Vd,1 in operation 62. Since Fop_av[n]
was greater than Fd,1 in operation 54, the duty cycle D1[n] for the bridge circuit #1 is set to
D1[n]=X*1 in operation 64. In other words, the first bridge circuit #1 is turned on for the entire
next switching period [n,n+1].
The duty cycle D2[n] for bridge circuit #2 is set by the DSP 12 as the ratio
D2[n]=X*(V0/Vd,1). Because Vop_av[n] is less than or equal to Vd,2, the duty cycles D3[n],
D4[n],...., Dn[n] for Bridge #3, Bridge #4 ... Bridge #N. respectively, are shunted for the next
switching period [n,n+1] such that D3[n], D4[n],...., DN[n]=0. According to the value of
Vop_av[n]- similar voltage comparisons may also be made in operations 66 and 72 for each
switching period until a combined inverter output voltage is identified that exceeds Fop_av[n].
Duty cycle calculations are similarly performed in operations 68/70, 74/76, or 78, respectively.
The operations performed in FIGS. 5A and 5B provide improved DSP current control for
inverters coupled to a power grid. The operations can be used with any multilevel inverter
topology that uses H-bridges and allows the outputs of the bridges to be added to obtain a
multilevel output waveform. For instance, the operations in FIGS. 5A and 5B can be used with a
cascaded multilevel voltage-source inverter, and also with inverters where the outputs of full-
bridges, though isolated from each other, are combined through transformers.
The current control scheme can be implemented for a Step Wave inverter with four H-
bridges using Texas Instruments TMS320F2407A DSP. Of course, any other type of
programmable controller 12 can also be used. The total computation time required for
performing the operations in FIG. 5 have been measured to be less than 11 us. This computation
time for multilevel current control is similar to a time delay of 10 us measured for a single bridge
predictive operation.
Inductive Filtering
A new inductive filtering topology provides an improvement to the class of inverters that
use multiple H-bridges and magnetic components. The new topology and its advantages are
explained in relation to a single-phase grid-tied step wave converter with Abridges as shown in
FIG. 3. The waveforms associated with the transformers 16 in the step wave converter 20 of
FIG. 3 are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.
The voltage waveform 250 in FIG. 6 is the voltage received at the primary 16B in FIG. 3
and the voltage waveform 252 in FIG. 6 is the voltage output from the secondary 16B for one of
the transformers 16 tied to an associated H-bridge 15 in FIG. 3. The time scale of the AC grid is
16.6 milli-seconds for a 60 Hertz grid. It can be seen in FIG. 6 that for a DC source 14 of
magnitude VDC, the primary side 16B of transform 16 experiences a pulse width modulated
(PWM) waveform of magnitude Vdc, and the same waveform is imposed on the secondary side
16A with the magnitude Vdc* R, where R is the primary to secondary turns ratio of transformer
16.
The PWM waveforms 250 and 252 in FIG. 6 present several challenges for the design and
operation of both the transformers 16 and the power converter 20. First, the switching waveform
is typically of the order of a few kilo-Hertz, which can create high acoustic noise in the
transformer 16. Second, the PWM operation causes the converter 20 to produce in high
electromagnetic noise. This is shown in FIG. 7 where the rising edge of a single pulse 254 and
256 are shown for the primary and secondary waveforms 250 and 252, respectively.
It can be seen that although the primary side voltage 254 is a clean step 254, the
secondary side voltage step 256 experiences high frequency oscillations 260 in the order of few
hundred kHz to a few MHz. This high frequency ringing 260 produces radio frequency noise
that contributes to the Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI) generated by the converter 20. It is
very hard to control the generation of this EMI noise, and one of the only ways to reduce the EMI
being injected into the grid is to attenuate it using EMI filters, which are costly and bulky. The
PWM operation shown in FIG. 6 also tends to saturate the transformers 16.
With these issues in mind, a new power converter topology maintains the basic idea of
multiple bridges and transformers but eliminates the problems described above. The power
converter topology is described below for a grid-tied application, but the topology can also be
used for stand-alone inverter applications.
FIG. 8 shows an inverter 100 that uses multiple full-bridges (or H-bridges) 15. The
outputs OP_1 - OP_N of Bridge #1-Bridge #N are coupled to associated transformers T1-TN
through associated inductors L1-Ln, respectively. The secondary windings 16A of the
transformers 16 are coupled together in series. In one example, the inductors 17 are each
approximately between 0.25-1.0 Henry.
The DSP 12 previously shown in FIG. 3 is used to independently switch the different
power transistors 110 in each Bridge #1-Bridge #N and allows use of pulse width modulation as
described above in FIG. 6. In off-grid applications, where the inverter 100 supplies power to AC
loads, Phase Shift Carrier PWM (PSCPWM) can be used. Also, for grid-tied operations, where
the inverter 100 injects AC current into the utility grid, current-control schemes as described
above in FIGS. 1-5 can also be used.
For a grid-tied application with N full-bridges 15 and N transformers 16, it can be seen
that the grid voltage 102 will be divided equally among the N secondary windings 16A. Thus,
for a Root Mean Square (RMS) grid voltage Vgrid, each secondary winding 16A will be subjected
to Vgrid/N, and each primary voltage will be Vgrid/(N*R).
The winding voltages are sinusoidal compared to the PWM waveform for the step wave
converter shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Thus the topology in FIG. 8 eliminates the drawbacks of
transformer operation under PWM by imposing sinusoidal voltages across the windings 16A and
16B. In other words, the acoustic noise of the transformers 16 in FIG. 8 is significantly reduced
and the EMI noise generated by the ringing is also eliminated. The sinusoidal operation also
means that the transformers T1-Tn can be designed in a conventional manner and the special
considerations of PWM operation need not be taken into account.
FIG. 9 shows how the inductors L1-LN are integrated with the transformers T1-TN,
respectively, in the same assemblies 120. Integration of magnetic components can be achieved
by incorporating the required filter inductance L into the magnetic core structure of the
transformers T. This scheme results in N magnetic components, where each magnetic component
consists of a transformer T with integrated inductance L. The assemblies 120 may each be
manufactured to include the inductance L and the associated transformer T in a same enclosure or
assembly.
FIG. 10 shows another practical way of implementing the proposed topology by using a
single transformer 125 and multiple inductors L1-LN. Under this scheme, the construction of
transformer 125 consists of one secondary winding 130 and multiple primary windings 132 each
associated with one of the bridge circuits 15. The topology shown in FIG. 10 results in N
inductors L1-Ln and one transformer 125. The single transformer 125 configuration can be
constructed to integrate the desired inductances L1-LN and results in only one magnetic
component in the power converter.
Using the inductors L1-LN on the primaries 132 effectively de-couple the different bridges
#1-#N allowing each of the bridges 15 to operate independently even when connected to the
same transformer 125. As described above, the location of inductors L1-LN also allow the
secondary 130 of transformer 125 to be connected directly to the grid 102.
The Step Wave Power Converters (SWPC) described above have a wide range of uses
beyond converting power from a single DC source to AC power. One such use includes
consolidation, integration and supervisory control of multiple power sources through a single
SWPC while isolating each source so that each can operate at optimum efficiency. The power
sources connected to the SWPC can include diesel or gas generators, wind turbines, solar
photovoltaic (PV) cell arrays, hydro-electric generators, batteries, gas turbine generators, fuel
cells, etc.
Yet another use is in backup power supply systems, including integration, isolation, and
management of the power sources that comprise the backup power supply system. Still another
use is managing the power for power generators installed in the distributed generation mode.
Another use is end of grid and in line voltage and power quality regulation. Further uses include
standard 60 Hz or customized frequency regulation; the ability to feed reactive power to a grid or
an off-grid load on demand; and the provision of a programmable microprocessor controller that
is customized and optimized, as required, for each application.
The figures listed above illustrate preferred examples of the application and the operation
of such examples. In the figures, the size of the boxes is not intended to represent the size of the
various physical components. Where the same element appears in multiple figures, the same
reference numeral is used to denote the element in all of the figures where it appears.
Only those parts of the various units are shown and described which are necessary to
convey an understanding of the examples to those skilled in the art. Those parts and elements
not shown are conventional and known in the art.
The system described above can use dedicated processor systems, micro controllers,
programmable logic devices, or microprocessors that perform some or all of the operations.
Some of the operations described above may be implemented in software and other operations
may be implemented in hardware.
For the sake of convenience, the operations are described as various interconnected
functional blocks or distinct software modules. This is not necessary, however, and there may be
cases where these functional blocks or modules are equivalently aggregated into a single logic
device, program or operation with unclear boundaries. In any event, the functional blocks and
software modules or features of the flexible interface can be implemented by themselves, or in
combination with other operations in either hardware or software.
Having described and illustrated the principles of the invention in a preferred
embodiment thereof, it should be apparent that the invention may be modified in arrangement
and detail without departing from such principles. Claim is made to all modifications and
variation coming within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
CLAIMS
1. A step wave power converter comprising:
multiple different bridge circuits configured to convert DC voltage inputs into AC voltage
outputs; and
a processor configured to:
estimate an average voltage output from the multiple different bridge circuits for
controlling current output from the multiple different bridge circuits;
identifying how many of the bridge circuits are needed to provide the estimated average
output voltage; and
controlling the identified bridge circuits during the next switching period to generate a
combined inverter output voltage that corresponds with the estimated average output voltage.
2. The step wave power converter according to claim 1 wherein the average output voltage
is estimated according to:

where:
Tperiod is a switching period [n, n+1],
Vop_av[n] is the average inverter output voltage over the switching period [n,n+1],
Vgrid_av[n] is an average grid voltage over the switching period [n,n+1].
Iload [n] is a measured load current at a sampling point of [n].
Iref [n+1] is a reference current at a sampling point of [n+1], and
L is a filter inductance.
3. The step wave power converter according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further
configured to:
identity a combined output voltage for the bridge circuits that is equal to or just exceeds
the estimated output voltage;
determine a duty ratio for the next switching period proportional to how much the
combined output voltage exceeds the estimated average output voltage, if any; and
turn on all but one of the identified bridge circuits for the entire next switching period and
turning on a remaining one of the identified bridge circuits during the next switching period
according to the identified duty ratio.
4. The step wave power converter according to claim 3, wherein the remaining one of the
bridge circuits is pulse width modulated during the next switching period according to the
identified duty ratio.
5. The step wave power converter according to claim 1. wherein the processor is further
configured to shunt any remaining non-identified bridge circuits during the next switching
period.
6. The step wave power converter according to claim 1. further comprising one or more
transformers coupled between the multiple different bridge circuits and a grid voltage.
7. The step wave power converter according to claim 6. further comprising current filtering
inductors coupled between the bridge circuits and associated primary windings of the one or
more transformers.
8. The step wave power converter according to claim 1. wherein the estimated average
output voltage is calculated to force a measured load current to follow a reference current.
9. The step wave power converter according to claim 1, wherein each of the bridge circuits
comprises two gate pairs each arranged in series and each coupled across the DC input voltage, a
first end of a primary winding for an associated transformer for each one of the bridge circuits
coupled between a first one of the two gate pairs and a second end of the primary winding
coupled between a second one of the two gate pairs.
10. A method comprising:
using multiple different bridge circuits in a power inverter to convert one or more DC
voltage sources into an AC voltage for coupling to a power grid;
predicting an output voltage for the inverter for a next switching period according to a
measured power grid voltage and measured inverter load current for a switching period:
identifying what bridge circuits are needed to substantially produce the predicted output
voltage for a next switching period; and
activating the identified bridge circuits to substantially output the predicted output voltage
while shunting outputs for any non-identified bridge circuits.
11. The method according to claim 10 further comprising calculating the predicted output
voltage so that that the inverter load current value at the end of next switching period is
substantially equal to a reference current value at an end of the switching period.
12. The method according to claim 10 further comprising:
repeatedly predicting the output voltage for each switching period;
repeatedly identifying which bridge circuits are needed to substantially produce the
repeatedly predicted output voltage for each switching period; and
activating the repeatedly identified number of bridge circuits for each switching period to
substantially generate the repeatedly predicted output voltage.
13. The method according to claim 10 further comprising:
calculating the combined output voltage for the identified bridge circuits;
calculating a duty ratio according to how much the combined output voltage exceeds the
predicted output voltage, if any: and
turning on one of the identified bridge circuits during the next switching period
proportionally to the calculated duty ratio.
14. The method according to claim 13 including generating a pulse width modulated output
voltage from the identified one of the bridge circuits during the next switching period while
generating a constant positive or negative output voltage for the other identified bridge circuits
for the next switching period.
15. The step wave power converter according to claim 10 wherein the predicted output
voltage is calculated according to:

where:
Tperiod is a switching period [n, n+1].
Vop_av[n] is the average inverter output voltage over the switching period [n,n+1].
Vgrid_av[n] is an average grid voltage over the switching period [n,n+1].
Iload [n] is a measured load current at a sampling point of [n).
Iref [n+1] is a reference current at a sampling point of [n+1], and
L is a filter inductance.
16. The method according to claim 10 further comprising filtering current output from the
individual bridge circuits prior to combining together the output voltages from the individual
bridge circuits.
17. The method according to claim 16 wherein one or more transformers include different
primary windings coupled to associated bridge circuits and one or more secondary windings
coupled to the power grid, and further comprising filtering current output from the bridge circuits
prior to feeding the output voltages into the associated primary' windings of the one or more
transformers.
18. An inverter circuit, comprising:
one or more bridge circuits configured to convert one or more Direct Current (DC)
voltages into an Alternating Current (AC) voltage;
one or more transformers having different primary- windings associated with the one or
more bridge circuits; and
inductors coupled between the bridge circuits and the associated primary windings, the
inductors filtering current output from the bridge circuits prior to the current being fed into the
associated primary windings.
19. The inverter circuit according to claim 18 further comprising multiple different
transformers each having a primary winding coupled through an associated different one of the
inductors to an associated one of the bridge circuits.
20. The inverter circuit according to claim 19 wherein the different transformers are
integrated with the associated inductors into a same transformer component.
21. The inverter circuit according to claim 18 further comprising a single transformer having
multiple different primary windings each coupled though an associated different one of the
inductors to an associated one of the bridge circuits and a single secondary winding configured to
be coupled to an AC load or power grid.
22. The inverter circuit according to claim 18 further comprising a controller configured to:
predict an average output voltage for a next switching period;
identify how many of the bridge circuits are needed to provide the predicted average
output voltage; and
turn on the identified bridge circuits during the next switching period to generate the
predicted average output voltage.
23. The inverter circuit according to claim 18 wherein each bridge circuit further comprises:
a first and second gate pair each arranged in series across one of the DC voltages wherein
the inductor associated with the bridge circuit is coupled at one end in-between the first gate pair
and coupled at a second end to a first terminal of the primary winding for the associated
transformer and wherein the second terminal of the primary winding is coupled in-between the
second gate pair.

A step wave power converter comprises multiple different bridge circuits configured to
convert DC voltage inputs into AC voltage outputs. A controller is configured to estimate an
average voltage output from the multiple different bridge circuits for controlling the current
output from the multiple different bridge circuits. The number of bridge circuits needed to
provide the estimated average output voltage is identified and the identified bridge circuits
controlled during a next switching period to generate a combined inverter output voltage that
corresponds with the estimated average output voltage.
In another embodiment one or more transformers are associated with the different bridge
circuits. Inductors are coupled between the bridge circuits and the primary windings of the
associated transformers. The inductors filter the current output from the bridge circuits prior to
feeding the current into the transformers.