Patent ID: 11881764
Assignee: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 16:
17. A multilevel converter system comprising:
a multilevel converter comprising a first segment and a second segment electrically connected to said first segment, wherein said first and second segments are each configured to convert a first current to a second current, wherein said first segment comprises a plurality of first switches, wherein said second segment comprises a plurality of second switches, wherein said multilevel converter further comprises a bus capacitor and a flying capacitor, wherein said bus capacitor is electrically connected in parallel with said plurality of first switches and said plurality of second switches, and wherein said flying capacitor is electrically connected in series with said plurality of first switches and in parallel with said plurality of second switches; and
a short-circuit protection circuit electrically connected to said multilevel converter, wherein said short-circuit protection circuit comprises at least one electrical component that is electrically connected in parallel with at least one of said plurality of first switches and said plurality of second switches,
wherein during a short-circuit condition, said plurality of first switches and said plurality of second switches are turned off, and said short-circuit protection circuit is configured to protect said plurality of first switches and said plurality of second switches from a short-circuit current during the short-circuit condition, and
wherein said short-circuit protection circuit is configured to isolate energy stored in said bus capacitor and said flying capacitor to eliminate the short-circuit current during the short-circuit condition.