Patent ID: 7046531

Claim:
A method for producing electric power at a certain AC voltage from at least one multicell battery of elementary DC source cells electrically connected in series, comprising: establishing a plurality of N intermediate voltage taps along the elementary DC source cells electrically connected in series such that a number of the elementary DC source cells between a certain intermediate tap and one of another adjacent intermediate tap and a terminal of the elementary DC source cells electrically connected in series is proportionate to an amplitude in a respective phase interval of a number N of discretization phases of an AC voltage waveform to be produced in a quadrant; providing a number N of power switches, each connecting a respective intermediate tap and a first terminal of the elementary DC source cells electrically connected in series to a common circuit node of a first polarity; coupling said common circuit node of first polarity and the other terminal of the elementary DC source cells electrically connected in series of polarity opposed to said first polarity, to respective nodes of an output bridge stage constituted by at least four power switches controlled in pairs, the other two nodes of the bridge stage constituting the AC voltage power output; switching sequentially and cyclically in a continuous manner one switch at a time of the N power switches, each for a time interval corresponding to 1/(4N) times a period of the AC output voltage and switching current paths through the bridge stage every half a period.