Patent ID: 8040702

Claim:
A DC/DC power converting apparatus comprising: a plurality of circuits, each including series-connected high-voltage side and low-voltage side switches including semiconductor switching devices whose ON/OFF operation is controlled by control electrodes and a smoothing capacitor including positive and negative terminals between which said high-voltage and said low-voltage side switches are connected, are connected in series, and using a connection point of said high-voltage side and low-voltage side switches in each of said circuits as an intermediate terminal, each including a capacitor and an inductor, connected between the intermediate terminal of adjacent two of said circuits, wherein at least a particular one of said plurality of circuits is used as a driving inverter circuit and any other one the other of said plurality of circuits is used as a rectifier circuit, and DC/DC conversion is performed through charging and discharging operation of the capacitor of each of the elementary series circuits.