Patent ID: 7755918

Claim:
A converter circuit for switching a large number of switching voltage levels, comprising a first switching group provided for each phase wherein the first switching group is formed by a first drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch and a second drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch and the first and the second drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switches of the first switching group are connected to one another, wherein n second switching groups are provided, each having a first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch and a capacitor, wherein n≧1 and the first drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch is reverse-connected in series with the second drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch, the third drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch is reverse-connected in series with the fourth drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch, the first drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch is connected to the capacitor, the third drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch is connected to the capacitor, the fifth drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch is directly connected to the fourth drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch and directly connected to the junction point between the first drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch and the capacitor, and the sixth drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch is directly connected to the second drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch and directly connected to the junction point between the third drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch and the capacitor, wherein, for n>1, each of the n second switching groups is interlinked with the respective adjacent second switching, wherein the first switching group is connected to the first second switching group, wherein a third switching group and a fourth switching group are provided, each having a first drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch, a second drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switch, and a capacitor connected to the first and second drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switches, wherein the first and second drivable bidirectional power semiconductor switches are connected to one another, in that the third switching group is connected to the n-th second switching group, wherein the fourth switching group is connected to the n-th second switching group, and wherein the third switching group is connected to the fourth switching group.