Patent ID: 8410640

Claim:
An electric power converter comprising: a plurality of semiconductor modules having integral semiconductor elements and a capacitor as a power source connected to the semiconductor modules; the semiconductor modules include a positive side semiconductor module connected to a positive side of the capacitor and a negative side semiconductor module connected to a negative side of the capacitor; the positive side semiconductor module has a positive terminal connected to the capacitor and a 1st intermediate terminal connected to the negative side semiconductor module where both terminals are formed to project from the positive side semiconductor module; the negative side semiconductor module has a negative terminal connected to the capacitor and a 2nd intermediate terminal connected to the positive side semiconductor module where both terminals are formed to project from the negative side semiconductor module; the positive terminal is connected to the capacitor by a positive bus bar; the negative terminal is connected to the capacitor by a negative bus bar; the 1st intermediate terminal and the 2nd intermediate terminal are connected with each other by an intermediate bus bar; and the positive side semiconductor module, the negative side semiconductor module, the capacitor, the positive bus bar, the negative bus bar, and the intermediate bus bar constitute one closed circuit; wherein; a main part of the plurality of semiconductor modules that includes the positive side and negative side semiconductor modules, the positive and negative terminals, and the 1st and the 2nd intermediate terminals, the positive bus bar, the negative bus bar, and the intermediate bus bar are arranged in layered forms so that the direction of each current that flows to each of the main part of the plurality of semiconductor modules, the positive bus bar, the negative bus bar, and the intermediate bus bar opposes a neighboring current when a current flows in the closed circuit; the positive side semiconductor module and the negative side semiconductor module are arranged in parallel so that the positive terminal and the negative terminal adjoin each other; the capacitor is arranged near the negative side semiconductor module that is the position opposite to the side where the positive side semiconductor module is arranged; a part of the positive bus bar near the capacitor is arranged closer to the negative bus bar than the intermediate bus bar and a part of the positive bus bar near the positive terminal is arranged closer to the intermediate bus bar than the negative bus bar, the positive bus bar including a bent portion that bends to the negative bus bar side from the intermediate bus bar side in the positive bus bar as the positive bus bar approaches the capacitor; and the intermediate bus bar the positive bus bar and the negative bus bar are arranged parallel in this order and the positive bus bar is sandwiched between the intermediate bus bar and the negative bus bar.