Patent ID: 7064515

Claim:
A power converter comprising: a power conversion circuit for converting a power from a battery ( 3 ) and supplying said power to a motor when driving the motor, and for converting the power generated by the motor and supplying the power to the battery for storage of electricity when the motor generates the power; and a drive circuit for driving the power conversion circuit, wherein the power conversion circuit includes a plurality of paired switching elements, wherein one of each paired switching elements is arranged on an upper arm and the other is arranged on a lower arm, and each pair corresponds to each phase of the motor and the drive circuit, wherein the power conversion circuit turns on all said switching elements on one arm and turns off all said switching elements on another arm, thereby short-circuits output terminals of said motor when a voltage applied to the power conversion circuit is increased, and wherein the voltage applied to the power conversion circuit is supplied to the drive circuit as a power source for driving the switching elements.