Patent ID: 7710752

Claim:
A utility-grid-interactive electrical power converter apparatus for converting power from a DC source or DC sources into AC power, by regulating current or currents into a given phase or phases of an electric power grid to source power into said electric power grid, comprising: a lower voltage DC-to-AC converter comprising a plurality of output phases, a DC-to-DC boost converter comprising an arrangement of devices configured to enable the DC-to-DC boost converter to convert the DC voltage from the DC source to a higher DC voltage, input terminals coupled to the lower voltage DC-to-AC converter and the DC-to-DC boost converter for receiving the DC voltage from the DC source and applying the DC voltage to the lower voltage DC-to-AC converter and the DC-to-DC boost converter, a higher voltage DC-to-AC converter comprising a plurality of output phases different from the output phases of the lower voltage DC-to-AC converter, each output phase of the higher voltage DC-to-AC converter being connected to a unique output phase of the lower voltage DC-to-AC converter, the higher voltage DC-to-AC converter being coupled to the DC-to-DC boost converter to receive as an input voltage the higher DC voltage, and a control circuit, wherein each of the lower voltage DC-to-AC converter and the higher voltage DC-to-AC converter has an arrangement of devices configured to enable each DC-to-AC converter to regulate current into a given utility grid phase according to commands provided by the control circuit.