Multiple single-phase PWM inverter by means of combination control

A new multilevel inverter with simple circuit configuration and control is proposed here. The inverter is composed of a series connection of individual single-phase inverters. The number of the output voltage levels depends on the number of the individual inverters in series and their output voltage level. The switching devices in the new circuit configuration can be reduced by using a common switching-leg for the individual inverters. In this inverter circuit, the number of the levels is equal to 2^m-1 or 2^m where m is the number of switching-legs used. In the paper, a 15 level inverter using four switching legs (m = 4) is introduced. If the number of voltage levels is increased, smoother sinusoidal waveforms can be obtained directly and it is possible to control the output voltage almost continuously from zero to maximum without generating high-voltage step changes as pulsewidth modulation techniques. The control principle, the circuit configuration and the characteristics of the output voltage control are discussed. The feasibility of the circuit is demonstrated by simulation and experimental results.