Regulation circuit for a stepped-waveform inverter

Abstract

A regulator circuit for an inverter having first and second inverter sections that develop first and second AC waveforms which are phase displaced by a variable angle .alpha. wherein the first and second AC waveforms are combined to produce AC output power includes a reference signal generator that develops a reference signal having a transition between two states at a first time, a memory storing a plurality of words each representing a value of .alpha. add a circuit for accessing the memory with a deviation signal such that the memory provides a word at an output thereof. A counter is provided and a timing circuit causes the counter to load the word at a time prior to the first time. At the first time a gating circuit provides a plurality of clock pulses to a clock input of the counter whereby the counter decrements the loaded word as the clock pulses are received by the counter. A zero detect circuit and a one-shot coupled to the output of the counter produce a synchronization signal having a transition between two states at a second time subsequent to the first time when the loaded word is decremented to a particular value. The first and second inverter sections are controlled in accordance with the reference signal and the synchronization signal so that the parameter of the AC power is maintained substantially at a particular level.