Abstract:
POWER CONVERSION APPARATUS USING ELECTRIC VALVES TO CONTROL THE POWER DELIVERED FROM A SOURCE OF ELECTRICITY TO A LOAD CIRCUIT IS PROTECTED FROM COMMUTATION FAILURE BY PROVIDING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE APPARATUS OPERATING WITH A MARGIN ANGLE THAT IS SMALLER THAN A DESIRED MINIMUM FOR ACTIVATING MEANS FOR ADDING CAPACITANCE TO THE LOAD CIRCUIT. IN ONE FORM OF THE INVENTION, A REDUCED-SCALE, INCREASED-SENSITIVITY MIMIC CONVERSION APPARATUS IS USED TO DETECT INCIPENT COMMUTATION FAILURE.