US Patent 8385092 Power converter with current vector controlled dead time

In one embodiment, a method is provided for a power converter system comprising a switching circuit having a plurality of switches operable to be turned on and off to cause current to flow to deliver power to a load. The method includes the following: generating PWM control signals for turning on and off the switches in the switching circuit; sensing the direction of current flow, wherein the direction of current flow is related to a likelihood of shoot-through in the switching circuit; providing a current vector signal indicative of the direction of current flow; and enabling or disabling introduction of a dead time into the PWM control signals for the switches in the switching circuit in response the current vector signal.