Power converter

A power converter that directly converts polyphase AC power to AC power, the power converter comprising:

• a converter circuit including a plurality of first switching elements that are connected to phases of the polyphase AC power to enable switching for turning on current-carrying bidirectionally and a plurality of second switching elements that are connected to the phases of the polyphase AC power to enable switching for turning on current-carrying bidirectionally;
• a plurality of input lines connected to input terminals of the plurality of first switching elements and input terminals of the plurality of second switching elements respectively;
• a first output line connected to output terminals of the plurality of first switching elements and a second output line connected to output terminals of the plurality of second switching elements;
• and
• protection circuits that are respectively connected to the first switching elements and second switching elements,
• wherein a spatial arrangement is provided by:
• an arrangement in which the output terminals of the plurality of first switching elements are arranged in a line and the output terminals of the plurality of second switching elements are arranged in a line;
• an arrangement in which the plurality of first switching elements arranged in the line and the plurality of second switching elements arranged in the line are arranged abreast with respect to the first and second output lines;
• and
• an arrangement in which parts of wiring of the protection circuits are arranged between the first switching elements and the second switching elements.