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Integrated power conversion systems and methods for use in an electric vehicle having an electric motor, a primary high-voltage energy source, and an auxiliary energy source including a traction inverter module operable for converting a DC current generated by the high-voltage energy source into an

Integrated power conversion systems and methods for use in an electric vehicle having an electric motor, a primary high-voltage energy source, and an auxiliary energy source including a traction inverter module operable for converting a DC current generated by the high-voltage energy source into an AC current capable of powering the electric motor, and a DC/DC converter operable to step-down a voltage of the high-voltage energy source or step-up a voltage of the auxiliary energy source, wherein the traction inverter module and the DC/DC converter may share one or more common components, such as a common high-voltage DC bus capacitor, a common DC bus bar, and/or a common high-voltage transistor.

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What is claimed is: 1. An integrated power conversion method for use in an electric vehicle having an electric motor, a high-voltage energy source, and an auxiliary energy source, the integrated power conversion method comprising: providing a traction inverter module comprising an inverter operable

What is claimed is: 1. An integrated power conversion method for use in an electric vehicle having an electric motor, a high-voltage energy source, and an auxiliary energy source, the integrated power conversion method comprising: providing a traction inverter module comprising an inverter operable for converting a DC current generated by the high-voltage energy source into an AC current capable of powering the electric motor; providing a DC/DC converter operable to at least one of step-down a voltage of the high-voltage energy source and step-up a voltage of the auxiliary energy source; and disposing a plurality of common components of the traction inverter module and the DC/DC converter in the traction inverter module. 2. The integrated power conversion method of claim 1 wherein providing the traction inverter module comprising an inverter operable for converting the DC current generated by the high-voltage energy source into the AC current capable of powering the electric motor comprises providing a first circuit operable for converting the DC current generated by the high-voltage energy source into the AC current capable of powering the electric motor. 3. The integrated power conversion method of claim 2 wherein providing the DC/DC converter operable to at least one of step-down the voltage of the high-voltage energy source and step-up the voltage of the auxiliary energy source comprises providing a second circuit operable to step-down the voltage of the high-voltage energy source or step-up the voltage of the auxiliary energy source. 4. The integrated power conversion method of claim 1 wherein disposing the plurality of common components of the traction inverter module and the DC/DC converter in the traction inverter module comprises disposing a common high-voltage DC bus capacitor within the traction inverter module. 5. The integrated power conversion method of claim 1 wherein disposing the plurality of common components of the traction inverter module and the DC/DC converter in the traction inverter module comprises disposing a common DC bus bar within the traction inverter module. 6. The integrated power conversion method of claim 1 wherein disposing the plurality of common components of the traction inverter module and the DC/DC converter comprises disposing a common high-voltage transistor within the traction inverter module. 7. The integrated power conversion method of claim 1, further comprising: operatively connecting a portion of the traction inverter module and a portion of the DC/DC converter utilizing a high-frequency transformer. 8. The integrated power conversion method of claim 1 wherein the electric vehicle comprises an electric vehicle selected from the group consisting of a battery-powered vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, and a hybrid electric vehicle. 9. The integrated power conversion method of claim 1 wherein the high-voltage energy source is at least one of a fuel cell, a battery, an ultracapacitor, a flywheel, and a superconducting magnetic storage device. 10. An integrated power conversion system for use in a power generating system having an electric motor, a high-voltage energy source, and an auxiliary energy source, the integrated power conversion system comprising: a traction inverter module comprising a first circuit operable to convert a DC current generated by the high-voltage energy source into an AC current capable of powering the electric motor; a DC/DC converter comprising a second circuit operable to step-down a voltage of the high-voltage energy source or step-up a voltage of the auxiliary energy source; wherein the first circuit of the traction inverter module and the second circuit of the DC/DC converter share a common high-voltage DC bus capacitor; wherein the first circuit of the traction inverter module and the second circuit of the DC/DC converter share a common DC bus bar; and wherein the first circuit of the traction inverter module and the second circuit of the DC/DC converter share a common high-voltage transistor. 11. The integrated power conversion system of claim 10 wherein a portion of the first circuit of the traction inverter module and a portion of the second circuit of the DC/DC converter are operatively connected by a high-frequency transformer. 12. A power conversion system, comprising: a high-voltage bridge module; a low-voltage bridge module; a DC/AC inverter circuit comprising a number of switches operable to convert a direct current into an alternating current, each of the switches of the inverter circuit housed in the high-voltage bridge module; and a DC/DC converter circuit comprising a number of high-voltage side switches and a number of low-voltage side switches, the high-voltage side switches and the low-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit operable to convert a voltage of a DC current, the high-voltage side switches housed in the high-voltage bridge module and the low-voltage side switches housed in the low-voltage bridge module. 13. The power conversion system of claim 12, further comprising: a high frequency transformer electrically coupled between at least some of the switches of the high-voltage bridge module and at least some of the switches of the low-voltage bridge module. 14. The power conversion system of claim 13 wherein the high frequency transformer is electrically coupled between the high-voltage side switches and the low-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit. 15. The power conversion system of claim 12, further comprising: at least one high voltage capacitor electrically shared by the DC/AC inverter circuit and the high-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit. 16. The power conversion system of claim 12, further comprising: at least one bus bar electrically shared by the DC/AC inverter circuit and the high-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit. 17. The power conversion system of claim 12, further comprising: a coolant management system thermally coupled to transfer heat from both the switches of the DC/AC inverter circuit and from the high-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit. 18. The power conversion system of claim 12 wherein the high-voltage and low-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit are operable to convert a voltage of a DC current by stepping down the voltage of the DC current. 19. The power conversion system of claim 12 wherein the high-voltage and low-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit are operable to convert a voltage of a DC current by stepping up the voltage of the DC current. 20. The power conversion system of claim 12, further comprising: a primary high-voltage energy source electrically coupled to the high-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit; and an auxiliary power source electrically coupled to the low-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit. 21. The power conversion system of claim 20 wherein the primary high-voltage energy source comprises at least one of a fuel cell, a battery, an ultracapacitor, a flywheel, and a superconducting magnetic storage device. 22. The power conversion system of claim 12, further comprising: an AC electric motor electrically coupled to the DC/AC inverter circuit to receive power thereby. 23. The power conversion system of claim 12 wherein the switches comprise at least one of insulated gate bipolar transistors or metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors. 24. A power conversion system for use in an electric vehicle, the electric vehicle having an electric motor, a primary high voltage energy source, and an auxiliary energy source, the power conversion system comprising: a high-voltage bridge module; a low-voltage bridge module; a DC/AC inverter circuit comprising a number of switches operable to convert a direct current into an alternating current, each of the switches of the inverter circuit housed in the high-voltage bridge module; a DC/DC converter circuit comprising a number of high-voltage side switches and a number of low-voltage side switches, the high-voltage side switches and the low-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit operable to convert a voltage of a DC current, the high-voltage side switches housed in the high-voltage bridge module and the low-voltage side switches housed in the low-voltage bridge module; a high frequency transformer electrically coupling the high-voltage side switches and the low-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit; and at least one high-voltage capacitor electrically shared by the DC/AC inverter circuit and the high-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit. 25. The power conversion system of claim 24, further comprising: at least one bus bar electrically shared by the DC/AC inverter circuit and the high-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit. 26. The power conversion system of claim 24, further comprising: a coolant management system thermally coupled to transfer heat from both the DC/AC inverter circuit and the high-voltage side switches of the DC/DC converter circuit.