METHOD FOR ELIMINATING AN ARC DRIVEN BY MEANS OF AT LEAST ONE PHASE VOLTAGE SOURCE OF A CONVERTER CIRCUIT

摘要

The invention relates to a method for eliminating an electric arc that is driven by at least one phase voltage source (3) of an inverter circuit (1), said inverter circuit having an inverter unit (2) and an energy storage circuit (4). The at least one phase voltage source (3) is connected to the inverter unit (2) on the alternating voltage side, the inverter unit (2) having a plurality of controllable power semiconductor switches. According to said method, an electric arc produced during operation of the inverter circuit (1) is detected and the at least one phase voltage source (3) is short-circuited. In order to detect the electric arc, either a state variable of the inverter circuit (1) is monitored for a definable threshold value or alternatively the surroundings of the inverter circuit is optically monitored for the occurrence of an electric arc. If an electric arc is detected, at least part of the controllable power semiconductor switches of the inverter unit (2) is controlled such that at least one short circuit path across the inverter unit (2) is produced to short-circuit the at least one phase voltage source (3).