Patent ID: 8670253

Claim:
A converter, comprising: a converter bridge configured to transfer electrical energy between an AC terminal and a DC terminal of the converter; at least one capacitor on an electrical path from a first pole of the DC terminal to a second pole of the DC terminal; and electrical paths for conducting overvoltage transients occurring in said AC terminal into said DC terminal in order to absorb the overvoltage transients into the at least one capacitor, the electrical paths being located between each of the phases of the AC terminal and the first pole of the DC terminal, each electrical path comprising: a unidirectionally conductive semiconductor component, and a voltage-limiting component in which the ratio of voltage to current is greater than a predetermined value in response to a situation in which the voltage across the voltage-limiting component is smaller than a predetermined threshold voltage, and in which the ratio of voltage change to current change is smaller than said predetermined value in response to a situation in which the voltage across the voltage-limiting component is greater than said threshold voltage, the predetermined threshold voltage being greater than a voltage between one of the phases of the AC terminal and the first pole of the DC terminal when current flows, via the converter bridge, between the one of the phases of the AC terminal and the first pole of the DC terminal so as to allow the converter bridge to determine a voltage of the DC terminal.