Patent ID: 7902776

Claim:
A method of operating an electric motor ( 120 ) having a rotor ( 124 ), a stator ( 125 ) with at least one phase winding strand ( 126 ), a power stage ( 122 ) for influencing the current flow in said phase winding strand, a DC link circuit ( 170 ) for supplying the power stage with current, the link circuit including a link circuit capacitor ( 178 ) which intermittently receives a recharge current; and a measuring element ( 152 , 152 ′) which serves to ascertain the current to and from said link circuit capacitor ( 178 ) and to generate therefrom a corresponding output signal; said method comprising the steps of: performing (S 740 ) a commutation operation in the power stage ( 122 ), at predetermined commutation instants (t COMMUT — 1 , t COMMUT — 2 , t COMMUT — 3 ); and specifying (S 750 ) said commutation instants (t COMMUT — 1 , t COMMUT — 2 , t COMMUT — 3 ) as a function of said output signal.