Apparatus for driving motor of electric vehicle

1. An apparatus for driving a motor of an electric vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a capacitor that stores power from a battery;

an inverter including a plurality of switching elements that convert the power stored in the capacitor into alternating current (AC) power in accordance with the switching of the switching elements in order to drive the motor with the AC power; and

a capacitor protector provided between the battery and the capacitor that consumes at least some of the power supplied by the battery when the capacitor is initially charged by the battery, the capacitor protector further consuming at least some of the power stored in the capacitor when the capacitor is discharged,

wherein the capacitor protector includes:

a first switching element provided between the battery and the capacitor;

a second switching element and a resistor provided between the battery and the capacitor, and connected in series to each other, the second switching element and the resistor connected in parallel to the first switching element; and

a third switching element provided between a ground source and a node between the second switching element and the resistor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:

when the power is initially supplied by the battery, the second switching element is turned on and the capacitor protector supplies the initial power to the capacitor through the resistor; and

when the capacitor is discharged, the third switching element is turned on and the power stored in the capacitor is discharged to the ground source through the resistor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, during the supply of power by the battery the second switching element is turned off and the first switching element is turned on such that the capacitor protector supplies power from the battery to the capacitor through the first switching element.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a controller that outputs an inverter switching control signal, the inverter switching control signal being generated based on an output current that flows in the motor.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the controller includes:

a current command generator that generates a current command value based on a torque command value;

a voltage command generator that generates a voltage command value based on the current command value and the output current; and

a switching control signal output unit that generates the inverter switching control signal based on the voltage command value and output the inverter switching control signal.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a DC-to-DC converter, wherein the power stored in the capacitor is supplied to the battery through the DC-to-DC converter.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the DC-to-DC converter includes:

a diode and an inductor provided between the battery and the capacitor, and connected in series to each other; and

a fourth switching element provided between a ground source and a node between the diode and the inductor.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the DC-to-DC converter stores at least some of the power discharged from the capacitor in the inductor when the fourth switching element is turned on, and supplies the stored power in the inductor to the battery when the fourth switching element is turned off.

9. An apparatus for driving a motor of an electric vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a capacitor that stores power from a battery;

an inverter including a plurality of switching elements that convert the power stored in the capacitor into alternating (AC) power in accordance with the switching of the switching elements in order to drive the motor with the AC power;

a DC-to-DC converter, wherein the power that is supplied from the battery to the capacitor and the stored power in the capacitor that is supplied to the battery are supplied through the DC-to-DC converter; and

a power discharger that discharges the capacitor,

wherein the power discharger includes a discharge switching element and a resistor connected in series between both ends of the capacitor.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the DC-to-DC converter includes:

a switching element and a diode provided between the battery and the capacitor, and in parallel to each other; and

an inductor provided between the switching element and the battery.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein, when the switching element is turned off, the DC-to-DC converter supplies the power from the battery to the capacitor through the inductor and the diode.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein, when the switching element is turned on, the DC-to-DC converter supplies the power stored in the capacitor to the battery through the inductor.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein, if the power stored in the capacitor is greater than the power from the battery, the DC-to-DC converter supplies the power stored in the capacitor to the battery.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein, if the moving direction of the electric vehicle is not the same as a torque command value, the DC-to-DC converter supplies the power stored in the capacitor to the battery.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein, if the moving direction of the electric vehicle is the same as a torque command value, the DC-to-DC converter supplies the power from the battery to the capacitor.