DEVICE AND METHOD FOR OPERATING AN ELECTRIC MACHINE

The present invention provides a method and a device for operating an electric machine for a soft changeover from a normal or free-wheel mode to an active short-circuit. To this end, a voltage with which the electric machine is actuated is first reduced in a defined manner to a predefined, preferably very low value and then the phase connections of the electric machine are short-circuited. Excessively high overcurrents, particularly overcurrents greater than the nominal current of the electric machine, can thus be avoided.