OPERATION OF SWITCHING ELEMENTS OF AN INVERTER OF AN IN PARTICULAR RAIL-BOUND VEHICLE DRIVEN BY WAY OF LEAST ONE AT LEAST THREE-PHASE SYNCHRONOUS MACHINE

A method for operating switching elements of an inverter of a vehicle that is driven by way of a three-phase synchronous machine. The inverter has a series circuit of switching elements for the phases. When the vehicle brakes, the synchronous machine is used to set a cycle rate for the operation of the switching elements depending on a frequency of AC phase currents of the synchronous machine. The electrical energy provided by the synchronous machine is fed to a DC voltage intermediate circuit. The cycle rate is set according to the frequency of the AC phase currents, such that it corresponds to the frequency of the respective AC phase currents of the synchronous machine. Zero points of the AC phase currents are determined, and the switching elements are operated to set a predefined phase difference between the respective AC phase current and a respectively associated AC phase voltage.