Apparatus for driving motor of electric vehicle

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.