Method and apparatus for eliminating a motor vehicle tip-over risk

An apparatus for preventing a tip-over of a motor vehicle in a lateral direction, comprising:

• an arrangement for specifying a finite number of at least three predefined sequential driving states associated with steering maneuvers based on sensor signals characterizing a driver input and a vehicle reaction to the driver input;
• a sensor arrangement for sensing vehicle-dynamics variables;
• a driving state determining arrangement for determining which of the predefined driving states the vehicle is in instantaneously, the predefined driving state thus determined being dependent on the sensor signals, wherein each change in predefined driving states responsive to a change in at least one sensor signal is restricted to an adjacent driving state in the sequence;
• and
• a braking arrangement with which, as a function of the predefined driving state instantaneously present, at least one braking intervention linked to the instantaneously present driving state is carried out to prevent the tip-over;
• wherein the at least three predefined sequential driving states include at least three of the following states:
• (1) a base state requiring no tip-over stabilization;
• (2) a pre-filling state in which a preparation is made for a subsequent stabilization intervention based on an initial vehicle reaction to a large steering-input action by a driver;
• (3) a holding state in which a high transverse acceleration occurring as a result of a vehicle reaction to a driver input is limited;
• (4) a steering-back state in which a steering back by the driver results in a decreased transverse acceleration while an opposite-signed large transverse acceleration increase is expected;
• and (5) a rebound state in which another high transverse acceleration occurring as a result of another vehicle reaction to another driver input is limited.