Braking Device for a Motor Vehicle, and Method for Controlling the Braking Device

A method of applying an automated parking brake of a motor vehicle includes at least two phases. In a first preceding phase, no clamping force is produced by the parking brake. In a second following phase, a clamping force is produced by the parking brake via a controllable parking brake actuator configured to produce the clamping force. The method further includes detecting a transition from the first phase to the second phase based on a temporal progression of a specific parameter of a control of the parking brake actuator. A control unit is configured to perform according to the method, and a parking brake is configured to perform according to the method.