Patent ID: 8849121

Claim:
A control device for scheduling the transmission of signals from a plurality of transmitters, the control device comprising: an evaluation element arranged to determine the power level of signals received from each of the plurality of transmitters, and a scheduling element adapted to determine a transmit schedule, comprising an order that the plurality of transmitters will transmit relative to one another, based on the power levels of the signals received from the plurality of transmitters, wherein the scheduling element is further adapted to determine the transmit schedule to define the order in which the plurality of transmitters will transmit such that differences between the power levels of the signals received from consecutive ones of the plurality of transmitters according to the transmit schedule are within a predetermined range of a receiver associated with the control device, wherein the scheduling element is further adapted to assign each of the transmitters to one of a predetermined number of groups based on the signal power of the signal received from each transmitter, each group covering a unique range of signal powers, and wherein the scheduling element determines the transmit schedule such that a subsequent transmitter is selected from the same group as the previous transmitter or an adjacent group.