Method and apparatus for transmitting signals with transmitting activity detection

1. An apparatus for transmitting signals from and to a plurality of terminals, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of signal connections and at least two antenna connections, wherein a number of said signal connections is greater than a number of said antenna connections;

each of said plurality of signal connections being a primary connection or a secondary connection;

said primary connections being at least one primary connection for each terminal to be connected;

at least one linking element for linking each primary connection to each antenna connection via a signal link, wherein, in an event of insufficient power supply to the apparatus, at least one of said plurality of signal connections is linked to one of said at least two antenna connections;

at least one device for detecting transmitting activity to be transmitted via at least one of said antenna connections, said device being configured to detect an actively transmitting primary connection on a basis of a signal characteristic of a signal, wherein the actively transmitting primary connection is detected when a signal level of the signal is greater than a predetermined threshold, the signal being present on a signal link section that is connected to the primary connection and being a transmission signal generated by a terminal, and wherein signalling links between the signal connections and the antenna connections are established on a basis of the detected actively transmitting primary connections.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the linking of the primary connections and the secondary connections to the antenna connections is made on a basis of a predetermined assignment rule.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein all primary connections are linked to one of the antenna connections and at least one secondary connection is linked to one of the remaining antenna connections if no actively transmitting primary connection is detected.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein an actively transmitting primary connection is linked to one of the antenna connections, wherein the remaining primary connections are linked to one of the remaining antenna connections, wherein at least one secondary connection is linked to one of the other remaining antenna connections if exactly one actively transmitting primary connection is detected.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the actively transmitting primary connections are each linked to antenna connections which differ from one another, wherein remaining primary connections are linked to one of the other remaining antenna connections if more than one actively transmitting primary connection is detected, but not all primary connections are actively transmitting.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein a secondary connection, which is assigned to a same terminal as one of the actively transmitting primary connections, is linked to a remaining antenna connection.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the actively transmitting primary connections are each linked to different antenna connections when all primary connections are detected as actively transmitting primary connections.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the signal link of actively transmitting primary connections to the antenna connections is established on a basis of at least one antenna characteristic.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one resistor, said resistor being galvanically connected to a signal connection and said resistor simulating an antenna characteristic resistance.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one device for testing a functionality of an antenna which is linked to an antenna connection.

11. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the assignment rule is selectable based on a number of functional antennas.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a secondary connection is a multi-path reception connection or a backup connection.

13. A method for transmitting signals from and to a multiplicity of terminals, the method comprising:

providing an apparatus according to claim 1 ;

detecting an actively transmitting primary connection on a basis of a signal characteristic of the signal generated by the terminal; and

establishing signaling links of the signal connections to the antenna connections on a basis of the actively transmitting primary connections detected in the detecting step.

14. The method according to claim 13 , which comprises establishing the signaling links independently of apparatus-external control signals.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the terminal that generates the transmission signal is galvanically connected to one of said primary connections.

16. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein if there is an adequate power supply to the apparatus, a connection between one of said plurality of signal connections and one of said at least two antenna connections is interrupted.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein said at least one linking element is configured for, if there is the adequate power supply to the apparatus, interrupting the connection between the one of said plurality of signal connections and the one of said at least two antenna connections.

18. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one linking element is configured for, in the event of insufficient power supply to the apparatus, linking at least one of said plurality of signal connections to one of said at least two antenna connections.