Connection unit with operating elements and conductor connection openings arranged in two rows

Description

[0001] This patent application claims priority over German patent application 102019126662.9 .

[0002] The present invention relates to a connection unit with a plurality of connection elements arranged side by side, wherein each connection element has a conductor connection opening for receiving an electrical conductor and an actuating element for clamping and / or releasing the electrical conductor in the conductor connection opening, the actuating elements and the conductor connection openings are arranged on a common side of the connection unit, and the actuating elements and the conductor connection openings of the connection elements are arranged in two spaced-apart rows.

[0003] The present invention further relates to a terminal block with a housing and a plurality of terminal elements which are received in the housing, wherein the plurality of terminal elements are arranged side by side in the housing, each terminal element has a conductor connection opening for receiving an electrical conductor and an actuating element for clamping and / or releasing the electrical conductor in the conductor connection opening, the actuating elements and the conductor connection openings are arranged on a common side of the housing of the terminal block and the actuating elements and the conductor connection openings of the terminal elements are arranged in two spaced-apart rows.

[0004] Connection units and terminal blocks for efficiently connecting multiple electrical conductors are known in the prior art. The arrangement of the actuators and conductor connection openings on one side of the connection unit is common for ease of use. Furthermore, the two-row arrangement of the actuators and conductor connection openings allows for compact connection units. Any required extension of the connection unit on the side with the actuators and conductor connection openings can be limited to the dimensions of these actuators and openings.

[0005] The connection elements can, for example, be designed as spring-loaded terminals and arranged in a common housing. With spring-loaded terminals, the clamping of the electrical conductors in the respective conductor connection opening is automatic upon insertion of the conductors and can be released by actuating the associated actuator. The connection units and terminal blocks can also be designed for mounting on a printed circuit board, with pins extending through the board and, for example, soldered to it.

[0006] Document DE 10 2007 018443 A1 discloses a connection unit according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0007] Document GB 2 251 738 A reveals another example of a connection unit.

[0008] The minimum spacing between connection elements depends on the minimum spacing of their conductor connection openings. This minimum spacing is determined, for example, by the size of the conductor connection opening and a maximum permissible voltage. This results in a so-called grid dimension, which defines the arrangement of the conductor connection openings and thus the connection elements side by side. The grid dimension specifies the distance between a point on one connection element and the same point on an adjacent connection element. When the connection elements are arranged directly next to each other, the grid dimension corresponds to the width of the connection elements.

[0009] The electrical conductors consist of a conductive wire or strand and surrounding insulation. The conductor connection openings accommodate the conductive wire or strand, with the insulation protruding beyond it. When using electrical conductors with ferrules, particularly those with plastic collars, it may even occur that, due to the expansion of the ferrules, especially the diameter of their plastic collar, the conductor connection openings of adjacent connection elements cannot be used simultaneously. Alternatively, the use of ferrules can be avoided altogether to allow the simultaneous use of the conductor connection openings of adjacent connection elements. Therefore, to use the electrical conductors with ferrules, it is necessary to increase the pitch of the known connection units.

[0010] Based on this, the present invention aims to provide a connection unit of the type mentioned above which has the most compact dimensions possible and is particularly suitable for the use of electrical conductors with wire end ferrules.

[0011] The problem underlying the present invention is solved by a connection unit having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the connection unit are described in claims 2 to 12, which depend on claim 1.

[0012] More precisely, the problem underlying the present invention is solved by a connection unit with a plurality of adjacent connection elements, wherein each connection element has a conductor connection opening for receiving an electrical conductor and an actuating element for clamping and / or releasing the electrical conductor in the conductor connection opening, the actuating elements and the conductor connection openings are arranged on a common side of the connection unit, the actuating elements and the conductor connection openings of the connection elements are arranged in two spaced-apart rows, and the connection unit comprises at least one first connection element, the actuating element of which is arranged in a first row and the conductor connection opening of which is arranged in a second row, and at least one second connection element, the actuating element of which is arranged in the second row and the conductor connection opening of which is arranged in the first row.exhibits.

[0013] The problem underlying the present invention is also solved by a connection block with the features of claim 13.

[0014] Thus, the problem underlying the present invention is also solved in more detail by a terminal block with a housing and a plurality of terminal elements which are received in the housing, wherein the plurality of terminal elements are arranged side by side in the housing, each terminal element has a conductor connection opening for receiving an electrical conductor and an actuating element for clamping and / or releasing the electrical conductor in the conductor connection opening, the actuating elements and the conductor connection openings are arranged on a common side of the housing of the terminal block, the actuating elements and the conductor connection openings of the terminal elements are arranged in two spaced-apart rows, and the terminal block has at least one first terminal element, the actuating element of which is arranged in a first row and the conductor connection opening of which is arranged in a second row.and has at least one second connection element, the actuating element of which is arranged in the second row and the conductor connection opening of which is arranged in the first row.

[0015] The connection unit according to the invention has the advantage that the common arrangement of the first and second connection elements allows for increased distances between the conductor connection openings of adjacent first and second connection elements, thus enabling the efficient use of the conductor connection openings for connecting the electrical conductors. If a conductor connection opening and an actuating element are arranged adjacent to each other in a row, it is not necessary to insert two electrical conductors directly adjacent to each other into conductor connection openings. In contrast, in the prior art, the distances between adjacent conductor connection openings are determined by the distance from one connection element to the next. According to the invention, the electrical conductors can therefore be reliably positioned in the conductor connection openings without being obstructed, for example, by their insulation.Especially when using ferrules or similar fittings, sufficiently large distances are maintained between the conductor connection openings of adjacent connection elements to allow the insertion of electrical conductors with ferrules. Increasing the distances between the conductor connection openings is unnecessary. On the contrary, it is even possible to design the individual connection elements to be particularly narrow, thus providing a particularly compact connection unit or terminal block. For example, it is not necessary to forgo the use of electrical conductors with ferrules. This also allows the use of conductor cross-sections that would not be suitable when using only the first or second connection elements. Overall, this results in easy handling for insertion and...Detachment of an electrical conductor, which improves handling at the actuators and conductor connection openings. This and the following explanations apply to both the connection unit and the terminal block.

[0016] The inventive design of the connection unit and the connection block also enables easy handling because, in the case of adjacent first and second connection elements, the actuating element of the respective other connection element creates a clearance around an electrical conductor inserted into a conductor connection opening, ensuring that the electrical conductor can always be gripped securely. Actuation of the connection elements via the actuating elements is guaranteed, as the actuating elements only need to be accessed when required to clamp and / or release the electrical conductors. Access can therefore be performed as needed, with sufficient space remaining between two electrical conductors, even between electrical conductors with ferrules.

[0017] Each electrical conductor can carry an electrical potential. These conductors can consist of a single wire or multiple wires, which may be twisted together, for example. Additionally, the electrical conductors are surrounded by insulation. The conductor terminals typically accept only the wire or wires.

[0018] The first and second connection elements are arranged side-by-side in columns, with the actuating element and the conductor connection opening of each connection element forming a column. The actuating element and the conductor connection opening lie on the same axis of the connection element. This results in a matrix-like arrangement of the actuating elements and the conductor connection openings in the two rows and on the connection elements. The actuating element and the conductor connection opening of each connection element are preferably equidistant from each other to simplify the arrangement of the actuating elements and conductor connection openings in the two rows.

[0019] The connection element comprises precisely the two rows in which the actuators and conductor connection openings are arranged. The actuator and conductor connection opening of each connection element are located in the first and second rows, respectively.

[0020] In an advantageous embodiment, the connection unit has a plurality of first and second connection elements, and the first and second connection elements are arranged at least partially in alternating adjacent positions. An arrangement with alternating first and second connection elements is formed, at least in sections. At least in this section, the spacing of adjacent conductor connection openings in each of the rows is determined by the distance between identical first and second connection elements along the row; that is, the distance corresponds to the distance between two connection elements. This maximizes the spacing between the conductor connection openings. A regular arrangement of conductor connection openings and actuating elements is thus achieved in each of the two rows, at least in this section.

[0021] In an advantageous embodiment, the first and second connection elements are identical in construction, with the second connection elements being arranged in the connection unit rotated 180° relative to the first connection elements. The same applies to the connection block. The first and second connection elements are thus still arranged in parallel; more precisely, the connection elements forming the first and second connection elements are arranged antiparallel. Accordingly, the actuating elements and the associated conductor connection elements of each connection element are equidistant from one another. This allows the actuating elements and conductor connection elements to be arranged in a straight line in the two rows. By using identical connection elements, the connection unit can be formed simply and cost-effectively.

[0022] In an advantageous embodiment, the connection elements are arranged with a grid dimension that is smaller than the collar diameter of a wire end ferrule of the maximum usable cross-section of the conductor connection opening. The grid dimension defines the spacing between the individual connection elements. It specifies the distance from a point on one connection element to the same point on an adjacent connection element. When the connection elements are arranged side by side without gaps, the grid dimension corresponds to the width of the connection elements. Arranging the connection elements side by side without gaps creates a compact connection unit. Depending on the cable cross-section, permissible dimensions of wire end ferrules, in particular their collar diameters, result, which are permissible while maintaining safety and are smaller than those in the prior art.

[0023] In an advantageous embodiment, the connection elements are designed such that the pitch, divided by the maximum collar diameter, is approximately 0.875. For example, with a connection unit for a maximum cross-section of 4 mm² and a collar diameter of 5.4 mm, the resulting pitch is approximately 4.8 mm (5.4 x 0.875 = 4.725). The collar diameter refers to a ferrule for use with the electrical conductor of the corresponding cross-section. In contrast, prior art would require a pitch corresponding to the collar diameter, i.e., 5.4 mm. In this example, the pitch is reduced by approximately 0.6 mm compared to the prior art.

[0024] In an advantageous embodiment, the connection elements are arranged with a grid spacing that is smaller than the outer diameter of the insulation of an electrical conductor with a maximum usable cross-section of the conductor connection openings. The adjacent arrangement of the first and second connection elements results in a distance between the conductor connection openings of each row that corresponds to twice the grid spacing. Thus, the connection elements can, in principle, be made so narrow that the insulation of the electrical conductors already protrudes beyond each respective connection element.

[0025] In an advantageous embodiment, the connection unit comprises a common housing in which the majority of the connection elements are arranged. A compact connection unit is provided, enabling the connection elements to be mounted together. The connection elements are preferably integrally arranged and connected within the housing to form a terminal block. The terminal block is provided as a single, inseparable unit.

[0026] In an advantageous embodiment, the common housing is designed as a housing for printed circuit board (PCB) mounting. The connection unit can be of the type of PCB terminals or a PCB connector for PCB mounting. The connection unit preferably comprises pins that are inserted into or passed through the PCB to mount the connection unit to it.

[0027] Preferably, the pins are designed as contact pins, which ensure electrical contact between the conductor connection openings and the printed circuit board (PCB). The connection unit can be attached to the PCB, for example, by clamps. Alternatively or additionally, the pins are designed as solder pins to attach the connection unit to the PCB by soldering. In an alternative embodiment, the housing can be designed for PCB mounting by plugging it onto a pin header on the PCB, thus enabling plug-in mounting. The pin header comprises a plurality of pins, which are preferably designed as contact pins for electrical contact.

[0028] In an advantageous embodiment, the connection elements are designed as spring-loaded terminals with a clamping spring that holds electrical conductors securely in the conductor connection openings. The actuating elements are designed to release the clamping of the electrical conductors by the clamping spring when actuated. With spring-loaded terminals, the clamping of the electrical conductors in the respective conductor connection opening is thus achieved simply by inserting the conductors and can be released by actuating the corresponding actuating element. The spring-loaded terminals enable simple and reliable insertion and contact of the electrical conductors in the conductor connection openings. Releasing the clamp is also easily accomplished via the respective actuating element.The clamping spring is tensioned by actuating the actuating element, so that the electrical conductor inserted into the conductor connection opening is released and can be removed from it.

[0029] In an advantageous embodiment, the actuating elements are designed as pushbuttons. These pushbuttons allow the clamp to be released by pressing them inwards towards the respective terminal element, a process that is easily accomplished. The pushbutton typically acts directly against the clamping spring to tension it and release the clamping of the electrical conductor held in the terminal opening. The return force of the clamping spring then returns the pushbutton to its original position. Furthermore, after actuation, the electrical conductor held in the terminal opening is clamped and connected within it. Such pushbuttons are also known as pushers.

[0030] In alternative embodiments, the connecting elements can be equipped with different actuating elements. These actuating elements include, for example, pull or lever elements, or an actuating element that is designed with an eyelet, whereby the actuating element can only be actuated by means of a special tool and is thus protected against unintentional actuation.

[0031] In an advantageous embodiment, the connection elements are designed as screw terminals, with the actuating elements being designed as actuating screws. The electrical conductors in the conductor connection openings are clamped and released by the actuating screws. Screw terminals enable reliable reception and securing of the electrical conductors in the conductor connection openings. The clamping and releasing of the electrical conductor in the respective conductor connection openings can be controlled via the actuating screws. Depending on the design of the screw terminals, deflection elements can be provided that, when the actuating screws are tightened, clamp electrical conductors inserted parallel to the actuating screws in the conductor connection openings or release the clamping.For example, the rotary motion of the actuating screws can be deflected onto clamping screws by an angle of 90°.

[0032] In an advantageous embodiment, the connection unit has first and / or second connection elements with conductor connection openings for receiving electrical conductors with different maximum cross-sections. Any of the first and / or second connection elements can be configured and combined to receive conductor connection openings with any maximum cross-section. The arrangement of the conductor connection openings in the first or second row is based, in this case, on a corresponding arrangement, for example, of a center point for the conductor connection openings.

[0033] In one exemplary embodiment, the connection unit comprises four, eight, or sixteen parallel connection elements. However, the invention is not limited to a specific number of parallel connection elements.

[0034] Further advantages, details, and features of the invention will become apparent from the exemplary embodiments described below. Specifically, the following will be shown: Figure 1: A representation of a prior art connection unit with eight parallel connection elements in a frontal view; Figure 2: A representation of a connection unit of a first, preferred embodiment with sixteen parallel connection elements in a perspective view in a state mounted on a printed circuit board, wherein the connection elements are equipped with an actuating push button and some of the connection elements are shown without a housing; Figure 3: A representation of the connection unit made of Figure 2 , with additional electrical conductors inserted into some conductor connection openings; Figure 4: a partial representation of the connection unit made of Figure 3in a frontal view; and Figure 5: a representation of a connection unit of a second embodiment with seven parallel connection elements in a perspective view, wherein the connection elements are designed as screw terminals with an actuating screw.

[0035] In the following description, identical reference numerals denote identical components or identical features, so that a description of a component in relation to one figure also applies to the other figures, thus avoiding repetitive descriptions. Furthermore, individual features described in connection with one embodiment can also be used separately in other embodiments.

[0036] A state-of-the-art connection unit 10 is in Figure 1The connection unit 10 comprises a plurality of parallel connection elements 11, which are designed as spring-loaded terminals and arranged in a common housing 12. Each of the connection elements 11 includes a conductor connection opening 13 and an actuating element 14. The connection unit 10 is mounted on a printed circuit board 15, with pins 16 of the connection unit 10 extending through the printed circuit board 15 and being soldered to it. In the illustration in Figure 1Electrical conductors 17 are inserted into some of the conductor connection openings 13 and are held in place by the force of a spring (not shown) clamping spring. The clamping of the electrical conductors 17 in the respective conductor connection opening 13 can be released by actuating the associated actuating element 14. The actuating elements 14 and the conductor connection openings 13 are arranged in two rows 18. The parallel connection elements 11 are arranged with a uniform grid spacing 19.

[0037] The Figures 2 to 4 relate to a connection unit 20, 32 of a first, preferred embodiment of the invention.

[0038] In this embodiment, the connection unit 20 comprises sixteen parallel connection elements 21, 32, which are arranged in a common housing 22. Specifically, the common housing 22 is designed as a housing 22 for printed circuit board mounting. The connection unit 20 is thus designed in the manner of PCB terminals or a PCB connector for printed circuit board mounting.

[0039] In the first embodiment, the connecting elements 21, 32 are each designed as spring-loaded clamps 21. Accordingly, each of the spring-loaded clamps 21 has a clamping spring 23, as can be seen from the Figures 2 and 3 , in which the connection unit 20 is shown partially without the housing 22. The clamping spring 23, by its spring force, causes electrical conductors 26 to be held clamped in a corresponding conductor connection opening 24.

[0040] Each of the spring-loaded terminals 21 thus comprises a conductor connection opening 24 and an actuating element 25. In this embodiment, the actuating elements 25 are designed as actuating pushers 25. The actuating pushers 25 enable the clamping of the electrical conductor 26, held by the clamping spring 23, to be released when pressed into the respective spring-loaded terminal 21. The actuating pusher 25 acts directly against the clamping spring 23 to tension the clamping spring 23 when pressed and to release the clamping of the electrical conductor 26 received in the conductor connection opening 24. The restoring force of the clamping spring 23 returns the actuating pusher 25 to its original position after actuation. Furthermore, an electrical conductor 26 received in the conductor connection opening 24 is clamped and connected therein after actuation.The clamping of the electrical conductors 26 in the respective conductor connection opening 24 is already carried out in the spring force terminals 21 by inserting the electrical conductors 26.

[0041] The electrical conductors 26 each carry an electrical potential. The electrical conductors 26 can comprise a single wire or several wires, which may, for example, be twisted together.

[0042] The actuating elements 25 and the conductor connection openings 24 of the connection elements 21 are arranged in two spaced-apart rows 29 on one side 30 of the connection unit 20. The connection unit 20 comprises first and second spring-clamp terminals 21a, 21b, which are arranged alternately adjacent to each other. The first and second spring-clamp terminals 21a, 21b are identical in design, with the second spring-clamp terminals 21b being arranged in the connection unit 20 rotated by 180° relative to the first spring-clamp terminals 21a. The first and second spring-clamp terminals 21a, 21b are thus arranged antiparallel. Accordingly, in the first spring-clamp terminals 21a, the actuating elements 25 are arranged in a first row 29a and the conductor connection openings 24 in a second row 29b. Furthermore, in the second spring force clamps 21b, the actuating elements 25 are arranged in the second row 29b and the conductor connection openings 24 in the first row 29a.

[0043] The first and second connection elements 21a, 21b are arranged column by column, with the actuating element 25 and the conductor connection opening 24 of each spring-clamp 21 forming a column. The actuating element 25 and the conductor connection opening 24 lie on the same axis of the respective spring-clamp 21. This results in a matrix-like arrangement of the actuating elements 25 and the conductor connection openings 24 in the two rows 29 and in the spring-clamps 21. The actuating element 25 and the conductor connection opening 24 of each spring-clamp 21 are equidistant from each other.

[0044] As can be seen in particular from Figure 4As a result, the adjacent spring-loaded terminals 21 are arranged with a uniform grid dimension 31. The grid dimension 31 defines the distance between the individual spring-loaded terminals 21 arranged side by side. It specifies the distance from a point on one spring-loaded terminal 21 to the same point on an adjacent spring-loaded terminal 21. When the connection elements 21 are arranged side by side without gaps, the grid dimension 31 corresponds to the width of the connection elements 21. In this embodiment, the connection elements 21 have a width that corresponds to the grid dimension 31.

[0045] In this embodiment, the pitch dimension 31 is smaller than the collar diameter of a wire ferrule with a maximum usable cross-section for the conductor connection opening 24. Specifically, the spring-clamp terminals 21 are designed such that the pitch dimension 31 divided by the maximum collar diameter is approximately 0.875. This means, for example, that for a terminal unit 21 with a conductor connection opening 24 with a maximum cross-section of 4 mm² and a collar diameter of 5.4 mm, the resulting pitch dimension is approximately 4.8 mm (5.4 x 0.875 = 4.725). The collar diameter refers to a wire ferrule for use with the electrical conductor 26 with the corresponding cross-section.

[0046] The connection unit 20 is mounted on a circuit board 27, with pins 28 extending through the circuit board 27 and thus being soldered to it, as shown in Figure 4The pins 28 are designed as contact pins in this embodiment. They are connected to the clamping spring 23 of the respective spring-loaded terminal 21 for contacting the circuit board 27 and provide an electrical connection between the conductor connection openings 24 and the circuit board 27. The pins 28 are guided through the circuit board 27 to mount the connection unit 20 to it, in particular by soldering.

[0047] In an alternative embodiment, the spring-loaded terminals 21 are arranged with a grid dimension 31 that is smaller than the outer diameter of the insulation of an electrical conductor 26 of a maximum usable connection cross-section of the conductor connection openings 24. Due to the adjacent arrangement of the first and second spring-loaded terminals 21a, 21b, a distance between the conductor connection openings 24 of each row 29 results that corresponds to twice the grid dimension 31, so that the insulation of the electrical conductors 26 projects beyond the respective spring-loaded terminal 21.

[0048] In a second embodiment, which is described in Figure 5 As shown, the connection elements 21 and 32 are designed as screw terminals 32. Otherwise, the connection unit 20 of the second embodiment corresponds to that of the first embodiment. The above statements regarding the spring-loaded terminal 21 apply accordingly to the screw terminal 32.

[0049] In accordance with the design of the connection elements 21, 32 as screw terminals 32, the actuating elements 25, 33 are designed as actuating screws 33. In this embodiment, the electrical conductors 26 in the conductor connection openings 24 can be clamped and released by the actuating screws 33, depending on the direction of rotation of the actuating screw 33.

[0050] Depending on the design of the screw terminals 32, deflection elements (not shown here) may be provided that enable the actuating screws 33 to be screwed in, clamping electrical conductors 26 inserted parallel to the actuating screws 33 in the conductor connection openings 24 or releasing the clamping. For example, the rotational movement of the actuating screws 33 may be deflected onto clamping screws by an angle of 90°. Reference symbol list

[0051] 10 Connection unit (state of the art) 11 Connection element (state of the art) 12 Housing (state of the art) 13 Conductor connection opening (state of the art) 14 Actuating element (state of the art) 15 Printed circuit board (state of the art) 16 Pin, solder pin (state of the art) 17 Electrical conductor (state of the art) 18 Row (state of the art) 19 Grid dimension (state of the art) 20 Connection unit 21 Connection element, spring-loaded terminal 21a First connection element, spring-loaded terminal 21b Second connection element, spring-loaded terminal 22 Housing 23 Clamping spring 24 Conductor connection opening 25 Actuating element, actuating push button 26 Electrical conductor 27 Circuit board 28 Pin 29 Row 29a First row 29b Second row 30 Side 31 Grid dimension 32 Connection element, screw terminal 32a First connection element, screw terminal 32b Second connection element, screw terminal 33 Actuating element, actuating screw

Claims

1. Connection unit (20) comprising a plurality of connection elements (21, 32) arranged next to one another, wherein each connection element (21, 32) has a conductor connection opening (24) for accommodating an electrical conductor (26) and an actuating element (25, 33) for clamping the electrical conductor (26) in the conductor connection opening (24) and / or releasing said conductor, the actuating elements (25, 33) and the conductor connection openings (24) are arranged on a common side (30) of the connection unit (20), the actuating elements (25, 33) and the conductor connection openings (24) of the connection elements (21, 32) are arranged in two rows (29a, 29b) which are spaced apart from one another, characterized in that the connection unit (20) has at least one first connection element (21a, 32a) of which the actuating element (25, 33) is arranged in a first row (29a) and of which the conductor connection opening (24) is arranged in a second row (29b), and at least one second connection element (21b, 32b) of which the actuating element (25, 33) is arranged in the second row (29b) and of which the conductor connection opening (24) is arranged in the first row (29a).

2. Connection unit (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that the connection unit (20) has a plurality of first and second connection elements (21a, 32a, 21b, 32b), and the first and second connection elements (21a, 32a, 21b, 32b) are arranged at least partially alternately adjacent to one another.

3. Connection unit (20) according to either claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the first and second connection elements (21a, 32a, 21b, 32b) are identical, the second connection elements (21b, 32b) being arranged in the connection unit (20) in a manner rotated by 180° with respect to the first connection elements (21a, 32a).

4. Connection unit (20) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connection elements (21, 32) are arranged with a grid dimension (31) which is smaller than a collar diameter of a wire ferrule of a maximum usable connection cross section of the conductor connection opening (24).

5. Connection unit (20) according to claim 4, characterized in that the connection elements (21, 32) are designed in such a way that the grid dimension (31) divided by a maximum collar diameter has a value of approximately 0.875.

6. Connection unit (20) according to either claim 4 or claim 5, characterized in that the connection elements (21, 32) are arranged with a grid dimension (31) which is smaller than an outer diameter of an insulation of an electrical conductor (26) of a maximum usable connection cross section of the conductor connection openings (24).

7. Connection unit (20) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connection unit (20) has a common housing (22) in which the plurality of connection elements (21, 32) are arranged.

8. Connection unit (20) according to claim 7, characterized in that the common housing (22) is designed as a housing (22) for printed circuit board mounting.

9. Connection unit (20) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connection elements (21, 32) are designed as spring-loaded clamps (32) having a clamping spring (23), which keeps electrical conductors (26) clamped in the conductor connection openings (24) with the spring force thereof, and the actuating elements (25, 33) being designed to release the clamping of the electrical conductors (26) by means of the clamping spring (23) upon actuation.

10. Connection unit (20) according to claim 9, characterized in that the actuating elements (25, 33) are designed as actuating pushbuttons (25).

11. Connection unit (20) according to any of the preceding claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the connection elements (21, 32) are designed as screw clamps (32), the actuating elements (25, 33) are designed as actuating screws (33), and the electrical conductors (26) are both clamped in the conductor connection openings (24) and released by the actuating screws (33).

12. Connection unit (20) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the connection unit (20) comprises first and / or second connection elements (21a, 32a, 21b, 32b) having conductor connection openings (24) for accommodating electrical conductors (26) having different maximum cross sections.

13. Connection block comprising a housing (22) and a connection unit according to any of the preceding claims, which is accommodated in the housing (22).