Disclosed herein is a functional module for forming a decentralized automation platform that the functional module is modularly connected to a plurality of further functional modules to provide a plurality of functions for the automation of an industrial plant in a modular manner, having: an electronic arrangement for providing at least one of the plurality of functions, a base body with a base body housing in which the electronic arrangement is arranged, a connection arrangement, arranged on the base body housing and/or is electrically connected to the electronics arrangement to provide an electrical connection for one of the plurality of further functional modules,
wherein the connection arrangement is designed to provide a main energy flow, an auxiliary energy flow and a data flow between the functional module and the connected further functional module i to operate the automation platform for automation of the industrial plant.

A modularly assembled automation system includes a main unit with a plug-in bus port connector, a plurality of modules each with a plug-in bus connector and a plug-in signal connector, a backplane bus board in a layered structure with bus conductor tracks, a motherboard on which a plurality of connector elements are arranged, wherein the plug-in signal connectors of the modules are arranged in the connector elements and the connector elements are in electrical contact with conductor tracks of the motherboard, the bus conductor tracks and the layered structure of the backplane bus board are configured such that a layer stack forming the bus conductor tracks and core material contains features necessary for maintaining signal integrity of the signals on the backplane bus board and thus, with respect to the signal integrity of the signals on the backplane bus board, this is arranged separately on the motherboard.

A system may include a terminal block having a plurality of terminals configured to receive one or more wires. The system may also include an input/output (I/O) device with a circuit configured to electrically couple to the one or more wires via the terminal block. Further, the system may include a structure including a body with a portion configured to couple to the terminal block, and one or more spring clamps coupled to the body. The one or more spring clamps may be configured to secure the one or more wires placed therein, where the one or more wires are routed to one or more terminals of the plurality of terminals via the one or more spring clamps.

A kit includes an electric appliance, which for example may be an electrical control appliance of the type to be installed on a wall, and a coupling element to be inserted at the rear in a unique way to couple the electric appliance to another electric appliance, wherein the coupling element has a rigid body defining protrusions or grooves that can engage respective grooves or protrusions of the external casing of the appliance and also has a bus of electrical lines that terminate at their ends with exposed electrical connectors, in such a way as to be able to come into contact with exposed electrical pads of the electric appliance or electric appliances to be contacted to form a single body that can be understood as a single appliance.