Patent ID: 7121857

Claim:
A tolerance-absorbing interconnect system for use in an electronics enclosure, comprising: a first connector assembly mounted to a first enclosure portion; a second connector assembly movably mounted to a structural member of a second enclosure portion, the second connector assembly being configured for mating with the first connector assembly, the second connector assembly having a connector body, a shoulder screw, and a spring, the connector body having a flange with a hole therein, the shoulder screw having a barrel portion that passes through the hole in the flange and a threaded portion that fixedly attaches to the structural member, the spring being coiled around the barrel portion of the shoulder screw between the flange and the structural member, the connector body sliding along the barrel portion of the shoulder screw when the second connector assembly is urged towards the structural member; and a securing mechanism including a latch mechanism on a sidewall of the first enclosure portion and a latch receiver region formed in a sidewall of the second enclosure portion, the latch mechanism on the sidewall of the first enclosure portion latching to the latch receiver region in the sidewall of the second enclosure portion when the first connector assembly mates with and pushes against the second connector assembly causing the spring to compress, whereupon when the latch mechanism on the sidewall of the first enclosure portion latches to the latch receiver region in the sidewall of the second enclosure portion, the spring remains compressed and urges the second connector assembly against the first connector assembly to maintain an interconnection therebetween.