Patent ID: 8213173

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a cartridge housing sized to enclose a data storage device; and an interconnect configured to dampen vibrations propagating from the cartridge to the data storage device, the interconnect including: an external electrical connector mechanically coupled to the cartridge and defining an insertion direction; an internal electrical connector mechanically coupled to the data storage device and defining an insertion direction that is substantially parallel to the external electrical connector insertion direction; and an electrical conductor having a first portion extending from the external electrical connector orthogonal to the external electrical connector insertion direction, a second portion extending from the internal electrical connector orthogonal to the internal electrical connector insertion direction, and a flexible portion connected to distal ends of the first and second portions and routed entirely outside a buffer space between opposing faces of the electrical connectors from a first straight boundary between top edges of the opposing faces to a second straight boundary between bottom edges of the opposing faces.