FlashPath (FlashPath Floppy Disk Adapter) were a series of devices produced by
SmartDisk that allowed a variety of
memory cards to be used in a
3.5" Floppy disk drive. The initial version introduced in May 1998 allowed
SmartMedia
SmartMedia is an obsolete flash memory card standard owned by Toshiba, with capacities ranging from 2 MB to 128 MB. The format mostly saw application in the early 2000s in digital cameras and audio production. SmartMedia memory cards a ...
cards to be used with a floppy drive. Later,
Memory Stick
The Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, originally launched by Sony in late 1998. In addition to the original Memory Stick, this family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity an ...
and
Secure Digital
Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices.
The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...
/
Multi Media Card
The MultiMediaCard, officially abbreviated as MMC, is a memory card standard used for solid-state storage. Unveiled in 1997 by SanDisk and Siemens, MMC is based on a surface-contact low pin-count serial interface using a single memory stack su ...
versions were made as well. FlashPath adapters were sold both branded by SmartDisk, and as
OEM devices under other brand names.
FlashPath is hardware compatible with all standard 3.5" High-Density Floppy disk drives, but is not a drop-in replacement for real floppy disks. A special software
device driver
In computing, a device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer or automaton. A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabling operating systems and o ...
must be installed on the computer that is to access data via FlashPath. Thus, FlashPath is only usable with computers and operating systems for which such a driver exists and can be installed.
SmartDisk was sued by PC Connector Solutions, LLC over alleged U.S.
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
infringement by SmartDisk's Smarty and FlashPath products in 2000. However, the court ruled in favor of SmartDisk; a final ruling was made in 2005.
In 2007, SmartDisk sold its intellectual property assets to
Verbatim
Verbatim means word for word.
Verbatim may also refer to:
* Verbatim (brand), a brand of storage media and flash memory
* Verbatim (horse), an American racehorse
* ''Verbatim'' (magazine), edited by Erin McKean
* Verbatim theatre
Documentary th ...
, creating the
patent holding company
A patent holding company (PHC) exists to hold patents on behalf of one or more other companies but does not necessarily manufacture products or supply services based upon the patents held.
Patent holding companies may exist for tax reasons. Pate ...
SMDK Corp. The holding company issued a new set of
patent infringement
Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may v ...
lawsuits in 2008, some of which were still in process as of early 2010.
However, since the product was already effectively obsolete by then, most computer users were not affected by the lawsuit.
See also
*
Memory cards
*
Digital cameras
A digital camera is a camera that captures photographs in digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film. Digital cameras are now widely incorporated into mobile devices ...
*
Floppy disk
A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined ...
*
Cassette tape adaptor
The cassette adapter allows another source of music to be played through sound systems with a tape player. This is useful for vehicles without auxiliary (aux) ports or CD players.
Usage
Patented on March 29, 1988, a cassette tape adapter is a dev ...
References
External links
*{{web archive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010330184735/http://flashpath.com/, title=Official FlashPath website
Review of using a FlashPath adapter for SmartMedia(October 1998/February 1999)
Computer peripherals