Patent ID: 6378033
Filing Date: 2002-04-23
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
An electronic device having a flash memory, comprising:management means dividing a sector of said flash memory indicative of an erase unit into a plurality of blocks, having an area for storing code data indicative of whether data stored in each block is effective or ineffective, and having file management data for managing a file by one or a plurality of blocks; first erase means for writing an ineffective code in the area of each block constructing the file, when an erase request for erasing a file stored in said flash memory is inputted; transfer means for transferring, sector by sector, effective blocks of the sector except blocks storing an ineffective code, to a predetermined volatile memory at a predetermined timing, while maintaining a relative position of a storage address of each effective block; second erase means for erasing a sector of interest in the flash memory after transfer operation is performed by said transfer means; and write means for writing the effective blocks, which have been transferred to the volatile memory, in the erased sector while maintaining the relative position of the storage address of each effective block.