Patent ID: 7212464

Claim:
A semiconductor memory device, comprising: a plurality of memory cells arranged in a matrix; a memory cell array divided into a plurality of blocks; a plurality of read amplifiers, each of which is coupled correspondingly to each of the blocks; and a plurality of latch circuits, each group of which is coupled correspondingly to each of the read amplifiers and includes two or more latch circuits coupled to one another in parallel, wherein, in order to read a plurality of data consecutively from the memory cell array, the data are firstly read from one desired memory cell for each block; the read data are secondly inputted and latched, via the read amplifier corresponding to the same block, to one of the latch circuits included in a group of latch circuits corresponding to the same read amplifier; the data are thirdly read from another desired memory cell, which is different from the memory cell from which the data are formerly read, for each block; the read data are fourthly inputted and latched, via the read amplifier corresponding to the same block, to one of the latch circuits, which is different from the latch circuit to which the data are formerly latched, included in the group of latch circuits corresponding to the same read amplifier; and the latched data are lastly outputted in a desired order from each of the latch circuits having the latched data, and wherein if a desired value is inputted from outside as a column address value, the data that are latched to each of the plurality of latch circuits are data that are read from the memory cells of consecutive column address values starting from the desired value.