Patent ID: 8045388

Claim:
A computing device comprising: a processor; an input component; an output component; a memory comprising: a volatile memory; and a flash memory comprising: a first current-voltage conversion circuit connected to a core cell provided in a nonvolatile memory cell array; a second current-voltage conversion circuit connected to a reference cell through a reference cell data line, wherein the second current-voltage conversion circuit has an average circuit averaging outputs from multiple reference cells, and the second current-voltage conversion circuit outputs an output from the average circuit; a sense amplifier sensing an output from the first current-voltage conversion circuit and an output from the second current-voltage conversion circuit; a compare circuit comparing a voltage level at the reference cell data line with a predefined voltage level; and a charging circuit charging the reference cell data line, if the voltage level at the reference cell data line is lower than the predefined voltage level during pre-charging the reference cell data line.