Patent ID: 8542383

Claim:
A media processing device comprising: an ink cartridge that stores a first ink of a first color, a second ink of a second color, a third ink of a third color, and a fourth ink of a fourth color; a first function unit that prints a media using the first ink, the second ink, the third ink and the fourth ink, that has a first data table and a second data table, and that gets a remaining ink level of the first ink, the second ink, the third ink and the fourth ink; a second function unit that has the first data table and the second data table; and a first signal bus; and a second signal bus; wherein the first data table stores status combinations of the first color, the remaining ink level of the first ink, the second color, the remaining ink level of the second ink, and the one unique conversion value in 2 n bits, where n is a natural number, conversion value for each status combination, the second data table stores second status combinations of the third color, the remaining ink level of the third ink, the fourth color, the remaining ink level of the fourth ink, and the one unique conversion value in 2 m bits, where m is a natural number, conversion value for each second status combination, the first function unit converts a first given status combination of the first color, the remaining ink level of the first ink, the second color, and the remaining ink level of the second ink to the first corresponding conversion value read from the first data table and converts a second given status combination of the third color, the remaining ink level of the third ink, the fourth color, and the remaining ink level of the fourth ink to a second corresponding conversion value read from the second data table, the first signal bus having n signal wires that sends the first conversion value from the first function unit to the second function unit, the second bus has m signal wires and sends the second value from the first function unit to the second function unit, and the second function unit converts the first conversion value sent from the first function unit over the first signal bus to the remaining ink level of the first ink and the remaining ink level of the second ink by the first data table and converts the second conversion value sent from the first function unit over the second signal bus to the remaining ink level of the third ink and the remaining ink level of the fourth ink by the second data table.