Patent ID: 7110127

Claim:
A method of regionalizing a manufactured device and consumable items utilized by the device, the device having an associated memory and the consumable items each having an information retaining mechanism, the method comprising: for each consumable item distributed within a region, pre-configuring the information retaining mechanism therein with region identification information that uniquely identifies the region; installing in the device a consumable item having an information retaining mechanism pre-configured for the region; transferring the region identification information from the consumable item information retaining mechanism to the memory associated with the device and storing the region identification information therein; if the device is in a non-regionalized condition, permanently configuring the device in a regionalized condition based on the region identification information stored in the memory; and once the device is in the regionalized condition, prohibiting the device from consuming a material supplied by a subsequently installed consumable item that is not pre-configured for use in the region.