Patent ID: 8365161

Claim:
A method of determining compatibility for an electronic apparatus that includes at least first and second predetermined elements, the method comprising the steps of: providing, in the first predetermined element, at least a first data containing an own version of the first predetermined element and a second data containing at least one version of the second predetermined element that is compatible with the first predetermined element; providing, in the second predetermined element, at least a third data containing an own version of the second predetermined element and a fourth data containing at least one version of the first predetermined element that is compatible with the second predetermined element; inputting the first data, the second data, the third data, and the fourth data of the first and second predetermined elements; and checking the version of the second predetermined element with the version of the second predetermined element contained in the second data; checking the version of the second predetermined element with the version of the second predetermined element contained in the third data; checking the version of the first predetermined element with the version of the first predetermined element contained in the fourth data; checking the version of the first predetermined element with the version of the first predetermined element contained in the first data; and determining that compatibility between the first and second predetermined elements exists when one of the second data or the fourth data contains a compatibility version that matches the own version in one of the third data or the first data, wherein the first data, the second data, the third data, the fourth data, and the first predetermined element, and the second predetermined element are distinct from each other.