Abstract: An auxiliary device case for portable electronic devices provides physical protection from abrasion and mishandling. The device case includes an integral power converter module with small form factor. The power converter module is provided to power and recharge the internal batteries of the portable electronic device, and is stored within the case when not in use. The power converter module is removable from the case for connection to a wall power receptacle and is connected to the case by means of a retractable cord. The power converter module may include retractable blades and a hinged cord attachment to minimize the overall volume when stored within the case.

Abstract: A pellet-fired grill for barbecue cooking includes a cleanout port in the bottom of the combustion chamber that enables access to the ash that falls from the burner unit, so that the ash may be cleaned out and removed from the grill without necessitating disassembly of the upper components of the grill. The access door is slidably secured adjacent to the cleanout opening and connected to a knob or pull link so that it may be slidably translated longitudinally to open for ash removal and close the cleanout opening so that the airflow through the burner assembly is not disrupted from its designed path.

Abstract: A system and method for collecting, analyzing, and managing information for a plurality of clients within a supply-chain is provided. According to one aspect, a management processing system generates a questionnaire management interface for obtaining information for a particular client, including client address, client contact information, and threat categories associated with that client. In response to obtaining the information, the management processing system generates a set of baseline questions representative of the identified threat categories and a set of custom questions that have been associated with that client.

Abstract: A method for distributing timely information over a computer network where a Timely Information Server collects and organizes information from Timely Information Providers and then broadcasts the organized information to endusers in the form of an alerts over a plurality of alert channels. The alert is comprised of keywords and arguments, wherein the keywords describe the subject matter of the alert and the arguments provide content of the alert. The Timely Information Server maintains a dictionary of all possible keywords and the endusers copy a portion of the dictionary to their local computers to create individual keyword profiles which are comprised of keywords and Boolean operators. When an alert satisfies a Boolean equation in a users keyword profile the headline of the alert (stored as an argument) is displayed and the user is given the option to link his/her web browser to an associated URL (also stored as an argument).