The packaging of various materials of items, such as medical or cosmetic items, generally includes brochures or instruction manuals, typically in paper form, within the shipping package for the item. In addition, such packaging may also contain a label that is loosely inserted inside the container. However, such brochures, instruction manuals or labels often get separated, lost or misplaced after the package in which the materials or items are shipped has been opened. It is desirable to store the brochures, instruction manuals, warnings against misuse or labels along with the container in which the items or material is being shipped but in such a way such that they are not separated and misplaced.

Thousands of cases of misuse of medicines can be prevented each year if the warnings and instructions for medication could be kept as part of the container.

It is desirable that such a container, when being manufactured prior to being shipped or stored and filled with medicaments, be capable of being made from an injection mold. Injection molding is generally considered to be the most flexible and least expensive of the known molding processes, and injection molding provides an advantage for automated container manufacturing systems.

It is also desirable that such a container, when being shipped or stored prior to being filled with medicaments, be compactly stackable. Stacking can save space in shipping and storage and is an advantage for automated filling systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a container for containing various items, liquids or materials that allows brochures or instruction manuals to be stored along with the container in which the items, liquids or materials are being shipped but in such a way such that the brochures, instruction manuals or labels are not misplaced.

It is another object of the present invention to provide such a container that may be

manufactured through an injection molding process and that, after manufacturing, may be stacked for space-efficient and less expensive shipping and storage.

In accordance with the above and other objects that will be obvious to those skilled in the art, the present invention is directed to a container having an inner housing and an outer housing. The inner housing has an enclosed wall, preferably elongated, and preferably with an open top and a sealed bottom. The outer housing has an enclosed wall, also preferably elongated, with an open bottom. The upper edge of the inner housing and the upper edge of the outer housing are joined, such that the area between the inner housing and the outer housing is accessible only from the bottom of the container and not from the top.

It is preferable that the shape of the inner and outer walls be such that several such container may be stacked one within another. For example, the outer wall can be flared outward from top to bottom and the inner wall can be flared outward from bottom to top.

In this manner, when one such container is placed upon another, the inner housing of the top container will fit within the inner housing of the bottom container and the outer housing of the top container will fit over the outer housing of the bottom container. It is preferable that the inner and outer walls be circular in cross-section, such that the inner and outer housings will have frustoconical shapes. However, many other cross-sectional shapes may be used.

The lower edge of the outer housing preferably has around its circumference several tabs that project radially inward. A brochure, instruction manual or label for the container may be rolled and inserted into the container from the bottom between the inner housing and the outer housing. When the brochure, instruction manual or label naturally unrolls, it will be constrained by the inner surface of the outer housing from unrolling beyond the diameter of the outer housing. The tabs serve as a stop to prevent the brochure or instruction manual from sliding downward and out of the container when the container is turned right side up.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the reference characters refer to like parts throughout and in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of the container; Figure 2 shows a side view of the outside of a second embodiment of the container; Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the container taken along line B-B of Figure 2; and Figure 4 shows a top view of the second embodiment of the container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings, a first embodiment of a container 1 according to the present invention is shown in Figure 1. The container 1 comprises an inner housing 3 and an outer housing 5.

Inner housing 3 is comprised of an annular wall 30 that is open at its top 31 and is closed at its bottom 32. In preferred embodiments, top 31 is open and bottom 32 is closed so that inner housing 3 may serve as a container for materials or items. In a further preferred embodiment, inner housing 3 is shaped so that one such container 1 may be stacked within another. In a first embodiment, shown in Figure 1, annular wall 30 is of a substantially cylindrical shape. In a second embodiment, shown in Figures 2 and 3, annular wall 30 is of a substantially frustoconical shape, i. e. , it has a truncated conical profile, in that its circumferential peripheral wall 30 tapers inward and downward, but the tapered tip of the cone has been truncated by a flat bottom 32. Annular wall 30 can be of any other cross-sectional shape, including but not limited to an oval or a triangle, square, rectangle or other polygon. It is preferable that annular wall 30 be elongated and of thin- walled construction.

Inner housing 3 also has an upper edge 34. In a first embodiment, upper edge 34 is sloped outward slightly. In the embodiment of Figure 1, where wall 30 is substantially cylindrical, upper edge 34 forms a widening mouth portion 35 whose wall slopes outward at an increasing diameter, increasingly greater than the diameter of the rest of inner housing 3. In the embodiment of Figure 2, where wall 30 is substantially conical or frustoconical in shape, the slope of wall 30 could match the slope of mouth portion 35, such that there is no physical separation between wall 30 and mouth portion 35.

Alternatively, even in the embodiment of Figure 2, where wall 30 is conical in shape, the slope of wall 30 could be different from the slope of mouth portion 35, such that mouth

portion 35 opens outward at an increasing diameter, increasingly greater than the diameter of the upper edge of wall 30. This widening mouth portion 35 or the frustoconical shape of inner housing 3 facilitates the stackability of the container with other such containers.

Outer housing 5 is comprised of an annular wall 50 that is open at its bottom 52 and has an upper edge 54. In a first embodiment, shown in Figure 1, annular wall 50 is of a substantially cylindrical shape. In a second embodiment, shown in Figures 2 and 3, annular wall 50 is of a substantially frustoconical shape, i. e. , it has a truncated conical profile, in that its circumferential peripheral wall tapers inward and upward, but the tapered tip of the cone has been truncated by an upper edge 54. Annular wall 50 can be of any other cross-sectional shape, including but not limited to an oval or a triangle, square, rectangle or other polygon. In a preferred embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5 substantially matches the cross-sectional shape of annular wall 30 of inner housing 3. However, in other embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5 can be different from the cross-sectional shape of annular wall 30 of inner housing 3. It is preferable that annular wall 50 be elongated and of thin-walled construction. It is also preferable that bottom 52 be open to provide access to the volume region between inner housing 3 and outer housing 5, as discussed below.

Annular wall 50 of outer housing 5 surrounds and encloses annular wall 30 of inner housing 3. The upper edge 34 of annular wall 30 of inner housing 3 and the upper edge 54 of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5 are joined and sealed at juncture 7. Thus, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, the volume region between the outside of annular wall 30 of inner housing 3 and the inside of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5 is accessible only <BR> <BR> from the bottom of the container, i. e. , through the open bottom 52 of outer housing 5, and not from the top of either inner housing 3 or outer housing 5.

The lower edge 51 of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5 is provided around its circumference with at least one several tab 40 that projects radially inward from wall 50.

In a preferred embodiment, two or more tabs 40 are formed at lower edge 51 of annular wall 50. Tabs 40 are preferably integrally formed with annular wall 50 of outer housing 5.

In a most preferred embodiment, there are three tabs 40, although more or fewer may be provided as suitable.

Some article of paper, such as a brochure, instruction manual, label or warnings

against misuse for the container or other printed matter, may be rolled into a cylinder and inserted into the container from the open bottom 52 of outer housing 5, i. e. , into the volume region between the outside of annular wall 30 of inner housing 3 and the inside of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5. When the paper naturally attempts to unroll, it will be constrained by the inner surface of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5 from unrolling beyond the inner diameter of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5. Frictional engagement between the paper and the inner surface of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5 will tend to keep the paper in its position, even when the container is held upright. However, tabs 40 serve as a stop to prevent the paper from sliding downward and out of the container when the container is held upright. In this manner, a brochure, instruction manual or label may be securely associated with the container without becoming separated from the container.

In a preferred embodiment, a cap 10 is adapted to fit securely over the top of the container 1. Cap 10 has a flat top portion 12 that matches the shape of the mouth of container 1. In a preferred embodiment, top portion 12 is circular to match the cylindrical or frustoconical shape of container 1, whose cross-section is circular. Top portion 12 can have any other cross-sectional shape, including but not limited to an oval, triangle, square, rectangle or other polygon, depending upon the cross sectional shape of container 1, and cap 10 will be correspondingly shaped to match top portion 12. Cap 10 also has at least one side wall 14, depending upon the shape of top portion 12.

In the preferred embodiment in which top portion 12 is circular, wall 14 surrounds top portion 12 by 360 degrees. In one embodiment, the inside of wall 14 may have internal screw threads 16 for securely attaching cap 10 onto container 1. In such a case, the outer surface of upper edge 54 of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5 is provided with external screw threads 56 to engage with screw threads 16 on inside of wall 14 of cap 10.

When cap 10 is screwed onto the container, the bottom (inside) surface of top portion 12 abuts against juncture 7 of upper edge 34 of annular wall 30 of inner housing 3 and upper edge 54 of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5, forming a seal. Cap 10 may also be screwed downward onto the top of the container until cap 10 abuts against a shoulder 57 on the outside surface of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5, just below the upper edge 54.

Alternatively, cap 10 may be affixed to top portion 12 by any other known means, such as a screw-on cap, a snap-on cap, a children safe cap, a friction lid.

This container is suitable for containing liquids or solids, such as solutions, powders, creams, ointments, granulated materials and pellet sized articles, such as pills or other medicaments. The heights of walls 30 and 50 will depend on the intended application of the apparatus, but a height of approximately 7-10 cm is suitable for many purposes. Similarly, the thicknesses of walls 30 and 50 are set so as to provide sufficient support for the container 1 and its contents. Typically, a thickness of approximately 0.5 to 4 mm is suitable. Preferably, the container is formed from any material acceptable for storing such articles and materials, such as a plastic or lightweight metal. In a preferred embodiment, inner housing is constructed in appropriate dimensions so as to hold approximately 20 cc of fluid.

Inner housing 3 may also contain a device for removing the liquids or solids that are contained therein, such as a straw, spoon, fork, tweezer, scoop, wand or any other such device. Inner housing 3 may also contain items that are associated with the items, liquids or materials contained within, such as a small toy or prize.

In one embodiment, several parts are made separately and then bonded or welded together to form the container 1, as discussed above. In another more preferred embodiment, the container is produced as one molded piece of plastic, such as by an injection mold or a blow mold. In a preferred embodiment, the entire container, including walls 30 and 50, bottom 32 and upper edges 34 and 54, are preferably formed together as one unitary structure. In a preferred embodiment, upper edge 34 of annular wall 30 and upper edge 54 of annular wall 50 are not so much joined and sealed as they are molded together as one unitary piece.

In this embodiment, container 1 is configured such that there are no undercuts that would prevent container 1 from being made from one injection mold, rather than being made from more than one mold and then being joined together or being made from a blow mold, either of which molding process is more difficult, more labor intensive and more expensive in the manufacturing process of producing the container than injection molding.

For example, because there are no undercuts, either of the embodiments in Figures 1 and 2-3 could be made from injection mold, and the completed container 1 may be removed from the mold via opening 31 in inner housing 3, without having to break the mold or make container 1 from more than one separate mold pieces.

In operation, container 1 is rested on the lower edge 51 of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5. Inner housing 3, which is preferably accessible only from the top, may contain a liquid or a solid, such as a solution, powder, cream, ointment, granulated material or pellet sized articles, or any mixture thereof. A cap 10 may seal the opening 31 in inner housing 3. Inner housing 3 may also contain a device for removing the liquids or solids that are contained therein. Outer housing 5, which is preferably accessible only from the bottom, may contain instructions or other useful materials concerning the contents of inner housing 3. For example, a paper brochure or instruction manual may be inserted into the container from the open bottom 52 of outer housing 5, i. e. , into the volume region between the outside of annular wall 30 of inner housing 3 and the inside of annular wall 50 of outer housing 5. This brochure is retainer by outer wall 50 and is prevented from sliding downward, out of open bottom 52, by tabs 40.

Thus, a container has been provided. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustration and not limitation.