Patent Abstract:
A padlock retaining device having: a) a stand-alone body, separate from any locking device or latching device, the body having one or more body attachment facilitators and b) a lock containment section attached to and extending away from the body for accepting and retaining an open padlock.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/683,317 titled “Padlock Retaining Device,” filed Apr. 10, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,551,167 issued on Jan. 24, 2017, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/052,134 titled “Padlock Retaining Device,” filed Sep. 18, 2014, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Roll-up doors are used for a wide variety of applications. For example, roll-up doors are frequently used to secure the interiors of enclosed storage areas, such as the areas within storage units in a commercial self-storage rental facility. 
     When used to secure the interior of enclosed storage areas, the roll-up doors are typically made from steel and the doors are provided with a locking apparatus. In the most common applications, such locking apparatuses comprise at least one slidable bolt attached to the door or a strong slide rail.  FIG. 1  illustrates such a locking apparatus. The slidable bolt can be alternatively (1) slid in one direction along the slide rail to a “latched position,” wherein the bolt is caused to protrude into a strike plate mounted on the door frame (to prevent the door from traveling upward) and (2) slid in the opposite direction along the slide rail to an “unlatched position,” wherein the bolt is retracted out of the strike plate (to allow the door to again freely travel upward). 
     Typically, the slide rail and the slidable bolt each have a padlock retainer portion defining a locking through-hole which is sized and dimensioned to accept a padlock shackle (curved portion). The holes in the padlock retainer portions are located so that, when the bolt is slid to the latched position, the holes are aligned with one another such that a padlock shackle can be placed and secured within both holes to lock the bolt within the latched position (as illustrated in  FIG. 2 ). 
     It is also common that both the slide rail and the bolt have an auxiliary hole—termed a manager&#39;s overlock hole—which can be used by the manager of a facility employing the roll-up door to lock the door in the latched position (for example, if rent is overdue). The manager&#39;s overlock hole can also be used to retain the padlock on the roll-up door when the bolt is in the unlatched position. This design seems to provide the user with a convenient place to store the padlock when it is not being used, such as immediately after the user unlocks the padlock and slides the bolt to the unlatched position in preparation for opening the roll-up door. The problem with this design, however, is that, if the user forgets to remove the padlock from the manager&#39;s overlock hole before the roll-up door is opened, the padlock will be carried upwards as the roll-up door is opened and strike the upper horizontal portion of the door frame. This is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Because roll-up doors are typically heavy and carry considerable momentum, such striking of the door frame can cause significant damage to the door frame, to the latch assembly and/or to the roll-up door. If the door frame is made of steel or other heavy material, the striking of the door frame with the padlock can rip the latch assembly off of the roll-up door. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a padlock retaining device that addresses the problem often encountered with the use of roll-up doors. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention satisfies this need. The invention is a unique padlock retaining device. The padlock retaining device comprises: a) a stand-alone body, separate from any locking device or latching device, the body having one or more body attachment facilitators and b) a lock containment section attached to and extending away from the body for accepting and retaining an open padlock. 
     The invention is also a method of employing the padlock retaining device to prevent damage caused by inadvertently opening a roll-up door with a padlock still attached to the roll-up door. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where: 
         FIG. 1  is a sketch illustrating a slide lock of the prior art; 
         FIG. 2  is a sketch illustrating a slide lock attached to a roll up door disposed within a door frame, wherein a padlock has been operably placed on the slide lock to secure the slide lock in a latched position; 
         FIG. 3  is a sketch illustrating the roll up door of  FIG. 2  wherein the padlock has been opened and hung loosely on the slide lock and wherein the roll up door has been rolled up to inadvertently cause the padlock to strike the top of the door frame; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a padlock retaining device having features of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a front view of the padlock retaining device illustrated in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of the padlock retaining device illustrated in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of the padlock retaining device illustrated in  FIG. 4 ; and 
         FIG. 8  is a sketch illustrating a slide lock attached to a roll up door disposed within a door frame, and a padlock opened and hung loosely on a padlock retaining device having features of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following discussion describes in detail one embodiment of the invention and several variations of that embodiment. This discussion should not be construed, however, as limiting the invention to those particular embodiments. Practitioners skilled in the art will recognize numerous other embodiments as well. 
     Definitions 
     As used herein, the following terms and variations thereof have the meanings given below, unless a different meaning is clearly intended by the context in which such term is used. 
     The terms “a,” “an,” and “the” and similar referents used herein are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural unless their usage in context indicates otherwise. 
     As used in this disclosure, the term “comprise” and variations of the term, such as “comprising” and “comprises,” are not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers, ingredients or steps. 
     The Invention 
     In one aspect, the invention is a padlock retaining device  10  built specifically to hold a padlock  12  in a convenient location adjacent to a roll-up door  14 , not on the roll-up door  14  itself.  FIGS. 4-7  illustrate one embodiment of the invention. 
     The padlock retaining device  10  comprises a body  16 , one or more body attachment facilitators  18 , and a lock containment section  20 . The padlock retaining device  10  can be any size and dimension, and made from any material, including plastic, wood or metal. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 4-7 , the padlock retaining device  10  can be 2 and ¾ inches tall, 1 and ⅞ inches wide and preferably can be made from a single plate of steel. 
     The body  16  can be any shape and dimension, but preferably the body  16  is planar. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 4-7 , the body  16  is in the shape of a padlock. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 4-7 , the padlock retaining device  10  has two body attachment facilitators  18  which be used to attach the padlock retaining device  10  to a wall surface  36  adjacent a roll-up door  14 . Optionally, the two body attachment facilitators  18  can be fastener holes, and the padlock retaining device  10  can be attached to the wall surface  36  using any type of fastener, for example, stainless steel fasteners, screws or rivets depending on the application. 
     The lock containment section  20  is configured to accept and retain a padlock shackle  22 . The lock containment section  20  is coupled to the body  16  at a sufficient angle to accept and retain a padlock shackle  22 . The lock containment section  20  can be made from any material, including plastic, wood or metal, but preferably it is made from steel. The lock containment section  20  can be any size and dimension, but preferably it is about ⅞ inches long. 
     Optionally, the padlock retaining device  10  can be made from a single plate of steel, as shown in the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 4-7 . Because the padlock retaining device  10  can be made from a single plate of steel, the lock containment section  20  is a portion of the padlock retaining device  10  that is bent away from the body  16 . Preferably the lock containment section  20  is bent away from the body  16  at a 90 degree angle with respect to the body  16 . 
     The lock containment section  20  can also have a padlock shackle retaining hole  26  defined therein. The padlock shackle retaining hole  26  is sized and dimensioned to accept and retain a padlock shackle  22 . The padlock shackle  22  is inserted through the padlock shackle retaining hole  26  such that the padlock  12  is now retained by the padlock retaining device  10 . 
     In another aspect, the invention is a method of employing the padlock retaining device  10  to prevent damage caused by inadvertently opening a roll-up door  14  with a padlock  12  still attached to the roll-up door  14 . 
     The padlock retaining device  10  is especially useful for a roll-up door  14  comprising a locking apparatus  32  having: 
     a slidable bolt  34  attached to the door on a slide rail, wherein the bolt  34  can be alternatively (1) slid in one direction along the slide rail to a “latched position,” wherein the bolt  34  is caused to protrude into a strike plate mounted on the door frame (to prevent the roll-up door  14  from travelling upward) and (2) slid in the opposite direction along the slide rail to an “unlatched position,” wherein the bolt  34  is retracted out of the strike plate (to allow the roll-up door  14  to again freely travel upward); 
     padlock retainer portions defined within both the slide rail and the bolt  34  to provide a locking through-hole which is sized and dimensioned to accept a padlock shackle  22 , the holes in the padlock retainer portions being located so that, when the bolt  34  is slid to the latched position, the holes are aligned with one another such that a padlock shackle  22  can be placed and secured within both holes to lock the bolt  34  within the latched position; and 
     a manager&#39;s overlock hole defined in both the slide rail and the bolt  34  which is operatively configured to retain the padlock  12  on the roll-up door when the bolt  34  is in the unlatched position. 
     As discussed above, many users secure the padlock  12  to the manager&#39;s overlock hole (not shown) after they have removed the padlock  12  from the roll-up door  14 , but prior to actually opening the roll-up door  14 . Then the roll-up door  14  is moved upward to an open position, which causes the locking apparatus  32  to strike the upper portion of the door frame  38 . 
     In the method, the padlock retaining device  10  is attached to a wall surface  36 —typically a vertical wall surface—separate from the roll-up door  14  for which a padlock  12  is used to secure the roll-up door  14  in the latched position. Then the padlock  12  is retained on the padlock retaining device  10  when the padlock  12  is not in use by disposing the padlock shackle  22  into the padlock shackle retaining hole  26 —as illustrated in  FIG. 8 . 
     The method of employing the padlock retaining device  10  comprises the steps of providing the padlock retaining device  10 , attaching the padlock retaining device  10  to a wall surface  36  separate from the roll-up door  14  by the one or more body attachment facilitators  18 , disposing the padlock shackle  22  into the lock containment section  20 , and retaining the padlock  12  on the padlock retaining device  10  when the padlock  12  is not in use. 
     The method effectively prevents damage to the roll-up door  14 , the locking apparatus  32  and/or the door frame  38  by inadvertently rolling the roll-up door  14  upwards while the padlock  12  is attached in the auxiliary manager&#39;s overlock hole of the locking apparatus  32 —thereby causing the locking apparatus  32  to strike the upper portion of the door frame  38 . 
     Although the present invention has been discussed in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of preferred embodiments contained in this disclosure.

Technology Classification (CPC): 4