Patent ID: 8863562

Claim:
A padlock shackle guard for a padlock defining a housing, the guard comprising a substrate defining a rigid, inflexible sleeve having a first end and a second end, the sleeve being adapted to be slidably installed onto a free end of a shackle, wherein the shackle is comprised of a first rectilinear section, a second rectilinear section, and curved section disposed between the first and second rectilinear sections, and inserted between the housing and the shackle nested within the housing, said sleeve being designed to retrofit pre-existing padlocks that can be installed by an end user with no requirement of assembly wherein said sleeve only frictionally engages with said shackle, said sleeve being rotatable when the padlock is closed, said first end of the sleeve abutting the curved section of the shackle, which thereby renders the sleeve substantially fixed in its longitudinal position when the padlock is in a closed position, and said sleeve being removable from the shackle when the padlock is opened.