Patent ID: 7694541

Claim:
A padlock, comprising: a lock body including at least one passage defined therein; a shackle displaceable between open and secured positions, said shackle having at least one elongated leg, said at least one leg being slideable within said at least one passage and including a notch, said at least one leg being completely removed from said lock body when said shackle is in said open position; a locking member accommodated within said lock body and displaceable between unlocked and locked positions, said locking member being preloaded towards said locked position to engage said notch to inhibit movement of said shackle from said secured position into said open position wherein the locking member may be pushed back from its locked position into its unlocked position when the shackle is in its secured position independently of the position of a locking mechanism cooperating with the locking member; wherein one of said at least one passage and said at least one leg defines at least one recess which extends in a transverse direction from its circumference relative to a longitudinal axis of said at least one leg; wherein the other one of said at least one passage and said at least one leg defines at least one projection complementary in shape to said at least one recess that extends in the transverse direction from its circumference relative to said longitudinal axis of said at least one leg, at least a portion of said at least one projection being positioned in said at least one recess when said shackle is in said secured position; and wherein at least a portion of said recess and said projection are aligned with at least a portion of said notch as viewed along said longitudinal axis of said at least one leg when said shackle is in said secured position.