Patent ID: 7748246

Claim:
A handle and housing assembly, comprising: a) a housing having a front side and a rear side, and a mounting flange that surrounds a border of a forwardly facing recess defined by the housing wherein the forwardly facing recess has a relatively small sized, relatively shallow portion in an end region of the forwardly facing recess removed from where a forwardly-rearwardly extending principal axis extends through a relatively large sized, relatively deep portion of the forwardly facing recess, wherein the end region of the forwardly facing recess that defines the relatively shallow portion of the forwardly facing recess is located along the border of the forwardly facing recess in a region of the forwardly facing recess that is exterior to and outside of the relatively deep portion of the forwardly facing recess; b) a shaft extending along the principal axis through the housing and into the relatively deep portion of the forwardly facing recess and being turnable relative to the housing about the forwardly-rearwardly extending principal axis; c) a handle having a relatively wide graspable portion joined to and supported by a relatively narrow stem portion that is connected on the front side of the housing to the shaft to permit movement of the handle relative to the shaft between a retracted position nesting in the recess near the housing with the relatively wide graspable portion overlying a majority of the relatively shallow portion of the forwardly facing recess, and an extended position projecting forwardly from the housing with the graspable portion extending forwardly from the forwardly facing recess to facilitate grasping and turning of the handle to turn the shaft about the principal axis between first and second orientations, and wherein the stem portion of the handle has spaced parts between which is defined a passage configured to open rearwardly into the forwardly facing recess and to not open forwardly when the handle is in the retracted position; d) a forwardly extending projection on the front side of the housing configured to extend into the passage between the spaced parts of the stem portion of the handle and to thereby be concealed from view when the handle is in the retracted position; and, e) openings formed through the spaced parts of the stem portion that are configured to align with an opening formed through the forwardly extending projection when the handle is in the retracted position to permit a component of a padlock to be inserted through the openings formed through the spaced parts and the opening formed through the forwardly extending projection to retain the handle in the retracted position.