Electronic – this inductive component

components

I was salvaging a printer and found like three of these components:

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To me they look like a solenoid, but it seems to have a switch-looking lever at the end and a round piece of metal at the end.

My guess is that current magnetizes the metal and that makes the lever snap, but I'm not sure, and even so, I have no idea what use I could make of it.

I couldn't find anything useful on the internet, typing in some numbers that came printed on the side…

So, my question is, what is the name of this component, and what is it used for?

Best Answer

The device is in fact a solenoid, or specifically a solenoid door-latch or magnetic latch.

When the solenoid coil is energized, this causes the movable ferromagnetic metal piece to be pulled towards the solenoid core. This unlatches whatever door or moving part the device is affixed to, allowing said door to open.

A spring return will typically move the metal piece away from the core once power is removed from the coil. This allows the hook-like ending of the metal piece to latch in place the door etc, holding it closed until the coil is re-energized.