Patent ID: 8281607

Claim:
An electronic valve ( 10 ) for controlling the flow of a refrigerant through an evaporator, comprising: a valve body ( 12 ) having a supply passage ( 14 ) connecting inlet and outlet ports ( 16 , 18 ) and a return passage connecting inlet and outlet ports ( ); an electrically actuated expansion valve ( 30 ) mounted to the valve body for controlling flow of refrigerant through the supply passage; at least one pressure sensor ( 32 ) mounted to the valve body and positioned to sense fluid pressure in the return passage; at least one temperature sensor ( 33 ) mounted to the valve body and positioned to sense the temperature of fluid in the return passage; a temperature sensor ( 36 ) mounted to the valve body and positioned to sense the temperature of fluid in the supply passage; and onboard electronics ( 25 ) mounted to the valve body for controlling the expansion valve in response to pressure and temperature signals received from the pressure and temperature sensors, the onboard electronics being configured to adjust operating parameters as a function of the sensor outputs so as to adapt the valve to different types of refrigerants.