Appeal No. 2002-2082
Application No. 09/289,393 Page 2
from a reading of exemplary claim 5, which is reproduced as
follows:
5. A thermo-sensitive flow rate sensor for measuring a flow
rate of a fluid, said thermo-sensitive flow rate sensor
comprising:
a plate-like substrate having a central portion which is
removed so that a cavity is provided therein;
a diaphragm portion formed by a thin layer disposed above
said cavity in such a manner as to be integral with said plate-
like substrate;
a heating element formed by a thermo-sensitive electrically
resistant film disposed on said diaphragm portion;
a temperature measuring element, spaced apart from said
diaphragm portion and formed on said plate-like substrate, for
detecting a temperature of said fluid to be measured; and
a control circuit for controlling a heating current to be
supplied to said heating element so that a temperature of said
heating element is higher than a temperature of said fluid by a
predetermined number of degrees, thereby measuring a flow rate of
said fluid according to the heating current for said heating
element,
wherein a plurality of holes are provided in an outer
peripheral portion of said diaphragm portion which is other than
a part located upstream of said heating element so as to
penetrate said diaphragm portion.
The prior art references of record relied upon by the
examiner in rejecting the appealed claims are:
Nagata et al. 5,291,781 Mar. 8, 1994
(Nagata)
Morimasa et al. 5,804,720 Sep. 8, 1998
(Morimasa)
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