Patent ID: 8160833

Claim:
A mass flow controller comprising, a thermal mass flow sensor configured to emit an output signal that is indicative of a mass flow rate of a fluid; a control valve that regulates the flow rate of the fluid; a memory that includes substantially permanent parameter values that characterize unique physical attributes of the mass flow controller, and the memory includes a plurality of device-independent variable datasets, each of the plurality of device-independent variable datasets includes device-independent parameter values for a corresponding one of a plurality of non-baseline fluids; a control module that receives the output signal and modifies the output signal of the thermal mass flow sensor, based on a particular type of non-baseline fluid that is being controlled, to improve a response of the thermal mass flow sensor for each of the plurality of non-baseline fluids when there are changes in mass flow rate, and the control module controls the control valve using the modified output signal that is indicative of a mass flow rate of the fluid, the control module including: one or more first filters that utilize the substantially permanent parameter values to improve the response of the modified output signal to a change in the mass flow rate for a baseline fluid; and one or more second filters that modify the output signal utilizing device-independent parameter values from a particular one of the device-independent variable datasets depending upon the particular type of non-baseline fluid that is being controlled to improve the response of the modified output signal to the change in the mass flow rate for the particular type of non-baseline fluid that is being controlled.