Patent ID: 8011240

Claim:
A device for measuring a flow of a fluid comprising: a substrate, a heater arranged on said substrate, at least one first and one second sensing thermopile for measuring a temperature difference between a location upstream and a location downstream of said heater and for generating a sensing signal, said sensing thermopiles being arranged on said substrate, wherein a junction of said sensing thermopiles closest to said heater is arranged at a first distance from said heater, in addition to and distinct from the first and the second sensing thermopile at least a first and a second monitoring thermocouple arranged upstream and downstream from said heater for generating a monitoring signal, said monitoring thermocouples being arranged on said substrate, wherein a junction of said monitoring thermocouples closest to said heater is arranged at a second distance from said heater, wherein said second distance is smaller than said first distance, and a control circuit adapted to measure the flow of the fluid over said heater and said sensing thermopiles from a flow-dependent heating of said sensing thermopiles by said heater, wherein said sensing thermopiles extend parallel to said monitoring thermocouples.