Thermal mass flow rate sensor, thermal mass flow rate sensor production method, and thermal mass flow meter using said thermal mass flow rate sensor

For a thermal mass flow rate sensor 10 enclosed in a sealed container 11 having an inert atmosphere for the purpose of suppressing the loss of covering layers of sensor wires 13a, 13b associated with high-temperature use, an exhaust pipe 16 is further provided that causes the inner space of the sealed container 11 and the outside to be in airtight communication with each other via an exhaust hole 16a that is a through-hole formed in the outer wall of the sealed container 11. The end part on the opposite side of the exhaust pipe 16 from the exhaust hole 16a is sealed through plastic deformation so as to form a sealed part 16b. As a result, it is possible to airtightly close the internal space of a sealed container 11 after forming the sealed container 11 in a normal atmosphere. The sealed part 16b may be further sealed through welding. In this way, it is possible to assemble a sealed container 11 simply and with a high degree of accuracy and suppress reduction in the airtightness of the sealed container 11 associated with high-temperature use.