Patent ID: 7469486

Claim:
A drying apparatus for drying a subject, wherein a refrigerant is circulated through a compressor, a radiator, an expansion mechanism and an evaporator through pipes, said drying apparatus comprising: a drying air flow path operable to introduce drying air heated by the radiator to the subject to be dried, dehumidify the drying air which has been introduced to the subject by using the evaporator, and, heat the dehumidified drying air to return it into the drying air; a bypass circuit through which a portion of the drying air heated by the radiator flows to the evaporator without coming into contact with the subject to be dried; a bypass circuit flow rate detecting device operable to detect a flow rate of the drying air which flows into said bypass circuit; and a bypass air flow rate adjusting device operable to adjust the flow rate of the drying air flowing into said bypass circuit using a value detected by said bypass circuit flow rate detecting device.