Drying device and sanitary washing apparatus equipped with the same

Abstract

A drying device in accordance with the invention is characterized by including: an air blowing portion for blowing pressurized air so as to dry a surface to be dried by a jet of pressurized air whose abutment area to the surface to be dried is narrower than the surface to be dried; and a moving unit for moving the air blowing portion while the jet is being blown such that the jet blown from the air blowing portion sequentially sweeps a substantially entire surface of the surface to be dried, wherein the moving unit includes a first moving device for moving the air blowing portion in a state in which a blowing direction of the jet is being maintained so as to form a predetermined angle with respect to a moving direction of the air blowing portion and a second moving device for moving the air blowing portion in a direction different from that of the moving direction. For example, this first moving device moves in an advancing/retracting direction of the air blowing portion, and the second moving device deflects the blowing direction of the jet.

1 . A drying device comprising:
 an air blowing portion for blowing pressurized air so as to dry a surface to be dried by a jet of pressurized air whose abutment area to the surface to be dried is narrower than the surface to be dried; and   a moving unit for moving the air blowing portion while the jet is being blown such that the jet blown from the air blowing portion sequentially sweeps a substantially entire surface of the surface to be dried,   wherein the moving unit includes a first moving device for moving the air blowing portion in a state in which a blowing direction of the jet is being maintained so as to form a predetermined angle with respect to a moving direction of the air blowing portion and a second moving device for moving the air blowing portion in a direction different from that of the moving direction.   
   
   
       2 . The drying device according to  claim 1 , wherein the first moving device moves in an advancing/retracting direction of the air blowing portion. 
   
   
       3 . The drying device according to  claim 1 , wherein the second moving device deflects the blowing direction of the jet. 
   
   
       4 . The drying device according to  claim 1 , wherein the second moving device moves in the direction different from that of the moving direction in the state in which the blowing direction of the jet is being maintained. 
   
   
       5 . The drying device according to  claim 3 , wherein the second moving device deflects the jet by rotating the air blowing portion. 
   
   
       6 . The drying device according to  claim 3 , wherein the second moving device deflects the blowing direction of the jet blown from the air blowing portion. 
   
   
       7 . The drying device according to  claim 4 , wherein the second moving device moves the air blowing portion in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement by the first moving device. 
   
   
       8 . The drying device according to  claim 4 , wherein the second moving device moves the air blowing portion in a circular arc form. 
   
   
       9 . The drying device according to  claim 1 , wherein the air blowing portion is a rod-like body having an air blowing port in a vicinity of a distal end thereof, and the moving direction of the first moving device is a direction along a longitudinal direction of the rod-like body. 
   
   
       10 . The drying device according to  claim 1 , wherein the moving unit sweeps the jet from the air blowing portion so as to blow off waterdrops attached to the surface to be dried while collecting the waterdrops to a central portion of the surface to be dried by the jet blown from the air blowing portion. 
   
   
       11 . The drying device according to  claim 1 , wherein the moving unit includes cyclic movement for cyclically reciprocating the air blowing portion in a fixed direction and gradual movement for moving the cyclic movement in a predetermined direction, and sweeps the abutment area of the jet over the substantially entire surface of the surface to be dried. 
   
   
       12 . The drying device according to  claim 10 , wherein the moving unit gradually moves the air blowing portion from an outer periphery of the surface to be dried toward a substantial center of the surface to be dried while cyclically moving the air blowing portion on substantially tangential lines to a circumference of a circle about a center of the surface to be dried. 
   
   
       13 . The drying device according to  claim 11 , wherein the first moving device effects the gradual movement, and the second moving device effects the cyclic movement. 
   
   
       14 . The drying device according to  claim 11 , wherein the first moving device effects the cyclic movement, and the second moving device effects the gradual movement. 
   
   
       15 . The drying device according to  claim 11 , wherein there are provided a first step in which a direction of the cyclic movement of the moving unit is set as a leftward and rightward direction of the surface to be dried, and the gradual movement is effected from a predetermined position forward of a center of the surface to be dried toward a substantial center thereof, and a second step in which the gradual movement is effected from a predetermined position backward of the center of the surface to be dried toward the substantial center thereof, and the first step and the second step are executed. 
   
   
       16 . The drying device according to  claim 11 , wherein there are provided a first step in which a direction of the cyclic movement of the moving unit is set as a forward and backward direction of the surface to be dried, and the gradual movement is effected from a predetermined position on one side either leftward or rightward of a center of the surface to be dried toward a substantial center thereof, and a second step in which the gradual movement is effected from a predetermined position on another side leftward or rightward of the center of the surface to be dried toward the substantial center thereof, and the first step and the second step are executed. 
   
   
       17 . The drying device according to  claim 13 , wherein there are provided a first step in which a direction of the cyclic movement of the moving unit is set as a leftward and rightward direction of the surface to be dried, and the gradual movement is effected from a predetermined position forward of a center of the surface to be dried toward a substantial center thereof, a second step in which the gradual movement is effected from a predetermined position backward of the center of the surface to be dried toward the substantial center thereof, a third step in which a direction of the cyclic movement of the moving unit is set as a forward and backward direction of the surface to be dried, and the gradual movement is effected from a predetermined position on one side either leftward or rightward of the center of the surface to be dried toward a substantial center thereof, and a fourth step in which the gradual movement is effected from a predetermined position on another side leftward or rightward of the center of the surface to be dried toward the substantial center thereof, and the first to fourth steps are executed. 
   
   
       18 . The drying device according to  claim 10 , wherein the moving unit moves the abutment area of the jet to the central portion while moving the abutment area of the jet around from a peripheral portion of the surface to be dried. 
   
   
       19 . The drying device according to  claim 18 , wherein the moving unit moves the abutment area of the jet to the central portion of the surface to be dried while moving the abutment area of the jet around on a polygonal shape made up by substantially tangential lines to a circumference of a circle about a center of the surface to be dried. 
   
   
       20 . The drying device according to  claim 18 , wherein the moving unit moves the abutment area of the jet to the central portion of the surface to be dried while moving the abutment area of the jet around on a substantial circumference of a circle about a center of the surface to be dried. 
   
   
       21 . The drying device according to  claim 10 , further comprising a controller for controlling the moving unit,
 wherein the controller gradually moves the moving unit from one end of the surface to be dried through a center thereof to another end thereof while causing the moving unit to effect cyclic movement at an end of a drying step.   
   
   
       22 . The drying device according to  claim 1 , further comprising a heating unit for heating air; and a warm air blowout port for blowing out warm air heated by the heating unit. 
   
   
       23 . A sanitary washing apparatus comprising a toilet seat which can be mounted on the drying device according to  claim 1 ; and a washing water spraying unit for spraying washing water toward the surface to be washed.