The physical performance and durability of structures in buildings is particularly dependent on the moisture management of the structures, both during construction and during use. As the structures become in use and as the buildings age, their moisture performance will change. The structures used can also have different properties, which can affect their moisture-technical ability to withstand stresses.

Moisture damage can occur in buildings of all ages and their causes can vary. Often old buildings, which are awaiting renovation, have gradually deteriorated due to lack of maintenance and refurbishment, which may have resulted in serious moisture damage. Moisture in buildings can also come from rainwater, thawing water, soil, outdoor and indoor air or hot water. Structural dampness may remain in the structures during construction if, for example, concrete castings are not allowed to dry sufficiently, or structures and construction materials are exposed to rainwater during construction. Moisture can be caused by structures such as leaks, condensation or capillary action. Insufficient ventilation can also be one of the major causes of moisture damage. Typically, mechanical drying is used to dry moisture damage, the progress of which is monitored by structural moisture measurements. However, the problem with previously known drying apparatuses is their inefficiency, which results in very long drying times for the structures. Known solutions for drying apparatuses are disclosed, for example, in the following patent documents CH 707545 A2, GB 2557164 A, GB 2514149 A, US 5155924 A, SE 1630308 A1 and US 2011167670 Al.

Summary of the invention It is an object of the invention to provide a drying capsule capable of solving the above problems. It is a further object of the invention to provide a drying system and a method for solving the above problems. The objects of the invention are achieved by a drying capsule, a drying system and a method which are characterized by what is stated in the independent claims. Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

The invention discloses a drying capsule which is formed by a planar upper surface and a planar lower surface and a plurality of walls extending therebetween, which surfaces and walls define a flow channel inside said drying capsule. The flow channel has at least one portion in the vicinity of said planar lower surface, wherein the flow channel opens toward the structure to be dried through which moisture containing air is transferred from the structure to the flow channel of the drying capsule. In a drying capsule, there is a flow inlet provided at one end of a flow channel through which air is introduced to the drying capsule and a flow outlet provided at another end of a flow channel through which moisture containing air is removed. Air circulates in the flow channel through the drying capsule in one direction which speeds up the drying of the structure.

The invention discloses further a drying system for drying structures, in which a drying system comprises:

- a blower means;

- an air flow control means; and - a drying capsule which is formed by a planar upper surface and a planar lower surface and a plurality of walls extending therebetween, which said surfaces and walls define a flow channel therein, and that said flow channel has at least one portion in the vicinity of said planar lower surface, wherein said flow channel opens toward the structure to be dried, in which drying system, a blower means is connectable to a flow inlet and an air flow control means is connectable to a flow outlet.

The invention discloses further a method for drying structures with a drying system having above said drying capsule in which the method comprises: - arranging a drying capsule to a structure to be dried; - transferring air from a blower means to a drying capsule;

- transferring moisture containing air from said drying capsule to an air flow control means. The invention is based on the optimum condition created by the drying capsule in terms of air pressure, temperature and flow rate. The invention makes it possible to create an optimum condition for drying the structure, regardless of the environmental conditions. The invention has further an advantage of providing a more efficient drying effect at different temperatures and conditions of the structures and reliability of operation.

The present invention is suitable for use in drying moisture damage. Furthermore, the invention is suitable for use in new construction to effectively remove moisture during construction. This makes possible to shorten the total construction time required.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will now be further described in connection with preferred embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 presents a top plan view of a drying capsule according to an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 presents a cross-sectional view of a drying capsule according to an embodiment of the invention in the direction A-A of Figure 1;

Figure 3 presents a drying system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a drying capsule according to an embodiment of the invention. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the drying capsule shown in Figure 1 in the direction A-A. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a drying capsule 100 is formed of a planar upper surface 113 and a planar lower surface 114 facing the planar upper surface 113 and a plurality of side walls extending between the planar upper surface 113 and planar lower surface 114, defining a capsule-like structure, and enclosing a flow channel 112, 122 inside said drying capsule 100.

In an embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, said drying capsule 100 has two parts comprising a top part 110 and a bottom part 120 which parts 110, 120 are superimposed and interconnected so that the side walls of the top part 110 and the side walls of the bottom part 120 are aligned with each other whereby said top part 110 and bottom part 120 together form a rectangular unitary structure. The top part 110 has a flow inlet 111 and the bottom part 120 has a flow outlet 121. Within the drying capsule 100 is a flow channel 112, 122, extending from the top part to the bottom part, having a first portion and a second portion arranged such that the first portion of the flow channel 112 is at the top part 110 and the second portion of the flow channel 122 is at the bottom part 120. The first portion of the flow channel is connected to the flow inlet 111, and the second portion of the flow channel is connected to the flow outlet 121.

Referring to Figure 2, there is shown the arrangement of flow channel 112, 122 inside a drying capsule 100. At the top part 110, the flow channel 112 is defined by the structure of the top part 110 and it 112 opens downwardly toward the upper surface of the bottom part 120. The flow channel 112 has at least one open portion in the vicinity of the lower surface of the top part 110 which open portion is limited to the upper surface of the bottom part 120. At the bottom part, the flow channel 122 is defined by the structure of the bottom part 120 and it 122 opens downwardly toward the lower surface 114 of the bottom part 120. The flow channel 122 has at least one open portion in the vicinity of the planar lower surface 114 of the bottom part 120, which open portion is limited the lower surface 114 and to the upper surface of the structure 160 to be dried, i.e. when the drying capsule is installed on the structure 160 to be dried.

When the drying capsule is used, the flow channel in the bottom part 120 opens downwardly toward the structure 160 below it and allows moisture transfer from the structure 160 to the air flowing in the flow channel. As the air continues flowing in the flow channel, moisture is transferred from the structure 160 to the flow channel, from where it is further transferred with the flowing air to the air flow control means (not shown in Figures 1 and 2). The moisture transfer from structure 160 to flow channel is shown by arrows in Figure 2.

In the drying capsule 100 shown in Figure 1, a planar upper surface 113 of the top part 110 may be provided with a walking-resistant surface material and/or a non slip texture, mesh or profile suitable for walking, made of, for example, rubber, silicone or plastic, which extends over or covers at least a portion of the entire upper surface 113, allowing person, such as service technician, to walk on the upper surface of the drying capsule. The bottom part 120 having a planar lower surface 114 is advantageously shaped such that it allows the lower surface 114 to be installed against a planar structure 160 to be dried, for example a concrete, wood, plastic, gypsum board, chipboard, parquet or laminate floor or wall.

In Figure 1, the top part 110 and the bottom part 120 are joined together to form a unitary capsule-like structure. However, it may be also possible that the top part and the bottom part are separate parts that are manufactured separately and are not assembled until the drying capsule 100 is installed or in post-production assembly.

A top part 110 and a bottom part 120 may be made of the same material or different materials. The top part 110 and the bottom part 120 may be made of, for example, rubber, plastic or silicone, a material which is preferably resistant to temperature fluctuations and moisture and is sufficiently dense and flexible to allow bending of the drying capsule 100 during installation, facilitating assembly. Due to its flexibility, small irregularities in the structure do not hinder the installation of the drying capsule or its operation on uneven substrates structures.

A drying capsule 100 may vary in length, width and height. For example, the top part 110 of the drying capsule 100 has a thickness of between 5 and 10 millimeters, preferably between 3 and 6 millimeters. For example, the bottom part 120 has a thickness of between 5 and 10 millimeters, preferably between 3 and 6 millimeters. The total thickness of the drying capsule 100 may, for example, be in the range of 10 to 20 or 6 to 12 millimeters. The outer shape of the drying capsule may also vary. For example, the drying capsule may be in the form of an I, U, T or L letter. The drying capsule may have a curved shape when viewed from above, for example.

In Figure 2, there are shown four parallel flow channels 112 at the top part 110 of a drying capsule 100 and four parallel flow channels 122 at the bottom part 120 of the drying capsule. The number of flow channels in the present embodiment is not, however, limited to any particular number of flow channels, but may vary as required. A flow channel 112, 122 may further have multiple side branches, each of the branches comprising a flow channel. A flow channel may, for example, comprise multiple parallel flow channels starting, for example, from a flow channel or manifold (not shown in the Figures) connected to the flow inlet 111 and/or flow outlet 121 of the drying capsule 100 and branching into multiple side flow channels.

A plurality of drying capsules according to the embodiments may be connected to each other both longitudinally and widthwise. According to one embodiment a drying capsule may be provided with at least one connecting means for connecting a drying capsule to another drying capsule. The connecting means may comprise, for example, quick-fastening means. The drying capsules can also be used as single units. The flow channels of the drying capsules may be connected at the end of the drying capsule, at the end of the longitudinal flow channel. For example, in a 2 m x 3 m (width x length) drying capsule unit, the merge occurs at the end of the third row.

A flow channel 112, 122 may be formed of a tube. The tube may be circular, oval, polygonal or rectangular in diameter, for example. The shape of a flow channel cross-section is not limited to any shape. A flow channel may also be formed from a profile, for example a U or V profile, as shown in Figure 2. The material of the flow channel may be, for example, rubber, plastic or silicone, preferably material that allows the flow channel to bend on the surface of the uneven structure. The diameter, length, width and shape of the tube may vary according to the needs of the application and the size of the drying capsule.

Figure 3 shows a drying system 200 according to an embodiment of the invention, which in addition to a drying capsule 100 comprises blower means 130 and air flow control means 140. The blower means 130 may further be provided with a blower hose or tube 132 having a first end connectable to the flow outlet 121 of the blower means 130 and a second end connectable to the flow inlet 111. The air flow control means 140 such as an adsorption dryer may be further provided with a suction hose having a first end connectable to the flow inlet 111 of the air flow control means 140 and a second end connected to the flow outlet 121 of the drying capsule 100.

The length and/or diameter of the blower hose 132 and suction hose 142 may vary.

According to an embodiment a drying system 200 further comprises at least one sensor 180, for example, a moisture and/or temperature measuring sensor to be arranged in the structure 160 to be dried for measuring its moisture and/or temperature data. Other sensor types may also be used. The sensor 180 is mounted on the structure 160 during the construction phase and remains within the structure 160 such that the sensor 180 installation depth is preferably up to 80 millimeters.

For example, when drying reinforced concrete structures. The drying system 200 may further comprise at least one receiver 190 communicating with the measuring sensor 180 over a communication network to receive temperature and/or moisture data measured by the sensor 180 and to control the drying system 200 based on the measured data received by the receiver 190. With controlling the drying system 200 is meant controlling the blower means 130 and the air flow control means 140. The controlling includes adjusting the air pressure in the drying capsule 100, adjusting the replacement and/or blower air, controlled air heating and/or air cooling, and air drying or humidification. The control can be done either locally, remotely via a telecommunications network, or by means of learning artificial intelligence. The control means by which the system control is performed may comprise, for example, digital terminals, smartphones, wireless communication devices, computers, communication devices, programmable logic, control panels and control software that can be connected to the communication network used in the drying system 200.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the drying system 200 may further comprise a gateway and a database server communicating with the gateway (not shown in Figures) to transfer information from the drying system 200 to and through the gateway. The drying system 200 may further comprise other wireless sensors, such as Internet of Things (IoT) sensors or transmitters, whose measurement data may be used to remotely control the drying system 200. Temperature and/or moisture data measured from structures can be used to make decisions and calculations to control the drying system 200, the blower means 130 and the air flow control means 140. The operation of the drying system 200 and/or blower means 130 and/or air flow control means 140 can be remote controlled at a desired time. Remote control can collect information such as the location of the drying system, ambient conditions, temperature and moisture where the drying system 200 is used, moisture of structures to be dried, temperatures of the structures, system operating times and malfunctions.

The invention described above further relates to a method for drying structures with a drying system 200 as described above, comprising

- arranging the drying capsule 100 in the drying structure 160,

- transferring air from the blower unit 130 to the drying capsule 100, - transferring moisture containing air from the drying capsule 100 to the air flow control means 140.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises:

- arranging at least one sensor 180 in the structure to be dried 160 to measure its moisture and/or temperature,

- measuring moisture and/or temperature data with at least one sensor 180,

- transmitting sensor-measured moisture and/or temperature data to a receiver 190 in the drying system 200, and

- controlling the drying system 200 based on data received by the receiver 190.

Although the invention has been described above with reference to the examples in the accompanying drawings, the invention is not limited thereto, but may be modified in many ways within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly and are intended to illustrate, not to limit, the embodiment.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that as technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. It will also be clear to one skilled in the art that the embodiments described may, but need not, be combined with other embodiments in various ways.