Patent ID: 7662260

Claim:
A method for the manufacture of a structured fiber web, comprising the steps of: pressing a fiber web onto an imprinting fabric by way of a first pressure field, thereby pre-imprinting said fiber web, said fiber web having a dry content of less than approximately 35%; subsequently pressing said fiber web onto said imprinting fabric by way of a further pressure field for further dewatering and drying to thereby fix a three-dimensional surface structure and strength of the fiber web; delivering the fiber web to a drying cylinder by said imprinting fabric; and exposing the fiber web to air moved by at least three throughflow apparatuses, each of said at least three throughflow apparatuses having a corresponding throughflow direction, at least one of said throughflow directions being different than an other throughflow direction, said first pressure field being a suction element that is arranged along the side of the imprinting fabric with the fiber web on an opposite side of the imprinting fabric.