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NikeGranted patentClothing & sportInterest 6/10

Nike patents knitted shoe parts with mixed grip zones for better ball control

Nike has secured a patent for a knitted material used in footwear that features two distinct surface textures. One area uses a special yarn with a plastic coating to create high friction, while the other uses a different yarn for lower friction, arranged in an alternating pattern.

Why it mattersThis design aims to improve how athletes grip a ball or surface by combining sticky and smooth zones in a single knitted piece.

In the filing’s own words

A knitted component with a surface that includes first areas and second areas having different relative coefficient of frictions and formed in an alternating pattern. The first areas of the first surface are 40% to 80% of the total surface area for the first surface. The alternating pattern may be in the form of concentric shapes. The alternating pattern may have linear boundaries and curvilinear boundaries between first areas and second areas. The first areas can be formed from a first yarn having a core and a coating. The coating at least partially surrounds the core.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A knitted component comprising: a first surface and an opposite second surface, the first surface of the knitted component comprising: first areas having a first coefficient of friction, the first areas comprising a thermoformed network of interlooped yarns comprising a first yarn having a core and a thermoformed thermoplastic polymeric composition, wherein the thermoformed thermoplastic polymeric composition consolidates the thermoformed network of interlooped yarns by surrounding at least a portion of the core and occupying at least a portion of spaces between the yarns in the thermoformed network of interlooped yarns; and second areas having a second coefficient of friction that is different than the first coefficient of friction, the second areas comprising a second yarn, the second yarn being different from the first yarn, wherein the first coefficient of friction is greater than the second coefficient of friction, wherein the second coefficient of friction of the second areas is within a range from about 15% to about 60% less than the first coefficient of friction of the first areas, wherein the second surface comprises a plurality of third areas comprising a third yarn, and wherein at least a portion of the thermoformed thermoplastic polymeric composition extends completely from the first surface into the second surface.

Facts

Company
Nike (NIKE, Inc.)
Official title
Knitted components and articles for improved ball control and durability
Patent number
US12721397B2
Application number
18691663
Filed
Sep 15, 2021
Granted
Sep 1, 2026
Inventors
7
Claims
24

Classified under

A43B 1/04 Human necessitiesA43B 23/0215 Human necessitiesD04B 1/102 Textiles & paperD04B 1/24 Textiles & paperD10B 2501/043 Textiles & paper
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.