Nike patents shoes with built-in air pockets using nonwoven fabric
Nike describes a method for making footwear where a single sheet of nonwoven fabric is partially heated and shaped to create stiff, raised sections. These shaped sections form air pockets or cavities within the shoe's structure, while the rest of the fabric remains flat and flexible to attach to the main body of the shoe.
In the filing’s own words
In an example, a wearable article includes a nonwoven textile sheet having a first portion and a second portion contiguous with the first portion. The first portion has a first density and a first modulus of elasticity. The second portion has a second density less than the first density and has a second modulus of elasticity less than the first modulus of elasticity. The first portion is shaped differently than the second portion as an integral implement of the wearable article. A method of manufacturing a wearable article may comprise thermoforming the first portion while the second portion contiguous with the thermoformed first portion is not thermoformed.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A wearable article comprising: a nonwoven textile sheet having a first portion and a second portion contiguous with the first portion; and a textile component; wherein the first portion has a first density and a first modulus of elasticity; wherein the second portion has a second density less than the first density and has a second modulus of elasticity less than the first modulus of elasticity; wherein fibers of the second portion of the nonwoven textile sheet are intertwined with fibers of the textile component to secure the second portion to the textile component; wherein the second portion of the nonwoven textile sheet contacts a surface of the textile component and the first portion is displaced from the surface by a cavity between the first portion and the surface; and wherein the first portion defines a through hole extending through the nonwoven textile sheet.
Facts
- Company
- Nike (NIKE, Inc.)
- Official title
- Wearable article and method of manufacturing a wearable article
- Patent number
- US12751509B2
- Application number
- 18917650
- Filed
- Oct 16, 2024
- Granted
- Oct 6, 2026
- Inventors
- 1
- Claims
- 15
Classified under
A41D 27/205 Human necessitiesA43B 1/14 Human necessitiesA43B 3/38 Human necessitiesA43C 19/00 Human necessitiesA44B 11/20 Human necessitiesA45C 13/1084 Human necessitiesMore from Nike in Wearables
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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.