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NikePatent applicationMaterials & manufacturingInterest 4/10

Nike patents method for printing on uneven fabric surfaces

Nike describes a printing technique that applies thick material to curved or uneven fabric without moving the nozzle up or down. The system sprays small, separate droplets of ink with high solid content to build a continuous design across varying heights.

Why it mattersThis approach could allow for more complex, textured designs on shoes and apparel that traditional flat-surface printing cannot easily achieve.

In the filing’s own words

A printing method includes placing a textile component on a print bed of a jetting system so that an exterior surface of the textile component faces the jetting system's print media ejection nozzle. The exterior surface of the textile component is non-planar such that a print region of the textile component where print media material is to be applied varies in thickness by more than 1 mm. In this method, the print media material has at least 40% solids and is dispensed from the nozzle as a series of discrete and separated volumes of print media material. During the process: (a) the nozzle is moved with respect to the print bed to form a continuous printed element through portions of the print region having different thicknesses, and (b) a separation distance between the print media ejection nozzle and the print bed is not changed as the printed element is formed.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method, comprising: placing a textile component on a print bed of a jetting system so that an exterior surface of the textile component faces a print media ejection nozzle of the jetting system, wherein the exterior surface of the textile component is non-planar such that a print region of the textile component on which print media material is to be applied varies in a thickness dimension by more than 1 mm; dispensing print media material from the print media ejection nozzle to the exterior surface in the print region, wherein the print media material has at least 40% solids content and is dispensed from the print media ejection nozzle as a series of discrete and separated volumes of the print media material; and moving the print media ejection nozzle with respect to the print bed to thereby form a continuous printed element in the print region through portions of the print region having different thicknesses, wherein a separation distance between the print media ejection nozzle and the print bed is not changed as the continuous printed element is formed over non-planar portions of the print region.

Facts

Company
Nike (NIKE, Inc.)
Official title
Textile Components and/or Other Articles Including Printed Structures, Methods of Making These Articles, and Products Including Such Articles
Publication number
US20260257508A1
Application number
19555253
Filed
Mar 3, 2026
Published
Sep 3, 2026
Inventors
3
Claims
24

Classified under

B41M 1/40 Operations & transport
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.