Nike patents shoe sole with layered fibers to control twisting
Nike has filed a patent for a shoe sole design that includes a specific 'torsion plate' to manage how the shoe bends. This plate sits between the main cushioning and the shoe's upper part, featuring layers of fibers arranged in different directions to provide stability.
In the filing’s own words
A sole structure for an article of footwear, the sole structure having: a forefoot region and a heel region; a midsole plate including a first surface coupled with an upper of the article of footwear, and a second surface disposed opposite the first surface; an outsole plate, including a top surface contacting the midsole plate and a bottom surface opposite the top surface forming a portion of a ground-contacting surface, the outsole plate including a recess disposed in the top surface; and a torsion plate disposed on the first surface of the midsole plate, wherein the torsion plate has a plurality of layers with at least a first layer of fibers and a second layer of fibers, wherein most of the fibers in the first layer extend in a first direction, and most of the fibers in the second layer extend in a second direction different than the first direction.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A sole structure for an article of footwear, the sole structure comprising: a forefoot region and a heel region; a midsole including a first surface configured to couple with an upper of the article of footwear, and a second surface disposed opposite the first surface; an outsole plate, including a top surface and a bottom surface opposite the top surface, extending from the forefoot region to the heel region, the outsole plate including a recess disposed in the top surface, wherein the top surface of the outsole plate contacts the second surface of the midsole, wherein the bottom surface of the outsole plate forms a first ground-contacting surface of the sole structure; and a torsion plate disposed on the first surface of the midsole, wherein the torsion plate comprises a plurality of layers, wherein the plurality of layers comprises at least a first layer of fibers and a second layer of fibers, wherein most of the fibers in the first layer extend in a first direction, and most of the fibers in the second layer extend in a second direction different than the first direction of the first layer.
Facts
- Company
- Nike (NIKE, Inc.)
- Official title
- ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR HAVING A TORSION PLATE
- Publication number
- US20260272107A1
- Application number
- 19564766
- Filed
- Mar 12, 2026
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Inventors
- 4
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
A43B 13/127 Human necessitiesA43B 13/026 Human necessitiesA43B 13/42 Human necessitiesA43C 15/165 Human necessitiesMore from Nike in Clothing & sport
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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.