Nike patents fabric with funnels and dimples to keep you cool
Nike has filed a patent for a new type of knit fabric designed to improve airflow in athletic wear. The material features small holes that act like funnels to pull air through the fabric, along with shallow dimples on the inside that reduce the surface area touching your skin. This design aims to help air move through the garment more easily and prevent the fabric from sticking to your body.
In the filing’s own words
The present disclosure is directed to garments formed of a knit spacer textile having both a plurality of flow-through apertures with an outer surface opening that is bigger than a corresponding inner surface opening, and a plurality of craters in the inner-facing surface of the knit spacer textile that do not extend through to the outer face so that no flow-through aperture is formed. The flow through apertures may have a funnel-type structure that facilitates air flow into an interior of the garment. The craters further reduce the amount of surface area of the inner-facing surface, which improves comfort and reduces clinging experienced by the wearer of a garment incorporating the knit spacer textile.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. An article of apparel comprising: a knit spacer textile comprising an outer knit layer with an outer surface, an inner knit layer with an inner surface, and a plurality of tie yarns connecting the outer knit layer with the inner knit layer, the knit spacer textile having a thickness between the outer surface and the inner surface; a plurality of flow-through apertures extending through an entirety of the thickness, each of the flow-through apertures having an inner layer opening in the inner surface; and a plurality of cavities extending from the inner surface partially into the thickness.
Facts
- Company
- Nike (NIKE, Inc.)
- Official title
- TEXTILE CONFIGURED TO PROMOTE COOLING
- Publication number
- US20260294021A1
- Application number
- 19630295
- Filed
- Mar 26, 2026
- Published
- Oct 1, 2026
- Inventors
- 2
- Claims
- 31
Classified under
A41D 31/145 Human necessitiesA41D 27/28 Human necessitiesA41D 31/02 Human necessitiesB32B 3/266 Operations & transportB32B 5/026 Operations & transportB32B 5/26 Operations & transportMore 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.