Nike patents shirt fabric with one-way vents to keep you cool
Nike has filed a patent for a knit fabric designed to improve airflow in athletic wear. The material features small holes that are wider on the outside than the inside, acting like funnels to pull air into the shirt, while also including shallow dimples on the inner side to reduce skin contact.
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: a first knit layer formed from a first plurality of yarns, the first knit layer comprising a set of first openings; and a second knit layer formed from a second plurality of yarns, the second knit layer comprising: a set of second openings, each of the second openings axially aligned with a corresponding first opening to form a flow-through aperture, a set of third openings, wherein each third opening is offset from each of the first openings; and a plurality of tie yarns that interconnect the first knit layer and the second knit layer.
Facts
- Company
- Nike (c/o NIKE, Inc.)
- Official title
- TEXTILE CONFIGURED TO PROMOTE COOLING
- Publication number
- US20260297818A1
- Application number
- 19630298
- Filed
- Mar 26, 2026
- Published
- Oct 1, 2026
- Inventors
- 2
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
D04B 39/04 Textiles & paperD10B 2401/062 Textiles & paperD10B 2403/0213 Textiles & paperD10B 2501/00 Textiles & paperMore 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.