Nike patents shoe soles with visible markers for textured grip points
Nike describes a shoe design where the sole has holes that allow small, movable nodes to poke through to the ground. A fabric layer covers the inside of the sole, with visible markers on the skin side that line up with each node to show exactly where the textured grip points are located.
In the filing’s own words
An article of footwear can include a sole member including a foot-facing surface, a ground-facing surface opposite the foot-facing surface, and a plurality of apertures extending through the sole member. The article can include a fabric layer arranged across the foot-facing surface of the sole member and a plurality of sensory nodes, each sensory node extending through a respective aperture and having an upper end attached to the ground-facing surface of the fabric layer. The article can include a plurality of visible indicators disposed on the foot-facing surface of the fabric layer, where each visible indicator is aligned with a respective sensory node of the plurality of sensory nodes and identifies a location of the respective sensory node.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. An article of footwear comprising: a sole member comprising a foot-facing surface, a ground-facing surface opposite the foot-facing surface, and a plurality of apertures extending through the sole member between the foot-facing surface and the ground-facing surface; a fabric layer arranged across the foot-facing surface of the sole member, the fabric layer comprising a foot-facing surface and a ground-facing surface opposite the foot-facing surface of the fabric layer; a plurality of sensory nodes, each sensory node extending through a respective aperture of the plurality of apertures and having an upper end attached to the ground-facing surface of the fabric layer and an opposite lower end configured to engage a ground surface, wherein each sensory node is configured to translate within the respective aperture; and a plurality of visible indicators disposed on the foot-facing surface of the fabric layer, wherein each visible indicator is aligned with a respective sensory node of the plurality of sensory nodes and identifies a location of the respective sensory node.
Facts
- Company
- Nike (NIKE, Inc.)
- Official title
- SENSORY SOLE STRUCTURE FOR AN ARTICLE OF FOOTWEAR
- Publication number
- US20260305759A1
- Application number
- 19710966
- Filed
- Jun 17, 2026
- Published
- Oct 8, 2026
- Inventors
- 21
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
A43B 13/14 Human necessitiesA43B 1/04 Human necessitiesA43B 7/1455 Human necessitiesA43B 13/12 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.