When competing and training, the athletes face a challenge of heat dissipation, as they generate substantial heat energy as a result of physical activity.
The body relies on a mechanism based on evaporative cooling of sweat to cool the body. However, evaporation of sweat is dependent on the water vapor pressure (e.g., relative humidity) of air in contact with the athlete’s skin.
Therefore, air movement along the athlete’s skin becomes an import factor in dissipating the heat energy from the athlete. For example, ambient air gains humidity as it picks up moisture during the evaporation of sweat. In the absence of adequate air movement (e.g., exchange of air along the skin), this humidified air becomes less effective at dissipating heat as it is trapped in areas surrounding the skin. As a result, reduced or minimized airflow along the skin’s surface inhibits the cooling provided by continued evaporation of sweat.
Nike has developed a vest which includes air vents along the seams. These vents are designed to direct air towards a body of a wearer. The vents are shaped and oriented with an angle of attack that redirects air from the exterior of the vest to the interior to increase air movement along a wearer’s skin. This increases the rate of evaporation of sweat and consequently cools the skin much more rapidly.
Publication number: US 9,386,810
Patent Title: Thermal energy dissipating garment with scalloped vents
Publication date: Jul 12, 2016
Filing date: Sep 8, 2014
Inventors: Nathan Demarest; Alexander J. Dedman;
Original Assignee: NIKE, Inc.
