Endless belts incorporating stiffening members

Abstract

An endless belt is disclosed comprising: (a) an electrodeposited metal layer having a first end region and a second end region; and (b) an electrically conductive stiffening member integrated with the first end region. There is also disclosed a process comprising: (a) positioning a first electrically conductive stiffening member in a first end region of a mandrel; (b) depositing a layer of metal over the mandrel and over the first stiffening member to form an article comprised of a first end region, and thereby integrating the first stiffening member with the first end region of the article; and (c) removing the article and the integral first stiffening member from the mandrel.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.