Flexible belts having a bent seam

A flexible electrostatographic imaging belt comprising a flexible support layer, at least one coating comprising an electrostatographic imaging layer comprising a film forming polymer, an ultrasonically welded seam comprising overlapped opposite ends of a sheet having two parallel sides and two opposite ends, said seam having a bent shape extending from one edge of said belt to the opposite edge of said belt, said bent shape having a sine wave shape having an amplitude between 2 millimeters and about 13 millimeters.

A process for fabricating a flexible electrostatographic imaging belt comprising providing a sheet comprising a flexible support layer and at least one coating comprising an electrostatographic imaging layer comprising a film forming polymer, said sheet having two parallel sides and two opposite ends having matching bent profiles, said sheet having a first major exterior surface opposite and parallel to a second major exterior surface, overlapping an edge of said first major exterior surface adjacent one of said ends onto an edge of said second major exterior surface adjacent the other one of said ends to form a overlapped joint in which said bent profiles of said opposite ends match, and permanently securing said ends to each other by ultrasonic welding to form a seam having a bent shape.

An imaging process comprising providing a flexible electrostatographic imaging belt formed from a sheet having two parallel sides and two opposite ends, said belt comprising a flexible support layer, at least one electrostatographic imaging layer comprising a film forming polymer, and a seam comprising ultrasonically welded overlapped opposite ends of said sheet, said seam having a bent shape extending from one edge of said belt to the opposite edge of said belt, forming an electrostatic latent image on said belt, developing said latent image to form a toner image and transferring said toner image to a receiving member.