US Patent 9994138 Seat with deployable plastic beam

A beam module for a vehicle seat is mounted at a front of a seat, on top of a seat pan and underneath a seat cushion. The module includes a molded plastic beam. The module has a first shape substantially flush with the seat pan and a second shape projecting above the seat pan. The molded plastic beam has a mounting flange with a forward portion and a second portion. The molded plastic beam is inflatable. When inflated, the molded plastic beam assumes its second shape with the seat cushion being correspondingly displaced and deformed to raise the seat cushion when a frontal impact is detected.