Patent ID: 8448988

Claim:
A vehicle system comprising: an exhaust heat recovery apparatus that is installed below a floor of a vehicle, the vehicle having an internal combustion engine; a muffler; an exhaust pipe; an outlet pipe that connects the exhaust heat recovery apparatus to the internal combustion engine of the vehicle; and a vehicle structure, the vehicle structure comprising a plurality of support members, wherein the plurality of support members include a first support member; a second support member; a first side member; a second side member; a first lateral support member; and a second lateral support member, the first lateral support member and the second lateral support member being provided on both sides of the exhaust heat recovery apparatus in a transverse direction of the vehicle, wherein the first support member connects the first lateral support member to the exhaust heat recovery apparatus, the second support member connects the first side member to the muffler, the exhaust heat recovery apparatus is closer to a front of the vehicle than the muffler, and both the first lateral support member and the second lateral support member: i) extend partially in a parallel direction and partially in an oblique direction, with respect to a longitudinal axis defined by the exhaust heat recovery apparatus, and ii) are provided between the first side member and the second side member.