PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an awakening device for a vehicle that can suppress a decrease in drivers waking level and bring a driver into a waking state during travel of the vehicle.SOLUTION: An awakening device for a vehicle includes a vibration generating part 25, a speaker 26, a camera 31, and a controller 41. The vibration generating part 25 is provided in a steering wheel 21, and can generate pseudo vibration simulating vibration transmitted to a driver D when a state of wheels rolling on a road surface becomes a specified state different from an ordinary state. The speaker 26 can generate pseudo sound simulating sound transmitted to the driver D when the rolling state of the wheels becomes the specified state. The camera 31 takes an image of an expression of the driver D, and the controller 41 monitors a waking state of the driver D based on image data by the camera 31 during travel of the vehicle. When the controller 41 detects a non-waking state (doze state) of the driver D, the controller 41 causes the vibration generating part 25 to generate the pseudo vibration and the speaker 26 to generate the pseudo sound, by which the controller 41 gives the driver D an illusion of occurrence of the specified state and brings the driver D into the waking state.COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&INPIT【課題】車両走行中に運転者の覚醒レベルが低下するのを抑制して、運転者を覚醒状態にさせる。【解決手段】車両用覚醒装置は、振動発生部25、スピーカ26、カメラ31及び制御装置41を備える。振動発生部25は、ステアリングホイール21に設けられ、車輪の路面に対する転動状態が通常とは異なる特定状態となったときに運転者Dに伝わる振動を模した擬似振動を発生し得る。スピーカ26は、車輪の転動状態が特定状態となったときに運転者Dに伝わる音を模した擬似音を発生し得る。カメラ31は運転者Dの表情を撮像し、制御装置41は、カメラ31による画像データに基づき車両の走行中に運転者Dの覚醒状態を監視する。制御装置41は、運転者Dの非覚醒状態(居眠り状態)を検知すると、振動発生部25に擬似振動を発生させ、かつスピーカ26に擬似音を発生させることにより、運転者Dに特定状態が発生したと錯覚させて同運転者Dを覚醒状態にさせる。【選択図】図1
