Computer telephony headset with presence indicator

Abstract

A telephone headset is provided which includes a presence status indicator thereon for signaling to other persons the user's availability and/or willingness to communicate face-to-face.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer telephony headset for supporting communication of audio data over a network via a host device of the network, the headset comprising:
 an earpiece operable to receive electronic audio signals and render the electronic audio signals audible to a user wearing the headset;   a microphone attached to the earpiece and operable to convert sounds into transmitted electronic signals;   a processor configured to receive presence data from the host device, the presence data representative of a presence status of the user; and   a visual indicator operably connected to the processor for providing a visual indication of the presence status of the user based on the presence data.   
     
     
         2 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , wherein the presence status is representative of one or both of the user's availability and the user's willingness to communicate. 
     
     
         3 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , wherein said earpiece includes a fastener selected from a headband and an ear hook. 
     
     
         4 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , wherein the visual indicator is disposed on the headset. 
     
     
         5 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , further comprising a boom attached to the earpiece, the boom receiving the microphone at a distal end of the boom, wherein the visual indicator is positioned at the distal end of the boom. 
     
     
         6 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector for connecting the headset to the host device.   
     
     
         7 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , further comprising a control module electrically coupled to the headset, said control module including one or more of:
 a volume control configured to selectively increasing or decreasing a volume of the electronic audio signals;   a mute button configured to selectively turn the microphone on and off; and   a hook button configured to selectively take an associated softphone application on the host device on-hook and off-hook.   
     
     
         8 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to receive the presence data from the host device as report data in a Human Interface Device (HID) output report. 
     
     
         9 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an oscillator operably connected to said processor, said oscillator for synchronizing receiving, processing, and outputting operations of said processor.   
     
     
         10 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , wherein said visual indicator includes a light-emitting diode (LED) light source. 
     
     
         11 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 10 , wherein said LED light source is a color mixing LED including a plurality of LED elements, wherein at least two of the plurality of LED elements emit light at different wavelengths. 
     
     
         12 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 10 , wherein the color mixing LED includes three LED elements, wherein the three LED elements are configured to emit, respectively, red light, green light, and blue light. 
     
     
         13 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , wherein the presence data is representative of a presence status selected from: “offline,” “available,” “busy,” and “away.” 
     
     
         14 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , wherein the presence data is representative of a presence status selected from: “available,” “busy,” “do not disturb,” “urgent interruptions only,” and “away.” 
     
     
         15 . The computer telephony headset of  claim 1 , wherein the presence data is representative of a presence status selected from: “online/available,” “idle,” “busy,” “busy/idle,” “away,” “do not disturb,” “offline,” “online/idle,” and “ring.” 
     
     
         16 . A computer telephony system of a type that allows two-way audio communication over a network, the system comprising:
 a computer processor based host device configured to generate presence data representative of a presence status of the user; and   a headset including an earpiece operable to receive electronic audio signals and render the electronic audio signals audible to the first user; a microphone attached to the earpiece and operable to convert sounds into transmitted electronic signals; a processor configured to receive presence data from the host device; and a visual indicator operably connected to the processor for providing a visual indication of the presence status of the user based on the presence data.   
     
     
         17 . The computer telephony system of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a server linking the first user to one or more additional users and configured to allow the first user and the one or more additional users to communicate with one another; and   said server configured to receive the presence information and to publish it to at least one of the one or more additional users that are connected to the server.   
     
     
         18 . The computer telephony system of  claim 17 , wherein said server includes presence software selected from messaging software, Microsoft Lync, Avaya One-X, and Cisco Unified Communications Manager. 
     
     
         19 . The computer telephony system of  claim 16 , wherein said visual indicator includes a multi-color LED light source. 
     
     
         20 . The computer telephony system of  claim 19 , wherein the visual indication is color coded, and further wherein the processor is configured to cause the visual indicator to display a color which is the same as a presence status indication color published to said at least one of the one or more additional users over the network. 
     
     
         21 . A method for displaying a visually perceptible indication of a computer telephony user's availability and/or willingness to communicate, the method comprising:
 providing a computer telephony headset for supporting communication of audio data over a network via a host device of the network, the headset comprising an earpiece operable to receive electronic audio signals and render the electronic audio signals audible to the user and a microphone attached to the earpiece and operable to convert sounds into transmitted electronic signals;   receiving presence data from the host device using a processor, the presence data representative of a presence status of the user; and   activating a visual indicator operably connected to the processor to providing a visual indication of the presence status of the user based on the presence data.