U.S. patent application number 15/203348 was filed with the patent office on 2016-10-27 for computer telephony headset with presence indicator.
The applicant listed for this patent is VXI Corporation. Invention is credited to William J. Blank, JR., Brian J. Cole, David Alden Jaques, Philip John Pane, Thomas F. Terrien, JR..
Application Number | 20160316048 15/203348 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50825353 |
Filed Date | 2016-10-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160316048 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pane; Philip John ; et
al. |
October 27, 2016 |
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.
Inventors: |
Pane; Philip John; (Auburn,
NH) ; Terrien, JR.; Thomas F.; (Portsmouth, NH)
; Jaques; David Alden; (Durham, NH) ; Blank, JR.;
William J.; (Hampton, NH) ; Cole; Brian J.;
(Cotuit, MA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
VXI Corporation |
Dover |
NH |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50825353 |
Appl. No.: |
15/203348 |
Filed: |
July 6, 2016 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14014953 |
Aug 30, 2013 |
9413790 |
|
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15203348 |
|
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|
61732471 |
Dec 3, 2012 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 65/1059 20130101;
H04M 3/42365 20130101; H04L 65/40 20130101; H04M 1/05 20130101;
H04M 1/6058 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04M 1/05 20060101
H04M001/05; H04L 29/06 20060101 H04L029/06; H04M 3/42 20060101
H04M003/42 |
Claims
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.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser.
No. 14/014,953 filed Aug. 30, 2013, now pending, which, in turn,
claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.
61/732,471 filed Dec. 3, 2013. Each of the aforementioned
applications is incorporated herein by reference in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to telephone
headsets and, more particularly to a telephone headset with a
"presence" indicator means thereon for outputting a user's presence
status, thereby signaling to other persons the user's availability
and/or willingness to communicate face-to-face.
[0003] A telephone headset includes an earpiece, including one or
more speakers, and a microphone. The earpiece is typically held in
place over or near the ear of the user, for example, with an
over-the-head band or an ear hook. The microphone is commonly
located close to the user's mouth by placement at the end of a boom
extending from the earpiece.
[0004] Telephone headsets free the user's hands and offer greater
comfort and efficiency over conventional telephone handsets. As
such, headsets find widespread use in call centers and many other
business and professional office settings where telephones are used
frequently or for extended periods.
[0005] One drawback of headset use in a work environment is that
other persons cannot determine whether a user who has donned a
headset is available to talk, or on an active telephone call and
therefore unavailable to talk. Prior art headsets have addressed
this drawback by providing an indicator light, for example, at the
end of the microphone boom or elsewhere on the headset, which
provides a visual indication to other persons when the telephone
headset is in use. Such prior art systems typically monitor the
telephone line to determine whether the telephone line is in use
(off-hook) or idle (on-hook).
[0006] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,791 discloses a telephone
headset on-line indicator that determines the on-line or off-hook
condition by monitoring the voltage potential across the
transmitting lines between the headset and the base unit. An LED on
the microphone boom is illuminated when the headset is in use. U.S.
Pat. No. 5,359,647 discloses a headset having an LED in-use
indicator on the microphone boom which is activated to indicate
that the headset is in use by amplification of the audio signal
across the transmission lines. U.S. Pat. No. 8,209,441 discloses a
telephone headset for a softphone application having an LED on-line
indicator wherein the on-line status is detected by monitoring the
host to detect a request for transmit data from the host based on a
signaling protocol associated with the host port and independent of
the softphone application software.
[0007] Network communication systems have recently included the
ability to send and receive so-called "presence information" which
conveys the availability and/or willingness of users of the network
communication system to communicate with other users of the network
communication system. Such presence information is advantageous to
persons who are logged on to the network communications system with
a networked device and provides such logged on users with an
indication of the user's willingness to communicate over the
communication network, e.g., via an instant messaging application.
However, providing network presence information of a user to other
users operating a device connected to the network does not address
the problem of alerting persons in the vicinity of the headset
user, such as someone wishing to speak to the headset user
in-person, as to the headset user's availability or willingness to
communicate, e.g. face-to-face.
[0008] Accordingly, the current disclosure provides an improved
headset for computer telephony that provides a visual indication of
the headset user's presence information or status, and which
overcomes the above problems and others.
SUMMARY
[0009] In one aspect, a computer telephony headset for supporting
communication of audio data over a network via a host device of the
network is provided. The headset includes an earpiece operable to
receive electronic audio signals and render the electronic audio
signals audible to a user wearing the headset. A microphone is
attached to the earpiece and is operable to convert sounds into
transmitted electronic signals. A processor is configured to
receive presence data from the host device, the presence data being
representative of a presence status of the user. A visual indicator
is operably connected to the processor for providing a visual
indication of the presence status of the user based on the presence
data.
[0010] In another aspect, a computer telephony system of a type
that allows two-way audio communication over a network includes a
computer processor based host device configured to generate
presence data representative of a presence status of the user. A
headset includes 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.
[0011] In yet another aspect, a method for displaying a visually
perceptible indication of a computer telephony user's availability
and/or willingness to communicate includes providing a computer
telephony headset for supporting communication of audio data over a
network via a host device of the network. The headset comprises 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. The method further includes
receiving presence data from the host device using a processor, the
presence data representative of a presence status of the user. A
visual indicator operably connected to the processor is activated
to provide a visual indication of the presence status of the user
based on the presence data.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] It is to be understood that both the illustrated embodiments
and the description herein are exemplary and explanatory only and
are not restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying
drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the
specification, illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the
invention and should not be limitative of the scope of the present
invention.
[0013] FIG. 1 is a pictorial image of a headset in accordance with
an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 2 is a somewhat schematic diagram of the headset
appearing in FIG. 1.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a block diagram the headset embodiment of FIG.
1.
[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary network communication system
in which the headset in accordance with this disclosure may be
employed.
[0017] FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of an exemplary
computer system herein.
[0018] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an exemplary host system with
headset in accordance with this disclosure.
[0019] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for
receiving and displaying presence information.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0020] With reference to FIGS. 1-3, a headset 100 in accordance
with an exemplary embodiment includes an earpiece 110 comprising
audio speakers 112 and a headband 114. The headband 114 may be
size-adjustable as is generally known in the art. Although the
illustrated headset 100 is shown with two audio speakers 112, it
will be recognized that alternative embodiments could employ a
single speaker. Likewise, the over-the-head headband 114 could be
replaced with alternative fastener means for securing the headset
in an operable position, such as ear hook for securing the headset
to the user's ear.
[0021] A microphone 116 is disposed at the end of a microphone boom
or arm 118 coupled to the earpiece 110. The arm 118 may be
rotatably coupled, e.g., via a rotatable turret 120, to allow the
user to pivot the arm 118 until the microphone is at a desired
position in front of the mouth of the user. An LED indicator 122 is
also positioned at the end of the microphone arm 118. In the
illustrated preferred embodiment, the LED indicator 122 is provided
on the outside of the arm 118 so as to be visible to a person
facing a user wearing the headset. Although the indicator 122 is
preferably an LED light source, it will be recognized that other
types of light sources are also contemplated, including
incandescent lamps and others.
[0022] It will be recognized that the LED indicator 122 could also
be positioned at an alternative location on the headset, such as
the speaker housing, headband, other positions along the boom, etc.
Alternatively or additionally, the LED indicator could be on the
inline control module 124 (discussed below). In still further
embodiments, the LED indicator could be provided on a dedicated
member, such as an extension member of the type described in U.S.
Pat. No. 6,879,688.
[0023] In certain embodiments, the LED indicator 122 and/or the
microphone 116 could be incorporated into the earpiece 110, such
that the boom 118 could include a hollow channel forming an audio
wave guide for transmitting sound waves from the distal end of the
boom 118 to a microphone located at the proximal end of the boom.
Likewise, LED's located at the proximal end of the boom 118 could
transmit light to the distal end of the boom, e.g., to a diffuser
located at the end of the boom, wherein the hollow channel interior
surface is highly reflective.
[0024] An inline control module 124 is connected to the earpiece
110 via an upper cord or connecting line 126 including electrical
conductors 128 for transmitting an audio signal to the speakers 112
from the control module; electrical conductors 130 for transmitting
an audio signal from the microphone 116 to the control module; and
electrical conductors 132 for driving the LED indicator 122, as
will be described in greater detail below. A USB cord or cable 134
and USB connector 136 are provided for connecting the control
module 124 to a host computer system 140 (see FIG. 4).
[0025] The control module 124 includes volume up and volume down
buttons 142, 144, a mute button 146, and a hook set button 148. The
volume buttons 142, 144 may be pressed to raise or lower,
respectively, the volume of the audio signal output to the speakers
112. Button backlight LEDs 150a, 150b may be provided to illuminate
the buttons 142 and 144. The LEDs 150a, 150b may be, for example, a
white LED.
[0026] The mute button 146 may be pressed to selectively toggle the
microphone 116 on and off. For example, the mute button 146 may be
pressed during a phone call to allow the user to speak without
being heard by the other person or persons on the phone call.
Pressing the mute button again turns the microphone back on. A
backlight LED 152 may be provided to illuminate the mute button
146. For example, the mute LED 152 may be turned off when the
microphone 116 is operational and illuminated when the microphone
116 is muted. The mute LED 152 may be a red LED.
[0027] The hook button 148 may be used in conjunction with a
software telephony (softphone) application on the host system 140
to take the softphone application off-hook (i.e., to place a call)
or on-hook (i.e., to end a call). A backlight LED 154 may be
provided for the button 148, for example to illuminate the button
148 when the softphone application is off hook or on a call. The
hook set backlight LED 154 may be, for example, green.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 3, the inline control module includes a
processor 160, such as a microprocessor, microcontroller, or the
like, and receives data and power from the host system 140 via the
cable 134. A USB protection circuit 162 may be provided between the
USB connector 136 and the processor 160, for example, for
protecting the processor 160 from overcurrent. A crystal oscillator
clock 164 is provided to drive the various circuit components of
the processor 160. Nonvolatile memory 166 is coupled to the
processor 160 for storing computer readable instructions and data
when power is removed from the headset 100. The non-volatile memory
166 may be, for example, Electrically Erasable Programmable
Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory, or other suitable computer
readable medium.
[0029] The processor 160 includes a USB audio codec for converting
digital audio data from the host system 140 into an analog audio
signal and sending the audio signal to the speakers 112 and for
digitizing an analog audio signal from the microphone 116 and
sending a digital representation of the audio signal from the
microphone to the host system 140. The processor 160 may include
additional digital signal processing features, including
equalization, noise reduction, acoustic echo cancellation,
automatic gain control, compression, audio effects such as 3-D
sound, and so forth.
[0030] Referring now to FIG. 4, an exemplary networked information
handling system is illustrated. The networked system includes one
or more network servers 170 interconnected with one or more
remotely located client computer systems, such as the host system
140, via a network designated generally as 190, which may include
one or more local area networks, wide area networks (WAN), personal
area networks (PAN), intranets, the Internet, and others, as well
as interconnections thereof. For example, the client system 140 and
server system 170 may be configured to access the Internet via a
local area network.
[0031] A Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) provider 200 allows
the user of the headset 100 running a computer telephony or
softphone application on the host system 140 to communicate with
other users on the network 190, as well as telephone users on the
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 210 and cellular mobile
telephone networks 220.
[0032] The server computer system 170 may include server messaging
software or like communication software of the type that stores and
transmits presence information of users on the network. The
presence information is representative of the user's network
presence status, which may be predetermined, e.g., based on a state
or condition of the user's host computer system 140 and/or
selectable by the user. In this manner, the published network
presence status may be representative of the user's availability
and/or the user's willingness to communicate. Examples of such
server software include Microsoft Lync Server, Avaya One-X server,
Cisco Unified Communications Manager, and the like. The host
computer system 140 and other client systems on the network 190
likewise run the corresponding messaging client software, such as
Microsoft Lync, Avaya One-X client, Cisco IP Communicator, or the
like.
[0033] The host computer system 140 and the server computer system
170 may be, for example, a computer-based information handling
system as generally described below by way of reference to FIG. 5.
A block diagram illustrating the connection between the host system
140 and the headset 100 appears in FIG. 6.
[0034] Referring now to FIG. 5, there appears an exemplary
information handling system 140 representative of the host system
hardware for running the softphone application 222 (see FIG. 6) and
the messaging/presence software application 224 (see FIG. 6) and
configured to operate in the network 190. It will be recognized
that the softphone application could be a module or function within
the messaging/presence software application. It will also be
recognized that the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 2 is
likewise representative of a hardware configuration of the server
computer system 170 for running the messaging/presence server
software. The hardware system 140 appearing in FIG. 5 is generally
representative of a computer-based information handling system,
such as a PC, workstation, a mini-computer, mainframe computer, or
the like.
[0035] The hardware system 140 includes a central processing system
230, a memory 232, one or more storage devices 234, including main
and auxiliary memory, an input/output (I/O) system 236, a network
interface 238, a communications interface 240, and a display system
242 operably connected by a bus 244.
[0036] The hardware system 140 is controlled by the central
processing system 230, which may include a central processing unit
such as a microprocessor or microcontroller for executing programs,
performing data manipulations and controlling the tasks of the
hardware system. The processor 230 can be any suitable Intel, AMD,
Motorola, Texas Instruments, or Sun processor, or the like.
Communication with the central processor 230 is implemented through
the system bus 244 for transferring information among the
components of the hardware system.
[0037] The memory 232 provides storage of instructions and data for
programs executing on the central processing system 230. The memory
232 is typically semiconductor-based memory as would be generally
understood by persons skilled in the art. The storage devices 234
may include semiconductor-based memory such as read-only memory
(ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable
read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable
read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, and so forth. The storage
devices 234 may also include a variety of non-semiconductor-based
memories, including but not limited to hard disk, floppy disc,
compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc
read-only memory (DVD-ROM), and so forth.
[0038] The display system 242 may comprise a display device and a
video display adapter having the components for driving a display
device, including video memory, buffer, and graphics engine as
desired. The display device may comprise a video monitor such as a
cathode ray-tube (CRT) display, liquid-crystal display (LCD),
light-emitting diode (LED) display, gas or plasma display, and so
forth.
[0039] The input/output (I/O) system 236 may comprise one or more
controllers or adapters for providing interface functions between
one or more I/O devices. The input/output system 236 may comprise
one or more serial ports, parallel ports, universal serial bus
(USB) ports, IEEE 1394 ports, infrared ports, etc., for interfacing
with corresponding I/O devices, including the headset 100 disclosed
herein, and any number of other I/O devices such as a keyboard,
mouse/pointing device, printer, modem, microphone, speaker, and so
forth.
[0040] The network interface 238 may be connected to a network,
such as the network 190, to communicate to other computers,
external devices, networks, or information sources on the network
190. The network interface 238 may be a network adapter
implementing, for example, IEEE 802 network standards (e.g., IEEE
802.3 for Ethernet networks, IEEE 802.11 for wireless networks,
IEEE 802.15 for personal area networks, IEEE 802.16 for broadband
wireless metropolitan networks, and so on.).
[0041] The communications interface 240 may be connected to a
network, such as the Internet for communication with other
computers or devices using an ISP and/or a dial up phone system to
connect to the network. The communications interface 240 can be a
modem, digital subscriber line (DSL), asymmetric digital subscriber
line (ASDL), frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM),
integrated digital services network (ISDN), personal communications
services (PCS), transmission control protocol/Internet protocol
(TCP/IP), serial line Internet protocol/point to point protocol
(SLIP/PPP), and so on. It should be appreciated that the hardware
system 140 of FIG. 5 is illustrative and exemplary only.
[0042] Referring now to FIG. 7, there appears a flow chart
outlining an exemplary method 300 in accordance with the present
invention. The process 300 starts at step 304 and at step 308, the
user runs the client messaging/presence software application and a
presence state is selected from among a plurality of preset of
predefined or predetermined network presence status levels or
states. It will be recognized that the predefined or predetermined
status levels may include default presence status levels in the
messaging software 222, as well as custom or user-defined presence
status levels. It will also be recognized that in preferred
embodiments, the presence status to be published over the network
190 will include status levels that are selectable by the user via
the presence/messaging software 222 as well as status levels that
are published automatically by the software 222.
[0043] The presence status information is sent to the server 170
and may be viewed on other networked devices on or accessing the
network 190. For example, the server software 226 on the server 170
may store the user's presence status information. Other networked
users connected to the server 170 may then view on-screen indicia
of the user's status, which includes an on-screen graphic displayed
in connection with information about the user, wherein the color of
the on-screen graphic is correlated to a given status or
availability level. By way of example only, the correlation between
presence status level and color could be as shown in Table 1:
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Color Presence Status Off Offline Green
Available Orange Red Busy Red Do not disturb Orange Urgent
interruptions only Yellow Away/Out of office
[0044] In an alternative embodiment, again given by way of example
only, the presence status levels and corresponding colors may be as
shown in Table 2:
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Color Presence Status Off None Lime
Online/available Green Yellow Idle Orange Red Busy Orange Busy/Idle
Yellow Away Red Do not disturb Light Salmon Offline Light Green
Online/Idle Blue Ring
[0045] At step 312, the user's published presence status
information is sent to the headset 100 from the application
software. For example, in certain embodiments, the presence data
from the software 222 is sent to the processor 160 of the headset
100 as a part of the USB Human Interface Device (HID) output
report. This presence status is used to determine which color (if
any) is displayed on the indicator. At step 316, the headset
processor 160 receives the user's published presence information
and it is determined whether the user has a new or updated presence
status or state. The new or updated status may be, for example, a
presence state selected by the user via the presence software 222,
or a presence state selected by the presence software under
programmed control, for example, as a result of the user placing or
receiving a call, the user logging off the network 190, the user's
computer system remaining inactive or idle for some predetermined
period of time, and so forth.
[0046] In the event the user has a new or updated presence status
at step 316, the process continues to step 320 and the processor
160 drives the LED indicator 122 to achieve the color that
corresponds to the received status level and returns to step
312.
[0047] The LED 122 is preferably a tri-color LED comprising red,
green, and blue (RGB) elements in which the intensity of each
element can be independently controlled to allow the colors to be
mixed to produce virtually any color. The microphone boom 118 may
include reflectors and/or diffusers to facilitate the mixing of the
red, blue, and green components. Alternatively, the LED element 124
may be a self-contained RGB LED with an integral diffused lens. Of
course, in alternative embodiments, the RGB LED could be replaced
with an array of dedicated single color LEDs or lamps.
[0048] If the presence status is unchanged at step 316, the process
returns to step 312 to monitor for any changes in the user's
published status and continues as described above.
[0049] The systems and methods disclosed herein can be implemented
as sets of instructions resident in the main memory of one or more
computer systems. Until required by the computer system, the set of
instructions may be stored in another computer readable memory such
as a hard disk drive or in a removable memory such as an optical
disk for utilization in a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive, a magnetic media
for utilization in a magnetic media drive, a magneto-optical disk
for utilization in a magneto-optical drive, or a memory card for
utilization in a card slot. Further, the set of instructions can be
stored in the memory of another computer and transmitted over a
local area network or a wide area network, such as the Internet,
when desired by the user. Additionally, the instructions may be
transmitted over a network in the form of an applet that is
interpreted after transmission to the computer system rather than
prior to transmission. One skilled in the art would appreciate that
the physical storage of the sets of instructions or applets
physically changes the medium upon which it is stored, e.g.,
electrically, magnetically, chemically, physically, or optically,
so that the medium carries computer readable information.
[0050] All references cited above are incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties.
[0051] The invention has been described with reference to the
preferred embodiments. Modifications and alterations may occur to
others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed
description. It is intended that the invention be constructed as
including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they
come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents
thereof.
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