Patent ID: 8024671

Claim:
An apparatus for providing a three-dimensional graphic user interface, the apparatus comprising: a control module which creates a three-dimensional interface space having a predetermined plane and an axis perpendicular to the predetermined plane, a plurality of three-dimensional high-level objects, and a plurality of three-dimensional low-level objects presented in the three-dimensional interface space; and a user interface module which presents at least one high-level object group including the plurality of high-level objects for selection in a first plane at a foremost position in the three-dimensional interface space parallel to the predetermined plane, and in response to selection of one of the plurality of high-level objects changes a color of the selected high-level object so as to emphasize the selected high-level object and presents at least one low-level object group including the plurality of low-level objects for selection as a submenu of the selected one of the plurality of high-level objects in a second plane parallel to the predetermined plane in the three-dimensional interface space at a position further from a user than the at least one high-level object group in the first plane, and in response to selecting a low-level object from the low-level object group, the user interface module changes a color of the selected low-level object so as to emphasize a selected low-level object and moves the low-level object group including the selected low-level object along the perpendicular axis to a third plane at a new foremost position in the three-dimensional interface space parallel to the predetermined plane closer to the user than the first plane, and simultaneously changes a view point to a direction toward the low-level object group including the selected object while also displaying the at least one high-level object group, wherein at least one of the control module and the user interface module is a hardware unit.