To provide an item reading means for allowing the arbitrary combination of a character string frame and a selection branches frame and a highly precise item reading means corresponding to the various entry methods of a person who fills in a business form.

Item reading which permits the arbitrary combination of a character string frame and a selection branches frame is executed by a recognition processing following a business form definition dictionary using a frame structural format for absorbing the difference of the character string frame and the selection branches frame and its frame structural format. Also, the recognition result of each character string frame or selection branches frame is expressed with the format of a character segmentation graph, and the recognition results of those respective frames are integrated by connecting them, and character string collation is executed to the finally acquired character segmentation graph so that the highly precise item reading can be executed.

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