Address recognition apparatus, sorting apparatus, integrated address recognition apparatus and address recognition method

An address recognition apparatus, comprising:

• circuitry configured to
• acquire, based on an image of an object, address information provided on the object,
• determine, based on a comparison result of information relating to first address information on the object acquired at a desired timing, and information relating to second address information acquired before the first address information, whether or not the first address information on the object acquired after the second address information is a non-destination address that is not an address of an addressee, the determining including determining, based on comparison results of a plurality of the first address information respectively acquired from a plurality of areas of the object and a plurality of the second address information, whether or not each of the first address information is the non-destination address,
• determine whether or not each said first address information that is not the non-destination address is a candidate for the address of the addressee, and
• determine the address of the addressee by analyzing each said candidate for the address of the addressee without analysis of each said first address information determined to be the non-destination address,
• wherein, in a first case of only one said candidate for the address of addressee, the determining the address of the addressee determines said only one candidate is the address of the addressee, and in a second case of multiple said candidates for the address of the addressee, the determining the address of the addressee determines that one of the candidates having a highest correlation order is the address of the addressee.