1. A pattern recognition equipment that matches feature parameters extracted from an input signal against a finite state machine of a tree structure in which a recognition pattern is represented by a path leading from a root to a plurality of leaf nodes to adopt the most likely state transition path reaching the leaf node as a recognition result, comprising: means for calculating a likelihood of the feature parameters for each state of the finite state machine by matching the feature parameters of the input signal against the finite state machine; means for calculating a reward according to a number of reachable leaf nodes from the each state so that the reward increases in value with an increasing number of leaf nodes reachable; and a pruning means for comparing aggregate values of an accumulated likelihood and the reward of partial hypotheses in each state at predetermined intervals to exclude partial hypotheses with lower aggregate values from search targets, wherein the means for calculating the reward calculates the reward by using a monotonously increasing function that increases the reward with an increasing number of reachable leaf nodes, wherein if the number of reachable leaf nodes is x and the reward is R(x), the monotonously increasing function is given a formula below, where a and b are constants, R ⁡ ( x ) = a · [ 1 - exp ⁢ { - ( x - 1 ) b } ] , and wherein partial hypotheses are hypotheses that save the likelihood of the feature parameters and that are temporarily stored in each state of the finite state machine.