Patent ID: 7933048

Claim:
An image reading apparatus comprising: a storage unit adapted to store pattern information corresponding to a plurality of form types, each of the form types corresponding to a plurality of pages, the pattern information including at least numbers of pages for the corresponding form types; an input unit adapted to receive a form type of an original input by a user, the original including a plurality of forms; an obtaining unit adapted to obtain the number of pages for the form type received by said input unit based on the pattern information stored by said storage unit; a reading unit adapted to read the original and to generate electronic data corresponding to the original; a dividing unit adapted to divide, based on the number of pages for the received form type, the electronic data generated by said reading unit into a plurality of separate groups, each group including electronic data of the number of pages for a different one of the plurality of forms; and a transmission unit adapted to allocate the pattern information corresponding to the received form type to each of the separate groups of electronic data and to transmit the separate groups of electronic data to a server apparatus, wherein said dividing unit retains a portion of the electronic data generated by said reading unit if the portion does not reach the number of pages for the received form type, and, upon a subsequent dividing process, acquires the retained portion of the electronic data, combines the acquired portion of the electronic data with newly generated electronic data, and divides the combined electronic data into a plurality of separate groups.