Patent ID: 8194110

Claim:
An image recording apparatus comprising: a drum for holding an image recording medium attached to a surface thereof; a rotating device for rotating said drum; grooves formed in the surface of said drum; a negative pressure generating device for generating negative pressure in said grooves by communicating with said grooves and sucking air; an image recording device for emitting a light beam modulated by image signals; and a gas blowoff device for blowing a gas current to blow away, in a predetermined direction, a gas generated by irradiation with said light beam, wherein: said drum is configured to mount, on the surface thereof, at least two types of rectangle image recording media of different sizes; an attachment reference position is defined on the surface of said drum for use as a position for arranging one of vertices of the rectangles of the at least two types of rectangle image recording media of different sizes and as a reference for attaching the at least two types of rectangle image recording media of different sizes; said grooves form closed regions covered by said image recording medium when said image recording medium is attached, and unclosed regions not covered by said image recording medium; a relative positional relationship of a gas blowing direction from said gas blowoff device, extending directions of said grooves, and an attaching position of said image recording medium is determined so that said unclosed regions constantly exist only further upstream of the gas current from said gas blowoff device than a position of irradiation with said light beam; said grooves and said negative pressure generating device communicate through suction bores formed in inner surfaces of the grooves, each of the suction bores being formed in said closed region of each groove; and said suction bores are formed in positions the most downstream in the gas blowing direction of each of said grooves, and in regions outside a region for image recording by said image recording device.