Lane monitor for monitoring dressing on the surface of a bowling lane

Abstract

Time consuming analyzing of the dressing levels on bowling lanes is eliminated through the use of an apparatus that includes a path of travel (48) for a sample strip, a light source (50) on one side of the path (48) and a photosensitive sensor (46) on the other side of the path. A feed roller (60) is journaled adjacent the path and is driven by a stepper motor (58) in predetermined increments. An analog to digital converter (40) is connected to the sensor (36) for receiving analog signals therefrom and converting the same to digital signals. A random access memory (38) is connected to the converter (40) for receiving signals therefrom and for storing data represented by the signals. A central processing unit (34) is provided for operating the motor (58), the sensor (46) and the random access memory (38). Also included is a program storage (38) for storing control algorithms for the central processing unit (34) along with a port (66) connected to the central processing unit (34) for receipt of exteriorally generated commands and for outputting stored or otherwise acquired data.