Lane dressing supply system for bowling lane maintenance machines

Abstract

A lane maintenance machine having wicks that absorb dressing from a reservoir and transfer it to the applicator of the machine has a gravity-fed dressing supply system that maintains the dressing at a substantially constant level within the wick reservoir. A small pilot chamber upstream from the reservoir and in open communication therewith at the same elevation as the reservoir has its fluid level directly controlled by a float sensor to in turn indirectly control the level within the wick reservoir. The float sensor within the pilot chamber provides a signal to a controller when the level within the pilot chamber drops below a predetermined point so that a control valve between the pilot chamber and the main supply tank opens to allow a makeup volume of dressing to flow by gravity from the main tank into the pilot chamber. Vent conduits associated with the main tank and the pilot chamber also serve as a means for accepting dressing that drains from the reservoir when the machine is upended into a transport position, thus preventing spillage of dressing through the open top of the wick reservoir.