Patent ID: 7784147

Claim:
A bowling lane conditioning machine comprising: a housing; a lane dressing fluid application system carried by the housing; a cleaning fluid delivery and removal system carried by the housing, wherein the cleaning fluid delivery and removal system comprises: a cleaning fluid reservoir; at least one cleaning fluid delivery nozzle in communication with the cleaning fluid reservoir; a v-shaped squeegee; and a vacuum; a drive system operative to propel the bowling lane conditioning machine to travel in a forward direction along a bowling lane from a foul line to a pin deck and in a reverse direction from the pin deck to the foul line; and a control system operative to control the vacuum such that: (i) the vacuum is turned on after the bowling lane conditioning machine has traveled a predetermined distance in the forward direction; and (ii) the vacuum is off for at least some of the travel of the bowling lane conditioning machine in the reverse direction, wherein once the vacuum is off for at least some of the travel in the reverse direction, it remains off as the bowling lane conditioning machine returns to the foul line.