A Deadlock Handling Method for Automated Manufacturing Systems

Deadlock-free operation is a principal requirement for an automated manufacturing system. The part types passing through the manufacturing system are characterized by the sequence of the manufacturing resources required for their completion. The method partitions the sequence into alternate subsequences consisting of deadlock-free resources and deadlock-risk resources. The set of deadlock-free resources is shown. The proposed method introduces a novel structural on-line control policy which guarantees that the execution of an operation representing an elementary step of a job relating to a part does not lead to deadlock. The proposed policy is suitable for implementation in modern distributed manufacturing control systems due to the low on-line computational costs.