Modules of Petri nets and new Petri net structure: Arcs with a weighted function set

Abstract

This article addresses expressiveness problems for Petri nets and their useful extension for modeling and control of a system that can be modeled with Petri nets. We construct some Petri net modules, namely, an enabling module, an inhibitor module and a Modulo-N counter, which are useful for system operations. We also present the simplifications for the enabling and inhibitor modules. Then, we propose two new types of arcs, namely, enabling and inhibitor arcs, with a weighted function set. The arcs with the weighted function set from places to transitions are the marked arcs. A function set is employed to denote the weight of an arc according to the system requirements. They are very useful to solve the resource reallocation problem in a resource allocation system, where resource sharing contributes to the occurrences of deadlocks. Finally, two examples are used to show the advantages of the presented new types of arcs.