A Novel Spatial Four DOF Parallel Mechanism and Its Position Analysis

A novel model of a 4 DOF parallel manipulator is presented. The degree of freedom and the characteristics of the mechanism model are discussed. The solutions are developed for both the inverse and forward kinematics. The inverse kinematics produces two solutions for each leg of the manipulator. The forward kinematics is reduced to a eighth order polynomial equation. Some numerical examples for the position kinematics are presented finally.