Coupler load measurement for work vehicle

A work vehicle, comprising:

• a chassis supported by ground-engaging wheels or tracks;
• a machine linkage coupled to the chassis;
• a coupler connected to the machine linkage;
• a work implement mounted to the coupler for carrying a load with a mass;
• and
• a load measurement system, including:
• at least one force sensor mounted to at least one of the machine linkage, the coupler assembly, and the work implement and configured to collect force data associated with force transferred between at least one of the machine linkage and coupler assembly or the coupler assembly and the work implement;
• at least one acceleration sensor mounted to at least one of the machine linkage, the coupler assembly, or the work implement to collect acceleration data associated with acceleration of the load during operation, wherein at least one of the force sensor and the acceleration sensor is incorporated into the coupler;
• and
• a controller coupled to the force sensor and the acceleration sensor and configured to receive and process the force data and the acceleration data to determine the mass of the load;
• wherein the force sensor collects the force data in the form of deflection or deformation values associated with deflections or deformations of one or more components of the coupler resulting from the work implement interacting with the load.

A method of determining a mass of a load carried by a work implement coupled to a work vehicle by a linkage assembly and a coupler, the method comprising:

• collecting, with at least one force sensor, force data associated with force transferred between the work implement and the work vehicle during operation;
• collecting, with at least one acceleration sensor, acceleration data associated with acceleration of the load in the work implement during operation;
• and
• determining, with one or more controllers, the mass of the load based on the force and acceleration data;
• wherein the at least one force sensor collects the force data in the form of deflection or deformation values associated with deflections or deformations of one or more components of the coupler resulting from the work implement interacting with the load.