In order to overcome the disadvantages of linear filters in certain cases of practical interest, a class of nonlinear filters(rank filters) are constructed based on a class of robust estimates, the rank estimates. A subclass of these filters, the limited-degree extended-averaging Wilcoxon filters, is then described as an interesting example of the rank filters with desirable characteristics. The properties of these filters are discussed and the performance of these filters are analyzed for ideal edges and narrow pulses.