Author: claimsbot

1. A fuel injector for dispensing fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, the fuel injector comprising:
a heated catalyzed fuel injector that dispenses the fuel substantially exclusively during a power stroke of an engine;
wherein the fuel is catalyzed in a super-critical phase, using oxygen reduction catalysts;
wherein ignition occurs in a fast burn zone at high fuel density such that a leading surface of the fuel is substantially completely burned within several microseconds.
2. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the fuel injector precisely meters substantially instantly igniting fuel at a predetermined crank angle for optimal power stroke production.
3. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the engine includes the combustion chamber, and wherein the fuel injector is mounted approximately in the center of a cylinder head of the combustion chamber.
4. The fuel injector of claim 1, wherein the fuel injector is mounted in place of a conventional direct diesel injector on an automotive diesel engine that operates at high compression ratios in the range of 16:1 to 25:1.
5. The fuel injector of claim 4, wherein the engine employs compression heating by way of high compression ratios.
6. The fuel injector of claim 4, wherein the fuel is selected from the group consisting of gasoline, diesel fuel, high cetane fuel, high octane fuel, heptane, ethanol, plant oil, biodiesel, alcohols, plant extracts, and combinations thereof.
7. A fuel injector for dispensing fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, the fuel injector comprising:
a heated catalyzed fuel injector that dispenses the fuel substantially exclusively during a power stroke of an engine;
wherein the fuel is catalyzed in a super-critical phase, using oxygen reduction catalysts;
wherein the fuel is metered into the fuel injector, such that the fuel injector heats, vaporizes, compresses and mildly oxidizes the fuel, and then dispenses the fuel as a relatively low pressure gas column into the combustion chamber of the engine.
8. The fuel injector of claim 7, wherein the fuel is oxidized to provide relatively low temperature auto-ignition sites within the dispensed fuel column, which supports the initiation of surface auto-detonation and subsequent lean bum within a temperature and pressure range compatible with conventional automotive engine construction materials.
9. The fuel injector of claim 7, wherein the dispensed fuel column contains 0.1% to 5% pre-combustion radicals in the form RO2\xb7 and ROOH\xb7, which are highly reactive, partially oxidized, cracked hydrocarbon chains from the initial fuel.
10. The fuel injector of claim 7, wherein the fuel is dispensed at approximately 100 bar and heated to a temperature above 750 degrees Fahrenheit.
11. A fuel injector for dispensing fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, the fuel injector comprising:
a heated catalyzed fuel injector that dispenses the fuel substantially exclusively during a power stroke of an engine;
wherein the fuel is catalyzed in a super-critical phase, using oxygen reduction catalysts;
wherein the engine includes the combustion chamber, and wherein the fuel injector is mounted approximately in the center of a cylinder head of the combustion chamber;
wherein a fuel column of hot gas is injected into the combustion chamber, such that a leading surface of the fuel column auto-detonates and the fuel column is radially dispensed into a swirl.
12. A fuel injector for dispensing fuel into a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, the fuel injector comprising:
a heated catalyzed fuel injector that dispenses the fuel substantially exclusively during a power stroke of an engine;
wherein the fuel is catalyzed in a super-critical phase, using oxygen reduction catalysts;
wherein the engine includes the combustion chamber, and wherein the fuel injector is mounted approximately in the center of a cylinder head of the combustion chamber;
wherein the combustion chamber comprises a lean burn environment, wherein 0.1% to 5% of the fuel is pre-oxidized in the fuel injector by employing high temperature and pressure.
13. The fuel injector of claim 12, wherein pre-oxidation within the fuel injector comprises the use of surface catalysts disposed on injector chamber walls and oxygen sources including oxygenating agents selected from the group consisting of MTBE, ethanol, other octane and cetane boosters, and other fuel oxygenator agents.
14. The fuel injector of claim 13, wherein pre-oxidation further comprises a small amount of additional oxygen.
15. The fuel injector of claim 14, wherein the additional oxygen is taken from air or from recirculated exhaust gas.
16. A fuel injector for dispensing fuel into a combustion chamber of a variable cycle engine in a multi-fuel vehicle, the fuel injector comprising:
a heated catalyzed fuel injector that dispenses the fuel into the combustion chamber substantially exclusively during a power stroke of the variable cycle engine,
wherein the fuel is catalyzed in a super-critical phase, using oxygen reduction catalysts;
wherein the variable cycle engine includes an intermixed thermal energy recovery system for providing the injection of air, water, steam or other expandable media.
17. The fuel injector of claim 16, wherein the variable cycle engine is adapted to operate with a wide range of fuels including gasoline, diesel fuel, high cetane fuel, high octane fuel, heptane, ethanol, plant oil, biodiesel, alcohols, plant extracts, and combinations thereof.
18. A fuel injector for dispensing fuel into a combustion chamber of a variable cycle engine in a multi-fuel vehicle, the fuel injector comprising:
a heated catalyzed fuel injector that dispenses the fuel into the combustion chamber substantially exclusively during a power stroke of the variable cycle engine,
wherein the fuel is catalyzed in a super-critical phase, using oxygen reduction catalysts;
wherein the variable cycle engine includes a smart fueling system having an ECU in communication with a filling station fueling pump.
19. The fuel injector of claim 18, wherein the ECU includes a wireless serial communications link for wireless communication with the pump.
20. The fuel injector of claim 19, wherein:
the ECU communicates to the fuel pump a precise fuel mixture and amount of fuel in the tank, and
in response, the fuel pump calculates appropriate refueling mixtures that are compatible with the remaining fuel in the tank and the vehicle’s operational capabilities.
21. The fuel injector of claim 18, wherein the smart fueling system is employed to offer customers one or more optimized fuel blends for refueling a multi-fuel vehicle.
22. The fuel injector of claim 18, wherein the ECU determines actual fuel performance during combustion using engine performance under load measurements, load sensors, and knock sensors.
23. The fuel injector of claim 18, wherein the ECU is configured to maintain a log of all fuel loadings including a precise mixture of fuels, an amount pumped into the tank, fuel consumption, observed performance, and chronological climate conditions.
24. The fuel injector of claim 19, wherein the vehicle is capable of dynamically adapting to various fuel mixtures under control of the ECU.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A receiver system comprising:
a searcher to identify pilot signals within a received signal, said pilot signals corresponding to a plurality of remote base stations;
a pilot tracking unit to continuously track pilot signals identified by said searcher, said pilot tracking unit to track at least one pilot signal associated with an affiliated base station and, when identified by said searcher and selected for tracking, at least one pilot signal associated with a non-affiliated base station;
a receiver to demodulate data within the received signal that is associated with a predetermined user, said receiver using information gathered by the pilot tracking unit to demodulate said data; and
said receiver includes an interference mitigation receiver to reduce the negative effect of interference in the data demodulation using information gathered by the pilot tracking unit.
2. The receiver system of claim 1, wherein:
said pilot tracking unit performs continuous time tracking and continuous channel tracking for said at least one pilot signal associated with said affiliated base station and, when identified by said searcher and selected for tracking, for said at least one pilot signal associated with said non-affiliated base station.
3. The receiver system of claim 1, wherein:
said pilot tracking unit performs continuous time tracking, continuous channel tracking, and continuous frequency tracking for said at least one pilot signal associated with said affiliated base station and, when identified by said searcher and selected for tracking, for said at least one pilot signal associated with said non-affiliated base station.
4. The receiver system of claim 1, wherein:
said pilot tracking unit continuously tracks a majority of the pilot signals identified by said searcher.
5. The receiver system of claim 1, comprising:
a controller to determine which pilot signals identified by said searcher will be continuously tracked by said pilot tracking unit.
6. The receiver system of claim 5, wherein:
said controller determines which pilot signals identified by said searcher will be continuously tracked within said pilot tracking unit based on a predetermined selection criterion.
7. The receiver system of claim 6, wherein:
said predetermined selection criterion includes a condition related to pilot signal strength.
8. The receiver system of claim 1, comprising:
an SSDT unit to dynamically select a single base station to transmit user data to the receiver system based on tracking information gathered by the pilot tracking unit.
9. The receiver system of claim 1, wherein:
said receiver includes a rake receiver having a plurality of rake fingers, wherein said information gathered by the pilot tracking unit is used to dynamically optimize the assignment of rake fingers within the rake receiver.
10. The receiver system of claim 1, wherein:
said interference mitigation receiver includes a demodulation unit to demodulate data-bearing interference signal components based on information gathered by the pilot tracking unit.
11. The receiver system of claim 1, wherein:
said interference mitigation receiver includes a pilot interference reduction unit to reduce the level of pilot signal interference using information gathered by the pilot tracking unit.
12. The receiver system of claim 1, comprising:
a decoder to decode an output signal of the receiver; and
a decision metric correction unit to modify at least one decision metric used by the decoder to decode the output signal of the receiver based on information gathered by said pilot tracking unit.
13. The receiver system of claim 1, wherein:
said pilot tracking unit generates signal strength related information and diversity information for one or more remote base stations for use in making a soft-handoff decision.
14. The receiver system of claim 1, comprising:
a position estimator to estimate a present position of the receiver system using information gathered by said pilot tracking unit.
15. The receiver system of claim 14, wherein:
said position estimator estimates a present position of the receiver system using pilot signal timing estimates gathered by said pilot tracking unit in a time difference of arrival (TDOA) position location technique.
16. The receiver system of claim 1, wherein:
said pilot tracking unit includes a plurality of independent pilot trackers to each continuously track a single assigned pilot signal.
17. A method for processing a received signal within a communication device, comprising:
identifying pilot signals within the received signal, said pilot signals being associated with a plurality of remote base stations;
continuously tracking identified pilot signals for timing and channel information, wherein continuously tracking includes continuously tracking at least one pilot signal associated with an affiliated base station and continuously tracking, when identified during identifying pilot signals and selected for tracking, at least one pilot signal associated with a non-affiliated base station; and
using said continuously tracked timing and channel information to dynamically select a single remote base station to transmit user data to the mobile communication device in an SSDT mode of operation.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein:
continuously tracking includes only continuously tracking identified pilot signals that satisfy a predetermined selection criterion.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein:
said predetermined selection criterion is related to a signal strength of an identified pilot signal.
20. The method of claim 18, wherein:
said predetermined selection criterion gives priority to certain base stations.
21. The method of claim 17, comprising:
dynamically selecting identified pilot signals to be continuously tracked.
22. The method of claim 17, wherein:
continuously tracking identified pilot signals includes continuously tracking said pilot signals for frequency information.
23. The method of claim 17, comprising:
providing continuously tracked timing and channel information to a receiver for use in demodulating a received signal.
24. The method of claim 17, comprising:
using said continuously tracked timing and channel information to modify at least one decision metric used by a decoder to decode data associated with a predetermined user.
25. The method of claim 17, comprising:
using said continuously tracked timing and channel information to estimate a position of the mobile communication device.
26. The method of claim 17, comprising:
dynamically assigning rake fingers within a rake receiver based on said continuously tracked timing and channel information.
27. A receiver system comprising:
a searcher to identify pilot signals within a received signal, said pilot signals corresponding to a plurality of remote base stations;
a pilot tracking unit to continuously track pilot signals identified by said searcher for timing and channel information, said pilot tracking unit to track at least one pilot signal associated with an affiliated base station and, when identified by the searcher and selected for tracking, at least one pilot signal associated with a non-affiliated base station;
at least one rake receiver to demodulate data within the received signal that is associated with a corresponding user, said at least one rake receiver having a plurality of rake fingers;
a controller to manage the operation of said searcher, said pilot tracking unit, and said rake receiver, wherein said controller includes a selection module to select individual pilot signals identified by the searcher to be continuously tracked by the pilot tracking unit; and
said at least one rake receiver including an interference mitigation receiver to reduce the negative effect of interference in the data demodulation using information gathered by the pilot tracking unit.
28. The receiver system of claim 27, wherein:
said controller includes a rake finger assignment module to dynamically assign rake fingers to individual paths based on the timing and channel information developed by the pilot tracking unit.
29. The receiver system of claim 27, wherein:
said controller includes a module to assemble base station diversity information from the pilot tracking unit for use in making soft-handoff decisions.
30. The receiver system of claim 27, wherein:
said pilot tracking unit continuously tracks a majority of the pilot signals identified by said searcher.
31. A communication device comprising:
a searcher to identify pilot signals within a received signal, said pilot signals corresponding to a plurality of base stations;
a pilot tracking unit to continuously track selected pilot signals identified by said searcher;
at least one rake receiver to demodulate data within a received signal, said at least one rake receiver having a plurality of rake fingers;
a controller to select pilot signals identified by said searcher to be tracked by said pilot tracking unit, said controller to select said pilot signals to be tracked based on a predetermined selection criterion, wherein said predetermined selection criterion permits a pilot signal that is not assigned to a rake finger of said at least one rake receiver to be tracked by said pilot tracking unit;
said at least one rake receiver including an interference mitigation receiver to reduce the negative effect of interference in the data demodulation using information gathered by the pilot tracking unit; and
said interference mitigation receiver includes a demodulation unit to demodulate data-bearing interference signal components based on information gathered by the pilot tracking unit.
32. The communication device of claim 31, wherein:
said controller considers resources available within said pilot tracking unit to select pilot signals to be tracked by said pilot tracking unit.
33. The communication device of claim 31, wherein:
said controller considers signal strength related parameters of the identified pilot signals to select pilot signals to be tracked by said pilot tracking unit.
34. The communication device of claim 31, wherein:
said controller considers priorities given to certain base stations to select pilot signals to be tracked by said pilot tracking unit.
35. The communication device of claim 31, wherein:
said controller is programmed to periodically reevaluate a decision to track a particular pilot signal within said pilot tracking unit.
36. The communication device of claim 31, wherein:
said predetermined selection criterion permits both affiliated and non-affiliated base stations to be tracked by said pilot tracking unit.
37. The communication device of claim 31, wherein:
said predetermined selection criterion permits all pilot signals identified by said searcher to be selected for tracking.
38. A communication device for use within a communication system implementing code division multiple access (CDMA), comprising:
a pilot tracking unit to continuously track selected pilot signals associated with a plurality of base stations;
at least one rake receiver to demodulate data within a received signal that is associated with a user of the communication device, said at least one rake receiver having a plurality of rake fingers;
a controller to assign rake fingers within said at least one rake receiver to individual paths associated with the received signal based on information developed by the pilot tracking unit;
said at least one rake receiver includes an interference mitigation receiver to reduce the negative effect of interference in the data demodulation using information gathered by the pilot tracking unit; and
said interference mitigation receiver includes a pilot interference reduction unit to reduce the level of pilot signal interference using information gathered by the pilot tracking unit.
39. The communication device of claim 38 wherein:
said selected pilot signals are selected based upon a selection criterion that permits a pilot signal that is not assigned to a rake finger of said at least one rake receiver to be tracked by said pilot tracking unit.
40. The communication device of claim 38 wherein:
said controller dynamically assigns rake fingers to individual paths based on a predetermined assignment criterion.
41. The communication device of claim 40 wherein:
said predetermined assignment criterion considers the resources available within said at least one rake receiver.
42. The communication device of claim 40 wherein:
said predetermined assignment criterion considers a signal strength related parameter associated with pilot signals tracked by the pilot tracking unit.
43. The communication device of claim 38 wherein:
said controller is programmed to determine whether an assignment of a rake finger will be a long-term assignment or a dynamic assignment.
44. The communication device of claim 38 wherein:
said pilot tracking unit continuously tracks said selected pilot signals for timing and channel information.
45. The communication device of claim 38 wherein:
said pilot tracking unit continuously tracks said selected pilot signals for timing, channel, and frequency information.
46. A method for use within a wireless communication system comprising:
obtaining base station related information that was assembled by continuously tracking selected base station pilot signals received by a communication device, said selected base station pilot signals including a pilot signal that is not presently assigned to a rake finger within the communication device;
choosing an active set of base stations for the communication device based on said base station related information;
using said continuously tracked timing and channel information to dynamically select a single remote base station to transmit user data to the mobile communication device in an SSDT mode of operation; and
using said continuously tracked timing and channel information to modify at least one decision metric used by a decoder to decode data associated with a predetermined user.
47. The method of claim 46, wherein:
said base station related information includes detailed signal strength reports for base stations about the communication device.
48. The method of claim 46, wherein:
said base station related information includes multi-path diversity information for base stations about the communication device.
49. The method of claim 46, wherein:
said base station related information includes antenna diversity information for base stations about the communication device.
50. The method of claim 46, wherein:
said base station related information includes signal strength reports for base stations about the communication device that have been modified based on at least one of the following: multi-path diversity information for base stations about the communication device and antenna diversity information for base stations about the communication device.
51. The method of claim 46, wherein:
obtaining base station related information and choosing an active set of base stations are performed at a network location within the wireless communication system.
52. The method of claim 51, further comprising:
transmitting information identifying said active set of base stations to the communication device.
53. A method for use within a wireless communication system comprising:
continuously tracking selected pilot signals received by a communication device from a plurality of base stations to generate base station information, said selected pilot signals including a pilot signal that is not presently assigned to a rake finger within the communication device;
selecting a base station to transmit data to the communication device in a site selection diversity transmission (SSDT) mode of operation based on said base station information
using said continuously tracked timing and channel information to dynamically select a single remote base station to transmit user data to the mobile communication device in an SSDT mode of operation; and
using said continuously tracked timing and channel information to estimate a position of the communication device.
54. The method of claim 53, wherein:
continuously tracking includes continuously tracking said pilot signals for timing and channel information.
55. The method of claim 53, wherein:
continuously tracking includes continuously tracking said pilot signals for timing, channel, and frequency information.
56. The method of claim 53, wherein:
said pilot signals that are continuously tracked are selected for continuous tracking from pilot signals identified by a searcher within the communication device.
57. The method of claim 53, wherein:
selecting a base station is performed within the communication device.
58. A method for use within a wireless communication system comprising:
continuously tracking selected pilot signals received by a mobile communication device from a plurality of base stations to generate base station information, said selected pilot signals including a pilot signal that is not presently assigned to a rake finger within the mobile communication device;
using said continuously tracked timing and channel information to dynamically select a single remote base station to transmit user data to the mobile communication device in an SSDT mode of operation; and
estimating a position of the mobile communication device based on said base station information.
59. The method of claim 58, comprising:
dynamically adjusting the pilot signals that are selected for continuous tracking.
60. The method of claim 58, wherein:
estimating a position of the communication device includes using time difference of arrival (TDOA) techniques.
61. The method of claim 58, wherein:
estimating a position of the communication device is performed within the communication device.

1. A computer-implemented method of processing a digital image, said image comprising a plurality of pixels, the method comprising:
computing a histogram of a distribution of the number of pixels of the image as a function of their luminance;
subdividing the pixels of the image into a first set of pixels having luminance values between a low threshold and a high threshold, and into a second set of pixels having luminance values greater than the high threshold;
performing a first luminance processing operation on the first set of pixels that comprises increasing the luminance of the first set of pixels; and
performing a different second luminance processing operation on the second set of pixels;
wherein the method is implemented by a computer.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first luminance processing operation further comprises a gamma-type transfer function processing operation having an adaptable gamma parameter that is applied to the first set of pixels.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the second luminance processing operation comprises an equalization of the histogram applied to the second set of pixels.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the second set of pixels have luminance values between the high threshold and a maximum threshold, and wherein said computing a histogram comprises:
computing an initial histogram;
determining a luminance range above and below which the values of the initial histogram are nil; and
redistributing the pixels in the luminance range between said low threshold and said maximum threshold so as to compute said histogram.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising:
wherein determining a luminance range above and below which the values of the initial histogram are nil comprises:
determining a first area between the bottom limit of the luminance range and an initial threshold; and
determining a second area between said initial threshold and the top limit of the luminance range; and

wherein redistributing the pixels in the luminance range between said low threshold and said maximum threshold comprises:
performing a first redistribution of the pixels in the first area in the range between the low threshold and the high threshold; and
performing a second redistribution of the pixels in the second area in the range between the high threshold and the maximum threshold so as to compute said histogram.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:
enhancing some of the colors of the image by amplifying the chrominance of each pixel of the image according to a ratio between the lightened luminance and the original luminance of said pixel of the image.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the method is repeatedly performed to process a plurality of successive digital images of a video sequence, and wherein said high threshold has a constant value for each processing operation on the successive digital images.
8. A device for processing and lightening a digital image comprising a plurality of pixels, the device comprising at least one logic circuit or a microprocessor that is configured to:
compute a histogram of the distribution of the number of pixels of the image as a function of their luminance;
subdivide the pixels of the image into a first set of pixels having luminance values between a low threshold and a high threshold and into a second set of pixels having luminance values greater than the high threshold;
perform a first luminance processing operation on the pixels of the first set of pixels, the first processing operation comprising an increase in the luminance of the pixels of the first set; and
perform a different second luminance processing operation on the pixels of the second set of pixels.
9. The device of claim 8, wherein the first luminance processing operation comprises a gamma-type transfer function processing operation having an adaptable gamma parameter applied to the first set of pixels.
10. The device of claim 8, wherein the second luminance processing operation comprises an equalization of the histogram applied to the second set of pixels.
11. The device of claim 8, wherein the second set of pixels have luminance values between the high threshold and a maximum threshold, and wherein to compute the histogram, the at least one logic circuit or microprocessor is configured to:
compute an initial histogram;
determine a luminance range above and below which the values of the initial histogram are nil; and
redistribute the pixels in the luminance range between said low threshold and said maximum threshold so as to compute said histogram.
12. The device of claim 11, further comprising:
wherein to determine the luminance range above and below which the values of the initial histogram are nil, the at least one logic circuit or microprocessor is configured to:
determine a first area between the bottom limit of the luminance range and an initial threshold; and
determine a second area between said initial threshold and the top limit of the luminance range; and

wherein to redistribute the pixels in the luminance range between said low threshold and said maximum threshold, the at least one logic circuit or microprocessor is configured to:
perform a first redistribution of the pixels of the first area in the range between the low threshold and the high threshold; and
perform a second redistribution of the number of pixels of the second area in the range between the high threshold and the maximum threshold so as to compute said histogram.
13. The device of claim 8, wherein the at least one logic circuit or microprocessor is further configured to:
enhance some of the colors of the image to amplify the chrominance of each pixel of the image according to a ratio between the lightened luminance and the original luminance of said pixel of the image.
14. The device of claim 8, wherein the at least one logic circuit or microprocessor is further configured to process and lighten a plurality of successive digital images of a video sequence, wherein each of the plurality of successive digital images has a constant high threshold value.
15. A wireless communication appliance comprising a digital image processing device for processing and lightening a digital image comprising a plurality of pixels, the device including at least one logic circuit or a microprocessor that is configured to:
compute a histogram of the distribution of the number of pixels of the image as a function of their luminance;
subdivide the pixels of the image into a first set of pixels having luminance values between a low threshold and a high threshold and into a second set of pixels having luminance values greater than the high threshold;
perform a first luminance processing operation on the pixels of the first set of pixels, the first processing operation comprising an increase in the luminance of the pixels of the first set; and
perform a different second luminance processing operation on the pixels of the second set of pixels.
16. A computer-implemented method of processing a digital image, said image comprising a plurality of pixels, the method comprising:
computing a histogram of a distribution of the number of pixels of the image as a function of their luminance;
subdividing the pixels of the image into a first set of pixels having luminance values between a low threshold and a high threshold, and into a second set of pixels having luminance values greater than the high threshold;
performing a first luminance processing operation on the first set of pixels, the first luminance processing operation comprising a gamma-type transfer function processing operation having an adaptable gamma parameter applied to the first set of pixels for increasing the luminance of the first set of pixels; and
performing a different, second luminance processing operation on the second set of pixels, the second luminance processing operation comprising an equalization of the histogram applied to the second set of pixels;
wherein the method is implemented by a computer.
17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the pixels of the second set have luminance values between the high threshold and a maximum threshold, and wherein said computing a histogram comprises:
computing an initial histogram;
determining a luminance range above and below which the values of the initial histogram are nil; and
redistributing the pixels in the luminance range between said low threshold and said maximum threshold so as to compute said histogram.
18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising:
wherein determining a luminance range above and below which the values of the initial histogram are nil comprises:
determining a first area between the bottom limit of the luminance range and an initial threshold; and
determining a second area between said initial threshold and the top limit of the luminance range;

wherein redistributing the pixels in the luminance range between said low threshold and said maximum threshold comprises:
performing a first redistribution of the pixels in the first area in the range between the low threshold and the high threshold; and
performing a second redistribution of the pixels in the second area in the range between the high threshold and the maximum threshold so as to compute said histogram.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
enhancing some of the colors of the image by amplifying the chrominance of each pixel of the image according to a ratio between the lightened luminance and the original luminance of said pixel of the image.
20. The method of claim 16, wherein the method is repeatedly performed to process a plurality of successive digital images of a video sequence, and wherein said high threshold has a constant value for each processing operation on the successive digital images.
21. A device for processing and lightening a digital image comprising a plurality of pixels, the device comprising at least one logic circuit or a microprocessor that is configured to:
compute a histogram of the distribution of the number of pixels of the image as a function of their luminance;
subdivide the pixels of the image into a first set of pixels having luminance values between a low threshold and a high threshold and into a second set of pixels having luminance values greater than the high threshold;
perform a first luminance processing operation on the first set of pixels, the first luminance processing operating comprising a gamma-type transfer function processing operation having an adaptable gamma parameter applied to the first set of pixels for increasing the luminance of the first set of pixels; and
perform a different, second luminance processing operation on the second set of pixels, the second luminance processing operation comprising an equalization of the histogram applied to the second set of pixels.
22. The device of claim 21, wherein the second set of pixels have luminance values between the high threshold and a maximum threshold, and wherein to compute the histogram, the at least one logic circuit or microprocessor is configured to:
compute an initial histogram;
determine a luminance range above and below which the values of the initial histogram are nil; and
redistribute the pixels in the luminance range between said low threshold and said maximum threshold so as to compute said histogram.
23. The device of claim 22, further comprising:
wherein to determine the luminance range above and below which the values of the initial histogram are nil, the at least one logic circuit or microprocessor is configured to:
determine a first area between the bottom limit of the luminance range and an initial threshold; and
determine a second area between said initial threshold and the top limit of the luminance range; and

wherein to redistribute the pixels in the luminance range between said low threshold and said maximum threshold, the at least one logic circuit or microprocessor is configured to:
perform a first redistribution of the pixels of the first area in the range between said low threshold and said high threshold; and
perform a second redistribution of the number of pixels of the second area in the range between said high threshold and the maximum threshold so as to compute said histogram.
24. The device of claim 21, wherein the at least one logic circuit or microprocessor is further configured to:
enhance some of the colors of the image to amplify the chrominance of each pixel of the image according to a ratio between the lightened luminance and the original luminance of said pixel of the image.
25. The device of claim 21, wherein the at least one logic circuit or microprocessor is further configured to process and lighten a plurality of successive digital images of a video sequence, wherein each of the plurality of successive digital images has a constant high threshold value.
26. A wireless communication appliance comprising a digital image processing device for processing and lightening a digital image comprising a plurality of pixels, the device including at least one logic circuit or a microprocessor that is configured to:
compute a histogram of the distribution of the number of pixels of the image as a function of their luminance;
subdivide the pixels of the image into a first set of pixels having luminance values between a low threshold and a high threshold and into a second set of pixels having luminance values greater than the high threshold;
perform a first luminance processing operation on the first set of pixels, the first luminance processing operating comprising a gamma-type transfer function processing operation having an adaptable gamma parameter applied to the first set of pixels for increasing the luminance of the first set of pixels; and
perform a different, second luminance processing operation on the second set of pixels, the second luminance processing operation comprising an equalization of the histogram applied to the second set of pixels.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1-20. (canceled)
21. A method for packing a catalyst by allowing the catalyst to fall into reaction tubes of a fixed bed multi-tube reactor using a funnel, wherein at least a part of the funnel is a net.
22. The method for packing a catalyst according to claim 21, wherein the catalyst is a molded catalyst or a supported catalyst.
23. The method for packing a catalyst according to claim 21, wherein the catalyst is a catalyst for producing acrylic acid or methacrylic acid.
24. The method for packing a catalyst according to claim 21, wherein a net mesh of the funnel is smaller than outer diameters of the catalyst and an inert substance.
25. The method for packing a catalyst according to claim 21, wherein the net of the funnel is provided at an inclined portion of the funnel and an angle of the inclination is 10 to 75\xb0.
26-30. (canceled)