Packing Method and Unit for Folding a Sheet of Packing Material about a Parallelpiped-Shaped Article

21) A packing unit for folding a sheet (5) of packing material about a substantially parallelepiped-shaped article (2), the packing unit (12) comprising:

• a conveyor (16) for feeding the article (2) along a path (P1);
• and
• a feed device (18) for feeding the sheet (5) of packing material perpendicularly to the path (P1) and in front of the article (2), so the article (2), as it moves forward, intercepts and gradually folds the sheet (5) of packing material into a “U”;
• the packing unit (12) being characterized by comprising:
• two lead-in devices (19) mounted to move parallel to the path (P1) and positioned on opposite sides of the article (2), so the article (2) is enclosed between the two lead-in devices (19);
• and
• an actuating device (20) for feeding the two lead-in devices (19) parallel to the path (P1) and together with the article (2), so the sheet (5) of packing material is also intercepted by the lead-in devices (19).