Feeding unit and method for feeding sealed packs of pourable food products

A packaging machine comprising:

• a feeding unit for feeding sealed packs of pourable food products to a folding unit configured to form folded packages from said packs, said feeding unit comprising a feeding conveyor adapted to receive packs at an inlet station of the feeding unit and to drive them to an outlet station of the feeding unit;
• said feeding conveyor comprising at least one push member movable cyclically between said inlet and outlet stations and possessing a cooperating surface adapted to cooperate, in use, with a relative said pack to push it towards said outlet station along a substantially rectilinear portion of a substantially horizontal advancement path, said cooperating surface possessing an involute-shaped profile that discharges the relative said pack at a constant linear speed along the substantially horizontal advancement path;
• and
• a folding unit adapted to receive packs at said outlet station of said feeding unit and configured to form folded packages from said packs.

A method for feeding sealed packs of pourable food products to a receiving station of a folding unit configured to form folded packages from said packs, comprising the steps of:

• a) pushing said packs along an advancement path comprising a substantially rectilinear portion;
• and
• b) releasing said packs at said receiving station;
• wherein said step b) of releasing said packs comprises the step of:
• c) discharging said packs at a constant linear speed along said advancement path portion at said receiving station.