Slotted guide ring with recirculating lubrication and piston-cylinder unit

A slotted guide ring for a piston-cylinder unit, which consists partially or completely of a viscoplastically deformable base material, comprising:

• a guide side which points inward or outward in a direction radial to the central axis Z of the guide ring and which is used for dynamically contacting abutment on a machine part;
• and
• a rear side which points away from the guide side in the radial direction and which serves to support the guide ring in a statically contacting manner;
• a first free end portion and a second free end portion, which are at a distance from one another in the circumferential direction of the guide ring, forming an axial passage gap, and an end faces of which extend parallel to one another, the end faces enclosing an acute angle α of 15°≤α≤75° with the central axis Z in their projection onto the central axis Z;
• a plurality of annular beads formed on the guide side, which are each arranged at a distance from one another in an axial direction relative to the central axis Z of the guide ring;
• and
• at least one lubricant channel which is delimited on both sides in the axial direction by two of the annular beads, the at least one lubricant channel extending in the circumferential direction of the guide ring from the first free end portion to the second free end portion and being open on both sides toward the axial passage gap;
• wherein the at least one lubricant channel has a wavy course in the circumferential direction.