Closed hydraulic tensioner

A closed hydraulic tensioner comprising:

• a housing having a first blind hole and a second blind hole extending at an angle to said first blind hole, said second blind hole having an open end facing upward;
• a cylinder mounted in said first blind hole in said housing;
• a piston rod having one end portion slidably fitted in said cylinder with a small clearance defined therebetween and the opposite end portion projecting outward from said housing;
• a spring acting between said cylinder and said piston rod to urge said piston rod and in one direction to project from said housing;
• an oil seal disposed between an outer circumferential surface of said piston rod and an inner circumferential surface of said first blind hole in said housing, there being defined between said housing, said cylinder, said piston rod and said oil seal a low-pressure chamber;
• a check valve provided at one end of said cylinder so as to define, jointly with the cylinder and said one end of said piston rod, a high-pressure chamber;
• an end plug fitted in said second blind hole to close the open end of said second blind hole;
• and
• a movable free piston disposed in said second blind hole and separating the interior of said second blind hole into a reservoir on one side of said movable piston and a pressure chamber on the other side of said movable piston;
• said low-pressure chamber, said high-pressure chamber and said reservoir being filled with oil sealed in said hydraulic tensioner, said reservoir communicating with said low-pressure chamber and also communicating with said high-pressure chamber via said check valve, said pressure chamber being supplied with an oil from the exterior of said hydraulic tensioner, said movable piston being displaceable toward said reservoir under the pressure in said pressure chamber when the oil in the reservoir is caused to flow into said low-pressure chamber in response to movement of said piston rod in said one direction.