Folding wheel mechanism for vehicle

A portable foldable scooter having a front portion and a back portion, the scooter comprising:

• a footboard having an upper face, a lower face, a front end at the front portion of the scooter, and a back end at the back portion of the scooter;
• a steerable front wheel, coupled to the front portion of the scooter by a front wheel assembly, so as to permit the scooter to be steered, said front wheel having a left side surface and a right side surface;
• a back wheel coupled to the back portion of the scooter by a back wheel assembly;
• and
• a front hinge coupling the front wheel assembly to the front end of the footboard for allowing rotation of the front wheel, independent of any steering movement, to a position at which one of said left and right side surfaces of said front wheel is disposed directly opposite one of said upper and lower faces of said footboard in a face-to-face manner.

A portable foldable scooter having a front portion and a back portion, the scooter comprising:

• a footboard having an upper face, a lower face, a front end at the front portion of the scooter, and a back end at the back portion of the scooter, the footboard having a central horizontal axis extending from the front end to the back end;
• a steering bar having an upper end and a lower end, the steering bar coupled to the front end of the footboard;
• a handle bar coupled to the upper end of the steering bar;
• a front wheel coupled to the front portion of the scooter by a front wheel assembly which is also coupled to the steering bar so as to permit the scooter to be steered, said front wheel having a left side surface and a right side surface;
• and
• a back wheel having an axis around which the back wheel rotates during riding of the scooter and coupled to the back portion of the scooter by a back wheel assembly;
• wherein during folding of the scooter, the front wheel is able to rotate around an axis that is perpendicular to the central horizontal axis of the footboard, independent of any steering movement of the front wheel, such that one of said left and right side surfaces of said front wheel is disposed directly opposite one of said upper and lower faces of said footboard in a face-to-face manner.