Program development support apparatus of safety controller

A program development support apparatus of a safety controller in which a control program for the safety controller is automatically generated through a series of user operations for completing a logic circuit diagram corresponding to a desired control specification by sequentially arranging one type of function block selected from a plurality of types of function blocks prepared in advance in a programming field on a screen of an image display and setting a necessary unique parameter for every function block;

• the program development support apparatus comprising:
• an input operation unit for enabling said series of user operations;
• and
• a guide display unit, displayed on the programming field, for enabling arrangement of the function block to the programming field according to a guide by a function block arrangement template having a block arrangeable position corresponding to each intersecting position of rows and columns, and having one end side in the row direction defined as an input terminal side and the other end side defined as an output terminal side;
• wherein
• the function block arrangement template is separated into,
• an input side template positioned on an input side of the template and including a series of plural columns respectively accepting the arrangement of a predetermined type of function block related to an input signal, and
• an output side template positioned on an output side of the template and including a series of plural columns respectively accepting the arrangement of a predetermined type of function block related to an output signal.